 In
an old long cabin, on my Master's plantation in Davidson County in
Tennessee in June, 1854, I first saw the light of day. The exact date of
my birth I never knew, because in those days no count was kept of such
trivial matters as the birth of a slave baby. They were born and died and
the account was balanced in the gains and losses of the Master's chattels,
and one more or less did not matter much one way or another. My father and
mother were owned by Robert Love, an extensive planter and the owner of
many slaves. He was in his way and in comparison with many other slave
owners of those days a kind and indulgent Master.
My father was a sort of foreman of the slaves on the plantation, and my
mother presided over the kitchen at the big house and my Master's table,
and among her other duties were to milk the cows and run the loom, weaving
clothing for the other slaves. This left her scant time to look after me,
so I early acquired the habit of looking out for myself. The other members
of father's family were my sister Sally, about eight years old, and my
brother Jordan, about five. My sister Sally was supposed to look after me
when my mother was otherwise occupied; but between my sister's duties of
helping mother and chasing the flies from Master's table, I received very
little looking after from any of the family, therefore necessity compelled
me at an early age to look after myself and rustle my own grub. My
earliest recollections are of pushing a chair in front of me and toddling
from one to the other of my Master's family to get a mouthful to eat like
a pet dog, and later on as I became older, making raids on the garden to
satisfy my hunger, much to the damage of the young onions, watermelons,
turnips, sweet potatoes, and other things I could find to eat. We had to
use much caution during these raids on the garden, because we well knew
what we would catch if someone caught us, but much practice made us
experts in escaping undetected.
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© Excerpts from the electronic edition of
The Life and Adventures of Nat Love Better Known in the Cattle Country as
"Deadwood Dick" by Himself; a True History of Slavery Days, Life on the Great
Cattle Ranges and on the Plains of the "Wild and Woolly" West, Based on Facts,
and Personal Experiences of the Author, are the property of the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
The full electronic edition, which also includes original illustrations of this
text may be viewed here.
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http://www.natlove.com
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Last modified:
October 18, 2002
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