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University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


THE 


BLACK    MAN, 

HIS    ANTECEDENTS,    HIS    GENIUS, 
AND   HIS  ACHIEVEMENTS. 


BY 


WILLIAM  WELLS   BROWN, 

AUTHOR  OF  "  CLOTELLE,"  "  SKETCHES  OF  PLACES  AND  PEOPLE  ABROAD, 
"  MIRALDA,  OR  THE  BEAUTIFUL  QUADROON,"  ETC. 


E2T   PEDE   HERCULEM. 

SECOND    EDITION, 
REVISED    AND    ENLARGED. 


fork: 

THOMAS    HAMILTON,  48    BEEKMAN    STREET. 

BOSTON:  R.  F.  WALLCUT,  221  WASHINGTON  ST. 

1863. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1863,  by 

WILLIAM    WELLS    BROWN, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED   AT   THE 
BOSTON    STEREOTYPE    FOUNDRY. 


TO 


QZ)\\KI        xWojCflilek    xwa    (yAAwwxbi 


NEGRO*  FREEDOM  AND  EQUALITY, 


WHEREVER    FOUND, 


&Ijis  Volume  is  JUspeclfuUg 

. 

BY  THE   AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


THE  calumniators  and  traducers  of  the  Negro  are 
to  be  found,  mainly,  among  two  classes.  The  first 
and  most  relentless  are  those  who  have  done  them 
the  greatest  injury,  by  being  instrumental  in  their 
enslavement  and  consequent  degradation.  They  de- 
light to  descant  upon  the  "natural  inferiority"  of 
the  blacks,  and  claim  that  we  were  destined  only  for 
a  servile  condition,  entitled  neither  to  liberty  nor  the 
legitimate  pursuit  of  happiness.  The  second  class 
are  those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  characteristics  of 
the  race,  and  are  the  mere  echoes  of  the  first.  To 
meet  and  refute  these  misrepresentations,  and  to 
supply  a  deficiency,  long  felt  in  the  community,  of  a 
work  containing  sketches  of  individuals  who,  by  their 
own  genius,  capacity,  and  intellectual  development, 
have  surmounted  the  many  obstacles  which  slavery 


6  PREFACE. 

and  prejudice  have  thrown  in  their  way,  and  raised 
themselves  to  positions  of  honor  and  influence,  this 
volume  was  written.  The  characters  represented  in 
most  of  these  biographies  are  for  the  first  time  put 
in  print.  The  author's  long  sojourn  in  Europe,  his 
opportunity  of  research  amid  the  archives  of  England 
and  France,  and  his  visit  to  the  West  Indies,  have 
given  him  the  advantage  of  information  respecting 
the  blacks  seldom  acquired. 

If  this  work  shall  aid  in  vindicating  the  Negro's 
character,  and  show  that  he  is  endowed  with  those 
intellectual  and  amiable  qualities  which  adorn  and 
dignify  human  nature,  it  will  meet  the  most  san- 
guine hopes  of  the  writer. 

£AMBRIDGEPORT,  MASS.,  1863. 


CONTENTS. 


(  PAGB 

MEMOIR  OF  THE  AUTHOR, 11 

THE  BLACK  MAN  AND  HIS  ANTECEDENTS 31 


THE  BLACK  MAN,  HIS  GENIUS  AND  HIS  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

BENJAMIN  BANNEKER, 51 

NAT  TURNER, .   .   .59 

MADISON  WASHINGTON, 75 

HENRY  BIBB, 86 

PLACIDO, 88 

JEREMIAH  B.  SANDERSON,         .        .        .  .        .        .91 

TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE,        .       .       .       .  •      .       .       .92 

CRISPUS  ATTUCKS,     . 106 

DESSALINES,       ..........  110 

IRA  ALDRIDGE, '.        .  118 

JOSEPH  CINQUE, '.        .  124 

ALEXANDHE  DUMAS, 128 

HENRI  CHRISTOPHE, 132 

PHILLIS  WHEATLEY, 138 

DENMARK  VESEY,      ...» 142 

HENRY  HIGHLAND  GARNETT, .149 

(7) 


8  CONTENTS. 

PAGH 

JAMES  M.  WHITFIELD, 152 

ANDRE  RIGAUD, 153 

FRANCES  ELLEN  WATKINS, 160 

EX-PRESIDENT  ROBERTS, 163 

ALEXANDER  CRUMMELL, 165 

ALEXANDRE  PETION, 169 

MARTIN  R.  DELANY,  M.  D., 174 

ROBERT  SMALL,          .........  175 

FREDERICK  DOUGLASS, 180 

CHARLES  L.  REASON, 187 

CHARLOTTE  L.  FORTEN, 190 

WILLIAM  H.  SIMPSON,       ........  199 

JEAN  PIERRE  BOYER,        ........  202 

JAMES  M'CuNE  SMITH,  M.  D., 205 

BISHOP  PAYNE, 207 

WILLIAM  STILL, 211 

EDWIN  M.  BANNISTER, .        .  214 

LEONARD  A.  GRIMES, 217 

PRESIDENT  GEFFRARD, 220 

GEORGE  B.  VASHON, 223 

ROBERT  MORRIS, 227 

WILLIAM  J.  WILSON,         . 230 

JOHN  MERCER  LANGSTON, 235 

WILLIAM  C.  NELL,     .        .        . 238 

JOHN  SELLA  MARTIN, 241 

CHARLES  LENOX  REMOND, 246 

GEORGE  T.  DOWNING, 250 

ROBERT  PURVIS, 253 

JOSEPH  JENKINS, 259 


CONTENTS.  9 

PAGE 

JOHN  S.  ROCK, 266 

WILLIAM  DOUGLASS, 271 

ELYMAS  PAYSON  ROGERS, 272 

J.  THEODORE  HOLLY, 274 

JAMES  W.  C.  PENNINGTON, 276 

A  MAN  WITHOUT  A  NAME, 278 

* 

SAMUEL  R.  WARD,     ...,-.....  284 

SIR  EDWARD  JORDAN, .        •  286 

JOSEPH  CARTER, 288 

JAMES  LAWSON, 291 

CAPT.  CALLIOUX, .        .  297 

CAPT.  JOSEPH  HOWARD,     .        .        .        .        .        .        .          308 


MEMOIR  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 


I  WAS  born  at  Lexington,  Kentucky.  My  father,  as  I 
was  informed,  was  a  member  of  the  Wickliffe  family ;  my 
mother  was  of  mixed  blood ;  her  father,  it  was  said,  was 
the  noted  Daniel  Boone,  and  her  mother  a  negress.  My 
early  life  on  the  plantation  was  such  as  generally  falls  to 
the  lot  of  the  young  slave,  till  I  arrived  at  the  age  of  nine 
years,  when  my  position  was  changed.  My  master's  brother 
lost  his  wife,  she  leaving  an  infant  son  a  few  months  old, 
whom  my  mistress  took  to  bring  up.  When  this  boy  be- 
came old  enough  to  need  a  playmate  to  watch  over  him, 
mistress  called  the  young  slaves  together,  to  select  one  for 
the  purpose.  We  were  all  ordered  to  run,  jump,  wrestle, 
turn  somersets,  walk  on  our  hands,  and  go  through  the 
various  gymnastic  exercises  that  the  imagination  of  our 
brain  could  invent,  or  the  strength  and  activity  of  our 
limbs  could  endure.  The  selection  was  to  be  an  important 
one,  both  to  the  mistress  and  the  slave.  Whoever  should 
gain  the  place  was  in  the  future  to  become  a  house  servant ; 
the  ask-cake  thrown  aside,  that  unmentionable  garment 
that  buttons  around  the  neck,  which  we  all  wore,  and 
nothing  else,  was  to  give  way  to  the  whole  suit  of  tow 
linen.  Every  one  of  us  joined  heartily  in  the  contest, 
while  old  mistress  sat  on  the  piazza,  watching  our  every 
movement  —  some  fifteen  of  us,  each  dressed  in  his  one  * 
garment,  sometimes  standing  on  our  heads  with  feet  in  the 
air — still  the  lady  looked  on.  With  me  it  seemed  a 

(ii) 


12  MEMOIR  OP  THE  AUTHOR. 

matter  of  life  and  death ;  for,  being  blood  kin  to  master,  I 
felt  that  I  had  more  at  stake  than  my  companions.  At 
last  the  choice  was  made,  and  I  was  told  to  step  aside  as 
the  "  lucky  boy,"  which  order  I  obeyed  with  an  alacrity 
seldom  surpassed.  That  night  I  was  put  to  soak,  after 
which  I  was  scraped,  scrubbed,  washed,  and  dried.  The 
next  day,  the  new  suit  came  down  to  the  quarters;  I 
slipped  into  it ;  the  young  slaves  gathered  about  me,  and  I 
was  the  star  of  the  plantation.  My  mother,  one  of  the  best 
of  mothers,  placed  her  hands  on  my  head,  and,  with  tears 
in  her  eyes,  said,  "  I  knowed  you  was  born  for  good  luck, 
for  a  fortune-teller  told  me  so  when  you  was  a  baby  layin' 
in  your  little  sugar  trough.  Go  up  to  de  great  house  where 
you  belong."  With  this  blessing  I  bade  farewell  to*  the  log 
hut  and  the  dirt  floor,  and  started  towards  the  "  big  house." 
Mistress  received  me,  and  laid  down  the  law  which  was  to 
govern  my  future  actions.  "I  give  your  young  master 
over  to  you,"  said  she ;  "  and  if  you  let  him  hurt  himself, 
I'll  pull  your  ears ;  if  you  let  him  cry,  I'll  pull  your  ears ; 
if  he  wants  any  thing,  and  you  don't  give  it  to  him,  I'll 
pull  your  ears ;  when  he  goes  to  sleep,  if  you  let  him  wake 
before  it  is  time,  I'll  pull  your  ears."  And  right  well  did 
she  keep  her  promise,  for  my  ears  felt  the  impress  of  her 
tender  fingers  and  gold  rings  almost  every  day,  and  at 
times  nearly  every  hour. 

Yet  I  would  not  have  you  suppose,  gentle  reader,  that 
my  old  mistress  was  of 'low  or  common  origin ;  but  on  the 
contrary,  she  boasted  that  the  best  blood  of  the  south 
coursed  through  her  blue  veins.  My  master,  Dr.  John 
Young,  was  a  man  of  considerable  standing  in  his  section 
of  the  state.  A  member  of  the  church,  his  seat  was  not 
often  empty  during  religious  service.  He  was  very  strict 
as  to  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  held  prayer  night  and 
morning,  and  entertained  more  travelling  preachers  than 
almost  any  one  in  his  neighborhood. 

The  doctor  did  not  surpass  his  wife  in  devotedness  to 


MEMOIR  OP  THE  AUTHOR.  13 

religious  observances.  Of  these  travelling  ministers,  each 
had  a  favorite,  who  in  turn  used  to  spend  several  days  on 
the  plantation,  hunting,  shooting,  fishing,  visiting,  and  at 
times  preaching.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Pinchen  was  my  mistress's 
favorite,  and  he  was  indeed  an  interesting  character.  Short 
and  stout,  somewhat  inclined  to  corpulency,  deeply  pock- 
marked, quick  in  his  motions,  and  with  a  strong  voice,  he 
was  one  of  the  funniest  of  men  when  telling  his  long  stories 
about  his  religious  and  other  experience  in  the  south. 

I  had  been  in  the  great  house  nearly  three  years,  when 
Mr.  Pinchen  was  expected  to  make  his  annual  visit.  The 
stir  about  the  dwelling,  the  cleaning  of  paint,  the  scalding 
out  of  the  bedbugs,  and  the  orders  and  counter-orders 
from  Mrs.  Young,  showed  plainly  that  something  uncom- 
mon was  to  take  place.  High  and  angry  words  had  passed 
between  master  and  mistress,  one  morning,  when  the  latter 
weepingly  and  snuffl ingly  exclaimed,  "  Never  mind ;  you'll 
not  have  me  here  always  to  hector  and  tov  worry  :  I'll  die 
one  of  these  days,  and  then  you'll  be  glad  of  it.  Never 
mind ;  keep  on,  and  you'll  send  me  to  my  grave  before  the 
time.  Never  mind ;  one  of  these  days  the  Lord  will  make 
up  his  jewels,  call  me  Twme  to  ylory,  and  I'll  be  out  of  your 
way,  and  I'll  be  devilish  glad  of  it  too."  Her  weeping  in- 
creased, and  she  continued,  "Never  mind;  brother  Pinch  en 
will  be  here  soon,  and  then  I'll  have  somebody  to  talk  to 
me  about  religion."  At  this  moment,  Hannah,  the  waiting 
maid,  entered  .the  room,  and  Mrs.  Young  gave  orders  with 
regard  to  Mr.  Pinchen's  visit.  "  Go,  Hannah,"  said  she, 
"  and  get  the  chamber  ready  for  brother  Pinchen  :  put  on 
the  new  linen  sheets,  and  see  that  they  are  dry,  and  well 
aired ;  if  they  are  not,  I'll  air  you,  my  lady."  The  arrival 
of  the  clergyman,  the  next  day,  was  the  signal  for  new  and 
interesting  scenes.  After  the  first  morning's  breakfast 
was  over,  family  prayer  finished,  the  Bible  put  away,  the 
brandy  replaced  in  the  sideboard,  and  Dr.  Young  gone  to 
his  office,  Mr.  Pinchen  commenced  the  delivery  of  one  of 
2 


14  MEMOIR   OF   THE   AUTHOR. 

those  religious  experiences  for  which  he  was  so  celebrated 
wherever  he  was  known.  Mrs.  Young  and  the  minister 
were  seated  at  the  round  table,  I  standing  behind  her 
chair,  and  Hannah  clearing  off  the  breakfast  table,  when 
the  servant  of  God  began  by  saying,  "  Well,  sister  Young, 
I've  seen  a  heap  since  I  was  here  last." 

"  I  am  so  glad  to  hear  it,"  responded  she,  "  for  I  want  to 
hear  something  good.  Now  do  give  me  your  experience, 
brother  Pinchen  ;  it  always  draws  me  nearer  and  nearer  to 
the  Lord's  side." 

"  Well,  sister  Young,  I've  had  great  opportunity  in  my 
time  to  study  the  human  heart.  I've  attended  a  great 
many  camp  meetings,  revival  meetings,  protracted  meet- 
ings, and  death-bed  scenes,  and  I  am  satisfied,  sister  Young, 
that  the  heart  of  man  is  full  of  sin  and  desperately  wicked. 
This  is  a  wicked  world,  sister,  a  wicked  world." 

Mrs.  Young  asked,  "  Were  you  ever  in  Arkansas,  brother 
Pinchen?  I've  been  told  that  the  people  out  there  are 
very  ungodly." 

Mr.  Pinchen  said,  "  O,  yes,  sister  Young ;  I  once  spent  a' 
year  at  Little  Rock,  and  preached  in  all  the  towns  round 
about  there ;  and  I  found  some  hard  cases  out  there,  I  can 
tell  you.  I  was  once  spending  a  week  in  a  district  where 
there  were  a  great  many  horse  thieves,  and  one  night 
somebody  stole  my  pony.  Well,  I  knowed  it  was  no  use 
to  make  a  fuss ;  so  I  told  brother  Tarbox  to  say  nothing 
about  it,  and  I'd  get  my  horse  by  preaching  God's  ever- 
lasting gospel ;  for  I  had  faith  in  the  truth,  and  knowed 
that  my  Saviour  would  not  let  me  lose  my  pony.  So  the 
next  Sunday  I  preached  on  horse-stealing,  and  told  the 
brethren  to  come  up  in  the  evenin'  with  their  hearts  filled 
with  the  grace  of  God.  So  that  night  the  house  was 
crammed  brim  full  with  anxious  souls,  panting  for  the 
bread  of  life.  Brother  Bingham  opened  with  prayer,  and 
brother  Tarbox  followed,  and  I  saw  right  off  that  we  were 
gwine  to  have  a  blessed  time.  After  1  got  'em  pretty  well 


MEMOIR   OP  THE   AUTHOR.  15 

warmed  up,  I  jumped  on  to  one  of  the  seats,  stretched  out 
my  hands,  and  said :  '  I  know  who  stole  my  pony ;  I've 
found  out ;  and  you  are  here  tryin'  to  make  people  believe 
that  you've  got  religion ;  but  you  ain't  got  it.  And  if  you 
don't  take  my  horse  back  to  brother  Tafbox's  pasture  this 
very  night,  I'll  tell  your  name  right  out  in  meetin'  to-mor- 
row night.  Take  my  pony  back,  you  vile  and  wretched 
sinner,  and  come  up  here  and  give  your  heart  to  God.' 
So  the  next  mornin',  I  went  out  to  brother  Tarbox's  pas- 
ture, and  sure  enough,  there  was  my  bob-tail  pony.  Yes, 
sister,  there  he  was,  safe  and  sound.  Ha,  ha,  ha ! " 

With  uplifted  hands,  old  mistress  exclaimed,  "  O,  how 
interesting,  and  how  fortunate  for  you  to  get  your  pony ! 
And  what  power  there  is  in  the  gospel !  God's  children 
are  very  lucky.  O,  it  is  so  sweet  to  sit  here  and  listen  to 
such  good  news  from  God's  people ! " 

Hannah  was  so  entranced  with  the  conversation  that  she 
had  left  her  work,  and,  with  eyes  and  mouth  open,  was 
listening  to  the  preacher.  Turning  aside,  and  in  a  low 
voice,  Mrs.  Young  harshly  said,  "Hannah,  what  are  you 
standing  there  listening  for,  and  neglecting  your  work? 
Never  mind,  my  lady,  I'll  whip  you  well  when  I  am  done 
here.  Go  at  your  work  this  moment,  you  lazy  hussy. 
Never  mind,  I'll  whip  you  well."  Then,  turning  again  to 
the  preacher,  she  said,  "  Come,  do  go  on,  brother  Pinchen, 
with  your  godly  conversation.  It  is  so  sweet !  It  draws 
me  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Lord's  side." 

"Well,  sister  Young,"  continued  he,  "I've  had  some 
mighty  queer  dreams  in  my  time  —  that  I  have.  You  see, 
one  night  I  dreamed  that  I  was  dead  and  in  heaven ;  and 
such  a  place  I  never  saw  before.  As  soon  ns  I  entered  the 
gates  of  the  celestial  empire,  I  saw  many  old  and  familiar 
faces  that  I  had  seen  before.  The  first  person  that  I  saw 
was  good  old  Elder  Pike,  the  preacher  that  first  called  my 
attention  to  religion.  The  next  person  I  saw  was  Deacon 
Billings,  my  first  wife's  father ;  and  then  I  saw  a  host  of 


16  MEMOIR   OP   THE   AUTHOR. 

godly  faces.  Why,  sister  Young,  you  knew  Elder  Goosbee 
—  didn't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  she  ;  "  did  you  see  him  there  ?  " 

"  O,  yes,  sister  Young,  I  saw  the  elder,  and  he  looked 
for  all  the  world  as  if  he  had  just  come  out  of  a  revival 
meeting." 

"  Did  you  see  my  first  husband  there,  brother  Pinchen  ?  " 

"  No,  sister  Young,  I  didn't  see  brother  Pepper,  but  I've 
no  doubt  but  that  he  was  there." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,"  said  she ;  "  I  have  my  doubts. 
He  was  not  the  happiest  man  in  the  world.  He  was  always 
borrowing  trouble  about  something  or  another.  Still,  I 
saw  some  happy  moments  with  Mr.  Pepper.  I  was  happy 
when  I  made  his  acquaintance,  happy  during  our  courtship, 
happy  a  while  after  our  marriage,  and  happy  when  he  died." 

Here  she  put  her  handkerchief  to  her  eyes,  and  wept 
bitterly  for  a  moment.  At  this  juncture  Hannah  asked, 
"Did  you  see  my  husband,  Ben,  up  in  hebben,  Massa 
Pinchen?" 

"  No,  no,  Hannah,  I  didn't  go  amongst  the  blacks,"  an- 
swered he. 

"  Of  course  not,"  said  mistress ;  "  brother  Pinchen  didn't 
go  among  the  niggers."  Turning  aside  to  Hannah,  and  in 
a  whisper,  she  exclaimed,  "  What  are  you  asking  questions 
for  ?  Never  mind,  my  lady,  I'll  whip  you  well  when  I'm 
done  here.  I'll  skin  you  from  head  to  foot.  Do  go  on  with 
your  heavenly  conversation,  brother  Pinchen ;  it  does  my 
very  soul  good.  This  is  indeed  a  precious  moment  for  me. 
I  do  love  to  hear  of  Christ  and  him  crucified." 

After  the  conversation  had  ceased,  and  the  preacher 
gone  out  to  call  on  Mrs.  Daniels,  Mrs.  Young  said  to  the 
maid,  "  Now,  Hannah,  brother  Pinchen  is  gone ;  you  get 
the  cowhide,  and  I'll  whip  you  well,  for  aggravating  me  as 
you  did  to-day.  It  seems  as  if  I  can  never  sit  down  to 
take  a  little  comfort  with  the  Lord,  without  the  devil  put- 
ting it  into  your  head  to  cross  me.  I've  no  doubt,  Han- 


MEMOIR   OF   THE   AUTHOR.  17 

• 
nah,  that  I'll  miss  going  to  heaven  on  your  account ;  but 

I'll  whip  you  well  before  I  leave  this  world — :that  I  will." 
The  servant  received  a  flogging,  Mrs.  Young  felt  easier, 
and  I  was  in  the  kitchen  amusing  my  fellow-slaves  with 
telling  over  Mr.  Pinchen's  last  experience.  Here  let  me 
say,  that  we  regarded  the  religious  profession  of  the  whites 
around  us  as  a  farce,  and  our  master  and  mistress,  together 
with  their  guest,  as  mere  hypocrites.  During  the  entire 
visit  of  the  preacher,  the  servants  had  a  joyful  time  over 
my  representations  of  what  was  going  on  in  the  great 
house. 

The  removal  of  my  master's  family  and  slaves  to  the 
centre  of  the  State  of  Missouri  about  this  time,  caused 
some  change  in  our  condition.  My  young  master,  William, 
had  now  grown  to  be  a  stout  boy  of  five  years  of  age.  No 
restraint  thrown  around  him  by  the  doctor  or  his  wife,  aunt 
Dolly,  his  nurse,  not  permitted  to  control  any  of  his  ac- 
tions, William  had  become  impudent,  petulant,  peevish, 
and  cruel.  Sitting  at  the  tea  table,  he  would  often  desire 
to  make  his  entire  meal  out  of  the  ¥  sweetmeats,  the  sugar- 
bowl,  or  the  cake ;  and  when  mistress  would  not  allow  him 
to  have  them,  he,  in  a  fit  of  anger,  would  throw  any  thing 
within  his  reach  at  me ;  spoons,  knives,  forks,  and  dishes 
would  be  hurled  at  my  head,  accompanied  with  language 
such  as  would  astonish  any  one  not  well  versed  in  the  in- 
jurious effects  of  slavery  upon  the  rising  generation. 
Thomas  Jefferson,  in  1788,  in  a  letter  to  M.  Warville, 
Paris,  writing  upon  slavery,  alludes  to  its  influence  upon 
the  young  as  follows :  — 

"The  parent  storms,  the  child  looks  on,  catches  the  linea- 
ments of  wrath,  puts  on  the  same  airs  in  the  circle  of  smaller 
slaves,  GIVES  LOOSE  TO  HIS  WORST  PASSIONS;  and,  thus 
nursed,  educated,  and  daily  exercised  in  tyranny,  cannot 
but  be  stamped  by  it  with  odious  peculiarities." 

In    the  Virginia  legislature,  in  the   year    1832,    Hon. 
Lewis  Summers  said, — 
2* 


18  MEMOIR   OF   THE   AUTHOR. 

* 

"A  slave  population  exercises  the  most  pernicious  influ- 
ence upon  the  manners,  habits,,  and  character  of  those 
among  whom  it  exists.  Lisping  infancy  learns  the  vocab- 
ulary of  abusive  epithets,  and  struts,  the  embryo  tyrant  of 
its  little  domain.  The  consciousness  of  superior  destiny 
takes  possession  of  his  mind  at  its  earliest  dawning,  and 
love  of  power  and  rule  'grows  with  his  growth  and 
strengthens  with  his  strength.'  Unless  enabled  to  rise 
above  the  operation  of  those  powerful  causes,  he  enters  tlie 
world  with  miserable  notions  of  self-importance,  and  under 
the  government  of  an  unbridled  temper? 

Having,  by  speculation  and  mismanagement,  lost  the 
most  of  his  property,  Dr.  Young  resumed  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  Missouri,  and  soon  obtained  a  lucrative  run  of 
custom.  Here,  as  in  Kentucky,  the  doctor  took  great 
interest  in  matters  of  religion,  and  was  considered  one  of 
the  pillars  in  the  church. 

Being  sent  one  Sabbath  morning  to  carry  the  sacra- 
mental wine  to  the  church,  about  a  mile  distant,  I  could 
not  withstand  the  temptation  it  presented  of  tasting  it. 
Having  had  one  swallow,  I  was  tempted  further  on,  till  the 
beverage  disappeared  out  of  the  neck  of  the  bottle,  so  that 
I  felt  afraid  that  if  noticed  by  master,  I  should  be  flogged. 
It  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  fill  up  the  bottle  from  one 
of  the  sap  tubs,  as  I  passed  through  the  sugar  camp ;  for  it 
was  the  spring  of  the  year,  and  we  were  making  maple 
sugar.  I  tried  to  pour  the  sap  into  the  bottle,  but  it  flared 
over  the  top,  leaving  the  wine  still  some  inches  down  the 
neck.  After  ransacking  my  inventive  faculties,  I  fortu- 
nately hit  upon  a  plan  and  filled  it  up.  Placing  the  bottle 
on  the  ground,  and  sucking  my  mouth  full  of  the  juice,  I 
stood  directly  over  the  bottle  and  let  it  stream  in  until  it 
was  full.  Putting  the  stopple  in,  I  started  off  towards  the 
church,  feeling  that  I  had  got  the  advantage  of  master 
once  more. 

My  fair  complexion  was  a  great  obstacle  to  my  happi- 


MEMOIR  OP  THE  AUTHOR.  19 

ness,  both  with  whites  and  blacks,  in  and  about  the  great 
house.  Often  mistaken  by  strangers  for  a  white  boy,  it 
annoyed  my  mistress  very  much.  On  one  occasion,  a 
visitor  came  to  the  place  in  the  absence  of  the  doctor. 
While  Mrs.  Young  was  entertaining  the  major  (for  he  was 
a  military  man),  I  passed  through  the  room,  and  going 
near  the  stranger,  he  put  out  his  hand  and  said  to  me, 
"  How  do  you  do,  bub  ?  "  and  turning  to  the  lady,  he  ex- 
claimed, "Madam,  I  would  have  known  that  he  was  the 
doctor's  son,  if  I  had  met  him  in  California,  for  he  is  so 
much  like  his  papa."  Mistress  ordered  me  out  of  the 
room,  and  remarked  that  I  was  one  of  the  servants,  when 
the  major  begged  pardon  for  the  mistake.  After  the 
stranger  was  gone,  I  was  flogged  for  his  blunder. 

Dr.  Young  sold  his  large  farm,  which  was  situated  in 
the  central  part  of  the  state,  <and  removed  to  St.  Louis, 
where  a  number  of  the  servants  were  let  out.  I  was  put 
to  work  tending  upon  the  hands  in  the  office  of  the  "  St. 
Louis  Times,"  a  newspaper  owned  and  published  by  Love- 
joy  &  Miller,  and  edited  by  Elijah  P.  Lovejoy.  Here  my 
young  heart  began  to  feel  more  longings  for  liberty.  The 
love  of  freedom  is  a  sentiment  natural  to  the  human  heart, 
and  the  want  of  it  is  felt  by  him  who  does  not  possess  it. 
He  feels  it  a  reproach ;  and  with  this  sting,  this  wounded 
pride,  hating  degradation,  and  looking  forward  to  the 
cravings  of  the  heart,  the  enslaved  is  always  on  the  alert 
for  an  opportunity  to  escape  'from  his  oppressors  and  to 
avenge  his  wrongs.  What  greater  injury  and  indignity 
can  be  offered  to  man,  than  to  make  him  the  bond-slave  of 
his  fellow-man  ? 

My  sojourn  in  the  printing  office  was  of  short  duration, 
and  I  was  afterwards  let  out  to  a  slave-trader  named 
Walker.  This  heartless,  cruel,  ungodly  man,  who  neither 
loved  his  Maker  nor  feared  Satan,  was  a  fair  representative 
of  thousands  of  demons  in  human  form  that  are  engaged 
in  buying  and  selling  God's  children. 


20  MEMOIR  OP  THE   AUTHOR. 

One  year  with  Walker,  beholding  scenes  of  cruelty  that 
can  be  better  imagined  than  described,  I  was  once  more 
taken  home,  and  soon  after  hired  out  as  an  under  steward 
on  the  steamer  Patriot,  running  to  New  Orleans.  This 
opened  to  me  a  new  life,  and  gave  me  an  opportunity  to 
see  different  phases  of  slave  life,  and  to  learn  something 
more  of  the  world.  Life  on  the  Mississippi  River  is  an 
exciting  one.  I  had  not  been  on  the  boat  but  a  few  weeks 
when  one  of  those  races  for  which  the  southern  steamers 
are  so  famous  took  place. 

At  eight  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  third  day  of  the 
passage,  the  lights  of  another  steamer  were  seen  in  the 
distance,  and  apparently  coming  up  very  fast.  This  was 
the  signal  for  a  general  commotion  on  board  the  Patriot, 
and  every  thing  indicated  that  a  steamboat  race  was  at 
hand.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  excitement  attendant  upon 
the  racing  of  steamers  on  the  Mississippi. 

By  the  time  the  boats  had  reached  Memphis  they  were 
side  by  side,  and  each  exerting  itself  to  get  in  advance  of 
the  other.  The  night  was  clear,  the  moon  shining  brightly, 
and  the  boats  so  near  to  each  other  that  the  passengers 
were  within  speaking  distance.  On  board  the  Patriot  the 
firemen  were  using  oil,  lard,  butter,  and  even  bacon,  with 
wood,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  the  steam  to  its  highest 
pitch.  The  blaze  mingled  with  the  black  smoke  that  issued 
from  the  pipes  of  the  other  boat,  which  showed  that  she 
also  was  burning  something  more  combustible  than  wood. 

The  firemen  of  both  boats,  who  were  slaves,  were  sing- 
ing songs  such  as  can  only  be  heard  on  board  a  southern 
steamer.  The  boats  now  came  abreast  of  each  other,  and 
nearer  and  nearer,  until  they  were  locked  so  that  men 
could  pass  from  one  to  the  other.  The  wildest  excitement 
prevailed  among  the  men  employed  on  the  steamers,  in 
which  the  passengers  freely  participated. 

At  this  moment  the  engineer  of  the  Patriot  was  seen  to 
fasten  down  the  safety-valve,  so  that  no  steam  should 


MEMOIR  OP  THE  AUTHOR.  21 

escape.  This  was  indeed  a  dangerous  resort,  and  a  few 
who  saw  what  had  taken  place,  fearing  that  an  explosion 
would  be  the  consequence,  left  that  part  of  the  boat  for 
more  secure  quarters. 

The  Patriot  now  stopped  to  take  in  passengers ;  but  still 
no  steam  was  permitted  to  escape.  On  the  starting  of  the 
boat  again,  cold  water  was  forced  into  the  boilers  by  the 
feed-pumps,  and,  as  might  have  been  expected,  one  of  the 
boilers  exploded  with  terrific  force,  carrying  away  the 
boiler  deck  and  tearing  to  pieces  much  of  the  machinery. 
One  dense  fog  of  steam  filled  every  part  of  the  vessel, 
while  shrieks,  groans,  and  cries  were  heard  on  every  side. 
Men  were  running  hither  and  thither  looking  for  their 
wives,  and  women  were  flying  about,  in  the  wildest  con- 
fusion, seeking  for  their  husbands.  Dismay  appeared  on 
every  countenance. 

The  saloons  and  cabins  soon  looked  more  like  hospitals 
than  any  thing  else;  but  by  this  time  the  Patriot  had 
drifted  to  the  shore,  and  the  other  steamer  had  come  along- 
side to  render  assistance  to  the  disabled  boat.  The  killed 
and  wounded  (nineteen  in  number)  were  put  on  shore,  and 
the  Patriot,  taken  in  tow  by  the  Washington,  was  once 
more  on  her  journey. 

It  was  half  past  twelve,  and  the  passengers,  instead  of  re- 
tiring to  their  berths,  once  more  assembled  at  the  gaming 
tables.  The  practice  of  gambling  on  the  western  waters 
has  long  been  a  source  of  annoyance  -to  the  more  moral 
persons  who  travel  on  our  great  rivers.  Thousands  of  dol- 
lars often  change  owners  during  a  passage  from  St.  Louis 
or  Louisville  to  New  Orleans  on  a  Mississippi  steamer. 
Many  men  are  completely  ruined  on  such  occasions,  and 
duels  are  often  the  consequence. 

"  Go  call  my  boy,  steward,"  said  Mr.  Jones,  as  he  took 
his  cards  one  by  one  from  the  table. 

In  a  few  minutes  a  fine-looking,  bright-eyed  mulatto 
boy,  apparently  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  was  standing 
by  his  master's  side  at  the  table. 


22  MEMOIR  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

"  I  am  broke,  all  but  my  boy,"  said  Jones,  as  he  ran  his 
fingers  through  his  cards;  "but  he  is  worth  a  thousand 
dollars,  "and  I  will  bet  the  half  of  him." 

"  I  will  call  you,"  said  Thompson,  as  he  laid  five  hundred 
dollars  at  the  feet  of  the  boy,  who  was  standing  on  the 
table,  and  at  the  same  time  throwing  down  his  cards  before 
his  adversary. 

"  You  have  beaten  me,"  said  Jones ;  and  a  roar  of  laugh- 
ter followed  from  the  other  gentleman  as  poor  Joe  stepped 
down  from  the  table. 

"Well,  I  suppose  I  owe  you  half  the  nigger,"  said 
Thompson,  as  he  took  hold  of  Joe  and  began  examining 
his  limbs. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Jones,  "  he  is  half  yours.  Let  me  have 
five  hundred  dollars,  and  I  will  give  you  a  bill  of  sale  of 
the  boy." 

"  Go  back  to  your  bed,"  said  Thompson  to  his  chattel, 
"  and  remember  that  you  now  belong  to  me." 

The  poor  slave  wiped  the  tears  from  his  eyes,  as,  in 
obedience,  he  turned  to  leave  the  table. 

"  My  father  gave  me  that  boy,"  said  Jones,  as  he  took 
the  money,  "and  I  hope,  Mr.  Thompson,  that  you  will 
allow  me  to  redeem  him." 

"Most  certainly,  sir,"  replied  Thompson;  "whenever 
you  hand  over  the  cool  thousand  the  negro  is  yours." 

Next  morning,  as  the  passengers  were  assembling  in  the 
cabin  and  on  deck,  and  while  the  slaves  were  running 
about  waiting  on  or  looking  for  their  masters,  poor  Joe 
was  seen  entering  his  new  master's  state-room,  boots  in 
hand. 

Such  is  the  uncertainty  of  a  slave's  life.  He  goes  to  bed 
at  night  the  pampered  servant  of  his  young  master,  with 
whom  he  has  played  in  childhood,  and  who  would  not  see 
his  slave  abused  under  any  consideration,  and  gets  up  in 
the  morning  the  property  of  a  man  whom  he  has  never 
before  seen. 

To  behold  five  or  six  tables  in  the  saloon  of  a  steamer, 


MEMOIR  OP  THE  AUTHOR.  23 

with  half  a  dozen  men  playing  cards  at  each,  with 
money,  pistols,  and  bowie-knives  spread  in  splendid  con- 
fusion before  them,  is  an  ordinary  thing  on  the  Mississippi 
River. 

Continued  intercourse  with  educated  persons,  and  meet- 
ing on  the  steamer  so  many  travellers  from  the  free  states, 
caused  me  to  feel  more  keenly  my  degraded  and  unnatural 
situation.  I  gained  much  information  respecting  the  north 
and  Canada  that  was  valuable  to  me,  and  I  resolved  to 
escape  with  my  mother,  who  had  been  sold  to  a  gentleman 
in  St.  Louis.  The  attempt  was  made,  but  we  were  unsuc- 
cessful. I  was  then  sold  to  Mr.  Samuel  Willi,  a  merchant 
tailor.  I  was  again  let  out  to  be  employed  on  a  Mississippi 
steamboat,  but  was  soon  after  sold  to  Captain  E.  Price,  of 
the  Chester.  To  escape  from  slavery  and  become  my  own 
mastet,  was  now  the  ruling  passion  of  my  life.  I  would 
dream  at  night  that  I  was  free,  and,  on  awaking,  weep  to 
find  myself  still  a  slave. 

"I  would  think  of  Victoria's  domain  ; 
In  a  moment  I  seemed  to  be  there  ; 
But  the  fear  of  being  taken  again 
Soon  hurried  me  back  to  despair." 

Thoughts  of  the  future,  and  my  heart  yearning  for  liberty, 
kept  me  always  planning  to  escape. 

The  long-looked-for  opportunity  came,  and  I  embraced 
it.  Leaving  the  steamer  upon  which  my  new  master  had 
me  at  work,  I  started  for  the  north,  travelling  at  night  and 
lying  by  during  the  day.  It  was  in  the  winter  season, 
and  I  suffered  much  from  cold  and  hunger.  Supposing 
every  person  to  be  my  enemy,  I  was  afraid  to  appeal  to 
any  one,  even  for  a  little  food,  to  keep  body  and  soul 
together.  As  I  pressed  forward,  my  escape  to  Canada 
seemed  certain,  and  this  feeling  gave  me  a  light  heart ;  for 

"  Behind  I  left  the  whips  and  chains, 
Before  me  were  sweet  Freedom's  plains." 


24  MEMOIR   OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

While  on  my  journey  at  night,  and  passing  farms,  I  would 
seek  a  corn-crib,  and  supply  myself  with  some  of  its  con- 
tents. The  next  day,  while  buried  in  the  forest,  I  wquld 
make  a  fire  and  roast  my  corn,  and  drink  from  the  nearest 
stream.  One  night,  while  in  search  of  corn,  I  came  upon 
what  I  supposed  to  be  a  hill  of  potatoes,  buried  in  the 
ground  for  want  of  a  cellar.  I  obtained  a  sharp-pointed 
piece  of  wood,  with  which  I  dug  away  for  more  than  an 
hour,  and  on  gaining  the  hidden  treasure,  found  it  to  be 
turnips.  However,  I  did  not  dig  for  nothing.  After  sup- 
plying myself  with  about  half  a  dozen  of  the  turnips,  I 
again  resumed  my  journey.  This  uncooked  food  was  indeed 
a  great  luxury,  and  gave  strength  to  my  fatigued  limbs. 
The  weather  was  very  cold,  —  so  cold,  that  it  drove  me 
one  night  into  a  'barn,  where  I  lay  in  the  hay  until  morn- 
ing. A  storm  overtook  me  when  about  a  week  out.*  The 
rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  froze  as  it  came  down.  My  clothes 
became  stiff  with  ice.  Here  again  I  took  shelter  in  a  barn, 
and  walked  about  to  keep  from  freezing.  Nothing  but  the 
fear  of  being  arrested  and  returned  to  slavery  prevented 
me,  at  this  time,  seeking  shelter  in  some  dwelling. 

After  many  days  of  weary  travelling,  and  sick  from  ex- 
posure, I  determined  to  seek  shelter  and  aid ;  and  for  this 
purpose,  I  placed  myself  behind  some  fallen  trees  near  the 
main  road,  hoping  to  see  some  colored  person,  thinking  I 
should  be  more  safe  under  the  care  of  one  of  my  own 
color.  Several  farmers  with  their  teams  passed,  but  the 
appearance  of  each  one  frightened  me  out  of  the  idea  of 
asking  for  assistance.  After  lying  on  the  ground  for  some 
time,  with  my  sore,  frost-bitten  feet  benumbed  with  cold, 
I  saw  an  old,  white-haired  man,  dressed  in  a  suit  of  drab, 
with  a  broad-brimmed  hat,  walking  along,  leading  a  horse. 
The  man  was  evidently  walking  for  exercise.  I  came  out 
from  my  hiding-place  and  told  the  stranger  I  must  die 
unless  I  obtained  some  assistance.  A  moment's  conversa- 
tion satisfied  the  old  man  that  I  was  one  of  the  oppressed, 


MEMOIR   OP  THE   AUTHOR.  25 

fleeing  from  the  house  of  bondage.  From  the  difficulty 
with  which  I  walked,  the  shivering  of  my  limbs,  and  the 
trembling  of  my  voice,  he  became  convinced  that  I  had 
been  among  thieves,  and  he  acted  the  part  of  the  Good 
Samaritan.  This  was  the  first  person  I  had  ever  seen  of 
the  religious  sect  called  "  Quakers,"  and  his  name  was 
Wells  Brown.  I  remained  here  about  a  fortnight,  and 
being  fitted  out  with  clothes,  shoes,  and  a  little  money,  by 
these  good  people,  I  was  again  ready  to  resume  my  jour- 
ney. I  entered  their  house  with  the  single  name  that  I 
was  known  by  at  the  south,  "  William ; "  I  left  it  with  the 
one  I  now  bear. 

A  few  days  more,  and  I  arrived  at  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
where  I  found  employment  during  the  remainder  of  the 
winter.  Having  no  education,  my  first  thoughts  went  in 
that  direction.  Obtaining  a  situation  the  following  spring 
on  a  Lake  Erie  steamer,  I  found  that  I  could  be  very  ser- 
viceable to  slaves  who  were  escaping  from  the  south  to 
Canada.  In  one  year  alone  I  assisted  sixty  fugitives  in 
crossing  to  the  British  queen's  dominions.  Many  of  these 
escapes  were  attended  with  much  interest.  On  one  occa- 
sion, a  fugitive  had  been  hid  away  in  the  house  of  a  noted 
abolitionist  in  Cleveland  for  ten  days,  while  his  master  was 
in  town,  and  watching  every  steamboat  and  vessel  that 
left  the  port.  Several  officers  were  also  on  the  watch, 
guarding  the  house  of  the  abolitionist  every  night.  The 
?lave  was  a  young  and  valuable  man,  of  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  and  very  black.  The  friends  of  the  slave  had 
almost  despaired  of  getting  him  away  from  his  hiding- 
place,  when  I  was  called  in,  and  consulted  as  to  the  best 
course  to  be  taken.  I  at  once  inquired  if  a  painter  could 
be  found  who  would  paint  the  fugitive  white.  In  an  hour, 
by  my  directions,  the  black  man  was  as  white,  and  with  as 
rosy  cheeks,  as  any  of  tke  Anglo-Saxon  race,  and  disguised 
in  the  dress  of  a  woman,  with  a  thick  veil  over  her  face. 
As  the  steamer's  bell  was  tolling  for  the  passengers  to 
3 


26  MEMOIR   OF  THE   AUTHOR. 

come  on  board,  a  tall  lady,  dressed  in  deep  mourning,  and 
leaning  on  the  arm  of  .a  gentleman  of  more  than  ordinary 
height,  was  seen  entering  the  ladies'  cabin  of  the  steamer 
North  America,  who  took  her  place  with  the  other 
ladies.  Soon  the  steamer  left  the  wharf,  and  the  slave- 
catcher  and  his  officers,  who  had  been  watching  the  boat 
since  her  arrival,  went  away,  satisfied  that  their  slave  had 
not  escaped  by  the  North  America,  and  returned  to 
guard  the  house  of  the  abolitionist.  After  the  boat  had 
got  out  of  port,  and  fairly  on  her  way  to  Buffalo,  I  showed 
the  tall  lady  to  her  state-room.  The  next  morning,  the 
fugitive,  dressed  in  his  plantation  suit,  bade  farewell  to  his 
native  land,  crossed  the  Niagara  River,  and  took  up  his 
abode  in  Canada. 

I  remained  on  Lake  Erie  during  the  sailing  season,  and 
resided  In  Buffalo  in  the  winter.  In  the  autumn  of  1843  I 
was  invited  by  the  officers  of  the  Western  New  York  Anti- 
Slavery  Society  to  take  an  agency  as  a  lecturer  in  behalf 
of  my  enslaved  countrymen,  which  offer  I  accepted,  and 
soon  commenced  my  labors.  Mobs  were  very  frequent  in 
those  days.  .  Being  advertised  to  address  the  citizens  of 
Aurora,  Erie  County,  New  York,  on  one  occasion,  I  went 
to  fulfil  the  appointment,  and  found  the  church  surrounded 
by  a  howling  set  of  men  and  boys,  waiting  to  give  me  a 
warm  reception.  I  went  in,  opened  the  meeting,  and 
began  my  address.  But  they  were  resolved  on  having  a 
good  time,  and  the  disturbance  was  so  great  that  I  had  to 
stop.  In  the  mean  time,  a  bag  of  flour  had  been  brought 
to  the  church,  taken  up  into  the  belfry,  directly  over  the 
entrance  door,  and  a  plan  laid  to  throw  the  whole  of  it 
over  me  as  I  should  pass  out  of  the  house,  of  all  which  my 
friends  and  I  were  unaware.  After  I  had  "been  driven 
from  the  pulpit  by  the  unsalable  eggs,  which  were  thrown 
about  very  freely,  I  stopped  in  the  body  of  the  church  to 
discuss  a  single  point  with  one  of  the  respectable  rowdies, 
when  the  audience  became  silent,  and  I  went  on  and  spoke 


MEMOIR   OF   THE    AUTHOR.  27 

above  an  hour,  all  the  while  receiving  the  strictest  atten- 
tion from  every  one  present.  At  the  conclusion  the  lights 
were  put  out,  and  preparation  made  to  flour  me  over, 
although  I  had  evidently  changed  the  opinions  of  many  of 
their  company.  As  we  were  jamming  along  towards  the 
door,  one  of  the  mob  whispered  to  me,  "  They  are  going 
to  throw  a  bag  of  flour  on  vou ;  so  when  you  hear  any  one 
say,  l  Let  it  slide,'  you  look  out."  Thus  on  my  guard,  and 
in  possession  of  their  signal,  I  determined  to  have  a  little 
fun  at  their  expense.  Therefore,  when  some  of  the  best 
dressed  and  most  respectable  looking  of  their  own  com- 
pany, or  those  who  had  no  sympathy  with  my  mission, 
filled  up  the  doorway,  I  cried  out  in  a  disguised  voice, 
"Let  it  slide;"  and  down  came  the  contents  of  the  bag,  to 
the  delight  of  my  friends  and  the  consternation  of  the 
enemy.  A  quarrel  arose  among  the  men  at  the  (Joor,  an(l 
while  they  were  settling  their  difficulty,  my  few  friends  and 
I  quietly  walked  away  unharmed. 

Invited  by  influential  English  abolitionists,  and  elected 
a  delegate  to  the  Peace  Congress  at  Paris,  I  sailed  for 
Liverpool  in  the  Royal  Mail  Steamship  Canada,  in  the 
month  of  July,  1849.  The  passage  was  pleasant,  and  we 
arrived  out  in  less  than  ten  days. 

I  visited  Dublin,  where  I  partook  of  the  hospitality  of 
Richard  D.  Webb,  Esq.,  and  went  from  there  to  London ; 
thence  to  Paris,  to  discharge  the  duties  of  my  mission  on 
peace. 

In  the  French  capital  I  met  some  of  the  most  noted  of 
the  English  philanthropists,  who  were  also  there  in  attend- 
ance on  the  Congress  —  Joseph  Sturge,  Richard  Cobden, 
and  men  of  that  class. 

Returning  to  London  after  the  adjournment  of  the  peace 
gathering,  I  was  invited  to  various  parts  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  and  remained  abroad  a  little  more  than  five 
years,  during  which  time  I  wrote  and  published  three 
books,  lectured  in  every  town  of  any  note  in  England, 


28  MEMOIR   OF    THE    AUTHOR. 

Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Wales,  besides  visiting  the  conti- 
nent four  times.  During  my  long  sojourn  in  Great  Britain, 
I  witnessed  many  scenes  of  interest,  and  experienced 
much  that  was  of  an  amusing  character.  It  may  not  be 
out  of  place  to  give  one  of  these  here.  On  a  cold  winter's 
evening,  I  found  myself  seated  before  the  fire,  and  alone, 
in  the  principal  hotel  in  the  ancient  and  beautiful  town 
of  Ludlow,  and  within  a  few  minutes'  walk  of  the  famous 
old  castle  from  which  the  place  derives  its  name.  A  long 
ride  by  coach  had  so  completely  chilled  me,  that  I  re- 
mained by  the  fire  to  a  later  hour  than  I  otherwise  would 
have.  "  Did  you  ring,  sir  ?  "  asked  the  waiter,  as  the  clock 
struck  twelve.  "  No,"  I  replied ;  "  but  you  may  give  me 
a  light,  and  I  will  retire."  I  wTas  shown  to  my  chamber, 
and  was  soon  in  bed.  From  the  weight  of  the  covering, 
I  felt  sure  that  the  extra  blanket  which  I  had  requested 
to  be  put  on  was  there ;  yet  I  was  shivering  with  cold. 
As  the  sheets  began  to  get  warm,  I  discovered,  to  my  as- 
tonishment, that  they  were  damp  —  indeed  wet.  My  first 
thought  was  to  ring  the  bell  for  the  servant,  and  have 
them  changed ;  but,  after  a  moment's  consideration,  I  re- 
solved to  adopt  a  different  course.  I  got  out  of  bed, 
pulled  the  sheets  off,  rolled  them  up,  raised  the  window, 
and  threw  them  into  the  street.  After  disposing  of  the 
wet  sheets,  I  returned  to  bed,  and  got  in  between  the 
blankets,  and  lay  there  trembling  with  cold  till  Morpheus 
came  to  my  relief.  The  next  morning  I  said  nothing 
about  the  sheets,  feeling  sure  that  the  discovery  of  their 
loss  would  be  made  by  the  chambermaid  in  due  time. 
Breakfast  over,  I  visited  the  ruins  of  the  old  castle,  and 
then  returned  to  the  hotel,  to  await  the  coach  for  Here- 
ford. As  the  hour  drew  near  for  me  to  leave,  I  called  the 
waiter,  and  ordered  rny  bill.  "  Yes,  sir,  in  a  moment,"  he 
replied,  and  left  in  haste.  Ten  or  fifteen  minutes  passed 
away,  and  the  serva/it  once  more  came  in,  walked  to  the 


MEMOIR   OF    THE    AUTHOK.  29 

window,  pulled  up  the  blinds,  and  then  went  out.  I  saw 
that  something  was  afloat ;  and  it  occurred  to  me  that 
they  had  discovered  the  loss  of  the  sheets,  at  which  I  was 
pleased ;  for  the  London  newspapers  were,  at  that  time,  dis- 
cussing the  merits  and  the  demerits  of  the  hotel  accommo- 
dations of  the  kingdom,  and  no  letters  found  a  more  ready 
reception  in  their  columns  than  one  on  that  subject.  I 
had,  therefore,  made  up  my  mind  to  have  the  wet  sheets 
put  in  the  bill,  pay  for  them,  and  send  the  bill  to  "  The 
Times." 

The  waiter  soon  returned  again,  and,  in  rather  an 
agitated  manner,  said,  "  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,  but  the 
landlady  is  in  the  hall,  and  would  like  to  speak  to  you." 
Out  I  went,  and  found  the  finest  specimen  of  an  English 
landlady  that  I  had  seen  for  many  a  day.  There  she 
stood,  nearly  as  thick  as  she  was  tall,  with  a  red  face 
garnished  around  with  curls,  that  seemed  to  say,  "  I  have 
just  been  oiled  and  brushed."  A  neat  apron  covered  a 
black  alpaca  dress  that  swept  the  floor  with  modesty, 
and  a  bunch  of  keys  hung  at  her  side.  O,  that  smile ! 
such  a  smile  as  none  but  an  adept  could  put  on.  How- 
ever, I  had  studied  human  nature  too  successfully  not  to 
know  that  thunder  and  lightning  were  concealed  under 
that  smile,  and  I  nerved  myself  for  the  occasion.  "  I  am 
sorry  to  have  to  name  it,  sir,"  said  she ;  "  but  the  sheets 
are  missing  off  your  bed."  "  O,  yes,"  I  replied  ;  "  I  took 
them  off  last  night."  "  Indeed  ! "  exclaimed  she  ;  "  and 
what  did  you  do  with  them ? "  "I  threw  them  out  of 
the  window,"  said  I.  "  What !  into  the  street  ?  "  "  Yes ; 
into  the  street,"  I  said.  "  What  did  you  do  that  for  ?  " 
"  They  were  wet ;  and  I  was  afraid'  that  if  I  left  them  in 
the  room  they  would  be  put  on  at  night,  and  give  some- 
body else  a  cold."  "Then,  sir,"  said  she,  "you'll  have 
to  pay  for  them."  "  Make  out  your  bill,  madam,"  I  re- 
plied, "  and  put  the  price  of  the  wet  sheets  in  it,  and  I 
3* 


30  MEMOIR   OF    THE    AUTHOR. 

will  send  it  to  'The  Times,'  and  let  the  public  know  how 
much  you  charge  for  wet  sheets."  I  turned  upon  my 
heel,  and  went  back  to  the  sitting  room.  A  moment 
more,  and  my  bill  was  brought  in ;  but  nothing  said  about 
the  sheets,  and  no  charge  made  for  them.  The  coach 
came  to  the  door ;  and  as  I  passed  through  the  hall  leav- 
ing the  house,  the  landlady  met  me,  but  with  a  different 
smile.  "  I  hope,  sir,  said  she,  that  you  will  never  mention 
the  little  incident  about  the  sheets.  I  am  very  sorry  for 
it.  It  would  ruin  my  house  if  it  were  known."  Think- 
ing that  she  was  punished  enough  in  the  loss  of  her  prop- 
erty, I  promised  not  to  mention  the  name  of  the  house, 
if  I  ever  did  the  incident.  The  following  week  I  returned 
to  the  hotel,  when  I  learned  the  fact  from  the  waiter 
that  they  had  suspected  that  I  had  stolen  the  sheets,  and 
that  a  police  officer  was  concealed  behind  the  hall  door, 
on  the  day  that  I  was  talking  with  the  landlady.  When 
I  retired  to  bed  that  night,  I  found  two  jugs  of  hot  water 
in  the  bed,  and  the  sheets  thoroughly  dried  and  aired. 


THE  BLACK  MAN 

AND 

HIS    ANTECEDENTS. 


OF  the  great  family  of  man,  the  negro  has,  during 
the  last  half  century,  been  more  prominently  before 
the  world  than  any  other  race.  He  did  not  seek  this 
notoriety.  Isolated  away  in  his  own  land,  he  would 
have  remained  there,  had  it  not  been  for  the  avarice 
of  other  races,  who  sought  him  out  as  a  victim  of 
slavery.  Two  and  a  half  centuries  of  the  negro's  en- 
slavement have  created,  in  many  minds,  the  opinion 
that  he  is  intellectually  inferior  to  the  rest  of  man- 
kind ;  and  now  that  the  blacks  seem  in  a  fair  way  to 
get  their  freedom  in  this  country,  it  has  been  asserted, 
and  from  high  authority  in  the  government,  that  the 
natural  inferiority  of  the  negro  makes  it  impossible 
for  him  to  live  on  this  continent  with  the  white  man, 
unless  in  a  state  of  bondage. 

In  his  interview  with  a  committee  of  the  colored 
citizens  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  on  the  14th  of 
August  last,  the  President  of  the  United  States  inti- 
mated that  the  whites  and  the  blacks  could  not  live 
together  in  peace,  on  account  of  one  race  being  su- 
perior intellectually  to  the  other.  Mr.  Postmaster 

(31) 


32  THE   BLACK   MAN   AND   HIS   ANTECEDENTS. 

General  Blair,  in  his  letter  to  the  Union  mass  meeting 
held  at  the  Cooper  Institute,  in  New  York,  in  March 
last,  takes  this  ground.  The  Boston  "  Post "  and 
"  Courier  "  both  take  the  same  position. 

I  admit  that  the  condition  of  my  race,  whether  con- 
sidered in  a  mental,  moral,  or  intellectual  point  of 
view,  at  the  present  time  cannot  compare  favorably 
with  the  Anglo-Saxon.  But  it  does  not  become  the 
whites  to  point  the  finger  of  scorn  at  the  blacks,  when 
they  have  so  long  been  degrading  them.  The  negro 
has  not  always  been  considered  the  inferior  race. 
The  time  was  when  he  stood  at  the  head  of  science 
and  literature.  Let  us  see. 

It  is  the  generally  received  opinion  of  the  most  em- 
inent historians  and  ethnologists,  that  the  Ethiopians 
were  really  negroes,  although  in  them  the  physical 
characteristics  of  the  race  were  exhibited  in  a  less 
marked  manner  than  in  those  dwelling  on  the  coast  of 
Guinea,  from  whence  the  stock  of  American  slaves 
has  been  chiefly  derived.  That,  in  the  earliest  periods 
of  history,  the  Ethiopians  had  attained  a  high  degree 
of  civilization,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe ;  and 
that  to  the  learning  and  science  derived  from  them  we 
must  ascribe  those  wonderful  monuments  which  still 
exist  to  attest  the  power  and  skill  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians. 

Among  those  who  favor  this  opinion  is  our  own  dis- 
tinguished countryman,  Alexander  H.  Everett,  and 
upon  this  evidence  I  base  my  argument.  Volney  as- 
sumes it  as  a  settled  point  that  the  Egyptians  were 
black.  Herodotus,  who  travelled  extensively  through 
that  interesting  land,  set  them  down  as  black,  with 
curled  hair,  and  having  the  negro  features.  The 


THE   BLACK  MAN   AND   HIS   ANTECEDENTS.  33 

sacred  writers  were  aware  of  their  complexion  :  hence 
the  question,  "  Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin  ?  " 
The  image  of  the  negro  is  engraved  upon  the  mon- 
uments of  Egypt,  not  as  a  bondman,  but  as  the  master 
of  art.  The  Sphinx,  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world, 
surviving  the  wreck  of  centuries,  exhibits  these  same 
features  at  the  present  day.  Minerva,  the  goddess  of 
wisdom,  was  supposed  to  have  been  an  African  prin- 
cess. Atlas,  whose  shoulders  sustained  the  globe,  and 
even  the  great  Jupiter  Amrnon  himself,  T? ere  located 
by  the  mythologists  in  Africa.  Though  there  may  not 
be  much  in  these  fables,  they  teach  us,  nevertheless, 
who  were  then  considered  the  nobles  of  the  human 
race.  Tertullian  and  St.  Augustin  were  Ethiopians. 
Terence,  the  most  refined  and  accomplished  scholar  of 
his  time,  was  of  the  same  race.  Hanno,  the  father  of 
Hamilcar,  and  grandfather  of  Hannibal,  was  a  negro. 
These  are  the  antecedents  of  the  enslaved  blacks  on 
this  continent. 

From  whence  sprang  the  Anglo-Saxon  ?  For,  mark 
you,  it  is  he  that  denies  the  equality  of  the  negro. 
"  When«the  Britons  first  became  known  to  the  Tyrian 
mariners,"  says  Macaulay,  "  they  were  little  superior 
to  the  Sandwich  Islanders." 

Hume  says  they  were  a  rude  and  barbarous  people, 
divided  into  numerous  tribes,  dressed  in  the  skins  of 
wild  beasts.  Druidism  was  their  religion,  and  they 
were  very  superstitious.  Such  is  the  first  account  we 
have  of  the  Britons.  When  the  Romans  invaded  that 
country,  they  reduced  the  people  to  a  ^state  of  vassal- 
age as  degrading  as  that  of  slavery  in  the  Southern 
States.  Their  king,  Caractacus,  was  captured  and  sent 
a  slave  to  Rome.  Still  later,  Hcngist  and  Horsa,  the 


34     THE  BLACK  MAN  AND  HIS  ANTECEDENTS. 

Saxon  generals,  presented  another  yoke,  which  the 
Britons  were  compelled  to  wear.  But  the  last  dregs 
of  the  bitter  cup  of  humiliation  were  drunk  when 
William  of  Normandy  met  Harold  at  Hastings,  and, 
with  a  single  blow,  completely  annihilated  the  nation- 
ality of  the  Britons.  Thousands  of  the  conquered 
people  were  then  sent  to  the  slave  markets  of  Rome, 
where  they  were  sold  very  cheap  on  account  of  their 
inaptitude  to  learn. 

This  is  n<ft  very  nattering  to  the  President's  ances- 
tors, but  it  is  just.  Ca3sar,  in  writing  home,  said  of 
the  Britons,  "  They  are  the  most  ignorant  people  I 
ever  conquered.  They  cannot  be  taught  music." 
Cicero,  writing  to  his  friend  Atticus,  advised  him  not 
to  buy  slaves  from  England, "  because,"  said  he,  "  they 
cannot  be  taught  to  read,  and  are  the  ugliest  and  most 
stupid  race  I  ever  saw."  I  am  sorry  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
came  from  such  a  low  origin ;  but  he  is  not  to  blame. 
I  only  find  fault  with  him  for  making  mouths  at  me. 

"  You  should  not  the  ignorant  negro  despise ; 
Just  such  your  sires  appeared  in  Caesar's  eyes." 

• 

The  Britons  lost  their  nationality,  became  amalgama- 
ted with  the  Romans,  Saxons,  and  Normans,  and  out  of 
this  conglomeration  sprang  the  proud  Anglo-Saxon  of 
to-day.  I  once  stood  upon  the  walls  of  an  English 
city,  built  by  enslaved  Britons  when  Julius  Caesar  was 
their  master.  The  image  of  the  ancestors  of  Pres- 
ident Lincoln  and  Montgomery  Blair,  as  represented 
iii  Britain,  was  carved  upon  the  monuments  of  Rome, 
where  they  may  still  be  seen  in  their  chains.  Ancestry 
is  something  which  the  white  American  should  not 
speak  of,  unless  with  his  lips  to  the  dust. 


THE  BLACK  MAN  AND   HIS  ANTECEDENTS.  35 

"  Nothing."  says  Macanlay,  "  in  the  early  existence 
of  Britain,  indicated  the  greatness  which  she  was  des- 
tined to  attain."  Britain  has  risen,  while  proud 
Rome,  once  the  mistress  of  the  world,  has  fallen;  but 
the  image  of  the  early  Englishman  in  his  chains,  as 
carved  twenty  centuries  ago,  is  still  to  be  seen  upon 
her  broken  monuments.  So  has  Egypt  fallen ;  and 
her  sable  sons  and  daughters  have  been  scattered  into 
nearly  every  land  where  the  white  man  has  introduced 
slavery  and  disgraced  the  soil  with  his  footprint.  As 
I  gazed  upon  the  beautiful  and  classic  obelisk  of 
Luxor,  removed  from  Thebes,  where  it  had  stood  four 
thousand  years,  and  transplanted  to  the  Place  de  la 
Concorde,  at  Paris,  and  contemplated  its  hieroglyphic 
inscription  of  the  noble  daring  of  Sesostris,  the  Afri- 
can general,  who  drew  kings  at  his  chariot  wheels,  and 
left  monumental  inscriptions  from  Ethiopia  to  India,  I 
felt  proud  of  my  antecedents,  proud  of  the  glorious 
past,  which  no  amount  of  hate  and  prejudice  could 
wipe  from  history's  page,  while  I  had  to  mourn  over 
the  fall  and  the  degradation  of  my  race.  But  I  do 
not  despair ;  for  the  negro  has  that  intellectual  genius 
which  God  has  planted  in  the  mind  of  man,  that  dis- 
tinguishes him  from  the  rest  of  creation,  and  which 
needs  only  cultivation  to  make  it  bring  forth  fruit. 
No  nation  has  ever  been  found,  which,  by  its  own  un- 
aided efforts,  by  some  powerful  inward  impulse,  has 
arisen  from  barbarism  and  degradation  to  civilization 
and  respectability.  There  is  nothing  in  race  or  blood, 
in  color  or  features,  that  imparts  susceptibility  of  im- 
provement to  one  race  over  another.  The  mind  left 
to  itself  from  infancy,  without  culture,  remains  a 
blank.  Knowledge  is  not  innate.  Development 


36     THE  BLACK  MAN  AND  HIS  ANTECEDENTS. 

makes  the  man.  As  the  Greeks,  and  Romans,  and 
Jews  drew  knowledge  from  the  Egyptians  three  thou- 
sand years  ago,  and  the  Europeans  received  it  from 
the  Romans,  so  must  the  blacks  of  this  land  rise  in 
the ;  same  way.  As  one  man  learns  from  another,  so 
nation  learns  from  nation.  Civilization  is  handed 
from  one  people  to  another,  its  great  fountain  and 
source  being  God  our  Father.  No  one,  in  the  days  of 
Cicero  and  Tacitus,  could  have  predicted  that  the  bar- 
barism and  savage  wildness  of  the  Germans  would 
give  place  to  the  learning,  refinement,  and  culture 
which  that  people  now  exhibit.  Already  the  blacks 
on  this  continent,  though  kept  down  under  the  heel  of 
the  white  man,  are  fast  rising  in  the  scale  of  intellec- 
tual development,  and  proving  their  equality  with  the 
brotherhood  of  man. 

In  his  address  before  the  Colonization  Society,  at 
Washington,  on  the  18th  of  January,  1853,  Hon. 
Edward  Everett  said,  "  When  I  lived  in  Cambridge,  a 
few  years  ago,  I  used  to  attend,  as  one  of  the  board 
of  visitors,  the  examinations  of  a  classical  school,  in 
which  was  a  colored  boy,  the  son  of  a  slave  in  Missis- 
sippi, I  think.  He  appeared  to  me  to  be  of  pure  Afri- 
can blood.  There  were  at  the  same  time  two  youths 
from  Georgia,  and  one  of  my  own  sons,  attending  the 
same  school.  I  must  say  that  this  poor  negro  boy, 
Beverly  Williams,  was  one  of  the  best  scholars  at  the 
school,  and  in  the  Latin  language  he  was  the  best 
scholar  in  his  class.  There  are  others,  I  am  told, 
which  show  still  more  conclusively  the  aptitude  of  the 
colored  race  for  every  kind  of  intellectual  culture." 

Mr.  Everett  cited  several  other  instances  which 
had  fallen  under  his  notice,  and  utterly  scouted  the 


THE   BLACK   MAN   AND   HIS   ANTECEDENTS.  37 

idea  that  there  was  any  ^general  inferiority  of  the 
African*  race.  He  said,  "  They  have  done  as  well  as 
persons  of  European  or  Anglo-American  origin  would 
have  done,  after  three  thousand  years  of  similar  de- 
pression aad  hardship.  The  question  has  been  asked, 
4  Does  not  the  negro  labor  under  some  incurable,  nat- 
ural inferiority  ? '  In  this,  for  myself,  I  have  no 
belief." 

I  think  that  this  is  ample  refutation  of  the  charge 
of  the  natural  inferiority  of  the  negro.  President 
Lincoln,  in  the  interview  to  which  I  have  already  re- 
ferred, said,  "  But  for  your  race  among  us  there  would 
not  be  a  war."-  This  reminds  me  of  an  incident  that 
occurred  while  travelling  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  in 
1844.  Taking  the  stage  coach  at  a  small  village,  one 
of  the  passengers  (a  white  man)  objected  to  my  being 
allowed  a  seat  inside,  on  account  of  my  color.  I 
persisted,  however,  in  claiming  the  right  which  my 
ticket  gave  me,  and  got  in.  The  objector  at  once  took 
a  seat  on  a  trunk  on  the  top  of  the  coach.  The  wire 
netting  round  the  top  of  the  stage  not  being  strong, 
the  white  passenger,  trunks  and  all,  slid  off  as  we  were 
going  down  a  steep  hill.  The  top  passenger's  shoulder 
was  dislocated,  and  in  his  pain  he  cried  out,  "  If  you 
had  not  been  black,  I  should  not  have  left  my  seat 
inside." 

