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Peter Bruner, 1845-1938
A Slave's Adventures Toward Freedom. Not Fiction, but the True Story of a Struggle
Oxford, Ohio: s .n., 1918

Annotations

The following annotations to A Slave were compiled in the fall 2000 by Eric Bradford, Shannon Plummer, and Wheeler Ray Winstead III, first-year students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as a class project in Professor William L. Andrews's First-Year Seminar on Slavery and Freedom in African American Literature and Film. We welcome any corrections, additions, or suggested revisions of these annotations. Send feedback to docsouth@listserv.unc.edu.


Page 11

Clark County, Winchester, Kentuckya town in central Kentucky, twenty miles southeast of Lexington, founded in 1793 in a predominantly rural and pro-slavery region.

Tannerone whose occupation is to tan hides, or convert them into leather by steeping or soaking hides in an infusion of oak or some other bark, whereby it is impregnated with tannin, or tannic acid (which exists in several species of bark), and is thus rendered firm, durable, and in some degree impervious to water.

Lexingtona historic slavery hub in Fayette County, Kentucky, especially during the 1830's to the 1850's when slaves accounted for approximately half of the population.


Page 12

Oxforda town in western Ohio, near the Indiana border.

Padarollersa watchman during the slavery era who patrolled, or maintained security about, an assigned area or group of slaves.


Page 13

Winchestera town in north central Kentucky east of Lexington, a center of a tobacco and livestock raising.


Page 14

Beef cluba beef-house; a place to buy beef.

TanyardAn enclosure where the tanning of leather takes place; a tannery.

Tan vatA vat in which hides are steeped.

FracasA noisy and boisterous quarrel or fight, a brawl.


Page 15

HominyHulled, broken, and dried kernels of corn, boiled for eating.

Pestlea club-shaped, hand-held tool for grinding or mashing substances in a mortar.


Page 16

Sugar deska storage box for sugar.

Uncle TomThe pious and self-sacrificial slave protagonist of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852).


Page 20

CordsA unit of quantity for cut fuel wood, equal to a stack measuring 4 × 4 × 8 feet or 128 cubic feet (3.62 cubic meters).

Tan barkthe bark of the oak, hemlock, or other trees that, when bruised and broken in a mill, is used in tanning hides.

Smoke housea building in which meat and fish are cured with smoke.


Page 21

Pig ironunalloyed, unrefined iron.

Beam-shopA small building where hides are preserved by hoisting them over structured wooden beams.


Page 22

"Servants, obey your master"Ephesians 6:5-6--"Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart."


Page 23

EuchreA popular four player partner card game which uses only the highest 32 cards.

Apple jackapple brandy.


Page 25

PeterOne of the original disciples of Jesus.


Page 28

Cat-o'-nine-tailCommonly used on slaves, a whip with nine knotted ropes or cords secured to a handle making marks similar to that of deep scratches from a cat.

John C. BrackenridgeJohn C. Breckinridge (1821-75), Kentucky politician, Vice President of the U.S., 1857-61, and Democratic candidate for President of the U.S. in 1860.

"sell me down the river"To sell a slave to the slave markets in New Orleans, Louisiana.


Page 29

BalsamAn aromatic resinous substance used as skin medication.


Page 41

Union Home GuardsA volunteer force, sympathetic to the Union, used for meeting local emergencies when regular armed forces are needed elsewhere.

CradlingIn agriculture, cutting using a cradle, a broad curved single-edged blade with a long, bent handle, used for reaping grain.


Page 42

Camp NelsonA large Union Army base from 1863 to 1865, located 5 miles south of Nicholasville, Kentucky, the largest recruiting, mustering, and training center for African American troops in Kentucky.


Page 43

DarkiesAfrican Americans.

LouisvilleA major city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, politically divided during the Civil War.

Bowling GreenA shipping and marketing center in southern Kentucky.

RusselvilleA town in central Arkansas


Page 46

VarioloidA mild form of smallpox occurring in people who have been previously vaccinated or have had the disease.


Page 47

ShermanWilliam Tecumseh Sherman (1820-91), Union General.

Rockawaya four-wheeled carriage with two seats and a standing top.

Muster outTo leave or be discharged from military service.


Page 49

MinksAn animal resembling a weasel.