On a Sabbath day in hoeing time， not long ago， wewere on the bayou bank， washing our clothes， as was ourusual custom. Presently Patsey was missing. Epps calledaloud， but there was no answer. No one had observedher leaving the yard， and it was a wonder with us whithershe had gone. In the course of a couple of hours she wasseen approaching from the direction of Shaw’s. This man，as has been intimated， was a notorious profligate， andwithal not on the most friendly terms with Epps. Harriet，his black wife， knowing Patsey’s troubles， was kind toher， in consequence of which the latter was in the habitof going over to see her every opportunity. Her visitswere prompted by friendship merely， but the suspiciongradually entered the brain of Epps， that another anda baser passion led her thither—that it was not Harrietshe desired to meet， but rather the unblushing libertine，his neighbor. Patsey found her master in a fearful rageon her return. His violence so alarmed her that at firstshe attempted to evade direct answers to his questions，which only served to increase his suspicions. She finally，however， drew herself up proudly， and in a spirit ofindignation boldly denied his charges.
“Missus don’t give me soap to wash with， as she doesthe rest，” said Patsey， “and you know why. I went over toHarriet’s to get a piece，” and saying this， she drew it forthfrom a pocket in her dress and exhibited it to him. “That’swhat I went to Shaw’s for， Massa Epps，” continued she；“the Lord knows that was all.”
“You lie， you black wench！” shouted Epps.
“I don’t lie， massa. If you kill me， I’ll stick to that.”
“Oh！ I’ll fetch you down. I’ll learn you to go to Shaw’s.
I’ll take the starch out of ye，” he muttered fiercely throughhis shut teeth.
Then turning to me， he ordered four stakes to bedriven into the ground， pointing with the toe of his bootto the places where he wanted them. When the stakeswere driven down， he ordered her to be stripped of everyarticle of dress. Ropes were then brought， and the nakedgirl was laid upon her face， her wrists and feet each tiedfirmly to a stake. Stepping to the piazza， he took down aheavy whip， and placing it in my hands， commanded meto lash her. Unpleasant as it was， I was compelled to obeyhim. Nowhere that day， on the face of the whole earth，I venture to say， was there such a demoniac exhibitionwitnessed as then ensued.
Mistress Epps stood on the piazza among her children，gazing on the scene with an air of heartless satisfaction.
The slaves were huddled together at a little distance，their countenances indicating the sorrow of their hearts.
Poor Patsey prayed piteously for mercy， but her prayers were vain. Epps ground his teeth， and stamped uponthe ground， screaming at me， like a mad fiend， to strikeharder.
“Strike harder， or your turn will come next， you scoundrel，”
he yelled.
“Oh， mercy， massa！—oh！ have mercy， do. Oh， God！ pityme，” Patsey exclaimed continually， struggling fruitlessly，and the flesh quivering at every stroke.
When I had struck her as many as thirty times， Istopped， and turned round toward Epps， hoping he wassatisfied； but with bitter oaths and threats， he ordered meto continue. I inflicted ten or fifteen blows more. By thistime her back was covered with long welts， intersectingeach other like net work. Epps was yet furious and savageas ever， demanding if she would like to go to Shaw’s again，and swearing he would flog her until she wished shewas in h—l. Throwing down the whip， I declared I couldpunish her no more. He ordered me to go on， threateningme with a severer flogging than she had received， in caseof refusal. My heart revolted at the inhuman scene， andrisking the consequences， I absolutely refused to raisethe whip. He then seized it himself， and applied it withten-fold greater force than I had. The painful cries andshrieks of the tortured Patsey， mingling with the loudand angry curses of Epps， loaded the air. She was terriblylacerated—I may say， without exaggeration， literallyflayed. The lash was wet with blood， which flowed downher sides and dropped upon the ground. At length she ceased struggling. Her head sank listlessly on the ground.
Her screams and supplications gradually decreased anddied away into a low moan. She no longer writhed andshrank beneath the lash when it bit out small pieces ofher flesh. I thought that she was dying！
It was the Sabbath of the Lord. The fields smiled inthe warm sunlight—the birds chirped merrily amidstthe foliage of the trees—peace and happiness seemed toreign everywhere， save in the bosoms of Epps and hispanting victim and the silent witnesses around him. Thetempestuous emotions that were raging there were littlein harmony with the calm and quiet beauty of the day. Icould look on Epps only with unutterable loathing andabhorrence， and thought within myself— “Thou devil，sooner or later， somewhere in the course of eternaljustice， thou shalt answer for this sin！”
Finally， he ceased whipping from mere exhaustion，and ordered Phebe to bring a bucket of salt and water.