The  "New  York  Herald,"  the  "  Boston  Post,"  the 
"Boston  Courier,"  and  the  "New  York  Journal  of 
Commerce,"  take  the  lead  in  misrepresenting  the 
effect  which  emancipation  in  the  West  Indies  had 
upon  the  welfare  of  those  islands.  It  is  asserted  that 
general  ruin  followed  the  black  man's  liberation.  As 
to  the  British  colonies,  the  fact  is  well  established 
4 


38     THE  BLACK  MAN  AND  HIS  ANTECEDENTS. 

that  slavery  had  impoverished  the  soil,  demoralized 
the  people,  bond  and  free,  brought  the  planters  to  a 
state  of  bankruptcy,  and  all  the  islands  to  ruin,  long 
before  Parliament  had  passed  the  act  of  emancipation. 
All  the  colonies,  including  Jamaica,  had  petitioned 
the  home  government  for  assistance,  ten  years  prior  to 
the  liberation  of  their  slaves.  It  is  a  noticeable  fact, 
that  the  free  blacks  were  tho  least  embarrassed,  in  a 
pecuniary  point  of  view,  and  tbat  they  appeared  in 
more  comfortable  circumstances  than  the  whites. 
There  was  a  large  proportion  of  free  blacks  in  each  of 
the  colonies,  Jamaica  alone  having  fifty-five  thousand 
before  the  day  of  emancipation.  A  large  majority  of 
the  West  India  estates  were  owned  by  persons  residing 
in  Europe,  and  who  had  never  seen  the  colonies. 
These  plantations  were  carried  on  by  agents,  overseers, 
and  clerks,  whose  mismanagement,  together  with  the 
blighting  influence  which  chattel  slavery  takes  with  it 
wherever  it  goes,  brought  the  islands  under  impending 
ruin,  and  many  of  the  estates  were  mortgaged  in  Eu- 
rope for  more  than  their  value.  One  man  alone,  Neil 
Malcomb,  of  London,  had  forty  plantations  to  fall 
upon  his  hands  for  money  advanced  on  them  before 
the  abolition  of  slavery.  These  European  proprietors, 
despairing  of  getting  any  returns  from  the  West  In- 
dies, gladly  pocketed  their  share  of  the  twenty  million 
pounds  sterling,  which  the  home  government  gave 
them,  and  abandoned  their  estates  to  their  ruin. 
Other  proprietors  residing  in  the  colonies  formed  com- 
binations to  make  the  emancipated  people  labor  for 
scarcely  enough  to  purchase  food  for  them.  If  found 
idle,  the  tread-wheel,  the  chain-gang,  the  dungeon, 
with  black  bread,  and  water  from  the  moat,  and  other 


THE   BLACK   MAN   AND   HIS   ANTECEDENTS.  39 

modes  of  legalized  torture,  were  inflicted  upon  the 
negroes.  Through  the  determined  and  combined 
efforts  of  the  land  owners,  the  condition  of  the  freed 
people  was  as  bad,  if  not  worse,  for  the  first  throe, 
years  after  their  liberation,  than  it  was  before.  Never 
was  an  experiment  more  severely  tested  than  that  of 
emancipation  in  the  West  Indies. 

Nevertheless,  the  principles  of  freedom  triumphed ; 
not  a  drop  of  blood  was  shed  by  the  enfranchised 
blacks  ;  the  colonies  have  arisen  from  the  blight  which 
they  labored  under  in  the  time  of  slavery ;  the  land 
has  increased  in  value ;  and,  above  all,  that  which  is 
more  valuable  than  cotton,  sugar,  or  rice  —  the  moral 
and  intellectual  condition  of  both  blacks  and  whites 
is  in  a  better  state  now  than  ever  before.  Sir  William 
Colebrook,  governor  of  Antigua,  said,  six  years  after 
the  islands  were  freed,  "  At  the  lowest  computation, 
the  land,  without  a  single  slave  upon  it,  is  fully  as 
valuable  now  as  it  was,  including  all  the  slaves,  before 
emancipation."  In  a  report  made  to  the  British  Par- 
liament, in  1859,  it  was  stated  that  three  fifths  of  the 
cultivated  land  of  Jamaica  was  the  bona  fide  property 
of  the  blacks.  The  land  is  in  a  better  state  of  culti- 
vation now  than  it  was  while  slavery  existed,  and  both 
imports  and  exports  show  a  great  increase.  Every 
tiling  demonstrates  that  emancipation  in  the  West 
India  islands  has  resulted  in  the  most  satisfactory 
manner,  and  fulfilled  the  expectation  of  the  friends  of 
freedom  throughout  the  world. 

Rev.  Mr.  Underbill,  secretary  of  the  English  Bap- 
tist Missionary  Society,  who  has  visited  Jamaica,  and 
carefully  studied  its  condition,  said,  in  a  recent  speech 
in  London,  that  the  late  slaves  in  that  island  had  built 


. 

40     THE  BLACK  MAN  AND  HIS  ANTECEDENTS. 

some  two  hundred  and  twenty  chapels.  The  churches 
that  worship  in  them  number  fifty-three  thousand 
communicants,  amounting  to  one  eighth  of  the  total 
population.  The  average  attendance,  in  other  than 
the  state  churches,  is  ninety-one  thousand  —  a  fourth 
of  the  population.  One  third  of  the  children  — 
twenty-two  thousand  —  are  in  the  schools.  The 
blacks  voluntarily  contribute  twenty-two  thousand 
pounds  (one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  dollars) 
annually  for  religious  purposes.  Their  landed  prop- 
erty exceeds  five  million  dollars.  Valuing  their  cot- 
tages at  only  fifty  dollars  each,  these  amount  to  three 
million  dollars.  They  have  nearly  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars  deposited  in  the  savings  banks. 
The  sum  total  of  their  property  is  much  above  eleven 
million  dollars.  All  this  has  been  accumulated  since 
their  emancipation. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  all  parties  have  been  benefited 
by  the  abolition  of  negro  slavery  in  the  British  pos- 
sessions. Now  we  turn  to  our  own  land.  Among  the 
many  obstacles  which  have  been  brought  to  bear 
against  emancipation,  one  of  the  most  formidable  has 
been  the  series  of  objections  urged  against  it  upon 
what  has  been  supposed  to  be  the  slave's  want  of  ap- 
preciation of  liberty,  and  his  ability  to  provide  for 
himself  in  a  state  of  freedom ;  and  now  that  slavery 
seems  to  be  near  its  end,  these  objections  are  multi- 
plying, and  the  cry  is  heard  all  over  the  land,  "  What 
shall  be  done  with  the  slave  if  freed  ?  " 

It  has  been  clearly  demonstrated,  I  think,  that  the 
enslaved  of  the  south  are  as  capable  of  self-support  as 
any  other  class  of  people  in  the  country.  It  is  well 
known  that,  throughout  the  entire  south,  a  large  class 


THE   BLACK   MAN   AND   HIS   ANTECEDENTS.  41 

of  slaves  have  been  for  years  accustomed  to  hire  their 
time  from  their  owners.  Many  of  these  have  paid 
very  high  prices  for  the  privilege.  Some  able  mechan- 
ics have  been  known  -to  pay  as  high  as  six  hundred 
dollars  per  annum,  besides  providing  themselves  with 
food  and  clothing;  and  this  class  of  slaves,  by  their 
industry,  have  taken  care  of  themselves  so  well,  and 
their  appearance  has  been  so  respectable,  that  many  of 
the  states  have  passed  laws  prohibiting  masters  from 
letting  their  slaves  out  to  themselves,  because,  as  it 
was  said,  it  made  the  other  slaves  dissatisfied  to  see  so 
many  of  their  fellows  well  provided,  and  accumulat- 
ing something  for  themselves  in  the  way  of  pocket 
money. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Nehemiah  Adams,  whose  antecedents 
have  not  been  such  as  to  lead  to  the  suspicion  that  he 
favors  the«free  colored  men,  or  the  idea  of  giving  to 
the  slaves  their  liberty,  in  his  "  South-Side  View,"  un- 
consciously and  unintentionally  gives  a  very  valuable 
statement  upon  this  particular  point.  Dr.  Adams 
says,  "  A  slave  woman  having  had  three  hundred  dol- 
lars stolen  from  her  by  a  white  man,  her  master  was 
questioned  in  court  as  to  the  probability  of  her  having 
had  so  much  money.  The  master  said  that  he  not  un- 
frequently  had  borrowed  fifty  and  a  hundred  dollars 
from  her  himself,  and  added  that  she  was  always  very 
strict  as  to  his  promised  time  of  payment."  There 
was  a  slave  woman  who  had  not  only  kept  every  agree- 
ment with  her  master — paying  him  every  cent  she  had 
promised  —  but  had  accumulated  three  hundred  dol- 
lars towards  purchasing  her  liberty  ;  and  it  was  stolen 
from  her,  not  by  a  black  man,  but,  as  Dr.  Adams  says, 
by  a  white  man. 

4* 


42  THE   BLACK   MAN   AND   HIS   ANTECEDENTS. 

But  one  of  the  clearest  demonstrations  of  the  ability 
of  the  slave  to  provide  for  himself  in  a  state  of  free- 
dom is  to  be  found  in  the  prosperous  condition  of  the 
large  free  colored  population  of  the  Southern  States. 
Maryland  has  eighty  thousand,  Virginia  seventy  thou- 
sand, and  the  other  slave  states  have  a  large  number. 
These  free  people  have  all  been  slaves,  or  they  are  the 
descendants  of  those  who  were  once  slaves ;  what  they 
have  gained  has  been  acquired  in  spite  of  the  public 
opinion  and  laws  of  the  south,  in  spite  of  prejudice, 
and  every  thing.  They  have  acquired  a  large  amount 
of  property ;  and  it  is  this  industry,  this  sobriety,  this 
intelligence,  and  this  wealth  of  the  free  colored  people 
of  the  south,  that  has  created  so  much  prejudice  on 
the  part  of  slaveholders  against  them.  They  have  felt 
that  the  very  presence  of  a  colored  man,  looking  so 
genteelly  and  in  such  a  prosperous  condition,  made 
the  slaves  unhappy  and  discontented.  In  the  South- 
ern Rights  Convention  which  assembled  at  Baltimore, 
June  8,  1860,  a  resolution  was  adopted,  calling  on 
the  legislature  to  pass  a  law  driving  the  free  colored 
people  out  of  the  state.  Nearly  every  speaker  took 
the  ground  that  the  free  colored  people  must  be  driven 
out  to  make  the  slave's  obedience  more  secure.  Judge 
Mason,  in  his  speech,  said,  "  It  is  the  thrifty  and  well- 
to-do  free  negroes,  that  are  seen  by  our  slaves,  that 
make  them  dissatisfied."  A  similar  appeal  was  made 
to  the  legislature  of  Tennessee.  Judge  Catron,  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  a  long  and 
able  letter  to  the  Nashville  "  Union,"  opposed  the  driv- 
ing out  of  the  colored  people.  He  said  they  were 
among  the  best  mechanics,  the  best  artisans,  and  the 
most  industrious  laborers  in  the  state,  and  that  to 


THE  BLACK  MAN   AND   HIS  ANTECEDENTS.  43 

drive  them  out  would  be  an  injury  to  the  state  itself. 
This  is  certainly  good  evidence  in  their  behalf. 

The  New  Orleans  "  True  Delta"  opposed  the  passage 
of  a  similar  law  by  the  State  of  Louisiana.  Among 
other  things  it  said,  "  There  are  a  large  free  colored 
population  here,  correct  in  their  general  deportment, 
honorable  in  their  intercourse  with  society,  and  free 
from  reproach  so  far  as  the  laws  are  concerned,  not 
surpassed  in  the  inoffensiveness  of  their  lives  by  any 
equal  number  of  persons  in  any  place,  north  or 
south." 

A  movement  was  made  in  the  legislature  of  South 
Carolina  to  expel  the  free  blacks  from  that  state,  and 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  investigate  the  matter. 
In  their  report  the  committee  said,  "  We  find  that  the 
free  blacks  of  this  state  are  among  our  most  industrious 
people  ;  in*  this  city  (Charleston)  we  find  that  they 
own  over  two  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars  worth  of 
property  ;  that  they  pay  two  thousand  seven  hundred 
dollars  tax  to  the  city." 

Dr.  Nehemiah  Adams,  whom  I  have  already  quoted, 
also  testifies  to  the  good  character  of  the  free  colored 
people ;  but  he  does  it  unintentionally ;  it  was  not  a 
part  of  the  programme ;  how  it  slipped  in  I  cannot  tell. 
Here  it  is,  however,  from  page  41  of  his  "  South-Side 
View : "  — 

"  A  prosecuting  officer,  who  had  six  or  eight  coun- 
ties in  his  district,  told  me  that,  during  eight  years 
service,  he  had  made  out  about  two  thousand  bills 
of  indictment,  of  which  not  more  than  twelve  were 
against  colored  persons." 

Hatred  of  the  free  colored  people,  and  abuse  of  them, 
have  always  been  popular  with  the  pro-slavery  people 


44     THE  BLACK  MAN  AND  HIS  ANTECEDENTS. 

of  this  country ;  yet,  an  American  senator  from  one 
of  the  Western  States  —  a  man  who  never  lost  an  op- 
portunity to  vilify  and  traduce  the  colored  man,  and 
who,  in  his  last  canvass  for  a  seat  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  argued  that  the  slaves  were  better  off  in  sla- 
very than  they  would  be  if  set  free,  and  declared  that 
the  blacks  were  unable  to  take  care  of  themselves 
while  enjoying  liberty  —  died,  a  short  time  since, 
twelve  thousand  dollars  in  debt  to  a  black  man,  who 
was  the  descendant  of  a  slave. 

There  is  a  Latin  phrase  —  De  mortuis  nil  nisi  bonum. 
It  is  not  saying  any  thing  against  the  reputation  of 
Hon.  Stephen  A.  Douglas  to  tell  the  fact  that  he  had 
borrowed  money  from  a  negro.  I  only  find  fault  with 
him  that  he  should  traduce  the  class  that  befriended 
him  in  the  time  of  need.  James  Gordon  Bennett,  of 
the  New  York  Herald,  in  a  time  of  great  pecuniary 
distress,  soon  after  establishing  his  paper,  borrowed 
three  hundred  dollars  of  a  black  man  ;  and  now  he  is 
one  of  our  most  relentless  enemies.  Thus  it  is  that 
those  who  fattened  upon  us  often  turn  round  and  tra- 
duce us.  Reputation  is,  indeed,  dear  to  every  nation 
and  race  ;  but  to  us,  the  colored  people  of  this  country, 
who  have  so  many  obstacles  to  surmount,  it  is  doubly 
dear :  — 

"  Who  steals  my  purse  steals  trash  ; 
'Twas  mine,  'tis  his,  and  has  been  slave  to  thousands  ; 
But  he  who  niches  from  me  my  good  name, 
Robs  me  of  that  which  not  enriches  him, 
And  makes  me  poor  indeed." 

You  know  we  were  told  by  the  slaveholders,  just  be- 
fore the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion,  that  if  we  got 
into  any  difficulty  with  the  south,  their  slaves  would 


THE  BLACK  MAN  AND  HIS  ANTECEDENTS.     45 

take  up  arms  and  fight  to  a  man  for  them.  Mr. 
Toombs,  I  believe,  threatened  that  he  would  arm  his 
slaves,  and  other  men  in  Congress  from  the  slave  states 
made  the  same  threat.  They  were  going  to  arm  the 
slaves  and  turn  them  against  the  north.  They  said 
they  could  be  trusted  ;  and  many  people  here  at  the 
north  really  believed  that  the  slave  did  not  want  his 
liberty,  would  not  have  it  if  he  could,  and  that  the 
slave  population  was  a  very  dangerous  element  against 
the  north ;  but  at.  once,  on  the,  approach  of  our  sol- 
diers, the  slaves  are  seen,  with  their  bundles  and 
baskets,  and  hats  and  coats,  and  without  bundles  or 
baskets,  and  without  hats  or  coats,  rushing  to  our 
lines  ;  demonstrating  what  we  have  so  often  said,  that 
all  the  slave  was  waiting  for  was  the  opportunity  to  get 
his  liberty.  Why  should  you  not  have  believed  this  ? 
Why  should  you  have  supposed  for  a  moment,  that, 
because  a  man's  color  differs  a  little  from  yours,  he  is 
better  contented  to  remain  a  slave  than  you  would  be, 
or  that  he  has  no  inclination,  no  wish,  to  escape  from 
the  thraldom  that  holds  him  so  tight  ?  What  is  it  that 
does  not  wish  to  be  free  ? 

"  Go,  let  a  cage  with  grates  of  gold, 
And  pearly  roof,  the  eagle  hold  ; 
Let  dainty  viands  be  its  fare, 
And  give  the  captive  tenderest  care  ; 
But  say,  in  luxury's  limits  pent, 
Find  you  the  king  of  birds  content  ? 
No  ;  oft  he'll  sound  the  startling  shriek, 
And  dash  the  cage  with  angry  beak  : 
Precarious  freedom's  far  more  dear 
Than  all  the  prison's  pampering  cheer." 

As  with  the  eagle,  so  with  man.     He  loves  to  look 
upon  the  bright  day  and  the  stormy  night;   to  gaze 


46  THE  BLACK  MAN  AND   HIS  ANTECEDENTS. 

upon  the  broad,  free  ocean,  its  eternal  surging  tides,  its 
mountain  billows,  and  its  foam-crested  waves  ;  to  tread 
the  steep  mountain  side  ;  to  sail  upon  the  placid  river ; 
to  wander  along  the  gurgling  stream  ;  to  trace  the 
sunny  slope,  the  beautiful  landscape,  the  majestic  forest, 
the  flowery  meadow ;  to  listen  to  the  howling  of  the 
winds  and  the  music  of  the  birds.  These  are  the  as- 
pirations of  man,  without  regard  to  country,  clime, 
or  color. 

"  What  shall  we  dp  with  the  slave  of  the  south  ? 
Expatriate  him,"  say  the  haters  of  the  negro.  Ex- 
patriate him  for  what  ?  He  has  cleared  up  the  swamp$ 
of  the  south,  and  has  put  the  soil  under  cultivation ; 
he  has  built  up  her  towns,  and  cities,  and  villages  ;  he 
has  enriched  the  north  and  Europe  with  his  cotton, 
and  sugar,  and  rice  ;  and  for  this  you  would  drive  him 
out  of  the  country  !  "  What  shall  be  done  with  the 
slaves  if  they  are  freed  ? "  You  had  better  ask, 
"  What  shall  we  do  with  the  slaveholders  if  the  slaves 
are  freed  ?"  The  slave  has  shown  himself  better  fitted 
to  take  care  of  himself  than  the  slaveholder.  He  is 
the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  south  ;  he  is  the  producer, 
while  the  master  is  nothing  but  a  consumer,  and  a  very 
poor  consumer  ^at  that.  The  slave  is  the  producer, 
and  he  alone  can  be  relied  iipon.  He  has  the  sinew, 
the  determination,  and  the  will ;  and  if  you  will  take 
the  free  colored  people  of  the  south  as  the  criterion, 
take  their  past  history  as  a  sample  of  what  the  colored 
people  are  capable  of  doing,  every  one  must  be  satis- 
fied that  the  slaves  can  take  care  of  themselves. 
Some  say,  "  Let  them  alone ;  they  are  well  cared  for, 
and  that  is  enough." 


THE   BLACK   MAN   AND    HIS   ANTECEDENTS.  47 

"  0,  tell  us  not  they're  clothed  and  fed-— 

'Tis  insult,  stuff,  and  a'  that ; 
With  freedom  gone,  all  joy  is  fled, 
For  Heaven's  best  gift  is  a'  that." 

But  it  is  said,  "  The  two  races  cannot  live  together 
in  a  state  of  freedom."  Why,  that  is  the  cry  that 
rung  all  over  England  thirty  years  ago :  "If  you  lib- 
erate the  slaves  of  the  West  Indies,  they  can't  live 
with  the  whites  in  a  state  of  freedom."  Thirty  years 
have  shown  the  contrary.  The  blacks  and  the  whites 
live  together  in  Jamaica ;  they  are  all  prosperous,  and 
the  island  in  a  better  condition  than  it  ever  was  before 
the  act  of  emancipation  was  passed. 

But  they  tell  us,  "  If  the  slaves  are  emancipated,  we 
won't  receive  them  upon  an  equality."  Why,  every 
man  must  make  equality  for  himself.  No  society,  no 
government,  can  make  this  equality.  I  do  not  expect 
the  slave  of  the  south  to  jump  into  equality ;  all  I 
claim  for  him  is,  that  he  may  be  allowed  to  jump  into 
liberty,  and  let  him  make  equality  for  himself.  I  have 
some  white  neighbors  around  me  in  Cambridge.;  they 
are  not  very  intellectual ;  they  don't  associate  with  my 
family ;  but  whenever  they  shall  improve  themselves, 
and  bring  themselves  up  by  their  own  intellectual  and 
moral  worth,  I  shall  not  object  to  their  coming  into  my 
society  —  all  things  being  equal. 

Now,  this  talk  about  not  letting  a  man  come  to  this 
place  or  that,  and  that  we  won't  do  this  for  him,  or 
won't  dQ  that  for  him,  is  all  idle.  The  anti-slavery 
agitators  have  never  demanded  that  you  shall  take  the 
colored  man,  any  more  than  that  you  shall  take  the 
uncultivated  and  uncouth  white  man,  and  place  him 
in  a  certain  position  in  society.  All  I  demand  for  the 


48  THE   BLACK   MAN   AND    HIS   ANTECEDENTS. 

black  man  is,  that  the  white  people  shall  take  their 
heels  off  his  neck,  and  let  him  have  a  chance  to  rise 
by  his  own  efforts.  • 

The  idea  of  colonizing  the  slaves  in  some  other 
country,  outside  of  the  United  States,  seems  the  height 
of  folly.  Whatever  may  be  the  mineral  wealth  of  a 
country,  or  the  producing  capabilities  of  the  soil,  nei- 
ther can  be  made  available  without  the  laborer.  Four 
millions  of  strong  hands  cannot  be  spared  from  the 
Southern  States.  All  time  has  shown  that  the  negro 
is  the  best  laborer  in  the  tropics. 

The  slaves  once  emancipated  and  left  on  the  lands, 
four  millions  of  new  consumers  will  spring  into  exist- 
ence. Heretofore,  the  bondmen  have  consumed  noth- 
ing scarcely  from  the  north.  The  cost  of  keeping  a 
slave  was  only  about  nineteen  dollars  per  annum,  in- 
cluding food,  clothing,  and  doctors'  bills.  Negro  cloth, 
negro  shoes,  and  negro  whips  were  all  that  were  sent 
south  by  northern  manufacturers.  Let  slavery  be 
abolished,  and  stores  will  be  opened  and  a  new  trade 
take  j)lace  with  the  blacks  south.  Northern  manufac- 
turers will  have  to  run  on  extra  time  till  this  new  de- 
mand will  have  been  supplied.  The  slave  owner, 
having  no  longer  an  inducement  to  be  idle,  will  go  to 
work,  and  will  not  have  time  to  concoct  treason  against 
the  stars  and  stripes.  I  cannot  close  this  appeal  with- 
out a  word  about  the  free  blacks  in  the  non-slavehold- 
ing  states. 

The  majority  of  the  colored  people  in  the  Northern 
States  descended  from  slaves:  many  of  them  were 
slaves  themselves.  In  education,  in  morals,  and  in 
the  development  of  mechanical  genius,  the  free  blacks 
of  the  Northern  States  will  compare  favorably  with  any 


THE  BLACK  MAN   AND   HIS  ANTECEDENTS.  49 

laboring  class  in  the  world.  And  considering  the  fact 
that  we  have  been  shut  out,  by  a  cruel  prejudice,  from 
nearly  all  the  mechanical  branches,  and  all  the  profes- 
sions, it  is  marvellous  that  we  have  attained  the  po- 
sition we  now  occupy.  Notwithstanding  these  bars, 
our  young  men  have  learned  trades,  become  artists, 
gone  into  the  professions,  although  bitter  prejudice 
may  prevent  their  having  a  great  deal  of  practice. 
When  it  is  considered  that  they  have  mostly  come  out 
of  bondage,  and  that  their  calling  has  been  the  lowest 
kind  in  every  community,  it  is  still  more  strange  that 
the  colored  people  have  amassed  so  much  wealth  in 
every  state  in  the  Union.  If  this  is  not  an  exhibition 
of  capacity,  I  don't  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
term.  And  if  true  patriotism  and  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  freedom  be  tests  of  loyalty,  and  should  estab- 
lish one's  claim  to  all  the  privileges  that  the  govern- 
ment can  confer,  then  surely  the  black  man  can 
demand  his  rights  with  a  good  grace.  From  the  fall 
of  Attucks,  the  first  martyr  of  the  American  revolu- 
tion in  1770,  down  to  the  present  day,  the  colored 
people  have  shown  themselves  worthy  of  any  confi- 
dence that  the  nation  can  place  in  its  citizens  in  the 
time  that  tries  men's  souls.  At  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  on  the  heights  of  Groton,  at  Jhe  ever-memorable 
battle  of  Red  Bank,  the  sable  sons  of  our  country  stood 
side  by  side  with  their  white  brethren.  On  Lakes  Erie 
and  Champlain,  oh  the  Hudson,  and  down  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Mississippi,  they  established  their  valor  and 
their  invincibility.  Whenever  the  rights  of  the  nation 
have  been  assailed,  the  negro  has  always  responded  to 
his  country's  call,  at  once,  and  with  every  pulsation 
of  his  heart  beating  for  freedom.  And  no  class  of 
5 


50  THE   BLACK   MAN   AND   HIS   ANTECEDENTS. 

Americans  have  manifested  more  solicitude  for  the 
success  of  the  federal  arms  in  the  present  struggle 
with  rebellion,  than  the  colored  people.  At  the  north, 
they  were  among  the  earliest  to  respond  to  the  presi- 
dent's first  proclamation,  calling  for  troops.  At  the 
south,  they  have  ever  shown  a  preference  for  the  stars 
and  stripes.  In  his  official  despatch  to  Minister  Adams, 
Mr.  Secretary  Seward  said,  — 

"  Every  where  the  American  general  receives  his 
most  useful  and  reliable  information  from  the  negro, 
who  hails  his  coming-  as  the  harbinger  of  freedom" 


THE  BLACK  MAN, 

HIS   GENIUS  AND   HIS  ACHIEVEMENTS. 


BENJAMIN    BANNEKER. 

THE  services  rendered  to  science,  to  liberty,  and  to 
the  intellectual  character  of  the  negro  by  Banneker, 
are  too  great  for  us  to  allow  his  name  to  sleep  and  his 
genius  and  merits  to  remain  hidden  from  the  world. 
BENJAMIN  BANNEKER  was  born  in  the  State  of  Mary- 
land, in  the  year  1732,  of  pure  African  parentage ;  their 
blood  never  having  been  corrupted  by  the  introduction 
of  a  drop  of  Anglo-Saxon.  His  father  was  a  slave, 
and  of  course  could  do  nothing  towards  the  educa- 
tion of  the  child.  The  mother,  however,  being  free, 
succeeded  in  purchasing  the  freedom  of  her  husband, 
and  they,  with  their  son,  settled  on  a  few  acres  of  land, 
where  Benjamin  remained  during  the  lifetime  of  his 
parents.  His  entire  schooling  was  gained  from  an  6b- 
scure  country  school,  established  for  the  education  of 
the  children  of  free  negroes ;  and  these  advantages 
were  poor,  for  the  boy  appears  to  have  finished  study- 
ing before  he  arrived  at  his  fifteenth  year.  Although 
out  of  school,  Banneker  was  still  a  student,  and  read 
with  great  care  and  attention  such  books  as  he  could 
get.  Mr.  George  Ellicott,  a  gentleman  of  fortune  and 

(51) 


52 

considerable  literary  taste,  and  who  resided  near  to 
Benjamin,  became  interested  in  him,  and  lent  him 
books  from  his  large  library.  Among  these  books 
were  Mayer's  Tables,  Fergusson's  Astronomy,  and 
Leadbeater's  Lunar  Tables.  A  few  old  and  imperfect 
astronomical  instruments  also  found  their  way  into  the 
boy's  hands,  all  of  which  he  used  with  great  benefit  to 
his  own  mind. 

Banneker  took  delight  in  the  study  of  the  languages, 
and  soon  mastered  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  German. 
He  was  also  proficient  in  the  French.  The  classics 
were  not  neglected  by  him,  and  the  general  literary 
knowledge  which  he  possessed  caused  Mr.  Ellicott  to 
regard  him  as  the  most  learned  man  in  the  town,  and 
he  never  failed  to  introduce  Banneker  to  his  most  dis- 
tinguished guests.  About  this  time  Benjamin  turned 
his  attention  particularly  to  astronomy,  and  determined 
on  making  calculations  for  an  almanac,  ^md  completed 
a  set  for  the  whole  year.  Encouraged  by  this  attempt, 
he  entered  upon  calculations  for  subsequent  years, 
which,  as  well  as  the  former,  he  began  and  finished 
without  the  least  assistance  from  any  person  or  books 
than  those  already  mentioned ;  so  that  whatever  merit 
is  attached  to  his  performance  is  exclusively  his  own. 
He  published  an  almanac  in  Philadelphia  for  the  years 
1792,  '3,  '4,  and  '5,  which  contained  his  calculations, 
exhibiting  the  different  aspects  of  the  planets,  a  table 
of  the  motions  of  the  sun  and  moon,  their  risings  and 
settings,  and  the  courses  of  the  bodies  of  the  planetary 
system.  By  this  time  Banneker's  acquirements  had 
become  generally  known,  and  the  best  scholars  in 
the  country  opened  correspondence  with  him.  God- 
dard  &  Angell,  the  well-known  Baltimore  publishers, 


BENJAMIN  BANNEKER.  53 

engaged  his  pen  for  their  establishment,  and  became 
the  publishers  of  his  almanacs.  A  copy  of  his  first 
production  was  sent  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  together  with 
a  letter  intended  to  interest  the  great  statesman  in  the 
cause  of  negro  emancipation  and  the  elevation  of  the 
race,  in  which  he  says,  — 

"  It  is  a  truth  too  well  attested  to  need  a  proof  here, 
that  we  are  a  race  of  beings  who  have  long  labored 
under  the  abuse  and  censure  of  the  world  ;  that  we 
have  long  been  looked  upon  with  an  eye  of  contempt, 
and  considered  rather  as  brutish  than  human,  and 
scarcely  capable  of  mental  endowments.  I  hope  I 
may  safely  admit,  in  consequence  of  the  report  which 
has  reached  me,  that  you  are  a  man  far  less  inflexible 
in  sentiments  of  this  nature  than  many  others ;  that 
you  are  measurably  friendly  and  well  disposed  towards 
us,  and  that  you  are  willing  to  lend  your  aid  and  as- 
sistance for  our  relief  from  those  many  distresses  and 
numerous  calamities  to  which  we  are  reduced.  If  this 
is  founded  in  truth,  I  apprehend  you  will  embrace 
every  opportunity  to  eradicate  that  train  of  absurd  and 
false  ideas  and  opinions  which  so  generally  prevail 
with  respect  to  us,  and  that  your  sentiments  are  con- 
current with  mine,  which  are,  that  one  universal 
Father  hath  given  being  to  us  all ;  that  he  hath  not 
only  made  us  all  of  one  flesh,  but  that  he  hath  also, 
without  partiality,  afforded  us  all  the  same  sensations, 
and  endowed  us  all  with  the  same  faculties  ;  and  that, 
however  variable  we  may  be  in  society  or  religion, 
however  diversified  in  situation  or  in  color,  wo  are  all 
of  the  same  family,  and  stand  in  the  same  relation  to 
him.  If  these  are  sentiments  of  which  you  are  fully 
persuaded,  you  cannot  but  acknowledge  that  it  is  the 
5* 


54      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

indispensable  duty  of  those  who  maintain  the  rights  ot 
human  nature,  and  who  profess  the  obligations  of 
Christianity,  to  extend  their  power  and  influence  to 
the  relief  of  every  part  of  the  human  race  from  what- 
ever burden  or  oppression  they  may  unjustly  labor 
under  ;  and  this,  I  apprehend,  a  full  conviction  of  the 
truth  and  obligation  of  these  principles  should  lead  all 
to.  I  have  long  been  convinced  that  if  your  love  for 
yourselves,  and  for  those  inestimable  laws  which  pre- 
served to  you  the  rights  of  human  nature,  was  founded 
on  sincerity,  you  could  not  but  be  solicitous  that  every 
individual,  of  whatever  rank  or  distinction,  might  with 
you  equally  enjoy  the  blessings  thereof ;  neither  could 
you  rest  satisfied  short  of  the  most  active  effusion  of 
your  exertions,  in  order  to  effect  their  promotion  from 
any  state  of  degradation  to  which  the  unjustifiable 
cruelty  and  barbarism  of  men  may  have  reduced 
them. 

"  I  freely  and  cheerfully  acknowldge  that  I  am  one 
of  the  African  race,  and  in  that  color  which  is  natural 
to  them,  of  the  deepest  dye  ;  and  it  is  under  a  sense 
of  the  most  profound  gratitude  to  the  Supreme  Ruler 
of  the  universe,  that  I  now  confess  to  you  that  I  am 
not  under  that  state  of  tyrannical  thraldom  arid  inhu- 
man captivity  to  which  too  many  of  my  brethren  are 
doomed ;  but  that  I  have  abundantly  tasted  of  the  fru- 
ition of  those  blessings  which  proceed  from  that  free 
and  unequalled  liberty  with  which  you  are  favored, 
and  which  I  hope  you  will  willingly  allow  you  have 
mercifully  received  from  the  immediate  hand  of  that 
Being  from  whom  proceedeth  every  good  and  per- 
fect gift. 

"  Your  knowledge  of  the  situation  of  my  brethren 


BENJAMIN   BANNEKER.  55 

is  too  extensive  to  need  a  recital  here  ;  neither  shall  I 
presume  to  prescribe  methods  by  which  they  may  be 
relieved,  otherwise  than  by  recommending  to  you  and 
to  others  to  wean  yourselves  from  those  narrow  preju- 
dices which  you  have  imbibed  with  respect  to  them, 
and,  as  Job  proposed  to  his  friends,  '  put  your  soul  in 
their  souls'  stead.'  Thus  shall  your  hearts  be  enlarged 
with  kindness  and  benevolence  towards  them ;  and 
thus  shall  you  need  neither  the  direction  of  myself  or 
others  in  what  manner  to  proceed  herein.  .  .  . 
The  calculation  for  this  almanac  is  the  production  of 
my  arduous  study  in  my  advanced  stage  of  life  ;  for 
having  long  had  unbounded  desires  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  secrets  of  nature,  I  have  had  to 
gratify  my  curiosity  herein  through  my  own  assiduous 
application  to  astronomical  study,  in  which  I  need  not 
recount  to  you  the  many  difficulties  and  disadvantages 
which  I  have  had  to  encounter." 

Mr.  Jefferson  at  once  replied  as  follows :  — 

"PHILADELPHIA,  August  30,  1791. 

"  SIR  :  I  thank  you  sincerely  for  your  letter  and  the 
almanac  it  contained.  Nobody  wishes  more  than  I  do 
to  see  such  proofs  as  you  exhibit,  that  nature  has  given 
to  our  black  brethren  talents  equal  to  those  of  the  other 
colors  of  men,  and  that  the  appearance  of  the  want 
of  them  is.  owing  merely  to  the  degraded  condition 
of  their  existence,  both  in  Africa  and  America.  I  can 
add  with  truth,  that  nobody  wishes  more  ardently  to 
see  a  good  system  commenced  for  raising  their  con- 
dition, both  of  their  body  and  their  mind,  to  what  it 
ought  to  be,  as  far  as  the  imbecility  of  their  present 
existence,  and  other  circumstances,  which  cannot  be 


56 


neglected,  will  admit.  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of 
sending  your  almanac  to  Monsieur  de  Condorcet,  sec- 
retary of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris,  and  a 
member  of  the  Philanthropic  Society,  because  I  con- 
sider it  as  a  document  to  which  your  whole  color  have 
a  right  for  their  justification  against  the  doubts  which 
have  been  entertained  of  them. 

"  I  am,  with  great  esteem, 

"  Dear  sir,  your  obedient,  &c., 

"  THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 
"  To  MR.  B.  BANNEKER." 

The  letter  from  Banneker,  together  with  the  alma- 
nac, created  in  the  heart  of  Mr.  Jefferson  a  fresh  feel- 
ing of  enthusiasm  in  behalf  of  freedom,  and  especially 
for  the  negro,  which  ceased  only  with  his  life.  The 
American  statesman  wrote  to  Brissot,  the  celebrated 
French  writer,  in  which  he  made  enthusiastic  mention 
of  the  "  Negro  Philosopher."  At  the  formation  of  the 
"  Society  of  the  Friends  of  the  Blacks/'  at  Paris,  by 
Lafayette,  Brissot,  Barnave,  Condorcet,  and  Gregoire, 
the  name  of  Banneker  was  again  and  again  referred 
to  to  prove  the  equality  of  the  races.  Indeed,  the 
genius  of  the  "  Negro  Philosopher"  did  much  towards 
giving  liberty  to  the  people  of  St.  Domingo.  In  the 
British  House  of  Commons,  Pitt,  Wilberforce,  and 
Buxton  often  alluded  to  Banneker  by  name,  as  a  man 
fit  to  fill  any  position  in  society.  At  the  setting  off  of 
the  District  of  Columbia  for  the  capital  of  the  federal 
government,  Banneker  was  invited  by  the  Maryland 
commissioners,  and  took  an  honorable  part  in  the  set- 
tlement of  the  territory.  But  throughout  all  his  inter- 
course with  men  of  influence,  he  never  lost  sight  of 


BENJAMIN  BANNEKER.  57 

the  condition  of  his  race,  and  ever  urged  the  emanci- 
pation and  elevation  of  the  slave.  He  well  knew  that 
every  thing  that  was  founded  upon  the  admitted  infe- 
riority of  natural  right  in  the  African  was  calculated  to 
degrade  him  and  bring  him  nearer  to  the  foot  of  the 
oppressor,  and  he  therefore  never  failed  to  allude  to 
tire  equality  of  the  races  when  with  those  whites  whom 
he  could  influence.  He  always  urged  self-elevation 
upon  the  colored  people  whom  he  met.  He  felt  that 
to  deprive  the  black  man  of  the  inspiration  of  am- 
bition, of  hope,  of  health,  of  standing  among  his  breth- 
ren of  the  earth,  was  to  take  from  him  all  incentives 
to  mental  improvement.  What  husbandman  incurs 
the  toil  of  seed  time  and  culture,  except  with  a  view 
to  the  subsequent  enjoyment  of  a  golden  harvest  ? 
Banneker  was  endowed  by  nature  with  all  those  excel- 
lent qualifications  which  are  necessary  previous  to  the 
accomplishment  of  a  great  man.  His  memory  was 
large  and  tenacious,  yet,  by  a  curious  felicity,  chiefly 
susceptible  of  the  finest  impressions  it  received  from 
the  best  authors  he  read,  which  he  always  preserved  in 
their  primitive  strength  and  amiable  order.  He  had 
a  quickness  of  apprehension  and  a  vivacity  of  under- 
standing which  easily  took  in  and  surmounted  the 
most  subtile  and  knotty  parts  of  mathematics  and 
metaphysics.  He  possessed  in  a  large  degree  that 
genius  which  constitutes  a  man  of  letters  ;  that  quality 
without  which  judgment  is  cold  and  knowledge  is 
inert ;  that  energy  which  collects,  combines,  amplifies, 
and  animates. 

He  knew  every  branch  of  history,  both  natural  and 
civil ;  he  had  read  all  the  original  historians  of  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Germany,  and  was  a  great  antiqua- 


58      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

rian.  Criticism,  metaphysics,  morals,  politics,  voyages 
and  travels,  were  all  studied  and  well  digested  by  him. 
With  such  a  fund  of  knowledge  his  conversation  was 
equally  interesting,  instructive,  and  entertaining.  Ban- 
neker  was  so  favorably  appreciated  by  the  first  fami- 
lies in  Virginia,  that  in  1803  he  was  invited  by  Mr. 
Jefferson,  then  President  -of  the  United  States,  to  visit 
him  at  Monticello,  where  the  statesman  had  gone  for 
recreation.  But  he  was  too  infirm  to  undertake  the 
journey.  He  died  the  following  year,  aged  seventy- 
two.  Like  the  golden  sun  that  has  sunk  beneath  the 
western  horizon,  but  still  throws  upon  the  world,  which 
he  sustained  and  enlightened  in  his  career,  the  reflect- 
ed beams  of  his  departed  genius,  his  name  can  only 
perish  with  his  language. 

Banneker  believed  in  the  divinity  of  reason,  and  in 
the  omnipotence  of  the  human  understanding  with 
Liberty  for  its  handmaid.  The  intellect  impregnated 
by  science  and  multiplied  by  time,  it  appeared  to  him, 
must  triumph  necessarily  over  all  the  resistance  of 
matter.  He  had  faith  in  liberty,  truth,  and  virtue. 
His  remains  still  rest  in  the  slave  state  where  he  lived 
and  died,  with  no  stone  to  mark  the  spot  or  tell  that  it 
is  the  grave  of  Benjamin  Banneker. 

He  labored  incessantly,  lived  irreproachably,  and 
died  in  the  literary  harness,  universally  esteemed  and 
regretted. 


NAT  TURNER.  59 


NAT    TURNER. 

BIOGRAPHY  is  individual  history,  as  distinguished 
from  that  of  communities,  of  nations,  and  of  worlds. 
Eulogy  is  that  deserved  applause  which  springs  from 
the  virtues  and  attaches  itself  to  the  characters  of 
men.  This  is  not  intended  either  as  a  biography  or  a 
eulogy,  but  simply  a  sketch  of  one  whose  history  has 
hitherto  been  neglected,  and  to  the  memory  of  whom 
the  American  people  are  not  prepared  to  do  justice. 

On  one  of  the  oldest  and'  largest  plantations  in 
in  Southampton  county,  Virginia,  owned  by  Benjamin 
Turner,  Esq.,  Nat  was  born  a  slave,  on  the  2d  of  Oc- 
tober, 1800.  His  parents  were  of  unmixed  African 
descent.  Surrounded  as  he  was  by  the  superstition 
of  the  slave  quarters,  and  being  taught  by  his  mother 
that  he  was  born  for  a  prophet,  a  preacher,  and  a  de- 
liverer of  his  race,  it  was  not  strange  that  the  child 
should  have  imbibed  the  principles  which  were  after- 
wards developed  in  his  career.  Early  impressed  with 
the  belief  that  he  had  seen  visions,  and  received 
communications  direct  from  God,  he,  like  Napoleon, 
regarded  himself  as  a  being  of  destiny.  In  his  child- 
hood Nat  was  of  an  amiable  disposition ;  but  circum- 
stances in  which  he  was  placed  as  a  slave,  brought  out 
incidents  that  created  a  change  in  his  disposition,  and 
turned  .his  kind  and  docile  feeling  into  the  most  in- 
tense hatred  to  the  white  race. 

Being  absent  one  night  from  his  master's  plantation 
without  a  pass,  he  was  caught  by  Whitlock  and  Mull, 
the  two  district  patrolers,  and  severely  flogged.  This 


act  of  cruelty  inflamed  the  young  slave,  and  he  re- 
solved upon  having  revenge.  Getting  two  of  the  boys 
of  a  neighboring  plantation  to  join  him,  Nat  obtained 
a  long  rope,  went  out  at  night  on  the  road  through 
which  the  officers  had  their  beat,  and  stationing  his 
companions,  one  on  each  side  of  the  road,  he  stretched 
the  rope  across,  fastening  each  end  to  a  tree,  and  draw- 
ing it  tight.  His  rope  thus  fixed,  and  his  accomplices 
instructed  how  to  act  their  part,  Nat  started  off  up 
the  road.  The  night  being  dark,  and  the  rope  only  six 
or  eight  inches  from  the  ground,  the  slave  felt  sure 
that  he  would  give  his  enemies  a  "  high  fall." 

Nat  hearing  them,  he  called  out  in  a  disguised  voice, 
"  Is  dat  you,  Jim  ?  "  To  this  Whitlock  replied,  "  Yes, 
dis  is  me."  Waiting  until  the  white  men  were  near 
him,  Nat  started  off  upon  a  run,  followed  by  the  officers. 
The  boy  had  placed  a  sheet  of  white  paper  in  the  road, 
so  that  he  might  know  at  what  point  to  jump  the  rope, 
so  as  not  to  be  caught  in  his  own  trap.  Arriving  at 
the  signal  he  sprung  over  the  rope,  and  went  down  the 
road  like  an  antelope.  But  not  so  with  the  white  men, 
for  both  were  caught  by  the  legs  and  thrown  so  hard 
upon  the  ground  that  Mull  had  his  shoulder  put  out 
of  joint,  and  his  face  terribly  lacerated  by  the  fall ; 
while  Whitlock's  left  wrist  was  broken,  and  his  head 
bruised  in  a  shocking  manner.  Nat  hastened  home, 
while  his  companions  did  the  same,  not  forgetting  to 
take  with  them  the  clothes  line  which  had  been  so 
serviceable  in  the  conflict.  The  patrolers  were,  left  on 
the  field  of  battle,  crying,  swearing,  and  calling  for 
help. 

Snow  seldom  falls  as  far  south  as  the  southern  part 
of  Virginia ;  but  when  it  does,  the  boys  usually  have  a 


NAT  TURNER.  61 

good  time  snow-balling,  and  on  such  occasions  the 
slaves,  old  and  young,  women  and  men,  are  generally 
pelted  without  mercy,  and  with  no  right  to  retaliate. 
It  was  only  a  few  months  after  his  affair  with  the  pa- 
trolers,  that  Nat  was  attacked  by  a  gang  of  boys,  who 
chased  him  some  distance,  snow-balling  with  all  their 
power.  The  slave  boy  knew  the  lads,  and  determined 
upon  revenge.  Waiting  till  night,  he  filled  his  pockets 
with  rocks,  and  went  into  the  street.  Very  soon  the 
same  gang  of  boys  were  at  his  heels,  and  pelting  him. 
Concealing  his  face  so  as  not  to  be  known,  Nat  dis- 
charged his  rocks  in  every  direction,  until  his  enemies 
had  all  taken  to  their  heels. 

The  ill  treatment  he  experienced  at  the  hands  of 
the  whites,  and  the  visions  he  claimed  to  have  seen, 
caused  Nat  to  avoid,  as  far  as  he  could,  all  intercourse 
with  his  fellow-slaves,  and  threw  around  him  a  gloom 
and  melancholy  that  disappeared  only  with  his  life. 

Both  the  young  slave  and  his  friends  averred  that 
a  full  knowledge  of  the  alphabet  came  to  him  in  a 
single  night.  Impressed  with  the  belief  that  his  mis- 
sion was  a  religious  one,  and  this  impression  strength- 
ened by  the  advice  of  his  grandmother,  a  pious  but 
ignorant  woman,  Nat  commenced  preaching  when 
about  twenty-five  of  age,  but  never  went  beyond  his 
own  master's  locality.  In  stature  he  was  under  the 
middle  size,  long  armed,  round-shouldered,  and  strongly 
marked  with  the  African  features.  A  gloomy  fire 
burned  in  his  looks,  and  he  had  a  melancholy  expres- 
sion of  countenance.  He  never  tasted  a  drop  of  ardent 
spirits  in  his  life,  and  was  never  known  to  smile.  In 
the  year  1828  new  visions  appeared  to  Nat,  and  he 
claimed  to  have  direct  communication  with  God. 
6 


62      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND    ACHIEVEMENTS. 

Unlike  most  of  those  born  under  the  influence  of 
slavery,  he  had  no  faith  in  conjuring,  fortune-telling, 
or  dreams,  and  always  spoke  with  contempt  of  such 
things.  Being  hired  out  to  cruel  masters,  he  ran  away, 
and  remained  in  the  woods  thirty  days,  and  could  have 
easily  escaped  to  the  free  states,  as  did  his  father  some 
years  before  ;  but  he  received,  as  he  says  in  his  con- 
fession a  communication  from  the  spirit,  which  said, 
"  Return  to  your  earthly  master,  for  he  who  knoweth 
his  Master's  will,  and  doeth  it  not,  shall  be  beaten  with 
many  stripes."  It  was  not  the  will  of  his  earthly,  but 
his  heavenly  Master  that  he  felt  bound  to  do,  and 
therefore  Nat  returned.  His  fellow-slaves  were  greatly 
incensed  at  him  for  coming  back,  for  they  knew  well 
his  ability  to  reach  Canada,  or  some  other  land  of  free- 
dom, if  he  was  so  inclined.  He  says  further,  "  About 
this  time  I  had  a  vision,  and  saw  white  spirits  and 
black  spirits  engaged  in  battle,  and  the  sun  was 
darkened,  the  thunder  rolled  in  the  heavens,  and  blood 
flowed  in  streams  ;  and  I  heard  a  voice  saying,  '  Such 
is  your  luck  ;  such  are  you  called  on  to  see  ;  and  let  it 
come,  rough  or  smooth,  you  must  surely  bear  it.' ): 
Some  time  after  this,  Nat  had,  as  he  says,  another 
vision,  in  which  the  spirit  appeared  and  said,  "  The 
serpent  is  loosened,  and  Christ  has  laid  down  the  yoke 
he  has  borne  for  the  sins  of  men,  and  you  must  take 
it  up,  and  fight  against  the  serpent,  for  the  time  is  fast 
approaching  when  the  first  shall  be  last,  and  the  last 
shall  be  first."  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  this  last 
sentence  filled  Nat  with  enthusiastic  feeling  in  favor 
of  the  liberty  of  his  race,  that  he  had  so  long  dreamed 
of.  "The  last  shall  be  first,  and  the  first  shall  be 
last,"  seemed  to  him  to  mean  something.  He  saw  in 


NAT   TURNER.  63 

it  the  overthrow  of  the  whites,  and  the  establishing 
of  the  blacks  in  their  stead,  and  to  this  end  he  bent 
the  energies  of  his  mind.  In  February,  1831,  Nat 
received  his-  last  communication,  and  beheld  his  last 
vision.  He  said,  "  I  was  told  I  should  arise  and  pre- 
pare myself,  and  slay  my  enemies  witk  their  own 
weapons." 

The  plan  of  an  insurrection  was  now  formed  in  his 
own  mind,  and  the  time  had  arrived  for  him  to  take 
others  into  the  secret ;  and  he  at  once  communicated 
his  ideas  to  four  of  his  friends,  in  whom  he  had  im- 
plicit confidence.  Hark  Travis,  Nelson  Williams,  Sam 
Edwards,  and  Henry  Porter  were  slaves  like  himself, 
and  like  him  had  taken  their  names  from  their  masters. 
A  meeting  must  be  held  with  these,  and  it  must  take 
place  in  some  secluded  place,  where  the  whites  would 
not  disturb  them  ;  and  a  meeting  was  appointed.  The 
spot  where  they  assembled  was  as  wild  and  romantic 
as  were  the  visions  that  had  been  impressed  upon  the 
mind  of  their  leader. 

Three  miles  from  where  Nat  lived  was  a  dark  swamp 
filled  with  reptiles,  in  the  middle  of  which  was  a  dry 
spot,  reached  by  a  narrow,  winding  path,  and  upon 
which  human  feet  seldom  trod,  on  account  of  its  hav- 
ing been  the  place  where  a  slave  had  been  tortured 
to  death  by  a  slow  fire,  for  the  crime  of  having  flogged 
his  cruel  and  inhuman  master.  The  night  for  the 
meeting  arrived,  and  they  came  together.  Hark 
brought  a  pig ;  Sam,  bread ;  Nelson,  sweet  potatoes ; 
and  Henry,  brandy ;  and  the  gathering  was  turned 
into  a  feast.  Others  were  taken  in,  and  joined  the 
conspiracy.  All  partook  heartily  of  the  food  and 
drank  freely,  except  Nat.  He  fasted  and  prayed.  It 


64      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

was  agreed  that  the  revolt  should  commence  that  night, 
and  in  their  own  master's  households,  and  that  each 
slave  should  give  his  oppressor  the  death  blow.  Be- 
fore they  left  the  swamp  Nat  made  a  speech,  in  which 
he  said,  "  Friends  and  brothers :  We  are  to  commence 
a  great  wor^  to-night.  Our  race  is  to  be  delivered 
from  slavery,  and  God  has  appointed  us  as  the  men  to 
do  his  bidding,  and  let-  us  be  worthy  of  our  calling. 
I  am  told  to  slay  all  the  whites  we  encounter,  without 
regard  to  age  or  sex.  We  have  no  arms  or  ammu- 
nition, but  we  will  find  these  in  the  houses  of  our 
oppressors,  and  as  we  go  on  others  can  join  us.  Re- 
member that  we  do  not  go  forth  for  the  sake  of  blood 
and  carnage,  but  it  is  necessary  that  in  the  commence- 
ment of  this  revolution  all  the  whites  we  meet  should 
die,  until  we  shall  have  an  army  strong  enough  to 
carry  on  the  war  upon  a  Christian  basis.  Remember 
that  ours  is  not  a  war  for  robbery  and  to  satisfy  our 
passions ;  it  is  a  struggle  for  freedom.  Ours  must  be 
deeds,  and  not  words.  Then  let's  away  to  the  scene 
of  action." 

Among  those  who  had  joined  the  conspirators  was 
Will,  a  slave,  who  scorned  the  idea  of  taking  his 
master's  name.  Though  his  soul  longed  to  be  free,  he 
evidently  became  one  of  the  party,  as  much  to  satisfy 
revenge,  as  for  the  liberty  that  he  saw  in  the  dim  dis- 
tance. Will  had  seen  a  dear  and  beloved  wife  sold  to 
the  negro  trader  and  taken  away,  never  to  be  beheld 
by  him  again  in  this  life.  His  own  back  was  covered 
with  scars,  from  his  shoulders  to  his  feet.  A  large  scar, 
running  from  his  right  eye  down  to  his  chin,  showed 
that  he  had  lived  with  a  cruel  master.  Nearly  six  feet 
in  height,  and  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  athletic 


NAT   TURNER.  65 

of  his  race,  he  proved  to  be  the  most  unfeeling  of  all 
the  insurrectionists.  His  only  weapon  was  a  broad- 
axe,  sharp  and  heavy. 

Nat  and  his  accomplices  at  once  started  for  the 
plantation  of  Joseph  Travis,  with  whom  the  four  lived, 
and  there  the  first  blow  was  struck.  In  his  confession, 
just  before  his.execution,  Nat  said, — 
*  "  On  returning  to  the  house,  Hark  went  to  the  door 
with  an  axe,  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  it  open,  as 
we  knew  we  were  strong  enough  to  murder  the  family 
should  they  be  awakened  by  the  noise ;  but  reflecting 
that  it  might  create  an  alarm  in  the  neighborhood,  we 
determined  to  enter  the  house  secretly,  and  murder 
them  whilst  sleeping.  Hark  got  a  ladder  and  set  it 
against  the  chimney,  on  which  I  ascended,  and  hoist- 
ing a  window,  entered  and  came  down  stairs,  unbarred 
the  doors,  and  removed  the  guns  from  their  places. 
It  was  then  observed  that  I  must  spill  the  first  blood. 
On  which,  armed  with  a  hatchet,  and  accompanied  by 
Will,  I  entered  my  master's  chamber.  It  being  dark, 
I  could  not  give  a  death  blow.  The  hatchet  glanced 
from  his  head ;  he  sprang  from  the  bed  and  called  his 
wife.  It  was  his  last  word  ;  Will  laid  him  dead  with 
a  blow  of  his  axe,  and  Mrs.  Travis  shared  the  same 
fate,  as  she  lay  in  bed.  The  murder  of  this  family, 
five  in  number,  was  the  work  of  a  moment ;  not  one 
of  them  awoke.  There  was  a  little  infant  sleeping  in 
a  cradle,  that  was  forgotten  until  we  had  left  the  house 
and  gone  some  distance,  when  Henry  and  Will  re- 
turned and  killed  it.  We  got  here  four  guns  that 
would  shoot,  and  several  old  muskets,  witli  a  pound 
or  two  of  powder.  We  remained  for  some  time  at  the 
barn,  where  we  paraded ;  I  formed  them  in  line  as 
6* 


66      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

soldiers,  and  after  carrying  them  through  all  the 
manoeuvres  I  was  master  of,  marched  them  off  to  Mr. 
Salathiel  Francis's,  about  six  hundred  yards  distant. 

"  Sam  and  Will  went  to  the  door  and  knocked. 
Mr.  Francis  asked  who  was  there ;  Sam  replied  it  was 
he,  and  he  had  a  letter  for  him  ;  on  this  he  got  up 
and  came  to  the  door ;  they  immediately  seized  him 
and  dragging  him  out  a  little  from  the  door,  he  was 
despatched  by  repeated  blows  on  the  head.  There  was 
no  other  white  person  in  the  family.  We  started  from 
there  to  Mrs.  Reese's,  maintaining  the  most  perfect 
silence  on  our  march,  where,  finding  the  door  un- 
locked, we  entered  and  murdered  Mrs.  Reese  in  her 
bed  while  sleeping ;  her  son  awoke,  but  only  to  sleep 
the  sleep  of  death  ;  he  had  only  time  to  say,  '  Who  is 
that  ? '  and  he  was  no  more.  From  Mrs.  Reese's  we 
went  to  Mrs.  Turner's,  a  mile  distant,  which  we 
reached  about  sunrise,  on  Monday  morning.  Henry, 
Austin,  and  Sam,  went  to  the  still,  where,  finding  Mr. 
Peebles,  Austin  shot  him ;  the  rest  of  us  went  to  the 
house.  As  we  approached,  the  family  discovered  us 
and  shut  the  door.  Vain  hope !  Will,  with  one 
stroke  of  his  axe,  opened  it,  and  we  entered,  and  found 
Mrs.  Turner  and  Mrs.  Newsome  in  the  middle  of  a 
room,  almost  frightened  to  death.  Will  immediately 
killed  Mrs.  Turner  with  one  blow  of  his  axe.  I  took 
Mrs.  Newsome  by  the  hand,  and  with  the  sword  I  had 
when  apprehended,  I  struck  her  several  blows  over  the 
head,  but  was  not  able  to  kill  her,  as  the  sword  was 
dull.  f  Will,  turning  round  and  discovering  it,  de- 
spatched her  also.  A  general  destruction  of  property, 
and  search  for  money  and  ammunition,  always  suc- 
ceeded the  murders. 


NAT   TURNER.  67 

"By  this  time,  my  company  amounted  to  fifteen, 
nine  men  mounted,  who  started  for  Mrs.  Whitehead's, 
(the  other  six  were  to  go  through  a  by-way  to  Mr. 
Bryant's,  and  rejoin  us  at  Mrs.  Whitehead's.)  As  we 
approached  the  house  we  discovered  Mr.  Richard 
Whitehead  standing  in  the  cotton  patch,  near  the  lane 
fence  ;  we  called  him  over  into  the  lane,  and  Will,  the  ex- 
ecutioner, was  near  at  hand,  with  his  fatal  axe,  to  send 
him  to  an  untimely  grave.  As  we  pushed  on  to  the 
house,  I  discovered  some  one  running  round  the  gar- 
den, and  thinking  it  was  some  of  the  white  family,  I 
pursued,  but  finding  it  was*  a  servant  girl  belonging  to 
the  house,  I  returned  to  commence  the  work  of  death  ; 
but  they  whom  I  left  had  not  been  idle  :  all  the  family 
were  already  murdered  but  Mrs.  Whitehead  and  her 
daughter  Margaret.  As  I  came  round  to  the  door  I 
saw  Will  pulling  Mrs.  Whitehead  out  of  the  house, 
and  at  the  step  he  nearly  severed  her  head  from  her 
body  with  his  broadaxe.  Miss  Margaret,  when  I  dis- 
covered her,  had  concealed  herself  in  the  corner 
formed  by  the  projection  of  the  cellar  cap  from  the 
house  ;  on  my  approach  she  fled,  but  was  soon  over- 
taken, and  after  repeated  blows  with  a  sword,  I  killed 
her^>y  a  blow  over  the  head  with  a  fence  rail.  By 
this  time  the  six  who  had  gone  by  Mr.  Bryant's  re- 
joined us,  and  informed  me  they  had  done  the  work 
of  death  assigned  them.  We  again  divided,  part 
going  to  Mr.  Richard  Porter's,  and  from  thence  to 
Nathaniel  Francis's,  the  others  to  Mr.  Howell  Harris's 
and  Mr.  T.  Doyles's.  On  my  reaching  Mr.  Porter's, 
he  had  escaped  with  his  family.  I  understood  there 
that  the  alarm  had  already  spread,  and  I  immediately 
returned  to  bring  up  those  sent  to  Mr.  Doyles's  and  Mr. 


68      THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

Ho  well  Harris's ;  the  party  I  left  going  on  to  Mr. 
Francis's,  having  told  them  I  would  join  them  in  that 
neighborhood.  I  met  those  sent  to  Mr.  Doyles's  and 
Mr.  Howell  Harris's  returning,  having  met  Mr.  Doyles 
on  the  road  and  killed  him.  Learning  from  some  who 
joined  them,  that  Mr.  Harris  was  from  home,  I  imme- 
diately pursued  the  course  taken  by  the  party  gone  on 
before  ;  but  knowing  that  they  would  complete  the 
work  of  death  and  pillage  at  Mr.  Francis's  before  I 
could  get  there,  I  went  to  Mr.  Peter  Edwards's,  ex- 
pecting to  find  them  there ;  but  they  had  been  there 
already.  I  then  went  to  Mr.  John  T.  Barrow's  ;  they 
had  been  there  and  murdered  him.  I  pursued  on  their 
track  to  Captain  Newitt  Harris's.  I  found  the  greater 
part  mounted  and  ready  to  start ;  the  men,  now 
amounting  to  about  forty,  shouted  and  hurrahed  as  I 
rode  up ;  some  were  in  the  yard  loading  their  guns, 
others  drinking.  .  They  said  Captain  Harris  and  his 
family  had  escaped ;  the  property  in  the  house  they 
destroyed,  robbing  him  of  money  and  other  valuables. 
I  ordered  them  to  mount  and  march  instantly ;  this 
was  about  nine  or  ten  o'clock,  Monday  morning.  I 
proceeded  to  Mr.  Levi  Waller's,  two  or  three  uiftes 
distant.  I  took  my  station  in  the  rear,  and  as  iWjvas 
my  object  to  carry  terror  and  devastation  wherever  we 
went,  I  placed  fifteen  or  twenty  of  the  best  mounted 
and  most  to  be  relied  on  in  front,  who  generally  ap- 
proached the  houses  as  fast  as  their  horses  could  run  ; 
this  was  for  two  purposes,  to  prevent  their  escape  and 
strike  terror  to  the  inhabitants — on  this  account  I 
never  got  to  the  houses,  after  leaving  Mrs.  White- 
head's,  until  the  murders  were  committed,  except  in 
one  case.  I  sometimes  got  in  sight  in  time  to  see  the 


NAT  TURNER.  69 

work  of  death  completed,  viewed  the  mangled  bodies 
as  they  lay,  in  silent  satisfaction,  and  immediately 
started  in  quest  of  other  victims.  Having  murdered 
Mrs.  Waller  and  ten  children,  we  started  for  Mr. 
William  Williams's.  We  killed  him  and  two  little 
boys  that  were  there :  while  engaged  in  this,  Mrs. 
Williams  fled,  and  got  some  distance  from  the  house  ; 
but  she  was  pursued,  overtaken,  and  compelled  to  get 
up  behind  one  of  the  company,  who  brought  her  back, 
and  after  showing  her  the  mangled  body  of  her  life- 
less husband,  she  was  told  to  get  down  and  lie  by  his 
side,  where  she  was  shot  dead.  I  then  started  for  Mr. 
Jacob  Williams's,  where  the  family  were  murdered. 
Here  we  found  a  young  man  named  Drury,  who  had 
come  on  business  with  Mr.  Williams ;  he  was  pur- 
sued, overtaken,  and  shot.  Mrs.  Vaughan's  was  the 
next  place  we  visited  ;  and  after  murdering  the  family 
here,  I  determined  on  starting  for  Jerusalem.  Our 
number  amounted  now  to  fifty  or  sixty,  all  mounted  and 
armed  with  guns,  axes,  swords,  and  clubs.  On  reach- 
ing Mr.  James  W.  Parker's  gate,  immediately  on  the 
road  leading  to  Jerusalem,  and  about  three  miles  dis- 
tant, it  was  proposed  to  me  to  call  there  ;  but  I  objected, 
as  I  knew  he  was  gone  to  Jerusalem,  and  my  object 
was  to  reach  there  as  soon  as  possible ;  but  some  of 
the  men  having  relations  at  Mr.  Parker's,  it  was  agreed 
that  they  might  call  and  get  his  people.  I  remained 
at  the  gate  on  the  road,  with  seven  or  eight,  the  others 
going  across  the  field  to  the  house,  about  half  a  mile 
off.  After  waiting  some  time  for  them,  I  became  im- 
patient, and  started  to  the  house  for  them,  and  on  our 
return  we  were  met  by  a  party  of  white  "men,  who  had 
pursued  our  blood-stained  track,  and  who  had  fired  on 


70      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

those  at  the  gate,  and  dispersed  them,  which  I  knew 
nothing  of,  not  having  been  at  that  time  rejoined  by 
any  of  them.  Immediately  on  discovering  the  whites, 
I  ordered  my  men  to  halt  and  form,  as  they  appeared 
to  be  alarmed.  The  white  men,  eighteen  in  number, 
approached  us  in  about  one  hundred  yards,  when  one 
of  them  fired,  and  I  discovered  about  half  of  them, 
retreating.  I  then  ordered  my  men  to  fire  and  rush 
on  them  ;  the  few  remaining  stood  their  ground  until 
we  approached  within  fifty  yards,  when  they  fired  and 
retreated.  We  pursued  and  overtook  some  of  them, 
whom  we  thought  we  left  dead  ;  after  pursuing  them 
about  two  hundred  yards,  and  rising  a  little  hill,  I  dis- 
covered they  were  met  by  another  party,  and  had 
halted,  and  were  reloading  their  guns,  thinking  that 
those  who  retreated  first,  and  the  party  who  fired  on 
us  at  fifty  or  sixty  yards  distant,  had  only  fallen  back 
to  meet  others  with  ammunition.  As  I  saw  them  re- 
loading their  guns,  and  more  coming  up  than  I  saw  at 
first,  and  sever u  of  my  bravest  men  being  wounded, 
the  others  became  panic-struck  and  scattered  over  the 
field  ;  the  white  men  pursued  and  fired  on  us  several 
times.  Hark  had  his  horse  shot  under  him,  and  I 
caught  another  for  him  that  was'  running  by  me ;  five 
or  six  of  my  men  were  wounded,  but  none  left  on  the 
field.  Finding  myself  defeated  here,  I  instantly  de- 
termined to  go  through  a  private  way,  and  cross  the 
Nottoway  River  at  the  Cypress  Bridge,  three  miles  be- 
low Jerusalem,  and  attack  that  place  in  the  rear,  as  I 
expected  they  would  look  for  me  on  the  other  road, 
and  I  had  a  great  desire  to  get  there  to  procure  arms 
and  ammunition." 
Reinforcements  came  to  the  whites,  and  the  blacks 


NAT  TURNER.  71 

were  overpowered  and  defeated  by  the  superior  num- 
bers of  their  enemy.  In  this  battle  many  were  slain 
on  both  sides.  Will,  the  bloodthirsty  and  revengeful 
slave,  fell  with  his  broadaxe  uplifted,  after  having  laid 
three  of  the  whites  dead  at  his  feet  with  his  own 
strong  arm  and  his  terrible  weapon.  His  last  words 
were,  "  Bury  my  axe  with  me."  For  he  religiously 
believed  that  in  the  next  world  the  blacks  would  have 
a  contest  with  the  whites,  and  that  he  would  need  his 
axe.  Nat  Turner,  after  fighting  to  the  last  with  his 
short  sword,  escaped  with  some  others  to  the  woods 
near  by,  and  was  not  captured  for  nearly  two  months. 
When  brought  to  trial  he  pleaded  "  not  guilty ; "  feel- 
ing, as  he  said,  that  it  was  always  right  for  one  to 
strike  for  his  own  liberty.  After  going  through  a 
mere  form  of  trial,  he  was  convicted  and  executed  at 
Jerusalem,  the  county  seat  for  Southampton  county, 
Virginia.  Not  a*  limb  trembled  or  a  muscle  was  ob- 
served to  move.  Thus  died  Nat  Turner,  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-one  years — a  martyr  to  the  freedom  of 
his  race,  and  a  victim  to  his  own  fanaticism.  He 
meditated  upon  the  wrongs  of  his  oppressed  and  in- 
jured people,  till  the  idea  of  their  deliverance  excluded 
all  other  ideas  from  his  mind,  and  he  devoted  his  life 
to  its  realization.  Every  thing  appeared  to  him  a 
vision,  and  all  favorable  omens  were  signs  from  God. 
That  he  was  sincere  in  all  that  he  professed,  there  is 
not  the  slightest  doubt.  After  being  defeated  he  might 
have  escaped  to  the  free  states,  but  the  hope  of  raising 
a  new  band  kept  him  from  doing  so. 

