5-
~35

	“In Charles County and In fact all of Southern Maryland tobacco wa~ raised on a large scale. Men, Women and children had to work hard to produce the required crops. The slaves did the work and they were driven at full speed sometimes by the owners and others by both owner and overseers. . The slaves would run away from the farms whenever they had a chance, some were returned and others getting away. This made it very profitable to white men and constables to capture the runaways. This caused trouble betweer~ the colored people and whites, especially the free people, as some of them would be taken for slaves. I had heard of several killings resulting from fights at night.

	“One time a slave ran aw~‘ay and was seen by a colored man, who was bunting, sitting on a log eating some food late in the night, He had a corn knife with him. When his master attempted to hit him with a whip, he retaliated with the knife, splitting the man‘s breast open, from which he died. The slave escaped and was never captured. The white cappers or patrollers in all of the counties ofSouthern Mary land seoured the swamps ‚ rivers and fie Ids wi thout success.

	“Le-t me explain to you very plain without prejudice one way or the other, I have had many opportunities, a chance to watch white men and women in my long career, colored women have many hard battles to fight to protect themselves from assault by employers, white male servants or by white men, many times not being able to protect, in fear of losing their positions. Then on the other hand they were subjected to many impositions by the women of the household thvcugh woman‘s jealousy. .

	UI remember well when President Buchanan was elected, I was