I am just Jes: One Man's Journey from Slave to Freedman

by Arthur H Barnes

Overview

Slavers took him from his African home when he was just four years old. He and a group of adults were loaded onto a ship and herded into the hold. The frightened people had no idea they would all be sold as slaves when the ship arrived at its Caribbean destination.

There was no ventilation and nowhere to dispose of human waste for those trapped in the hold. Because he was the only child the slavers collected in this sweep, the captain began to feel sorry for him. Eventually he moved the boy to the deck, where he could at least get away from the crowd and the horrific smell.

During his time on deck, the crew treated the child badly, making the captain angry. Demanding that the crew treat the child with some respect and care, the captain would yell in his strange voice, “Dammit! Jes leave de kid alone.”

As he grew older, the boy remembered the captain’s kindness and one of the words he’d said — Jes.

Now, at 18 years of age, he is just Jes.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940046095678
Publisher:	Arthur H Barnes
Publication date:	08/07/2014
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	393 KB

About the Author

Arthur H. Barnes was born in Ventura, CA. He earned a B.A. in professional arts from Brooks Institute, Santa Barbara, CA. and an M.A. degree from Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA. While serving in the US Navy (1944 -1950) he survived a Kamikaze attack and earned a Purple Heart; and he served in Okinawa, Japan, which experience provided the source of many of the details and flavor of this story. He worked at the Data center of Edwards Air Force Base, CA., in the Major Company for 27 years. He lives with his wife Alvena in Bellingham, WA, a most beautiful city 22 miles south of the Canadian Border and overlooking the San Juan Islands. He has been married from 1950 to the present, and dotes on one “fabulous” grandson.