Quash decided to conceal her previous experiences even from the other women and to blend in as much as possible with them. Their native languages had been different, but they now conversed easily in the Gullah dialect that had become common to all slaves along the coast. It was a language in its formative stage, with slaves from many West Africa regions using it as a lingua franca. Gullah was a mixture of English, a few words of French, and a conglomeration of the most convenient expressions from their native lands. Included were an increasing number of English words, but with a singsong inflexion that made them almost incomprehensible to white people. It interested Quash to hear the African words spoken by her masters and their guests, especially those who worked closely with the slaves. Many words like “tote,” “goober,” “gumbo,” “yam,” and “cooter” were often substituted for “carry,” “peanut,” “okra,” “sweet potato,” and “tortoise.”

Illiteracy prevailed among the common laborers, except for one elderly man who could read (or recite from memory) a few passages from the Holy Bible. Big William was able to write, laboriously inscribing names and work records in a journal provided by the plantation owner.

For the first time in her life, Quash tried to become familiar with the culture of her race. She knew that her parents, like Big William, had come from Senegal and she had spoken their native language as a young child, but later her mother had encouraged her to rely on English whenever possible. Quash learned immediately that the women despised and feared the overseer, but respected Big William and depended on him to protect them and to meet their basic needs. Their advice was that she remain as unobtrusive as possible whenever she was in the presence of white people.

•  •  •

Big William was a constant subject of conversation among the other slaves, because he controlled almost every aspect of their lives. Because of the similarity in production techniques in Africa and Virginia, and down through Georgia, rice growers could estimate how much land an able-bodied worker could plant, or cultivate, or harvest in a day. Such a worker was called a “full hand,” a designation given to about eight out of ten adult slaves. The system was somewhat flexible, but Quash was told that a full hand was expected to work a specific square area, whether planting, weeding, or harvesting rice. Smaller tracts were assigned to children and to adults who were old or weak. Depending on their strength and dexterity, they were expected to do three-quarters, half, or just one-quarter as much work. Well-behaved slaves were free of work when the daily or weekly task was done and approved by a driver. Slaves worked in larger groups in such common tasks as clearing new ground, digging canals and ditches, threshing rice, and cultivating corn.