Francis Fedric, Slave Life in Virginia and Kentucky (London, 1863), 97.
Item
Title
Francis Fedric, Slave Life in Virginia and Kentucky (London, 1863), 97.
Includes music itself or text of song
no
Identity of singers; solo/group
enslaved woman
woman solo
Voice/instrument
voice
voice
Space/room
plantation
activity
milking a cow
genre
"psalms", "hymns"
Geographical location
Mason County, Kentucky
Excerpt
I can scarcely convey by any description the spirit of complete resignation and hope for the future manifested by religious slaves when suffering as no one but slaves could suffer. The following anecdote will illustrate what I mean. My master had a slave, by name Milly, who used to sing when she was milking the cow (for Milly was constantly singing psalms and hymns); when she stopped singing, the cow gave no milk, but as soon as the cow heard the song again, she gave her milk. My mistress has often taken visitors to see this.
Context
In this seciton of chapter VIII, Fedric talks about a woman whose job it was to milk a cow. Feric said that when she sang to the cow, it produced milk, and as soon as she stopped, the cow did not produce milk.