He  impressed  his  image  upon  the  minds  of  those 
who  once  beheld  him.  His  looks,  his  sermons,  his 
acts,  and  his  heroism  live  in  the  hearts  of  his  race,  on 


72      THE  BLACK   MAN'S  GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

every  cotton,  sugar,  and  rice  plantation  at  the  south. 
The  present  generation  of  slaves  have  a  superstitious 
veneration  for  his  name,  and  believe  that  in  another 
insurrection  Nat  Turner  will  appear  and  take  com- 
mand. He  foretold  that  at  his  death  the  sun  would 
refuse  to  shine,  and  that  there  would  be  signs  of  disap- 
probation given  from  heaven.  And  it  is  true  that  the 
sun  was  darkened,  a  storm  gathered,  and  more  bois- 
terous weather  had  never  appeared  in  Southampton 
county  than  on  the  day  of  Nat's  execution.  The 
sheriff,  warned  by  the  prisoner,  refused  to  cut  the  cord 
that  held  the  trap.  No  black  man  would  touch  the 
rope.  A  poor  old  white  man,  long  besotted  by  drink, 
was  brought  forty  miles  to  be  the  executioner.  And 
even  the  planters,  with  all  their  prejudice  and  hatred, 
believed  him  honest  and  sincere ;  for  Mr.  Gray,  who 
had  known  Nat  from  boyhood,  and  to  whom  he  made 
his  confession,  says  of  him, — 

"  It  has  been  said  that  he  was  ignorant  and  coward- 
ly, and  that  his  object  was  to  murder  and  rob,  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  money  to  make  his  escape.  It  is 
notorious  that  he  was  never  known  to  have  a  dollar 
in  his  life,  to  swear  an  oath,  or  drink  a  drop  of  spirits. 
As  to  his  ignorance,  he  certainly  never  had  the  ad- 
vantages of  education ;  but  he  can  read  and  write, 
and  for  natural  intelligence  and  quickness  of  appre- 
hension, is  surpassed  by  few  men  I  have  ever  seen. 
As  to  his  being  a  coward,  his  reason,  as  given,  for  not 
resisting  Mr.  Phipps,  shows  the  decision  of  his  charac- 
ter. When  he  saw  Mr.  Phipps  present  his  gun,  he 
said  he  knew  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  escape,  as 
the  woods  were  full  of  men ;  he  therefore  thought  it 
was  better  for  him  to  surrender,  and  trust  to  fortune 


NAT  TURNER.  73 

for  his  escape.  He  is  a  complete  fanatic,  or  plays  his 
part  most  admirably.  On  other  subjects  he  possesses 
an  uncommon  share  of  intelligence,  with  a  mind  capa- 
ble of  attaining  any  thing,  but  warped  and  perverted 
by  the  influence  of  early  impressions.  He  is  below 
the  ordinary  stature,  though  strong  and  active  ;  having 
the  true  negro  face,  every  feature  of  which  is  strongly 
marked.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the  effect  of 
his  narrative,  as  told  and  commented  on  by  himself, 
in  the  condemned  hole  of  the  prison ;  the  calm,  delib- 
erate composure  with  which  he  spoke  of  his  late  deeds 
and  intentions ;  the  expressions  of  his  fiend-like  face, 
when  excited  by  enthusiasm — still  bearing  the  stains 
of  the  blood  of  helpless  innocence  about  him,  clothed 
with  rags  and  covered  with  chains,  yet  daring  to  raise 
his  manacled  hands  to  heaven,  with  a  spirit  soaring 
above  the  attributes  of  man ;  I  looked  on  him,  and 
the  blood  curdled  in  my  veins." 

Well  might  he  feel  the  blood  curdle  in  Ris  veins, 
when  he  remembered  that  in  every  southern  house- 
hold there  may  be  a  Nat  Turner,  in  whose  soul  God 
has  lighted  a  torch  of  liberty  that  cannot  be  extin- 
guished by  the  hand  of  -man.  The  slaveholder  should 
understand  that  he  lives  upon  a  volcano,  which  may 
burst  forth  at  any  moment,  and  give  freedom  to  his 
victim. 

««  Great  God,  hasten  on  the  glad  jubilee, 
When  my  brother  in  bonds  shall  arise  and  be  free, 
And  our  blotted  escutcheon  be  washed  from  its  stains, 
Now  the  scorn  of  the  world  —  four  millions  in  chains  ! 
O,  then  shall  Columbia's  proud  flag  be  unfurled, 
The  glory  of  freemen,  and  pride  of  the  world, 
"While  earth's  strolling  millions  point  hither  in  glee, 
« To  the  land  of  the  brave  and  the  home  of  the  free  ! '  " 

7 


74      THE   BLACK   MAN'S  GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

Fifty-five  whites  and  seventy-three  blacks  lost  their 
lives  in  the  Southampton  rebellion.  On  the  fatal 
night  when  Nat  and  his  companions  were  dealing 
death  to  all  they  found,  Captain  Harris,  a  wealthy 
planter,  had  his  life  saved  by  the  devotion  and  timely 
warning  of  his  slave  Jim,  said  to  have  been  half- 
brother  to  his  master.  After  the  revolt  had  been  put 
down,  and  parties  of  whites  were  out  hunting  the  sus- 
pected blacks,  Captain  Harris,  with  his  faithful  slave, 
went  into  the  woods  in  search  of  the  negroes.  In 
saving  his  master's  life,  Jim  felt  that  he  had  done  his 
duty, "and  could  not  consent  to  become  a  betrayer  of 
his  race,  and,  on  reaching  the  woods,  he  handed  his 
pistol  to  his  master,  and  said, "  I  cannot  help  you  hunt 
down  these  men ;  they,  like  myself,  want  to  be  free. 
Sir,  I  am  tired  of  the  life  of  a  slave  ;  please  give  me 
my  freedom,  or  shoot  me  on  the  spot."  Captain  Har 
ris  took  the.  weapon  and  pointed  it  at  the  slave.  Jim, 
putting  *his  right  hand  upon  his  heart,  said,  "  This  is 
the  spot ;  aim  here."  The  captain  fired,  and  the  slave 
fell  dead  at  his  feet. 

From  this  insurrection,  and  other  manifestations  of 
insubordination  by  the  slave  population,  the  southern 
people,  if  they  are  wise,  should  learn  a  grave  lesson  ; 
for  the  experience  of  the  past  might  give  them  some 
clew  to  the  future. 

Thirty  years'  free  discussion  has  materially  changed 
public  opinion  in  the  non-slaveholding  states,  and  a 
negro  insurrection,  in  the  present  excited  state  of  the 
nation,  would  not  receive  the  condemnation  that  it  did 
in  1831.  The  right  of  man  to  the  enjoyment  of  free- 
dom is  a  settled  point ;  and  where  he  is  deprived  of 
this,  without  any  criminal  act  of  his  own,  it  is  his  duty 
to  regain  his  liberty  at  every  cost. 


MADISON  WASHINGTON.  75 

If  the  oppressor  is  struck  down  in  the  contest,  his 
fall  will  be  a  just  one,  and  all  the  world  will  applaud 
the  act. 

This  is  a  new  era,  and  we  are  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  important  crisis  that  our  country  has  yet  wit- 
nessed. And  in  the  crisis  the  negro  is  an  important 
item.  Every  eye  is  now  turned  towards  the  south, 
looking  for  another  Nat  Turner. 


MADISON    WASHINGTON. 

AMONG  the  great  number  of  fugitive  slaves  who 
arrived  in  Canada  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1840, 
was  one  whose  tall  figure,  firm  step,  and  piercing  eye 
attracted  at  once  the  attention  of  all  who  beheld  him. 
Nature  had  treated  him  as  a  favorite.  His  expressive 
countenance  painted  and  reflected  every  emotion  of 
his  soul.  There  was  a  fascination  in  the  gaze  of  his 
finely-cut  eyes  that  no  one  could  withstand.  Born  of 
African  parentage,  with  no  mixture  in  his  blood,  he 
was  one  of  the  handsomest  of  his  race.  His  dignified, 
calm,  and  unaffected  features  announced  at  a  glance 
that  he  was  one  endowed  with  genius,  and  created  to 
guide  his  fellow-men.  He  called  himself  Madison 
Washington,  and  said  that  his  birthplace  was  in  the 
"  Old  Dominion."  He  might  have  seen  twenty-five 
years ;  but  very  few  slaves  have  any  correct  idea  of 
their  age.  Madison  was  not  poorly  dressed,  and  had 
some  money  at  the  end  of  his  journey,  which  showed 
that  he  was  not  from  among  the  worst  used  slaves 
of  the  south.  He  immediately  sought  employment  at 


76      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

a  neighboring  farm,  where  he  remained  some  months. 
A  strong,  able-bodied  man,  and  a  good  worker,  and 
apparently  satisfied  with  his  situation,  his  employer 
felt  that  he  had  a  servant  who  would  stay  with  him  a 
long  while.  The  farmer  would  occasionally  raise  a 
conversation,  and  try  to  draw  from  Madison  some  ac- 
count of  his  former  life ;  but  in  this  he  failed,  for  the 
fugitive  was  a  man  of  few  words,  and  kept  his  own 
secrets.  His  leisure  hours  were  spent  in  learning  to 
read  and  write,  and  in  this  he  seemed  to  take  the  ut- 
most interest.  He  appeared  to  take  no  interest  in  the 
sports  and  amusements  that  occupied  the  attention  of 
others.  Six  months  had  not  passed  ere  Madison  began 
to  show  signs  of  discontent.  In  vain  his  employer 
tried  to  discover  the  cause. 

"  Do  I  not  pay  you  enough,  and  treat  you  in  a  be- 
coming manner  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Dickson  one  day  when 
the  fugitive. seemed  in  a  very  desponding  mood. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  Madison.  ' 

"  Then  why  do  you  appear  so  much  dissatisfied,  of 
late?" 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  the  fugitive,  "  since  you  have 
treated  me  with  such  kindness,  and  seem  to  take  so 
much  interest  in  me,  I  will  tell  you  the  reason  why  I 
have  changed,  and  appear  to  you  to  be  dissatisfied.  I 
was  born  in  slavery,  in  the  State  of  Virginia.  From 
my  earliest  recollections  I  hated  slavery  and  determined 
to  be  free.  I  have  never  yet  called  any  man  master, 
though  I  have  been  held  by  three  different  men  who 
claimed  me  as  their  property.  The  birds  in  the  trees 
and  the  wild  beasts  *)f  the  forest  made  me  feel  that  I, 
like  them,  ought  to  be  free.  My  feelings  were  all  thus 
centred  in  the  one  idea  of  liberty,  of  which  I  thought 


MADISON   WASHINGTON.  77 

by  day  and  dreamed  by  night.  I  had  scarcely  reached 
my  twentieth  year  when  I  became  acquainted  with  the 
angelic  being  who  has  since  become  my  wife.  It  was 
rny  intention  to  have  escaped  with  her  before  we  were 
married,  but  circumstances  prevented. 

"  I  took  her  to  my  bosom  as  my  wife,  and  then 
resolved  to  make  the  attempt.  But  unfortunately  my 
plans  were  discovered,  and  to  save  myself  from  being 
caught  and  sold  off  to  the  far  south  I  escaped  to  the 
woods,  where  I  remained  during  many  weary  months. 
As  I  could  not  bring  my  wife  away,  I  would  not  come 
without  her.  Another  reason  for  remaining  was,  that 
I  hoped  to  get  up  an  insurrection  of  the  slaves,  and 
thereby  be  the  means  of  their  liberation.  In  this,  too, 
I  failed.  At  last  it  was  agreed  between  my  wife  and 
me  that  I  should  escape  to  Canada,  get  employment, 
save  my  money,  and  with  it  purchase  her  freedom. 
With  the  hope  of  attaining  this  end  I  came  into  your 
service.  I  am  now  satisfied  that,  with  the  wages  I  can 
command  here,  it  will  take  me  not  less  than  five  years 
to  obtain  by  my  labor  the  amount  sufficient  to  pur- 
chase the  liberty  of  my  dear  Susan.  Five  years  will 
be  too  long  for  me  to  wait,  for  she  may  die  or  be  sold 
away  ere  I  can  raise  the  money.  This,  sir,  makes  me 
feel  low-spirited,  and  I  have  come  to  the  rash  deter- 
mination to  return  to  Virginia  for  my  wife." 

The  recital  of  the  story  had  already  brought  tears 
to  the  eyes  of  the  farmer,  ere  the  fugitive  had  con- 
cluded. In  vain  did  Mr.  Dickson  try  to  persuade 
Madison  to  give  up  the  idea  of  going  back  into  the 
very  grasp  of  the  tyrant,  and  risking  the  loss  of  his 
own  freedom  without  securing  that  of  his  wife.  The 
heroic  man  had  made  up  his  mind,  and  nothing  could 
7* 


78      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

move  him.  Receiving  the  amount  of  wages  due  him 
from  his  employer,  Madison  turned  his  face  once  more 
towards  the  south.  Supplied  with  papers  purporting 
to  have  been  made  out  in  Virginia,  and  certifying  to 
his  being  a  freeman,  the  fugitive  had  no  difficulty  in 
reaching  the  neighborhood  of  his  wife.  But  these 
"  free  papers "  were  only  calculated  to  serve  him 
where  he  was  not  known.  Madison  had  also  provided 
himself  with  files,  saws,  and  other  implements  with 
which  to  cut  his  way  out  of  any  prison  into  which  he 
might  be  cast.  These  instruments  were  so  small  as  to 
be  easily  concealed  in  the  lining  of  his  clothing ;  and 
armed  with  them  the  fugitive  felt  sure  he  should 
escape  again  were  he  ever  captured.  On  his  return, 
Madison  met,  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  many  of  those 
whom  he  had  seen  on  his  journey  to  Canada,  and  all 
tried  to  prevail  upon  him  to  give  up  the  rash  attempt. 
But  to  every  one  he  would  reply,  "  Liberty  is  worth 
nothing  to  me  while  my  wife  is  a  slave."  When  near 
his  former  home,  and  unable  to  travel  in  open  day 
without  being  detected,  Madison  betook  himself  to 
the  woods  during  the  day,  and  travelled  by  night.  At 
last  he  arrived  at  the  old  farm  at  night,  and  hid  away 
in  the  nearest  forest.  Here  he  remained  several  days, 
filled  with  hope  and  fear,  without  being  able  to  obtain 
any  information  about  his  wife.  One  evening,  during 
this  suspense,  Madison  heard  the  singing  of  a  company 
of  slaves,  the  sound  of  which  appeared  nearer  and 
nearer,  until  he  became  convinced  that  it  was  a  gang 
going  to  a  corn-shucking,  and  the  fugitive  resolved 
that  he  would  join  it,  and  see  if  he  could  get  any  intel- 
ligence of  his  wife. 
In  Virginia,  as  well  as  in  most  of  the  other  corn- 


MADISON  WASHINGTON.  79 

raising  slave  states,  there  is  a  custom  of  having  what 
is  termed  "  a  corn-shucking,"  to  which  slaves  from  the 
neighboring  plantations,  with  the  consent  of  their 
masters,  are  invited.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  shuck- 
ing a  supper  is  provided  by  the  owner  of  the  corn ; 
and  thus,  together  with  the  bad  whiskey  which  is  freely 
circulated  on  such  occasions,  the  slaves  are  made  to 
feel  very  happy.  Four  or  five  companies  of  men  may 
be  heard  in  different  directions  and  at  the  same  time 
approaching  the  place  of  rendezvous,  slaves  joining 
the  gangs  along  the  roads  as  they  pass  their  masters' 
farms.  Madison  came  out  upon  the  highway,  and  as 
the  company  came  along  singing,  he  fell  into  the  ranks 
and  joined  in  the  song.  Through  the  darkness  of  the 
night  he  was  able  to  keep  from  being  recognized  by 
the  remainder  of  the  company,  while  he  learned  from 
the  general  conversation  the  most  important  news  of 
the  day. 

Although  hungry  and  thirsty,  the  fugitive  dared  not 
go  to  the  supper  table  for  fear  of  recognition.  How- 
ever, before  he  left  the  company  that  night,  he  gained 
information  enough  to  satisfy  him  that  his  wife  was  still 
with  her  old  master,  and  he  hoped  to  see  her,  if  possi- 
ble, on  the  following  night.  The  sun  had  scarcely  set 
the  next  evening,  ere  Madison  was  wending  his  way 
out  of  the  forest  and  going  towards  the  home  of  his 
loved  one,  if  the  slave  can  be  said  to  have  a  home. 
Susan,  the  object  of  his  affections,  was  indeed  a  woman 
every  way  worthy  of  his  love.  Madison  knew  well 
where  to  find  the  room  usually  occupied  by  his  wife, 
and  to  that  spot  he  made  his  way  on  arriving  at  the 
plantation.  But  in  his  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  and  his 
being  too  confident  of  success,  he  committed  a  blunder 


80      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND    ACHIEVEMENTS. 

which  nearly  cost  him  his  life.  Fearful  that  if  he 
waited  until  a  late  hour  Susan  would  be  asleep,  and  in 
awakening  her  she  would  in  her  fright  alarm  the  house- 
hold, Madison  ventured  to  her  room  too  early  in  the 
evening,  before  the  whites  in  the  "great  house"  had 
retired.  Observed  by  the  overseer,  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  whites  were  called  in,  and  the  fugitive  secured 
ere  he  could  escape  with  his  wife  ;  but  the  heroic  slave 
did  not  yield  until  he  with  a  club  had  laid  three  of  his 
assailants  upon  the  ground  witli  his  manly  blows ;  and 
not  then  until  weakened  by  loss  of  blood.  Madison 
was  at  once  taken  to  Richmond,  and  sold  to  a  slave 
trader,  then  making  up  a  gang  of  slaves  for  the  New 
Orleans  market. 

The  brig  Creole,  owned  by  Johnson  &  Eperson,  of 
Richmond,  and  commanded  by  Captain  Enson,  lay  at 
the  Richmond  dock  waiting  for  her  cargo,  which 
usually  consisted  of  tobacco,  hemp,  flax,  and  slaves. 
There  were  two  cabins  for  the  slaves,  one  for  the  men, 
the  other  for  the  women.  The  men  were  generally 
kept  in  chains  while  on  the  voyage ;  but  the  women 
were  usually  unchained,  and  allowed  to  roam  at  pleas- 
ure in  their  own  cabin.  On  the  27th  of  October,  1841, 
the  Creole  sailed  from  Hampton  Roads,  bound  for 
New  Orleans,  with  her  full  load  of  freight,  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  slaves,  and  three  passengers,  be- 
sides the  crew.  Forty  of  the  slaves  were  owned  by 
Thomas  McCargo,  nine  belonged  to  Henry  Hewell, 
and  the  remainder  were  held  by  Johnson  &  Eperson. 
Hewell  had  once  been  an  overseer  for  McCargo,  and 
on  this  occasion  was  acting  as  his  agent. 

Among  the  slaves  owned  by  Johnson  &  Eperson 
was  Madison  Washington.  He  was  heavily  ironed, 


MADISON  WASHINGTON.  81 

and  chained  down  to  the  floor  of  the  cabin  occupie  1 
by  the  men,  which  was  in  the  forward  hold.  As  it  was 
known  by  Madison's  purchasers  that  he  had  once 
escaped  and  had  been  in  Canada,  they  kept  a  watchful 
eye  over  him.  The  two  cabins  were  separated,  so  that 
the  men  and  women  had  no  communication  whatever 
during  the  passage. 

Although  rather  gloomy  at  times,  Madison  on  this 
occasion  seemed  very  cheerful,  and  his  owners  thought 
that  he  had  repented  of  the  experience  he  had  under- 
gone as  a  runaway,  and  in  the  future  would  prove  a 
more  easily  governed  chattel.  But  from  the  first  hour 
that  he  had  entered  the  cabin  of  the  Creole,  Madison 
had  been  busily  engaged  in  the  selection  of  men  who 
were  to  act  parts  in  the  great  drama.  He  picked  out 
each  one  as  if  by  intuition.  Every  thing  was  done  at 
night  and  in  the  dark,  as  far  as  the  preparation  was 
concerned.  The  miniature  saws  and  files  were  faith- 
fully used  when  the  whites  were  asleep. 

In  the  other  cabin,  among  the  slave  women,  was  one 
whose  beauty  at  once  attracted  attention.  Though  not 
tall,  she  yet  had  a  majestic  figure.  Her  well-moulded 
shoulders,  prominent  bust,  black  hair  which  hung  in 
ringlets,  mild  blue  eyes,  finely-chiselled  mouth,  with  a 
splendid  set  of  teeth,  a  turned  and  well-rounded  chin, 
skin  marbled  with  the  animation  of  life,  and  veined  by 
blood  given  to  her  by  her  master,  she  stood  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  two  races.  With  only  one  eighth  of 
African,  she  was  what  is  called  at  the  south  an  "octo- 
roon." It  was  said  that  her  grandfather  had  served 
his  country  in  the  revolutionary  war,  as  well  as  in  both 
houses  of  Congress.  This  was  Susan,  the  wife  of 
Madison.  Few  slaves,  even  among  the  best  used 


82      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

house  servants,  had  so  good  an  opportunity  to  gain 
general  information  as  she.  Accustomed  to  travel 
with  her  mistress,  Susan  had  often  been  to  Richmond, 
Norfolk,  White  Sulphur  Springs,  and  other  places  of 
resort  for  the  aristocracy  of  the  Old  Dominion.  Her 
language  was  far  more  correct  than  most  slaves  in  her 
position.  Susan  was  as  devoted  to  Madison  as  she  was 
beautiful  and  accomplished. 

After  the  arrest  of  her  husband,  and  his  confine- 
ment in  Richmond  jail,  it  was  suspected  that  Susan 
had  long  been  in  possession  of  the  knowledge  of  his 
whereabouts  when  in  Canada,  and  knew  of  his  being 
in  the  neighborhood  ;  and  for  this  crime  it  was  resolved 
that  she  should  be  sold  and  sent  off  to  a  southern 
plantation,  where  all  hope  of  escape  would  be  at  an 
end.  Each  was  not  aware  that  the  other  was  on  board 
the  Creole,  for  Madison  arid  Susan  were  taken  to  their 
respective  cabins  at  different  times.  On  the  ninth 
day  out,  the  Creole  encountered  a  rough  sea,  and 
most  of  the  slaves  were  sick,  and  therefore  were  not 
watched  with  that  vigilance  that  they  had  been  since 
she  first  sailed.  This  was  the  time  for  Madison  and 
his  accomplices  to  work,  and  nobly  did  they  perform 
their  duty.  Night  came  on  ;  the  first  watch  had  just 
been  summoned,  the  wind  blowing  high,  when  Madi- 
son succeeded  in  reaching  the  quarter  deck,  followed 
by  eighteen  others,  all  of  whom  sprang  to  different 
parts  of  the  vessel,  seizing  whatever  they  could  wield 
as  weapons.  The  crew  were  nearly  all  on  deck.  Cap- 
tain Enson  and  Mr.  Merritt,  the  first  mate,  were  stand- 
ing together,  while  Hewell  was  seated  on  the  com- 
panion smoking  a  cigar.  The  appearance  of  the 
slaves  all  at  once,  and  the  loud  voice  and  command- 


MADISON  WASHINGTON.  83 

ing  attitude  of  their  leader,  so  completely  surprised 
the  whites,  that — 

"  They  spake  not  a  word  ; 
But,  like  dumb  statues,  or  breathless  stones, 
Stared  at  each  other,  and  looked  deadly  pale." 

The  officers  were  all  armed ;  but  so  swift  were  the 
motions  of  Madison  that  they  had  nearly  lost  com- 
mand of  the  vessel  before  they  attempted  to  use  their 
weapons. 

He  well,  the  greater  part  of  whose  life  had  been 
spent  on  the  plantation  in  the  capacity  of  a  negro- 
driver,  and  who  knew  that  the  defiant  looks  of  these 
men  meant  something,  was  the  first  to  start.  Draw- 
ing his  old  horse  pistol  from  under  his  coat,  he  fired 
at  one  of  the  blacks  and  killed  him.  The  next  mo- 
ment Hewell  lay  dead  upon  the  deck,  for  Madison  had 
struck  him  with  a  capstan  bar.  The  fight  now  be- 
came general,  the  white  passengers,  as  well  as  all  the 
crew,  taking  part.  The  battle  was  Madison's  element, 
and  he  plunged  into  it  without  any  care  for  his  own 
preservation  or  safety.  He  was  an  instrument  of  en- 
thusiasm, whose  value  and  whose  place  was  in  his 
inspiration.  "  If  the  fire  of  heaven  was  in  my  hands, 
I  would  throw  it  at  these  cowardly  whites,"  said  he  to 
his  companions,  before  leaving  their  cabin.  But  in 
this  he  did  not  mean  revenge,  only  the  possession  of 
his  freedom  and  that  of  his  fellow-slaves.  Merritt  and 
Gifford,  the  first  and  second  mates  of  the  vessel,  both 
attacked  the  heroic  slave  at  the  same  time.  Both 
were  stretched  out  upon  the  deck  with  a  single  blow 
each,  but  were  merely  wounded  ;  they  were  disabled, 
and  that  was  ^11  that  Madison  cared  for  for  the  time 
being.  The  sailors  ran  up  the  rigging  for  safety,  and 


84      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

a  moment  more  he  that  had  worn  the  fetters  an  hour 
before  was  master  of  the  brig  Creole.  His  command- 
ing attitude  and  daring  orders,  now  that  he  was  free, 
and  his  perfect  preparation  for  the  grand  alternative 
of  liberty  or  death  which  stood  before  him,  are  splen- 
did exemplifications  of  the  truly  heroic.  After  his 
accomplices  had  covered  the  slaver's  deck,  Madison 
forbade  the  shedding  of  more  blood,  and  ordered  the 
sailors  to  come  down,  which  they  did,  and  with  his  own 
hands  he  dressed  their  wounds.  A  guard  was  placed 
over  all  except  Merritt,  who  was  retained  to  navigate 
the  vessel.  With  a  musket  doubly  charged,  and 
pointed  at  Merritt's  breast,  the  slave  made  him  swear 
that  he  would  faithfully  take  the  brig  into  a  British 
port.  All  things  now  secure,  and  the  white  men  in 
chains  or  under  guard,  Madison  ordered  that  the  fet- 
ters should  be  severed  from  the  limbs  of  those  slaves 
who  still  wore  them.  The  next  morning  "  Captain 
Washington"  (for  such  was  the  name  he  now  bore) 
ordered  the  cook  to  provide  the  best  breakfast  that  the 
store  room  could  furnish,  intending  to  surprise  his 
fellow-slaves,  and  especially  the  females,  whom  he  had 
not  yet  seen.  But  little  did  he  think  that  the  woman 
for  whom  he  had  risked  his  liberty  and  life  would 
meet  him  at  the  breakfast  table.  The  meeting  of  tlie 
hero  and  his  beautiful  and  accomplished  wife,  the 
tears  of  joy  shed,  and  the  hurrahs  that  followed  from 
the  men,  can  better  be  imagined  than  described. 
Madison's  cup  of  joy  was  filled  to  the  brim.  He  had 
not  only  gained  his  own  liberty  and  that  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four  others,  but  his  dear  Susan  was 
safe.  Only  one  man,  Hewell,  had  been  killed.  Cap- 
tain Enson  and  others,  who  were  wounded,  soon  recov- 


MADISON  WASHINGTON.  85 

ered ;  and  were  kindly  treated  by  Madison  ;  but  they 
nevertheless  proved  ungrateful ;  for  on  the  second 
night,  Captain  Enson,  Mr.  Gifford,  and  Merritt  took 
advantage  of  the*  absence  of  Madison  from  the  deck, 
and  attempted  to  retake  the  vessel.  The  slaves,  exas- 
perated at  this  treachery,  fell  upon  the  whites  with 
deadly  we'apons.  The  captain  and  his  men  fled  to  the 
cabin,  pursued  by  the  blacks.  Nothing  but  the  hero- 
ism of  the  negro  leader  saved  the  lives  of  the  white 
men  on  this  occasion,  for  as  the  slaves  were  rushing 
into  the  cabin,  Madison  threw  himself  between  them 
and  their  victims,  exclaiming,  "  Stop !  no  more  blood. 
My  life,  that  was  perilled  for  your  liberty,  I  will  lay 
down  for  the  protection  of  these  men.  They  have 
proved  themselves  unworthy  of  life,  which  we  granted 
them ;  still  let  us  be  magnanimous.'*  By  the  kind 
heart  and  noble  bearing  of  Madison,  the  vile  slave- 
traders  were  again  permitted  to  go  unwhipped  of 
justice.  This  act  of  humanity  raised  the  uncouth  son 
of  Africa  far  above  his  Anglo-Saxon  oppressors. 

The  next  morning  the  Creole  landed  at  Nassau, 
New  Providence,  where  the  noble  and  heroic  slaves 
were  warmly  greeted  by  the  inhabitants,  who  at  once 
offered  protection,  and  extended  their  hospitality  to 
them.  Not  many  months  since,  an  American  ship 
went  ashore  at  Nassau,  and  among  the  first  to  render 
assistance  to  the  crew  was  Madison  Washington. 
8 


86      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 


HENRY   BIBB. 

HENRY  BIBB,  like  most  fugitive  slaves,  did  not  know 
who  his  father  was ;  that  his  mother  was  a  slave  was 
sufficient  to  decide  his  lot,  and  to  send  him,  under  fear 
of  the  lash,  while  yet  a  mere  infant,  to  labor  on  his 
master's  farm:  when  sufficiently  old  to  be  of  miich 
use  to  any  one,  he  was  hired  out  to  one  person  and 
another  for  the  space  of  eight  or  ten  years,  the  pro- 
ceeds of  his  labor  going,  we  are  told,  to  defray  the 
expense  of  educating  his  owner's  daughters.  The 
year  of  Henry  Bibb's  birth  was  a  memorable  one  — 
1815  ;  little,  however,  knew  he  of  European  strug- 
gles ;  he  had  a  great  battle  of  his  own  to  fight  against 
tremendous  odds,  and  he  seems  to  have  fought  it 
bravely.  He  formed  the  determination  to  be  free  at  a 
very  early  age,  and  nothing  could  shake  it ;  starva- 
tion, imprisonment,  scourging,  lacerating,  punishments 
of  every  kind,  and  of  every  degree  of  severity  short 
of  actual  death,  were  tried  in  vain ;  they  could  not 
subdue  his  indomitable  spirit. 

His  first  attempt  to  escape  was  made  when  he  was 
about  ten  years  of  age,  and  from  that  time  to  1840  his 
life  was  a  constant  series  of  flights  and  recaptures,  the 
narrative  of  which  makes  one  thrill  and  shudder  at 
the  sufferings  endured  and  the  barbarities  inflicted. 
Securing  his  freedom  by  his  own  good  legs,  Henry 
Bibb  at  once  began  seeking  an  education  ;  and  in  this 
he  succeeded  far  beyond  many  white  men  who  have 
had  all  the  avenues  to  learning  open  to  them.  In  per- 
sonal appearalice  he  was  tall  and  slim,  a  pleasing  coun- 


HENRY  BIBB.  87 

tenance,  half  white,  hair  brown,  eyes  gray,  and  pos- 
sessed a  musical  voice,  and  a  wonderful  power  of 
delivery.  No  one  who  heard  Mr.  Bibb,  in  the  years 
1847,  '8,  and  '9,  can  forget  the  deep  impression  that 
he  left  behind  -him.  His  natural  eloquence  and  his 
songs  enchained  an  audience  as  long  as  the  speaker 
wanted  them.  In  1849,  we  believe,  he  went  to  Can- 
ada, and  started  a  weekly  paper  called  The  Voice  of 
the  Fugitives,  at  "Windsor.  His  journal  was  well  con- 
ducted, and  was  long  regarded  as  indispensable  in 
every  fugitive's  house.  His  first  wife  being  left  in 
slavery,  and  no  hope  of  her  escaping,  Mr.  Bibb  mar- 
ried for  his  second  wife  the  well-educated  and  highly- 
cultivated  Mary  E.  Miles,  of  Boston.  After  being  in 
Canada  a  while,  the  two  opened  a  school  for  their 
escaped  brothers  and  sisters,  which  proved  a  lasting  ben- 
efit to  that  much-injured  class.  His  efforts  to  purchase 
a  tract  of  land,  and  to  deal  it  out  in  lots  to  the  fugi- 
tives at  a  reasonable  price,  was  only  one  of  the  many 
kind  acts  of  this  good  man.  There  are  few  charac- 
ters more  worthy  of  the  student's  study  and  imitation 
than  that  of  Henry  Bibb.  From  an  ignorant  slave,  he 
became  an  educated  free  man,  by  his  own  powers,  and 
left  a  name  that  will  not  soon  fade  away. 

In  one  of  Cassimir  de  la  Vigne's  dramas,  we  met 
with  an  expression  which  struck  us  forcibly.  It  was 
said  of  Don  John,  who  was  ignorant  of  his  birth,  that 
perhaps  he  was  a  nobody  ;  to  which  he  replied,  "  That 
a  man  of  good  character  and  honorable  conduct  could 
never  be  a  nobody."  We  consider  this  an  admirable 
reply,  and  have  endeavored  to  prove  this  truth  by  the 
foregoing  example.  If  it  is  gratifying  and  noble  to 
bear  with  honor  the  name  of  one's  father,  it  is  surely 


88      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

more  noble  to  make  a  name  for  one's  self;  and  our 
heart  tells  us  that  among  our  young  readers  there  is 
more  than  one  who  will  exclaim  with  ardor,  and 
with  a  firm  resolution  to  fulfil  his  promise,  /,  too, 
shall  make  a  name. 


PLACIDO. 

IN  the  year  1830,  there  was  a  young  man  in  Ha- 
vana, son  of  a  woman  who  had  been  brought,  when 
a  child,  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  sold  as  a  slave. 
Being  with  a  comparatively  kind  master,  he  soon  found 
opportunity  to  begin  developing  the  genius  which  at  a 
later  period  showed  itself.  The  young  slave  was  called 
Placido.  He  took  an  especial  interest  in  poetry,  and 
often  wrote  poems  that  were  set  to  music  and  sung  in 
the  drawing  rooms  of  the  most  refined  companies 
which  assembled  in  the  city.  His  young  master  pay- 
ing his  addresses  to  a  rich  heiress,  the  slave  was  re- 
quested to  write  a  poem  embodying  the  master's  passion 
for  the  young  lady.  Placido  acquitted  himself  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  the  lover,  who  copied  the  epistle 
in  his  own  hand,  and  sent  it  on  its  mission.  The 
slave's  compositions  were  so  much  admired  that  they 
found  their  way  into  the  newspaper ;  but  no  one  knew 
the  negro  as  the  author.  In  1838,  these  poems,  to- 
gether with  a  number  which  had  never  appeared  in 
print,  were  intrusted  to  a  white  man,  who  sent  them  to 
England,  where  they  were  published  and  much  praised 
for  the  talent  and  scholarly  attainment  which  they 


PLACIDO.  89 

developed.  A  number  of  young  whites,  who  were 
well  acquainted  with  Placido  and  his  genius,  resolved 
to  purchase  him  and  present  him  his  freedom,  which 
they  did  in  the  year  1842.  But  a  new  field  had 
opened  itself  to  the  freed  black,  and  he  began  to  tread  in 
its  paths.  Freedom  for  himself  was  only  the  beginning ; 
he  sighed  to  make  others  free.  The  imaginative  brain 
of  the  poet  produced  verses  which  the  slaves  sung  in 
their  own  rude  way,  and  which  kindled  in  their  hearts 
a  more  intense  desire  for  liberty.  Placido  planned  an 
insurrection  of  the  slaves,  in  which  he  was  to  be  their 
leader  and  deliverer ;  but  the  scheme  failed.  After  a 
hasty  trial,  he  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  death. 
The  fatal  day  came ;  he  walked  to  the  place  of  execu- 
tion with  as  much  calmness  as  if  it  had  been  to  an 
ordinary  resort  of  pleasure.  His  manly  and  heroic 
bearing  excited  the  sympathy  and  admiration  of  all 
who  saw  him.  As  he  arrived  at  the  fatal  spot  he  be- 
gan reciting  the  following  hymn,  which  he  had  written 
in  his  cell  the  previous  night :  — 

TO   GOD— A  PRAYER. 

"  Almighty  God  !  whose  goodness  knows  no  bound, 

To  thee  I  flee  in  my  severe  distress  ; 

O  let  thy  potent  arm  my  wrongs  redress, 
And  rend  the  odious  veil  by  slander  wound 
About  my  brow.  The  base  world's  arm  confound, 

Who  on  my  front  would  now  the  seal  of  shame  impress. 

God  of  my  sires,  to  whom  all  kings  must  yield, 

Be  thou  alone  my  shield ;  protect  me  now : 

All  power  is  His,  to  whom  the  sea  doth  owe 
His  countless  stores  ;  who  clothed  with  light  heaven's  field, 
And  made  the  sun,  and  air,  and  polar  seas  congealed ; 

All  plants  with  life  endowed,  and  made  the  rivers  now. 

8* 


90    THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

All  power  is  thine  :  'twas  thy  creative  might 

This  goodly  frame  of  things  from  chaos  brought, 
Which  unsustained  by  thee  would  still  be  nought, 

As  er^t  it  lay  deep  in  the  womb  of  night, 

Ere  thy  dread  word  first  called  it  into  light ; 

Obedient  to  thy  call,  it  lived,  and  moved,  and  thought. 

Thou  know'st  my  heart,  O  God,  supremely  wise  ; 

Thine  eye,  all-seeing,  cannot  be  deceived ; 

By  thee  mine  inmost  soul  is  clear  perceived, 
As  objects  gross  are  through  transparent  skies 
By  mortal  ken.  Thy  mercy  exercise, 

Lest  slander  foul  exult  o'er  innocence  aggrieved. 

But  if  'tis  fixed,  by  thy  decree  divine, 

That  I  must  bear  the  pain  of  guilt  and  shame, 
And  that  my  foes  this  cold  and  senseless  frame 

Shall  rudely  treat  with  scorn  and  shouts  malign, 

Give  thou  the  word,  and  I  my  breath  resign, 

Obedient  to  thy  will.     Blest  be  thy  holy  name  ! " 

When  all  preparation  for  the  execution  had  been 
finished,  Placido  asked  the  privilege  of  giving  the  sig- 
nal, and  it  was  granted.  With  his  face  wearing  an 
expression  of  almost  superhuman  courage,  he  said  in 
Spanish,  "  Adieu,  0  world  ;  there  is  no  justice  or  pity 
for  me  here.  Soldiers,  fire  !  "  Five  balls  entered  his 
body,  but  did  not  deprive  him  of  life.  Still  unsubdued, 
he  again  spoke,  and  placing  his  hand  on  his  breast,  said, 
"Fire  here."  Two  balls  from  the  reserve  entered  his 
heart,  and  he  fell  dead. 

Thus  died  Placido,  the  slave's  poet  of  freedom.  His 
songs  are  still  sung  in  the  bondman's  hut,  and  his 
name  is  a  household  word  to  all.  As  the  Marseillaise 
was  sung  by  the  revolutionists  of  France,  and  inspired 
the  people  with  a  hatred  to  oppressors,  so  will  the 
slaves  of  Cuba,  at  a  future  day,  sing  the  songs  of  their 
poet-martyr,  and  their  cry  will  be,  "  Placido  and 
Liberty." 


JEREMIAH   B.    SANDERSON.  91 


JEREMIAH    B.    SANDERSON. 

NEW  BEDFORD  has  produced  a  number  of  highly- 
intelligent  men  of  the  "  doomed  race  ; "  men  who,  by 
their  own  efforts,  have  attained  positions,  intellectually, 
which,  if  they  had  been  of  the  more  favored  class, 
would  have  introduced  them  into  the  halls  of  Congress. 
One  of  these  is  J.  B.  Sanderson.  An  industrious  stu- 
dent, and  an  ardent  lover  of  literature,  he  has  read 
more  than  almost  any  one  of  his  years  within  our 
circle  of  acquaintance.  History,  theology,  and  the 
classics,  he  is  master  of.  We  first  met  him  while  he 
was  on  a  tour  through  the  west,  as  a  lecturer  on  slavery, 
and  the  impression  then  made  on  our  mind  became 
still  stronger  as  we  knew  more  of  him.  Although  not 
at  the  time  an  ordained  minister  Mr.  Sanderson,  in 
1848,  preached  for  one  of  the  religious  societies  of 
New  Bedford,  on  Sunday,  and  attended  to  his  vocation 
(hair  dresser)  during  the  week.  Some  of  the  best 
educated  of  the  whites  were  always  in  attendance  on 
these  occasions.  His  sermons  were  generally  be/ond 
the  comprehension  of  his  hearers,  except  those  well 
read.  Emerson,  Carlyle,  and  Theodore  Parker,  were 
represented  in  his  discourses,  which  were  always  re- 
plete with  historical  incidents.  Mr.  Sanderson  has 
been  several  years  in  California,  where  he  now  preaches 
to  an  intelligent  congregation  and  is  considered  one  of 
the  ablest  religious  teachers  in  the  Pacific  state. 

"  Honor  and  fame  from  no  condition  rise  : 
Act  well  your  part  —  there  all  the  honor  lies." 

"  Who  does  the  best  his  circumstance  allows, 
Does  well,  acts  nobly  :  angels  could  no  more." 


92      THE   BLACK  MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

Iii  stature  Mr.  Sanderson  is  somewhat  above  the 
medium  height,  finely  formed,  well-developed  head, 
and  a  pleasing  face  ;  an  excellent  voice,  which  he 
knows  how  to  use.  His  gestures  are  correct  without 
being  studied,  and  his  sentences  always  tell  upon  his 
audience.  Pew  speakers  are  more  happy  in  their  de- 
livery than  he.  In  one  of  those  outbursts  of  true 
eloquence  for  which  he  is  so  noted,  we  still  remember 
the  impression  made  upon  his  hearers,  when,  on  one 
occasion,  he  exclaimed,  "  Neither  men  nor  govern- 
ments have  a  right  to  sell  those  of  their  species ;  men 
and  their  liberty  are  neither  purchasable  nor  salable. 
This  is  the  law  of  nature,  which  is  obligatory  on  all 
men,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places." 

All  accounts  from  California  speak  of  J.  B.  Sander- 
son as  doing  more  for  the  enfranchisement  and  eleva- 
tion of  his  race  than  any  one  who  has  gone  from  the 
Atlantic  states. 


TOUSSAINT    L'OUVERTURE. 

• 

AT  the  commencement  of  the  French  revolution,  in 
1789,  there  were  nine  hundred  thousand  inhabitants 
on  the  Island  of  St.  Domingo.  Of  these,  seven  hun- 
dred thousand  were  Africans,  sixty  thousand  mixed 
blood,  and  the  remainder  were  whites  and  Caribbeans. 
Like  the  involuntary  servitude  in  our  own  Southern 
States,  slavery  in  St.  Domingo  kept  morality  at  a  low 
stand.  Owing  to  the  amalgamation  between  masters 
and  slaves,  there  arose  the  mulatto  population,  which 
eventually  proved  to  be  the  worst  enemies  of  their 
fathers. 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE.  93 

Many  of  the  planters  sent  their  mulatto  sons  to 
France  to  be  educated.  When  these  young  men  re- 
turned to  the  island,  they  were  greatly  dissatisfied  at 
the  proscription  which  met  them  wherever  they  ap- 
peared. White  enough  to  make  them  hopeful  and 
aspiring,  many  of  the  mulattoes  possessed  wealth 
enough  to  make  them  influential.  Aware,  by  their 
education,  of  the  principles  of  freedom  that  were 
being  advocated  in  Europe  and  the  United  States,  they 
were  ever  on  the  watch  to  seize  opportunities  to  better 
their  social  and  political  condition.  In  the  French 
part  of  the  island  alone,  twenty  thousand  whites  lived 
in  the  midst  of  thirty  thousand  free  mulattoes  and  five 
hundred  thousand  slaves.  In  the  Spanish  portion,  the 
odds  were  still  greater  in  favor  of  the  slaves.  Thus 
the  advantage  of  numbers  and  physical  strength  was 
on  the  side  of  the  oppressed.  Right  is  the  most  dan- 
gerous of  weapons — woe  to  him  who  leaves  it  to  hie 
enemies  ! 

The  efforts  of  Wilberforce,  Sharp,  Buxton,  and  Clark- 
son  to  abolish  the  African  slave  trade,  and  their  ad- 
vocacy of  the  equality  of  the  races,  were  well  under- 
stood by  the  men  of  color.  They  had  also  learned 
their  own  strength  in  the  island,  and  that  they  had 
the  sympathy  of  all  Europe  with  them.  The  news  of 
the  oath  of  the  Tennis  Court  and  the  taking  of  the 
Bastile  at  Paris  was  received  with  the  wildest  enthu- 
siasm by  the  people  of  St.  Domingo. 

The  announcement  of  these  events  was  hailed  with 
delight  by  both  the  white  planters  and  the  mulattoes ; 
the  former,  because  they  hoped  that  a  revolution  in 
the  mother  country  would  secure  to  them  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  colony ;  the  latter,  because  they 


94      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

viewed  it  as  a  movement  that  would  give  them  equal 
rights  with  the  whites ;  and  even  the  slaves  regarded  it 
as  a  precursor  to  their  own  emancipation.  But  the 
excitement  which  the  outbreak  at  Paris  had  created 
amongst  the  free  men  of  color  and  the  slaves,  at  once 
convinced  the  planters  that  a  separation  from  France 
would  be  the  death-knell  of  slavery  in  St.  Domingo. 

Although  emancipated,  by  law  from  the  dominion  of 
individuals,  the  mulattoes  had  no  rights :  shut  out 
from  society  by  their  color,  deprived  of  religious  and 
political  privileges,  they  felt  their  degradation  even 
more  .keenly  than  the  bond  slaves.  The  mulatto  son 
was  not  allowed  to  dine  at  his  father's  table,  kneel 
with  him  in  his  devotions,  bear  his  name,  inherit  his 
property,  nor  even  to  lie  in  his  father's  graveyard. 
Laboring  as  they  were  under  the  sense  of  their  per- 
sonal social  wrongs,  the  mulattoes  tolerated,  if  they 
did  not  encourage,  low  and  vindictive  .passions.  They 
were  haughty  and  disdainful  to  the  blacks,  whom  they 
scorned,  and  jealous  and  turbulent  to  the  whites,  whom 
they  hated  and  feared. 

The  mulattoes  at  once  despatched  one  of  their  num- 
ber to  Paris,  to  lay  before  the  Constitutional  Assembly 
their  claim  to  equal  rights  with  the  whites.  Vincent 
Oge,  their  deputy,  was  well  received  at  Paris  by  Lafay- 
ette, Brissot,  Barnave,  and  Gregoire,  and  was  admitted 
to  a  seat  in  the  Assembly,  where  he  eloquently  por- 
trayed the  wrongs  of  his  race.  In  urging  his  claims, 
he  said,  if  equality  was  withheld  from  the  mulattoes, 
they  would  appeal  to  force.  This  was  seconded  by 
Lafayette  and  Barnave,  who  said,  "  Perish  the  colonies 
rather  than  a  principle" 

The  Assembly  passed  a  decree  granting  the  demands 


95 

of  the  men  of  color,  and  Og6  was  made  bearer  of  the 
news  to'  his  brethren.  The  planters  armed  themselves, 
met  the  young  deputy  on  his  return  to  the  island,  and 
a  battle  ensued.  The  free  colored  men  rallied  around 
Oge*,  but  they  were  defeated  and  taken,  with  their  brave 
leader,  were  first  tortured,  and  then  broken  alive  on 
the  wheel. 

The  prospect  of  freedom  was  put  down  for  the  time, 
but  the  blood  of  Og6  and  his  companions  bubbled 
silently  in  the  hearts  of  the  African  race ;  they  swore 
to  avenge  them. 

The  announcement  of  the  death  of  Ogd  in  the  halls 
of  the  Assembly,  at  Paris  created  considerable  excite- 
ment, and  became  the  topic  of  conversation  in  the 
clubs  and  on  the  Boulevards.  Gregoire  defended  the 
course  of  the  colored  men,  and  said,  "  If  Liberty  was 
right  in  France,  it  was  right  in  St.  Domingo."  He 
well  knew  that  the  crime  for  which  Og£  had  suffered 
in  the  West  Indies,  had  constituted  the  glory  of  Mira- 
beau  and  Lafayette  at  Paris,  and  Washington  and 
Hancock  in  the  United  States.  The  planters  in  the 
island  trembled  at  their  own  oppressive  acts,  and  terror 
urged  them  on  to  greater  violence.  The  blood  of 
Og<3  and  his  accomplices  had  sown  every  where  despair 
and  conspiracy.  The  French  sent  an  army  to  St.  Do- 
mingo to  enforce  the  laws. 

The  planters  repelled  with  force  the  troops  sent  out 
by  France,  denying  its  prerogatives  and  refusing  the 
civic  oath.  In  the  midst  of  these  thickening  troubles, 
the  planters  who  resided  in  France  were  invited  to 
return  and  assist  in  vindicating  the  civil  independence 
of  the  island.  Then  was  it  that  the  mulattoes  earnestly 
appealed  to  the  slaves,  and  the  result  was  appalling. 


96      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

The  slaves  awoke  as  from  an  ominous  dream,  and  de- 
manded their  rights  with  sword  in  hand.  Gaining 
immediate  success,  and  finding  that  their  liberty  would 
not  be  granted  by  the  planters,  they  rapidly  increased 
in  numbers  ;  and  in  less  than  a  week  from  its  com- 
mencement, the  storm  had  swept  over  the  whole  plain 
of  the  north,  from  east  to  west,  and  from  the  moun- 
tains to  the  sea.  The  splendid  villas  and  rich  facto- 
ries yielded  to  the  furies  of  the  devouring  flames ;  so 
that  the  mountains,  covered  with  smoke  and  burning 
cinders,  borne  upwards  by  the  wind,  looked  like  vol- 
canoes ;  and  the  atmosphere,  as  if  on  fire,  resembled 
a  furnace. 

Such  were  the  outraged  feelings  of  a  people  whose 
ancestors  had  been  ruthlessly  torn  from  their  native 
land,  and  sold  in  the  shambles  of  St.  Domingo.  To 
terrify  the  blacks  and  convince  them  that  they  could 
never  be  free,  the  planters  were  murdering  them  on 
every  hand  by  thousands. 

The  struggle  in  St.  Domingo  was  watched  with  in- 
tense interest  by  the  friends  of  the  blacks,  both  in 
Paris  and  in  London,  and  all  appeared  to  look  with 
hope  to  the  rising  up  of  a  black  chief,  who  should 
prove  himself  adequate  to  the  emergency.  Nor  did 
they  look  in  vain.  In  the  midst  of  the  disorders  that 
threatened  on  all  sides,  the  negro  chief  made  his 
appearance  in  the  person  of  a  slave,  named  Toussaint. 
This  man  was  the  grandson  of  the  King  of  Ardra,  one 
of  the  most  powerful  and  wealthy  monarchs  on  the 
west  coast  of  Africa.  By  his  own  energy  and  perse- 
verance, Toussaint  had  learned  to  read  and  write^  and 
was  held  in  high  consideration  by  the  surrounding 
planters  as  well  as  their  slaves. 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE.  97 

His  private  virtues  were  many,  and  he  had  a  deep 
and  pervading  sense  of  religion,  and  in  the  camp 
carried  it  even  as  far  as  Oliver  Cromwell.  Toussaint 
was  born  on  the  island,  and  was  fifty  years  of  age  when 
called  into  the  field.  One  of  his  chief  characteristics 
was  his  humanity. 

Before  taking  any  part  in  the  revolution,  he  aided 
his  master's  family  to  escape  from  the  impending 
danger.  After  seeing  them  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
revolutionary  movement,  he  entered  the  army  as  an  in- 
ferior officer,  but  was  soon  made  aid-de-camp  to  Gen- 
eral Bissou.  Disorder  and  bloodshed  reigned  through- 
out the  island,  and  every  day  brought  fresh  intelligence 
of  depredations  committed  by  whites,  mulattoes,  and 
blacks. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  a  decree  was 
passed  by  the  Colonial  Assembly  giving  equal  rights  to 
the  mulattoes,  and  asking  their  aid  in  restoring  order 
and  reducing  the  slaves  again  to  their  chains.  Over- 
come by  this  decree,  and  having  gained  all  they  wished, 
the  free  colored  men  joined  the  planters  in  a  murder- 
ous crusade  against  the  slaves.  This  union  of  the 
whites  and  mulattoes  to  prevent  the  bondman  getting 
his  freedom,  created  an  ill  feeling  between  the  two 
proscribed  classes  which  seventy  years  have  not  been 
able  to  efface.  The  French  government  sent  a  second 
army  to  St.  Domingo,  to  enforce  the  laws  giving  free- 
dom to  the  slaves  ;  and  Toussaint  joined  it  on  its  arrival 
in  the  island,  and  fought  bravely  against  the  planters. 

While  the  people  of  St.  Domingo  were  thus  fighting 

amongst  themselves,  the   revolutionary  movement  in 

France  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Robespierre  and 

Danton,  and  the  guillotine  was  beheading  its  thousands 

9 


98      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

daily.  When  the  news  of  the  death  of  Louis  XVI. 
reached  St.  Domingo,  Toussaint  and  his  companions 
left  the  French,  and  joined  the  Spanish  army  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  island,  and  fought  for  the  king  of 
Spain.  Here  Toussaint  was  made  brigadier  general, 
and  appeared  in  the  field  as  the  most  determined  foe 
of  the  French  planters. 

The  two  armies  met ;  a  battle  was  fought  in  the 
streets,  and  many  thousands  were  slain  on  both  sides ; 
the  planters,  however,  were  defeated.  During  the 
conflict  the  city  was  set  on  fire,  and  on  every  side  pre- 
sented shocking  evidence  of  slaughter,  conflagration, 
and  pillage.  The  strifes  of  political  and  religious 
partisanship,  which  had  raged  in  the  clubs  and  streets 
of  Paris,  were  transplanted  to  St.  Domingo,  where 
they  raged  with  all  the  heat  of  a  tropical  clime  and 
the  animosities  of  a  civil  war.  Truly  did  the  flames 
of  the  French  revolution  at  Paris,  and  the  ignorance 
and  self-will  of  the  planters,  set  the  island  of  St.  Do- 
mingo on  fire.  The  commissioners,  with  their  retinue, 
retired  from  the  burning  city  into  the  neighboring 
highlands,  where  a  camp  was  formed  to  protect  the 
ruined  town  from  the  opposing  party.  Having  no  con- 
fidence in  the  planters,  and  fearing  a  reaction,  the 
commissioners  proclaimed  a  general  emancipation  to 
the  slave  population,  and  invited  the  blacks  who  had 
joined  the  Spaniards  to  return.  Toussaint  and  his 
followers  accepted  the  invitation,  returned,  and  were 
enrolled  in  the  army  under  the  commissioners.  Fresh 
troops  arrived  from  France,  who  were  no  sooner  in  the 
island  than  they  separated  —  some  siding  with  the 
planters,  and  others  with  the  commissioners.  The 
white  republicans  of  the  mother  country  arrayed  them- 


TOUSSAINT  I/OUVERTUBE.  99 

selves  against  the  white  republicans  of  St.  Domingo, 
whom  they  were  sent  out  to  assist ;  the  blacks  and 
the  mulattoes  were  at  war  with  each  other ;  old  and 
young,  of  both  sexes  and  of  all  colors,  were  put  to 
the  sword,  while  the  fury  of  the  flames  swept  from 
plantation  to  plantation  and  from  town  to  town. 

During  these  sad  commotions,  Toussaint,  by  his 
superior  knowledge  of  the  character  of  his  race,  his 
humanity,  generosity,  and  courage,  had  gained  the 
confidence  of  all  whom  he  had  under  his  command. 
The  rapidity  with  which  he  travelled  from  post  to  post 
astonished  every  one.  By  his  genius  and  surpassing 
activity,  Toussaint  levied  fresh  forces,  raised  the  repu- 
tation of  the  army,  and  drove  the  English  and  Spanish 
from  the  island. 

With  the  termination  of  this  struggle  every  vestige 
of  slavery  and  all  obstacles  to  freedom  disappeared. 
Toussaint  exerted  every  nerve  to  make  Hayti  what  it 
had  formerly  been.  He  did  every  thing  in  his  power 
to  promote  agriculture ;  and  in  this  he  succeeded  be- 
yond the  most  sanguine -expectations  of  the  friends  of 
freedom,  both  in  England  and  France.  Even  the 
planters  who  had  remained  on  the  island  acknowledged 
the  prosperity  of  Hayti  under  the  governorship  of  the 
man  whose  best  days  had  been  spent  in  slavery. 

The  peace  of  Amiens  left  Bonaparte  without  a  rival 
on  the  continent,  and  with  a  large  and  experienced 
army,  which  he  feared  to  keep  idle  ;  and  he  determined 
to  send  a  part  of  it  to  St.  Domingo. 

The  army  for  the  expedition  to  St.  Domingo  was 
fitted  out,  and  no  pains  or  expense  spared  to  make  it 
an  imposing  one.  Fifty-six  ships  of  war,  with  twenty- 
five  thousand  men,  left  France  for  Hayti.  It  was, 


100     THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

indeed,  the  most  valiant  fleet  that  had  ever  sailed 
from  the  French  dominions.  The  Alps,  the  Nile,  the 
Rhine,  and  all  Italy,  had  resounded  with  the  exploits 
of  the  men  who  were  now  leaving  their  country  for 
the  purpose  of  placing  the  chains  again  on  the  limbs 
of  the  heroic  people  of  St.  Domingo.  There  were 
men  in  that  army  that  had  followed  Bonaparte  from 
the  siege  of  Toulon  to  the  battle  under  the  shades  of 
the  pyramids  of  Egypt  —  men  who  had  grown  gray  in 
the  camp. 

News  of  the  intended  invasion  reached  St.  Domingo 
some  days  before  the  squadron  had  sailed  from  Brest ; 
and  therefore  the  blacks  had  time  to  prepare  to  meet 
their  enemies.  Toussaint  had  concentrated  his  forces 
at  such  points  as  he  expected  would  be  first  attacked. 
Christophe  was  sent  to  defend  Cape  City,  and  Port-au- 
Prince  was  left  in  the  hands  of  Dessalines. 

With  no  navy,  and  but  little  means  of  defence,  the 
Haytians  determined  to  destroy  their  towns  rather 
than  they  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Late  in  the  evening  the  French  ships  were  seen  to 
change  their  position,  and  Christophe,  satisfied  that 
they  were  about  to  effect  a  landing,  set  fire  to  his  own 
house,  which  was  the  signal  for  the  burning  of  the 
town.  The  Frencli  general  wept  as  he  beheld  the 
ocean  of  flames  rising  from  the  tops  of  the  houses  in 
the  finest  city  in  St.  Domingo.  Another  part  of  the 
fleet  landed  in  Samaria,  where  Toussaint,  with  an  ex- 
perienced wing  of  the  army,  was  ready  to  meet  them. 
On  seeing  the  ships  enter  the  harbor,  the  heroic  chief 
said,  "  Here  come  the  enslavers  of  our  race.  Ail 
France  is  coming  to  St.  Domingo,  to  try  again  to  put 
the  fetters  upon  our  limbs ;  but  not  France,  with  all 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE.  101 

her  troops  of  the  Rhine,  the  Alps,  the  Nile,  the  Tiber, 
nor  all  Europe  to  help  her,  can  extinguish  the  soul  of 
Africa.  That  soul,  when  once  the  soul  of  a  man,  and 
no  longer  that  of  a  slave,  can  overthrow  the  pyramids 
and  the  Alps  themselves,  sooner  than  again  be  crushed 
down  into  slavery."  The  French,  however,  effected  a 
landing,  but  they  found  nothing  but  smouldering  ru- 
ins, where  once  stood  splendid  cities.  Toussaint  and 
his  generals  at  once  abandoned  the  towns,  and  betook 
themselves  to  the  mountains,  those  citadels  of  freedom 
in  St.  Domingo,  where  the  blacks  have  always  proved 
too  much  for  the  whites. 

Toussaint  put  forth  a  proclamation  to  the  colored 
people,  in  which  he  said,  "  You  are  now  to  meet  and 
fight  enemies  who  have  neither  faith,  law,  nor  religion. 
Let  us  resolve  that  these  French  troops  shall  never 
leave  our  shores  alive."  The  war  commenced,  and 
the  blacks  were  victorious  in  nearly  all  the  battles. 
Where  the  French  gained  a  victory,  they  put  their 
prisoners  to  the  most  excruciating  tortures ;  in  many 
instances  burning  them  in  pits,  and  throwing  them 
into  boiling  caldrons.  This  example  of  cruelty  pet 
by  the  whites  was  followed  by  the  blacks.  Then  it 
was  that  Dessalines,  the  ferocious  chief,  satisfied  his 
long  pent-up  revenge  against  the  white  planters  and 
French  soldiers  that  he  made  prisoners.  The  French 
general  saw  that  he  could  gain  nothing  from  the  blacks 
on  the  field  of  battle,  and  he  determined  upon  a  strata- 
gem, in  which  he  succeeded  too  well. 

A   correspondence  was  opened  with   Toussaint,  in 

which  the  captain-general   promised   to   acknowledge 

the  liberty  of  the  blacks  and  the  equality  of  all,  if  he 

would   yield.     Overcome   by   the   persuasions   of  his 

9* 


102     THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

generals  and  the  blacks  who  surrounded  him,  and 
who  were  sick  and  tired  of  the  shedding  of  blood, 
Toussaint  gave  in  his  adhesion  to  the  French  authori- 
ties. This  was  the  great  error  of  his  life. 

Vincent,  in  his  "  Reflections  on  the  Present  State 
of  the  Colony  of  St.  Domingo"  says,  "  Toussaint,  at 
the  head  of  his  army,  is  the  most  active  and  indefati- 
gable man  of  whom  we  can  form  an  idea;  we  may 
say,  with  truth,  that  he  is  found  wherever  instructions, 
or  danger  render  his  presence  necessary.  The  par- 
ticular care  which  he  employs  in  his  march,  of  always 
deceiving  the  men  of  whom  he  has  need,  and  who 
think  they  enjoy  a  confidence  he  gives  to  none,  has 
such  an  effect  that  he  is  daily  expected  in  all  the  chief 
places  of  the  colony.  His  great  sobriety,  the  faculty, 
which  none  but  he  possesses,  of  never  reposing,  the 
facility  with  which  he  resumes  the  affairs  of  the  cab- 
inet after  the  most  tiresome  excursions,  of  answering 
daily  a  hundred  letters,  and  of  habitually  tiring  five 
secretaries,  render  him  so  superior  to  all  those  around 
Mm,  that  their  respect  and  submission  are  in  most 
individuals  carried  even  to  fanaticism.  It  is  certain 
that  no  man,  in  the  present  times,  has  possessed  such 
an  influence  over  a  mass  of  people  as  General  Tous- 
saint possesses  over  his  brethren  in  St.  Domingo." 

The  above  is  the  opinion  of  an  enemy  —  one  who 
regarded  the  negro  chief  as  a  dangerous  man  to  his 
interest. 

Invited  by  the  captain-general  of  the  island  to  attend 
a  council,  the  black  hero  was  treacherously  seized  and 
sent  on  board  the  ship  of  war  Hero,  which  set  sail  at 
once  for  France.  On  the  arrival  of  the  illustrious 
prisoner  at  Brest,  he  was  taken  in  a  close  carriage  and 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE.  103 

transferred  to  the  castle  of  Joux,  in  the  Lower  Pyre- 
nees. The  gelid  atmosphere  of  the  mountain  region, 
the  cold,  damp  dungeon  in  which  he  was  placed,  with 
the  water  dripping  upon  the  floor  day  and  night,  did 
not  hasten  the  death  of  Toussaint  fast  enough.  By 
Napoleon's  directions  the  prisoner's  servant  was  taken 
from  him,  sufficient  clothing  and  bedding  to  keep  him 
warm  were  denied,  his  food  curtailed,  and  his  keeper, 
after  an  absence  of  four  days,  returned  and  found  the 
hero  of  St.  Domingo  dead  in  his  cell.  Thus  terminated 
the  career  of  a  self-made  man. 

Toussaint  was  of  prepossessing  appearance,  of  mid- 
dle stature,  and  possessed  an  iron  frame.  His  digni- 
fied, calm,  and  unaffected  features,  and  broad  and 
well-developed  forehead,  would  cause  him  to  be  select- 
ed, in  any  company  of  men,  as  one  born  for  a  leader. 
Endowed  by  nature  with  high  qualities  of  mind,  he 
owed  his  elevation  to  his  own  energies  and  his  devo- 
tion to  the  welfare  and  freedom  of  his  race.  His 
habits  were  thoughtful ;  and  like  most  men  of  ener- 
getic temperaments,  he  crowded  much  into  what  he 
said.  So  profound  and  original  were  his  opinions,  that 
they  have  been  successively  drawn  upon  by  all  the 
chiefs  of  St.  Domingo  since  his  era,  and  still  without 
loss  of  adaptation  to  the  circumstances  of  the  country. 
The  policy  of  his  successors  has  been  but  a  repetition 
of  his  plans,  and  his  maxims  are  still  the  guidance  of 
the  rulers  of  Hayti.  His  thoughts  were  copious  and 
full  of  vigor,  and  what  he  could  express  well  in  his 
native  patois  he  found  tame  and  unsatisfactory  in  the 
French  language,  which  he  was  obliged  to  employ  in 
the  details  of  his  official  business.  He  would  never 
sign  what  he  did  not  fully  understand,  obliging  two  or 


104     THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   A CHIE YEMENI'S. 

three  secretaries  to  re-word  the  document,  until  they 
had  succeeded  in  furnishing  the  particular  phrase  ex- 
pressive of  his  meaning.  While  at  the  height  of  his 
power,  and  when  all  around  him  were  furnished  with 
every  comfort,  and  his  officers  living  in  splendor, 
Toussaint  himself  lived  with  an  austere  sobriety  which 
bordered  on  abstemiousness.  He  was  entirely  master 
of  his  own  passions  and  appetites.  It  was  his  custom 
to  set  off  in  his  carriage  with  the  professed  object  of 
going  to  some  particular  point  of  the  island,  and  when 
he  had  passed  over  several  miles  of  the  journey,  to 
quit  the  carriage,  which  continued  its  route  under  the 
same  escort  of  guards,  while  Toussaint,  mounted  on 
horseback  and  followed  by  his  officers,  made  rapid 
excursions  across  the  country,  to  places  where  he  was 
least  expected.  It  was  upon  one  of  these  occasions 
that  he  owed  his  life  to  his  singular  mode  of  travel- 
ling. He  had  just  left  his  carriage  when  an  ambus- 
cade of  mulattoes,  concealed  in  the  thickets  of  Bou- 
cassin,  fired  upon  the  guard,  and  several  balls  pierced 
the  carriage,  and  one  of  them  killed  an  old  domestic 
who  occupied  the  seat  of  his  master.  No  person  knew 
better  than  he  the  art  of  governing  the  people  under 
his  jurisdiction.  The  greater  part  of  the  population 
loved  him  to  idolatry.  Veneration  for  Toussaint  was 
not  confined  to  the  boundaries  of  St.  Domingo ;  it  ran 
through  Europe ;  and  in  France  his  name  was  fre- 
quently pronounced  in  the  senate  with  the  eulogy  of 
polished  eloquence.  No  one  can  look  back  upon  his 
career  without  feeling  that  Toussaint  was  a  remarka- 
ble man.  Without  being  bred  to  the  science  of  arms, 
he  became  a  valiant  soldier,  and  baffled  the  skill  of  the 
most  experienced  generals  that  had  followed  Napoleon. 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE.  105 

Without  military  knowledge  he  fought  like  one  born 
in  the  camp.  Without  means  he  carried  on  the  war. 
He  beat  his  enemies  in  battle,  and  turned  their  own 
weapons  against  them.  He  laid  the  foundation  for 
the  emancipation  of  'his  race  and  the  independence 
of  the  island.  From  ignorance  he  became  educated 
by  his  own  exertions.  From  a  slave  he  rose  to  be 
a  soldier,  a  general,  and  a  governor,  and  might 
have  been  king  of  St.  Domingo.  He  possessed 
splendid  traits  of  genius,  which  was  developed  in 
the  private  circle,  in  the  council  chamber,  and  on 
the  field  of  battle.  His  very  name  became  a  tower 
of  strength  to  his  friends  and  a  terror  to  his  foes. 
Toussaint's  career  as  a  Christian,  a  statesman,  and  a 
general,  will  lose  nothing  by  a  comparison  with  that 
of  Washington.  Each  was  the  leader  of  an  oppressed 
and  outraged  people,  each  had  a  powerful  enemy  to 
contend  with,  and  each  succeeded  in  founding  a  gov- 
ernment in  the  new  world.  Toussaint'^  government 
made  liberty  its  watchword,  incorporated  it  in  its  con- 
stitution, abolished  the  slave  trade,  and  made  freedom 
universal  amongst  the  people.  Washington's  govern- 
ment incorporated  slavery  and  the  slave  trade,  and 
enacted  laws  by  which  chains  were  fastened  upon  the 
limbs  of  millions  of  people.  Toussaint  liberated  his 
countrymen ;  Washington  enslaved  a  portion  of  his. 
When  impartial  history  shall  do  justice  to  the  St.  Do- 
mingo revolution,  the  name  of  Toussaint  L'Ouverture 
will  be  placed  high  upon  the  roll  of  fame. 


