Name that book:
A young boy, living in the bayou on the outskirts of a large plantation
in Southern Louisiana, catches snakes to supplement his family's
income. He is free but his sister is a slave to the plantation owner.
He sells his snakes to the local voodoo doctor, with one goal in mind:
making enough money to buy his sister's freedom. When he finally
earns enough, the witch doctor thwarts him by putting a spell on his
baby brother, making the little boy mute. His mother forces him to
give the money back to the witch doctor, so that he will "cure" his
brother.
From that day forward, the boy keeps his personal finances secret from
the rest of his family. He realizes that his sister and the rest of
his family will never be free if he has to depend on the witch-doctor
as his only buyer. He soon sets off up-river, in search of better
prospects.
The situation is given more urgency when he discovers that his sister
is now pregnant. If he doesn't buy her freedom before the birth, the
baby will be born into the plantation owner's bond and the price of
freedom will double. |
