UNCLE TOM’S CABIN
Monolgue

FRANK BELL (Narrative 3)
I don’t know about my folks, if I had any, ‘cet Mama.  I worked round master’s saloon, kept everything cleaned up after they’d have all night drinkin’ parties, men and women.  I earned nickles to tip off where to go; so they could sow wild oats.  I buried the nickels under rocks.  If Master done cotch me with money, he’d take it and beat me nearly to death.  All I had to eat was old stuff those people left, all scraps what was left.  One time some bad men come to Master’s and gets in shootin’ scrape and they was two men kilt.  I sure did run.  But Master cotch ma and make me take them men to the ricer and tie a weight on them, so they’d sink and the law wouldn’t get him.  Master he stay drunk nearly all time and was mean to his slave.  I’m the on;y one had had, and cost him nothing.  He have a bill of sale made ‘cause the law say he done stole me whem I’m small child.  Master kept me in chains sometimes.  He shot several men.  I don’t have no quarters but stays round the place and throw old sack down and lay there and sleep.  I’m afraid to run, ‘course Master say he’d hunt me and kill nigger.  When I’m about seventeen I marries a gal while Master on drunk spell.  He run her off, and I slips off at night to see her, but he finds out.   He takes a big long knife and cuts her head plum off, and ties s great, heavy weight to her and makes me throw her in the river.  Then he put me in chains and every night he come and give me a whippin’ for a long time.  When war am over he won’t free me, says I’m valuable to him in
his trade.  He say, “Nigge, you’s supposed to be free but I’ll pay you a dollar week and if you run off I’ll kill you.”  So he makes me do like before the War, butgives me about a dollar month, ‘stead week.  He says I cost more’n I’m worth, but he won’t let me go.  Times I don’t know why
I don’t die before I’m growed, sleepin’ on the ground,  winter and summer, rain and snow.  But not much snow there.  Master helt me long years after War.  If anybody get after him, he told them I stay ‘cause I wants to stay, but me if I left he’d kill him another nigger.  I stayed till he gits in drunk brawl one night with men and women and they gets to shootin’ some kilt.  Master got kilt.  Then I’m left to live or die, so I wander from place to place.  I nearly starve to death before I’d leave New Orleans, ‘cause I couldn’t think Master am dead and I afraid. Finally I gets up the nerve to leave town and stays the first night in white man’s barn.  I never slept.  Every time I hears something I jumps up and Master be standin there, lookin at me, but soon’s I get up he’d leave.  Next time I slept out in hay field and Master he get right top of a tree and start hollerin at me.  I never stays in that place.  I gets gone from that place.  I gets back to town fast as my legs  carry me.  Then I gets locked up in jail.  I don’t know what for, never did know.  One the men says to me to come with him and takes me to the woods and gives me an ax.  I cuts rails till I nearly falls, all with chain locked round feet.  So I Couldn’t run off.  He turns me lose and wanders
again.  Never had a home.  Works for me long ‘nough to et fifty, sixty cents, then starts roamin’ again, like a stray dog.  I worked at a sawmill and farms all my life, but never could make much money.  You know, the nigger was wild till the white man made what he has out of the nigger.  He done educate them real smart.