106     THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS.  »- 


CRISPUS   ATTUCKS. 

THE  principle  that  taxation  and  representation  were 
inseparable  was  in  accordance  with  the  theory,  the 
genius,  and  the  precedents  of  British  legislation  ;  and 
this  principle  was  now,  for  the  first  time,  intentionally 
invaded.  The  American  colonies  were  not  represented 
in  Parliament ;  yet  an  act  was  passed  by  that  body,  the 
tendency  of  which  was  to  invalidate  all  right  and  title  to 
their  property.  This  was  the  "  Stamp  Act,"  of  March 
23,  1765,  which  ordained  that  no  sale,  bond,  note  of 
hand,  or  other  instrument  of  writing  should  be  valid  un- 
less executed  on  paper  bearing  the  stamp  prescribed  by 
the  home  government.  The  intelligence  of  the  passage 
of  the  stamp  act  at  once  roused  the  indignation  of  the 
liberty-loving  portion  of  the  people  of  the  colonies,  and 
meetings  were  held  at  various  points  to  protest  against 
this  high-handed  measure.  Massachusetts  was  the  first 
to  take  a  stand  in  opposition  to  the  mother  country. 
The  merchants  and  traders  of  Boston,  New  York,  and 
Philadelphia  entered  into  non-importation  agreements, 
with  a  view  of  obtaining  a  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  law. 
Under  the  pressure  of  public  sentiment,  the  stamp  act 
officers  gave  in  their  resignations.  The  eloquence  of 
William  Pitt  and  the  sagacity  of  Lord  Camden  brought 
about  a  repeal  of  the  stamp  act  in  the  British  Parlia- 
ment. A  new  ministry,  in  1767,  succeeded  in  getting 
through  the  House  of  Commons  a  bill  to  tax  the  tea 
imported  into  the  American  colonies,  and  it  received 
the  royal  assent.  Massachusetts  again  took  the  lead  in 
opposing  the  execution  of  this  last  act,  and  Boston  be- 


CRISPUS  ATTUCKS.  107 

gan  planning  to  take  the  most  conspicuous  part  in  the 
great  drama.  The  agitation  in  the  colonies  provoked 
the  home  government,  and  power  was  given  to  the 
governor  of  Massachusetts  to  take  notice  of  all  persons 
who  might  offer  any  treasonable  objections  to  these  op- 
pressive enactments,  that  the  same  might  be  sent  home 
to  England  to  be  tried  there.  Lord  North  was  now  at 
the  head  of  affairs,  and  no  leniency  was  to  be  shown  to 
the  colonies.  The  concentration  of  British  troops  in 
large  numbers  at  Boston  convinced  the  people  that 
their  liberties  were  at  stake,  and  they  began  to  rally. 
A  crowded  and  enthusiastic  meeting,  held  in  Boston  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  year  1769,  was  addressed  by  the 
ablest  talent  that  the  progressive  element  could  pro- 
duce. Standing  in  the  back  part  of  the  hall,  eagerly 
listening  to  the  speakers,  was  a  dark  mulatto  man,  very 
tall,  rather  good  looking,  and  apparently  about  fifty 
years  of  age.  This  was  Crispus  Attucks.  Though  taking 
no  part  in  the  meeting,  he  was  nevertheless  destined 
to  be  conspicuous  in  the  first  struggle  in  throwing  off 
the  British  yoke.  Twenty  years  previous  to  this,  At- 
tucks was  the  slave  of  William  Brouno,  Esq.,  of  Fra- 
mingham,  Mass. ;  but  his  was  a  heart  beating  for  free- 
dom, and  not  to  be  kept  in  the  chains  of  mental  or 
bodily  servitude. 

From  the  Boston  Gazette  of  Tuesday,  November  20, 
1750,  now  in  the  possession  of  William  C.  Nell,  Esq.,  I 
copy  the  following  advertisement :  — 

"Ran  away  from  his  master  William  Brouno  Fra- 
mingham,  on  the  30th  of  Sept.,  last,  a  Molatto  Fellow, 
about  27  years  of  Age  named  Crispus,  well  set,  six  feet 
2  inches  high,  short  curl'd  Hair,  knees  nearer  together 
than  common  ;  had  on  a  light  coloured  Bearskin  Coat, 


108   THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

brown  Fustian  jacket,  new  Buckskin  Breeches,  blew 
yarn  Stockins  and  Checkered  Shirt.  Whoever  shall 
take  up  said  Run-away,  and  convey  him  to  his  above 
said  Master  at  Framingham,  shall  have  Ten  Pounds, 
old  Tenor  Reward  and  all  necessary  Charges  paid." 

The  above  is  a  verbatim  et  literatim  advertisement 
for  a  runaway  slave  one  hundred  and  twelve  years 
ago.  Whether  Mr.  Brouno  succeeded  in  recapturing 
Crispus  or  not,  we  are  left  in  the  dark. 

Ill-feeling  between  the  mother  country  and  her  colo- 
nial subjects  had  been  gaining  ground,  while  British 
troops  were  concentrating  at  Boston.  On  the  5th  of 
March,  1770,  the  people  were  seen  early  congregating 
at  the  corners  of  the  principal  streets,  at  J)ock  Square, 
and  near  the  custom  house.  Captain  Preston,  with  a 
body  of  redcoats,  started  out  for  the  purpose  of  keep- 
ing order  in  the  disaffected  town,  and  was  hissed  at  by 
the  crowds  in  nearly  every  place  where  he  appeared. 
The  day  passed  off  without  any  outward  manifestation 
of  disturbance,  but  all  seemed  to  feel  that  something 
would  take  place  after  nightfall.  The  doubling  of  the 
guard  in  and  about  the  custom  house  showed  that 
the  authorities  felt  an  insecurity  that  they  did  not  care 
to  express.  The  lamps  in  Dock  Square  threw  their 
light  in  the  angry  faces  of  a  large  crowd  who  appeared 
to  be  waiting  for  the  crisis,  in  whatever  form  it  should 
come.  A  part  of  Captain  Preston's  company  was  mak- 
ing its  way  from  the  custom  house,  when  they  were  met 
by  the  crowd  from  Dock  Square,  headed  by  the  black 
man  Attacks,  who  was  urging  them  to  meet  the  red- 
coats, and  drive  them  from  the  streets.  "  These  rebels 
have  no  business  here,"  said  he ;  "  let's  drive  them 
away."  The  people  became  enthusiastic,  their  brave 


CRISPUS   ATTUCKS.  109 

leader  grew  more  daring  in  his  language  and  attitude, 
while  the  soldiers  iinder  Captain  Preston  appeared  to 
give  way.  "  Come  on !  don't  be  afraid  ! "  cried  At- 
tacks. "  They  dare  not  shoot ;  'and  if  they  dare,  let 
them  do  it."  Stones  and  sticks,  with  which  the  popu- 
lace was  armed,  were  freely  used,  to  the  great  discom- 
fiture of  the  English  soldiers.  "  Don't  hesitate  !  come 
on !  We'll  drive  these  rebels  out  of  Boston,"  were  the 
last  words  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  colored  man,  for 
the  sharp  crack  of  muskets  silenced  his  voice,  and  he 
fell  weltering  in  his  blood.  Two  balls  had  pierced  his 
sable  breast.  Thus  died  Crispus  Attucks,  the  first 
martyr  to  American  liberty,  and  the  inaugurator  of  the 
revolution  that  was  destined  to  take  from  the  crown 
of  George  the  Third  its  brightest  star.  An  immense 
concourse  of  citizens  followed  the  remains  of  the  hero 
to  its  last  resting  place,  and  his  name  was  honorably 
mentioned  in  the  best  circles.  The  last  words,  the 
daring,  and  the  death  of  Attucks  gave  spirit  and  en- 
thusiasm to  the  revolution,  and  his  heroism  was  imi- 
tated by  both  whites  and  blacks.  His  name  was  a 
rallying  cry  for  the  brave  colored  men  who  fought  at 
the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill.  In  the  gallant  defence  of 
Redbank,  where  four  hundred  blacks  met  and  defeat- 
ed fifteen  hundred  Hessians  headed  by  Count  Donop, 
the  thought  of  Attucks  filled  them  with  ardor.  When 
Colonel  Greene  fell  at  Groton,  surrounded  by  his  black 
troops  who  perished  with  him,  they  went  into  the  bat- 
tle feeling  proud  of  the  opportunity  of  imitating  the 
first  martyr  of  the  American  revolution. 

N^g  monument  has  yet  been  erected  to  him.     An 
effort  was  made  in  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  a 
few  years  since,  but  without  success.    Five  generations 
10 


110 


of  accumulated  prejudice  against  the  negro  had  ex- 
cluded from  the  American  inind  all  inclination  to  do 
justice  to  one  of  her  bravest  sons.  When  negro  slavery 
shall  be  abolished  in  our  land,  then  we  may  hope  to 
see  a  monument  raised  to  commemorate  the  heroism 
of  Crispus  Attucks. 


DESSALINES. 

JEAN  JACQUES  DESSALINES  was  a  native  of  Africa. 
Brought  to  St.  Domingo  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  was 
sold  to  a  black  man  named  Dessalines,  from  whom  he 
took  his  own.  His  master  was  a  tiler  or  house-shin- 
gler,  and  the  slave  learned  that  trade,  at  which  he 
worked  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolution  of 
1789,  when  he  entered  the  army  as  a  common  soldier, 
under  Toussaint.  By  his  activity  and  singular  fierce- 
ness ori  the  field  of  battle,  Dessalines  attracted  the 
attention  of  his  general,  who  placed  him  among  his 
guides  and  personal  attendants ;  and  he  was  subse- 
quently rapidly  advanced  through  several  intermediate 
grades  to  the  dignity  of  being  the  third  in  command. 
He  was  entirely  ignorant  of  learning,  as  the  utmost 
extent  that  he  ever  acquired  was  to  sign  his  name. 
Dessalines  was  short  in  stature,  but  stout  and  muscu- 
lar. His  complexion  was  a  dingy  black  ;  his  eyes  were 
prominent  and  scowling,  and  the  lines  of  his  features 
expressed  the  untamed  ferocity  of  his  character.  He 
had  a  haughty  and  disdainful  look.  Hunger,  thirst, 
fatigue,  and  loss  of  sleep  he  seemed  made  to  endure  as 
if  by  peculiarity  of  constitution.  He  bore  upon  his 


DESSALINES.  Ill 

arms  and  breast  the  marks  of  his  tribe.  Inured  by 
exposure  and  toil  to  a  hard  life,  his  frame  possessed  a 
wonderful  power  of  endurance.  He  was  a  bold  and 
turbulent  spirit,  whose  barbarous  eloquence  lay  in  ex- 
pressive signs  rather  than  in  words.  What  is  most 
strange  in  the  history  of  Dessalines  is,  that  he  was  a 
savage,  a  slave,  a  soldier,  a  general,  and  died,  when  an 
emperor,  under  the  dagger  of  a  Brutus. 

A  more  courageous  man  than  he  never  lived.  Fear- 
ing that  his  men,  during  the  attack  upon  the  fort  at 
Crete-a-Pierrot,  would  surrender  it,  he  seized  a  torch, 
held  it  to  the  door  of  the  magazine,  and  threatened  to 
blow  up  the  fort,  and  himself  with  it,  if  they  did  not 
defend  it.  Nearly  all  historians  have  set  him  down  as 
a  bloodthirsty  monster,  who  delighted  in  the  suffer- 
ings of  his  fellow-creatures.  They  do  not  rightly  con- 
sider the  circumstances  that  surrounded  him,  and  the 
foe  that  lie  had  to  deal  with. 

Rochambeau,  the  commanding  general,  from  the 
landing  of  Napoleon's  expedition  to  the  entire  expul- 
sion of  the  French,  was  a  hard-hearted  slaveholder, 
many  of  whose  years  had  been  spent  in  St.  Domingo, 
and  who,  from  the  moment  that  he  landed  with  his 
forces,  treated  the  colored  men  as  the  worst  of  barbari- 
ans and  wild  beasts.  He  imported  bloodhounds  from 
Cuba  to  hunt  them  down  in  the  mountains.  When 
caught,  he  had  them  thrown  into  burning  pits  and 
boiling  caldrons.  When  he  took  prisoners,  he  put 
them  to  the  most  excruciating  tortures  and  the  most 
horrible  deaths.  His  ferocious  and  sanguinary  spirit 
was  too  much  for  the  kind  heart  of  Toussaint,  or  the 
gentlemanly  bearing  of  Christophe.  His  only  match 
was  Dessalines. 


112    THE   BLACK  MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIETEMENTS. 

Ill  a  battle  near  Cape  Francois,  Rochambeau  took 
five  hundred  black  prisoners,  and  put  them  all  to  death 
the  same  day.  Dessalines,  hearing  of  this,  brought  five 
hundred  white  prisoners  in  sight  of  the  French,  and 
hung  them  up,  so  that  the  cruel  monster  could  see  the 
result  of  his  own  barbarous  example. 

Although  Toussaint  was  away  from  the  island,  the 
war  seemed  to  rage  with  greater  fury  than  at  any  for- 
mer period.  The  blacks  grew  wild  as  they  looked  upon 
the  flames ;  they  became  conscious  of  their  power  and 
success  ;  gaining  confidence  and  increasing  their  num- 
bers, all  the  pent-up  feelings  and  hatred  of  years  burst 
forth,  and  they  pushed  forward  upon  defenceless  men, 
women,  and  children.  The  proud,  haughty,  and  self- 
sufficient  planter,  who  had  been  permitted,  under  the 
mild  rule  of  Toussaint,  to  return  and  establish  himself 
on  his  former  estate,  had  to  give  way  again  to  the  ter- 
rible realities  which  came  upon  him. 

The  fertile  plains  that  were  in  the  highest  state  of 
cultivation,  the  lively  green  of  the  sugar-cane  that 
filled  the  landscape  through  boundless  fields,  and  the 
plantations  of  indigo  and  coffee,  with  all  their  beauti- 
ful hues  of  vegetation,  were  destroyed  by  the  flames 
and  smoke  which  spread  every  where.  Dessalines  was 
the  commander-in-chief  in  fact,  though  he  shared  the 
name  with  Christophe  and  Clervaux.  Forty  thousand 
French  troops  had  already  perished  by  yellow  fever 
and  the  sword.  Leclerc,  the  captain-general  of  the 
island,  lay  sick,  the  hospitals  were  filled,  and  the 
blacks  had  possession  of  nearly  all  the  towns. 

Twenty  thousand  fresh  troops  arrived  from  France, 
but  they  were  not  destined  to  see  Leclerc,  for  the  yel- 
low fever  had  taken  him  off.  In  the  mountains  were 


DESSALINES.  113 

many  barbarous  and  wild  blacks,  who  had  escaped 
from  slavery  soon  after  being  brought  from  the  coast 
of  Africa.  One  of  these  bands  of  savages  was  com- 
manded by  Lamour  de  Ranee,  an  adroit,  stern,  savage 
man,  half  naked,  with  epaulets  tied  to  his  bare  shoul- 
ders for  his  only  token  of  authority.  This  man  had 
been  brought  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  sold  as  a 
slave  in.  Port  au  Prince.  On  being  ordered  one  day  to 
saddle  his  master's  horse,  he  did  so,  then  mounted  the 
animal,  fled  to  the  mountains,  and  ever  after  made 
those  fearful  regions  his  home.  Lamour  passed  from 
mountain  to  mountain  with  something  of  the  ease  of 
the  birds  of  his  own  native  land.  Toussaint,  Chris- 
tophe,  and  Dessalines,  had  each  in  their  turn  pursued 
him,  but  in  vain.  His  mode  of  fighting  was  in  keeping 
with  his  dress.  This  savage  united  with  others  like 
himself,  and  became  complete  master  of  the  wilds  of 
St.  Domingo.  They  came  forth  from  their  mountain 
homes,  and  made  war  on  the  whites  wherever  they  found 
them.  Rochambeau,  surrounded  on  all  sides,  drew 
his  army  together  for  defence  rather  than  aggression. 
Reduced  to  the  last  extremity  by  starvation,  the  French 
general  sued  for  peace,  and  promised  that  he  would 
immediately  leave  the  island.  It  was  accepted  by  the 
blacks,  and  Rochambeau  prepared  to  return  to  France. 
The  French  embarked  in  their  vessels  of  war,  and  the 
standard  of  the  blacks  once  more  waved  over  Cape 
City,  the  capital  of  St.  Domingo.  As  the  French  sailed 
from  the  island,  they  saw  the  tops  of  the  mountains 
lighted  up.  It  was  not  a  blaze  kindled  for  war,  but 
for  freedom.  Every  heart  beat  for  liberty,  and  every 
voice  shouted  for  joy.  From  the  ocean  to  the  moun- 
tains, and  from  town  to  town,  the  cry  was,  Freedom ! 
10* 


114      THE  BLACK   MAN'S  GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

Freedom !  Thus  ended  Napoleon's  expedition  to  St. 
Domingo.  In  less  than  two  years  the  French  lost 
more  than  fifty  thousand  persons.  After  the  retire- 
ment of  the  whites,  the  men  of  color  put  forth  a 
Declaration  of  Independence,  in  which  they  said, 
"  We  have  sworn  to  show  no  mercy  to  those  who  may 
dare  to  speak  to  us  of  slavery." 

The  bravery  and  military  skill  which  Dessalines  had 
exhibited  after  the  capture  of  Toussaint,  the  bold, 
resolute  manner  in  which  he  had  expelled  the  whites 
from  the  island,  naturally  pointed  him  out  as  the 
future  ruler  of  St.  Domingo.  After  serving  a  short 
time  as  president,  Dessalines  assumed  the  dignity  of 
emperor,  and  changed  the  name  of  the  island  to  that 
of  Hayti. 

The  population  of  Hayti  had  been  very  much 
thinned  by  the  ravages  of  war,  and  Dessalines,  for  the 
purpose  of  aiding  those  of  his  race,  who  had  been 
taken  away  by  force,  to  return,  offered  large  rewards 
to  captains  of  vessels  for  any  that  they  might  bring 
back  as  passengers. 

One  of  the  charges  against  Dessalines  is  based  upon 
the  fact  that  he  changed  his  government  from  a  repub- 
lic to  an  empire.  But  we  must  consider  that  the  peo- 
ple of  Hayti  had  always  lived  under  a  monarchy,  and 
were  wedded  to  that  kind  of  government.  Had 
Toussaint  allowed  himself  to  be  made  a  king,  his 
power  would  have  been  recognized  by  Great  Britain, 
and  he  would  never  have  yielded  to  the  solicitations 
of  Leclerc,  when  that  general's  fleet  landed  on  the 
island.  Napoleon  had  just  been  crowned  emperor  of 
France,  and  it  was  not  at  all  surprising  that  Dessalines 
should  feel  inclined  to  imitate  the  conqueror  of  Egypt. 


DESSALINES.  115 

The  empire  of  Hayti  was  composed  of  six  military 
divisions,  each  to  be  under  the  command  of  a  general 
officer,  who  was  independent  of  his  associates  who 
governed  in  other  districts,  as  he  was  responsible  to 
the  head  of  the  state  alone.  The  supreme  power  was 
formally  conferred  upon  Jean  Jacques  Dessalines,  the 
avenger  and  liberator  of  his  countrymen,  who  was  to 
take  the  title  of  Emperor  and  Commander-in-chief  of 
the  Army,  and  to  be-  addressed  by  the  appellation  of 
His  Majesty  —  a  dignity  which  was  also  conferred  upon 
the  empress,  his  wife,  and  the  persons  of  both  were 
declared  inviolable.  The  crown  was  elective,  but  the 
power  was  conferred  upon  the  reigning  emperor  to 
select  and  appoint  his  successor,  by  a  nomination  which 
required  the  sanction  of  the  people  to  give  it  validity. 
The  emperor  was  empowered  to*  make  the  laws  to  gov- 
ern the  empire,  and  to  promulgate  them  under  his 
seal ;  to  appoint  all  the  functionaries  of  the  state,  and 
remove  them  at  his  will ;  to  hold  the  purse  of  the 
nation ;  to  make  peace  and  war,  and  in  all  things  to 
exercise  the  rights  and  privileges  of  an  absolute  sov- 
ereign. The  monarch  was  assisted  in  wielding  this 
mighty  authority  by  a  council  of  state,  composed  of 
generals  of  division  and  brigade.  No  peculiar  faith 
in  religion  was  established  by  law,  and  toleration  was 
extended  to  the  doctrines  and  worship  of  all  sects. 
Surrounded  by  all  the  luxuries  that  wealth  could 
procure,  he  was  distinguished  for  the  Roman  virtues 
of  abstinence  and  energy.  Scorning  effeminacy,  he 
seemed  ambitious  to  inure  himself  to  the  most  labo- 
rious exercise  and  to  the  simplest  mode  of  living. 
Dessalines  was  well  schooled  in  the  toils  and  labors  of 
the  camp.  As  his  life  was  made  up  of  extremes,  so  in 


116     THE   BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

his  habits  and  personal  endurances  were  seen  great 
contrasts.  Impetuosity  and  rapid  movement  were 
among  his  chief  characteristics.  He  prided  himself  on 
his  being  able  to  surprise  his  enemies  and  taking  them 
unprepared.  Indeed,  this  was  a  leading  trait  in  his 
military  character,  and  places  him  alongside  of  Napo- 
leon, or  any  other  general,  ancient- or  modern.  As 
time  smooths  over  his  footsteps,  and  wears  out  the 
blood  that  marked  his  course,  the  circumstances  at- 
tending it  will,  no  doubt,  be  made  to  extenuate  some 
of  his  many  faults,  and  magnify  his  virtues  as  a  gen- 
eral, a  ruler,  and  a  man. 

The  empress  was  a  woman  of  rare  beauty,  and  had 
some  education,  talent,  and  refinement.  Her  human- 
ity caused  her  to  restrain  her  husband,  upon  many 
occasions,  from  acts  of  cruelty.  Though  uneducated, 
Dessalines  was  not  ignorant  even  of  the  classics,  for  he 
kept  three  secretaries,  who,  by  turns,  read  to  him. 

As  soon  as  he  came  into  power,  the  emperor  exerted 
every  nerve  to  fortify  the  island,  and  to  make  it  strong 
in  the  time  of  need.  Much  has  been  said  of  the  cru- 
elty of  this  man,  and  far  be  it  from  me  to  apologize 
for  his  acts.  Yet,  to  judge  rightly  of  him,  we  must 
remember  that  he  had  an  ignorant  people  to  govern, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  former  planters  to  watch 
and  control  on  the  other.  This  latter  class  was  scat- 
tered all  over  Europe  and  the  United  States,  and  they 
lost  no  opportunity  to  poison  the  minds  of  the  whites 
against  Dessalines  and  his  government.  He  discovered 
many  plots  of  the  old  white  planters  to  assassinate 
him,  and  this  drew  out  the  ferociousness  of  his  dispo- 
sition, and  made  him  cruel  in  the  extreme.  That  he 
caused  the  death  of  innocent  persons,  there  is  not  the 


DESSALINES.  117 

slightest  doubt ;  but  that  such  a  man  as  he  was  needed 
at  the  time,  all  must  admit.  Had  Dessalines  been  in 
the  place  of  Toussaint,  he  would  never  have  been 
transferred  from  Hayti  to  France.  Unlimited  power, 
conferred  upon  him,  together  with  the  opposition  of 
the  whites  in  all  countries,  made  him  cruel  even  to 
his  own  race,  and  they  looked  forward  with  a  degree 
of  hope  to  his  removal.  The  mulattoes,  against  whom 
he  had  never  ceased  to  war,  were  ever  watchful  for  an 
opportunity  to  take  his  life.  A  secret  conspiracy  was 
accordingly  planned  by  this  class,  and  on  the  17th  of 
October,  1806,  while  Dessalines  was  on  a  journey  from 
St.  Marks  to  Port  au  Prince,  a  party  in  ambuscade 
fired  at  him,  and  he  fell  dead. 

Hayti  had  much  improved  under  his  management, 
especially  in  agriculture.  The  towns,  many  of  them, 
had  been  rebuilt,  commerce  extended,  and  the  arts 
patronized.  Military  talents  have  been  ascribed  to 
Dessalines  even  superior  to  Toussaint.  He  certainly 
had  great  courage,  but  upon  the  battle  field  it  seemed 
to  be  the  headlong  fury  of  the  tiger  rather  than  the 
calm  deliberation  of  L'Ouverture.  Of  all  the  heroic 
men  which  the  boiling  caldron  of  the  St.  Domingo 
revolution  threw  upon  its  surface,  for  the  purpose  of 
meeting  the  tyrannical  whites,  of  bringing  down  upon 
them  terrible  retribution  for  their  long  and  cruel 
reign,  and  of  vindicating  the  rights  of  the  oppressed 
in  that  unfortunate  island,  the  foremost  place  belongs 
to  the  African,  the  savage,  the  soldier,  the  general, 
the  president,  and  lastly  the  emperor  Jean  Jacques 
Dessalines. 


118     THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 


IRA     ALDRIDGE. 

ON  looking  over  the  columns  of  The  Times,  one 
morning,  I  saw  it  announced  under  the  head  of 
"Amusements,"  that  "Ira  Aldridge,  the  African 
Roscius,"  was  to  appear  in  the  character  of  Othello, 
in  Shakspeare's  celebrated  tragedy  of  that  name,  and, 
having  long  wished  to  see  my  sable  countryman,  I 
resolved  at  once  to  attend.  Though  the  doors  had 
been  open  but  a  short  time  when  I  reached  the  Royal 
Haymarket,  the  theatre  where  the  performance  was  to 
take  place,  the  house  was  well  filled,  and  among  the 
audience  I  recognized  the  faces  of  several  distin- 
guished persons  of  the  nobility,  the  most  noted  of 
whom  was  Sir  Edward  Bulwer  Lytton,  the  renowned 
novelist  —  his  figure  neat,  trim,  hair  done  up  in  the  la- 
test fashion — looking  as  if  he  had  just  come  oufof  a 
band-box.  He  is  a  great  lover  of  the  drama,  and  has 
a  private  theatre  at  one  of  his  country  seats,  to  which 
he  often  invites  his  friends,  and  presses  them  into  the 
different  characters. 

As  the  time  approached  for  the  curtain  to  rise,  it  was 
evident  that  the  house  was  to  be  "jammed."  Stuart, 
the  best  lago  since  the  days  of  Young,  in  company 
with  Roderigo,  came  upon  the  stage  as  soon  as  the 
green  curtain  went  up.  lago  looked  the  villain,  and 
acted  it  to  the  highest  conception  of  the  character. 
The  scene  is  changed,  all  eyes  are  turned  to  the  right 
door,  and  thunders  of  applause  greet  the  appearance 
of  Othello.  Mr.  Aldridge  is  of  the  middle  size,  and 
appeared  to  be  about  three  quarters  African;  has  a 


IRA   ALDRIDGE.  119 

pleasant  countenance,  frame  well  knit,  and  seemed  to 
me  the  best  Othello  that  I  had  ever  seen.  As  lago 
began  to  work  upon  his  feelings,  the  Moor's  eyes 
flashed  fire,  and,  further  on  in  the  play,  he  looked  the 
very  demon  of  despair.  When  he  seized  the  deceiver 
by  the  throat,  and  exclaimed,  "  Villain  !  be  sure  thou 
prove  my  love  false :  be  sure  of  it  —  give  me  the  ocu- 
lar proof —  or,  by  the  worth  of  my  eternal  soul,  thou 
hadst  better  have  been  born  a  dog,  lago,  than  answer 
my  waked  wrath,"  the  audience,  with  one  impulse, 
rose  to  their  feet  amid  the  wildest  enthusiasm.  At 
the  end  of  the  third  act,  Othello  was  called  before  the 
curtain,  and  received  the  applause  of  the  delighted 
multitude.  I  watched  the  countenance  and  every 
motion  of  Bulwer  Lytton  with  almost  as  much  inter- 
est as  I  did  that  of  the  Moor  of  Venice,  and  saw  that 
none  appeared  to  be  better  pleased  than  he.  The  fol- 
lowing evening  I  went  to  witness  his  Hamlet,  and  was 
surprised  to  find  him  as  perfect  in  that  as  he  had  been 
in  Othello  ;  for  I  had  been  led  to  believe  that  the  latter 
was  his  greatest  character.  The  whole  court  of  Den- 
mark was  before  us  ;  but  till  the  words,  "  'Tis  not 
alone  my  inky  cloak,  good  mother,"  fell  from  the  lips 
of  Mr.  Aldridge,  was  the  general  ear  charmed,  or  the 
general  tongue  arrested.  The  voice  was  so  low,  and 
sad,  and  sweet,  the  modulation  so  tender,  the  dignity 
so  natural,  the  grace  so  consummate,  that  all  yielded 
themselves  silently  to  the  delicious  enchantment. 
When  Horatio  told  him  that  he  had  come  to  see  his 
father's  funeral,  the  deep  melancholy  that  took  pos- 
session of  his  face  showed  the  great  dramatic  power 
of  Mr.  Aldridge.  "  I  pray  thee  do  not  mock  me,  fellow- 
student,"  seemed  to  come  from  his  inmost  soul.  The 


120     THE   BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

animation  with  which  his  countenance  was  lighted  up, 
during  Horatio's  recital  of  the  visits  that  the  ghost 
had  paid  him  and  his  companions,  was  beyond  de- 
scription. "Angels  and  ministers  of  grace  defend  us," 
as  the  ghost  appeared  in  the  fourth  scene,  sent  a  thrill 
through  the  whole  assembly.  His  rendering  of  the 
"  Soliloquy  on  Death,"  which  Edmund  Kean,  Charles 
Kemble,  and  William  C.  Macready  have  reaped  such 
unfading  laurels  from,  was  one  of  his  best  efforts.  He 
read  it  infinitely  better  than  Charles  Kean,  whom  I 
had  heard  at  the  "  Princess,"  but  a  few  nights  pre- 
vious. The  vigorous  starts  of  thought,  which  in  the 
midst  of  his  personal  sorrows  rise  with  such  beautiful 
and  striking  suddenness  from  the  ever-wakeful  mind 
of  the  humanitarian  philosopher,  are  delivered  with 
that  varying  emphasis  that  characterizes  the  truthful 
delineator,  when  he  exclaims,  "Frailty,  thy  name  is 
woman ! "  In  the  second  scene  of  the  second  act, 
when  revealing  to  Guildenstern  the  melancholy  which 
preys  upon  his  mind,  the  beautiful  and  powerful  words 
in  which  Hamlet  explains  his  feelings  are  made  very 
effective  in  Mr.  Aldridge's  rendering :  "  This  most 
•excellent  canopy,  the  air,  the  brave  o'erhanging  fir- 
mament, this  majestical  roof  fretted  with  golden  fire 
....  What  a  piece  of  work  is  a  man !  How  noble 
in  reason !  how  infinite  in  faculties !  in  form  and  mov- 
ing how  express  and  admirable !  in  action  how  like  an 
angel !  in  apprehension  how  like  a  God !  "  In  the  last 
scene  of  the  second  act,  when  Hamlet's  imagination, 
influenced  by  the  interview  with  the  actors,  suggests 
to  his  rich  mind  so  many  eloquent  reflections,  Mr. 
Aldridge  enters  fully  into  the  spirit  of  the  scene, 
warms  up,  and  when  he  exclaims,  "  He  would  drown 


IRA  ALDRIDGE.  121 

the  stage  with  tears,  and  cleave  the  general  ear  with 
horrid  speech,  —  make  mad  the  guilty,  and  appall  the 
free,"  he  is  very  effective  ;  and  when  this  warmth 
mounts  into  a  paroxysm  of  rage,  and  he  calls  the 
King  "  Bloody,  bawdy  villain  !  Remorseless,  treach- 
erous, lecherous,  kindless  villain !  "  he  sweeps  the 
audience  with  him,  and  brings  down  deserved  ap- 
plause. The  fervent  soul  and  restless  imagination, 
which  are  ever  stirring  at  the  bottom  of  the  fountain, 
and  sending  bright  bubbles  to  the  top,  find  a  glowing 
reflection  on  the  animated  surface  of  Mr.  Aldridge's 
colored  face.  I  thought  Hamlet  one  of  his  best 
characters,  though  I  saw  him  afterwards  in  several 
others. 

Mr.  Aldridge  is  a  native  of  Senegal,  in  Africa.  His 
forefathers  were  princes  of  the  Foulah  tribe,  whose 
dominions  were  in  Senegal,  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
of  that  name,  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa.-  To  this 
shore  one  of  our  early  missionaries  found  his  way, 
and  took  charge  of  Ira's  father,  Daniel  Aldridge,  in 
order  to  qualify  him  for  the  work  of  civilizing  and 
evangelizing  his  countrymen.  Daniel's  father,  the 
reigning  prince,  was  more  enlightened  than  his  sub- 
jects, probably  through  the  instruction  of  the  mission- 
ary, and  proposed  that  his  prisoners  taken  in  battle 
should  be  exchanged,  and  not,  as  was  the  custom,  sold 
as  slaves.  This  wish  interfered  with  the  notions  and 
perquisites  of  his  tribe,  especially  his  principal  chiefs ; 
and  a  civil  war  raged  among  the  people.  During 
these  differences,  Daniel,  then  a  promising  youth,  was 
brought  to  the  United  States  by  the  missionary,  and 
sent  to  Schenectady  College  to  receive  the  advantages 
of  a  Christian  education.  Three  days  after  his  de- 
ll 


122   THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

parture,  the  revolutionary  storm,  which  was  brewing, 
broke  out  openly,  and  the  reigning  prince,  the  advo- 
cate of  humanity,  was  killed. 

Daniel  Aldridge  remained  in  America  till  the  death 
of  the  rebellious  chief,  who  had  headed  the  conspiracy, 
and  reigned  instead  of  the  murdered  prince.  During 
the  interval,  Daniel  had  become  a  minister  of  the 
gospel,  and  was  regarded  by  all  classes  as  a  man  of 
uncommon  abilities.  He  was,  however,  desirous  to 
establish  himself  at  the  head  of  his  tribe,  possess  him- 
self of  his  birthright,  and  advance  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tianity among  his  countrymen.  For  this  purpose  he 
returned  to  his  native  country,  taking  with  him  a 
young  wife,  one  of  his  own  color,  whom  he  had  but 
just  married  in  America.  Daniel  no  sooner  appeared 
among  the  people  of  his  slaughtered  father,  than  old 
disagreements  revived,  civil  war  broke  out,  the  en- 
lightened African  was  defeated,  barely  escaping  from 
the  scene  of  strife  with  his  life,  and  for  some  time 
unable  to  quit  the  country,  which  was  watched  by 
numerous  enemies  anxious  for  his  capture.  Nine 
years  elapsed  before  the  proscribed  family  escaped  to 
America,  during  the  whole  of  which  time  they  were 
concealed  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  foes,  enduring 
vicissitudes  and  hardships  that  can  well  be  imagined, 
but  need  not  be  described. 

Ira  Aldridge  was  born  soon  after  his  father's  arrival 
in  Senegal,  and  on  their  return  to  America,  was 
intended  by  the  latter  for  the  church.  Many  a  white 
parent  has  "  chalked  out "  in  vain  for  his  son  a  similar 
calling,  and  the  best  intentions  have  been  thwarted  by 
an  early  predilection  quite  in  an  opposite  direction. 
We  can  well  account  for  the  father's  choice  in  this 


IRA   ALDRIDGE.  123 

instance,  as  in  keeping  with  his  own  aspirations  ;  and 
we  can  easily  imagine  his  disappointment  upon  aban- 
doning all  hope  of  seeing  one  of  his  hlood  and  color 
following  specially  in  the  service  of  his  great  Master. 
The  son,  however,  began  betimes  to  show  his  early 
preference  and  ultimate  passion.  At  school  he  was 
awarded  prizes  for  declamation,  in  which  he  excelled ; 
and  there  his  curiosity  was  excited  by  what  he  heard 
of  theatrical  representations,  which  he  was  told  em- 
bodied all  the  fine  ideas  shadowed  forth  in  the  lan- 
guage he  read  and  committed  to  memory.  It  became 
the  wish  of  his  heart  to  witness  one  of  these  perform- 
ances, and  that  wish  he  soon  contrived  to  gratify,  and 
finally  he  became  a  candidate  for  histrionic  fame. 

Notwithstanding  the  progress  Ira  had  made  in  learn- 
ing, no  qualities  of  the  mind  could  compensate,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Americans,  for  the  dark  hue  of  his  skin. 
The  prevailing  prejudice,  so  strong  among  all  classes, 
was  against  him.  This  induced  his  removal  to  Eng- 
land, where  he  entered  at  the  Glasgow  University, 
and,  under  Professor  Sandford,  obtained  several  pre- 
miums, and  the  medal  for  Latin  composition. 

On  leaving  college,  Mr.  Aldridge  at  once  com- 
menced preparing  for  the  stage,  and  shortly  after 
appeared  in  a  number  of  Shaksperian  characters,  in 
Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  Manchester,  and  other  provin- 
cial cities,  and  soon  after  appeared  on  the  boards  of 
Drury  Lane  and  Covent  Garden,  where  he  was 
stamped  the  "African  Roscius."  The  London  Weekly 
Times  said  of  him,  "  Mr.  Ira  Aldridge  is  a  dark  mu- 
latto, with  woolly  hair.  His  features  are  capable  of 
great  expression,  his  action  is  unrestrained  and  pictu- 
resque, and  his  voice  clear,  full,  and  resonant.  His 


124      THE   BLACK  MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

powers  of  energetic  declamation  are  very  marked,  and 
the  whole  of  his  acting  appears  impulsed  by  a  current 
of  feeling  of  no  inconsiderable  weight  and  vigor,  yet 
controlled  and  guided  in  a  manner  that  clearly  shows 
the  actor  to  be  a  person  of  much  study  and  great 
stage  ability."  The  Morning1  Chronicle  recorded  his 
"  Shylock"  as  among  the  "  finest  pieces  of  acting  that 
a  London  audience  had  witnessed  since  the  days  of 
the  elder  Kean." 


JOSEPH     CINQUE. 

IN  the  month  of  August,  1839,  there  appeared  in 
the  newspapers  a  shocking  story — that  a  schooner, 
going  coastwise  from  Havana  to  Neuvitas,  in  the  island 
of  Cuba,  early  in  July,  with  about  twenty  white  pas- 
sengers, and  a  large  number  of  slaves,  had  been  seized 
by  the  slaves  in  the  night  time,  and  the  passengers  and 
crew  all  murdered  except  two,  who  made  their  escape 
to  land  in  an  open  boat.  About  the  20th  of  the  same 
month,  a  strange  craft  was  seen  repeatedly  on  our 
coast,  which  was  believed  to  be  the  captured  Spanish 
coaster,  in  the  possession  of  the  negroes.  She  was 
spoken  by  several  pilot-boats  and  other  vessels,  and 
partially  supplied  with  water,  of  which  she  was  very 
much  in  want.  It  was  also  said  that  the  blacks  ap- 
peared to  have  a  great  deal  of  money.  The  custom- 
house department  and  the  officers  of  the  navy  were  in- 
stantly roused  to  go  in  pursuit  of  the  "  pirates,"  as  the 
unknown  possessors  of  the  schooner  were  spontaneously 
called.  The  United  States  steamer  Fulton,  and  several 


JOSEPH   CINQUE.  125 

revenue  cutters  were  despatched,  and  notice  given  to 
the  collectors  at  the  various  seaports.  On  the  10th  of 
August,  the  "  mysterious  schooner"  was  near  the  shore 
at  Culloden  Point,  on  the  east  end  of  Long  Island, 
where  a  part  of  the  crew  came  on  shore  for  water  and 
fresh  provisions,  for  which  they  paid  with  undiscrimi- 
nating  profuseness.  Here  they  were  met  by  Captain 
Green  and  another  gentleman,  who  stated  that  they 
had  in  their  possession  a  large  box  filled  with  gold. 
Shortly  after,  on  the  26th,  the  vessel  was  espied  by 
Captain  Gedney,  U.  S.  N.,  in  command  of  the  brig 
Washington,  employed  on  the  coast  survey,  who  de- 
spatched an  officer  to  board  her.  The  officer  found  a 
large  number  of  negroes,  and  two  Spaniards,  Pedro 
Montez  and  Jose  Ruiz,  one  of  whom  immediately  an- 
nounced himself  as  the  owner  of  the  negroes,  and 
claimed  his  protection.  The  schooner  was  thereupon 
taken  possession  of  by  Captain  Gedney. 

The  leader  of  the  blacks  was  pointed  out  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  his  name  given  as  Joseph  Cinque.  He 
was  a  native  of  Africa,  and  one  of  the  finest  speci- 
mens of  his  race  ever  seen  in  this  country.  As  soon 
as  he  saw  that  the  vessel  was  in  the  hands  of  others,. 
and  all  hope  of  his  taking  himself  and  countrymen  ' 
back  to  their  home  land  at  an  end,  he  leaped  over- 
board with  the  agility  of  an  antelope.  The  small  boat 
was  immediately  sent  after  him,  and  for  two  hours  did 
the  sailors  strive  to  capture  him  before  they  succeeded. 
Cinque  swam  and  dived  like  an  otter,  first  upon  his 
back,  then  upon  his  breast,  sometimes  his  head  out 
of  water,  and  sometimes  his  heels  out.  His  country- 
men on  board  the  captured  schooner  seemed  much 
amused  at  the  chase,  for  they  knew  Cinque  well,  and 
11* 


126    THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

felt  proud  of  the  untamableness  of  his  nature.  After 
baffling  them  for  a  time,  he  swam  towards  the  ves- 
sel, was  taken  on  board,  and  secured  with  the  rest  of 
the  blacks,  and  they  were  taken  into  New  London, 
Connecticut. 

The  schooner  proved  to  be  the  "  Amistad,"  Captain 
Ramon  Ferrer,  from  Havana,  bound  to  Principe,  about 
one  hundred  leagues  distant,  with  fifty-four  negroes 
held  as  slaves,  and  two  passengers  instead  of  twenty. 
The  Spaniards  said  that,  after  being  out  four  days,  the 
negroes  rose  in  the  night,  and  killed  the  captain  and  a 
mulatto  cook ;  that  the  helmsman  and  another  sailor 
took  to  the  boat  and  went  on  shore ;  that  the  only  two 
whites  remaining  were  the  said  passengers,  Montez  and 
Ruiz,  who  were  confined  below  until  morning ;  that 
Montez,  the  elder,  who  had  been  a  sea  captain,  was 
required  to  steer  the  ship  for  Africa ;  that  he  steered 
eastwardly  in  the  day  time,  because  the  negroes  qould 
tell  his  course  by  the  sun,  but  put  the  vessel  about  in 
the  night.  They  boxed  about  some  days  in  the  Ba- 
hama Channel,  and  were  several  times  near  the  islands, 
but  the  negroes  would  not  allow  her  to  enter  any  port. 
'Once  they  were  near  Long  Island,  but  then  put  out  to 
sea  again,  the  Spaniards  all  the  while  hoping  they  might 
fall  in  with  some  ship  of  war  that  would  rescue  them 
from  their  awkward  situation.  One  of  the  Spaniards 
testified  that,  when  the  rising  took  place,  he  was  awaked 
by  the  noise,  and  that  he  heard  the  captain  order  the 
cabin  boy  to  get  some  bread  and  throw  to  the  negroes, 
in  hope  to  pacify  them.  Cinque,  however,  the  leader 
of  the  revolt,  leaped  on  deck,  seized  a  capstan  bar,  and 
attacked  the  captain,  whom  he  killed  at  a  single  blow, 
and  took  charge  of  the  vessel ;  his  authority  being  ac- 


JOSEPH   CINQUE.  127 

knowledged  by  his  companions,  who  knew  him  as  a 
prince  in  his  native  land. 

The  captives  were  taken  before  the  Circuit  Court 
of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of  Connecticut, 
Hon.  Andrew  T.  Judson  presiding.  This  was  only 
the  commencement  in  the  courts,  for  the  trial  ran 
through  several  months.  During  this  time,  the  Afri- 
cans were  provided  with  competent  teachers  by  the 
abolitionists,  and  their  minds  were  undergoing  a  rapid 
change,  and  civilization  was  taking  the  place  of  igno- 
rance and  barbarism. 

Cinque,  all  this  while,  did  nothing  to  change  the 
high  opinion  first  formed  of  him,  and  all  those  who 
came  into  his  presence  felt  themselves  before  a  su- 
perior man.  After  he  and  his  countrymen  had  em- 
braced Christianity,  and  were  being  questioned  by  a 
peace  man  as  to  the  part  that  they  had  taken  in 
the  death  of  the  men  on  board  the  Amistad,  when 
asked  if  they  did  not  think  it  wrong  to  take  human 
life,  one  of  the  Africans  replied  that,  if  it  was  to  be 
acted  over  again,  he  would  pray  for  them  instead  of 
killing  them.  Cinque,  hearing  this,  smiled  and  shook 
his  head,  whereupon  he  was  asked  if  he  would  not 
pray  for  them  also.  To  this  he  said,  "Yes,  I  would 
pray  for  'em,  an'  kill  'em  too." 

By  the  sagacity  and  daring  of  this  man,  he  and  his 
companions,  fifty-four  in  number,  were  rescued  from  a 
life-long  bondage  of  the  worst  character  that  ever 
afflicted  the  human  family. 

Cinque  was  a  man  of  great  intelligence  and  natural 
ability ;  he  was  a  powerful  orator,  and  although  speak- 
ing in  a  tongue  foreign  to  his  audience,  by  the  grace 
and  energy  of  his  motions  and  attitudes,  the  changeful 


128      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

expression  of  his  features,  and  the  intonations  of  his 
voice,  made  them  understand  the  main  incidents  of 
his  narrative,  and  swayed  their  minds  in  an  extraordi- 
nary manner.  Alluding  to  that  point  of  his  history  at 
which  Cinque  described  how,  when  on  board  the  Span- 
ish vessel,  he,  with  the  help  of  a  nail,  first  relieved  him- 
self of  his  manacles,  then  assisted  his  countrymen  to 
get  rid  of  theirs,  and  then  led  them  to  the  attack  of 
the  Spaniards,  Lewis  Tappan,  in  the  account  of  the 
whole  proceedings  connected  with  the  Amistad  cap- 
tives, which  he  published,  says,  "  It  is  not  in  my 
power  to  give  an  adequate  description  of  Cinque  when 
he  showed  how  he  did  this,  and  led  his  comrades  to 
the  conflict,  and  achieved  their  freedom.  In  my 
younger  years  I  have  seen  Kemble  and  Siddons,  and 
the  representation  of  '  Othello,'  at  Covent  Garden ; 
but  no  acting  that  I  have  ever  witnessed  came  near 
that  to  which  I  allude." 


ALEXANDRE    DUMAS. 

I  HAD  been  in  Paris  a  week  without  seeing  Dumas, 
for  my  letter  of  introduction  from  Louis  Blanc,  who 
was  then  in  exile  in  England,  to  M.  Eugene  Sue,  had 
availed  me  nothing  as  regarded  a  sight  of  the  great 
colored  author.  Sue  had  promised  me  that  I  should 
have  an  interview  with  Dumas  before  I  quitted  the 
French  capital ;  but  I  had  begun  to  suspect  that  the 
latter  felt  that  it  would  be  too  much  of  a  condescension 
to  give  audience  to  an  American  slave,  and  I  began  to 
grow  indifferent  myself  upon  the  matter.  Invited  by 


ALEXANDRE  DUMAS.  129 

a  friend  to  attend  the  opera,  to  witness  the  perform- 
ances of  Grisi  and  Mario,  in  Norma,  I  gladly  accept- 
ed, and  in  company  with  my  friend  started  for  the 
place  of  amusement.  Our  seats  were  "  reserved,"  and 
I  took  my  place  in  the  immense  saloon  before  raising 
my  eyes  to  view  the  vast  audience  which  had  already 
assembled.  The  splendid  chandeliers,  the  hundreds 
of  brilliant  gas  lights,  the  highly-colored  drapery  that 
hung  its  rich  folds  about  the  boxes  and  stalls,  were  in 
keeping  with  the  magnificent  diamonds,  laces,  and 
jewelry,  that  adorned  the  persons  of  the  finest  assem- 
bly that  I  had  ever  seen.  In  a  double  box  nearly 
opposite  to  me,  containing  a  party  of  six  or  eight,  I 
noticed  a  light-complexioned  mulatto,  apparently  about 
fifty  years  of  age,  —  curly  hair,  full  face,  dressed  in  a 
black  coat,  white  vest,  white  kids,  —  who  seemed  to  be 
the  centre  of  attraction,  not  only  in  his  own  circle,  but 
in  others.  Those  in  the  pit  looked  up,  those  in  the 
gallery  looked  down,  while  curtains  were  drawn  aside 
at  other  boxes  and  stalls  to  get  a  sight  at  the  colored 
man.  So  recently  from  America,  where  caste  was  so 
injurious  to  my  race,  I  began  to  think  that  it  was  his 
woolly  head  that  attracted  attention,  when  I  was  in- 
formed that  the  mulatto  before  me  was  no  less  a  per- 
son than  Alexandre  Dumas.  Every  move,  look,  and 
gesture  of  the  celebrated  romancer  were  watched  in 
the  closest  manner  by  the  audience.  Even  Mario  ap- 
peared to  feel  that  his  part  on  the  stage  was  of  less 
importance  than  that  of  the  colored  man  in  the  royal 
box.  M.  Dumas'  grandfather  was  the  Marquis  de  la 
Pailleterie,  a  wealthy  planter  of  St.  Domingo,  while 
his  grandmother  was  a  negress  from  Congo.  Bains- 


130    THE  B£ACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

ford  makes  honorable  mention  of  the  father  of  Dumas, 
in  his  Black  Empire,  as  having  served  in  the  army  in 
his  own  native  island.  Dumas'  father  served  under 
Napoleon  during  the  whole  of  his  campaigns,  and  rose 
to  high  distinction.  Once,  when  near  Lisle,  Dumas, 
with  four  men,  attacked  a  post  of  fifty  Austrians, 
killed  six,  and  made  sixteen  prisoners.  For  a  long 
time  he  commanded  a  legion  of  horse  composed  of 
blacks  and  mulattoes,  who  were  the  terror  of  their 
enemies.  General  Dumas  was  with  the  army  which 
Napoleon  sent  over  the  Alps  ;  Napoleon  crossed  it  in 
June,  Marshal  Macdonald  in  December.  The  latter 
sent  Dumas  to  say  it  was  impossible  to  pass  in  the 
winter,  when  great  avalanches  of  snow  were  falling 
down,  threatening  to  destroy  the  army.  Napoleon's 
reply  to  the  messenger  was,  "  Go  and  tell  Marshal  Mac- 
donald, where  one  man  can  pass  over,  an  army  can  pass 
over  in  single  file.  ,  The  order  is  not  to  be  counter- 
manded." The  order  was  obeyed,  though  at  the  cost 
of  many  lives.  One  of  the  generals  that  made  the 
pass  was  the  black  General  Dumas,  who  ascended  the 
St.  Bernard,  which  was  defended  by  a  number  of  for- 
tifications, took  possession  of  the  cannon,  and  imme- 
diately directed  them  against  the  enemy.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  wars,  the  father  returned  to  his 
island  home,  and  after  his  death,  the  son  went  to 
France  destitute,  where  he  obtained  a  situation  as  a 
writer.  Here  he  cultivated  his  literary  taste.  His 
imaginative  mind  and  unsurpassed  energies  began  to 
develop  themselves,  which  soon  placed  the  young  man 
in  easy  circumstances.  Dumas  is  now  sixty-three 
years  of  age,  and  has  been  a  writer  for  the  press 


ALEXANDRE  DUMAS.  131 

thirty-eight  years.  During  this  time  he  has  published 
more  novels,  plays,  travels,  and  historical  sketches 
than  any  other  man  that  ever  lived.  It  is  well  under- 
stood that  he  is  not  the  author  of  all  the  works  that 
appear  under  his  name,  but  that  young  writers  gain  a 
living  by  working  out  the  plots  and  situations  that  his 
fecund  brain  suggests.  When  the  novel  or  the  play  is 
complete,  Dumas  gives  it  a  revision,  touches  up  the 
dialogue,  dashes  in  here  and  there  a  spirited  scene  of 
his  own,  and  then  receives  from  the  publisher  an 
enormous  sum.  Undeniably  a  man  of  great  genius, 
endowed  with  true  fertility  of  imagination,  and  mas- 
terly power  of  expression,  his  influence  has  been 
great. 

Such  is  the  vivacity  of  his  descriptions,  such  the  en- 
trainement  of  his  narrative,  such  the  boldness  of  his  in- 
vention, such  the  point  of  his  dialogue,  and  the  rapid- 
ity of  his  incidents,  so  matchless  often  the  felicity  and 
skill  of  particular  passages,  that  he  always  inflames 
the  interest  of  the  reader  to  the  end.  You  may  be 
angry  with  him,  but  you  will  confess  that  he  is  the 
opposite  of  tedious.  Certainly  no  writer  fills  a  more 
prominent  place  in  the  literature  of  his  country ;  and 
none  has  exercised  a  more  potent  influence  upon  its 
recent  development  than  this  son  of  the  negro  general, 
Dumas.  His  novels  are  every  where,  and  the  enthusi- 
asm with  which  his  dramatic  pieces  were  received  has 
been  of  the  most  flattering  character. 


132     THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 


HENRI     CHRISTOPHE. 

HENRI  CHRISTOPHE  was  a  native  of  the  island  of  New- 
Grenada,  where  he  was  born  a  slave.  He  went  to  St. 
Domingo  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  was  employed  as 
maitre  d'hotel  in  the  principal  cafe  at  Cape  Francois. 
From  strength  of  natural  genius,  as  well  as  from  his 
occupying  a  station  in  life  above  the  ordinary  condition 
of  his  race,  he  acquired  considerable  knowledge  of  the 
prevailing  manners  and  customs  of  the  society  of  which 
he  was  a  daily  spectator.  He  was  master  of  the  French, 
English,  and  Spanish  languages,  and  was  thought  to 
be  the  most  polished  gentleman  of  all  of  Toussaint's 
generals.  Being  six  feet  three  inches  in  height,  Chris- 
tophe  made  an  imposing  appearance  on  horseback,  on 
the  field  of  battle,  in  his  uniform.  He  had  a  majestic 
carriage,  and  an  eye  full  of  fire ;  and  a  braver  man 
never  lived.  Though  far  inferior  to  Toussaint  in  vigor 
and  originality  of  mind,  he  was  much  his  superior  in 
acquaintance  with  the  customs  and  habits  of  the  world, 
and  appeared  more  dignified  in  his  intercourse  with 
society. 

After  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolution,  Christophe 
joined  the  army  under  Toussaint,  who  soon  discovered 
his  good  qualities,  and  made  him  his  lieutenant ;  from 
which  position  he  was  soon  advanced  to  second  in  com- 
mand. It  has  been  asserted  that  he  was  an  abler  mili- 
tary man  than  either  Toussaint  or  Dessalines.  When 
Napoleon's  expedition  invaded  St.  Domingo,  Leclerc, 
with  the  largest  part  of  the  squadron,  came  to  anchor 
off  Cape  City,  and  summoned  the  place  to  surrender. 


HENRI   CHRISTOPHE.  133 

The  reply  which  he  received  from  Christophe  was  such 
as  to  teach  the  captain-general  what  he  had  to  expect 
in  the  subjugation  of  St.  Domingo.  "  Go,  tell  your 
general  that  the  French  shall  march  here  only  over 
ashes,  and  that  the  ground  shall  burn  beneath  their 
feet,"  was  the  answer  that  Leclerc  obtained  in  return 
to  his  command.  The  French  general  sent  another 
messenger  to  Christophe,  urging  him  to  surrender,  and 
promising  the  black  chief  a  commission  of  high  rank 
in  the  French  army.  But  he  found  he  had  a  man,  and 
not  a  slave,  to  deal  with.  The  exasperated  Christophe 
sent  back  the  heroic  reply,  "  The  decision  of  arms  can 
admit  you  only  into  a  city  in  ashes,  and  even  on  these 
ashes  will  I  fight  still." 

After  Toussaint  had  been  captured  and  sent  to 
France,  and  Leclerc  was  disarming  the  colored  popu- 
lation, and  the  decree  of  the  30th  of  April  for  main- 
taining slavery  in  St.  Domingo  had  been  put  forth, 
Christophe  followed  the  example  of  Clervaux,  and 
went  over  to  the  insurgents,  and  met  and  defeated 
Rochambeau  in  one  of  the  hardest  fought  battles  of  the 
campaign.  He  soon  after  shut  the  French  commander 
up  in  Cape  Francois,  where  the  latter  remained  like  a 
tiger  driven  to  his  den. 

During  the  reign  of  Dessalines,  Christophe  lived 
partly  retired,  "biding  his  time ;"  for  although  the  for- 
mer had  been  made  emperor,  the  latter  was  most  be- 
loved by  all  classes.  The  death  of  the  emperor  at 
once  opened  a  way  for  Christophe,  for  a  provisional 
government  was  then  constituted,  and  the  latter  was 
proclaimed  the  head  of  the  state.  This  was  a  virtual 
revolution,  and  Christophe  regarded  himself,  by  the 
provisional  appointment,  as  the  chief  of  the  army,  to 
12 


134      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

govern  ad  interim,  until  a  new  government  could  be 
formed.  But  the  mulattoes,  who  had  long  been  in  ob- 
scurity, rallied,  got  a  majority  in  the  convention,  and 
elected  Petion  president  of  the  republic  of  Hayti. 
Christophe  collected  together  his  adherents,  and  deter- 
mined to  take  by  conquest  what  he  thought  he  had  a 
right  to  by  succession,  and,  as  he  thought,  by  merit. 
Failing  in  this,  he  set  up  another  government  in  the 
north,  with  Cape  FranQois  as  its  capital.  Christophe 
felt  that  his  assumption  of  power  was  but  a  iisurpation, 
arid  that,  so  long  as  his  government  remained  in  opera- 
tion without  the  formal  sanction  of  the  people,  his  rival 
at  Port  au  Prince  possessed  immense  advantage  over 
him,  inasmuch  as  he  had  been  made  the  constituted 
head  of  the  country  by  an  observance  of  the  forms  of 
the  constitution.  To  remedy  this  palpable  defect, 
which  weakened  his  authority,  he  resolved  to  frame 
another  constitution,  which  would  confirm  him  in  the 
power  he  had  taken,  and  furnish  him  with  a  legal  ex- 
cuse for  maintaining  his  present  attitude.  In  accord- 
ance with  this  policy,  he  convoked  another  assembly  at 
Cape  Francois,  composed  of  the  generals  of  his  army 
and  the  principal  citizens  of  that  province,  and  after  a 
short  session  the  legislators  terminated  their  labors  by 
adopting  another  constitution,  dated  upon  the  17th  of 
February,  1809.  This  new  enactment  declared  all 
persons  residing  upon  the  territory  of  Hayti  free  citi- 
zens, and  that  the  government  was  to  be  administered 
by  a  supreme  magistrate,  who  was  to  take  the  title  of 
president  of  the  state  and  general-in-chief  of  the  land 
and  naval  forces.  Thus  firmly  seated,  Christophe  felt 
himself  more  powerful,  and  more  secure  from  out- 
breaks. Nevertheless,  he  was  not  destined  to  hold 


HENRI   CHRISTOPHE.  135 

peaceable  possession  of  all  the  territory  in  his  district, 
for  the  inhabitants  of  many  of  the  towns  in  the  vicinity 
of  Cape  FranQois  openly  threw  oif  their  allegiance,  and 
proclaimed  their  preference  for  the  more  legitimate 
government  of  Petion.  The  two  presidents  prepared 
for  war,  and  Christophe  opened  the  campaign  by 
marching  an  immense  army  against  Gonaives,  which, 
in  the  month  of  June,  1807,  he  invested.  Petion's 
troops  were  defeated,  and,  to  save  themselves  from 
capture,  escaped  by  sea  to  Port  au  Prince.  The  war 
continued  three  years,  when  a  new  competitor  ap- 
peared in  the  person  of  Rigaud,  the  other  mulatto 
general.  Christophe  now  ceased  for  a  while-;  but  when 
he  felt  that  the  time  had  arrived  he  again  renewed  the 
war,  and,  in  1810,  captured  the  Mole  St.  Nicholas,  the 
strongest  fort  on  the  island.  Becoming  ambitious  to 
be  a  monarch,  Christophe  called  his  council  together, 
and  on  the  20th  of  March,  1811,  the  session  closed  by 
adopting  a  new  frame  of  government.  The  imperial 
constitution  of  1805  was  modified  to  form  an  heredita- 
ry monarchy  in  the  north,  and  to  place  the  crown  of 
Hayti  upon  Christophe  under  the  title  of  Henry  the 
First.  When  he  entered  upon  the  kingly  station  that 
had  been  conferred  upon  him,  his  first  act  was  to  pro- 
mulgate an  edict  creating  an  hereditary  nobility,  as  a 
natural  support  of  his  government.  These  dignitaries 
of  the  kingdom  were  taken  mostly  from  the  army,  the 
chiefs  who  had  fought  under  him  in  the  struggle 
against  the  French,  and  consisted  of  two  princes,  seven 
dukes,  twenty-two  counts,  thirty-five  barons,  and  four- 
teen chevaliers.  His  coronation  was  the  most  magnifi- 
cent display  ever  witnessed  out  of  Europe.  To  furnish 
himself  with  all  the  appointments  correspondent  to  his 


136   THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

royal  dignity,  he  now  began  the  erection  of  a  palace, 
situated  a  few  rfiiles  from  the  cape,  upon  which  he  had 
bestowed  the  historical  name  of  Sans  Souci.  This  pal- 
ace has  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  splendid  edi- 
fice in  the  West  Indies.  The  rugged,  mountainous 
region  in  the  vicinity  of  his  royal  residence  was 
changed  from  its  original  condition  to  form  the  gar- 
dens of  the  palace.  Hills  were  levelled  with  the  plain, 
deep  ravines  were  filled  up,  and  roads  and  passages 
were  opened,  leading  in  all  directions  from  the  royal 
dwelling.  The  halls  and  saloons  of  the  palace  were 
wrought  with  mahogany,  the  floors  were  laid  with  rich 
marble,  and  numerous  jets-d'eau  furnished  coolness 
and  a  supply  of  pure  water  to  the  different  apartments. 
Christophe  held  a  levee  on  the  Thursday  evening  of 
each  week,  which  was  attended  by  the  most  fashiona- 
ble of  all  classes,  including  the  foreign  ambassadors 
and  consuls.  The  ceremonial  observances  were  mod- 
elled after  the  drawing  rooms  at  St.  Cloud  and  St. 
James.  Though  of  pure  African  blood,  Christophe  was 
not  a  jet  black,  his  complexion  being  rather  a  dusky 
brown.  His  person  had  grown  slightly  corpulent,  and 
his  address  was  cold,  polished,  and  graceful.  He  pos- 
sessed a  certain  air  of  native  djgnity  that  corresponded 
well  with  his  high  official  situation.  The  whites  of  all 
countries,  and  especially  the  English,  formed  a  high 
opinion  of  his  character.  That  part  of  the  island 
which  came  within  his  rule  had  been  well  cultivated, 
his  government  out  of  debt,  and  commerce  was  in  a 
flourishing  condition. 

The  removal  of  Napoleon  from  the  throne  of  France 
once  more  gave  to  the  French  planters  residing  in  the 
mother  country  hope  of  again  possessing  their  estates. 


HENRI   CHBISTOPHE.  137 

A  move  was  made  in  the  court  of  Louis  XVI J!.  to 
send  another  expedition  to  Hayti,  to  bring  the  colony 
back  to  her  allegiance.  On  learning  this,  Christophe 
issued  a  proclamation,  in  which  he  said,  "  If  we  love 
the  blessings  of  peace,  we  fear  not  the  fatigues  and 
horrors  of  war.  Let  our  implacable  enemies,  the 
French  colonists,  who  for  twenty  years  have  never 
ceased  from  their  projects  for  the  reestablishment  of 
slavery,  and  who  have  filled  all  the  governments  of  the 
earth  with  their  importunities, —  let  them  put  them- 
selves at  the  head  of  armies,  and  direct  themselves 
against  our  country.  They  will  be  the  first  victims  of 
our  vengeance,  and  the  soil  of  liberty  will  eagerly 
drink  the  blood  of  our  oppressors.  We  will  show  to 
the  nations  of  the  earth  what  a  warlike  people  can  ac- 
complish, who  are  in  arms  for  the  best  of  causes — the 
defence  of  their  homes,  their  wives,  their  children, 
their  liberty,  and  their  independence." 

A  despatch  was  next  sent  to  Christophe,  in  which  he 
was  threatened  with  an  invasion  by  all  the  forces  of 
combined  Europe  in  case  of  his  refusal  to  submit  him- 
self to  the  will  of  France.  This  last  threat,  however, 
had  no  influence  over  the  black  monarch,  for  he  felt 
that  no  European  power  would  invade  Hayti  after  the 
failure  of  the  sixty  thousand  men  sent  out  by  Napo- 
leon. Nothing  was  attempted  by  the  French,  and  the 
king  of  Hayti  was  left  in  possession  of  his  government. 
In  the  month  of  August,  1820,  Christophe  was  attacked, 
while  at  mass,  with  a  paralytic  disease,  and  was  imme- 
diately conveyed  to  Sans  Souci,  where  he  remained  an 
invalid  until  a  revolt  occurred  among  his  subjects. 
He  ordered  his  war-horse,  his  sword  was  brought,  and 
he  attempted  to  mount  his  charger;  but  in  vain.  He 
12* 


138      THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

gave  up  the  attempt,  retired  to  Iris  chamber,  locked 
the  door,  and  the  report  of  a  pistol  alarmed  his  at- 
tendants. They  rushed  in,  but  it  was  too  late ;  Henri 
Christophe  was  no  more. 

Christophe's  aims  were  great,  and  many  of  them 
good.  He  was  not  only  the  patron  of  the  arts,  but 
of  industry ;  and  it  gave  him  pleasure  to  see  his  coun- 
try recovering  the  ground  lost  in  the  revolution  and 
the  civil  wars,  and  advancing  in  name  and  wealth. 
He  promoted  industry  on  the  principles  laid  down 
by  his  predecessor,  Toussaint.  A  busy  population 
covered  the  land  with  marks  of  its  labors.  Rich 
crops  of  the  most  coveted  produce  of  nature  annually 
rewarded  the  toil  of  the  husbandman.  Christophe 
was  also  the  patron  of  education ;  and  there  are  still 
on  the  island  schools  that  were  founded  by  him  when 
king.  In  one  respect  he  excelled  Charlemagne,  —  he 
could  write  his  own  name;  but  that  was  all.  He  dic- 
tated letters  and  despatches,  and  was  an  admirable 
judge  of  the  fitness  and  relevancy  of  words.  He 
kept  up  a  correspondence  with  Wilberforce  and  Clark- 
son,  the  English  philanthropists,  and  both  of  these  dis- 
tinguished men  had  a  high  opinion  of  him  as  a  man, 
and  a  friend  of  his  race. 


PHILLIS    WHEATLEY. 

IN  the  year  1761,  when  Boston  had  her  slave  mar- 
ket, and  the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims  appeared  to 
be  the  most  pious  and  God-fearing  people  in  the  world, 
Mrs.  John  Wheatley  went  into  the  market  one  day,  for 


PHILLIS   WHEATLEY.  139 

the  purpose  of  selecting  and  purchasing  a  girl  for  her 
own  use.  Among  the  group  of  children  just  imported 
from  the  African  coast  was  a  delicately  built,  rather 
good-looking  child  of  seven  or  eight  years,  apparently 
suffering  from  the  recent  sea  voyage  and  change  of 
climate.  Mrs.  Wheatley's  heart  was  touched  at  the 
interesting  countenance  and  humble  modesty  of  this 
little  stranger.  The  lady  bought  the  child,  and  she 
was  named  Phillis.  Struck  with  the  slave's  uncom- 
mon brightness,  the  mistress  determined  to  teach  her 
to  read,  which  she  did  with  no  difficulty.  The  child 
soon  mastered  the  English  language,  with  which  she 
was  totally  unacquainted  when  she  landed  upon  the 
American  shores.  Her  school  lessons  were  all  per- 
fect, and  she  drank  in  the  scriptural  teachings  as 
if  by  intuition.  At  the  age  of  twelve,  she  could 
write  letters  and  keep  up  a  correspondence  that 
would  have  done  honor  to  one  double  her  years.  Mrs. 
"Wheatley,  seeing  her  superior  genius,  no  longer  re- 
garded Phillis  as  a  servant,  but  took  her  as  a  com- 
panion. It  was  not  surprising  that  the  slave  girl 
should  be  an  object  of  attraction,  astonishment,  and 
attention  with  the  refined  and  highly  cultivated  so- 
ciety that  weekly  assembled  in  the  drawing  room  of 
the  Wheatleys.  As  Phillis  grew  up  to  womanhood, 
her  progress  and  attainments  kept  pace  with  the  prom- 
ise of  her  earlier  years.  She  drew  around  her  the 
best  educated  of  the  white  ladies,  and  attracted  the 
attention  and  notice  of  the  literary  characters  of  Bos- 
ton, who  supplied  her  with  books  and  encouraged  the 
ripening  of  her  intellectual  powers.  She  studied  the 
Latin  tongue,  and  translated  one  of  Ovid's  tales,  which 
was  no  sooner  put  in  print  in  America,  than  it  was 


140      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

republished  in  London,  with  eloquent  commendations 
from  the  reviews.  In  1778,  a  small  volume  of  her 
poems,  containing  thirty-nine  pieces,  was  published  in 
London,  and  dedicated  to  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon. 
The  genuineness  of  this  work  was  established  in  the 
first  page  of  the  volume,  by  a  document  signed  by  the 
governor  of  Massachusetts,  the  lieutenant-governor, 
her  master,  and  fifteen  of  the  most  respectable  and  in- 
fluential citizens  of  Boston,  who  were  acquainted  with 
her  talents  and  the  circumstances  of  her  life.  Her 
constitution  being  naturally  fragile,  she  was  advised  by 
her  physician  to  take  a  sea  voyage  as  the  means  of  re- 
storing her  declining  health. 

