Naturally these negro boys quickly learned that they could escape
punishment by falsely imputing to me all of their mischief and I
was their scape-goat.
Often Drake's negro boys went over to General Jackson's plantation
to play with the negro boys over there and I frequently
accompanied them. One day the old General asked me why I did not
go to school. But I could not tell him. I did not know why. I have
known since that I was not told to go and anyone knows that a boy
just growing up loose, as I was, is not likely to go to school of
his own accord.
I do not propose to convey to the reader the idea that I was
naturally better than other boys, on the contrary, I frequently
deserved the rod when I did not get it, but more frequently
received a cruel drubbing when I did not deserve it, that, too, at
the hands of the old negro crone who was exceedingly violent as
well as unjust. This, of course, cultivated in me a hatred against
the vile creature which was little short of murderous.
However, I stayed on and bore up under my troubles as there was
nothing else to do, so far as I knew then, but "grin and bear it."
This until I was fifteen years old.
At this time, however ignorant, illiterate, wild as I was, a faint
idea of the need of education dawned upon me. I saw other white
boys going to school; I saw the difference between them and myself
that education was rapidly making and I realized that I was
growing up as ignorant and uncultured as the slave boys who were
my only attainable companions.
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