The first year of Epps’ residence on the bayou， 1845，the caterpillars almost totally destroyed the cotton cropthroughout that region. There was little to be done，so that the slaves were necessarily idle half the time.
However， there came a rumor to Bayou Boeuf that wageswere high， and laborers in great demand on the sugarplantations in St. Mary’s parish. This parish is situated onthe coast of the Gulf of Mexico， about one hundred andforty miles from Avoyelles. The Rio Teche， a considerablestream， flows through St. Mary’s to the gulf.
It was determined by the planters， on the receipt ofthis intelligence， to make up a drove of slaves to be sentdown to Tuckapaw in St. Mary’s， for the purpose of hiringthem out in the cane fields. Accordingly， in the monthof September， there were one hundred and forty-sevencollected at Holmesville， Abram， Bob and myself amongthe number. Of these about one-half were women. Epps，Alonson Pierce， Henry Toler， and Addison Roberts， werethe white men， selected to accompany， and take charge ofthe drove. They had a two-horse carriage and two saddlehorses for their use. A large wagon， drawn by four horses，and driven by John， a boy belonging to Mr. Roberts，carried the blankets and provisions.
About 2 o’clock in the afternoon， having been fed，preparations were made to depart. The duty assignedme was， to take charge of the blankets and provisions，and see that none were lost by the way. The carriageproceeded in advance， the wagon following； behindthis the slaves were arranged， while the two horsemenbrought up the rear， and in this order the processionmoved out of Holmesville.
That night we reached a Mr. McCrow’s plantation， adistance of ten or fifteen miles， when we were orderedto halt. Large fires were built， and each one spreadinghis blanket on the ground， laid down upon it. The whitemen lodged in the great house. An hour before day wewere aroused by the drivers coming among us， crackingtheir whips and ordering us to arise. Then the blanketswere rolled up， and being severally delivered to me anddeposited in the wagon， the procession set forth again.
The following night it rained violently. We were alldrenched， our clothes saturated with mud and water.
Reaching an open shed， formerly a gin-house， we foundbeneath it such shelter as it afforded. There was not roomfor all of us to lay down. There we remained， huddledtogether， through the night， continuing our march， asusual， in the morning. During the journey we were fedtwice a day， boiling our bacon and baking our corn-cakeat the fires in the same manner as in our huts. We passedthrough Lafayetteville， Mountsville， New-Town， toCentreville， where Bob and Uncle Abram were hired. Our
number decreased as we advanced—nearly every sugarplantation requiring the services of one or more.
On our route we passed the Grand Coteau or prairie， avast space of level， monotonous country， without a tree，except an occasional one which had been transplantednear some dilapidated dwelling. It was once thicklypopulated， and under cultivation， but for some causehad been abandoned. The business of the scatteredinhabitants that now dwell upon it is principally raisingcattle. Immense herds were feeding upon it as we passed.
In the centre of the Grand Coteau one feels as if he wereon the ocean， out of sight of land. As far as the eye cansee， in all directions， it is but a ruined and deserted waste.
I was hired to Judge Turner， a distinguished man andextensive planter， whose large estate is situated on BayouSalle， within a few miles of the gulf. Bayou Salle is a smallstream flowing into the bay of Atchafalaya. For some daysI was employed at Turner’s in repairing his sugar house，when a cane knife was put into my hand， and with thirtyor forty others， I was sent into the field. I found no suchdifficulty in learning the art of cutting cane that I had inpicking cotton. It came to me naturally and intuitively，and in a short time I was able to keep up with the fastestknife. Before the cutting was over， however， JudgeTanner transferred me from the field to the sugar house，to act there in the capacity of driver. From the time of thecommencement of sugar making to the close， the grindingand boiling does not cease day or night. The whip was173
given me with directions to use it upon any one who wascaught standing idle. If I failed to obey them to the letter，there was another one for my own back. In addition tothis my duty was to call on and off the different gangsat the proper time. I had no regular periods of rest， andcould never snatch but a few moments of sleep at a time.
It is the custom in Louisiana， as I presume it is inother slave States， to allow the slave to retain whatevercompensation he may obtain for services performedon Sundays. In this way， only， are they able to providethemselves with any luxury or convenience whatever.
When a slave， purchased， or kidnapped in the North， istransported to a cabin on Bayou Boeuf he is furnishedwith neither knife， nor fork， nor dish， nor kettle， nor anyother thing in the shape of crockery， or furniture of anynature or description. He is furnished with a blanketbefore he reaches there， and wrapping that around him，he can either stand up， or lie down upon the ground， oron a board， if his master has no use for it. He is at libertyto find a gourd in which to keep his meal， or he can eathis corn from the cob， just as he pleases. To ask themaster for a knife， or skillet， or any small convenienceof the kind， would be answered with a kick， or laughedat as a joke. Whatever necessary article of this nature isfound in a cabin has been purchased with Sunday money.
However injurious to the morals， it is certainly a blessingto the physical condition of the slave， to be permittedto break the Sabbath. Otherwise there would be no way174
to provide himself with any utensils， which seem to beindispensable to him who is compelled to be his owncook.