Phillis  was  emancipated  by  her  master  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  and  sailed  for  England.  On  her  ar- 
rival, she  was  received  and  admired  in  the  first  circles 
of  London  society ;  and  it  was  at  that  time  that  her 
poems  were  collected  and  published  in  a  volume,  with 
a  portrait  and  memoir  of  the  authoress.  Phillis  re- 
turned to  America,  and  married  Dr.  Peters,  a  man  of 
her  own  color,  and  of  considerable  talents.  Her  health 
began  rapidly  to  decline,  and  she  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six  years,  in  1780.  Fortunately  rescued  from 
the  fate  that  awaits  the  victims  of  the  slave  trade,  this 
injured  daughter  of  Africa  had  an  opportunity  of  de- 
veloping the  genius  that  God  had  given  her,  and  of 
showing  to  the  world  the  great  wrong  done  to  her 
race.  The  limited  place  allowed  for  this  sketch  will 
not  permit  of  our  giving  more  than  one  short  poem 
from  the  pen  of  the  gifted  Phillis  Wheatley. 


PHILLIS   WHEATLEY.  141 

ON   THE   DEATH   OF   A   YOUNG   GIRL. 

From  dark  abodes  to  fair  ethereal  light, 

The  enraptured  innocent  has  winged  her  flight ; 

On  the  kind  .bosom  of  eternal  love 

She  finds  unknown  beatitudes  above. 

This  know,  ye  parents,  nor  her  loss  deplore  — 

She  feels  the  iron  hand  of  pain  no  more ; 

The  dispensations  of  unerring  grace 

Should  turn  your  sorrows  into  grateful  praise ; 

Let,  then,  no  tears  for  h'er  henceforward  flow 

Nor  suffer  grief  in  this  dark  vale  below. 

Her  morning  sun,  which  rose  divinely  bright, 
Was  quickly  mantled  with  the  gloom  of  night ; 
But  hear,  in  heaven's  best  bowers,  your  child  so  fair, 
And  learn  to  imitate  her  language  there. 
Thou,  Lord,  whom  I  behold  with  glory  crowned, 
By  what  sweet  name,  and  in  what  tuneful  sound, 
Wilt  thou  be  praised  ?     Seraphic  powers  are  faint 
Infinite  love  and  majesty  to  paint. 
To  thee  let  all  their  grateful  voices  raise, 
And  saints  and  angels  join  their  songs  of  praise 

Perfect  in  bliss,  now  from  her  heavenly  home 
She  looks,  and,  smiling,  beckons  you  to  come  ; 
Why  then,  fond  parents,  why  these  fruitless  groans  ? 
Kestrain  your  tears,  and  cease  your  plaintive  moans. 
Freed  from  a  world  of  sin,  and  snares,  and  pain, 
Why  would  ye  wish  your  fair  one  back  again  ? 
Nay,  bow  resigned  ;  let  hope  your  grief  control, 
And  check  the  rising  tumult  of  the  soul. 
Calm  in  the  prosperous  and  the  adverse  day, 
Adore  the  God  who  gives  and  takes  away ; 


142      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

See  him  in  all,  his  holy  name  revere, 
Upright  your  actions,  and  your  hearts  sincere, 
Till,  having  sailed  through  life's  tempestuous  sea, 
And  from  its  rocks  and  boisterous  billows  free, 
Yourselves,  safe  landed  on  the  blissful  shore, 
Shall  join  your  happy  child  to  part  no  more. 


DENMARK    VESEY. 

No  class  of  persons  in  the  world,  who  have  the 
name  of  being  free,  are  more  sorely  oppressed  than 
the  free  colored  people  of  the  Southern  States.  Each 
state  has  its  code  of  black  laws,  which  are  rigorously 
enforced,  and  the  victim  made  to  feel  his  degradation 
at  all  times  and  in  all  places.  An  undeveloped  dis- 
content pervades  the  entire  black  population,  bond 
and  free,  in  all  the  slave  states.  Human  bondage  is 
ever  fruitful  of  insurrection,  wherever  it  exists,  and 
under  whatever  circumstances  it  may  be  found.  Ev- 
ery community  the  other  side  of  "Dixon's  Line"  feels 
that  it  lives  upon  a  volcano  that  is  liable  to  burst  out  at 
any  moment;  and  all  are  watchful,  and  fearfully  in 
earnest,  in  looking  after  the  colored  man's  affairs,  and 
inventing  sterner  enactments  to  keep  him  in  subjec- 
tion. The  most  oppressive  of  all  the  states  is  South 
Carolina.  In  Charleston,  free  colored  ladies  are  not 
allowed  to  wear  veils  about  their  faces  in  the  streets, 
or  in  any  public  places.  A  violation  of  this  law  is 
visited  with  "  thirty-nine  lashes  upon  the  bare  back" 
The  same  is  inflicted  upon  any  free  colored  man  who 
shall  be  seen  upon  the  streets  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth, 


DENMAKK   VESEY.  143 

or  a  walking  stick  in  his  hand.  Both,  when  walking 
the  streets,  are  forbidden  to  take  the  inside  of  the 
pavement.  Punishment  of  fine  and  imprisonment  is 
laid  upon  any  found  out  after  the  hour  of  nine  at 
night.  An  extra  tax  is  placed  upon  every  member  of 
a  free  colored  family.  While  all  these  odious  edicts 
were  silently  borne  by  the  free  colored  people  of 
Charleston  in  1822  there  was  a  suppressed,  feeling 
of  indignation,  mortification,  and  discontent,  that  was 
only  appreciated  by  a  few.  Among  the  most  dissatis- 
fied of  the  free  blacks  was  Denmark  Yesey,  a  man 
who  had  purchased  his  freedom  in  the  year  1800,  and 
since  that  time  had  earned  his  living  by  his  trade, 
being  a  carpenter  and  joiner.  Having  been  employed 
on  shipboard  by  his  master,  Captain  Vesey,  Denmark 
had  seen  a  great  deal  of  the  world,  and  had  acquired 
a  large  fund  of  information,  and  was  regarded  as  a 
leading  man  among  the  blacks.  He  had  studied  the 
Scriptures,  and  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  showing 
that  they  were  opposed  to  chattel-slavery.  He  spoke 
freely  with  the  slaves  upon  the  subject,  and  often 
with  whites,  where  he  found  he  could  do  so  without 
risk  to  his  own  liberty.  After  resolving  to  incite  the 
slaves  to  rebellion,  he  began  taking  into  his  confidence 
such  persons  as  he  could  trust,  and  instructing  them 
to  gain  adherents  from  among  the  more  reliable  of 
both  bond  and  free.  Peter  Poyas,  a  slave  of  more 
than  ordinary  foresight  and  ability,  was  selected  by 
Vesey  as  his  lieutenant;  and  to  him  was  committed 
the  arduous  duty  of  arranging  the  mode  of  attack,  and 
of  acting  as  the  military  leader. 

"  His  plans  showed  some  natural  generalship ;  he 
arranged  the  night  attack ;  he  planned  tne  enrolment 


144      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

of  a  mounted  troop  to  scour  the  streets ;  and  he  had  a 
list  of  all  the  shops  where  arms  and  ammunition  were 
kept  for  sale.  He  voluntarily  undertook  the  manage- 
ment of  the  most  difficult  part  of  the  enterprise, — the 
capture  of  the  main  guard-house,  —  and  had  pledged 
himself  to  advance  alone  and  surprise  the  sentinel. 
He  was  said  to  have  a  magnetism  in  his  eye,  of  which 
his  confederates  stood  in  great  awe  ;  if  he  once  got  his 
eye  upon  a  man,  there  was  no  resisting  it." 

Gullah  Jack,  Tom  Russell,  and  Ned  Bennett.  The 
last  two  were  not  less  valuable  than  Peter  Poyas  ;  for 
Tom  was  an  ingenious  mechanic,  arid  made  battle- 
axes,  pikes,  and  other  instruments  of  death,  with 
which  to  carry  on  the  war.  All  of  the  above  were 
to  be  generals  of  brigades,  and  were  let  into  all  the 
secrets  of  the  intended  rising.  It  has  long  been  the 
custom  in  Charleston  for  the  country  slaves  to  visit 
the  city  in  great  numbers  on  Sunday,  and  return  to 
their  homes  in  time  to  commence  work  on  the  follow- 
ing morning.  It  was  therefore  determined  by  Den- 
mark to  have  the  rising  take  place  on  Sunday.  The 
slaves  of  nearly  every  plantation  in  the  vicinity  were 
enlisted,  and  were  to  take  part. 

"  The  details  of  the  plan,  however,  were  not  rashly 
committed  to  the  mass  of  the  confederates ;  they  were 
known  only  to  a  few,  and  were  finally  to  have  been 
announced  after  the  evening  prayer-meeting  on  the 
appointed  Sunday.  But  each  leader  had  his  own 
company  enlisted,  and  his  own  work  marked  out. 
When  the  clock  struck  twelve,  all  were  to  move. 
Peter  Poyas  was  to  lead  a  party  ordered  to  assemble 
at  South  Bay,  and  to  be  joined  by  a  force  from  James's 
Island  ;  he  was  then  to  inarch  up  and  seize  the  arsenal 


DENMARK  VESEY.  145 

and  guard-house  opposite  St.  Michael's  Church,  and 
detach  a  sufficient  number  to  cut  off  all  white  citizens 
who  should  appear  at  the  alarm  posts.  A  second  body 
of  negroes,  from  the  country  and  the  Neck,  headed  by 
Ned  Bennett,  was  to  assemble  on  the  Neck  and  seize  the 
arsenal  there.  A  third  was  to  meet  at  Governor  Ben- 
nett's Mills,  under  command  of  Rolla,  another  leader, 
and,  after  putting  the  governor  and  intendant  to  death, 
to  march  through  the  city,  or  be  posted  at  Cannon's 
Bridge,  thus  preventing  the  inhabitants  of  Cannons- 
borough  from  entering  the  city.  A  fourth,  partly  from 
the  country  and  partly  from  the  neighboring  localities 
in  the  city,  was  to  rendezvous  on  Gadsden's  Wharf 
and  attack  the  upper  guard-house.  A  fifth,  composed 
of  country  and  Neck  negroes,  was  to  assemble  at 
Bulkley's  farm,  two  miles  and  a  half  from  the  city, 
seize  the  upper  powder  magazine,  and  then  march 
down ;  and  a  sixth  was  to  assemble  at  Denmark 
Yesey's  and  obey  his  orders.  A  seventh  detachment, 
under  Gullah  Jack,  was  to  assemble  in  Boundary 
Street,  at  the  head  of  King  Street,  to  capture  the  arms 
of  the  Neck  company  of  militia,  and  to  take  an  ad- 
ditional supply  from  Mr.  Duquercron's  shop.  The 
naval  stores  on  Mey's  Wharf  were  also  to  be  attacked. 
Meanwhile  a  horse  company,  consisting  of  many  dray- 
men, hostlers,  and  butcher  boys,  was  to  meet  at  Ligl it- 
wood's  Alley,  and  then  scour  the  streets  to  prevent  the 
whites  from  assembling.  Every  white  man  coming 
out  of  his  own  door  was  to  be  killed,  and,  if  necessary, 
the  city  was  to  be  fired  in  several  places  —  slow  match 
for  this  purpose  having  been  purloined  from  the  pub- 
lic arsenal  and  placed  in  an  accessible  position." 
The  secret  and  plan  of  attack,  however,  were  incau- 
13 


146      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

tiously  divulged  to  a  slave  named  Devany,  belonging 
to  Colonel  Prioleau,  and  he  at  once  informed  his  mas- 
ter's family.  The  mayor,  on  getting  possession  of  the 
facts,  called  the  city  council  together  for  consultation. 
The  investigation  elicited  nothing  new,  for  the  slaves 
persisted  in  their  ignorance  of  the  matter,  and  the 
authorities  hegan  to  feel  that  they  had  been  imposed 
upon  by  Devany  and  his  informant,  when  another  of 
the  conspirators,  being  bribed,  revealed  what  he  knew. 
Arrests  after  arrests  were  made,  and  the  Mayor's 
Court  held  daily  examinations  for  weeks.  After  sev- 
eral weeks  of  incarceration,  the  accused,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  in  number,  were  brought  to  trial :  thirty- 
four  were  sentenced  to  transportation,  twenty-seven 
acquitted  by  the  court,  twenty-five  discharged  without 
trial,  and  thirty-five  condemned  to  death.  With  but 
two  or  three  exceptions,  all  of  the  conspirators  went 
to  the  gallows  feeling  that  they  had  acted  right,  and 
died  like  men  giving  their  lives  for  the  cause  of  free- 
dom. A  report  of  the  trial,  written  soon  after,  says 
of  Denmark  Vesey, — 

"  For  several  years  before  he  disclosed  his  intentions 
to  any  one,  he  appears  to  have  been  constantly  and 
assiduously  engaged  in  endeavoring  to  embitter  the 
minds  of  the  colored  population  against  the  white. 
He  rendered  himself  perfectly  familiar  with  all  those 
parts  of  the  Scriptures  which  he  thought  he  could  pervert 
to  his  purpose,  and  would  readily  quote  them  to  prove 
that  slavery  was  contrary  to  the  laws  of  God, — that 
slaves  were  bound  to  attempt  their  emancipation,  how- 
ever shocking  and  bloody  might  be  the  consequences, 
—  and  that  such  efforts  would  not  only  be  pleasing  to 
the  Almighty,  but  were  absolutely  enjoined,  and  their 


DENMARK  VESEY.  147 

success  predicted,  in  the  Scriptures.  His  favorite 
texts,  when  he  addressed  those  of  his  own  color,  were 
Zechariah  xiv.  1-3,  and  Joshua  vi.  21 ;  and  in  all  his 
conversations  he  identified  their  situation  with  that 
of  the  Israelites.  The  number  of  inflammatory  pam- 
phlets on  slavery  brought  into  Charleston  from  some 
of  our  sister  states  within  the  last  four  years,  (and 
once  from  Sierra  Leone,)  and  distributed  amongst  the 
colored  population  of  the  city,  for  which  there  was  a 
great  facility,  in  consequence  of  the  unrestricted  inter- 
course allowed  to  persons  of  color  between  the  differ- 
ent states  in  the  Union,  and  the  speeches  in  Congress 
of  those  opposed  to  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the 
Union,  perhaps  garbled  and  misrepresented,  furnished 
him  with  ample  means  for  inflaming  the  minds  of  the 
colored  population  of  this  state  ;  and  by  distorting 
certain  parts  of  those  speeches,  or  selecting  from  them 
particular  passages,  he  persuaded  but  too  many  that 
Congress  had  actually  declared  them  free,  and  that 
they  were  held  in  bondage  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the 
land.  Even  whilst  walking  through  the  streets  in 
company  with  another,  he  was  not  idle  ;  for  if  his  com- 
panion bowed  to  a  white  person,  he  would  rebuke  him, 
and  observe  that  all  men  were  born  equal,  and  that  he 
was  surprised  that  any  one  would  degrade  himself  by 
such  conduct,  —  that  he  would  never  cringe  to  the 
whites,  nor  ought  any  one  who  had  the  feelings  of  a 
man.  When  answered,  '  We  are  slaves,'  he  would 
sarcastically  and  indignantly  reply,  '  You  deserve  to 
remain  slaves;'  and  if  he  were  fftrther  asked,  'What 
can  we  do  ? '  he  would  remark,  i  Go  and  buy  a  spell- 
ing-book and  read  the  fable  of  Hercules  and~  the 
Wagoner,'  which  he  would  then  repeat,  and  apply  it 
to  their  situation.  He  also  sought  every  opportunity 


148      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

of  entering  into  conversation  with  white  persons,  when 
they  could  be  overheard  by  negroes  near  by,  especially 
in  grog  shops ;  during  which  conversation,  he  would 
artfully  introduce  some  bold  remark  on  slavery ;  and 
sometimes,  when,  from  the  character  he  was  conversing 
with,  he  found  he  might  be  still  bolder,  he  would  go 
so  far,  that,  had  not  his  declarations  in  such  situations 
been  clearly  proved,  they  would  scarcely  have  been 
credited.  He  continued  this  course  until  some  time 
after  the  commencement  of  the  last  winter ;  by  which 
time  he  had  not  only  obtained  incredible  influence 
amongst  persons  of  color,  but  many  feared  him  more 
than  their  owners,  and,  one  of  them  declared,  even 
more  than  his  God." 

The  excitement  which  the  revelations  of  the  trial 
occasioned,  and  the  continual  fanning  of  the  flame  by 
the  newspapers,  were  beyond  description.  Double  guard 
in  the  city,  the  country  patrol  on  horseback  and  on 
foot,  the  watchfulness  that  was  observed  on  all  planta- 
tions, showed  the  deep  feeling  of  fear  pervading  the 
hearts  of  the  slaveholders,  not  only  in  South  Carolina, 
but  the  fever  extended  to  the  other  Southern  States, 
and  all  seemed  to  feel  that  a  great  crisis  had  been 
passed.  And  indeed,  their  fears  seem  not  to  have 
been  without  ground,  for  a  more  complicated  plan  for 
an  insurrection  could  scarcely  have  been  conceived. 
And  many  were  of  opinion  that,  the  rising  once  begun, 
they  would  have  taken  the  city  and  held  it,  and  might 
have  sealed  the  fate  of  slavery  in  the  south.  The  best 
account  of  this  whole  matter  is  to  be  found  in  an  able 
article  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  for  June,  1861,  from 
the  pen  of  that  eloquent  friend  of  freedom  T.  W.  Hig- 
ginson,  and  to  which  I  am  indebted  for  the  extracts 
contained  in  this  memoir  of  Denmark  Vesey. 


HENRY   HIGHLAND   GARNETT.  149 


HENRY    HIGHLAND     GARNETT. 

THOUGH  born  a  slave  in  the  State  of  Maryland,  Henry 
Highland  Garnett  is  the  son  of  an  African  chief,  stolen 
from  the  coast  of  his  native  land.  His  father's  family 
were  all  held  as  slaves  till  1822,  when  they  escaped  to 
the  north.  In  1835,  he  became  a  member  of  Canaan 
Academy,  New  Hampshire.  Three  months  after  en- 
tering the  school,  it  was  broken  up  by  a  mob,  who 
destroyed  the  building.  Mr.  Garnett  afterwards  en- 
tered Oneida  Institute,  New  York,  under  the  charge 
of  that  noble-hearted  friend  of  man,  Beriah  Green, 
where  he  was  treated  with  equality  by  the  professors 
and  his  fellow-students.  There  he  gained  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  courteous  and  accomplished  paan,  an  able 
and  eloquent  debater,  and  a  good  writer.  His  first 
appearance  as  a  public  speaker  was  in  1837,  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  where  his  speech  at  once  secured  for  him 
a  standing  among  first-class  orators.  Mr.  Garnett  is 
in  every  sense  of  the  term  a  progressive  man.  He  is 
a  strenuous  advocate  of  freedom,  temperance,  educa- 
tion, and  the  religious,  moral,  and  social  elevation  of 
his  race.  He  is  an  acceptable  preacher,  evangelical  in 
his  profession.  His  discourses,  though  showing  much 
thought  and  careful  study,  are  delivered  extempora- 
neously, and  with  good  effect.  Having  complete  com- 
mand of  his  voice,  he  uses  it  with  skill,  never  failing 
to  fill  the  largest  hall.  One  of  the  most  noted  ad- 
dresses ever  given  by  a  colored  man  in  this  country 
was  delivered  by  Mr.  Garnett  at  the  National  Conven- 
tion of  Colored  Americans,  at  Buffalo,  New  York,  in 
13* 


150      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

1843.  None  but  those  who  heard  that  speech  have 
the  slightest  idea  of  the  tremendous  influence  which 
he  exercised  over  the  assembly.  He  spent  some  years 
over  a  church  at  Troy,  and  another  at  Geneva,  New 
York,  and  in  1850  visited  England,  where  he  re- 
mained, lecturing,  in  different  sections  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  upon  American  slavery,  until  1852,  we  be- 
lieve, when,  being  joined  by  his  family,  he  went  as  a 
missionary  to  Jamaica.  After  spending  three  years 
among  the  people  of  that  island,  he  returned  to  the 
United  States,  and  is  now  settled  over  Shiloh  Church, 
New  York  city.  Mr.  Garnett  is  about  forty-five  years 
of  age,  unadulterated  in  race,  tall  and  commanding 
in  appearance,  has  an  eye  that  looks  through  you,  and 
a  clear,  ringing  voice.  He  has  written  considerably, 
and  has  edited  one  or  two  journals  at  different  times, 
devoted  to  the  elevation  of  his  race.  The  following 
from  his  pen  will  give  but  a  faint  idea  of  Mr.  Garnett' s 
powers  as  a  writer :  — 

"  The  woful  volume  of  our  history,  as  it  now  lies 
open  to  the  world,  is  written  with  tears  and  bound  with 
blood.  As  I  trace  it,  my  eyes  ache  and  my  heart  is 
filled  with  grief.  No  other  people  have  suffered  so 
much,  and  none  have  been  more  innocent.  If  I  might 
apostrophize  that  bleeding  country,  I  would  say,  0 
Africa,  thou  hast  bled,  freely  bled,  at  every  pore.  Thy 
sorrow  has  been  mocked,  and  thy  grief  has  not  been 
heeded.  Thy  children  are  scattered  over  the  whole 
earth,  and  the  great  nations  have  been  enriched  by 
them.  The  wild  beasts  of  thy  forests  are  treated  with 
more  mercy  than  they.  The  Libyan  lion  and  the  fierce 
tiger  are  caged^to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  men,  and  the 
keeper's  hands  are  not  laid  heavily  upon  them.  But 


HENRY  HIGHLAND   GARNETT.  151 

thy  children  are  tortured,  taunted,  and  hurried  out  of 
life  by  unprecedented  cruelty.  Brave  men,  formed  in 
the  divinest  mould,  are  bartered,  sold,  and  mortgaged. 
Stripped  of  every  sacred  right,  they  are  scourged  if 
they  affirm  that  they  belong  to  God.  Women,  sustain- 
ing the  dear  relation  of  mothers,  are  yoked  with  the 
horned  cattle  to  till  the  soil,  and  their  heart-strings  are 
torn  to  pieces  by  cruel  separations  from  their  children. 
Our  sisters,  ever  manifesting  the  purest  kindness, 
whether  in  the  wilderness  of  their  fatherland,  or  amid 
the  sorrows  of  the  middle  passage,  or  in  crowded  cities, 
are  unprotected  from  the  lust  of  tyrants.  They  have 
a  regard  for  virtue,  and  they  possess  a  sense  of  honor ; 
but  there  is  no  respect  paid  to  these  jewels  of  noble 
character.  Driven  into  unwilling  concubinage,  their 
offspring  are  sold  by  their  Anglo-Saxon  fathers.  To 
them  the  marriage  institution  is  but  a  name,  for  their 
despoilers  break  down  the  hymeneal  altar,  and  scatter 
its  sacred  ashes  on  the  winds. 

"  Our  young  men  are  brutalized  in  intellect,  and 
th-eir  manly  energies  are  chilled  by  the  frosts  of  slavery. 
Sometimes  they  are  called  to  witness  the  agonies  of 
the  mothers  who  bore  them,  writhing  under  the  lash ; 
and  as  if  to  fill  to  overflowing  the  already  full  cup  of 
demonism,  they  are  sometimes  compelled  to  apply  the 
lash  with  their  own  hands.  Hell  itself  cannot  over- 
match a  deed  like  this ;  and  dark  damnation  shudders 
as  it  sinks  into  its  bosom,  and  seeks  to  hide  itself  from 
the  indignanreye  of  God." 

Mr.  Garnett  paid  a  second  visit  to  England  a  few 
months  since,  for  the  purpose  of  creating  an  interest 
there  in  behalf  of  emigration  to  Central  Africa. 


152      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 


JAMES   M.  WHITFIELD. 

THERE  has  long  resided  in  Buffalo,  New  York,  a 
barber,  noted  for  his  scholarly  attainments  and  gentle- 
manly deportment.  Men  of  the  most  polished  refine- 
ment visit  his  saloon,  and,  while  being  shaved,  take 
pleasure  in  conversing  with  him ;  and  all  who  know 
him  feel  that  he  was  intended  by  nature  for  a  higher 
position  in  life.  This  is  James  M.  Whitfield.  He  is 
a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  removed  west  some 
years  since.  We  give  a  single  extract  from  one  of 
his  poems. 

"  How  long,  0  gracious  God,  how  long 

Shall  power  lord  it  over  right  ? 
The  feeble,  trampled  by  the  strong, 

Remain  in  slavery's  gloomy  night  ? 
In  every  region  of  the  earth 

Oppression  rules  with  iron  power ; 
And  every  man  of  sterling  worth, 

Whose  soul  disdains  to  cringe  or  cower 
Beneath  a  haughty  tyrant's  nod, 
And,  supplicating,  kiss  the  rod 
That,  wielded  by  oppression's  might, 
Smites  to  the  earth  his  dearest  right,  — 
The  right  to  speak,  and  think,  and  feel, 

And  spread  his  uttered  thoughts  abroad, 
To  labor  for  the  common  weal, 

Responsible  to  none  but  God, — 
Is  threatened  with  the  dungeon's  gloom, 
The  felon's  cell,  the  traitor's  doom, 


ANDRE  RIGAUD.  153 

And  treacherous  politicians  league 

With  hireling  priests  to  crush  and  ban 
All  who  expose  their  vain  intrigue, 

And  vindicate  the  rights  of  man. 
How  long  shall  Afric  raise  to  thee 

Her  fettered  hand,  0  Lord,  in  vain, 
And  plead  in  fearful  agony 

For  vengeance  for  her  children  slain  ? 
I  see  the  Gambia's  swelling  flood, 

And  Niger's  darkly-rolling  wave, 
Bear  on  their  bosoms,  stained  with  blood, 

The  bound  and  lacerated  slave ; 
While  numerous  tribes  spread  near  and  far 
Fierce,  devastating,  barbarous  war, 
Earth's  fairest  scenes  in  ruin  laid, 
To  furnish  victims  for  that  trade 
Which  breeds  on  earth  such  deeds  of  shame, 
As  fiends  might  blush  to  hear  or  name." 

Mr.  Whitfield  has  written  several  long  poems,  all  of 
them  in  good  taste  and  excellent  language. 


ANDRE     RIGAUD. 

SLAVERY,  in  St.  Domingo,  created  three  classes  — 
the  white  planters,  the  free  mulattoes,  and  the  slaves, 
the  latter  being  all  black.  The  revolution  brought  out 
several  valiant  chiefs  among  the  mulattoes,  their  first 
being  Vincent  Oge.  This  man  was  not  calculated  for 
a  leader  of  rebellion.  His  mother  having  been  enabled 
to  support  him  in  France  as  a  gentleman,  he  had  cher- 
ished a  delicacy  of  sentiment  very  incompatible  with 


154      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

the  ferocity  of  revolt.  But  Andre  Rigaud,  their  next 
and  greatest  chief,  was  a  far  different  man.  A  native 
of  Aux  Cayes,  educated  at  Bourdeaux,  and  afterwards 
spending  some  time  at  Paris,  maturing  his  mind  amid 
scenes  of  science  and  literature,  Rigaud's  position 
among  his  followers  was  an  exalted  one.  His  father 
was  white  and  his  mother  black.  He  was  tall  and 
slim,  with  features  beautifully  denned.  Nature  had 
been  profligate  in  bestowing  her  gifts  upon  him. 

While  at  the  Military  School  at  Paris,  besides  being 
introduced  into  good  society,  he  became  acquainted 
with  Lafayette,  Condorcet,  Gregoire,  and  other  dis- 
tinguished statesmen,  and  his  manners  were  polished 
ajad  his  language  elegant.  In  religion  he  was  the 
very  opposite  of  Toussaint.  An  admirer  of  Yoltaire 
and  Rousseau,  he  had  made  their  works  his  study. 
A  long  residence  in  the  French  metropolis  had  en- 
abled him  to  become  acquainted  with  the  followers  of 
these  two  distinguished  philosophers.  He  had  seen 
two  hundred  thousand  persons  following  the  bones  of 
Voltaire,  when  removed  to  the  Pantheon,  and,  in  his 
admiration  for  the  great  author,  had  confounded  lib- 
erty with  infidelity.  In  Asia,  he  would  have  governed 
an  empire  ;  in  St.  Domingo,  he  was  scarcely  more  than 
an  outlawed  chief ;  but  he  had  in  his  soul  the  elements 
of  a  great  man.  In  military  science,  horsemanship, 
and  activity,  Rigaud  was  the  first  man  on  the  island, 
of  any  color.  Toussaint  bears  the  following  testimony 
to  the  great  skill  of  the  mulatto  general :  "  I  know 
Rigaud  well.  He  leaps  from  his  horse  when  at  full 
gallop,  and  he  puts  all  his  force  in  his  arm  when  lie 
strikes  a  blow."  He  was  high-tempered,'  irritable, 
and  haughty.  The  charmed  power  that  he  held  over 


ANDRE   RIGAUD.  155 

the  men  of  his  color  can  scarcely  be  described.  At 
the  breaking  out  of  the  revolution,  he  headed  the  mu- 
lattoes  in  his  native  town,  and  soon  drew  around  him 
a  formidable  body  of  men.  . 

After  driving  the  English  and  Spaniards  from  the 
island,  and  subduing  the  French  planters,  Toussaint 
and  Rigaud  made  war  upon  each  other.  As  the  inu- 
lattoes  were  less  than  fifty  thousand  in  number,  and 
the  blacks  more  than  five  hundred  thousand,  Rigaud 
was  always  outnumbered  on  the  field  of  battle ;  but 
his  forces,  fighting  under  the  eyes  of  the  general 
whom  they  adored,  defended  their  territory  with 
vigor,  if  not  with  success.  Reduced  in  his  means  of 
defence  by  the  loss  of  so  many  brave  men  in  his  re- 
cent battles,  Rigaud  had  the  misfortune  to  see  his 
towns  fall,  one  after  another,  into  the  power  of  Tous- 
saint, until  he  was  driven  to  the  last  citadel  of  his 
strength  —  the  town  of  Aux  Cayes.  As  he  thus 
yielded  foot  by  foot,  every  thing  was  given  to  desola- 
tion before  it  was  abandoned,  and  the  land,  which 
under  his  active  government  had  just  before  been  so 
adorned  with  cultivation,  was  made  such  a  waste  of 
desolation,  that,  according  almost  to  the  very  letter  of 
his  orders,  "  the  trees  were  turned  with  their  roots  in 
the  air."  The  genius  and  activity  of  Toussaint  were 
completely  at  fault  in  his  attempt  to  force  the  mulatto 
general  from  his  intrenchments. 

The  government  of  France  was  too  much  engaged 
at  home  with  her  own  revolution  to  pay  any  attention 
to  St.  Domingo.  The  republicans  in  Paris,  after  get- 
ting rid  of  their  enemies,  turned  upon  each  other. 
The  revolution,  like  Saturn,  devoured  its  own  chil-. 
dren ;  priest  and  people  were  murdered  upon  the 


156      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

thresholds  of  justice.  Murat  died  at  the  hands  of 
Charlotte  Corday.  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette 
were  guillotined,  Robespierre  had  gone  to  the  scaffold, 
and  Bonaparte  was  master  of  France. 

The  conqueror  of  Egypt  now  turned  his  attention 
to  St.  Domingo.  It  was  too  important  an  island  to  be 
lost  to  France  or  destroyed,  by  civil  war,  and,  through 
the  mediation  of  Bonaparte,  the  war  between  Toussaint 
and  Rigaud  was  brought  to  a  close. 

Petion  and  several  other  generals  followed  Rigaud, 
when,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  war  with  Toussaint,  he 
embarked  for  France.  When  Napoleon's  ill-fated  ex- 
pedition came  to  St.  Domingo,  Rigaud  returned,  made 
his  appearance  at  Aux  Cayes,  and,  under  his  influ- 
ence, the  south  soon  rallied  in  arms  against  Toussaint. 
He  fought  bravely  for  France  until  the  subjugation  of 
the  blacks  and  the  transportation  of  their  chief  to  the 
mother  country,  when  Napoleon  felt  that  Rigaud,  too, 
was  as  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  St.  Domingo  as 
Toussaint,  and  he  was  once  more  forced  to  return  to 
France.  Here  he  was  imprisoned  —  not  for  any  thing 
that  he  had  done  against  the  government  of  Bonaparte, 
but  for  fear  that  the  mulatto  chief  would  return  to 
his  native  island,  take  up  arms,  and  assist  his  race, 
who  were  already  in  rebellion  against  Leclerc. 

Although  the  whites  and  the  free  colored  men  were 
linked  together  by  the  tender  ties  of  nature,  there 
was,  nevertheless,  a  hatred  to  each  other,  even  strong- 
er than  between  the  whites  and  the  blacks.  In  the 
earlier  stages  of  the  revolution,  before  the  blacks 
under  Toussaint  got  the  ascendency,  several  attempts 
had  been  made  to  get  rid  of  the  leaders  of  the  mu- 
lattoes,  and  especially  Rigaud.  He  was  hated  by  the 


ANDRE  RIGAUD.  157 

whites  in  the  same  degree  as  they  feared  his  all-power- 
ful influence  with  his  race,  and  the  unyielding  nature 
of  his  character,  which  gave  firmness  and  consistency 
to  his  policy  while  controlling  the  interests  of  his 
brethren.  Intrigue  and  craftiness  could  avail  nothing 
against  the  designs  of  one  who  was  ever  upon  the 
watch,  and  who  had  the  means  of  counteracting  all 
secret  attempts  against  him;  and  open  force,  in  the 
field,  could  not  be  successful  in  destroying  a  chieftain 
whose  power  was  often  felt,  but  whose  person  was  sel- 
dom seen.  Thus,  to  accomplish  a  design  which  had 
long  been  in  meditation,  the  whites  of  Aux  Cayes  were 
now  secretly  preparing  a  mine  for  Rigaud,  which, 
though  it  was  covered  with  roses,  and  to  be  sprung 
by  professed  friends,  it  was  thought  would  prove  a 
sure  .and  efficacious  method  of  ridding  them  of  such 
an  opponent,  and  destroying  the  pretensions  of  the 
mulattoes  forever.  It  was  proposed  that  the  anni- 
versary of  the  destruction  of  the  Bastile  should  be 
celebrated  in  the  town  by  both  whites- and  mulattoes, 
in  union  and  gratitude.  A  civic  procession  marched 
to  the  church,  where  Te  Deum  was  chanted  and  an 
oration  pronounced.  The  Place  d'Armes  was  crowded 
with  tables  of  refreshments,  at  which  both  whites  and 
mulattoes  seated  themselves.  But  beneath  this  seem- 
ing patriotism  and  friendship,  a  dark  and  fatal  con- 
spiracy lurked,  plotting  treachery  and  death.  It  had 
been  resolved  that,  at  a  preconcerted  signal,  every 
white  at  the  table  should  plunge  his  knife  into  the 
bosom  of  the  mulatto  who  was  seated  nearest  to  him. 
Cannon  had  been  planted  around  the  place  of  fes- 
tivity, that  no  fugitive  from  the  massacre  should  have 
the  means  of  escaping ;  and  that  Rigaud  should  not 
14 


158     THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

fail  to  be  secured  as  the  first  victim  of  a  conspiracy 
prepared  especially  against  his  life,  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  National  Guard  had  been  placed  at  his 
side,  and  his  murder  of  the  mulatto  chieftain  was  to 
be  the  signal  for  a  general  onset  upon  all  his  followers. 
The  officer  to  whom  had  been  intrusted  the  assassina- 
tion of  Rigaud,  found  it  no  small  matter  to  screw  his 
courage  up  to  the  sticking  point,  and  the  expected 
signal,  which  he  was  to  display  in  blood  to  his  asso- 
ciates, was  so  long  delayed,  that  secret  messengers 
began  to  throng  to  him  from  all  parts  of  the  tables, 
demanding  why  execution  was  not  done  on  Rigaud. 
Urged  on  by  these  successive  appeals,  the  white  gen- 
eral at  last  applied  himself  to  the  fatal  fask  which  had 
been  allotted  him ;  but  instead  of  silently  plunging 
his  dagger  into  the  bosom  of  the  mulatto  chief,  he 
sprung  upon  him  with  a  pistol  in  his  hand,  and,  with 
a  loud  execration,  fired  it  at  his  intended  victim. 
But  Rigaud  remained  unharmed,  and,  in  the  scuffle 
which  ensued,  the  white  assassin  was  disarmed  and 
put  to  flight.  The  astonishment  of  the  mulattoes 
soon  gave  way  to  tumult  and  indignation,  and  this 
produced  a  drawn  battle,  in  which  both  whites  and 
mulattoes,  exasperated  as  they  were  to  the  utmost, 
fought  man  to  man.  The  struggle  continued  fiercely 
until  the  whites  were  driven  from  the  town,  having 
lost  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  their  number,  and  slain 
many  of  their  opponents. 

Tidings  of  this  conspiracy  flew  rapidly  in  all  direc- 
tions ;  and  such  was  the  indignation  of  the  mulattoes 
at  this  attack  upon  their  chief,  whose  death  had  even 
been  announced  in  several  places  as  certain,  that  they 
seized  upon  all  the  whites  within  their  reach ;  and 


ANDRE  RIGAUD. 

their  immediate  massacre  was  only  prevented  by  the 
arrival  of  intelligence  that  Rigaud  was  still  alive. 
Such  were  the  persecutions  which  the  leader  of  the 
mulattoes,  now  in  exile,  had  experienced  in  his  own 
land.  Napoleon  kept  him  confined  in  the  prison  of 
the  Temple  first,  and  then  at  the  castle  of  Joux,  where 
Toussaint  had  ended  his  life. . 

During  this  time,  St.  Domingo  was  undergoing  a 
great  change.  Leclerc  had  died,  Rochambeau  and 
his  forces  had  been  driven  from  the  island,  Dessalines 
had  reigned  and  passed  away,  and  Christophe  was 
master  of  the  north,  and  Petion  of  the  south.  These 
two  generals  were  at  war  with  each  other,  when  they 
were  both  very  much  surprised  at  the  arrival  of 
Rigaud  from  France.  He  had  escaped  from  his 
prison,  made  his  way  to  England,  and  thence,  to  the 
island  by  way  of  the  United  States.  Petion,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  republic  in  the  south,  regarded  Rigaud  as 
a  more  formidable  enemy  than  Christophe.  The  great 
mulatto  general  was  welcomed  with  enthusiasm  by 
his  old  adherents ;  they  showed  the  most  sincere 
respect  and  attachment  for  him,  and  he  journeyed  in 
triumph  to  Port  au  Prince.  Though  Petion  disliked 
these  demonstrations  in  favor  of  a  rival,  he  dared  not 
attempt  to  interfere,  for  he  well  knew  that  a  single 
word  from  Rigaud  could  raise  a  revolt  among  the  mu- 
lattoes. Petion,  himself  a  mulatto,  had  served  under 
the  former  in  the  first  stages  of  the  revolution.  The 
people  of  Aux  Cayes  welcomed  their  chief  to  his  home, 
and  he  drew  around  him  all  hearts,  and  in  a  short 
time  Rigaud  was  in  full  possession  of  his  ancient 
power.  The  government  of  Petion  was  divided  to 
eiake  room  for  the  former  chief,  and,  though  the  two 


160     THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

leaders  for  a  while  flew  to  arras  against  each  other, 
they,  nevertheless,  were  driven  to  an  alliance  on  ac- 
count of  the  encroachments  of  Christophe. 

After  a  reign  that  was  fraught  only  with  tumult  to 
himself  and  followers,  Rigaud  abdicated  his  province, 
retired  to  his  farm,  and  in  a  few  weeks  died.  Thus 
ended  the  career  of  the  most  distinguished  mulatto 
general  of  which  St.  Domingo  could  boast. 


FRANCES  ELLEN  WATKINS. 

Miss  WATKINS  is  a  native  of  Baltimore,  where  she 
received  her  education.  She  has  been  before  the  pub- 
lic some  years  as  an 'author  and  public  lecturer.  Her 
"  Poems  on  Miscellaneous  Subjects,"  published  in  a 
small  volume,  show  a  reflective  mind  and  no  ordinary 
culture.  Her  "  Essay  on  Christianity  "  is  a  beautiful 
composition.  Many  of  her  poems  are  soul-stirring,  and 
all  are  characterized  by  chaste  language  and  much 
thought.  The  following  is  entitled 

THE   SLAVE  MOTHER. 

*  Heard  you  that  shriek  ?     It  rose 

So  wildly  on  the  air, 
It  seemed  as  if  a  burdened  heart 
Was  breaking  in  despair. 

Saw  you  those  hands  so  sadly  clasped, 

The  bowed  and  feeble  head, 
The  shuddering  of  that  fragile  form, 

That  look  of  grief  and  dread  ? 


FRANCES  ELLEN  WATKINS.  161 

Saw  you  the  sad,  imploring  eye  ? 

Its  every  glance  was  pain, 
As  if  a  storm  of  agony 

Were  sweeping  through  the  brain. 

She  is  a  mother  pale  with  fear ; 

Her  boy  clings  to  her  side, 
And  in  her  kirtle  vainly  tries 

His  trembling  form  to  hide. 

He  is  not  hers,  although  she  bore 

For  him  a  mother's  pains  ; 
He  is  not  hers,  although  her  blood 

Is  coursing  through  his  veins. 

He  is  not  hers,  for  cruel  hands 

May  rudely  tear  apart 
The  only  wreath  of  household  love 

That  binds  her  breaking  heart. 

His  love  has  been  a  joyous  light 

That  o'er  her  pathway  smiled, 
A  fountain,  gushing  ever  new, 

Amid  life's  desert  wild. 

His  lightest  word  has  been  a  tone 

Of  music  round  her  heart ; 
Their  lives  a  streamlet  blent  in  one  — 

0  Father,  must  they  part  ? 

They  tear  him  from  her  circling  arms, 

Her  last  and  fond'  embrace  ; 
0,  never  more  may  her  sad  eyes 

Gaze  on  his  mournful  face. 
14* 


162      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 


No  marvel,  then,  these  bitter  shrieks 
Disturb  the  listening  air ; 

She  is  a  mother,  and  her  heart 
Is  breaking  in  despair. 


Miss  Watkins's  advice  to  her  own  sex  on  the  selec- 

• 

tion  of  a  husband  should  be  appreciated  by  all. 

Nay,  do  not  blush  !     I  only  heard 

You  had  a  mind  to  marry ; 
I  thought  I'd  speak  a  friendly  word  ; 

So  just  one  moment  tarry. 

Wed  not  a  man  whose  merit  lies 

In  things  of  outward  show, 
In  raven  hair  or  flashing  eyes, 

That  please  your  fancy  so. 

But  marry  one  who's  good  and  kind, 

And  free  from  all  pretence ; 
Who,  if  without  a  gifted  mind, 

At  least  has  common  sense. 

Miss  Watkins  is  about  thirty  years  of  age,  of  a  fra- 
gile form,  rather  nervous,  keen  and  witty  in  conversa- 
tion, outspoken  in  her  opinions,  and  yet  appears  in  all 
the  simplicity  of  a  child. 


EX-PRESIDENT   ROBERTS.  163 


EX-PRESIDENT     ROBERTS. 

J.  J.  ROBERTS,  ex-president  of  the  Republic  of  Li- 
beria, is  a  native  of  the  Old  Dominion,  and  emigrated 
to  his  adopted  country  about  twenty-five  years  ago.  In 
stature  he  is  tall,  slim,  and  has  a  commanding  appear- 
ance, sharp  features,  pleasant  countenance,  and  is  what 
the  ladies  would  call  "  good  looking."  Mr.  Roberts 
has  much  the  bearing  of  an  "  English  gentleman." 
He  has  fine  abilities,  and  his  state  papers  will  compare 
favorably  with  the  public  documents  of  any  of  the 
presidents  of  the  United  States.  He  is  thoroughly 
devoted  to  the  interest  of  the  rising  republic,  and  has 
visited  Europe  several  times  in  her  behalf. 

The  following  extract  from  the  inaugural  address 
of  President  Roberts  to  the  legislature  of  Liberia,  in 
1848,  on  the  colonists  taking  the  entire  responsibility 
of  the  government,  is  eloquent  and  pointed :  — 

"  It  must  afford  the  most  heartfelt  pleasure  and  sat- 
isfaction to  every  friend  of  Liberia,  and  real  lover  of 
liberty,  to  observe  by  what  a  fortunate  train  of  circum- 
stances and  incidents  the  people  of  these  colonies  have 
arrived  at  absolute  freedom  and  independence.  When 
we  look  abroad  and  see  by  what  slow  and  painful  steps, 
marked  with  blood  and  ills  of  every  kind,  other  states 
of  the  world  have  advanced  to  liberty  and  independ- 
ence, we  cannot  but  admire  and  praise  that  all-gra- 
cious Providence,  who,  by  his  unerring  ways,  has,  with 
so  few  sufferings  on  our  part,  compared  with  other 
states,  led  us  to  this  happy  stage  in  our  progress  to- 
wards those  great  and  important  objects.  That  it  is 


164      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

the  will  of  Heaven  that  mankind  should  be  free,  is 
clearly  evidenced  by  the  wealth,  vigor,  virtue,  and  con- 
sequent happiness  of  all  free  states.  But  the  idea  that 
Providence  will  establish  such  governments  as  he  shall 
deem  most  fit  for  his  creatures,  and  will  give  them 
wealth,  influence,  and  happiness  without  their  efforts, 
is  palpably  absurd.  God's  moral  government  of  the 
earth  is  always  performed  by  the  intervention  of  second 
causes.  Therefore,  fellow-citizens,  while  with  pious 
gratitude  we  survey  the  frequent  interpositions  of 
Heaven  in  our  behalf,  we  ought  to  remember,  that  as 
the  disbelief  of  an  overruling  Providence  is  atheism, 
so  an  absolute  confidence  of  having  our  government 
relieved  from  every  embarrassment,  and  its  citizens 
made  respectable  and  happy  by  the  immediate  hand 
of  God,  without  our  own  exertions,  is  the  most  culpa- 
ble presumption.  Nor  have  we  any  reason  to  expect, 
that  he  will  miraculously  make  Liberia  a  paradise, 
and  deliver  us,  in  a  moment  of 'time,  from  all  the  ills 
and  inconveniences  consequent  upon  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances under  which  we  are  placed,  merely  to 
convince  us  that  he  favors  our  cause  and  govern- 
ment. 

"  Sufficient  indications  of  his  will  are  always  given, 
and  those  who  will  not  then  believe,  neither  would 
they  believe  though  one  should  rise  from  the  dead  to 
inform  them.  Who  can  trace  the  progress  of  these 
colonies,  and  mark  the  incidents  of  the  wars  in  which 
they  have  been  engaged,  without  seeing  evident  tokens 
of  providential  favor.  Let  us,  therefore,  inflexibly 
persevere  in  exerting  our  most  strenuous  efforts  in  a 
humble  and  rational  dependence  on  the  great  Governor 
of  all  the  world,  and  we  have  the  fairest  prospects  of 


ALEXANDER   CRUMMELL.  165 

surmounting  all  the  difficulties  which  may  be  thrown 
in  our  way.  That  we  may  expect,  and  that  we  shall 
have,  difficulties,  sore  difficulties,  yet  to  contend  against 
in  our  progress  to  maturity,  is  certain ;  and,  as  the 
political  happiness  or  wretchedness  of  ourselves  and 
our  children,  and  of  generations  yet  unborn,  is  in  our 
hands,  —  nay,  more,  the  redemption  of  Africa  from  the 
deep  degradation,  superstition,  and  idolatry  in  which 
she  has  so  long  been  involved,  —  it  becomes  us  to  lay 
our  shoulders  to  the  wheel,  and  manfully  resist  every 
obstacle  which  may  oppose  our  progress  in  the  great 
work  which  lies  before  us." 

Mr.  Roberts,  we  believe,  is  extensively  engaged  in 
commerce  and  agriculture,  and,  though  out  of  office, 
makes  himself  useful  in  the  moral,  social,  and  intel- 
lectual elevation  of  his  brethren.  No  one  is  more  re- 
spected, or  stands  higher,  in  Liberia  than  he. 


ALEXANDER    CRUMMELL. 

AMONG  the  many  bright  examples  of  the  black  man 
which  we  present,  one  of  the  foremost  is  Alexander 
Crummell.  Blood  unadulterated,  a  tall  and  manly 
figure,  commanding,  in  appearance,  a  full  and  musical 
voice,  fluent  in  speech,  a  graduate  of  Cambridge  Uni- 
versity, England,  a  mind  stored  with  the  richness  of 
English  literature,  competently  acquainted  with  the 
classical  authors  of  Greece  and  Rome,  from  the  grave 
Thucydides  to  the  rhapsodical  Lycophron,  gentlemanly 
in  all  his  movements,  language  chaste  and  refined,  Mr. 
Crummell  may  well  be  put  forward  as  one  of  the  best 


166      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

and  most  favorable  representatives  of  his  race.  He  is 
a  clergyman  of  the  Episcopal  denomination,  and  deeply 
versed  in  theology.  His  sermons  are  always  written, 
but  he  reads  them  as  few  persons  can.  In  1848  Mr. 
Crummell  visited  England,  and  delivered  a  well-con- 
ceived address  before  the  Anti-Slavery  Society  in  Lon- 
don, where  his  eloquence  and  splendid  abilities  were 
at  once  acknowledged  and  appreciated.  The  year  be- 
fore his  departure  for  the  old  world,  he  delivered  a 
"  Eulogy  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  Thomas  Clark- 
son,"  from  which  we  make  the  following  extract,  which 
is  full  of  meaning  and  eloquence:  — 

"  Let  us  not  be  unmindful  of  the  prerogatives  and 
obligations  arising  from  the  fact,  that*  the  exhibition  of 
the  greatest  talent,  and  the  development  of  the  most 
enlarged  philanthropy,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  have 
been  bestowed  upon  our  race.  The  names  of  the  great 
lights  of  the  age,  —  statesmen,  poets,  and  divines,  —  in 
all  the  great  countries  of  Europe,  and  in  this  country 
too,  are  inseparably  connected  with  the  cause  and  des- 
tiny of  the  African  race.  This  has  been  the  theme 
whence  most  of  them  have  reaped  honor  and  immor- 
tality. This  cause  has  produced  the  development  of 
the  mos^  noble  character  of  modern  times  —  has  given 
the  world  a  Wilberforce  and  a  Clarkson.  Lowly  and 
depressed  as  we  have  been,  and  as  we  now  are,  yet 
our  interests  and  our  welfare  have  agitated  the  chief 
countries  of  the  world,  and  are  now  before  all  other 
questions,  shaking  this  nation  to  its  very  centre.  The 
providences  of  God  have  placed  the  negro  race  before 
Europe  and  America  in  the  most  commanding  position. 
From  the  sight  of  us  no  nation,  no  statesman,  no  eccle- 
siastic, and  no  ecclesiastical  institution,  can  escape. 


ALEXANDER   CRUMMELL.  167 

And  by  us  and  our  cause  the  character  and  greatness 
of  individuals  and  of  nations  in  this  day  and  generation 
of  the  world  are  to  be  decided,  either  for  good  or  evil ; 
and  so,  in  all  coming  times,  the  memory  and  the  fame 
of  the  chief  actors  now  on  the  stage  will  be  decided  by 
their  relation  to  our  cause.  The  discoveries  of  science, 
the  unfoldings  of  literature,  the  dazzlings  of  genius,  all 
fade  before  the  demands  of  this  cause.  This  is  the  age 
of  BROTHERHOOD  AND  HUMANITY,  and  the  negro  race  is 
its  most  distinguished  test  and  criterion. 

"  And  for  what  are  all  these  providences  ?  For 
nothing?  He  who  thinks  so  must  be  blinded  —  must 
be  demented.  In  these  facts  are  wound  up  a  most  dis- 
tinct significance,  and  with  them  are  connected  most 
clear  and  emphatic  obligations  and  responsibilities. 
The  clear-minded  and  thoughtful  colored  men  of 
America  must  mark  the  significance  of  these  facts,  and 
begin  to  feel  their  weight.  For  more  than  two  centu- 
ries we  have  been  working  our  way  from  the  deep  and 
dire  degradation  into  which  slavery  had  plunged  us. 
We  have  made  considerable  headway.  By  the  vigor- 
ous use  of  the  opportunities  of  our  partial  freedom  we 
have  been  enabled,  with  the  divine  blessing,  to  reach 
a  position  of  respectability  and  character.  We  have 
pressed  somewhat  into  the  golden  avenues  of  science, 
intelligence,  and  learning.  We  have  made  impressions 
there ;  and  some  few  of  our  footprints  have  we  left 
behind.  The  mild  light  of  religion  has  illumined  our 
pathway,  and  superstition  and  error  have  fled  apace. 
The  greatest  paradoxes  are  evinced  by  us.  Amid  the 
decay  of  nations,  a  rekindled  light  starts  up  in  us. 
Burdens  under  which  others  expire  seem  to  have  lost 
their  influence  upon  us ;  and  while  they  are  *  driven  to 


168      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

the  wall,'  destruction  keeps  far  from  us  its  blasting 
hand.  We  live  in  the  region  of  death,  yet  seem  hardly 
mortal.  We  cling  to  life  in  the  midst  of  all  reverses  ; 
and  our  nerveful  grasp  thereon  cannot  easily  be  re- 
laxed. History  reverses  its  mandates  in  our  behalf: 
our  dotage  is  in  the  past.  '  Time  writes  not  its  wrin- 
kles on  our  brow ; '  our  juvenescence  is  in  the  future. 
All  this,  and  the  kindly  nature  which  is  acknowledged- 
ly  ours, — with  gifts  of  freedom  vouchsafed  us  by  the 
Almighty  in  this  land,  in  part,  and  in  the  West  Indies  ; 
with  the  intellectual  desire  every  where  manifesting 
itself,  and  the  exceeding  interest  exhibited  for  Africa 
by  her  own  children,  and  by  the  Christian  nations  of 
the  world,  are  indications  from  which  we"  may  not 
gather  a  trivial  meaning,  nor  a  narrow  significance. 

"  The  teaching  of  God  in  all  these  things  is,  un- 
doubtedly, that  ours  is  a  great  destiny,  arid  that  we 
should  open  our  eyes  to  it.  God  is  telling  us  all  that, 
whereas  the  past  has  been  dark,  grim,  and  repulsive, 
the  future  shall  be  glorious ;  that  the  horrid  traffic 
shall  yet  be  entirely  stopped ;  that  the  whips  and 
brands,  the  shackles  and  fetters,  of  slavery  shall  be  cast 
down  to  oblivion ;  that  the  shades  of  ignorance  and 
superstition  that  have  so  long  settled  down  upon  the 
mind  of  Africa  shall  be  dispelled ;  and  that  all  her 
sons  on  her  own  broad  continent,  in  the  Western  Isles, 
and  in  this  Republic,  shall  yet  stand  erect  beneath  the 
heavens,  '  with  freedom  chartered  on  their  manly 
brows  ; '  their  bosoms  swelling  with  its  noblest  raptures 
—  treading  the  face  of  earth  in  the  links  of  brotherhood 
and  equality." 

We  have  had  a  number  of  our  public  men  to  repre- 
sent us  in  Europe  within  the  past  twenty-five  years ; 


ALEXANDEE  PETION.  169 

and  none  have  done  it  more  honorably  or  with  better 
success  to  the  character  and  cause  of  the  black  man, 
than  Alexander  Crummell.  We  met  him  there  again 
and  again,  arid  followed  in  his  track  wherever  he 
preached  or  spoke  before  public  assemblies,  and  we 
know  whereof  we  affirm.  In  1852,  we  believe,  he 
went  to  Liberia,  where  he  now  resides.  At  present  he 
and  his  family  are  on  a  visit  to  "the  States,"  partly  for 
his  health  and  partly  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  em- 
igration to  Africa.  Mr.  C.  has  recently  published  a 
valuable  work  on  Africa,  which  is  highly  spoken  of  by 
the  press ;  indeed,  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  only 
finished  account  of  our  mother  land.  Devotedly  at- 
tached to  the  interest  of  the  colored  man,  and  having 
the  moral,  social,  and  intellectual  elevation  of  the  na- 
tives of  Africa  at  heart,  we  do  not  regret  that  he  con- 
siders it  his  duty  to  labor  in  his  father  land.  Warmly 
interested  in  the  Republic,  and  so  capable  of  filling 
the  highest  position  that  he  can  be  called  to,  we  shall 
not  be  surprised,  some  day,  to  hear  that  Alexander 
Crummell  is  president  of  Liberia. 


ALEXANDRE     PETION. 

THE  ambitious  and  haughty  mulattoes  had  long  been 
dissatisfied  with  the  obscure  condition  into  which  they 
had  been  thrown  by  the  reign  of  Dessalines,  and  at  the 
death  of  that  ruler  they  determined  to  put  forward 
their  claim.  Their  great  chief,  Rigaud,  was  still  in 
prison  in  France,  where  he  had  been  placed  by  Napo- 
leon. Christophe  had  succeeded  to  power  at  the  close 
15 


. 

170     THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

of  the  empire,  and  was  at  St.  Marks  when  he  heard 
that  Alexandre  Petion  had  been  elected  president  of 
the  Republic  of  Hayti,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
the  mulattoes.  Christophe  at  once  began  to  prepare 
for  war.  Petion  was  a  quadroon,  the  successor  of 
Rigaud  and  Clervaux  to  the  confidence  of  the  mulat- 
toes. He  was  a  man  of  education  and  refined  man- 
ners. He  had  been  educated  at  the  Military  School  of 
Paris,  and  had  ever  been  characterized  for  his  mildness 
of  temper  and  the  insinuating  grace  of  his  address.  He 
was  a  skilful  engineer,  and  at  the  time  of  his  elevation 
to  power  he  passed  for  the  most  scientific  officer  and 
the  most  erudite  individual  'among  the  people  of  Hayti. 
Attached  to  the  fortunes  of  Rigaud,  he  had  acted  as 
his  lieutenant  against  Toussaint,  and  had  accompanied 
him  to  France.  Here  he  remained  until  the  departure 
of  the  expedition  under  Leclerc,  when  he  embarked  in 
that  disastrous  enterprise,  to  employ  his  talents  in 
again  restoring  his  country  to  the  dominion  of  France. 
Petion- joined  Dessalines,  Christophe,  and  Clervaux, 
when  they  revolted  and  turned  against  the  French, 
and  aided  in  gaining  the  final  independence  of  the 
island.  Christophe,  .therefore,  as  soon  as  he  heard 
that  he  had  a  rival  in  Petion,  rallied  his  forces,  and 
started  for  Port  au  Prince,  to  meet  his  enemy.  The 
former  was  already  in  the  field,  and  the  two  armies 
met ;  a  battle  ensued,  and  Petion,  being  defeated,  and 
hotly  pursued  in  his  flight,  found  it  necessary,  in  order 
to  save  his  life,  to  exchange  his  uniform  with  a  laborer, 
and  to  bury  himself  up  to  his  neck  in  a  marsh  until  his 
fierce  pursuers  had  disappeared.  Petion  escaped,  and 
reached  his  capital  before  the  arrival  of  the  troops  un- 
der Christophe.  The  latter,  after  this  signal  success, 


ALEXANDRE   PETION.  171 

pressed  forward  to  Port  au  Prince,  and  laid  siege  to  the 
town,  in  hope  of  an  easy  triumph  over  his  rival.  But 
Petion  was  in  his  appropriate  sphere  of  action,  and 
Christophe  soon  discovered  that,  in  contending  with  an 
experienced  engineer  in  a  fortified  town,  success  was  of 
more  difficult  attainment  than  while  encountering  the 
same  enemy  in  the  open  field,  where  his  science  could 
not  be  brought  into  action.  Christophe  could  make  110 
impression  on  the  town,  and  feeling  ill  assured  of  the 
steadfastness  of  his  own  proper  government  at  Cape 
•  EVancois,  he  withdrew  his  forces,  from  the  "investment 
of  Port  au  Prince,  resolved  to  establish  in  the  north  a 
separate  government  of  his  own,  and  to  defer  to  some 
more  favorable  opportunity  the  attempt  to  subdue  his 
rival  at  Port  au  Prince.  In  September,  1808,  Petion 
commenced  another  campaign  against  Christophe,  by 
sending  an  army  to  besiege  Port  do  Paix,  which  it 
did ;  but  after  a  while  it  was  driven  back  to  Port  au 
Prince  by  the  victorious  legions  of  the  president  of  the 
north.  Christophe  in  turn  attempted  to  take  the  Mole 
St.  Nicholas  from  Lamarre,  one  of  Petion's  generals, 
but  did  not  succeed.  The  struggle  between  the  two 
presidents  of  Hayti  had  now  continued  three  years, 
when  a  new  competitor  appeared  in  the  field,  by  the 
arrival  of  Rigaud  from  France.  This  was  an  unex- 
pected event,  which  awakened  deep  solicitude  in  the 
bosom  of  Petion,  who  could  not  avoid  regarding  that 
distinguished  general  as  a  more  formidable  rival  than 
Christophe.  He  well  knew  the  attachment  of  the  peo- 
ple to  the  great  mulatto  chief,  and  he  feared  his  supe- 
rior talents.  The  enthusiasm  with  which  Rigaud  was 
received  wherever  he  appeared,  raised  the  jealousy  of 
Petion  to  such  a  pitch,  that  he  for  a  time  forgot  his 


172     THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

black  rival.  Partisans  flew  to  the  standard  of  Rigaud, 
and  a  resort  to  arms  seemed  imminent  between  him 
arid  Petion.  A  meeting,  however,  was  held  by  the 
two  mulatto  generals,  at  the  bridge  of  Miragoane, 
where  a  treaty  was  signed,  by  which  the  south  was  to 
be  governed  by  the  former,  and  the  west,  and  as  much 
as  could  be  wrested  from  Christophe,  by  the  latter. 
But  peace  between  these  two  was  not  destined  to  be 
of  long  duration.  A  war  took  place,  and  Rigaud's 
troops  proved  too  much  for  Petion,  and  he  was  defeated 
with  great  loss,  and  his  entire  army  almost  annihilated. 
But  the  victorious  general  did  not  follow  up  his  suc- 
cesses; and  although  he  had  gained  a  signal  victory,  he 
felt  that  much  of  his  power  over  his  followers  was  pass- 
ing away.  The  death  of  Rigaud  once  more  gave  the 
field  to  Christophe  and  Petion,  and  they  again  com- 
menced war  upon  each  other.  The  latter  was  supe- 
rior to  the  former  in  education,  and  in  the  refinement 
given  him  by  a  cultivated  understanding  and  an  ex- 
tensive intercourse  with  European  society ;  but  he  was 
greatly  inferior  to  Christophe  in  boldness  and  decision 
of  character.  Petion  was  subtle,  cautious,  and  de- 
sponding. He  aspired  to  be  the  Washington,  as  Chris- 
tophe was  deemed  the  Bonaparte,  of  Hayti.  By  insin- 
uating the  doctrines  of  equality  and  .republicanism, 
Petion  succeeded  in  governing,  with  but  ten  thousand 
mulattoes,  a  population  of  more  than  two  hundred 
thousand  blacks.  Assuming  no  pretensions  to  per- 
sonal or  official  dignity,  and  totally  rejecting  all  the 
ceremonial  of  a  court,  it  was  Petion's  ambition  to 
maintain  the  exterior  of  a  plain  republican  magistrate. 
Clad  in  the  white  linen  undress  of  the  country,  and 
with  a  Madras  handkerchief  tied  about  his  head,  he 


ALEXANDRE   PETION.  173 

mixed  freely  and  promiscuously  with  his  fellow-citi- 
zens, or  seated  himself  in  the  piazza  of  the  government 
house,  accessible  to  all.  He  professed  to  hold  himself 
at  the  disposal  of  the  people,  and  to  be  ready  at  any 
moment  to  submit  to  their  will,  whether  it  was  to 
guide  the  power  of  the  state,  or  yield  his  head  to  the 
executioner. 

A  republican  officer  one  day  called  on  Petion  at  the 
government  house,  and  while  they  were  alone,  the  for- 
mer drew  out  a  pistol  and  fired  at  the  president,  with- 
out injuring  him,  however ;  the  latter  immediately 
seized  his  visitor,  disarmed  him,  and  when  the  guard 
rushed  in,  he  found  the  president  and  the  officer  walk- 
ing the  room  locked  in  each  other's  arms.  This  man 
was  ever  after  the  warm  friend  of  Petion.  At  the 
downfall  of  Napoleon,  and  the  elevation  of  Louis 
XVIII.,  another  effort  was  made  to  regain  possession 
of  the  island  by  France.  But  the  latter  did  not  resort 
to  arms.  Having  no  confidence  in  the  French,  and 
fearing  a  warlike  demonstration,  both  Petion  and 
Christophe  prepared  for  defence.  Petion  had  long 
been  despondent  for  the  permanence  of  the  republic, 
and  this  feeling  had  by  degrees  grown  into  a  settled 
despair ;  and  amidst  these  perplexities  and  embarrass- 
ments he  fell  sick,  in  the  month  of  March,  1818,  and 
after  an  illness  which  continued  only  eight  days,  he 
died,  and  was  succeeded  by  General  Boyer. 

The  administration  of  Petion  was  mild,  and  he  did 
all  that  he  could  for  the  elevation  of  the  people  whom 
he  ruled.  He  was  the  patron  of  education  and  the 
arts,  and  scientific  men,  for  years  after  his  death,  spoke 
his  name  with  reverence.  He  was  highly  respected  by 
the  representatives  of  foreign  powers,  and  strangers 
15* 


174 


visiting  his  republic  always  mentioned  his  name  in 
connection  with  the  best  cultivated  and  most  gentle- 
manly of  the  people  of  Hayti.  Lightly  lie  the  earth 
on  the  bones  of  Petion,  and  let  every  cloud  pass  away 
from  his  memory. 


MARTIN    R.    DELANY,    M.D.    .. 

DR.  DELANY  has  long  been  before  the  public.  His 
first  appearance,  we  believe,  was  in  connection  with 
The  Mystery,  a  weekly  newspaper  published  at  Pitts- 
burg,  and  of  which  he  was  editor.  His  journal  was 
faithful  in  its  advocacy  of  the  rights  of  man,  and  had 
the  reputation  of  being  a  well-conducted  sheet.  The 
doctor  afterwards  was  associated  with  Frederick  Doug- 
lass in  the  editorial  management  of  his  paper  at  Roch- 
ester, N.  Y.  From  the  latter  place  he  removed  to 
Canada,  and  has  since  resided  in  Chatham,  where  he 
is  looked  upon  as  one  of  its  leading  citizens. 

Dr.  M.  R.  Delany,  though  regarded  as  a  man  high 
in  his  profession,  is  better  and  more  widely  known  as 
a  traveller,  discoverer,  and  lecturer.  His  association 
with  Professor  Campbell  in  the  "  Niger  Yalley  Explor- 
ing Expedition  "  has  brought  the  doctor  very  promi- 
nently before  the  world,  and  especially  that  portion  of 
it  which  takes  an  interest  in  the  civilization  of  Africa. 
The  official  report  of  that  expedition  shows  that  he  did 
not  visit  that  country  with  his  eyes  shut.  His  obser- 
vations and  suggestions  about  the  climate,  soil,  dis- 
eases, and  natural  productions  of  Africa,  are  interesting, 
and  give  evidence  that  the  doctor  was  in  earnest.  The 


ROBERT  SMALL.  175 

published  report,  of  which  he  is  the  author,  will  repay 
a  perusal. 

