Frederick Douglass -- Colonel Lloyd's Cruelty
We have seen Frederick Douglass’s descriptions of the
character and behavior of Captain Anthony and the various overseers that worked
under his authority. Here Douglass
writes of the viciousness of Colonel Lloyd, behavior all too common among large
plantation slave masters.
To describe the wealth
of Colonel Lloyd would be almost equal to describing the riches of Job. He kept from ten to fifteen
house-servants. He was said to own a
thousand slaves. … Colonel Lloyd owned so many that he did not
know them when he saw them, nor did all the slaves of the out-farms know
him. It is reported of him, that, while
riding along the road one day, he met a colored man, and addressed him in the
usual manner of speaking to colored people on the public highways of the south:
“Well, boy, whom do you belong to?” “To
Colonel Lloyd,” replied the slave.
“Well, does the colonel treat you well?’” “No, sir,” was the ready
reply. “What, does he work you too
hard?” “Yes, sir.” “Well, don’t he give you enough to eat?” “Yes, sir, he give me enough, such as it is.”
The colonel, after
ascertaining where the slave belonged, rode on; the man also went on about his
business, not dreaming that he had been conversing with his master. He thought, said, and heard nothing more of
the matter, until two or three weeks afterwards. The poor man was then informed by his
overseer that, for having found fault with his master, he was now to be sold to
a Georgia
Colonel Lloyd’s garden
was not the least source of trouble on the plantation. Its excellent fruit was quite a temptation to
the hungry swarms of boys, as well as the other slaves, belonging to the
colonel, few of whom had the virtue or the vice to resist it. [Grown also were tender asparagus, crispy
lettuce, delicate cauliflower, eggplants, beets, parsnips, peas, French beans,
figs, raisins, and almonds] Scarcely a
day passed, during the summer, but that some slave had to take the lash for
stealing fruit. The colonel had to
resort to all kinds of strategems to keep his slaves out of the garden. The last and most successful one was that of
tarring his fence all around, after which, if a slave was caught with any tar upon
his person, it was deemed sufficient proof that he had either been into the
garden, or had tried to get in. In
either case, he was severely whipped by the chief gardener. This plan worked well; the slaves because as
fearful of tar as of the lash (Douglass 33).
The colonel also kept
a splendid riding equipage. His stable
and carriage-house presented the appearance of some of our large city livery
establishments. His horses were of the
finest form and noblest blood. …
This establishment was
under the care of two slaves-old Barney and young Barney-father and son. To attend to this establishment was their
sole work. But it was by no means an
easy employment; for in nothing was Colonel Lloyd more particular than in the
management of his horses. The slightest
inattention to these was unpardonable …; no excuse could shield them [the
father and son], if the colonel only suspected any want of attention to his
horses … They never knew when they were safe from punishment. They were frequently whipped when least
deserving … Every thing depended upon the looks of the horses, and the state of
Colonel Lloyd’s own mind when his horses were brought to him for use. If a horse did not move fast enough, or hold
his head high enough, it was owing to some fault of his keepers. It was painful to stand near the stable-door,
and hear the various complaints … “This horse has not had proper
attention. He has not been sufficiently
rubbed and curried, or he has not been properly fed; his food was too wet or
too dry; he got it too soon or too late; he was too hot or too cold; he had too
much hay, and not enough grain; or he had too much grain, and not enough of
hay; instead of old Barney’s attending to the horse, he had very improperly
left it to his son.” To all these complaints,
no matter how unjust, the slave must answer never a word. Colonel Lloyd could not brook any
contradiction for a slave. I have seen
Colonel Lloyd make old Barney, a man between fifty and sixty years of age, uncover
his bald head, kneel down upon the cold, damp ground, and receive his naked and
toil-worn shoulders more than thirty lashes at the time (Douglass 33-35].
Work Cited:
Douglass, Frederick
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