FIFTY YEARS IN CHAINS

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FIFTY YEARS IN CHAINS

Charles Ball was sold while naked. In his entire life as a slave, he never had clothes on. In this instance, Charles must have suffered from the biting night cold that swept the city where he was enslaved. Charles suffered psychologically especially when he remembers the horrors that befell him on the day they parted ways with her mum. The cruelties done to her mom, the blows administered to her mum have truly affected him psychologically. “Young as I was, the horrors of that day sank deeply into my heart, and even at this time, though half a century has elapsed, the terrors of the scene return with painful vividness upon my memory,” (Page 11). The many sacrifices made by her mom towards him and his many siblings was indeed disheartening. Charles recalls her mom being kind and good. She would even divide the meager food allowed by her master to all her children and dare go to bed on an empty stomach.

Charles as depicted earlier did not have any decent clothing. Yearly, his master would give him a mere pair of shoes alongside a pair of stockings, a jacket, a hat, two shirts and two pairs of trousers. No other form of clothing was later allowed for the entire year. Despite the amount of workload, despite whether the clothes would be torn in a weeks time, Charles would not get any other clothes until the year came to an end. Charles suffered a lot from the cold during winter. Oftenly, he had to drive the team of oxen to the market as they hauled tobacco and in most instances only returned home very late at night with the distance much long and the oxen travelled slowly from the load and tiredness.  

Charles was compelled to work in the woods with scanty clothes to keep him warm during the winter period when there was deep snow on the grounds. He was even determined to a greater extent to talk to his master in a bid to sell him to some other master in order for him to be closer to his wife and children plus to escape the miseries he had been going through. Unfortunately, a different fate awaited me.

Charles was once more sold to another master, a rogue master who mishandled him. This man came up to him, seized him by the collar, shook him violently, saying he was his property, and must go with him to Georgia. Together with several others, he was handicuffed and chained plus had to sleep on the naked floor. He suffered a lot insomnia, spending many nights awake thinking of his wife and children and knowing full well he would never again get a chance to see them anymore his entire life. On the other hand, he would have horrendous dreams that would distress him and cause loads pains. The sights of his wife and children appearing before the master weeping and begging him down on their knees to live their dad and husband were unbearable. He walked very long distances all through to South Carolina and the hope of ever meeting up with his wife and children died out completely. This prompted him to largely contemplate of committing suicide. Fortunately, he did not get a rope. To him, life had completely lost meaning.

Eventually, Charles had walked for a total four weeks and five days. It was equally this same time that the irons that had been riveted upon him were removed. It was indeed some big relief having been released from the many weeks confinement. To him, the fact that he was in a foreign country was enough harrowing experience. To add salt to injury, he later learnt that the life of a black man was not so much regarded as it would be that of an ox except for instances whereby the man was worth plenty of money in the market at that particular point. Charles is knocked down with a cane by his masters, beaten severely and ordered to cross his hands to have them bound with a rope that had been hanged in the kitchen. The reason being having been found with mutton meat.  The cord was bound so tightly round his wrists, even before morning there was blood that had burst out under his finger nails. The cruel master had slept soundly not even knowing or having a glimpse of what had transpired through the night for Charles. The situation was actually permitted up to long after sunrise. He was referred to as a thief. Despite the night long punishment that had almost rendered him numb from the overnight cord around his wrists, each of his fellow slaves was compelled to give him a dozen lashes in turn with some roasted and greased hickory gad until at the end of it all he would have received two hundred and fifty lashes on his bare back.

From exhaustion and bleeding as a result of the cord that had dug deep in Charles’s wrists causing lots oozing of blood from his finger nails, he keeled over. However, upon waking up from his condition, a rope was tied around his neck with the other end fastened to the mill post. To the masters, Charles had actually feigned that he had fainted. He was denied of any food or drink. Fro having stolen the sheep, it was wholly agreed that he would be whipped. This whipping would take place at some specified time with so many people in attendance including masters bringing their slaves to get to learn the consequences of stealing sheep as would be seen from Charles serving as the perfect example in that case.

Charles received a dozen lashes instead from an overseer white man. His bruised, raw back was then sprinkled with hot water mixed up with pepper producing some tormenting feeling and a burning sensation that could not even be explained or described by any language. This exercise went on in exchange until Charles had received ninety six lashes with his back scalded and entirely lacerated so badly. The strokes from the whip and the gashes of blood had bruised Charles up to about three inches deep. Much as Charles begged and implored for mercy from his tormenters, he was still kept bound to the post with his entire weight hanging upon his thumbs, an hour and a half on. Despite all the pain Charles had been going through, the mistress implored that he had to be thankful much as the lacerations were just skin deep it still did not come off so bad as it ought to have been. There was excruciating pain, Charles could not even bend let alone turn in bed. His whole body was sore with pains.

Charles coped with the difficulties by either accepting the various situations and the amount of horrible things he went through. For instance, even after the masters had wanted to know who else had been in his plan of stealing the sheep, Charles would never have gone ahead to tell them a thing. He was the sacrificial lamb and served that well. He was ready and had made up his mind to suffer and to bear all hardships: not without complaining though, but without attempting to resist his oppressors or to escape from their power

Works cited

HYPERLINK “http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/ball/ball.html” http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/ball/ball.html