On  his  return  home,  Dr.  Delany  spent  some  time  in 
England,  and  lectured  in  the  British  metropolis  and 
the  provincial  cities,  with  considerable  success,  on  Af- 
rica and  jts  resources.  As  a  member  of  the  Interna- 
tional Statistical  Congress,  he  acquitted  himself  with 
credit  to  his  position  and  honor  to  his  race.  The  fool- 
ish manner  in  which  the  Hon.  Mr.  Dallas,  our  minister 
to  the  court  of  St.  James,  acted  on  meeting  Dr.  Delany 
in  that  august  assembly,  and  the  criticisms  of  the  press 
of  Europe  and  America,  will  not  soon  be  forgotten. 

He  is  short,  compactly  built,  has  a  quick,  wiry  walk, 
and  is  decided  and  energetic  in  conversation,  unadul- 
terated in  race,  and  proud  of  his  complexion.  Though 
somewhat  violent  in  his  gestures,  and  paying  but  little 
regard  to  the  strict  rules  of  oratory,  Dr.  Delany  is, 
nevertheless,  an  interesting,  eloquent  speaker.  Devo- 
tedly attached  to  his  fatherland,  he  goes  for  a  "Negro 
Nationality."  Whatever  he  undertakes,  he  executes 
it  with  all  the  powers  that  God  has  given  him;  and 
what  would  appear  as  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  other 
men,  would  be  brushed  aside  by  Martin  R.  Delany. 


ROBERT     SMALL. 

AT  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion,  Robert  Small 
was  a  slave  in  Charleston,  S.  C.  He  stood  amid  a 
group  of  his  fellow-slaves,  as  the  soldiers  were  getting 
ready  to  make  the  assault  upon  Fort  Sumter,  and  he 
said  to  his  associates,  "  This,  boys,  is  the  dawn,  of 


176      THE   BLACK   MAN*S   GENIUS    AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

freedom  for  our  race."  Robert,  at  this  time,  was  em- 
ployed as  pilot  on  board  the  steamboat  "  Planter," 
owned  at  Charleston,  and  then  lying  at  her  dock. 
The  following  day,  the  steamer  commenced  undergoing 
alterations  necessary  to  fit  her  for  a  gunboat.  Robert, 
when  within  hearing  of  the  whites,  was  loud  jn  his  talk 
of  what  "  we'll  do  with  the  Yankees,  when  this  boat  is 
ready  for  sea."  The  Planter  was  soon  transmogri- 
fied into  a  rebel  man-of-war,  to  be  used  in  and  about 
the  rivers  and  bays  near  Charleston,  and  Robert  Small 
was  her  acknowledged  pilot.  One  of  Robert's  brothers 
was  second  engineer,  and  a  cousin  to  him  was  the  sec- 
ond mate ;  the  remainder  of  the  crew  were  all  slaves, 
except  the  white  officers.  It  was  the  custom  of  the 
captain,  chief  mate,  and  chief  engineer  to  spend  the 
night  with  their  families  in  the  city,  when  the  steamer 
was  in  port,  the  vessel  being  left  in  charge  of  Robert. 
The  following  is  the  account  of  the  capture  of  the 
boat  by  her  black  crew,  as  given  by  the  Port  Royal 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Commercial  Adver- 
tiser :  — 

"  The  steamer  Planter,  which  was  run  away  from  the 
rebels  by  her  pilot,  Robert  Small,  is  a  new  tug  boat  em- 
ployed about  Charleston  harbor,  which  was  seized  by 
the  Confederate  government  and  converted  into  a  gun- 
boat, mounting  a  rifled  gun  forward  and  a  siege  gun 
aft.  She  has  been  in  the  habit  of  running  out  to  sea 
to  reconnoitre,  and  was,  therefore,  no  unusual  appear- 
ance near  the  forts  guarding  the  entrance.  Small,  the 
helmsman  and  pilot,  conceived  the  idea  of  running 
away,  and  plotted  with  several  friends,  slaves  like  him, 
to  take  them  off. 

"  On  the  evening  of  May  11,  her  officers  left  the  ship, 


EGBERT  SMALL.  177 

then  at  the  wharf  in  Charleston,  and  went  to  their 
homes.  Small  then  took  the  firemen  and  assistant 
engineers,  all  of  whom  were  slaves,  in  his  confidence, 
had  the  fires  banked  up,  and  every  thing  made  ready 
to  start  by  daylight. 

"  At  quarter  to  four  on  Saturday  morning,  the  lines 
which  fastened  the  vessel  to  the  dock  were  cast  off, 
and  the  ship  quietly  glided  into  the  stream.  Here 
the  harbor  guard  hailed  the  vessel,  but  Small  promptly 
gave  the  countersign,  and  was  allowed  to  pass. 

"  The  vessel  now  called  at  a  dock  a  distance  below, 
where  the  families  of  the  crew  came  on  board. 

"  When  off  Fort  Sumter,  the  sentry  on  the  ramparts 
hailed  the  boat,  and  Small  sounded  the  countersign 
with  the  whistle  —  three  shrill  sounds  and  one  hissing 
sound.  The  vessel  being  known  to  the  officers  of  the 
day,  no  objection  was  raised,  the  sentry  only  singing 

out,  '  Blow  the  d d  Yankees  to  hell,  or  bring  one 

of  them  in.'  '  Ay,  ay,'  was*  the  answer,  and  every 
possible  effort  was  made  to  get  below. 

"  Hardly  was  the  vessel  out  of  range,  when  Small 
ran  up  a  white  flag,  and  went  to  the  United  States  fleet, 
where  he  surrendered  the  vessel.  Siie  had  on  board 
seven  heavy  guns  for  Fort  Ripley,  a  fort  now  build- 
ing in  Charleston  harbor,  which  were  to  be  taken 
thither  the  next  morning. 

"  Small,  with  the  crew  and  their  families, —  sixteen 
persons, —  were  sent  to  the  flagship  at  Fort  Royal,  and 
an  officer  placed  on  board  the  Planter,  who  took  her 
also  to  Commodore  Dupont's  vessel.  Small  is  a  mid- 
dle-aged negro,  and  his  features  betray  nothing  of  the 
firmness  of  character  he  displayed.  He  is  said  to  be 
one  of  the  most  skilful  pilots  of  Charleston,  and  to 


178 


have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  the  ports  and  inlets 
on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina." 

We  give  below  the  official  account  of  the  taking  and 
surrender  of  the  boat  to  the  naval  authorities. 

U.  S.  STEAMSHIP  AUGUSTA,       > 
OFF  CHARLESTON,  May  13,  1862.  3 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  rebel  armed 
steamer  Planter  was  brought  out  to  us  this  morning  from  Charleston 
by  eight  contrabands,  and  delivered  up  to  the  squadron.  Five  col- 
ored women  and  three  children  are  also  on  board.  She  carried  one 
32-pounder  and  one  24-pounder  howitzer,  and  has  also  on  board  four 
large  guns,  which  she  was  engaged  in  transporting.  I  send  her  to 
Port  Royal  at  once,  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  the  present  good 
weather.  I  send  Charleston  papers  of  the  12th,  and  the  very  intelli- 
gent contraband  who  was  in  charge  will  give  you  the  information 
which  he  has  brought  off.  I  have  the  honor  to  request  that  you  will 
send  back,  as  soon  as  convenient,  the  officer  and  crew  sent  on 
board. 

Commander  Dupont,  in  forwarding  the  despatch, 
says,  in  relation  to  the  steamer  Planter, — 

She  was  the  armed  despatch  and  transportation  steamer  attached 
to  the  engineer  department  at  Charleston,  under  Brigadier  General 
JRipley,  whose  bark,  a  short  time  since,  was  brought  to  the  blockading 
fleet  by  several  contrabands.  The  bringing  out  of  this  steamer,  under 
all  the  circumstances,  would  have  done  credit  to  any  one.  At  four 
in  the  morning,  in  the  absence  of  the  captain,  who  was  on  shore,  she 
left  her  wharf  close  to  the  government  office  and  headquarters,  with 
the  Palmetto  and  "  Confederate  "  flags  flying,  and  passed  the  successive 
forts,  saluting,  as  usual,  by  blowing  the  steam  whistle.  After  getting 
beyond  the  range  of  the  last  gun,  they  hauled  down  the  rebel  flags, 
and  hoisted  a  white  one.  The  Onward  was  the  inside  ship  of  the 
blockading  squadron  in  the  main  channel,  and  was  preparing  to 
fire  when  her  commander  made  out  the  white  flag.  The  armament 
of  the  steamer  is  a  32-pounder,  or  pivot,  and  a  fine  24-pound  how- 
itzer. She  has  besides,  on  her  deck,  four  other  guns,  one  seven  inch 
rifled,  which  were  to  be  taken,  on  the  morning  of  the  escape,  to  the 
new  fort  on  the  middle  ground.  One  of  the  four  belonged  to  Fort 
Sumter,  and  had  been  struck,  in  the  rebel  attack,  on  the  muzzle. 
Robert  Small,  the  intelligent  slave,  and  pilot  of  the  boat,  who  per- 


ROBERT   SMALL.  179 

formed  this  bold  feat  so  skilfully,  informed  me  of  this  fact,  presum- 
ing it  would  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  us  to  have  possession  of  this 
gun.  This  man,  Robert  Small,  is  superior  to  any  who  have  come 
into  our  lines,  intelligent  as  many  of  them  have  been.  His  infor- 
mation has  been  most  interesting,  and  portions  of  it  of  the  utmost 
importance.  The  steamer  is  quite  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the 
squadron  by  her  good  machinery  and  very  light  draught.  The  officer 
in  charge  brought  her  through  St.  Helena  Sound,  and  by  the  in- 
land passage  down  Beaufort  River,  arriving  here  at  ten  last  night. 
On  board  the  steamer,  when  she  left  Charleston,  were  eight  men, 
five  women,  and  three  children.  I  shall  continue  to  employ  Small 
as  pilot  on  board  the  Planter,  for  inland  waters,  with  which  he  ap- 
pears to  be  very  familiar. 

I  do  not  know  whether,  in  the  view  of  the  government,  the  ves- 
sel will  be  considered  a  prize ;  but  if  so,  I  respectfully  submit  to'  the 
Department  the  claims  of  the  man  Small  and  his  associates. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant,  • 
S.  F.  DUPONT, 
Flag  Officer,  Commanding,  8$c. 

A  bill  was  at  once  introduced  in  Congress  to  con- 
sider the  Planter  a  prize,  and  to  award  the  prize- 
money  to  her  crew.  The  New  York  Tribune  had  the 
following  editorial  on  the  subject:  — 

"The  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington,  it  is 
to  be  hoped,  will  be  more  just  to  their  own  sense  of 
right,  and  to  their  more  generous  impulses,  than  to 
put  aside  again  the  Senate  bill  giving  the  prize-money 
they  have  so  well  earned  to  the  pilot  and  crew  of  the 
steamer  Planter.  Neither  House  would  have  done  an 
act  unworthy  of  their  dignity  had  they  promptly  passed 
a  vote  of  thanks  to  Robert  Small  and  his  fellows  for 
the  cool  courage  with  which  they  planned  and  executed 
their  escape  from  rebel  bondage,  and  the  unswerving 
loyalty  which  prompted  them,  at  the  same  time,  to 
bring  away  such  spoils  from  the  enemy  as  would  make 
a  welcome  addition  to  the  blockading  squadron. 


180      THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

"  If  we  must  still  remember  with  humiliation  that 
the  Confederate  flag  yet  waves  where  our  national 
colors  were  first  struck,  we  should  be  all  the  more 
prompt  to  recognize  the  merit  that  has  put  into  our 
possession  the  first  trophy  from  Fort  Sumter.  And 
the  country  should  feel  doubly  humbled  if  there  is 
not  magnanimity  enough  to  acknowledge  a  gallant 
action,  because  it  was  the  head  of  a  black  man  that 
conceived,  and  the  hand  of  a  black  man  that  executed 
it.  It  would  better,  indeed,  become  us  to  remember 
that  no  small  share  of  the  naval  glory  of  the  war 
belongs  to  the  race  which  we  have  forbidden  to  fight 
for  us ;  that  one  negro  has  recaptured  a  vessel  from  a 
southern  privateer,  and  another  has  brought  away 
from  under  the  very  guns  of  the  enemy,  where  no 
fleet  of  ours  has  yet  dared  to  venture,  a  prize  whose 
possession  a  commodore  thinks  worthy  to  be  an- 
nounced in  a  special  despatch." 

The  bill  was  taken  up  and  passed,  and  the  brave 
Small  and  his  companions  received  justice  at  the 
hands  of  the  government. 


FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

THE  career  of  the  distinguished  individual  whose 
name  heads  this  page  is  more  widely  known  than  that 
of  any  other  living  colored  man,  except,  perhaps, 
Alexandre  Dumas.  The  narrative  of  his  life,  pub- 
lished in  1845,  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  black  man's 
literature.  All  other  stories  of  fugitive  slaves  faded 
away  before  the  beautifully  written,  highly  descriptive, 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.  181 

and  thrilling  memoir  of  Frederick  Douglass.  Other 
narratives  had  only  brought  before  the  public  a  few 
heart-rending  scenes  connected  with  the  person  de- 
scribed. But  Mr.  Douglass,  in  his  book,  brought  not 
only  his  old  master's  farm  and  its  occupants  before 
the  reader,  but  the  entire  country  around  him,  in- 
cluding Baltimore  and  its  ship  yard.  The  manner  in 
which  he  obtained  his  education,  and  especially  his 
learning  to  write,  has  been  read  and  re-read  by  thou- 
sands in  both  hemispheres.  His  escape  from  slavery 
is  too  well  understood  to  need  a  recapitulation  here. 
He  took  up  his  residence  in  New  Bedford,  where  he 
still  continued  the  assiduous  student  —  mastering  the 
different  branches  of  education  which  the  accursed 
institution  had  deprived  him  of  in  early  life. 

His  advent  as  a  lecturer  was  a  remarkable  one. 
White  men  and  black  men  had  talked  against  slavery, 
but  none  had  ever  spoken  like  Frederick  Douglass. 
Throughout  the  north  the  newspapers  were  filled  with 
the  sayings  of  the  "  eloquent  fugitive."  He  often 
travelled  with  others,  but  they  were  all  lost  sight  of  in 
the  eagerness  to  hear  Douglass.  His  travelling  com- 
panions would  sometimes  get  angry,  and  would  speak 
first  at  the  meetings ;  then  they  would  take  the  last 
turn ;  but  it  was  all  the  same  —  the  fugitive's  impres- 
sion was  the  one  left  upon  the  mind.  He  made  more 
persons  angry,  and  pleased  more,  than  any  other  man. 
He  was  praised,  and  he  was  censured.  He  made  them 
laugh,  he  made  them  weep,  and  he  made  them  swear. 
His  "  Slaveholder's  Sermon "  was  always  a  trump 
card.  He  awakened  an  interest  in  the  hearts  of 
thousands  who  before  were  dead  to  the  slave  and  his 
condition.  Many  kept  away  from  his  lectures,  fearing 
16 


182      THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

lest  they  should  be  converted  against  their  will. 
Young  men  and  women,  in  those  days  of  pro-slavery 
hatred,  would  return  to  their  fathers'  roofs  filled  with 
admiration  for  the  "  runaway  slave,"  and  would  be 
rebuked  by  hearing  the  old  ones  grumble  out,  "  You'd 
better  stay  at  home  and  study  your  lessons,  and  not 
be  running  after  the  nigger  meetings." 

In  1841,  he  was  induced  to  accept  an  agency  as  a 
lecturer  for  the  Anti-slavery  Society,  and  at  once  be- 
came one  of  the  most  valuable  of  its  advocates.  He 
visited  England  in  1845.  There  he  was  kindly  re- 
ceived, and  heartily  welcomed  ;  and  after  going 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and 
addressing  public  meetings  out  of  number  on  behalf 
of  his  countrymen  in  chains,  with  a  power  of  elo- 
quence which  captivated  his  auditors,  and  brought  the 
cause  which  he  pleaded  home  to  their  hearts,  he  re- 
turned home  and  commenced  the  publication  of  the 
North  Star,  a  weekly  newspaper  devoted  to  the  advo- 
cacy of  the  cause  of  freedom. 

Mr.  Douglass  is  tall  and  well  made.  His  vast  and 
fully-developed  forehead  shows  at  once  that  he  is  a  su- 
perior man  intellectually.  He  is  polished  in  his  lan- 
guage, and  gentlemanly  in  his  manners.  His  voice  is 
full  and  sonorous.  His  attitude  is  dignified,  and  his 
gesticulation  is  full  of  noble  simplicity.  He  is  a 
man  of  lofty  reason  ;  natural,  and  without  preten- 
sion ;  always  master  of  himself;  brilliant  in  the  art  of 
exposing  and  abstracting.  Few  persons  can  handle  a 
subject,  with  which  they  are  familiar,  better  than  he. 
There  is  a  kind  of  eloquence  issuing  from  the  depth 
of  the  soul  as  from  a  spring,  rolling  along  its  copious 
floods,  sweeping  all  before  it,  overwhelming  by  its 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.  183 

very  force,  carrying,  upsetting,  ingulfing  its  adver- 
saries, and  more  dazzling  and  more  thundering  than 
the  bolt  which  leaps  from  crag  to  crag.  This  is  the 
eloquence  of  Frederick  Douglass.  One  of  the  best 
mimics  of  the  age,  and  possessing  great  dramatic 
powers,  had  he  taken  up  the  sock  and  buskin,  instead 
of  becoming  a  lecturer,  he  would  have  made  as  fine  a 
Coriolanus  as  ever  trod  the  stage. 

In  his  splendidly  conceived  comparison  of  Mr. 
Douglass  to  S.  R.  Ward,  written  for  the  "  Autographs 
for  Freedom,*  Professor  William  J.  Wilson  says  of  the 
former,  "  In  his  very  look,  his*  gesture,  his  whole 
manner,  there  is  so  much  of  genuine,  earnest  elo- 
quence, that  they  leave  no  time  for  reflection.  Now 
you  are  reminded  of  one  rushing  down  some  fearful 
steep,  bidding  you  follow ;  now  on  some  delightful 
stream,  still  beckoning  you  onward.  In  either  case, 
no  matter  what  your  prepossessions  or  oppositions, 
you,  for  the  moment  at  least,  forget  the  justness  or 
unjustness  of  his  cause,  and  obey  the  summons,  and 
loath,  if  at  all,  you  return  to  your  former  post.  Not 
always,  however,  is  he  successful  in  retaining  you. 
Giddy  as  you  may  be  with  the  descent  you  have  made, 
delighted  as  you  are  with  the  pleasure  afforded,  with 
the  Elysium  to  which  he  has  wafted  you,  you  return 
too  often  dissatisfied  with  his  and  your  own  impetu- 
osity and  want  of  firmness.  You  feel  that  you  had 
only  a  dream,  a  pastime,  —  not  a  reality. 

"  This  great  power  of  momentary  captivation  con- 
sists in  his  eloquence  of  manners,  his  just  apprecia- 
tion of  words.  In  listening  to  him,  your  whole  soul 
is  fired,  every  nerve  strung,  every  passion  inflated, 
and  every  faculty  you  possess  ready  to  perform  at  a 


* 


184      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS   AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

moment's  bidding.  You  stop  not  to  ask  why  or  where- 
fore. 'Tis  a  unison  of  mighty  yet  harmonious  sounds 
that  play  upon  your  imagination ;  and  you  give  your- 
self up,  for  a  time,  to  their  irresistible  charm.  At 
last,  the  cataract  which  roared  around  you  is  hushed, 
the  tornado  is  passed,  and  you  find  yourself  sitting 
upon  a  bank,  (at  whose  base  roll  but  tranquil  waters,) 
quietly  asking  yourself  why,  amid  such  a  display  of 
power,  no  greater  effect  had  really  been  produced. 
After  all,  it  must  be  admitted  there  is  a  power  in  Mr. 
Douglass  rarely  to  be  found  in  any  other  man." 

As  a  speaker,  Frederick  Douglass  has  had  more  imi- 
tators than  almost  any  other  American,  save,  perhaps, 
Wendell  Phillips.  Unlike  most  great  speakers,  he  is 
a  superior  writer  also.  Some  of  his  articles,  in  point 
of  ability,  will  rank  with  any  thing  ever  written  fdr 
the  American  press.  He  has  taken  lessons  from  the 
best  of  teachers,  amid  the  homeliest  realities  of  life  ; 
hence  the  perpetual  freshness  of  his  delineations, 
which  are  never  over-colored,  never  strained,  never 
aiming  at  difficult  or  impossible  effects,  but  which 
always  read  like  living  transcripts  of  experience. 
The  following  from  his  pen,  on  "  What  shall  be  done 
with  the  slaves,  if  emancipated  ?  "  is  characteristic  of 
his  style. 

"  What  shall  be  done  with  the  four  million  slaves, 
if  they  are  emancipated?  This  question  has  been 
answered,  and  can  be  answered  in  many  ways.  Pri- 
marily, it  is  a  question  less  for  man  than  for  God  — 
less  for  human  intellect  than  for  the  laws  of  nature  to 
solve.  It  assumes  that  nature  has  erred  ;  that  the 
law  of  liberty  is  a  mistake ;  that  freedom,  though  a 
natural  want  of  the  human  soul,  can  only  be  enjoyed 


FREDERICK   DOUGLASS.  185 

at  the  expense  of  human  welfare,  and  that  men  are 
better  off  in  slavery  than  they  would  or  could  be  in 
freedom ;  that  slavery  is  the  natural  order  of  human 
relations,  and  that  liberty  is  an  experiment.  What 
shall  be  done  with  them  ? 

"  Our  answer  is,  Do  nothing  with  them ;  mind  your 
business,  and  let  them  mind  theirs.  Your  doing'  with 
them  is  their  greatest  misfortune.  They  have  been 
undone  by  your  doings,  and  all  they  now  ask,  and 
really  have  need  of  at  your  hands,  is  just  to  let  them 
alone.  They  suffer  by  every  interference,  and  succeed 
best  by  being  let  alone.  The  negro  should  have  been 
let  alone  in  Africa  —  let  alone  when  the  pirates  and 
robbers  offered  him  for  sale  in  our  Christian  slave 
markets  (more  cruel  and  inhuman  than  the  Moham- 
medan slave  markets)  —  let  alone  by  courts,  judges, 
politicians,  legislators,  and  slave-drivers  —  let  alone 
altogether,  and  assured  that  they  were  thus  to  be  let 
alone  forever,  and  that  they  must  now  make  their  own 
way  in  the  world,  just  the  same  as  any  and  every  other 
variety  of  the  human  family.  As  colored  men,  we 
only  ask  to  be  allowed  to  do  with  ourselves,  subject 
only  to  the  same  great  laws  for  the  welfare  of  human 
society  which  apply  to  other  men  —  Jews,  Gentiles, 
Barbarian,  Scythian.  Let  us  stand  upon  our  own  legs, 
work  with  our  own  hands,  and  eat  bread  in  the  sweat 
of  our  own  brows.  When  you,  our  white  fellow- 
countrymen,  have  attempted  to  do  any  thing  for  us, 
it  has  generally  been  to  deprive  us  of  some  right, 
power,  or  privilege,  which  you  yourselves  would  die 
before  you  would  submit  to  have  taken  from  you. 
When  the  planters  of  the  West  Indies  used  to  attempt 
to  puzzle  the  pure-minded  Wilberforce  with  the  ques- 
16* 


186      THE   BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

tion,  'How  shall  we  get  rid  of  slavery?'  his  sin  pie 
answer  was,  4  Quit  stealing.'  In  like  manner  we  an- 
swer those  who  are  perpetually  puzzling  their  brains 
with  questions  as  to  what  shall  be  done  with  the  negro, 
4  Let  him  alone,  and  mind  your  own  business.'  If  you 
see  him  ploughing  in  the  open  field,  levelling  the  forest, 
at  work  with  a  spade,  a  rake,  a  hoe,  a  pickaxe,  or  a 
bill  —  let  him  alone ;  he  has  a  right  to  work.  If  you 
see  him  on  his  way  to  school,  with  spelling-book,  geog- 
raphy, and  arithmetic  in  his  hands  —  let  him  alone. 
Don't  shut  the  door  in  his  face,  nor  bolt  your  gates 
against  him ;  he  has  a  right  to  learn  —  let  him  alone. 
Don't  pass  laws  to  degrade  him.  If  he  has  a  ballot  in 
his  hand,  and  is  on  his  way  to  the  ballot-box  to  deposit 
his  vote  for  the  man  who,  he  thinks,  will  most  justly 
and  wisely  administer  the  government  which  has  the 
power  of  life  and  death  over  him,  as  well  as  others  — 
let  him  ALONE  ;  his  right  of  choice  as  much  deserves 
respect  and  protection  as  your  own.  If  you  see  him 
on  his  way  to  church,  exercising  religious'  liberty  in 
accordance  with  this  or  that  religious  persuasion  —  let 
him  alone.  Don't  meddle  with  him,  nor  trouble  your- 
selves with  any  questions  as  to  what  shall  be  done 
with  him. 

"  What  shall  be  done  with  the  negro,  if  emancipat- 
ed ?  Deal  justly  with  him.  He  is  a  human  being, 
capable  of  judging  between  good  and  evil,  right  and 
wrong,  liberty  and  slavery,  and  is  as  much  a  subject 
of  law  as  any  other  man  ;  therefore,  deal  justly  with 
him.  He  is,  like  other  men,  sensible  of  the  motives 
of  reward  and  punishment.  Give  him  wages  for  his 
work,  and  let  hunger  pinch  him  if  he  don't  work. 
He  knows  the  difference  between  fulness  and  famine, 


CHARLES   L.    REASON.  18T 

plenty  and  scarcity.  4  But  will  he  work  ? '  Why 
should  he  not  ?  He  is  used  to  it,  and  is  not  afraid  of 
it.  His  hands  are  already  hardened  by  toil,  and  he 
has  no  dreams  of  ever  getting  a  living  by  any  other 
means  than  by  hard  work.  '  But  would  you  turn 
them  all  loose  ?  '  Certainly  !  We  are  no  better  than 
our  Creator.  He  has  turned  them  loose,  and  why 
should  not  we  ?  *  But  would  you  let  them  all  stay 
here  ?  '  Why  not  ?  What  better  is  here  than  there  ? 
Will  they  occupy  more  room  as  freemen  than  as 
slaves  ?  Is  the  presence  of  a  black  freeman  less 
agreeable  than  that  of  a  black  slave  ?  Is  an  object 
of  your  injustice  and  cruelty  a  more  ungrateful  sight 
than  one  of  your  justice  and  benevolence  ?  You  have 
borne  the  one  more  than  two  hundred  years  —  can't 
you  bear  the  other  long  enough  to  try  the  experi- 
ment?" 


CHARLES    L.    REASON. 

PROFESSOR  C.  L.  REASON  has  for  many  years  been 
connected  with  the  educational  institutions  of  New 
York  and  Philadelphia.  In  1849,  he  was  called  to 
the  professorship  of  Mathematics  and  Belles  Lettres  in 
New  York  Central  College.  This  situation  he  held 
during  his  own  pleasure,  with  honor  to  himself  and 
benefit  to  the  students.  A  man  of  fine  education, 
superior  intelligence,  gentlemanly  in  every  sense  of 
the  term,  of  excellent  discrimination,  one  of  the  best 
of  students,  Professor  Reason  holds  a  power  over  those 
under  him  seldom  attained  by  men  of  his  profession. 


188 

Were  I  a  sculptor,  and  looking  for  a  model  of  a  per- 
fect man  in  personal  appearance,  my  selection  would 
be  Charles  L.  Reason.  As  a  writer  of  both  prose  and 
poetry  he  need  not  be  ashamed  of  his  ability.  Ex- 
tremely diffident,  he  seldom  furnishes  any  thing  for 
the  public  eye.  In  a  well-written  essay  on  the  pro- 
priety of  establishing  an  industrial  college,  and  the 
probable  influence  of  the  free  colored  people  upon  the 
emancipated  blacks,  he  says,  "  Whenever  emancipation 
shall  take  place,  immediate  though  it  be,  the  subjects 
of  it,  like  many  who  now  make  up  the  so-called  free 
population,  will  be,  in  what  geologists  call,  the  '  tran- 
sition state.'  The  prejudice  now  felt  against  them 
for  bearing  on  their  persons  the  brand  of  slaves,  cannot 
die  out  immediately.  Severe  trials  will  still  -be  their 
portion :  the  curse  of  a  '  taunted  race,'  must  be  ex- 
piated by  almost  miraculous  proofs  of  advancement; 
and  some  of  these  -miracles  must  be  antecedent  to  the 
great  day  of  jubilee.  To  fight  the  battle  upon  the 
bare  ground  of  abstract  principles  will  fail  to  give  [us 
complete  victory.  The  subterfuges  of  pro-slavery  self- 
ishness must  now  be  dragged  to  light,  and  the  last 
weak  argument,  that  the  negro  can  never  contrib- 
ute any  thing  to  advance  the  national  character, 
4  nailed  to  the  counter  as  base  coin.'  To  the  con- 
quering of  the  difficulties  heaped  up  in  the  path  of 
his  industry,  the  free  colored  man  of  the  north  has 
pledged  himself.  Already  he  sees,  springing  into 
growth,  from  out  his  foster  work-school,  intelligent 
young  laborers,  competent  to  enrich  the  world  with 
necessary  products ;  industrious  citizens,  contributing 
their  proportion  to  aid  on  the  advancing  civilization 
of  the  country ;  self-providing  artisans,  vindicating 


CHARLES  L.   REASON.  189 

their  people  from  the  never-ceasing  charge  of  fitness 
for  servile  positions."  In  the  "  Autographs  for  Free- 
dom," from  which  the  above  extract  is  taken,  Profess- 
or Reason  has  a  beautiful  poem,  entitled  "  Hope  and 
Confidence,"  which,  in  point  of  originality  and  nicety 
of  composition,  will  give  it  a  place  with  the  best  pro- 
ductions of  Wordsworth. 

A  poem  signifies  design,  method,  harmony,  and 
therefore  consistency  of  parts.  A  man  may  be  gifted 
with  the  most  vividly  ideal  nature ;  he  may  shoot 
from  his  brain  some  blazing  poetic  thought  or  imagery, 
which  may  arouse  wonder  and  admiration,  as  a  comet 
does  ;  and  yet  he  may  have  no  constructiveness,  with- 
out which  the  materials  of  poetry  are  only  so  many 
glittering  fractions.  A  poem  can  never  be  tested  by 
its  length  or  brevity,  but  by  the  adaptation  of  its  parts. 
A  complete  poem  is  the  architecture  of  thought  and 
language.  It  requires  artistic  skill  to  chisel  rough 
blocks  of  marble  into  as  many  individual  forms  of 
beauty ;  but  not  only  skill,  but  genius,  is  needed  to  ar- 
range and  harmonize  those  forms  into  the  completeness 
of  a  Parthenon.  A  grave  popular  error,  and  one  de- 
structive of  personal  usefulness,  and  obstructive  to 
literary  progress,  is  the  free-and-easy  belief  that  be- 
cause a  mail  has  the  faculty  of  investing  common 
things  with  uncommon  ideas,  therefore  he  can  write 
a  poem. 

The  idea  of  poetry  is  to  give  pleasurable  emotions, 
and  the  world  listens  to  a  poet's  voice  as  it  listens  to 
the  singing  of  a  summer  bird  ;  that  which  is  the 
most  suggestive  of  freedom  and  eloquence  being  the 
most  admired.  Professor  Reason  has  both  the  genius 
and  the  artistic  skill.  We  regret  that  we  are  able  to 


190      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

give  only  the   last   two   verses  of  "  Hope   and   Con- 
fidence." 

"  There's  nothing  so  lovely  and  bright  below, 

As  the  shapes  of  the  purified  mind ; 
Nought  surer  to  which  the  weak  heart  can  grow, 
On  which  it  can  rest  as  it  onward  doth  go, 

Than  that  Truth  which  its  own  tendrils  bind. 

"  Yes,  Truth  opes  within  a  pure  sun-tide  of  bliss, 

And  shows  in  its  ever  calm  flood 
A  transcript  of  regions  where  no  darkness  is, 
Where  Hope  its  conceptions  may  realize, 

And  Confidence  sleep  in  the  good." 


CHARLOTTE     L.     FORTEN. 

IN  the  autumn  of  1854,  a  young  colored  lady  of 
seventeen  summers,  unable  to  obtain  admission  into 
the  schools  of  her  native  city  (Philadelphia)  on  ac- 
count of  her  complexion,  removed  to  Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  she  at  once  entered  the  Higginson 
Grammar  School.  Here  she  soon  secured  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  the  teachers  and  her  fellow-pupils. 
Near  the  end  of  the  last  term,  the  principal  of  the 
establishment  invited  the  scholars  to  write  a  poem 
each,  to  be  sung  at  the  last  day's  examination,  and  at 
the  same  time  expressing  the  desire  that  the  authors 
should  conceal  their  names.  As  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, this  drew  out  all  the  poetical  genius  of  the 
young  aspirants.  Fifty  or  more  manuscripts  were  sent 


CHARLOTTE  L.  FORTEN.  191 

in,  and  one  selected,  printed  on  a  neat  sheet,  and  cir- 
culated through  the  vast  audience  who  were  present. 
The  following  is  the  piece :  — 

A   PARTING   HYMN. 

When  Winter's  royal  robes  of  white 

From  hill  and  vale  are  gone, 
And  the  glad  voices  of  the  spring 

Upon  the  air  are  borne, 
Friends,  who  have  met  with  us  before, 
Within  these  walls  shall  meet  no  more. 

v  , 

Forth  to  a  noble  work  they  go : 

0,  may  their  hearts  keep  pure, 
And  hopeful  zeal  and  strength  be  theirs 

To  labor  and  endure, 
That  they  an  earnest  faith  may  prove 
By  words  of  truth  and  deeds  of  love. 

May  those,  whose  holy  task  it  is 

To  guide  impulsive  youth, 
Fail  not  to  cherish  in  their  souls 

A  reverence  for  truth ; 
For  teachings  which  the  lips  impart 
Must  have  their  source  within  the  heart. 

May  all  who  suffer  share  their  love  — 

The  poor  and  the  oppressed  ; 
So  shall  the  blessing  of  our  God 

Upon  their  labors  rest. 
And  may  we  meet  again  where  all 
Are  blest  and  freed  from  every  thrall. 


192      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

The  announcement  that  the  successful  competitor 
would  be  called  out  at  the  close  of  the  singing,  created 
no  little  sensation  amongst  the  visitor^,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  pupils. 

The  principal  of  the  school,  after  all  parties  had 
taken  their  seats,  mounted  the  platform,  and  said, 
"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  beautiful  hymn  just  sung 
is  the  composition  of  one  of  the  students  of  this  school, 
but  who  the  talented  person  is  I  am  unaware.  Will 
the  author  step  forward  ?  "  A  moment's  silence,  and 
every  eye  was  turned  in  the  direction  of  the  principal, 
who,  seeing  no  one  stir,  looked  around  with  a  degree 
of  amazement.  Again  he  repeated,  "  Will  the  author 
of  the  hymn  step  forward  ?  "  A  movement  now  among 
the  female  pupils  showed  that  the  last  call  had  been 
successful.  The  buzzing  and  whispering  throughout 
the  large  hall  indicated  the  intense  interest  felt  by  all. 
"  Sit  down  ;  keep  your  seats,"  exclaimed  the  principal, 
as  the  crowd  rose  to  their  feet,  or  bent  forward  to  catch 
a  glimpse  of  the  young  lady,  who  had  now  reached  the 
front  of  the  platform.  Thunders  of  applause  greeted 
the  announcement  that  the  distinguished  authoress 
then  before  them  was  Miss  Charlotte  L.  For  ten.  Her 
finely-chiselled  features,  well-developed  forehead,  coun- 
tenance beaming  with  intelligence,  and  her  dark  com- 
plexion, showing  her  identity  with  an  oppressed  and 
injured  race,  all  conspired  to  make  the  scene  an  excit- 
ing one.  The  audience  was  made  up  in  part  of  some  of 
the  most  aristocratic  people  in  one  of  the  most  aristo- 
cratic towns  in  America.  The  impression  left  upon 
their  minds  was  great  in  behalf  of  the  race  thus  so 
nobly  represented  by  the  granddaughter  ot  the  noble- 
hearted,  brave,  generous,  and  venerable  James  Forten, 


CHARLOTTE  L.  FORTEN.  193 

whose  whole  life  was  a  vindication  of  the  character  of 
his  race. 

"  Tis  the  mind  that  makes  the  body  rich  ; 
And  as  the  sun  breaks  through  the  darkest  clouds, 
So  honor  peereth  in  the  meanest  habit." 

For  several  days  after  the  close  of  the  school,  the 
name  of  Charlotte  L.  Forten  was  mentioned  in  all  the 
private  circles  of  Salem ;  and  to  imitate  her  was  the 
highest  aspiration  of  the  fairest  daughters  of  that 
wealthy  and  influential  city.  Miss  Forten  afterwards 
entered  the  State  Normal  School,  where,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Salem  Register,  "  she  graduated  with  de- 
cided eclat."  She  was  then  appointed  by  the  school 
committee  to  be  a  teacher  in  the  Epes  Grammar  School, 
where  she  "  was  graciously  received,"  says  the  same 
journal,  "  by  parents  of  the  district,  and  soon  endeared 
herself  to  the  pupils  under  her  charge."  These  pupils 
were  all  white.  Aside  from  having  a  finished  educa- 
tion, Miss  Forten  possesses  genius  of  a  high  order. 
An  excellent  student  and  a  lover  of  books,  she  has  a 
finely-cultivated  mind,  well  stored  with  incidents  drawn 
from  the  classics.  She  evinces  talent,  as  a  writer,  for 
both  prose  and  poetry.  The  following  extracts  from 
her  "  Glimpses  of  New  England,"  published  in  the 
National  Anti- Slavery  Standard,  are  characteristic  of 
her  prose.  "  The  Old  Witch  House/'  at  Salem,  is  thus 
described :  — 

"  This  street  has  also  some  interesting  associations. 
It  contains  a  very  great  attraction  for  all  lovers  of  the 
olden  time.  This  is  an  ancient,  dingy,  yellow  frame 
house,  known  as  "  The  Old  Witch  House."  Our  read- 
ers must  know  that  Salem  was,  two  hundred  years  ago, 
the  headquarters  of  the  witches.  And  this  is  the  veri- 
17 


194      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

table  old  Court  House  where  the  so-called  witches  were 
tried  and  condemned.  It  is  wonderful  with  what  force 
this  singular  delusion  possessed  the  minds,  not  only  of 
the  poor  and  ignorant,  but  of  the  wisest  and  gravest 
of  the  magistrates  appointed  by  his  majesty's  govern- 
ment. 

"  Those  were  dark  days  for  Salem.  Woe  to  the  house- 
wife or  the  household  over  whose  door  latch  the  protect- 
ing horseshoe  was  not  carefully  placed ;  and  far  greater 
woe  to  the  unlucky  dame  who  chanced  to  be  suspected 
of  such  fanciful  freaks  as  riding  through  the  air  on  a 
broomstick,  or  muttering  mystic  incantations  where- 
with to  undo  her  innocent  neighbors.  Hers  was  a 
summary  and  terrible  punishment.  Well,  it  is  very 
pleasant  to  think  how  times  have  changed,  and  to  say 
with  Whittier, — 

1  Our  witches  are  no  longer  old 
And  wrinkled  beldams,  Satan-sold, 
But  young,  and  gay,  and  laughing  creatures, 
With  the  heart's  sunshine  on  their  features.' 

Troops  of  such  witches  now  pass  the  old  house  every 
day.  I  grieve  to  say  that  the  i  Old  Witch  House  '  has 
recently  been  defaced  and  desecrated  by  the  erection  of 
an  apothecary's  shop  in  front  of  one  of  its  wings. 
People  say  that  the  new  shop  is  very  handsome  ;  but  to 
a  few  of  us,  lovers  of  antiquity,  it  seems  a  profanation, 
and  we  can  see  no  beauty  in  it." 

The  hills  in  the  vicinity  of  Salem  are  beautifully 
pictured.  "  The  pure,  bracing  air,  the  open  sky,"  and 
the  sheet  of  water  in  the  distance,  are  all  brought  in 
with  their  lights  and  shades.  Along  with  the  bril- 
liancy of  style  and  warmth  of  imagination  which  char- 
acterize her  writings,  we  find  here  and  there  gravity 


CHARLOTTE   L.    FORTEN.  195 

of  thought  and  earnestness  of  purpose,  befitting  her 
literary  taste.  Of  Marblehead  Beach  she  writes,  — 

"  The  beach,  which  is  at  some  distance  from  the  town, 
is  delightful.  It  was  here  that  I  first  saw  the  sea,  and 
stood  '  entranced  in  silent  awe,'  gazing  upon  the 
waves  as  they  marched,  in  one  mass  of  the  richest 
green,  to  the  shore,  then  suddenly  broke  into  foam, 
white  and  beautiful  as  the  winter  snow.  I  remember 
one  pleasant  afternoon  which  I  spent  with  a  friend, 
gathering  shells  and  seaweed  on  the  beach,  or  sitting 
on  the  rocks,  listening  to  the  wild  music  of  the  waves, 
and  watching  the  clouds  of  spray  as  they  sprang  high 
up  in  the  air,  then  fell  again  in  snowy  wreaths  at  our 
feet.  "VVe  lingered  there  until  the  sun  had  sunk  into 
hrs  ocean  bed.  On  our  homeward  walk  we  passed 
Forest  River,  a  winding,  picturesque  little  stream, 
dotted  with  rocky  islands.  Over  the  river,  and  along 
our  quiet  way,  the  moon  shed  her  soft  and  silvery  light. 
And  as  we  approached  Salem,  the  lights,  gleaming  from 
every  window  of  the  large  factory,  gave  us  a  cheerful 
welcome." 

She  "  looks  on  nature  with  a  poet's  eye."  The  visit 
to  Lynn  is  thus  given :  — 

"  Its  chief  attraction  to  me  was  c  High  Rock,'  on 
whose  summit  the  pretty  little  dwelling  of  the  Hutch- 
insons  is  perched  like  an  eagle's  eyrie.  In  the  distance 
this  rock  looks  so  high  and  steep  that  one  marvels  how 
a  house  could  ever  have  been  built  upon  it.  At  its 
foot  there  once  lived  a  famous  fortune-teller  of  the 
olden  time  —  *  Moll  Pitcher.'  She  at  first  resided  in 
Salem,  but  afterwards  removed  to  Lynn,  where  her  fame 
spread  over  the  adjoining  country  far  and  near.  Whit- 
tier  has  made  her  the  subject  of  a  poem,  which  every 


196      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

one  should  read,  not  only  for  its  account  of  the  fortune* 
teller,  but  for  its  beautiful  descriptions  of  the  scenery 
around  Lynn,  especially  of  the  bold  promontory  of 
Nahant,  whose  fine  beach,  invigorating  sea  air,  and, 
more  than  all,  its  grand,  rugged  old  rocks,  —  the  grand- 
est I  have  ever  seen,— -washed  by  the  waves  of  old 
Ocean,  make  it  the  most  delightful  of  summer  resorts." 
The  gifts  of  nature  are  of  no  rank  or  color ;  they 
come  unbidden  and  unsought :  as  the  wind  awakes  the 
chords  of  the  ^Bolian  harp,  so  the  spirit^breathes  upon 
the  soul,  and  brings  to  life  all  the  melody  of  its  being. 
The  following  poem  recalls  to  recollection  some  of  the 
beautiful  yet  solemn  strains  of  Miss  Landon,  the  gifted 
"  L.  E.  L.,"  whose  untimely  death  at  Cape  Coast  Castle, 
some  years  since,  carried  sorrow  to  so  many  English 
hearts :  — 

THE  ANGEL'S  VISIT. 

'Twas  on  a  glorious  summer  eve,  — 

A  lovely  eve  in  June,  — 
Serenely  from  her  home  above 

Looked  down  the  gentle  moon  ; 
And  lovingly  she  smiled  on  me, 

And  softly  soothed  the  pain  — 
The  aching,  heavy  pain  that  lay 

Upon  my  heart  and  brain. 

And  gently  'mid  the  murmuring  leaves, 
Scarce  by  its  light  wings  stirred, 

Like  spirit  voices  soft  and  clear, 
The  night  wind's  song  was  heard ; 

In  strains  of  music  sweet  and  low 
It  sang  to  me  of  peace ; 


CHARLOTTE   L.    FORTEN. 

It  bade  my  weary,  troubled  soul 
Her  sad  complainings  cease. 

For  bitter  thoughts  had  filled  my  breast, 

And  sad,  and  sick  at  heart, 
I  longed  to  lay  me  down  and  rest, 

From  all  the  world  apart. 
"  Outcast,  oppressed  on  earth,"  I  cried, 

"  0  Father,  take  me  home  ; 
0,  take  me  to  that  peaceful  land 

Beyond  the  moon-lit  dome. 

"  On  such  a  night  as  this,"  methought, 

"  Angelic  forms  are  near ; 
In  beauty  unrevealed  to  us 

They  hover  in  the  air. 

0  mother,  loved  and  lost,"  I  cried, 
"  Methinks  thou'rt  near  me  now ; 

Methinks  I  feel  thy  cooling  touch 
Upon  my  burning  brow. 

"  0,  guide  and  soothe  thy  sorrowing  child ; 

And  if  'tis  not  His  will 
That  thou  shouldst  take  me  home  with  thee, 

Protect  and  bless  me  still ; 
For  dark  and  drear  had  been  my  life 

Without  thy  tender  smile, 
Without  a  mother's  loving  care, 

Each  sorrow  to  beguile." 

1  ceased :  then  o'er  my  senses  stole 

A  soothing,  dreamy  spell, 
And  gently  to  my  ear  were  borne    "* 
The  tones  I  loved  so  well ; 

17*  » 


198      THE  BLACK  MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

A  sudden  flood  of  rosy  light 

Filled  all  the  dusky  wood, 
And,  clad  in  shining  robes  of  white, 

My  angel  mother  stood. 

She  gently  drew  me  to  her  side, 

She  pressed  her  lips  to  mine, 
And  softly  said,  "  Grieve  not,  my  child ; 

A  mother's  love  is  thine. 
I  know  the  cruel  wrongs  that  crush 

The  young  and  ardent  heart ; 
But  falter  not ;  keep  bravely  on, 

And  nobly  bear  thy  part. 

"  For  thee  a  brighter  day's  in  store ; 

And  every  earnest  soul 
That  presses  on,  with  purpose  high, 

Shall  gain  the  wished-for  goal". 
And  thou,  beloved,  faint  not  beneath 

The  weary  weight  of  care  ; 
Daily  before  our  Father's  throne 

I  breathe  for  thee  a  prayer. 

"  I  pray  that  pure  and  holy  thoughts 

May  bless  and  guard  thy  way ; 
A  noble  and  unselfish  life 

For  thee,  my  child,  I  pray." 
She  paused,  and  fondly  bent  on  me 

One  lingering  look  of  love, 
Then  softly  said,  —  and  passed  away, — 

"  Farewell !  we'll  meet  above." 

I  woke,  and  still  the  silver  moon 
In  quiet  beauty  shone ; 


WILLIAM    H.    SIMPSON.  199 

And  still  I  heard  amid  the  leaves 
The  night  wind's  murmuring  tone ; 

But  from  my  heart  the  weary  pain 
Forevermore  had  flown ; 

I  knew  a  mother's  prayer  for  me 
Was  breathed  before  the  throne. 

Nothing  can  be  more  touching  than  Miss  Forten's 
allusion  to  her  sainted  mother.  In  some  of  her  other 
poems  she  is  more  light  and  airy,  and  her  muse  de- 
lights occasionally  to  catch  the  sunshine  on  its  aspiring 
wings.  Miss  Forten  is  still  young,  yet  on  the  sunny 
side  of  twenty-five,  and  has  a  splendid  future  before 
her.  Those  who  know  her  best  consider  her  on  the 
road  to  fame.  Were  she  white,  America  would  recog- 
nize her  as  one  of  its  brightest  gems. 


WILLIAM    H.    SIMPSON. 

IT  is  a  compliment  to  a  picture  to  say  that  it  pro- 
duces the  impression  of  the  actual  scene.  Taste  has, 
frequently,  for  its  object  works  of  art.  Nature,  many 
suppose,  may  be  studied  with  propriety,  but  art  they 
reject  as  entirely  superficial.  But  what  is  the  fact  ? 
In  the  highest  sense,  art  is  the  child  of  nature,  and  is 
most  admired  when  it  preserves  the  likeness  of  its 
parent.  In  Venice,  the  paintings  of  Titian,  and  of  the 
Venetian  artists  generally,  exact  from  the  traveller  a 
yet  higher  tribute,  for  the  hues  and  forms  around  him 
constantly  remind  him  of  their  works.  Many  of  the 
citizens  of  Boston  are  often  called  to  mention  the 


200      THE  BLACK   MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

names  of  their  absent  or  departed  friends,  by  looking 
upon  their  features,  as  transferred  to  canvas  by  the 
pencil  and  brush  of  William  H.  Simpson,  the  young 
colored  artist.  He  has  evidently  taken  Titian,  Murillo, 
and  Raphael  for  his  masters.  The  Venetian  painters 
were  diligent  students  of  the  nature  that  was  around 
them.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  seems  to  have  im- 
bibed their  energy,  as  well  as  learned  to  copy  the  noble 
example  they  left  behind.  The  history  of  painters,  as 
well  as  poets,  is  written  in  their  works.  The  best  life 
of  Goldsmith  is  to  be  found  in  his  poem  of  "  The 
Traveller"  and  his  novel  of  "The  Vicar  of  Wake- 
field."  No  one  views  the  beautiful  portrait  of  J.  P. 
Kernble,  in  the  National  Gallery  in  London,  in  the 
character  of  Hamlet,  without  thinking  of  Sir  Thomas 
Lawrence,  who  executed  it.  The  organ  of  color  is 
prominent  in  the  cranium  of  Mr.  Simpson,  and  it  is 
well  developed.  His  portraits  are  admired  for  their 
life-like  appearance,  as  well  as  for  the  fine  delineation 
which  characterizes  them  all.  It  is  very  easy  to  tran- 
scribe the  emotions  which  paintings  awaken,  but  it  is 
no  easy  matter  to  say  why  a  picture  is  so  painted  as 
that  it  must  awaken  certain  emotions.  *  Many  persons 
feel  art,  some  understand  it,  but  few  both  feel  and 
understand  it.  Mr.  Simpson  is  rich  in  depth  of  feel- 
ing and  spiritual  beauty.  His  portrait  of  John  T. 
Hilton,  which  was  presented  to  the  Masonic  Lodge  a 
few  months  since,  is  a  splendid  piece  of  art.  The 
longer  you  look  on  the  features,  the  more  the  picture 
looks  lifce  real  life.  The  taste  displayed  in  the  color- 
ing of  the  regalia,  and  the  admirable  perspective  of 
each  badge  of  honor,  shows  great  skill.  No  higher 
praise  is  needed  than  to  say  that  a  gentleman  of  Bos- 


WILLIAM   H.   SIMPSON.  201 

ton,  distinguished  for  his  good  judgment  in  the  picture 
gallery,  wishing  to  secure  a  likeness  of  Hon.  Charles 
Sunnier,  induced  the  senator  to  sit  to  Mr.  Simpson  for 
the  portrait ;  and  in  this  instance  the  artist  has  been 
signally  successful. 

His  likenesses  have  been  so  correct,  that  he  has 
often  been  employed  to  paint  whole  families,  where 
only  one  had  been  bargained  for  in  the  commence- 
ment. He  is  considered  unapproachable  in  taking 
juvenile  faces.  Mr.  Simpson  does  not  aspire  to  any 
thing  in  his  art  beyond  portrait  painting.  Neverthe- 
less, a  beautiful  fancy  sketch,  hanging  in  his  studio, 
representing  summer,  exhibits  marked  ability  and  con- 
summate genius.  The  wreath  upon  the  head,  with  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  grain  interwoven,  and  the  nicety  of 
coloring  in  each  particular  kind,  causes  those  who 
view  it  to  regard  him  as  master  of  his  profession. 
Portraits  of  his  execution  are  scattered  over  most  of 
the  Northern  States  and  the  Canadas.  Some  have 
gone  to  Liberia,  Hayti,  and  California. 

Mr.  Simpson  is  a  native  of  Buffalo,  New  York,  where 
he  received  a  liberal  education.  But  even  in  school, 
his  early  inclination  to  draw  likenesses  materially  in- 
terfered with  his  studies.  The  propensity  to  use  his 
slate  and  pencil  in  scratching  down  his  schoolmates, 
instead  of  doing  his  sums  in  arithmetic,  often  gained 
him  severe  punishment.  After  leaving  school,  he  was 
employed  as  errand  boy  by  Matthew  Wilson,  Esq.,  the 
distinguished  artist,  who  soon  discovered  young  Simp- 
son's genius,  and  took  him  as  an  apprentice.  In  1854, 
they  removed  to  Boston,  where  Mr.  Simpson  labored 
diligently  to  acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
profession.  Mr.  Wilson  stated  to  the  writer,  that  he 


202      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

never  had  a  man  who  was  more  attentive  or  more 
trustworthy  than  William  H.  Simpson.  The  colored 
artist  has  been  working  in  his  own  studio  nearly  three 
years,  and  has  his  share  of  public  patronage.  Of 
course  he  has  many  obstacles  thrown  in  his  path  by 
the  prejudice  against  him  as  a  colored  man  ;  but  he  . 
long  since  resolved  that  he  would  reach  the  highest 
round  in  the  ladder.  His  career  may  well  be  imitated. 

"  Would  you  wrest  the  wreath  of  fame 

From  the  hand  of  Fate  ; 
"Would  you  write  a  deathless  name 

With  the  good  and  great ; 
Would  you  bless  your  fellow-men, 

Heart  and  soul  imbue 
With  the  holy  task,  —  why,  then 
Paddle  your  own  canoe." 

J 

Mr.  Simpson  is  of  small  figure,  unmixed  in  blood, 
has  a  rather  mild  and  womanly  countenance,  firm  and 
resolute  eye,  is  gentlemanly  in  appearance,  and  intelli- 
gent in  conversation. 


JEAN    PIERRE    BOYER. 

JEAN  PIERRE  BOYER  was  born  at  Port  au  Prince  on 
the  2d  of  February,  1776  ;  received  in  Paris  the  ad- 
vantages of  European  culture  ;  fought  under  Rigaud 
against  Toussaint ;  and  in  consequence  of  the  success 
of  the  latter,' quitted  the  island.  Boyer  returned  to 
Hayti  in  Leclerc's  expedition  :  he,  however,  separated 
from  the  French  general-in-chief,  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  his  own  color,  and  aided  in  vindicating 


JEAN   PIERRE   BOYER.  203 

the  claims  of  his  race  to  freedom  in  the  last  struggle 
with  the  French.  On  the  death  of  Dessalines,  Chris- 
tophe,  already  master  of  the  north,  sought  to  ta,ke  the 
south  out  of  the  hands  of  Petion.  Boyer  assisted  his 
fellow-mulatto  in  driving  off  the  black  general.  This 
act  endeared  him  to  the  former.  Gratitude,  as  well 
as  regard  to  the  common  interest,  gave  Boyer  the 
president's  chair,  on  the  death  of  Petion.  Raised  to 
that  dignity,  he  employed  his  power  and  his  energies  to 
complete  those  economical  and  administrative  reforms 
with  which  he  had  already  been  connected  under  his 
predecessor.  To  labor  for  the  public  good  was  the 
end  of  his  life.  In  this  worthy  enterprise  he  was 
greatly  assisted,  no  less  by  his  knowledge  than  his 
moderation.  Well  acquainted  with  the  character  of 
the  people  that  he  was  called  to  govern,  conversant 
with  all  the  interests  of  the  state,  he  had  it  in  his 
power  to  effect  his  purpose  by  mild  as  well  as  j  udicious 
measures.  Yet  were  the  wounds  deep  which  he  had 
to  heal ;  and  he  could  accomplish  in  a  brief  period 
only  a  small  part  of  that  which  it  will  require  genera- 
tions to  carry  to  perfection.  At  the  death  of  Chris- 
tophe,  in  1820,  Boyer  was  proclaimed  president  of  the 
north  and  south.  In  1822,  the  Spanish  part  of  the 
island,  with  its  own  accord,  joined  the  republic ;  and 
thus,  from  Cape  Tiburn  to  Cape  Engano,  Hayti  was 
peacefully  settled  under  one  government,  with  Boyer 
at  its  head.  At  length,  in  1825,  after  the  recognition 
of  Hayti  by  others,  the  French,  under  Charles  X.,  sold 
to  its  inhabitants  the  rights  which  they  had  won  by 
their  swords,  for  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  of  francs,  to  be  paid  as  an  indemnity  to  the 
old  planters.  The  peace  with  France  created  a  more 


204      THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

fraternal  feeling  between  the  two  countries,  and  Hayti 
now  began  to  regain  her  sfticient  commercial  advan- 
tages, and  every  thing  seemed  prosperous.  In  the 
year  1843,  a  party  opposed  to  the  president  made  its 
appearance,  which  formed  itself  into  a  conspiracy  to 
overthrow  the  government.  Seeing  that  he  could  not 
make  head  against  it,  Boyer,  in  disgust,  took  leave  of 
the  people  in  a  dignified  manner,  and  retired  to  Ja- 
njaica,  where,  a  few  years  since,  he  died. 

Though  called  a  mulatto,  Boyer  was  nearly  black, 
and  his  long  residence  in  Europe  gave  him  a  polish  in 
manners  foreign  to  the  island.  He  was  a  brave  man, 
a  good  soldier,  and  proved  himself  a  statesman  of  no 
ordinary  ability.  When  he  came  into  power,  the  moun- 
tains were  filled  with  Maroons,  headed  by  a  celebrated 
chief  named  Gomar.  Regaud  and  Petion  had  tried 
in  vain  to  rid  the  country  of  these  brigands.  Boyer 
soon  broke  up  their  strongholds,  dispersed  them,  and 
finally  destroyed  or  brought  them  all  under  subjection. 
By  his  good  judgment,  management,  and  humanity, 
he  succeeded  in  uniting  the  whole  island  under  one 
government,  and  gained  the  possession  of  what  Chris- 
tophe  had  exhausted  himself  with  efforts  to  obtain,  and 
what  Petion  had  sighed  for,  without  daring  to  cherish 
a  single  hope  that  its  attainment  could  be  accomplished. 
Boyer  was  blameless  in  his  private  life. 


JAMES  M'CUNE    SMITH.  205 


JAMES     M'CUNE     SMITH,    M.    D. 

UNABLE  to  get  justice  done  him  in  the  educational 
institutions  of  his  native  country,  James  M'Cune 
Smith  turned  his  face  towards  a  foreign  land.  He 
graduated  with  distinguished  honors  at  the  University 
of  Glasgow,  Scotland,  where  he  received  his  diploma 
of  M.  D.  For  the  last  twenty-five  years  he  has  been  a 
practitioner  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  stands 
at  the  head  of  his  profession.  On  his  return  from  Eu- 
rope, the  doctor  was  warmly  welcomed  by  his  fellow- 
citizens,  who  were  anxious  to  pay  due  deference  to 
his  talents ;  since  which  time,  he  has  justly  been  es- 
teemed among  the  leading  men  of  his  race  on  the 
American  continent.  When  the  natural  ability  of  the 
negro  was  assailed,  some  years  ago,  in  New  York, 
Dr.  Smith  came  forward  as  the  representative  of  the 
black  man,  and  his  essays  on  the  comparative  anatomy 
and  physiology  of  the  races,  read  in  the  discussion, 
completely  vindicated  the  character  of  the  negro,  and 
placed  the  author  among  the  most  logical  and  scien- 
tific writers  in  the  country. 

The  doctor  has  contributed  many  valuable  papers 
to  the  different  journals  published  by  colored  men 
during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  The  New  York 
dailies  have  also  received  aid  from  him  during  the 
same  period.  History,  antiquity,  bibliography,  trans- 
lation, criticism,  political  economy,  statistics,  —  almost 
every  department  of  knowledge,  —  receive  emblazon 
from  his  able,  ready,  versatile,  and  unwearied  pen. 
The  emancipation  of  the  slave,  and  the  elevation  of 
18 


206      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND    ACHIEVEMENTS. 

the  free  colored  people,  has  claimed  the  greatest  share 
of  his  time  as  a  writer.  The  following,  from  the 
doctor,  will  give  but  a  poor  idea  of  his  style :  — 

"  FREEDOM  —  LIBERTY. 

"Freedom  and  liberty  are  not  synonyms.  Freedom 
is  an  essence ;  liberty,  an  accident.  Freedom  is  born 
within  man  ;  liberty  may  be  conferred  on  him.  Free- 
dom is  progressive ;  liberty  is  circumscribed.  Freedom 
is  the  gift  of  God ;  liberty,  the  creature  of  society. 
Liberty  may  be  taken  away  from  man  ;  but  on  what- 
soever soul  freedom  may  alight,  the  course  of  that 
soul  is  thenceforth  onward  and  upward  ;  society,  cus- 
toms, laws,  armies,  are  but  as  withes  in  its  giant 
grasp,  if  they  oppose  —  instruments  to  work  its  will, 
if  they  assent.  Human  kind  welcome  the  birth  of  a 
free  soul  with  reverence  and  shoutings,  rejoicing  in 
the  advent  of  a  fresh  offshoot  of  the  divine  whole, 
of  which  this  is  but  a  part." 

His  article  in  the  Anglo- African  Magazine,  on 
"  Citizenship,"  is  one  of  the  most  logical  arguments 
ever  written  in  this  country  upon  that  subject.  In 
the  same  journal,  Dr.  Smith  has  an  essay  on  "  The 
Fourteenth  Query  of  Thomas  Jefferson's  Notes  on 
Virginia,"  not  surpassed  by  any  thing  which  we  have 
seen.  These  are  the  result  of  choice  study,  of  nice 
observation,  of  fine  feeling,  of  exquisite  fancy,  of  con- 
summate art,  and  the  graceful  tact  of  the  scholar. 
Space  will  not  allow  us  to  select  the  many  choice  bits 
that  we  could  cull  from  the  writings  of  James  M'Cune 
Smith. 


BISHOP   PAYNE.  207 

The  law  of  labor  is  equally  binding  on  genius  and 
mediocrity.  The  mind  and  body  rarely  visit  this 
earth  of  ours  so  exactly  fitted  to  each  other,  and  so 
perfectly  harmonizing  together,  as  to  rise  without 
effort,  and  command  in  the  affairs  of  men.  It  is  not 
in  the  power  of  every  one  to  become  great.  No  great 
approximation,  even  toward  that  which  is  easiest  at- 
tained, can  ever  be  accomplished  without  the  exercise 
of  much  thought  and  vigor  of  action  ;  and  thus  is 
demonstrated  the  supremacy  of  that  law  which  gives 
excellence  only  when  earned,  and  assigns  to  labor  its 
unfailing  reward. 

It  is  this  energy  of  character,  industry,  and  labor, 
combined  with  great  intellectual  powers,  which  has 
given  Dr.  Smith  so  much  influence  in  New  York.  As 
a  speaker,  he  is  eloquent,  and,  at  times,  brilliant,  but 
always  clear  and  to  the  point.  In  stature,  the  doctor 
is  not  tall,  but  thick,  and  somewhat  inclined  to  corpu- 
lency. He  has  a  fine  and  well-developed  head,  broad 
and  lofty  brow,  round,  full  face,  firm  mouth,  and 
an  eye  that  dazzles.  In  blood,  he  appears  to  be  rather 
more  Anglo-Saxon  than  African. 


BISHOP     PAYNE. 

TEACHER  of  a  small  school  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  in  the  year  1834,  Daniel  A.  Payne  felt  the 
oppressive  hand  of  slavery  too  severely  upon  him,  and 
he  quitted  the  southern  Sodom  and  came  north. 
After  going  through  a  regular  course  of  theological 
studies  at  Gettysburg  Seminary,  he  took  up  his  resi- 


208      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

dence  at  Baltimore,  where  he  soon  distinguished  him- 
self as  a  preacher  in  the  African  Methodist  denomina- 
tion. He  was  several  years  since  elected  bishop,  and 
is  now  located  in  the  State  of  Ohio. 

Bishop  Payne  is  a  scholar  and  a  poet ;  having  pub- 
lished, in  1850,  a  volume  of  his  productions,  which 
created  considerable  interest  for  the  work,  and  gave 
the  author  a  standing  among  literary  men.  His  writ- 
ings are  characterized  by  sound  reasoning  and  logical 
conclusions,  and  show  that  he  is  well  read.  The 
bishop  is  devotedly  attached  to  his  down-trodden  race, 
and  is  constantly  urging  upon  them  self-elevation. 
After  President  Lincoln's  interview  with  the  com- 
mittee of  colored  men  at  Washington,  and  the  coloni- 
zation scheme  recommended  to  them,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  Mr.  Pomeroy's  address  to  the  free  blacks, 
Bishop  Payne  issued  the  following  note  of  advice, 
which  was  published  in  the  Weekly  Anglo- African :  • — 

"  To  the  Colored  People  of  the  United  States. 

"  MEN,  BRETHREN,  SISTERS  :  A  crisis  is  upon  us 
which  no  one  can  enable  us  to  meet,  conquer,  and 
convert  into  blessings  for  all  concerned,  but  that  God 
who  builds  up  one  nation  and  breaks  down  another. 

"  For  more  than  one  generation,  associations  of  white 
men,  entitled  Colonization  Societies,  have  been  en- 
gaged in  plans  and  efforts  for  our  expatriation ;  these 
have  been  met  sometimes  by  denunciations,  sometimes 
by  ridicule,  often  by  argument ;  but  now  the  Ameri- 
can government  has  assumed  the  work  and  responsi- 
bility of  colonizing  us  in  some  foreign  land  within  the 
torrid  zone,  and  is  now  maturing  measures  to  consum- 
mate this  scheme  of  expatriation. 


BISHOP   PAYNE.  209 

"  But  let  us  never  forget  that  there  is  a  vast  difference 
between  voluntary  associations  of  men  and  the  legally 
constituted  authorities  of  a  country ;  while  the  former 
may  be  held  in  utter  contempt,  the  latter  must  always 
be  respected.  To  do  so  is  a  moral  and  religious,  as 
well  as  a  political  duty. 

"  The  opinions  of  the  government  are  based  upon 
the  ideas,  that  white  men  and  colored  men  cannot  live 
together  as  equals  in  the  same  country ;  and  that  un- 
less a  voluntary  and  peaceable  separation  is  effected 
now,  the  time  must  come  when  there  will  be  a  war  of 
extermination  between  the  two  races. 

"  Now,  in  view  of  these  opinions  and  purposes  of 
the  government,  what  shall  we  do  ?  My  humble  ad- 
vice is,  before  all,  and  first  of  all,  —  even  before  we 
say  yea  or  nay,  —  let  us  seek  from  the  mouth  of  God. 
Let  every  heart  be  humbled,  and  every  knee  bent  in 
prayer  before  him.  Throughout  all  this  land  of  our 
captivity,  in  all  this  house  of  our  bondage,  let  our 
cries  ascend  perpetually  to  Heaven  for  aid  and  direction. 

"  To  your  knees,  I  say,  0  ye  oppressed  and  enslaved 
ones  of  this  Christian  republic,  to  your  knees,  and  be 
there. 

"  Before  the  throne  of  God,  if  nowhere-  else,  the 
black  man  can  meet  his  white  brother  as  an  equal,  and 
be  heard. 

"  It  has  been  said  that  he  is  the  God  of  the  white 
man,  and  not  of  the  black.  This  is  horrible  blas- 
phemy —  a  lie  from  the  pit  that  is  bottomless  —  believe 
it  not  —  no  —  never.  Murmur  not  against  the  Lord 
on  account  of  the  cruelty  and  injustice  of  man.  His 
almighty  arm  is  already  stretched  out  against  sla- 
very—  against  every  man,  every  constitution,  and  every 
18* 


210      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

union  that  upholds  it.  His  avenging  chariot  is  now 
moving  over  the  bloody  fields  of  the  doomed  south, 
crushing  beneath  its  massive  wheels  the  very  founda- 
tions of  the  blasphemous  system.  Soon  slavery  shall 
sink  like  Pharaoh  —  even  like  that  brazen-hearted 
tyrant,  it  shall  sink  to  rise  no  more  forever. 

"  Haste  ye,  then,  0,  hasten  to  your  God ;  pour  the 
sorrows  of  your  crushed  and  bleeding  hearts  into  his 
sympathizing  bosom.  It  is  true  that  '  on  the  side  of 
the  oppressor  there  is  power '  —  the  power  of  the  purse 
and  the  power  of  the  sword.  That  is  terrible.  But 
listen  to  what  is  still  more  terrible :  on  the  side  of  the 
oppressed  there  is  the  strong-  arm  of  the  Lord,  the 
Almighty  God  of  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob  — 
before  his  redeeming  power  the  two  contending  ar- 
mies, hostile  to  each  other,  and  hostile  to  you,  are  like 
chaff  before  the  whirlwind. 

