4

Sheffield was a busy town. On my many errands, I saw lots of travelers passing through on horse-drawn stages and gigs. There was a lively trade in fur, timber, and livestock, beef as well as pork. One of the chief trading crops was flax, out of which many women in the town wove their coats and dresses.

The mistress’s clothes were brought by boat from far away. Once Bett and I unpacked many cloaks; long trains on gowns of lovely silks and brocade; skirts opened in front and trimmed with stomachers—embroidered triangular pieces that covered the chest and stomach; a bright green silk cloak with a hood; blouses with ruffles at the elbows. She was, indeed, one of the best-dressed women in the town.

During the fall and winter of our first years in Sheffield, the house was always filled with men who owned property in the town. They spent hours drinking and talking in the upstairs room where the master spent much of his time. It was Bett’s duty to see that their glasses were filled with ale and their cups with tea, and to empty containers with chewed tobacco and ashes. Brom was taken from the care of cattle to see that the horses and chairs, or gigs, were all cared for properly. Nance was busy in the kitchen preparing scones to serve with tea.

On moonlit nights, guests dropped in unexpectedly. Often the master and mistress joined their friends in sleigh rides and skating parties on the river near the house. The mistress loved to have guests in the drawing room, where they danced until the wee hours of morning or stood talking around the great fireplaces. Bett and Nance didn’t seem to mind being there to serve. But I found it boring, the music cold without drums and hand-clapping. We had nothing to do but stand and wait for someone to need something.

Even though we were busy, we still found time to talk and plan for the two days we were going to have away from the house at Christmas. On this, our third holiday, we were all going to Josiah’s place, which was in the forest on the edge of town, on the road to Stockbridge. “Oh, youse gwan have a sho nuf good time,” Nance said. “All de folks from ’round come bringin’ good things tuh eat and music and song, and dancin’ a plen’y.”

The week before Christmas the house quieted. Not many guests came, so I let thoughts about the coming holiday fill all of my days. And I had never seen my sister so excited. She asked Nance a thousand times whether there would be music for dancing. Could Josiah dance? Did Nance think he would dance with her?

“What’s wid you two?” Nance asked Bett. “He keep astin’ if you comin’ and you keep astin’ if he’ll dance with yuh. Will yo’ brother, Brom, be speakin’ tuh Josiah ’bout bridal business? Will the mistis have uh weddin’ on her hands soon?”

How lucky we were that Christmas Eve was on Sunday. No one worked hard on that day, for most of the people, being Christians, spent much of their time in church or prayer. The master did not insist on our going to service that day. I was so glad. I hated sitting in the cold back gallery with other slaves, away from the stove that heated the place, listening to the preacher tell us how God loved us all, free men and slaves.

Our chores were done early, so we packed all the things for the celebration and set out for Josiah’s place early that afternoon. Men and women from other farms joined us and we all walked together. The floor of the forest was dark and cold, and we had been on the trail for a long time when we passed the circular Indian village of the Muhheconnuk people. Their dwellings, made of poles, logs, and bark, were round at the bottom and dome-shaped at the top. White smoke rose from the center of each dwelling and small fires were lit outside. A few men were around the fire in the center of the village. Brom pointed out a tall bronze man as the well-known leader, Miantonomo.

The pale winter moon was bright and cast shadows in the forest as we walked on our way. Some of the men and women who had joined us took turns singing songs they had sung in their villages back home in Africa. We clapped our hands to the songs and made joyful noises in anticipation of the time we would be together, without masters and mistresses.

Josiah lived miles away, but the distance didn’t seem far with the talk, the songs, and the cold night spurring us along. Soon we saw torches lighting the way to the little house that sat in a clearing in the forest. The smell of roasting meat filled the air. Then we heard the thump, thump of the drums. Feeling the excitement, I wanted to run on ahead, but I controlled that feeling and kept with the group.

The house was filled with people from the area around and near Sheffield and Great Barrington. Sarah was there. Nance was right. There was not only a great amount of food, but there were many musical instruments: metal castanets, drums, calabash shakers, horns, fiddles, and jugs.

Then the music began. The women danced, Sarah the most lively of them all. Josiah danced round after round with her. Bett stood with me and watched. The women removed their head scarves and threw them at Sarah’s feet to invite her to dance.

When only the drummers played, Nance was the first to remove her scarf and throw it at Bett. Shyly, Bett refused to dance, but others did and I, with the children, clapped while doing little steps on the side. But when the metal castanets and the fiddle and jug players began their music, even the children danced. I danced and danced. By the time the cocks were crowing, I was tired and ready for sleep.