"  Fear  not,  but  believe.  He  who  is  for  you  is  more 
than  they  who  are  against  you.  Trust  in  him  —  hang 
upon  his  arm  —  go,  hide  beneath  the  shadow  of  his 
wings. 

"  0  God !  Jehovah-jireh !  wilt  thou  not  hear  us  ? 
We  are  poor,  helpless,  unarmed,  despised.  Is  it  not 
time  for  thee  to  hear  the  cry  of  the  needy  —  to  judge 
the  poor  of  the  people  —  to  break  in  pieces  the  op- 
pressor. 

"  Be,  0,  be  unto  us  what  thou  wast  unto  Israel  in 
the  land  of  Egypt,  our  Counsellor  and  Guide  —  our 
Shield  and  Buckler  —  our  Great  Deliverer  —  our  Pil- 
lar of  cloud  by  day  —  our  Pillar  of  fire  by  night  I 

"  Stand  between  us  and  our  enemies,  0  thou  angel 
of  the  Lord  !  Be  unto  us  a  shining  light  —  to  our 
enemies,  confusion  and  impenetrable  darkness.  Stand 


WILLIAM   STILL.  211 

between  us  till  this  Red  Sea  be  crossed,  and  ,thy  re- 
deemed, now  sighing,  bleeding,  weeping, .  shall  shout 
and  sing,  for  joy,  the  bold  anthem  of  the  free." 

A  deep  vein  of  genuine  piety  pervades  nearly  all 
the  productions  of  Bishop  Payne.  As  a  pulpit  orator, 
he  stands  deservedly  high.  In  stature,  he  is  rather 
under  the  medium  size,  about  three  fourths  African, 
rather  sharper  features  than  the  average  of  his  race, 
and  appears  to  be  about  fifty  years  of  age.  He  is  very 
popular,  both  as  a  writer  and  a  speaker,  with  his  own 
color.  The  moral,  social,  and  political  standard  of 
the  black  man  has  been  much  elevated  by  the  influ- 
ence of  Bishop  Payne. 


WILLIAM     STILL. 

THE  long  connection  of  Mr.  Still  with  the  anti-slavery 
office,  in  a  city  through  which  fugitive  slaves  had  to 
pass  in  their  flight  from  bondage,  and  the  deep  inter- 
est felt  by  him  for  the  freedom  and  general  welfare  of 
his  race,  have  brought  him  prominently  before  the  pub- 
lic. It  would  not  be  good  policy  to  say  how  many 
persons  passed  through  his  hands  while  on  their  way 
to  the  north  or  the  British  dominions,  even  if  we  knew. 
But  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no. man  has  been  truer  to  the 
fleeing  slave  than  he.  In  the  first  town  where  I 
stopped  in  Canada,  while  on  a  visit  there  a  year  since, 
I  took  a  walk  through  the  market  one  Saturday  morn- 
ing, and  saw  a  large  sprinkling  of  men  and  women 
who  had  escaped  from  the  south.  As  soon  as  it  was 


212      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

understood  that  I  was  from  "  the  States,"  I  was  sur- 
rounded and  overwhelmed  with  inquiries  about  places 
and  persons.  A  short,  stout,  full-faced,  energetically 
talking  woman,  looking  me  fairly  in  the  eyes,  said, 
"  Were  you  ever  in  Philadelphia,  sonny  ? "  I  an- 
swered that  I  had  been  there.  "  Did  you  know  Mr. 
Still  ?  "  "  Yes,"  said  I :  "do  you  know  him  ?  "  "  God 
love  your  heart !  I  reckon  I  does.  He  put  me  fru  dat 
city  on  a  swingin'  limb,  dat  he  did.  Ah !  he's  a  man 
dat  can  be  depended  on."  This  was  only  the  opening ; 
for  as  soon  as  it  was  known  that  I  was  well  acquainted 
with  William  Still,  the  conversation  turned  entirely 
upon  him,  and  I  was  surprised  to  see  so  many  before 
me  whom  he  had  assisted.  And  though  there  were 
some  present  who  complained  of  other  Underground 
Railroad  conductors,  not  a  single  word  was  uttered 
against  Mr.  Still ;  but  all  united  in  the  strongest  praise 
of  him.  In  every  town  that  I  visited  during  a  stay  of 
ten  weeks  in  Canada,  I  met  persons  who  made  feeling 
inquiries  after  him,  and  I  was  glad  to  find  that  all  re- 
garded him  as  a  benefactor.  Mr.  Still  is  well  educated, 
has  good  talents,  and  has  cultivated  them.  He  is  an 
interesting  and  forcible  writer,  and  some  of  the  stories 
of  escaped  slaves,  which  he  has  contributed  to  the 
press,  will  challenge  criticism.  A  correspondent  of 
one  of  the  public  journals  sent  the  following  account 
to  his  paper  of  an  interview  which  he  had  with  Mr. 
Still  the  day  previous :  — 

"  We  sat  down  to  talk.  The  ultimate  destiny  of  the 
black  man  was  discussed,  our  host  opening  that  his 
struggle  for  a  habitation  and  a  name  must  be  in  Amer- 
ica. He  said  that  his  people  were  attached  to  the 
republic,  notwithstanding  many  disadvantages  imposed 


WILLIAM   STILL.  213 

upon  them,  their  hope  being  strong  that  patience  and 
good  citizenship  would  eventually  soften  the  prejudices 
of  the  whites.  Tempered  as  they  were  to  our  habits 
and  climate,  it  would  be  cruel  to  place  them  on  a  strand 
but  dimly  known,  where,  surrounded  by  savages,  they 
might  become  savage  themselves. 

"  There  was  to  us  a  sincere  pleasure  in  our  host's 
discourse.  He  is  one  of  the  leading  public  men  among 
his  people,  and  has  much  of  the  ease  and  polish  pecu- 
liar to  the  well-bred  Caucasian.  He  laughed  at  times, 
but  never  boisterously,  and  in  profounder  moments 
threw  a  telling  solemnity  into  his  tone  and  expression. 
When  the  head  was  averted,  we  heard,  in  well-modu- 
lated speech,  such  vigorous  sentences  and  thoughtful 
remarks,  that  the  identity  of  the  speaker  with  the  pro- 
scribed race  was  half  forgotten  ;  but  the  biased  eyesight 
revealed  only  a  dusky  son  of  Ham.  On  a  '  what-not ' 
table  were  clustered  a  number  of  books.  Most  of  them 
were  anti-slavery  publications,  although  there  were 
several  volumes  of  sermons,  and  a  few  philosophical 
and  historical  books.  We  turned  the  conversation  to 
literature.  He  was  well  acquainted  with  the  authors 
he  had  read,  and  ventured  some  criticisms,  indicative 
of  study.  From  the  earnestness  of  the  man,  it  seemed 
that  the  interests  of  his  race  were  very  dear  to  him. 

"  It  is  but  just  to  say,  that  he  has  passed  many  years 
in  constant  companionship  with  Caucasians." 

Mr.  Still  is  somewhat  tall,  neat  in  figure  and  person, 
has  a  smiling  face,  is  unadulterated  in  blood,  and  gen- 
tlemanly in  his  intercourse  with  society.  He  is  now 
extensively  engaged  in  the  stove  and  fuel  trade,  keeps 
five  or  six  men  employed,  and  has  the  patronage  of 
some  of  the  first  families  of  Philadelphia.  He  has  the 


• 

214      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

entire  confidence  of  all  who  know  and  appreciate  his 
moral  worth  and  business  talents. 


IEDWIN     M.    BANNISTER. 

EDWIN  M.  BANNISTER  was  born  in  the  town  of  St. 
Andrew,  J^w  Brunswick,  and  lost  his  father  when 
only  six  years  old.  He  attended  the  grammar  school 
in  his  native  place,  and  received  a  better  education 
than  persons  generally  in  his  position.  From  early 
childhood  he  seems  to  have  had  a  fancy  for  painting, 
Which  showed  itself  in  the  school  room  and  at  home. 
He  often  drew  portraits  of  his  school-fellows,  and  the 
master  not  unfrequently  found  himself  upon  the  slate, 
where  Edwin's  success  was  so  manifest  that  the  like- 
ness would  call  forth  merriment  from  the  boys,  and 
create  laughter  at  the  expense  of  the  teacher.  At  the 
death  of  his  mother,  when  still  in  his  minority,  he  was 
put  out  to  live  with  the  Hon.  Harris  Hatch,  a  wealthy 
lawyer,  the  proprietor  of  a  fine  farm  some  little  dis- 
tance in  the  country.  In  his  new  home  Edwin  did  not 
lose  sight  of  his  drawing  propensities,  and  though  the 
family  had  nothing  in  the  way  of  models  except  two 
faded  portraits,  kept  more  as  relics  than  for  their  in- 
trinsic value,  he  nevertheless  practised  upon  them, 
and  often  made  the  copy  look  more  life-like  than  the 
original.  On  the  barn  doors,  fences,  and  every  place 
where  drawings  could  be  made,  the  two  ancient  faces 
were  to  be  seen  pictured.  When  the  family  were 
away  on  the  Sabbath  at  church,  the  young  artist  would 
take  possession  of  the  old  Bible,  and  copy  its  crude 


EDWIN   M.   BANNISTER.  215 

engravings,  then  replace  it  upon  the  dusty  shelf,  feel- 
ing an  inward  gratification,  that,  instead  of  satisfying 
the  inclination,  only  gave  him  fresh  zeal  to  hunt  for 
new  models.  By  the  great  variety  of  drawings  which 
he  had  made  on  paper,  and  the  correct  sketches  taken, 
young  Bannister  gained  considerable  reputation  in  the 
lawyer's  family,  as  well  as  in  the  neighborhood.  Often, 
after  the  household  had  retired  at  night,  the  dim  glim- 
mer from  the  lean  tallow  candle  was  seen  through  the 
attic  chamber  window.  It  was  there  that  the  genius 
of  the  embryo  artist  was  struggling  for  development. 
Nearly  every  wall  in  the  dwelling  had  designs  or  faces 
pencilled  upon  it,  and  many  were  the  complaints 
that  the  women  made  against  the  lad.  At  last  he 
turned  his  steps  towards  Boston,  with  the  hope  that  he 
might  get  a  situation  with  a  painter,  never  dreaming 
that  his  color  would  be  a  barrier  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  such  an  object.  Weeks  were  spent  by  the 
friendless,  homeless,  and  penniless  young  man,  and 
every  artist  had  seen  his  face  and  heard  his  wish  to 
become  a  painter.  But  visiting  these  establishments 
brought  nothing  to  sustain  nature,  and  Mr.  Bannister 
took  up  the  business  of  a  hair-dresser,  merely  as  a 
means  of  getting  bread,  but  determined  to  leave  it  as 
soon  as  an  opening  presented  itself  with  an  artist.  The 
canvas,  the  paint,  the  easel,  and  the  pallet  were 
brought  in,  and  the  hair-dressing  saloon  was  turned 
into  a  studio*. 

There  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  with  regard  to 
genius,  many  mistaking  talent  for  genius.  Talent  is 
strength  and  subtilty  of  mind ;  genius  is  mental  inspi- 
ration and  delicacy  of  feeling.  Talent  possesses  vigor 
and  acuteness  of  penetration,  but  is  surpassed  by  the 


216      THE  BLACK   MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

vivid  intellectual  conceptions  of  genius.  The  former 
is  skilful  and  bold,  the  latter  aspiring  and  gentle.  But 
talent  excels  in  practical  sagacity ;  and  hence  those 
striking  contrasts  so  often  witnessed  in  the  world — the 
triumph  of  talent  through  its  adroit  and  active  ener- 
gies, and  the  adversities  of  genius  in  the  midst  of  its 
boundless  but  unattainable  aspirations. 

Mr.  Bannister  possesses  genius,  which  is  now  show- 
ing itself  in  his  studio  in  Boston  ;  for  he  has  long  since 
thrown  aside  the  scissors  and  the  comb,  and  transfers 
the  face  to  the  canvas,  instead  of  taking  the  hair  from 
the  head.  His  portraits  are  correct  representations  of 
the  originals,  and  he  is  daily  gaining  admirers  of  his 
talent  and  taste.  He  has  painted  several  pictures  from 
his  own  designs,  which  exhibit  his  genius.  "  Wall 
Street  at  Home,"  represents  the  old  gent,  seated  in  his 
easy  chair,  boots  off  and  slippers  on,  and  intently  read- 
ing the  last  news.  The  carpet  with  its  variegated  col- 
ors, the  hat  upon  the  table,  the  cloak  thrown  carelessly 
across  a  chair,  and  the  pictures  hanging  on  the  walls, 
are  all  brought  out  with  their  lights  and  shades.  A 
beautiful  landscape,  representing  summer,  with  the 
blue  mountains  in  the  distance,  the  heated  sky,  and 
the  foliage  to  match,  is  another  of  his  pieces.  It  is 
indeed  commendable  in  Mr.  Bannister,  that  he  has 
thus  far  overcome  the  many  obstacles  thrown  in  his 
way  by  his  color,  and  made  himself  an  honor  to  his 
race. 

Mr.  Bannister  is  spare-made,  slim,  with  an  interest- 
ing cast  of  countenance,  quick  in  his  walk,  and  easy 
in  his  manners.  He  is  a  lover  of  poetry  and  the  clas- 
sics, and  is  always  hunting  up  some  new  model  for  his 
gifted  pencil  and  brush.  He  has  a  picture  representing 


LEONARD  A.   GRIMES.  217 

"  Cleopatra  waiting  to  receive  Marc  Antony,"  which  I 
regret  that  I  did  not  see.  I  am  informed,  however,  that 
it  is  a  beautifully-executed  picture.  Mr.  Bannister  has 
a  good  education,  is  often  called  upon  to  act  as  secre- 
tary to  public  meetings,  and  is  not  by  any  means  a  bad 
speaker,  when  on  the  platform.  Still  young,  enter- 
prising, and  spirited,  we  shall  be  mistaken  if  Edwin  M. 
Bannister  does  not  yet  create  a  sensation  in  our  coun- 
try as  an  artist. 


LEONARD     A.     GRIMES. 

LEONARD  A.  GRIMES  is  a  native  of  Leesburg,  Lou- 
don  county,  Ya.,  and  was  born  in  1815.  He  went  to 
Washington  when  a  boy,  and  was  first  employed  in  a 
butcher's  shop,  and  afterwards  in  an  apothecary's 
establishment.  He  subsequently  hired  himself  out  to 
a  slaveholder,  whose  confidence  he  soon  gained.  Ac- 
companying his  employer  in  some  of  his  travels  in  the 
remote  Southern  States,  young  Grimes  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  the  different  phases  of  slave  life ;  and 
its  cruelty  created  in  his  mind  an  early  hatred  to  the 
institution  which  has  never  abated.  He  could  not 
resist  the  appeals  of  the  bondmen  for  aid  in  making 
their  escape  to  a  land  of  freedom,  and  consequently 
was  among  the  first  to  take  stock  in  the  Underground 
Railroad.  After  saving  money  enough  by  his  earnings, 
he  purchased  a  hack  and  horses,  and  became  a  hack- 
man  in  the  city  of  Washington.  In  his  new  vocation, 
Mr.  Grimes  met  with  success,  and  increased  his  busi- 
ness until  he  was  the  owner  of  a  number  of  carriages 
19 


218      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

and  horses,  and  was  considered  one  of  the  foremost 
men  in  his  line.  During  all  this  time  he  never  lost 
sight  of  the  slave,  and  there  is  no  telling  how  many  he 
put  on  the  road  to  Canada.  A  poor  woman  and  her 
seven  children  were  about  being  carried  away  to  the 
far  south  by  the  slave-trader.  Her  husband,  a  free 
black,  sought  out  Leonard  A.  Grimes,  and  appealed  to 
his  humanity,  and  not  in  vain  ;  for  in  less  than  forty- 
eight  hours,  the  hackman  penetrated  thirty  miles  into 
Virginia,  and,  under  cover  of  night,  brought  out  the 
family.  The  husband,  wife,  and  little  ones,  a  few  days 
after,  breathed  the  free  air  of  Canada.  Mr.  Grimes 
was  soon  suspected,  arrested,  tried,  and  sentenced  to 
two  years  in  the  state  prison,  at  Richmond.  Here  he 
remained  ;  and  the  close,  dank  air,  the  gloom,  the  high, 
dull,  cold,  stone  walls,  the  heavy  fetters  upon  his  limbs, 
the  entire  lack  of  any  thing  external  to  distract  his 
thoughts  from  his  situation,  all  together,  produced  a 
feeling  of  depression  he  had  never  known  before.  It 
was  at  this  time  that  Mr.  Grimes  "  felt,"  as  he  says, 
"  that  great  spiritual  change  which  makes  all  things 
new  for  the  soul."  From  that  hour  he  became  a 
preacher  to  his  keepers,  and,  as  far  as  he  was  allowed, 
to  his  fellow-prisoners.  This  change  lightened  his  con- 
finement, and  caused  him  to  feel  that  he  was  sent  there 
to  do  his  Master's  will. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  imprisonment,  Mr.  Grimes 
returned  to  Washington,  and  employed  himself  in 
driving  a  furniture  car,  and  jobbing  about  the  city. 
Feeling  himself  called  to  preach,  he  underwent  the 
required  examination,  received  a  license,  and,  without 
quitting  his  employment,  preached  as  occasion  offered. 
Not  long  after  this,  he  removed  to  New  Bedford,  Mass., 


LEONARD   A.    GRIMES.  219 

where  he  i  ^sided  two  years.  There  was  in  Boston  a 
small  congregation,  worshipping  in  a  little  room,  but 
without  a  regular  preacher.  An  invitation  was  ex- 
tended to  Mr.  Grimes  to  become  their  pastor.  He 
accepted,  cam"*,  to  Boston,  and,  under  his  ministration, 
the  society  increased  so  rapidly  that  a  larger  house  was 
soon  needed.  A  lot  was  purchased,  the  edifice  begun, 
and  now  they  have  a  beautiful  church,  capable  of  seat- 
ing six  or  seven  hundred  persons.  The  cost  of  the 
building,  including  the  land,  was  $  13,000 ;  all  of  which, 
except  ^2,000,  has  .been  paid.  We  need  not  say  that 
this  was  accomplished  through  the  untiring  exertions 
of  Mr.  Grimes.  Besides  his  labors  in  the  society,  he 
was  often  engaged  in  aiding  fugitive  slaves  in  the  re- 
demption of  their  relations  from  the  servitude  of  the 
south.  During  his  fourteen  years'  residence  in  Boston, 
he  has  had  $6,000  pass  through  his  hands,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  that  class  of  persons.  In  action  he  is  always — 

"Upward,  onward,  pressing  forward 

Till  each  bondman's  chains  shall  fall, 
Till  the  flag  that  floats  above  us 
Liberty  proclaims  to  all." 

In  1854,  Mr.  Grimes  became  conspicuously  con- 
nected with  the  fugitive  slave  Anthony  Burns. 
Mainly  through  his  efforts  the  latter  gained  his 
freedom.  The  pastor  of  the  Twelfth  Baptist  Church 
is,  emphatically,  a  practical  man.  Nearly  all  public 
meetings  are  held  either  in  his  church  or  vestry,  lie 
taking  a  suitable  part  in  every  thing  that  tends  to  tho 
welfare  of  his  race.  "  Brother  "  Grimes  is  above  the 
middle  size,  good  looking,  has  a  full  face,  a  counte- 
nance which  has  the  appearance  of  one  who  has  seen 
no  trouble,  and  rather  more  Anglo-Saxon  than  African. 


220      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

He  is  polite  in  his  manners,  and  genteel  in  his  personal 
appearance.  As  a  preacher,  he  is  considered  sound, 
and  well  versed  in  theology.  He  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  ablest  men  in  prayer  in  Boston.  His  sermons 
are  characterized  by  deep  feeling  and  good  sense.  No 
man  in  the  city  has  fewer  enemies  or  more  friends 
than  Leonard  A.  Grimes. 


PRESIDENT    OEFFRARD. 

FABRE  GEFFRARD,  born  at  Cayes,  in  the  year  1806, 
was  the  son  of  a  general  who  had  shown  himself  hu- 
mane under  Dessalines,  and  had  been  with  Petion,  one 
of  the  chief  promoters  of  the  constitution  of  1806.  Left 
early  an  orphan,  young  Geffrard  entered  the  army  at 
the  age  of  fifteen,  and  only  after  twenty-two  years'  ser- 
vice obtained  his  captain's  commission.  He  took  part 
—  unwisely,  as  events  proved  —  in  the  revolution  of 
1843,  which  overturned  the  able  but  indolent  Boyer, 
and  distinguished  himself  at  the  head  of  a  small  body 
of  troops  against  the  government  forces,  deceiving 
them  as  to  his  numbers  by  the  rapidity  of  his  move- 
ments, and  as  to  his  resources  by  supplying  provisions 
to  his  famished  enemies  at  a  time  when  he  himself  was 
short  of  rations.  When  the  revolution,  which  had 
originated  with  the  most  impatient  of  the  mulattoes, 
led  in  turn  to  a  rising  of  that  portion  of  the  blacks 
who  represented  absolute  barbarism,  and  whose  axiom 
was  that  every  mulatto  should  be  exterminated,  Gef- 
frard marched  against  and  defeated  the  black  leader, 
Arcaau ;  but,  true  to  that  humanity  which  seems  the 


PRESIDENT   GEFFRARD.  221 

very  basis  of  his  character,  we  find  him  in  turn  defend- 
ing the  middle  classes  from  the  blacks,  and  the  insurgent 
blacks,  when  taken  prisoners,  from  the  National  Guard. 
He  became  lieutenant-general  during  these  move- 
ments ;  but  General  Riche,  who  was  made  president  in 
1846,  and  who  bore  Geffrard  a  grudge  for  having  on  a 
former  occasion  made  him  a  prisoner,  sent  him  before 
a  court  martial,  which,  in  Hayti,  means  sending  one  to 
death.  Through  the  adroitness,  however,  of  Riche's 
minister  of  war,  the  general  was  acquitted.  The  pres- 
ident of  the  court  martial  was  Soulouque,  who  seems 
to  have  imbibed,  on  this  occasion,  a  strange  friendship 
for  the  man  whose  life  he  had  been  the  means  of  pre- 
serving, and  who  thus  spared  him,  in  an  otherwise  un- 
accountable manner,  during  his  subsequent  rule,  and 
even  forced  on  him  the  title  of  duke,  which  Geffrard 
did  not  care  to  assume.  In  two  disastrous  wars  which 
he  undertook,  in  1849  and  in  1855-6,  against  the  Do- 
minican republic,  Geffrard  alone  won  credit.  In  the 
former  he  was  wounded  at  the  head  of  the  division  ;  in 
both,  by  his  courage,  his  activity,  his  cheerfulness,  and 
above  all,  by  his  anxious  care  for  the  welfare  of  his 
soldiers,  he  exhibited  the  most  striking  contrast  to  Sou- 
louque's  imbecile  generalship  and  brutal  indifference  to 
the  safety  of  others. 

In  1858,  Soulouque,  seeing  that  Geffrard's  popular- 
ity was  becoming  great,  sought  an  opportunity  to  have 
him  arrested.  Spies  were  placed  near  him.  The  gen- 
eral, however,  was  warned  of  his  danger,  and  he  knew 
that  nothing  was  to  be  hoped  for  from  Soulouque's  fe- 
rocity when  once  aroused  by  jealousy.  Just  then,  the 
emissaries  of  a  conspiracy,  formed  in  the  valley  of  the 
Artibonite,  beyond  the  mountain  chain  which  forms  the 
19* 


222     THE   CLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

backbone  of  the  island,  were  in  Port  au  Prince  in  search 
of  a  leader.  They  addressed  themselves  to  Geffrard. 
The  cup  of  Soulouque's  tyranny  was  full.  Geffrard  lis- 
tened tcr  their  solicitations,  but  was  barely  able,  by  the 
aid  of  a  friend,  to  escape  in  an  open  boat,  on  the  very 
night  when  he  was  to  have  been  arrested.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  St.  Mark,  but  found  that  the  people 
were  not  ready  for  a  revolution.  He  repaired  to  Go- 
naives,  where  the  inhabitants  were  thoroughly  ripe  for 
a  change  of  rulers.  Thus  six  men  coming  by  sea,  met 
by  three  on  land,  were  sufficient  to  carry  the  place  with- 
out the  shedding  of  a  drop  of  blood.  On  the  22d  of 
December,  he  issued  two  proclamations,  the  one  abol- 
ishing the  empire,  the  other  establishing  a  republic. 
From  thence  he  proceeded  to  St.  Mark,  where  he  was 
enthusiastically  welcomed  by  all  classes,  the  army  join- 
ing him  to  a  man.  With  two  thousand  men  he  started 
for  Port  au  Prince,  the  capital.  Soulouque,  in  the 
mean  time,  gathered  his  forces,  amounting  to  six  thou- 
sand well-drilled  troops,  and  set  out  to  meet  his  rival, 
but  soon  found  that  his  army  could  not  be  relied  on, 
and  he  returned  amid  the  hootings  of  the  people.  The 
emperor  was  permitted  to  take  refuge  in  the  French 
consulate,  and  from  thence  took  passage  in  an  English 
steamer  for  Jamaica.  Geffrard  entered  Port  au  Prince 
in  triumph ;  the  constitution  of  1846  was  adopted,  and 
an  election  held  which  chose  Geffrard  president  for 
life,  with  the  privilege  of  nominating  his  successor.  All 
agree  that  he  is  a  good  man.  His  great  aim  appears 
to  be  the  moral,  social,  and  intellectual  improvement 
of  the  people. 

Most  of  the  army  have  been  disbanded  ;  and  those 
retained  are  better  fed,  better  paid,  and  clothed  in  a 


GEORGE   B.  VASHON.  223 

more  suitable  manner.  New  firearms  have  been  intro- 
duced, reforms  instituted  both  in  the  government  and 
the  army,  agriculture  and  commerce  encouraged,  old 
roads  repaired  and  new  ones  built.  His  state  papers 
show  him  to  be  a  man  of  superior  natural  abilities,  and 
we  believe  that  he  is  destined  to  do  more  for  Hayti  and 
her  people  than  any  ruler  since  the  days  of  Toussaint 
L'Ouverture.  GefFrard  is  a  grief  in  color  (nearly 
black),  of  middle  height,  slim  in  figure,  a  pleasing 
countenance,  sparkling  eye,  gray  hair,  fifty-six  years 
of  age,  limbs  supple  by  bodily  exercise",  a  splendid 
horseman,  and  liberal  to  the  arts,  even  to  extrava- 
gance. Possessing  a  polished  education,  he  is  gentle- 
manly in  his  conversation  and  manners.  His  demo- 
cratic ideas  induce  him  to  dress  without  ornaments 
of  any  kind.  Soon  after  assuming  the  presidency,  he 
resolved  to  encourage  immigration,  and  issued  an  ad- 
dress to  the  colored  Americans,  filled  with  patriotic 
and  sympathetic  feeling  for  his  race. 


GEORGE     B.    VASHON. 

PASSING  through  the  schools  of  Pittsburg,  his  na- 
tive place,  and  graduating  at  Oberlin  College  with  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  George  B.  Vashon  started  in 
life  with  the  advantage  of  a  good  education.  He 
studied  law  with  Hon.  Walter  Forward,  and  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  1847.  He  soon  after  visited  Hayti, 
where  he  remained  nearly  three  years,  returning  home 
in  1850.  Called  to  a  professorship  in  New  York  Cen- 
tral College,  Mr.  Yashon  discharged  the  duties  of  the 


224 

office  with  signal  ability.  A  gentleman  —  a  graduate 
of  that  institution,  now  a  captain  in  the  federal  army 
—  told  the  writer  that  he  and  several  of  his  compan- 
ions, who  had  to  recite  to  Professor  Vashon,  made  it  a 
practice  for  some  length  of  time  to  search  Greek,  Latin, 
and  Hebrew,  for  phrases  and  historical  incidents,  and 
would  then  question  the  professor,  with  the  hope  of 
"  running  him  on  a  snag."  "  But,"  said  he, "  we  never 
caught  him  once,  and  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  was  the  best-read  man  in  the  college."  Literature 
has  a  history,  and  few  histories  can  compare  with  it  in 
importance,  significance,  and  moral  grandeur.  There 
is,  therefore,  a  great  price  to  pay  for  literary  attain- 
ments, which  will  have  an  inspiring  and  liberalizing 
influence  —  a  price  not  in  silver  and  gold,  but  in  thor- 
ough mental  training.  This  training  will  give  breadth 
of  view,  develop  strength  of  character  and  a  compre- 
hensive spirit,  by  which  the  ever-living  expressions  of 
truth  and  principle  in  the  past  may  be  connected  with 
those  of  a  like  character  in  the  present. 

Mr.  Vashon  seems  to  have  taken  tins  view  of  what 
constitutes  the  thorough  scholar,  and  has  put  his  theo- 
ry into  practice.  All  of  the  productions  of  his  pen 
show  the  student  and  man  of  literature.  But  he  is 
not  indebted  alone  to  culture,  for  he  possesses  genius 
of  no  mean  order — poetic  genius,  far  superior  to  many 
who  have  written  and  published  volumes.  As  Dryden. 
said  of  Shakspeare,  "  he  needed  not  the  spectacles  of 
books  to  read  Nature  ;  he  looked  inward,  and  found 
her  there."  The  same  excellence  appertains  to  his 
poetical  description  of  the  beautiful  scenery  and  cli- 
mate of  Hayti,  in  his  "  Vincent  Oge."  His  allusion  to 


GEORGE  B.  VASHON.  225 

Columbus's  first  visit  to  the  island  is  full  of  solemn 
grandeur :  — 

"  The  waves  dash  brightly  on  thy  shore, 

Fair  island  of  the  southern  seas, 
As  bright  in  joy  as  when,  of  yore, 

They  gladly  hailed  the  Genoese  — 
That  daring  soul  who  gave  to  Spain 
A  world-last  trophy  of  her  reign." 

Our  limited  space  will  not  permit  our  giving  more 
of  this,  or  other  poems  of  Mr.  Vashon.  The  following 
extract  from  his  admirable  essay  in  the  Anglo-African 
Magazine,  entitled,  "  The  Successive  Advances  of  As- 
tronomy," is  characteristic  of  his  prose  :  — 

"  The  next  important  step  recorded  in  the  annals  of 
astronomy  was  the  effort  to  reform  the  calendar  by 
means  of  the  bissextile  year.  This  effort  was  made  at 
the  time  when  Julius  Caesar  was  chief  pontiff  at  Rome. 
It  is  noteworthy,  as  being  the  only  valuable  contribu- 
tion made  to  astronomical  science  by  the  Romans  ;  and, 
even  in  this  matter,  Caesar  acted  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Grecian  astronomer  Sosigenes.  We  are  not  to 
suppose,  however,  that  the  Romans  were  totally  indif- 
ferent to  the  subject  of  astronomy.  We  are  informed 
by  Cicero,  in  his  elegant  treatise  concerning  '  Old  Age,' 
that  Caius  Gallus  was  accustomed  to  spend  whole  days 
and  nights  in  making  observations  upon  the  heavenly 
bodies,  and  that  he  took  pleasure  in  predicting  to  his 
friends  the  eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon  a  long  time 
before  they  occurred.  Besides,  in  the  ;  Scipio's  Dream' 
of  the  same  author,  we  find,  in  the  course  of  an  admi- 
rable dissertation  upon  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  an 
account  of  a  terrestrial  system,  according  to  which  our 


226     THE   BLACK  MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

earth  was  the  central  body,  around  which  the  concave 
sphere  of  the  starry  heavens  revolved ;  while,  in  the 
space  between,  the  Moon,  Yenus,  Mercury,  the  Sun, 
Mars,  Jupiter,  and  Saturn  moved  with  retrograde 
courses,  in  the  order  here  mentioned.  In  fact,  this 
system  was  the  one  which  was  afterwards  adopted, 
elaborated,  and  zealously  maintained  by  the  famous 
Ptolemy  of  Alexandria,  and  which  has  ever  since  borne 
his  name.  To  Ptolemy,  then,  who  flourished  .about  the 
commencement  of  the  second  century,  the  world  is  in- 
debted for  the  first  complete  system  of  astronomy  that 
secured  the  approbation  of  all  the  learned.  This  it  was 
enabled  to  do  by  the  ingenious,  although  not  perfect, 
explanation  which  it  gave  of  the  planetary  movements, 
by  supposing  these  bodies  to  move  in  circles  whose 
centres  had  an  easterly  motion  along  an  imaginary  cir- 
cle. Thus  these  epicycles,  as  the  circles  were  called, 
moving  along  the  imaginary  circle,  or  deferent,  cause 
the  planets  to  have,  at  times,  an  apparent  easterly  di- 
rection, at  other  times  a  westerly  one,  and  at  other 
times,  again,  to  appear  stationary.  Thus  recommend- 
ed, the  Ptolemaic  system  continued  to  gain  adherents, 
until  the  irruptions  of  the  Huns  under  Alaric  and  At- 
tila,  and  the  destruction  of  the  celebrated  library  at 
Alexandria  by  the  fanatical  and  turbulent  Christians 
of  that  city,  laid  waste  the  fair  domains  of  science. 
Being  thus  driven  from  the  places  where  Learning  had 
fixed  her  favorite  seats,  it  took  refuge  with  the  Arabs, 
who  preserved  it  with  watchful  care,  until  happier 
times  restored  it  to  Europe.  It  returned  with  the  con- 
quering Moors  who  established  themselves  in  Spain, 
was  brought  again  under  the  notice  of  the  Christian 
states  in  the  thirteenth  century,  through  the  patronage 


ROBERT  MORRIS.  227 

of  the  emperor  Frederic  II.  of  Germany,  and  Alplionso 
X.  of  Castile,  and  flourished  more  than  two  hundred 
years  longer,  without  any  rival  to  dispute  its  claims  to 
correctness." 

Mr.  Yashon  is  of  mixed  hlood,  in  stature  of  medium 
size,  rather  round  face,  with  a  somewhat  solemn  coun- 
tenance,—  a  man  of  few  words, —  needs  to  be  drawn 
out  to  be  appreciated.  While  visiting  a  distinguished 
colored  gentleman  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  some  years  ago, 
the  host,  who  happened  to  be  a  wit  as  well  as  an  ora- 
tor, invited  in  "Professor  T."  —  a  man  ignorant  of 
education,  but  filled  with  big  talk  and  high-sounding 
words  without  understanding  their  meaning — to  en- 
tertain Mr.  Vaslion,  intending  it  as  a  joke.  "  Professor 
T."  used  all  the  language  that  he  was  master  of,  but 
to  no  purpose :  the  man  of  letters  sat  still,  listened, 
gazed  at  the  former,  but  did  not  dispute  any  point 
raised.  The  uneducated  professor,  feeling  that  lie  had 
been  imposed  upon,  called  Mr.  D.  one  side,  and  in  a 
whisper  said,  "  Are  you  sure  that  this  is  an  educated 
man  ?  I  fear  that  he  is  an  impostor ;  for  I  tried,  but 
could  not  call  him  out." 


ROBERT     MORRIS. 

ABOUT  the  year  1837,  Ellis  Gray  Loring,  Esq.,  took 
into  his  office,  as  an  errand  boy,  a  colored  lad  of  fif- 
teen years  of  age.  The  youngster  had  a  better  educa- 
tion than  those  generally  of  his  age,  which  showed  that 
he  had  been  attentive  at  school.  He  was  not  long  in 
his  new  situation  ere  he  began  to  exhibit  a  liking  for 


228      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

the  contents  of  the  sheepskin-covered  books  that  stood 
around  on  the  shelves,  and  lay  upon  the  baize-covered 
tables.  Mr.  Loring,  seeing  the  aptitude  of  the  lad, 
inquired  if  he  wanted  to  become  a  lawyer,  and  was 
answered  in  the  affirmative.  From  that  moment  the 
errand  boy  became  the  student,  and  studied  with  an 
earnestness  not  often  equalled.  At  scarcely  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  he  was  admitted  to  the  Boston  bar. 
This  was  Robert  Morris.  With  all  the  prejudice  be- 
fore him,  he  kept  steadily  on,  resolving  that  he  would 
overcome  the  negro-hate  which  stood  in  the  way  of  his 
efforts  to  prosecute  his  profession.  Gradually  he  grew 
in  practice,  until  most  of  his  fellow-members  forgot  his 
color  in  the  admiration  of  his  eloquence  and  business 
talent.  Mr.  Morris  is  of  unmixed  blood,  but  not  black. 
Small  in  stature,  a  neat  figure,  smiling  face,  always 
dressed  with  the  greatest  care,  gentlemanly  in  manner 
and  conversation,  his  influence  has  been  felt  in  behalf 
of  his  race.  He  is  an  interesting  speaker,  quick  in  his 
gestures,  ardent  in  his  feelings,  and  enthusiastic  in 
what  he  undertakes.  He  rather  inclines  to  a  military 
life,  and  has,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  attempted 
the  organization  of  an  independent  company. 

At  the  presentation  of  the  portrait  of  John  T.  Hilton 
to  the  Prince  Hall  Grand  Lodge  of  Boston,  Mr.  Morris 
made  a  speech,  of  which  the  following  is  an  extract :  — 

"  I  wish  we  could  point  to  well-executed  likenesses 
of  those  old  colored  heroes  of  revolutionary  memory, 
who  so  nobly,  patriotically,  and  willingly,  side  by  side 
with  their  white  brethren,  fought,  bled,  and  died  to  se- 
cure freedom  and  independence  to  America. 

"  It  would  be  a  source  of  continual  pleasure  could 
we  have  in  some  public  room  pictures  true  to  life  of 


ROBERT  MORRIS.  229 

those  intrepid  heroes,  Denmark  Yeazie  and  Nat  Tur- 
ner, whose  very  names  were  a  terror  to  oppressors ; 
who,  conceiving  the  sublime  idea  of  freedom  for  them- 
selves and  their  race,  animated  by  a  love  of  liberty  of 
which  they  had  been  ruthlessly  deprived,  made  an 
attempt  to  sever  their  bonds ;  and  though,  in  such  at- 
tempts to  open  the  prison  doors  of  slavery  and  let  the 
oppressed  go  free,  they  were  -unsuccessful,  their  efforts 
and  determination  were  none  the  less  noble  and  he- 
roic. In  the  future  history  of  our  country,  their  names 
to  us  will  shine  as  brightly  as  that  of  the  glorious  old 
hero,  who,  with  his  colored  and  white  followers,  so 
strategically  captured  Harper's  Ferry,  and  touched  a 
chord  in  the  life  of  our  country  that  will  vibrate 
throughout  the  land,  and  will  not  cease  until  the  last 
fetter  has  been  struck  from  the  limbs  of  the  last  bond- 
man in  the  nation ;  and  though  the  bodies  of  these 
heroes  lie  mouldering  in  the  clay,  their  souls  are 
'  marching  on.' 

"  I  never  visit  our  '  Cradle  of  Liberty,'  and  look  at 
the  portraits  that  grace  its  walls,  without  thinking  that 
the  selection  is  sadly  incomplete,  because  the  picture 
of  the  massacred  Crispus  Attucks  is  not  there.  He 
was  the  first  martyr  in  the  Boston  massacre  of  March 
5,  1770,  when  the  British  soldiers  were  drawn  up  in 
line  on  King  (now  State)  Street,  to  intimidate  the 
Boston  populace.  On  that  eventful  day,  a  band  of 
patriots,  led  by  Attucks,  marched  from  Dock  Square 
to  drive  the  redcoats  from  the  vicinity  of  the  old  State 
House.  Emboldened  by  the  courageous  conduct  of 
this  colored  hero,  the  band  pressed  forward,  and  in 
attempting  to  wrest  a  musket  from  one  of  the  British 
soldiers,  Attucks  was  shot.  His  was  the  first  blood 
20 


230      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

that  crimsoned  the  pavement  of  King  Street,  and  by 
the  sacrifice  of  his  life,  he  awoke  that  fiery  hatred  of 
British  oppression  which  culminated  in  the  declara- 
tion of  American  independence.  At  this  late  day  a 
portrait  of  this  hero  cannot  be  had ;  but  our  children 
will  live  to  see  the  day  when  the  people  of  this  com- 
monwealth, mindful  of  their  deep  and  lasting  obliga- 
tion, will,  through  their  legislature,  appropriate  a  suffi- 
cient sum  wherewith  to  erect  a  suitable  monument  to 
preserve  the  memory  of  Attucks,  and  mark  the  spot 
where  he  fell." 

Mr.  Morris  deserves  great  credit  for  having  fought 
his  way  up  to  his  present  position.  Eumor  says  that 
his  profession  has  paid  him  well,  and  that  he  is  now  a 
man  of  property.  If  so,  we  are  glad ;  for  the  poet 
writes,  "  If  thou  wouldst  have  influence,  put  money  in 
thy  purse." 


WILLIAM    J.     WILSON. 

IN  the  columns  of  Frederick  Douglass's  paper,  the 
Anglo-African  Magazine,  and  the  Weekly  Anglo- 
African,  has  appeared  at  times,  over  the  signature  of 
"  Ethiop,"  some  of  the  raciest  and  most  amusing 
essays  to  be  found  in  the  public  journals  of  this 
country.  As  a  sketch  writer  of  historical  scenes  and 
historical  characters,  —  choosing  his  own  subjects,  sug- 
gested by  his  own  taste  or  sympathies,  —  few  men  are 
capable  of  greater  or  more  successful  efforts  than 
William  J.  Wilson.  In  his  imaginary  visit  to  the 


WILLIAM   J.    WILSON.  231 

"  Afric-American  Picture  Gallery,"  he  gives  the  fol- 
lowing sketch  of  the  head  of  Phillis  Wheatley. 

"  This  picture  hangs  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
gallery,  and  in  good  light,  and  is  so  decidedly  one  of 
the  finest  in  the  collection,  whether  viewed  in  an  ar- 
tistic light  or  in  point  of  fact,  that  it  is  both  a  constant 
charm  and  study  for  me.  The  features,  though  in- 
dicative of  a  delicate  organization,  are  of  the  most 
pleasing  cast.  The  facial  angle  contains  full  ninety 
degrees ;  the  forehead  is  finely  formed,  and  the  brain 
large ;  the  nose  is  long,  and  the  nostrils  thin,  while 
the  eyes,  though  not  large,  are  well  set.  To  this  may 
be  added  a  small  mouth,  with  lips  prettily  turned,  and 
a  chin  —  that  perfection  of  beauty  in  the  female  face 
—  delicately  tapered  from  a  throat  and  neck  that  are 
of  themselves  perfection.  The  whole  make-up  of  this 
face  is  an  index  of  healthy  intellectual  powers,  com- 
bined with  an  active  temperament,  over  which  has 
fallen  a  slight  tinge  of  religious  pensiveness.  Thus 
hangs  Phillis  Wheatley  before  you  in  the  Afrie-Ameri- 
can  Picture  Gallery  ;  and  if  we  scrutinize  her  more 
closely  through  her  career  and  her  works,  we  shall 
find  her  truly  an  extraordinary  person.  Stolen  at  the 
tender  age  of  seven  years  from  the  fond  embraces  of  a 
mother,  whose  image  never  once  faded  from  her  mem- 
ory, and  ferried  over  in  the  vile  slave  ship  from  Afric's 
sunny  clime  to  the  cold  shores  of  America,  and  sold 
under  the  hammer  to  a  Boston  merchant  —  a  delicate 
child,  a  girl,  alone,  desolate ;  a  chilly,  dreary  world 
before  her,  a  chain  on  her  feet,  and  a  thorn  in  her 
bosom,  and  an  iron  mask  on  her  head,  what  chance, 
what  opportunity  was  there  for  her  to  make  physical, 


232      THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

moral,  or  mental  progress  ?  In  these  respects,  how 
get  up  to,  or  keep  pace  with,  other  and  more  favored 
people  ?  —  how  get  in  the  advance  ?  —  how  ascend,  at 
last,  without  a  single  competitor,  the  highest  scale  of 
human  eminence  ?  Phillis  Wheatley  did  all,  and  more 
than  this.  A  sold  thing,  a  bought  chattel  at  seven 
years,  she  mastered,  notwithstanding,  the  English  lan- 
guage in  sixteen  months.  She  carried  on  with  her 
friends  and  acquaintances  an  extensive  and  elegant 
epistolary  correspondence  at  twelve  years  of  age,  com- 
posed her  first  poem  at  fourteen,  became  a  proficient 
Latin  scholar  at  seventeen,  and  published  in  England 
her  book  of  poems,  dedicated  to  the  Countess  of  Hunt- 
ington,  at  nineteen;  and  with  the  mantle  of  just  fame 
upon  her  shoulders,  sailed  from  America  to  England 
to  receive  the  meed  due  to  her  learning,  her  talents, 
and  her  virtues,  at  twenty-two.  What  one  of  Amer- 
ica's paler  daughters,  contemporary  with  her,  with  all 
the  advantages  that  home,  fortune,  friends,  and  favor 
bring,  —  what  one  ascended  so  far  up  the  hill  of  just 
fame  at  any  age  ?  I  have  searched  in  vain  to  find  the 
name  upon  the  literary  page  of  our  country's  record. 

"0  Wheatley! 

What  degrading  hand,  what  slavish  chain, 
What  earthly  power,  could  link  thy  nobler  soul 
To  baser  things,  and  check  its  eagle  flight  ? 
Angel  of  purity,  child  of  beauteous  song, 
Thy  harp  still  hangs  within  our  sight, 
To  cheer,  though  thou  art  gone." 

The  succeeding  extract  from  his  poem  "  The  Com- 
ing Man  "  is  very  suggestive,  especially  at  this  time. 


WILLIAM   J.    WILSON. 


233 


"I  break  the  chains  that  have  been  clanging 
Down  through  the  dim  vault  of  ages  ; 
I  gird  up  my  strength,  —  mind  and  arm, — 
And  prepare  for  the  terrible  conflict. 
I  am  to  war  with  principalities,  powers,  wrongs 
With  oppressions, —  with  all  that  curse  humanity. 
I  am  resolved.     'Tis  more  than  half  my  task ; 
'Twas  the  great  need  of  all  my  past  existence. 
The  glooms  that  have  so  long  shrouded  me, 
Recede  as  vapor  from  the  new  presence, 
And  the  light-gleam  —  it  must  be  life  — 
So  brightens  and  spreads  its  pure  rays  before, 
That  I  read  my  mission  as  'twere  a  book. 
It  is  life  ;  life  in  which  none  but  men  — 
Not  those  who  only  wear  the  form  —  can  live 
To  give  this  life  to  the  World;  to  make  men 
Out  of  the  thews  and  sinews  of  oppressed  slaves." 

Mr.  Wilson  is  a  teacher,  and  whether  the  following 
is  drawn  from  his  own  experience,  or  not,  we  are  left 
to  conjecture. 

THE   TEACHER  AND   HIS   PUPIL. 

SCENE.  —  School  Room.     School  in  session. 

Dramatis  Persona;. 
TEACHER.     A  bachelor  rising  thirty. 
PUPIL.     A  beautiful  girl  of  sixteen. 

I  see  that  curling  and  high-arch <$d  brow. 

"  Scold  thee  ? "     Ay,  that  I  will. 

Pouting  I  see  thee  still ; 
Thou  jade  !  I  know  that  them  art  laughing  now ! 

20* 


234 


Silence !  hush  !  nor  dare  one  word  to  mutter ! 

If  it  were  e'er  so  gentle, 

(I  speak  in  tone  parental,) 
Do  not  thy  very  softest  whisper  utter. 

I  know  that  startled  trembling  all  a  hoax, 

Thou  pert  and  saucy  thing ! 

I'll  make  thy  fine  ears  ring ; 
I'll  pretermit  thy  silly,  taunting  jokes. 

"  Whip  thee  ?  "    Ay,  that  I  will,  and  whip  thee  well  j 

Thy  chattering  tongue  now  hold ! 

There,  there  ;  I  will  no  further  scold. 
How  down  those  lovely  cheeks  the  hot  tears  fell ! 

How  quickly  changed !  Nay,  nay ;  come  hither,  child. 

'Tis  with  kindness  I  would  rule ; 

Severity's  the  erring  fool, 
Who  harms  the  tender  or  excites  the  wild. 

What !  trembling  yet,  and  shy  ?     Nay,  do  not  fear ; 

Sure,  sure  I'll  harm  thee  not ; 

My  gentlest,  thine's  a  better  lot ; 
So  raise  those  azure  eyes  with  radiant  cheer. 

Cheer  up,  then  ;  there,  now  thou  canst  go.     Ketain, 

I  pray,  within  thy  heart, 

Not  the  unpleasant  part 
That's  past.     The  other  let  remain. 

To  possess  genius,  the  offspring  of  which  ennobles 
the  sentiments,  enlarges  the  affections,  kindles  the 
imagination,  and  gives  to  us  a  view  of  the  past,  the 
present,  and  the  future,  is  one  of  the  highest  gifts 


JOHN  MERCER  LANGSTON.  235 

that  the  Creator  bestows  upon  man.  With  acute 
powers  of  conception,  a  sparkling  and  lively  fancy, 
and  a  quaintly  curious  felicity  of  diction,  Mr.  Wilson 
wakes  us  from  our  torpidity  and  coldness  to  a  sense  of 
our  capabilities.  In  personal  appearance  he  is  under 
the  middle  size ;  his  profile  is  more  striking  than  his 
front  face ;  he  has  a  rather  pleasing  countenance,  and 
is  unmixed  in  race  ;  has  fine  conversational  powers,  is 
genteel  in  his  manners,  and  is  a  pleasant  speaker  upon 
the  platform. 


JOHN     MERCER     LANGSTON. 

ONE  of  the  most  promising  young  men  of  the  west 
is  John  M.  Langston,  a  native  of  Chillicothe,  Ohio, 
and  a  graduate  of  Oberlin  College.  He  studied  theol- 
ogy and  law,  and,  preferring  the  latter,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  is  now  successfully  practising  his  pro- 
fession. 

The  end  of  all  eloquence  is  to  sway  men.  It  is, 
therefore,  bound  by  no  arbitrary  rules  of  diction  or 
style,  formed  on  no  specific  models,  and  governed  by 
no  edicts  of  self-elected  judges.  It  is  true,  there  are 
degrees  of  eloquence,  and  equal  success  does  not  im- 
ply equal  excellence.  That  which  is  adapted  to  sway 
the  strongest  minds  of  an  enlightened  age  ought  to  be 
esteemed  the  most  perfect,  and,  doubtless,  should  be 
the  criterion  by  which  to  test  the  abstract  excellence 
of  all  oratory.  Mr.  Langston  represents  the  highest 
idea  of  the  orator,  as  exemplified  in  the  power  and 
discourses  of  Sheridan  in  the  English  House  of  Com- 


236      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

mons,  and  Vergniaud  in  the  Assembly  of  the  Girond 
ists.  He  is  not  fragmentary  in  his  speeches ;  but,  a 
deep,  majestic  stream,  he  moves  steadily  onward, 
pouring  forth  his  rich  and  harmonious  sentences  in 
strains  of  impassioned  eloquence.  His  style  is  bold 
and  energetic  —  full  of  spirit.  He  is  profound  without 
being  hollow,  and  ingenious  without  being  subtile. 

Being  at  Oberlin  a  few  years  since,  and  learning  that 
a  suit  was  to  be  tried  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  in 
which  Langston  was  counsel  for  the  defence,  I  attended. 
Two  white  lawyers  —  one  from  Elyria,  the  other  resid- 
ing at  Oberlin  —  were  for  the  plaintiff.  One  day  was 
consumed  in  the  examination  and  cross-questioning  of 
witnesses,  in  which  the  colored  lawyer  showed  himself 
more  than  a  match  for  his  antagonists.  The  plaintiff's 
counsel  moved  an  adjournment  to  the  next  day.  The 
following  morning  the  court  room  was  full  before  the 
arrival  of  the  presiding  justice,  and  much  interest  was 
manifested  on  both  sides.  Langston's  oratory  was  a 
model  for  the  students  at  the  college,  and  all  who 
could  leave  their  studies  or  recitations  were  present. 
When  the  trial  commenced,  it  was  observed  that  the 
plaintiffs  had  introduced  a  third  lawyer  on  their  side. 
This  was  an  exhibition  of  weakness  on  their  part,  and 
proved  the  power  of  the  "  black  lawyer,"  who  stood 
single-handed  and  alone.  The  pleading  commenced, 
and  consumed  the  forenoon  ;  the  plaintiff  only  being 
heard.  An  adjournment  for  an  hour  occurred,  and 
then  began  one  of  the  most  powerful  addresses  that  I 
had  heard  for  a  long  time.  In  vigor  of  thought,  in 
imagery  of  style,  in  logical  connection,  in  vehemence, 
in  depth,  in  point,  and  in  beauty  of  language,  Lang- 


JOHN  M.   LANGSTON.  237 

ston  surpassed  his  opponents,  won  the  admiration  of 
the  jury  and  the  audience,  and,  what  is  still  better  for 
his  credit,  he  gained  the  suit.  Mr.  Langston's  practice 
extends  to  Columbus,  the  capital  of  the  state,  and  in 
the  county  towns,  within  fifty  miles  of  his  home,  he  is 
considered  the  most  successful  man  at  the  bar. 

An  accomplished  scholar  and  a  good  student,  he 
displays  in  his  speeches  an  amount  of  literary  acquire- 
ments not  often  found  in  the  mere  business  lawyer. 
When  pleading  he  speaks  like  a  man  under  oath, 
though  without  any  starched  formality  of  expression. 
The  test  of  his  success  is  the  permanent  impression 
which  his  speeches  leave  on  the  memory.  They  do 
not  pass  away  with  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  but 
remain  in  the  mind,  with  the  lively  colors  and  true 
proportions  of  the  scenes  which  they  represent.  Mr. 
Langston  is  of  medium  size  and  of  good  figure,  high 
and  well-formed  forehead,  eyes  full,  but  not  promi- 
nent, mild  and  amiable  countenance,  modest  deport- 
ment, strong,  musical  voice,  and  wears  the  air  of  a 
gentleman.  He  is  highly  respected  by  men  of  the 
legal  profession  throughout  the  state.  He  is  a  vigor- 
ous writer,  and  in  the  political  campaigns,  contributes 
both  with  speech  and  pen  to  the  liberal  cause.  Few 
men  in  the  south-west  have  held  the  black  man's 
standard  higher  than  John  Mercer  Langston. 


238      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 


WILLIAM    C.    NELL. 

No  man  in  New  England  has  performed  more  un- 
compensated  labor  for  humanity,  and  especially  for  his 
own  race,  than  William  C.  Nell.  Almost  from  the 
commencement  of  the  Liberator,  and  the  opening 
of  an  anti-slavery  office  in  Boston,  he  has  been  con- 
nected in  some  way  with  the  cause  of  freedom.  In 
1840,  Mr.  Nell,  in  company  with  William  Lloyd  Gar- 
rison, Wendell  Phillips,  and  Francis  Jackson,  signed 
a  petition  to  the  city  government,  asking  it  to  grant 
equal  school  rights  to  the  colored  children.  From  that 
time  till  1855,  Mr.  Nell  lost  no  opportunity  to  press 
this  question.  During  all  this  while  he  had  to  meet 
the  frowns  of  the  whites,  who  were  instigated  by  that 
mean  and  relentless  prejudice  which  slavery  had  im- 
planted in  their  minds  ;  but  he  went  steadily  on,  resolv- 
ing that  he  would  not  cease  till  equality  was  acknowl- 
edged in  the  Boston  schools.  .In  1855  the  obnoxious 
rule  was  abolished,  and  the  colored  youths  admitted 
to  the  schools,  without  regard  to  complexion.  On  the 
evening  of  December  17  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Nell 
was  publicly  presented  with  a  testimonial  by  his  fellow- 
citizens.  This  consisted  of  a  valuable  gold  watch. 
Master  Frederick  Lewis,  on  behalf  of  the  children, 
addressed  Mr.  Nell  as  follows :  — 

"  Champion  of  equal  school  rights,  we  hail  thee. 
With  unbounded  gratitude  we  bow  before  thee.  Our 
youthful  hearts  bless  thee  for  thy  incessant  labors  and 
untiring  zeal  in  our  behalf.  We  would  fain  assist  in 
swelling  thy  praise,  which  flows  from  every  lip  ;  but 


WILLIAM   C.   NELL.  239 

this  were  a  tribute  far  too  small.  Noble  friend  :  thou 
hast  opened  for  us  the  gate  that  leadeth  to  rich  treas- 
ures ;  and  as  we  pass  through,  Ambition  lendeth  us  a 
hand  —  ay,  she  quickeneth  our  pace ;  and  as,  obeying 
her,  we  look  through  the  vista  of  future  years,  we 
recognize  bright  Fame  in  a  field  of  literary  glory,  her 
right  hand  extended  with  laurels  of  honor,  to  crown 
those  who  shall  be  most  fortunate  in  gaining  the  plat- 
form whereon  she  standeth  ;  while  before  her  is  spread 
the  banquet,  with  viands  rich  and  rare,  that  our  literary 
hunger  may  be  satiated.  To  this  we  aspire.  To  gain 
this  we  will  be  punctual  to  school,  diligent  in  study, 
and  well-behaved ;  and  may  we  be  enabled  to  reach 
the  goal,  that,  in  thy  declining  years,  thy  heart  may  be 
gladdened  by  what  thine  eye  beholdeth,  and  it  shall  be 
like  a  crown  of  gold  encircling  thy  head,  and  like  a 
rich  mantle  thrown  around  thee,  studded  with  jewels 
and  precious  stones. 

"Kind  benefactor:  accept,  we  entreat  thee,  this 
simple  token,  emblem  of  the  bright,  gladsome  years 
of  youthful  innocence  and  purity  ;  and  as  thou  hast 
befriended  us,  so  may  we  ever  prove  faithful  friends 
to  thee.  May  the  blessings  of  Heaven  attend  thee 
through  life's  ever-changing  scenes  and  intricate  wind- 
ings, is  our  prayer." 

Mrs.  Georgiana  0.  Smith  then  presented  to  Mr. 
Nell  the  watch,  bearing  this  inscription:  — 

"A  Tribute  to 
WILLIAMC.    NELL, 

FROM   THE   COLORED   CITIZENS   OF   BOSTON, 

For  his  untiring  efforts  in  behalf  of 

EQUAL  SCHOOL  RIGHTS, 

Dec.  17,  1855."   - 


240 


Mrs.  Smith's  address  was  well  conceived,  and  deliv- 
ered in  an  eloquent  and  feeling  manner,  which  seemed 
to  touch  every  heart  and  quicken  every  pulse.  Mr. 
Nell  responded  in  an  able  speech,  recounting  many  of 
the  scenes  that  they  had  passed  through.  William 
Lloyd  Garrison  and  Wendell  Phillips  were  both  pres- 
ent, and  addressed  the  meeting,  showing  their  deep 
interest  in  the  black  man's  rights.  Besides  contribut- 
ing occasionally  to  the  columns  of  the  Liberator, 
Frederick  Douglass's  paper,  the  Anglo- African,  and 
other  journals,  Mr.  Nell  is  the  author  of  the  "  Col- 
ored Patriots  of  the  American  Revolution,"  a  book 
filled  with  interesting  incidents  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  blacks  of  this  country,  past  and  present. 
He  has  also  written  several  smaller  works,  all  of  which 
are  humanitarian  in  their  character.  He  has  taken  a 
leading  part  in  most  of  the  conventions  and  public 
gatherings  of  the  colored  citizens,  held  within  the 
past  twenty-five  years.  From  1835  to  1850,  no  public 
meeting  was  complete  without  William  C  Nell  as 
secretary. 

Deeply  interested  in  the  intellectual  development 
and  cultivation  of  his  race,  he  aided  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  "  Adelphic  Union  Association,"  which  did 
much  good  in  its  day.  Later  still,  he  brought  into 
existence  the  "  Histrionic  Club,"  a  society  that  en- 
couraged reading,  recitation,  and  social  conversation. 
In  this  he  drew  the  finest  talent  that  Boston  could  pro- 
duce. They  gave  a  public  representation  a  few  years 
since,  which  was  considered  one  of  the  most  classic 
performances  which  has  ever  been  witnessed.  Mr. 
Nell  is  of  medium  height,  slim,  genteel  figure,  quick 
step,  elastic  movement,  a  thoughtful  yet  pleasant  brow, 


JOHN  SELLA  MARTIN.  241 

thin  face,  and  chaste  in  his  conversation.  Born  in 
Boston,  passing  through  her  public  schools,  a  good 
student,  and  a  lover  of  literature,  he  has  a  cultivated 
understanding,  and  has  collected  together  more  facts, 
on  the  race  with  whom  he  is  identified,  than  any  other 
man  of  our  acquaintance.  An  ardent  admirer  of 
Wendell  Phillips,  he  seems  as  much  attached  to  that 
distinguished  orator  as  Boswell  was  to  Johnson.  Mr. 
Nell's  devotion  to  his  race  is  not  surpassed  by  any 
man  living. 


JOHN     SELLA     MARTIN. 

J.  SELLA  MARTIN  is  a  native  of  Charlotte,  North 
Carolina,  and  was  born  on  the  27th  of  September, 
1832.  His  mother  was  a  slave,  and  by  the  laws  of 
the  state  the  child  follows  the  condition  of  the  mother. 
Young  Martin  sustained  the  double  but  incongruous 
relation  to  his  owner  of  master  and  son.  At  the  tender 
age  of  six  years,  the  boy,  together  with  his  mother  and 
an  only  sister,  was  taken  from  the  old  homestead  at 
midnight,  and  carried  to  Columbus,  Georgia,  where 
they  were  exposed  for  sale.  Here  they  were  separated, 
the  mother  and  daughter  being 'purchased  by  one  man, 
and  Sella  by  another.  The  latter  had  the  good  for- 
tune, however,  to  fall  into  tho  hands  of  an  old  bachelor, 
with  whom  he  lived,  in  the  capacity  of  valet  de  chambre, 
until  he  was  eighteen  years  old.  His  opportunities, 
while  with  him,  for  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  books 
and  the  world  generally,  were  far  better  than  usually 
fall  to  the  lot  of  the  most  favored  house  servants. 
Both  master  and  slave  boarded  at  the  principal  hotel 
21 


242      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND    ACHIEVEMENTS. 

in  the  place  ;  and  the  latter,  associating  with  other  ser- 
vants, and  occasionally  meeting  travellers  from  the 
free  states,  obtained  much  valuable  information  re- 
specting the  north  and  Canada,  and  his  owner  was  not 
a  little  surprised  one  day  when  a  complaint  came 
to  him  that  his  servant  had  been  furnishing  passes 
for  slaves  in  the  neighborhood  to  visit  their  wives. 
Sella  was  called  before  the  master,  and  threatened  with 
severe  punishment  if  he  ever  wrote  another  pass  for  a 
slave.  About  two  years  after  this,  the  owner  partially 
lost  his  sight,  and  the  servant  became  first  the  reader 
of  the  morning  paper,  and  subsequently  the  amanuen- 
sis in  the  transaction  of  all  the  master's  business.  An 
intimacy  sprang  up  between  the  two,  and  it  being  for 
the  white  man's  interest  that  his  chattel  should  read 
and  write  correctly,  the  latter  became  in  fact  the  pupil 
of  the  former,  which  accelerated  his  education.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  his  owner  died,  and  Sella  was  left 
free.  But  the  influence  of  the  heirs  at  law  was  suffi- 
cient to  set  the  will  aside,  and  the  free  young  man,  to- 
gether with  other  slaves  of  the  estate,  was  sold  on  the 
auction  block,  and  the  new  owner  took  Sella  to  Mobile, 
where  he  resided  till  1852,  when  lie  was  again  sold  and 
taken  to  New  Orleans.  Here  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
hired  his  own  time,  became  a  dealer  in  fruit  and  oys- 
ters, and  succeeded  in  saving  a  little  money  for  him- 
self, with  which  he  made  his  escape  on  a  Mississippi 
steamer  in  December,  1855,  and  arrived  at  Chicago  on 
the  6th  of  January,  1856.  The  great  hope  of  his 
younger  days  had  been  attained,  and  ne  was  now  free. 
But  Mr.  Martin  had  seen  too  much  of  slavery  to  feel 
satisfied  with  merely  getting  his  own  freedom,  and  he 
therefore  began  the  inquiry  to  see  what  he  could  do 


JOHN   SELLA   MA11TIX.  243 

for  those  whom  he  had  left  in  the  prison  house  of  bond- 
age. While  at  Chicago,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Mr.  H.  Ford  Douglass,  who  was  just  about  to  visit  the 
interior  of  the  state,  to  deliver  a  course  of  lectures. 
The  latter  observed  by  his  conversation  with  Mr.  Mar- 
tin, that  he  possessed  the  elements  of  a  good  speaker, 
and  persuaded  him  to  join  and  take  part  in  the  meet- 
ings. It  is  said  that  Mr.  Martin's  first  attempt  in 
public  was  an  entire  failure.  He  often  alludes  to  it 
himself,  and  says  that  the  humiliation  which  he  expe- 
rienced reminded  him  of  the  time  when  he  was  sold 
on  the  auction  block  —  only  that  the  former  seemed  the 
cheaper  sale  of  the  two.  He  was  advised  never  to  try 
the  platform  again.  But  his  want  of  success  on  the 
first  occasion  stimulated  him  to  new  exertion,  and  we 
are  told  that  he  wrote  out  a  speech,  committed  it  to 
memory,  and  delivered  it  two  days  after  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all  present.  Mr.  Douglass  himself  character- 
izes it  as  a  remarkable  effort.  But  there  was  too  much 
monotony  in  the  delivery  of  one  or  two  lectures  over 
and  over,  and  his  natural  aversion  to  committed 
speeches  induced  Mr.  Martin  to  quit  the  lecturing 
field.  He  now  resolved  to  resume  his  studies,  and  for 
this  purpose  he  removed  to  Detroit,  Michigan,  where 
he  commenced  under  the  tutorage  of  an  able  Baptist 
minister.  Feeling  that  he  was  called  to  preach,  soon 
after  this  he  began  the  study  of  theology,  and  remained 
the  student  until  his  education  was  so  far  finished  that 
he  felt  justified  in  his  own  mind  to  commence  lecturing 
and  preaching.  About  this  time  he  made  the  tour  of 
the  State  of  Michigan,  and  lectured  with  great  success. 
In  the  beautiful  and  flourishing  town  of  Coldwater,  he 
addressed  a  large  and  influential  meeting,  and  the 


244      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

effect  upon  the  audience  was  such  as  to  raise  the 
speaker  high  in  their  estimation.  The  weekly  paper 
said  of  this  lecture,  — 

"  Our  citizens  filled  the  court  house  to  hear  J.  S. 
Martin  speak  for  his  own  race  and  in  behalf  of  the  op- 
pressed. The  citizens  admired  and  were  even  aston- 
ished at  his  success  as  a  public  speaker.  He  is  a 
natural  orator,  and,  considering  his  opportunities,  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  and  forcible  speakers  of  his  age, 
and  of  the  age.  Indeed,  he  is  a  prodigy.  It  would 
seem  impossible  that  one  kept  in  '  chains  and  slavery ,' 
and  in  total  ignorance  till  within  a  few  months,  could 
so  soon  attain 'so  vast  a  knowledge  of  the  English  lan- 
guage, and  so  clear  and  comprehensive  a  view  of  gen- 
eral subjects.  Nature  has  made  him  a  great  man. 
His  propositions  and  his  arguments,  his  deductions  and 
illustrations,  are  new  and  original ;  his  voice  and  man- 
ner are  at  his  command  and  prepossessing ;  his  efforts 
are  unstudied  and  effectual.  The  spirit  which  mani- 
fests itself  is  one  broken  loose  from  bondage  and  stim- 
ulated with  freedom." 

Shortly  after  this,  Mr.  Martin  was  ordained  and  set- 
tled over  the  Michigan  Street  Baptist  Church,  Buffalo, 
New  York,  where  he  labored  with  signal  success  till 
April,  1859,  when  he  removed  east.  During  the  same 
summer  he  was  introduced  to  the  Boston  public  by 
Mr.  Kalloch,  the  popular  preacher  at  the  Tremont 
Temple.  The  latter,  pleased  with  Mr.  Martin,  secured 
his  services  while  away  on  his  annual  vacation,  which 
occupied  six  or  eight  weeks.  No  place  of  religibus 
worship  was  more  thronged  than  the  Temple  during 
the  time  that  he  filled  its  pulpit.  At  the  termination 
of  his  engagement  at  the  Temple,  Mr.  Martin  was  in- 


JOHN   SELLA   MARTIN.  245 

vited  by  Dr.  Eddy  to  preach  for  him  a  few  weeks,  which 
he  did  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  the 
society.  The  first  Baptist  Church  at  Lawrence  being 
without  a  pastor,  Mr.  Martin  was  engaged  to  supply 
the  pulpit,  and  was  there  seven  or  eight  months,  and 
might  have  remained  longer  ;  but  during  this  time  he 
received  a  call  from  the  Joy  Street  Church,  Boston, 
and  feeling  that  his  labor  was  more  needed  with  his 
own  color,  he  accepted  the  latter.  He  has  now  been 
at  the  Joy  Street  Church  about  three  years,  where  his 
preaching  has  met  with  marked  success.  That  society 
had  long  been  in  a  declining  state ;  but  the  church  is 
now  as  well  filled  on  Sundays  as  any  place  in  the  city. 
In  the  summer  of  1861,  Mr.  Martin  visited  England, 
and  remained  abroad  six  months,  where  he  did  good 
service  for  the  cause  of  freedom.  On  his  return  home 
he  was  warmly  welcomed  by  his  church  and  congrega- 
tion. Soon  after,  he  secured  the  freedom  of  his  only 
sister  and  her  two  children,  whom  he  settled  at  the 
west.  In  person,  Mr.  Martin  is  somewhat  taller  than 
the  medium  height ;  firm,  dignified  walk  ;  not  what 
would  be  termed  handsome,  but  has  a  pleasing  coun- 
tenance;  in  race,  half  and  half;  eyes  clear  and  bright; 
forehead  well  developed ;  gentlemanly  in  his  deport- 
ment ;  has  a  popularity  not  surpassed  by  any  of  the 
preachers  of  Boston. 

He  has  written  considerably  for  the  press,  both  prose 

and  poetry.      Some  of  the  latter  is  much   admired. 

His  poem  "  The  Hero  and  the  Slave  "  has  been  read 

in  public  entertainments,  and  received  with  applause. 

21* 


246      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 


CHARLES  LENOX  REMOND. 

CHARLES  L.  REMOND  is  a  native  of  Salem,  Mass. 
He  has  the  honor,  we  believe,  of  being  the  first  col- 
ored rnaii  to  take  the  field  as  a  lecturer  against  slavery. 
He  has  been,  more  or  less,  in  the  employ  of  the  Anti- 
Slavery  Society  for  the  past  twenty-eight  or  thirty  years. 
Iii  1840,  he  visited  England  as  a  delegate  to  the  first 
"World's  Anti-Slavery  Convention,"  held  in  London. 
He  remained  abroad  nearly  two  years,  lecturing  in  the 
various  towns  and  cities  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 
The  following  lines,  addressed  to  him,  appeared  in  one 
of  the  public  journals,  after  the  delivery  of  one  of  his 
thrilling  speeches,  in  Belfast,  and  will  give  some  idea 
of  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  as  a  platform 
speaker. 

TO  C.  L.  REMOND. 

Go  forth  and  fear  not !     Glorious  is  the  cause 

Which  thou  dost  advocate ;  and  nobly,  too, 

Hast  thou  fulfilled  thy  mission  —  nobly  raised 

Thy  voice  against  oppression,  and  the  woes 

Of  injured  millions ;  and,  if  they  are  men, 

Who  can  deny  for  them  a  Saviour  died  ? 

Nor  will  it  e'er  be  asked,  in  that  dread  day 

When  black  and  white  shall  stand  before  the  throne 

Of  Him  their  common  Parent,  "  Unto  which 

Partition  of  the  human  race  didst  thou 

Belong  on  earth  ?  "     Enough  for  thee  to  fill 

The  lot  assigned  thee,  as  ordained  by  Heaven. 

I  would  not  praise  thee,  Remond,  —  thou  hast  gifts 


CHARLES  LENOX  BEMOND.          247 

Bestowed  upon  tbee  for  a  noble  end ; 

And  for  the  use  of  which  account  must  be 

Returned  to  Him  who  lent  them.     May  this  thought 

Preserve  thee  in  his  fear,  and  may  the  praise 

Be  given  only  to  his  mighty  name. 

And  if,  returning  to  thy  native  land, 

By  thee  beloved,  though  dark  with  crimes  that  stain 

Her  boasted  freedom,  thou  art  called  to  prove 

Thy  true  allegiance,  even  then  go  forth 

Resigned  to  suffer,  —  trust  thy  all  to  Him 

Who  can  support  thee,  whilst  a  still,  small  voice, 

Within  thy  breast,  shall  whisper,  "All  is  well." 

Mr.  Remond  was  welcomed  on  his  return  home,  and 
again  resumed  his  vocation  as  a  lecturer.  In  stature 
he  is  small,  spare  made,  neat,  wiry  build,  and  genteel 
in  his  personal  appearance.  He  has  a  good  voice,  and 
is  considered  one  of  the  best  declaimers  in  New  Eng- 
land. Faultless  in  his  dress,  and  an  excellent  horse- 
man, Mr.  Remond  has  long  been  regarded  the  Count 
D'Orsay  of  the  anti-slavery  movement.  He  has  written 
little  or  nothing  for  the  press,  and  his  notoriety  is  con- 
fined solely  to  the  platform.  Sensitive  to  a  fault,  and 
feeling  sorely  the  prejudice  against  color  which  exists 
throughout  the  United  States,  his  addresses  have  been 
mainly  on  that  subject,  on  which  he  is  always  interesting. 
He  is  a  good  writer  who  embodies  in  his  works  the  soul 
and  spirit  of  the  times  in  which  he  lives, —  provided 
they  are  worth  embodying,  —  and  the  common  sym- 
pathy of  the  great  mass  is  sounder  criticism  by  far 
than  the  rules  of  mere  scholars,  who,  buried  up  in 
their  formulas,  cannot  speak  so  as  to  arrest  the  at- 
tention or  move  the  heart.  Adaptation  without  de- 


248      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND    ACHIEVEMENTS. 

gencracy  is  the  great  law  to  be  followed.  What  is 
true  of  the  writer  is  also  true  of  the  speaker.  No 
man  can  put  more  real  meaning  in  fewer  words  than 
Mr.  Remond,  and  no  one  can  give  them  greater  force. 
The  following  extract  from  a  .speech  of  Mr.  Remond, 
delivered  before  the  New  England  Anti-Slavery^Con- 
vention,  at  its  anniversary  in  May,  1859,  is  character- 
istic of  his  style. 

"If  I  had  but  one  reason,  why  I  consented  to  appear 
here,  it  was  because,  at  this  moment,  I  believe  it  be- 
longs to  the  colored  man  in  this  country  to  say  that  his 
lot  is  a  common  one  with  every  white  man  north  of 
the  Potomac  River ;  and  if  you  ask  me  who  are  my  cli- 
ents, I  think  I  may  answer,  i  Every  man  north  of  Mason 
and  Dixon's  line,  without  reference  to  his  complexion.' 
I  have  read  in  the  newspapers  that  one  or  two  distin- 
guished men  of  this  city  propose  to  spend  the  coming 
summer  in  Europe.  Born  in  Boston,  educated  at  Har- 
vard, having  been  dandled  in  the  lap  of  Massachusetts 
favor  and  Massachusetts  popularity,  they  are  about  to 
travel  in  Europe,  among  despotisms,  monarchies,  aris- 
tocracies, and  oligarchies ;  and  I  trust  in  God  they 
may  learn,  as  they  travel  in  those  countries,  that  it 
is  an  everlasting  disgrace  that  on  the  soil  on  which 
they  were  born,  no  man  of  color  can  stand  and  be 
considered  free.  If  they  shall  learn  no  more  than 
this,  I  will  wish  them  a  pleasant  and  prosperous  tour ; 
and  unless  they  shall  learn  this,  I  hope  they  will  come 
back  and  have  the  same  padlock  put  upon  their  lips 
that  is  put  upon  men  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line. 

"  I  want  to  ask  this  large  audience,  Mr.  Chairman, 
through  you,  supposing  the  citizens  of  Boston  should 


CHARLES  LENOX  REMOND.  249 

call  a  meeting  to-morrow,  and  resolve  that,  in  the 
event  of  a  southern  man,  with  southern  principles, 
being  elected  to  the  presidential  office,  this  state  will 
secede,  how  would  the  State  of  Mississippi  receive  it  ? 
Now,  I  am  here  to  ask  that  the  non-slaveholding  states 
shall  dare  to  do,  and  write,  and  publish,  and  resolve, 
in  behalf  of  freedom,  as  the  slaveholders  dare  to  act 
and  resolve  in  behalf  of  slavery. 

The  time  has  been,  Mr.  Chairman,  when  a  colored 
man  could  scarcely  look  a  white  man  in  the  face 
without  trembling,  owing  to  his  education  and  expe- 
rience. I  am  not  here  to  boast;  but  I  may  say,  in 
view  of  what  I  have  seen  and  heard  during  the  last 
five  years,  as  I  said  in  the  Representatives'  Hall  a 
few  months  ago,  that  our  lot  is  a  common  one,  and 
the  sooner  we  shall  so  regard  it,  and  buckle  on  our 
knapsacks  and  shoulder  our  muskets,  and  resolve  that 
we  will  be  free,  the  better  for  you  as  well  as  for  me. 
The  disgrace  that  once  rested  upon  the  head  of  the 
black  man,  now  hovers  over  the  head  of  every  man  and 
woman  whom.  I  have  the  honor  to  address  this  evening, 
just  in  proportion  as  they  shall  dare  to  stand  erect  be- 
fore the  oligarchy  of  slaveholders  in  the  southern  por- 
tion of  our  country;  and  God  hasten  forward  the  day 
when  not  only  Music  Hall,  but  every  other  hall  in  the 
city  of  Boston,  the  Athens  of  America,  shall  be  made 
eloquent  with  tones  that  shall  speak,  as  man  has 
never  before  spoken  in  this  country,  for  the  cause 
of  universal  freedom.  If  the  result  of  that  speaking 
must  be  bloodshed,  be  it  so !  If  it  must  be  the  dis- 
solution of  the  Union,  be  it  so !  If  it  must  be  that 
\vb  must  walk  over  or  through  the  American  church, 
bo  it  so !  The  time  has  come  when,  if  you  value  your 


250      THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

own  freedom,  James  Buchanan  must  be  hung  in  effigy 
and  such  men  as  Dr.  Nehemiah  Adams  must  be  put  in 
the  pillory  of  public  disgrace  and  contempt ;  and  then 
Massachusetts  will  cease  to  be  a  hissing  and  a  by-word 
in  every  other  country." 


GEORQE     T.    DOWNINQ. 

THE  tall,  fine  figure,  manly  walk,  striking  profile, 
and  piercing  eye  of  George  T.  Downing  would  attract 
attention  in  any  community,  even  where  he  is  un- 
known. Possessing  remarkable  talents,  finely  edu- 
cated, a  keen  observer,  and  devoted  to  the  freedom 
and  elevation  of  his  race,  he  has  long  been  looked 
upon  as  a  representative  .man.  A  good  debater,  quick 
to  take  advantage  of  the  weak  points  of  an  opponent, 
forcible  in  speech,  and  a  natural  orator,  Mr.  Downing 
is  always  admired  as  a  speaker.  Chosen  president  of 
the  convention  of  colored  citizens  which  assembled  in 
Boston  on  the  first  of  August,  1859,  he  delivered  an 
impressive  and  eloquent  opening  address,  of  which  we 
regret  that  we  can  give  only  an  extract.  He  said,  — 

"  The  great  consideration  that  presses  apon  me  is, 
what  may  we  do  to  make  ourselves  of  more  impor- 
tance in  community  —  necessary,  indispensable  ?  To 
sustain  such  a  relation  as  this  to  community,  (and 
it  is  possible,)  is  to  secure,  beyond  a  question,  all  the 
respect,  to  make  sure  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights, 
that  the  most  deferred  to  of  the  land  enjoy.  Society 
is  deferential ;  it  defers  to  power.  Learning,  and 
wealth,  and  power  are  most  potent  in  society.  It  is 


GEORGE   T.  DOWNING.  251 

not  necessary  that  many  men  and  women  of  us  be 
wealthy  and  learned  before  we  can  force  respect  as  a 
class  ;  but  it  is  necessary  that  we  exhibit  a  proportion- 
ate representative  character  for  learning  and  wealth, 
to  be  respected.  It  is  not  numbers  alone,  it  is  not 
universal  wealth,  it  is  not  general  learning,  that  se- 
cures to  those,  known  by  a  distinction  in  society  as 
whites — that  gains  them  power;  for  they  are  not  gen- 
erally wealthy,  not  commonly  learned.  The  number 
of  these  among  them,  as  in  all  communities,  is  limited  ; 
buf  that  number  forms  a  representative  character,  some 
of  whom  excel ;  hence  they  have  power  —  the  class  en- 
joy a  name. 

"  There  is  another  sense  of  power  in  community, 
which,  though  silent,  has  its  weight  —  it  should  be 
most  potent :  that  power  is  moral  character.  This 
also,  like  the  other  powers  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
need  not  be  universal  to  have  an  effect  favorable  to  a 
class.  I  think  that  I  am  not  claiming  too  much  for 
the  colored  people  in  asserting  that  we  have  a  decent 
representation  in  this  respect — a  most  remarkable  one, 
considering  all  the  depressing  influences  which  the 
present  and  preceding  generations  have  had  to  strug- 
gle up  under.  Happily,  this  power  on  community 
is  not  growing  less  ;  it  is  on  the  increase.  An  illus- 
tration of  the  correctness  of  my  position  as  to  the  pow- 
er of  a  representative  character  for  wealth  and  learn- 
ing in  commanding  respect,  is  forcibly  exhibited  in  the 
Celts  in  our  midst,  who  came  among  us  poor  and  igno- 
rant, and  who,  consequently,  fill  menial,  dependent 
positions.  They  are  the  least  respected  of  all  immi- 
grants. In  speaking  thus,  I  am  simply  dealing  with 
facts,  not  intending  to  be  invidious.  The  German 


252      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

element,  mingling  with  the  general  element  \vhich 
conies  among  us,  representing  a  higher  intelligence, 
more  wealth,  with  great  practical  industry,  is  silently 
stealing  a  hold,  a  power  in  the  nation,  because  of  these 
possessions,  at  which  native  America  will  yet  start. 
Now,  gentlemen,  if  these  be  facts,  is  it  not  well  for  us, 
as  sensible  men  here  assembled,  to  consider  our  best 
interest  —  to  have  in  view  these  sources  of  power? 
Would  it  not  be  well  to  consider  these  —  to  fall  upon 
some  plan  by  which  we  may  possess  or  excite  to  the 
possession  of  them  —  rather  than  devote  much  of  our 
time  in  a  discussion  as  to  the  injustice  of  our  fellow- 
countrymen  in  their  relation  to  us  ?  Of  this  they  know 
full  well,  and  we  too  bitterly. 

"  The  ballot  is  a  power  in  this  country  which  should 
not  be  lost  sight  of  by  us.  Were  it  more  generally 
exercised  by  the  colored  people,  the  effect  would  be 
very  perceptible.  Those  of  them  residents  of  the  states 
that  deny  them  the  privilege  of  the  elective  franchise, 
should  earnestly  strive  to  have  the  right  and  the  power 
secured  to  them ;  those  who  have  it  should  never  let 
an  occasion  pass,  when  they  may  consistently  exercise 
it,  without  doing  so.  We  know  that  the  government 
and  the  states  have  acted  most  unfairly  in  their  rela- 
tion to  us ;  but  that  government  and  the  states,  in  do- 
ing so,  have  clearly  disregarded  justice,  as  well  as  per- 
verted the  legal  interpretation  of  the  supreme  law  of 
the  land,  as  set  forth  in  its  constitution ;  which  facts 
alone  require  that  we  exercise  the  right  to  vote,  when- 
ever we  can,  towards  correcting  this  injustice.  Were 
it  known  on  election  day  that  any  colored  man  would 
deposit  a  vote,  that  there  would  be  a  concert  of  action 
in  doing  so,  the  effect  would  be  irresistible.  Cannot 


ROBERT   PURVIS.  253 

such  a  vote  bo  cast  at  the  approaching  presidential 
election  ?  Will  the  Republican  party  (a  party  which 
is  entitled  to  credit  for  the  service  it  has  rendered 
to  the  cause  of  freedom)  put  in  nomination,  in  1860, 
a  man  for  whom  we  can,  with  some  degree  of  con- 
sistency, cast  our  ballots  ?  It  has  such  men  in  its 
ranks  —  prominent  men  of  the  party  —  men  who  are 
available. 

"  I  would  have  it  noted,  that  we  cannot  vote  for  a 
man  who  subscribes  to  the  doctrine  that,  in  struggling 
for  freedom  in  a  presidential  or  any  other  election,  he 
ignores  the  rights  of  the  colored  man. 

"  There  is  an  increased  as  well  as  an  increasing  re- 
spect for  us  in  community.  This  is  not  simply  be- 
cause we  have  friends  (all  praise  to  them)  who  speak 
out  boldly  and  uncompromisingly  for  the  right,  —  in 
fact,  the  most  of  their  efforts  have  been  directed  to- 
wards relieving  the  country  of  the  blight  and  of  the 
injustice  of  slavery,  —  but  it  is  because  our  character, 
as  a  class,  is  better  understood." 

Mr.  Downing  is  a  native  of  New  York,  but  spends 
his  summers  at  Newport,  where  he  has  an  excellent  re- 
treat for  those  seeking  that  fashionable  watering-place, 
and  where  he  stands  high  with  the  better  class  of  the 
community. 


ROBERT     PURVIS. 

FEW  private  gentlemen  are  better  known  than  Rob- 
ert Purvis.  Born  in  Charleston,  S.  C.,  a  son  of  the 
late  venerable  William  Purvis,  Esq.,  educated  in  New 
England,  and  early  associated  with  William  Lloyd 

22 


254      THE   BLACK   MAN'S  GENIUS   AND    ACHIEVEMENTS. 

Garrison,  Francis  Jackson,  and  "Wendell  Phillips,  he 
has  always  been  understood  as  belonging  to  the  most 
ultra  wing  of  the  radical  abolitionists.  Residing  in 
Philadelphia  when  it  was  unsafe  to  avow  one's  self  a 
friend  of  the  slave,  Mr.  Purvis  never  was  known  to 
deny  his  hatred  to  the  "  peculiar  institution."  A 
writer  for  one  of  the  public  journals,  seeking  out  dis- 
tinguished colored  persons  as  subjects  for  his  pen,  paid 
him  a  visit,  of  which  the  following  is  his  account :  — 

"  The  stage  put  us  down  at  his  gate,  and  we  were 
warned  to  be  ready  to  return  in  an  hour  and  a  half. 
His  dwelling  stands  some  distance  back  from  the  turn- 
pike. It  is  approached  by  a  broad  lawn,  and  shaded 
with  ancient  trees.  In  the  rear  stands  a  fine  series 
of  barns.  There  are  magnificent  orchards  connected 
with  his  farm,  and  his  live  stock  is  of  the  most  ap- 
proved breeds.  We  understand  that  he  receives  num- 
bers of  premiums  annually  from  agricultural  soci- 
eties. In  this  fine  old  mansion  Mr.  Purvis  has  resided 
many  years. 

"  We  were  ushered,  upon  our  visit,  into  a  pleasant 
dining  room,  hung  with  a  number  of  paintings.  Upon 
one  side  of  an  old-fashioned  mantel  was  .a  large  por- 
trait of  a  fine-looking  white  man  ;  on  the  other  side,  a 
portrait  of  a1  swarthy  negro.  Above  these  old  John 
Brown  looked  gloomily  down,  like  a  bearded  patriarch. 

"  In  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Purvis  came  in.  We  had 
anticipated  a  stubborn-looking  negro,  with  a  swagger, 
and  a  tone  of  bravado.  In  place  of  such,  we  saw  a  tall, 
beautifully  knit  gentleman,  almost  white,  and  hand- 
somely dressed.  His  foot  and  hand  were  symmetrical, 
and,  although  his  hair  was  gray  with  years,  every  limb 
was  full,  and  every  movement  supple  and  easy.  He 


ROBERT   PURVIS.  255 

saluted  us  with  decorous  dignity,  and  begun  to  con- 
verse. 

"  It  was  difficult  to  forget  that  the  man  before  us 
was  not  of  our  own  race.  The  topics  upon  which  he 
spoke  were  chiefly  personal.  He  related  some  very 
amusing  anecdotes  of  his  relations  with  southern  gen- 
tlemen. On  one  occasion  hex  applied  for  a  passage  to 
Liverpool  in  a  Philadelphia  packet.  Some  southern 
gentlemen,  unacquainted  with  Purvis,  save  as  a  man 
of  negro  blood,  protested  that  he  should  not  be  received. 
Among  these  was  a  Mr.  Hayne,  a  near  relative  of 
Hayne  the  orator. 

"  Purvis  accordingly  went  to  Liverpool  by  another 
vessel.  He  met  Hayne  and  the  southerners  as  they 
were  about  returning  home,  and  took  passage  with 
them,  passing  for  a  white  man.  He  gained  their  es- 
teem, was  cordially  invited  by  each  to  visit  him  in  the 
south,  and  no  entertainment  was  complete  without  his 
joke  and  his  presence.  At  a  final  dinner,  given  to  the 
party  by  the  captain  of  the  vessel,  Mr.  Hayne,  who  had 
all  along  spoken  violently  of  the  negro  race,  publicly 
toasted  Mr.  Purvis,  as  the  finest  type  of  the  Caucasian 
race  he  had  ever  met. 

"  Mr.  Purvis  rose  to  reply.  '  I  am  not  a  Caucasian,' 
said  he  ;  'I  belong  to  the  degraded  tribe  of  Africans.' 

"  The  feelings  of  the  South  Carolinians  need  not  be' 
described.  ' 

"  Mr.  Purvis  has  written  a  number  of  anti-slavery 
pamphlets,  and  is  regarded,  by  rumor,  as  the  president 
of  the  Underground  Railroad.  He  has  figured  in  many 
slave-rescue  cases,  some  of  which  he  relates  with  graph- 
ic manner  of  description. 

"  He  is  the  heaviest  tax-payer  in  the  township,  and 


256      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

owns  two  very  valuable  farms.  By  his  influence  the 
public  schools  of  the  township  have  been  thrown  open 
to  colored  children.  He  has  also  built,  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, a  hall  for  free  debate.  We  left  him  with  feel- 
ings of  higher  regard  than  we  have  yet  felt  for  any  of 
his  people.  It  is  proper  to  remark,  that  Purvis  is  the 
grandchild  of  a  blackamoor,  who  was  taken  a  slave  to 
South  Carolina." 

Although  disdaining  all  profession  of  a  public  char- 
acter, Mr.  Purvis  is,  nevertheless,  often  invited  to  ad- 
dress public  gatherings.  As  a  speaker  he  is  energetic, 
eloquent,  and  sarcastic.  He  spares  neither  friend  nor 
foe  in  his  argument ;  uses  choice  language,  and  appears 
to  feel  that  nature  and  humanity  are  the  everlasting 
proprietors  of  truth,  and  that  truth  should  be  spoken 
at  all  times.  Mr.  Purvis  is  an  able  writer,  and  what- 
ever he  says  comes  directly  from  the  heart.  His  letter 
to  Hon.  S.  C.  Pomeroy,  on  colonization,  is  character- 
istic of  him.  We  regret  that  space  will  not  allow  us 
to  give  the  whole  of  this  timely  and  manly  production. 

"  There  are  some  aspects  of  this  project  which  surely 
its  advocates  cannot  have  duly  considered.  You  pur- 
pose to  exile  hundreds  and  thousands  of  your  laborers. 
The  wealth  of  a  country  consists  mainly  in  its  labor. 
With  what  law-  of  economy,  political  or  social,  can  you 
reconcile  this  project  to  banish  from  your  shores  the 
men  that  plough  your  fields,  drive  your  teams,  and 
help  build  your  houses  ?  Already  the  farmers  around 
me  begin  to  feel  the  pinching  want  of  labor ;  how  will 
it  be  after  this  enormous  draft  ?  I  confess  the  project 
seems  to  me  one  of  insanity.  What  will  foreign  na- 
tions, on  whose  good  or  ill  will  so  much  is  supposed 
now  to  depend,  think  of  this  project  ?  These  nations 


ROBERT  PURVIS.  257 

have  none  of  this  vulgar  prejudice  against  complexion. 
What,  then,  will  they  think  of  the  wisdom  of  a  people 
who,  to  gratify  a  low-born  prejudice,  deliberately  plan 
to  drive  out  hundreds  and  thousands  of  the  most  peace- 
ful, industrious,  and  competent  laborers  ?  Mr.  Roe- 
buck said  in  a  late  speech  at  Sheffield,  as  an  argument 
for  intervention,  *  that  the  feeling  against  the  black  was 
stronger  at  the  north  than  in  the  south.'  Mr.  Roebuck 
can  now  repeat  that  assertion,  and  point  to  this -govern- 
mental project  in  corroboration  of  its  truth.  A  '  Slave- 
holders' Convention '  was  held  a  few  years  since  in 
Maryland  to  consider  whether  it  would  not  be  best 
either  to  re-enslave  the  free  blacks  of  that  state,  or  ban- 
ish them  from  its  borders.  The  question  was  discussed, 
and  a  committee,  the  chairman  of  which  was  United 
States  Senator  Pearce,  was  appointed  to  report  upon  it. 
That  committee  reported  '  that  to  enslave  men  now 
free  would  be  inhuman,  and  to  banish  them  from  the 
state  would  be  to  inflict  a  deadly  blow  upon  the  mate- 
rial interests  of  the  commonwealth ;  that  their  labor 
was  indispensable  to  the  welfare  of  the  state.'  Sir, 
your  government  proposes  to  do  that  which  the  Slave- 
holders' Convention  of  Maryland,  with  all  their  hate 
of  the  free  blacks,  declared  to  be  inconsistent  with  the 
public  interest. 

"  But  it  is  said  this  is  a  question  of  prejudice,  of  na- 
tional antipathy,  and  not  to  be  reasoned  about.  The 
president  has  said,  '  whether  it  is  right  or  wrong  I 
need  not  now  discuss.' 

"  Great  God  !  Is  justice  nothing  ?  Is  honor  nothing  ? 
Is  even  pecuniary  interest  to  be  sacrificed  to  this  in- 
sane and  vulgar  hate  ?  But  it  is  said  this  is  the  '  white 
man's  country.'  Not  so,  sir.  This  is  the  red  man's 
•79  * 


258      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

country  by  natural  right,  and  the  black  man's  by  virtue 
of  his  sufferings  and  toil.  Your  fathers  by  violence 
drove  the  red  man  out,  and  forced  the  black  man  in. 
The  children  of  the  black  man  have  enriched  the  soil 
by  their  tears,  and  sweat,  and  blood.  Sir,  we  were 
born  here,  and  here  we  choose  to  remain.  For  twenty 
years  we  were  goaded  and  harassed  by  systematic 
efforts  to  make  us  colonize.  We  were  coaxed  and 
mobbed,  and  mobbed  and  coaxed,  but  we  refused  to 
budge.  We  planted  ourselves  upon  our  inalienable 
rights,  and  were  proof  against  all  the  efforts  that  were 
made  to  expatriate  us.  For  the  last  fifteen  years  we 
have  enjoyed  comparative  quiet.  Now  again  the  ma- 
lign project  is  broached,  and  again,  as  before,  in  the 
name  of  humanity  are  we  invited  to  leave. 

"  In  God's  name,  what  good  do  you  expect  to  accom- 
plish by  such  a  course  ?  If  you  will  not  let  our  breth- 
ren in  bonds  go  free,  if  you  will  not  let  us,  as  did  our 
fathers,  share  in  the  privileges  of  the  government,  if 
you  will  not  let  us  even  help  fight  the  battles  of  the 
country,  in  Heaven's  name,  at  least,  let  us  alone.  Is 
that  too  great  a  boon  to  ask  of  your  magnanimity  ? 

"  I  elect  to  stay  on  the  soil  on  which  I  was  born,  and 
on  the  plot  of  ground  which  I  have  fairly  bought  and 
honestly  paid  for.  Don't  advise  me  to  leave,  and  don't 
add  insult  to  injury  by  telling  me  it's  for  my  own 
good  ;  of  that  I  am  to  be  the  judge.  It  is  in  vain  that 
you  talk  to  me  about  the  '  two  races,'  and  their  '  mutual 
antagonism.'  In  the  matter  of  rights  there  is  but  one 
race,  and  that  is  the  human  race.  '  God  has  made  of  one 
blood  all  nations  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth/ 
And  it  is  not  true  that  there  is  a  mutual  antagonism 
between  the  white  and  colored  people  of  this  commu- 


JOSEPH   JENKINS.  259 

nity.  You  may  antagonize  us,  but  we  do  not  antago- 
nize you.  You  may  hate  us,  but  we  do  not  hate  you. 
It  may  argue  a  want  of  spirit  to  cling  to  those  who 
seek  to  banish  us,  but  such  is,  nevertheless,  the  fact. 

"  Sir,  this  is  our  country  as  much  as  it  is  yours,  and 
we  will  not  leave  it.  Your  ships  may  be  at  the  door, 
but  we  choose  to  remain.  A  few  may  go,  as  a  few 
went  to  Hayti,  and  a  few  to  Liberia ;  but  the  colored 
people  as  a  mass  will  not  leave  the  land  of  their  birth. 
Of  course,  I  can  only  speak  by  authority  for  myself; 
but  I  know  the  people  with  whom  I  am  identified,  and 
I  feel  confident  that  I  only  express  their  sentiment  as 
a  body  when  I  say  that  your  project  of  colonizing  them 
in  Central  America,  or  any  where  else,  with  or  without 
their  consent,  will  never  succeed.  They  will  migrate, 
as  do  other  people,  when  left  to  themselves,  and  when 
the  motive  is  sufficient ;  but  they  will  neither  be  c  com- 
pelled to  volunteer,'  nor  constrained  to  go  of  their 
*  own  accord.' " 


JOSEPH    JENKINS. 

"  Look  here,  upon  this  picture,  and  on  this."  —  HAMLET. 

No  one  accustomed  to  pass  through  Cheapside  could 
fail  to  have  noticed  a  good-looking  man,  neither  black 
nor  white,  engaged  in  distributing  bills  to  the  thou- 
sands who  throng  that  part  of  the  city  of  London. 
While  strolling  through  Cheapside,  one  morning,  I 
saw,  for  the  fiftieth  time,  Joseph  Jenkins,  the  subject 
of  this  article,  handing  out  his  bills  to  all  who  would 
take  them  as  he  thrust  them  into  their  hands.  I  con- 


260      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

fess  that  I  was  not  a  little  amused,  and  stood  for  some 
moments  watching  and  admiring  his  energy  in  distrib- 
uting his  papers.  A  few  days  after,  I  saw  the  same 
individual  in  Chelsea,  sweeping  a  crossing ;  here,  too, 
he  was  equally  as  energetic  as  when  I  met  him  in  the 
city.  Some  days  later,  while  going  through  Kensing- 
ton, I  heard  rather  a  sweet,  musical  voice  singing  a 
familiar  psalm,  and  on  looking  round  was  not  a  little 
surprised  to  find  that  it  was  the  Cheapside  bill-distrib- 
utor and  Chelsea  crossing-sweeper.  He  was  now  sing- 
ing hymns,  and  selling  religious  tracts.  I  am  fond  of ' 
patronizing  genius,  and  therefore  took  one  of  his  tracts 
and  paid  him  for  a  dozen. 

During  the  following  week,  I  saw,  while  going  up 
the  City  Eoad,  that  Shakspeare's  tragedy  of  Othello 
was  to  be  performed  at  the  Eagle  Saloon  that  night, 
and  that  the  character  of  the  Moor  was  to  be  taken  by 
"  Selim,  an  African  prince"  Having  no  engagement 
that  evening,  I  resolved  at  once  to  attend,  to  witness 
the  performance  of  the  "  African  Talma,"  as  he  was 
called.  It  was  the  same  interest  that  had  induced  me 
to  go  to  the  Italian  opera  to  see  Mesdames  Sontag  and 
Grisi  in  Norma,  and  to  visit  Drury  Lane  to  see  Ma- 
cready  take  leave  of  ,  the  stage.  My  expectations 
were  screwed  up  to  the  highest  point.  The  excite- 
ment caused  by  the  publication  of  "  Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin"  had  prepared  the  public  for  any  thing  in  the 
African  line,  and  I  felt  that  the  prince  would  be  sure 
of  a  good  audience  ;  and  in  this  I  was  not  disappoint- 
ed, for,  as  I  took  my  seat  in  one  of  the  boxes  near  the 
stage,  I  saw  that  the  house  was  crammed  with  an  or- 
derly company.  The  curtain  was  already  up  when  I 
entered,  and  lago  and  Roderigo  were  on  the  stage. 


JOSEPH  JENKINS.         •  261 

After  a  while  Othello  caine  in,  and  was  greeted  with 
thunders  of  applause,  which  he  very  gracefully  ac- 
knowledged. Just  black  enough  to  take  his  part 
without  coloring  his  face,  and  being  tall,  with  a  good 
figure  and  an  easy  carriage,  a  fine,  full,  and  musical 
voice,  he  was  well  adapted  to  the  character  of  Othello. 
I  immediately  recognized  in  the  countenance  of  the 
Moor  a  face  that  I  had  seen  before,  but  could  not  at 
the  moment  tell  where.  Who  could  this  "prince" 
be  ?  thought  I.  He  was  too  black  for  Douglass,  not 
black  enough  for  Ward,  not  tall  enough  for  Garnet, 
too  calm  for  Delany,  figure,  though  fine,  not  genteel 
enough  for  Remond.  However,  I  was  soon  satisfied  as 
to  who  the  star  was.  Reader,  would  you  think  it  ?  it 
was  no  less  a  person  than  Mr.  Jenkins,  the  bill-distrib- 
utor from  Cheapside,  and  crossing-sweeper  from  Chel- 
sea !  For  my  own  part,  I  was  overwhelmed  with 
amazement,  and  it  was  some  time  before  I  could  real- 
ize the  fact.  He  soon  showed  that  he  possessed  great 
dramatic  power  and  skill ;  and  his  description  to  the 
senate  of  how  he  won  the  affections  of  the  gentle  Des- 
demona  stamped  him  at  once  as  an  actor  of  merit. 
"  What  a  pity,"  said  a  lady  near  me  to  a  gentleman 
that  was  by  her  side,  "  that  a  prince  of  the  royal  blood 
of  Africa  should  have  to  go  upon  the  stage  for  a 
living  !  It  is  indeed  a  shame ! "  When  he  came 
to  the  scene, — 

"  O,  cursed,  cursed  slave! — whip  me,  ye  devils, 
From  the  possession  of  this  heavenly  sight ! 
Blow  me  about  in  winds,  roast  me  in  sulphur ! 
AY  ash  me  in  steep-down  gulfs  of  liquid  fire  ! 
O,  Desdemona  !  Desdemona  !  dead  : 
Dead?    O!  O!  O!  "  — 


262      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

the  effect  was  indeed  grand.  When  the  curtain  fell, 
the  prince  was  called  upon  the  stage,  where  he  was 
received  with  deafening  shouts  of  approbation,  and  a 
number  of  bouquets  thrown  at  his  feet,  which  he 
picked  up,  bowed,  and  retired.  I  went  into  Cheap- 
side  the  next  morning,  at  an  early  hour,  to  see  if  the 
prince  had  given  up  his  old  trade  for  what  I  supposed 
to  be  a  more  lucrative  one  ;  but  I  found  the  hero  of 
the  previous  night  at  his  post,  and  giving  out  his  bills 
as  energetically  as  when  I  had  last  seen  him.  Having 
to  go  to  the  provinces  for  some  months,  I  lost  sight  of 
Mr.  Jenkins,  and  on  my  return  to  town  did  not  trouble 
myself  to  look  him  up.  More  than  a  year  after  I  had 
witnessed  the  representation  of  Othello  at  the  Eagle,  I 
was  walking,  one  pleasant  Sabbath  evening,  through 
one  of  the  small  streets  in  the  borough,  when  I  found 
myself  in  front  of  a  little  chapel,  where  a  number  of 
persons  were  going  in.  As  I  was  passing  on  slowly, 
an  elderly  man  said  to  me,  "  I  suppose  you  have  come 
to  hear  your  colored  brother  preach."  "  No,"  I  an- 
swered ;  "  I  was  not  aware  that  one  was  to  be  here." 
"  Yes,"  said  he  ;  "  and  a  clever  man  he  is,  too."  As 
the  old  man  offered  to  find  me  a  seat,  I  concluded  to 
go  in  and  hear  this  son  of  Africa.  The  room,  which 
was  not  large,  was  already  full.  I  had  to  wait  but  a 
short  time  before  the  reverend  gentleman  made  his 
appearance.  He  was  nearly  black,  and  dressed  in  a 
black  suit,  with  high  shirt-collar,  and  an  intellectual- 
looking  oravat,  that  nearly  hid  his  chin.  A  pair  of 
spectacles  covered  his  eyes.  The  preacher  commenced 
by  reading  a  portion  of  Scripture,  and  then  announced 
that  they  would  sing  the  twenty-eighth  hymn  in  "  the 
arrangement."  0,  that  voice !  I  felt  sure  that  I  had 


JOSEPH  JENKINS.  263 

heard  that  musical  voice  before  ;  but  where,  I  could 
not  tell.  I  was  not  aware  that  any  of  my  countrymen 
were  in  London,  but  felt  that,  whoever  he  was,  he 
was  no  discredit  to  the  race  ;  for  he  was  a  most  elo- 
quent and  accomplished  orator.  His  sermon  was 
against  the  sale  and  use  of  intoxicating  drinks,  and 
the  bad  habits  of  the  working  classes,  of  whom  his 
audience  was  composed. 

Although  the  subject  was  intensely  interesting,  I 
was  impatient  for  it  to  come  to  a  close,  for  I  wanted 
to  speak  to  the  preacher.  But  the  evening  being 
warm,  and  the  room  heated,  the  reverend  gentleman, 
on  wiping  the  perspiration  from  his  face,  (which,  by 
the  way,  ran  very  freely,)  took  off  his  spectacles  on 
one  occasion,  so  that  I  immediately  recognized  him, 
which  saved  me  from  going  up  to  the  pulpit  at  the  end 
of  the  service.  Yes;  it  was  the  bill-distributor  of 
Cheapside,  the  crossing-sweeper  of  Chelsea,  the  tract- 
seller  and  psalm-singer  of  Kensington,  and  the  Othello 
of  the  Eagle  Saloon.  I  could  scarcely  keep  from 
laughing  outright  when  I  discovered  this  to  be  the 
man  that  I  had  seen  in  so  many  characters.  As  I  was 
about  leaving  my  seat  at  the  close  of  the  services,  the 
old  man  who  showed  me  into  the  chapel  asked  me  if 
I  would  not  like  to  be  introduced  to  the  minister  ;  and 
I  immediately  replied  that  I  would.  We  proceeded 
up  the  aisle,  and  met  the  clergyman  as  he  was  de- 
scending. On  seeing  me,  he  did  not  wait  for  a  formal 
introduction,  but  put  out  his  hand  and  said,  "  I  have 
seen  you  so  often,  sir,  that  I  seem  to  know  you." 
"  Yes,"  I  replied ;  "  we  have  met  several  times,  and 
under  different  circumstances."  Without  saying  more, 
he  invited  ine  to  walk  with  him  towards  his  home, 


264      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

which  was  in  the  direction  of  my  own  residence.  We 
proceeded  ;  and,  during  the  walk,  Mr.  Jenkins  gave 
me  some  little  account  of  his  early  history.  "  You 
think  me  rather  an  odd  fish,  I  presume,"  said  he. 
"  Yes,"  I  replied.  "  You  are  not  the  only  one  who 
thinks  so,"  continued  he.  "  Although  I  am  not  as 
black  as  some  of  my  countrymen,  I  am  a  native  of 
Africa.  Surrounded  by  some  beautiful  mountain 
scenery,  and  situated  between  Darfour  and  Abyssinia, 
two  thousand  miles  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  is  a  small 
valley  going  by  the  name  of  Teg-la.  To  that  valley  I 
stretch  forth  my  affections,  giving  it  the  endearing  ap- 
pellation of  my  native  home  and  fatherland.  It  was 
there  that  I  was  born,  it  was  there  that  I  received  the 
fond  looks  of  a  loving  mother,  and  it  was  there  that  I 
set  my  feet,  for  the  first  time,  upon  a  world  full  of 
cares,  trials,  difficulties,  and  dangers.  My  father  being 
a  farmer,  I  used  to  be  sent  out  to  take  care  of  his  goats. 
This  service  I  did  when  I  was  between  seven  and  eight 
years  of  age.  As  I  was  the  eldest  of  the  boys,  my 
pride  was  raised  in  no  small  degree  when  I  beheld  my 
father  preparing  a  farm  for  me.  This  event  filled  my 
mind  with  the  grand  anticipation  of  leaving  the  care 
of  the  goats  to  my  brother,  who  was  then  beginning  to 
work  a  little.  While  my  father  was  making  these 
preparations,  I  had  the  constant  charge  of  the  goats ; 
and  being  accompanied  by  two  other  boys,  who  resided 
near  my  father's  house,  we  wandered  many  miles  from 
home,  by  which  means  we  acquired  a  knowledge  of 
the  different  districts  of  our  country. 

"  It  was  while  in  these  rambles  with  my  companions 
that  I  became  the  victim  of  the  slave-trader.  Wo 
were  tied  with  cords  and  taken  to  Tegla,  and  thence  to 


JOSEPH  JENKINS.  265 

* 

Kordofan,  which  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pacha 
of  Egypt.  From  Kordofan  I  was  brought  down  to 
Dongola  and  Korti,  in  Nubia,  and  from  thence  down 
the  Nile  to  Cairo ;  and,  after  being  sold  nine  times,  I 
became  the  property  of  an  English  gentleman,  who 
brought  me  to  this  country  and  put  me  into  school. 
But  he  died  before  I  finished  my  education,  and  his 
family  feeling  no  interest  in  me,  I  had  to  seek  a  living 
as  best  I  could.  I  have  been  employed  for  some  years 
to  distribute  handbills  for  a  barber  in  Cheapside  in 
the  morning,  go  to  Chelsea  and  sweep  a  crossing  in  the 
afternoon,  and  sing  psalms  and  sell  religious  tracts  in 
the  evening.  Sometimes  I  have  an  engagement  to  per- 
form at  some  of  the  small  theatres,  as  I  had  when  you 
saw  me  at  the  Eagle.  I  preach  for  this  little  congre- 
gation over  here,  and  charge  them  nothing  ;  for  I  want 
that  the  poor  should  have  the  gospel  without  money 
and  without  price.  I  have  now  given  up  distributing 
bills  ;  I  have  settled  my  son  in  that  office.  My  eldest 
daughter  was  married  about  three  months  ago  ;  and  I 
have  presented  her  husband  with  the  Chelsea  crossing, 
as  my  daughter's  wedding  portion."  "  Can  he  make  a 
living  at  it  ?  "  I  eagerly  inquired.  "  0,  yes ;  that  crossing 
at  Chelsea  is  worth  thirty  shillings  a  week,  if  it  is  well 
swept,"  said  he.  "  But  what  do  you  do  for  a  living 
for  yourself  ?  "  I  asked.  "  I  am  the  leader  of  a  band," 
he  continued  ;  "  and  we  play  for  balls  and  parties,  and 
three  times  a  week  at  the  Holborn  Casino."  "  You 
are  determined  to  rise,"  said  I.  "  Yes,"  he  replied, — 

*  Upward,  onward,  is  my  watchword  ; 

Though  the  winds  blow  good  or  ill, 
Though  the  sky  be  fair  or  stormy, 

This  shall  be  my  watchword  still.'  " 

23 


266      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND    ACHIEVEMENTS. 

% 

By  this  time  we  had  reached  a  point  where  we 
had  to  part ;  and  I  left  Joseph  Jenkins,  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  he  was  the  greatest  genius  that 
I  had  met  in  Europe. 


JOHN     S.     ROCK. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Salem,  N.  J., 
in  1825.  When  quite  a  child,  he  became  passionately 
attached  to  his  book,  and,  unlike  most  children,  seldom 
indulged  in  amusements  of  any  kind.  His  parents, 
anxious  to  make  the  most  of  his  talents,  kept  him 
at  school  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  at  which 
time  he  was  examined  and  approved  as  a  teacher  of 
public  schools.  He  taught  school  from  1844  to  1848. 
Mr.  David  Allen  writes,  -*'  His  was  certainly  the  most 
orderly,  and  the  best  conducted,  school  I  ever  visited, 
although  myself  a  teacher  for  nearly  twenty  years." 
During  the  time  Mr.  Rock  was  teaching,  Drs.  Sharp 
and  Gibbon  opened  their  libraries  to  him,  and  he 
commenced  the  study  of  physic, — teaching  six  hours, 
studying  eight,  and  giving  private  lessons  two  hours 
every  day.  After  completing  his  medical  studies,  he 
found  it  impossible  to  get  into  a  medical  college;  so 
he  abandoned  his  idea  of  becoming  a  physician,  and 
went  with  Dr.  Harbert  and  studied  dentistry.  He 
finished  his  studies  in  the  summer  of  1849.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1850,  he  went  to  Philadelphia  to  practise  his 
profession.  In  1851,  he  received  a  silver  medal  for 
artificial  teeth.  In  the  same  year,  he  took  a  silver 
inedal  for  a  prize  essay  on  temperance.  After  the 


JOHN  S.   ROCK.  267 

Apprentices'  High  School  had  been  established  in 
Philadelphia,  and  while  it  was  still  an  evening  school, 
Mr.  Rock  took  charge  of  it,  and  kept  it  until  it  was 
merged  into  a  day  school,  under  the  direction  of  Pro- 
fessor Reason.  He  attended  lectures  in  the  American 
Medical  College,  and  graduated  in  1852. 

In  1853,  Dr.  Rock  came  to  Boston,  where  he  now 
resides.  On  leaving  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  Dental  College  gave  him  letters  bearing 
testimony  to  his  high  professional  skill  and  integrity. 
Professor  Townsend  writes,  "  Dr.  Rock  is  a  graduate 
of  a  medical  school  in  this  city,  and  is  favorably  known, 
and  much  respected,  by  the  profession.  Having  seen 
him  operate,  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  bear  my 
testimony  to  his  superior  abilities.''  Professor  J.  F. 
B.  Flagg  writes,  "  I  have  seen  his  operations,  and  have 
been  much  pleased  with  them.  As  a  scientific  man, 
I  shall  miss  the  intercourse  which  I  have  so  long 
enjoyed  in  his  acquaintance."  After  Mr.  R.  graduated 
in  medicine,  he  practised  both  of  his  professions.  In 
1856,  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  deliver  a  lecture  on 
the  "  Unity. of  the  Human  Races,"  before  the  Massa- 
chusetts legislature.  In  1857,  he  delivered  the  oration 
on  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the  new  Masonic 
Temple  in  Eleventh  Street,  Philadelphia.  His  intense 
application  to  study  and  to  business  had  so  undermined 
his  health  that,  in  the  summer  of  1856,  he  was  obliged 
to  give  up  all  business.  After  several  unsuccessful 
surgical  operations  here,  and  when  nearly  all  hope  for 
the  restoration  of  his  health  was  gone,  he  determined 
to  go  to  France.  When  he  was  ready  to  go,  he  applied 
to  the  government  for  a  passport.  This  was  refused, 
Mr.  Cass,  then  secretary  of  state,  saying  in  reply,  that 


268      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

"  a  passport  had  never  been  granted  to  a  colored  man 
since  the  foundation  of  the  government."  Mr.  Rock 
went  to  France,  however,  and  underwent  a  severe  sur- 
gical operation  at  the  hands  of  the  celebrated  Nelaton. 
Professor  Nelaton  advised  him  to  give  up  dentistry  al- 
together ;  and  as  his  shattered  constitution  forbade  the 
exposure  necessary  for  the.  practice  of  medicine,  he 
gave  up  both,  and  bent  all  *his  energies  to  the  study 
of  law.  In  I860,  he  accepted  an  invitation,  and  de- 
livered a  lecture  on  the  "  Character  and  Writings  of 
Madame  De  Stael,"  before  the  Massachusetts  legisla- 
ture, which  he  did  "  with  credit  to  himself  and  sat- 
isfaction to  the  very  large  audience  in  attendance." 
Der  Pionier,  a  German  newspaper,  in  Boston,  said, 
when  commenting  on  his  criticism  of  De  StaeTs  "  Ger- 
many," "  This  thinking,  educated  German  and  French 
speaking  negro  proved  himself  as  learned  in  Ger- 
man as  he  is  in  French  literature."  On  the  14th  of 
September,  1861,  on  motion  of  T.  K.  Lothrop,  Esq., 
Dr.  Rock  was  examined  in  the  Superior  Court,  before 
Judge  Russell,  and  admitted  to  practice  as  an  attorney 
and  counsellor  at  law  in  all  the  courts  of  Massachu- 
setts. On  the  21st  of  the  same  month  Mr.  Rock  re- 
ceived a  commission  from  the  governor  and  council 
as  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  seven  years  for  the  city 
of  Boston  and  county  of  Suffolk. 

We  annex  an  extract  from  a  speech  made  by  him 
before  the  last  anniversary  of  the  Massachusetts  Anti- 
Slavery  Society. 

"  Other  countries  are  held  out  as  homes  for  us. 
Why  is  this  ?  Why  is  it  that  the  people  from  all 
other  countries  are  invited  to  come  here,  and  we  are 
asked  to  go  away  ?  Is  it  to  make  room  for  the  refuse 


JOHN   S.    ROCK.  269 

population  of  Europe?  Or  why  is  it  that  the  white 
people  of  this  country  desire  to  get  rid  of  us  ?  Does 
any  one  pretend  to  deny  that  this  is  our  country  ?  or 
that  much  of  its  wealth  and  prosperity  is  the  result 
of  the  labor  of  our  hands?  or  that  our  blood  and  bones 
have  crimsoned  and  whitened  every  battle-field  from 
Maine  to  Louisiana?  '  Why  this  desire  to  get  rid  of 
us?  Can  it  be  possible  that  because  the  nation  has 
robbed  us  for  more  than  two  centuries,  and  now  finds 
that  she  can  do  it  no  longer  and  preserve  a  good 
character  among  the  nations,  she,  out  of  hatred,  wishes 
to  banish,  because  she  cannot  continue  to  rob,  us  ?  Or 
why  is  it  ?  I  will  tell  you.  The  free  people  of  color 
have  succeeded  in  spite  of  every  thing ;  and  we  are  to- 
day a  living  refutation  of  that  shameless  assertion  that 
we  cannot  take  care  of  ourselves.  Abject  as  our  con- 
dition has  been,  our  whole  lives  prove  .us  to  be  superior 
to  the  influences  that  have  been  brought  to  bear  upon 
us  to  crush  us.  This  cannot  be  said  of  your  race  when 
it  was  oppressed  and  enslaved.  Another  reason  is, 
this  nation  has  wronged  us;  therefore  many  hate  us. 
The  Spanish  proverb  is,  i  Since  I  have  wronged  you 
I  have  never  liked  you.'  This  is  true  of  every  class 
of  people.  When  a  man  wrongs  another,  he  not  only 
hates  him,  but  tries  to  make  others  dislike  him.  Un- 
natural as  this  may  appear,  it  is  nevertheless  true. 
You  may  help  a  man  during  his  lifetime,  and  he  will 
speak  well  of  you  ;  but  your  first  refusal  will  incur  his 
displeasure,  and  show  you  his  ingratitude.  When  he 
has  got  all  he  can  from  you,  he  has  no  further  use 
for  you.  When  the  orange  is  squeezed,  we  throw  it 
aside.  The  black  man  is  a  good  fellow  while  he  is  a 
slave,  and  toils  for  nothing ;  but  the  moment  he  claims 
23* 


270      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

his  own  flesh  and  blood  and  bones,  he  is  a  most  obnox- 
ious creature,  and  there  is  a  proposition  to  get  rid  of 
him.  He  is  happy  while  he  remains  a  poor,  degraded, 
ignorant  slave,  without  even  the  right  to  his  own  off- 
spring. While  in  this  condition  the  master  can  ride 
in  the  same  carriage,  sleep  in  the  same  bed,  and  nurse 
from  the  same  bosom.  But  give  this  slave  the  right 
to  use  his  own  legs,  his  hands,  his  body,  and  his  mind, 
and  this  happy  and  desirable  creature  is  instantly 
transformed  into  a  most  loathsome  wretch,  fit  only 
to  be  colonized  somewhere  near  the  mountains  of  the 
moon,  or  eternally  banished  from  civilized  beings ! 
You  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  it  is  the  eman- 
cipated slave  and  the  free  colored  man  that  it  is 
proposed  to  remove  —  not  the  slave.  This  country  is 
perfectly  adapted  to  negro  slavery ;  it  is  the  free  blacks 
that  the  air  is  not  good  for !  What  an  idea  !  a  country 
good  for  slavery  and  not  good  for  freedom !  This 
monstrous  idea  would  be  scorned  by  even  a  Fejee 
Islander." 

As  a  public  speaker  Mr.  Rock  stands  deservedly 
high;  his  discourses  being  generally  of  an  elevated 
tone,  and  logically  put  together.  As  a  member  of 
the  Boston  bar,  he  has  thus  far  succeeded  well,  and 
bids  fair  to  obtain  his  share  of  public  patronage.  In 
personal  appearance  Mr.  Rock  is  tall  and  of  good 
figure,  with  a  thoughtful  countenance,  and  a  look  that 
indicates  the  student.  In  color  he  is  what  is  termed  a 
grief,  about  one  remove  from  the  negro.  By  his  own 
color  he  has  long  been  regarded  as  a  representative 
man. 


WILLIAM  DOUGLASS.  271 


WILLIAM    DOUGLASS. 

WILLIAM  DOUGLASS  was  a  clergyman  of  the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  denomination,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  was  rector  of  St.  Thomas  Church,  Philadelphia. 
We  met  Mr.  Douglass  in  England  in  1852,  and  be- 
came impressed  with  the  belief  that  he  was  no  ordinary 
man.  He  had  a  finished  education,  being  well  versed 
in  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew.  He  possessed  large  and 
philanthropic  views,  but  was  extremely  diffident,  which 
gave  one  the  opinion  that  he  was  a  man  of  small  abil- 
ity. Being  in  Philadelphia  in  the  spring  of  1860,  we 
attended  the  morning  service  at  his  church.  When 
the  preacher  made  his  appearance,  all  eyes  were  turned 
to  the  pulpit.  His  figure  was  prepossessing  —  a  great 
thing  in  a  public  speaker.  Weak,  stunted,  deformed- 
looking  men  labor  under  much  disadvantage.  Mr. 
Douglass  had  a  commanding  look,  a  clear,  musical 
voice,  and  was  a  splendid  reader.  He  was  no  dull 
drone  when  the  service  was  over  and  the  sermon  had 
commenced.  With  downcast  eye  he  read  no  moral 
essay  that  touched  no  conscience  and  fired  no'  heart. 
On  the  contrary,  he  was  spirited  in  the  pulpit.  He 
looked  his  congregation  in  the  face  ;  he  directed  his 
discourse  to  them.  He  took  care  that  not  a  single 
word  should  lose  its  aim.  No  one  fell  asleep  while 
he  was  speaking,  but  all  seemed  intensely  interested 
in  the  subject  in  hand.  Mr.  Douglass  was  a  general 
favorite  with  the  people  of  his  own  city,  and  especially 
the  members  of  his  society.  He  was  a  talented  writer, 
and  published,  a  few  years  ago,  a  volume  of  sermons, 


272      THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

which  are  filled  with  gems  of  thought  and  original 
ideas.  A  feeling  of  deep  piety  and  humanity  runs 
through  the  entire  book.  Mr.  Douglass  was  of  un- 
mixed blood,  gentlemanly  in  his  manners,  chaste  in 
conversation,  and  social  in  private  life.  Though  not 
active  in  public  affairs,  he  was,  nevertheless,  interested 
in  all  that  concerned  the  freedom  and  elevation  of  his 
race.  He  visited  England  and  the  West  Indies  some 
years  ago,  and  had  an  extensive  acquaintance  beyond 
the  limits  of  his  own  country.  Mr.  Douglass  was  re- 
spected and  esteemed  by  the  white  clergy  of  Philadel- 
phia, who  were  forced  to  acknowledge  his  splendid 
abilities. 


ELYMAS     PAYSON     ROGERS. 

E.  P.  ROGERS,  a  clergyman  of  the  Presbyterian  order, 
and  pastor  of  a  church  at  Newark,  New  Jersey,  was  a 
man  of  education,  research,  and  literary  ability.  He 
was  not  a  fluent  and  easy  speaker,  but  he  was  logical, 
and  spoke  with  a  degree  of  refinement  seldom  met 
with.  ;  He  possessed  poetical  genius  of  no  mean  order, 
and  his  poem  on  the  "  Missouri  Compromise,"  which 
he  read  in  many  of  the  New  England  cities  and  towns 
in  1856,  contains  brilliant  thoughts  and  amusing  sug- 
gestions. The  following  on  Truth  is  not  without 
point :  — 

"  When  Truth  is  girded  for  the  fight, 
And  draws  her  weapons  keen  and  bright, 
And  lifts  aloft  her  burnished  shield, 
Her  godlike  influence  to  wield, 


ELYMAS  PAYSON  ROGERS.  273 

If  victory  in  that  self-same  hour 
Is  not  accomplished  by  her  power, 
She'll  not  retreat  nor  flee  away, 
But  win  the  field  another  day. 
She  will  with  majesty  arise, 
Seize  her  traducers  by  surprise, 
And  by  her  overwhelming  might 
Will  put  her  deadly  foes  to  flight." 

The  allusion  to  the  threat  of  the  south  against  the 
north  is  a  happy  one,  in  connection  with  the  rebellion. 

"  I'll  show  my  power  the  country  through, 
And  will  the  factious  north  subdue ; 
And  Massachusetts  shall  obey, 
And  yield  to  my  increasing  sway. 
She  counts  her  patriotic  deeds, 
But  scatters  her  disunion  seeds ; 
She  proudly  tells  us  of  the  tea 
Sunk  by  her  worthies  in  the  sea, 
And  then  she  talks  more  proudly  still 
Of  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill ; 
But  on  that  hill,  o'er  patriots'  graves, 
I'll  yet  enroll  my  negro  slaves. 
I  may  have  trouble,  it  is  true, 
But  still  I'll  put  the  rebels  through, 
And  make  her  statesmen  bow  the  knee, 
Yield  to  my  claims,  and  honor  me. 
And  though  among  them  I  shall  find 
The  learned,  the  brilliant,  and  reiined, 
If  on  me  they  shall  e'er  reflect, 
No  senate  chamber  shall  protect 
Their  guilty  pates  and  heated  brains, 
From  hideous  gutta  percha  canes." 


274      THE   BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

The  election  of  N.  P.  Banks,  as  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  is  mentioned  in  the  suc- 
ceeding lines:  — 

"  But  recently  the  north  drove  back 
The  southern  tyrants  from  the  track, 
And  put  to  flight  their  boasting  ranks, 
And  gave  the  speaker's  chair  to  Banks." 

Mr.  Rogers  was  of  unmixed  race,  genteel  in  appear- 
ance, forehead  large  and  well  developed',  fine  figure, 
and  pleasing  in  his  manners.  Anxious  to  benefit  his 
race,  he  visited  Africa  in  1861,  was  attacked  with  the 
fever,  and  died  in  a  few  days.  No  man  was  more  re- 
spected by  all  classes  than  he.  His  genial  influence 
did  much  to  soften  down  the  pro-slavery  feeling  which 
existed  in  the  city  where  he  resided. 


J.     THEODORE     HOLLY. 

IF  there  is  any  man  living  who  is  more  devoted 
to  the  idea  of  a  "  Negro  Nationality "  than  Dr.  De- 
lany,  that  man  is  J.  Theodore  Holly.  Possessing  a 
good  education,  a  retentive  memory,  and  being  of  stu- 
dious habits,  Mr.  Holly  has  brought  himself  up  to  a 
point  of  culture  not  often  attained  by  men  even  in  the 
higher  walks  of  life.  Unadulterated  in  race,  devot- 
edly attached  to  Africa  and  her  descendants,  he  has 
made  a  "  Negro  Nationality  "  a  matter  of  much  thought 
and  study.  He  paid  a  visit  to  Hayti  in  1858  or  1859, 
returned  home,  and  afterwards  preached,  lectured,  and 


J.  THEODORE  HOLLY.  275 

wrote  in  favor  of  Haytian  emigration.  In  concluding 
a  long  essay  on  this  subject,  in  the  Anglo-African 
Magazine,  he  says, — 

"  From  these  thoughts  it  will  be  seen  that  whatso- 
ever is  to  be  the  future  destiny  of  the  descendants  of 
Africa,  Hayti  certainly  holds  the  most  important  rela- 
tion to  that  destiny.  And  if  we  were  to  be  reduced 
to  the  dread  alternative  of  having  her  historic  fame 
blotted  out  of  existence,  or  that  celebrity  which  may 
have  been  acquired  elsewhere  by  all  the  rest  of  our 
race  combined,  we  should  say,  Preserve  the  name,  the 
fame,  and  the  sovereign  existence  of  Hayti,  though 
every  thing  else  shall  perish.  Yes,  let  Britain  and 
France  undermine,  if  they  will,  the  enfranchisement 
which  they  gave  to  their  West  Indian  slaves,  by  their 
present  apprenticeship  system  ;  let  the  lone  star  of  Li- 
beria, placed  in  the  firmament  of  nationalities  by  a 
questionable  system  of  American  philanthropy,  go  out 
in  darkness  ;  let  the  opening  resources  of  Central 
Africa  be  again  shut  up  in  their  wonted  seclusion  ;  let 
the  names  and  deeds  of  our  Nat  Turners,  Denmark 
Yeseys,  Penningtons,  Delanys,  Douglasses,  and  Smiths 
be  forgotten  forever ;  but  never  let  the  self-emancipat- 
ing deeds  of  the  Haytian  people  be  effaced ;  never  let 
her  heroically  achieved  nationality  be  brought  low  ;  no, 
never  let  the  names  of  her  Toussaint,  her  Dessalines, 
her  Rigaud,  her  Christophe,  and  her  Petion  be  forgot- 
ten, or  blotted  out  from  the  historic  pages  of  the  world's 
history." 

/  Mr.  Holly  is  a  clergyman  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
order,  and  for  several  years  was  pastor  of  a  church  at 
New  Haven,  Connecticut,  where  he  sustained  the  repu- 
tation of  being  an  interesting  and  eloquent  preacher. 


276      THE   BLACK   MAN'S  GENIUS   AND    ACHIEVEMENTS. 

His  reading  is  at  times  rapid,  yet  clear  and  emphatic. 
He  seems  to  aim  more  at  what  he  says  than  how  he 
says  it ;  and  if  you  listen,  you  will  find  food  for  thought 
in  every  phrase.  As  a  writer  he  is  forcible  and  argu- 
mentative, but  never  dull.  In  person,  Mr.  Holly  is  of 
the  ordinary  size,  has  a  bright  eye,  agreeable  counte- 
nance, form  erect,  voice  clear  and  mellow.  He  uses 
good  language,  is  precise  in  his  manners,  and  wears 
the  air  of  a  gentleman.  Infatuated  with  the  idea  of  a 
home  in  Hayti,  he  raised  a  colony  and  sailed  for  Port 
au  Prince  in  the  spring  of  1861.  He  was  unfortunate 
in  the  selection  of  a  location,  and  the  most  of  those 
who  went  out  with  him,  including  his  own  family,  died 
during  their  first  six  months  on  the  island.  Mr.  Holly 
has  recently  returned  to  the  United  States.  Whether 
he  intends  to  remain  or  not,  we  are  not  informed. 


JAMES   W.   C.   PENNINGTON.  • 

DR.  PENNINGTON  was  born  a  slave  on  the  farm  of 
Colonel  Gordon,  in  the  State  of  Maryland.  His  early 
life  was  not  unlike  the  common  lot  of  the  bondmen  of 
the  Middle  States.  He  was  by  trade  a  blacksmith,  which 
increased  his  value  to  his  owner.  He  had  no  oppor- 
tunities for  learning,  and  was  ignorant  of  letters  when 
he  made  his  escape  to  the  north.  Through  intense 
application  to  books,  he  gained,  as  far  as  it  was  possible, 
what  slavery  had  deprived  him  of  in  his  younger  days. 
But  he  always  felt  the  early  blight  upon  his  soul. 

Dr.  Pennington  had  not  been  free  long  ere  he  turned 
his  attention  to  theology,  and  became  an  efficient 


JAMES  W.   C.  PENNINGTON.  277 

preacher  in  the  Presbyterian  denomination.  He  was 
several  years  settled  over  a  church  at  Hartford,  Conn. 
He  has  been  in  Europe  three  times,  his  second  visit 
being  the  most  important,  as  he  remained  there  three 
or  four  years,  preaching  and  lecturing,  during  which 
time  he  attended  the  Peace  Congresses  held  at  Paris, 
Brussels,  and  London.  While  in  Germany,  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  University  of  Heidelberg.  On  his  return  to 
the  United  States  he  received  a  call,  and  was  settled 
as  pastor  over  Shiloh  Church,  New  York  city. 

The  doctor  has  been  a  good  student,  is  a  ripe  schol- 
ar, and  is  deeply  versed  in  theology.  While  at  Paris, 
in  1849,  we,  with  the  American  and  English  delegates 
to  the  Peace  Congress,  attended  divine  service  at  the 
Protestant  Church,  where  Dr.  Pennington  had  been 
invited  to  preach.  His  sermon  on  that  occasion  was 
an  eloquent  production,  made  a  marked  impression  on 
his  hearers,  and  created  upon  the  minds  of  all  a  more 
elevated  idea  of  the  abilities  of  the  negro.  In  past 
years  he  has  labored  zealously  and  successfully  for  the 
education  and  moral,  social,  and  religious  elevation  of 
his  race.  The  doctor  is  unadulterated  in  blood,  with 
strongly-marked  African  features  ;  in  stature  he  is  of 
the  common  size,  slightly  inclined  to  corpulency,  with 
an  athletic  frame  and  a  good  constitution.  The  fact 
that  Dr.  Pennington  is  considered  a  good  Greek,  Lat- 
in, and  German  scholar,  although  his  early  life  was 
spent  in  slavery,  is  not  more  strange  than  that  Henry 
Diaz,  the  black  commander  in  Brazil,  is  extolled  in  all 
the  histories  of  that  country  as  one  of  the  most  saga- 
cious and  talented  men  and  experienced  officers  of 
whom  they  could  boast ;  nor  that  Hannibal,  an  African, 
24 


278      THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

gained  by  his  own  exertion  a  good  education,  and 
rose  to  be  a  lieutenant-general  and  director  of  ar- 
tillery under  Peter  the  Great ;  nor  that  Don  Juan  La- 
tino, a  negro,  became  teacher  of  the  Latin  language  at 
Seville  ;  nor  that  Anthony  William  Amo,  a  native  of 
Guinea,  took  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  at  the 
University  of  Wittemburg  ;  nor  that  James  J.  Capetein, 
fresh  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  became  master  of  the 
Latin, Greek, Hebrew,  and  Chaldaic  languages;  nor  that 
James  Derham,  an  imported  negro,  should,  by  his  own 
genius  and  energy,  be  considered  one  of  the  ablest  phy- 
sicians in  New  Orleans,  and  of  whom  Dr.  Hush  says,  "  I 
found  him  very  learned.  I  thought  I  could  give  him 
information  concerning  the  treatment  of  diseases  ;  but  I 
learned  more  from  him  than  he  could  expect  from  me." 
We  might  easily  extend  the  catalogue,  for  we  have 
abundant  materials.  Blumenbach  boldly  affirms  of  the 
negro,  "  There  is  no  savage  people  who  have  distin- 
guished themselves  by  such  examples  of  perfectibility 
and  capacity  for  scientific 'cultivation." 


A    MAN    WITHOUT    A   NAME. 

IT  was  in  the  month  of  December,  1852,  while  Colo- 
nel Bice  and  family  were  seated  around  a  bright  wood 
fire,  whose  blaze  lighted  up  the  large  dining  room  in 
their  old  mansion,  situated  ten  miles  from  Dayton,  in 
the  State  of  Ohio,  that  they  heard  a  knock  at  the  door, 
which  was  answered  by  the  familiar  "  Come  in  "  that 
always  greets  the  stranger  in  the  Western  States. 
Squire  Loomis  walked  in  and  took  a  seat  on  one  of 


A  MAN  WITHOUT  A  NAME.  279 

the  three  rocking-chairs,  which  had  been  made  vacant 
by  the  young  folks,  who  rose  to  give  place  to  their 
highly  influential  and  wealthy  neighbor.  It  was  a 
beautiful  night ;  the  sky  was  clear,  the  wind  had 
hushed  its  deep  meanings,  the  most  brilliant  of  the 
starry  throng  stood  out  in  bold  relief,  despite  the  supe- 
rior light  of  the  moon.  "  I  see  some  one  standing  at 
the  gate,"  said  Mrs.  Rice,  as  she  left  the  window  and 
came  nearer  the  fire.  "  I'll  go  out  and  see  who  it  is," 
exclaimed  George,  as  he  quitted  his  chair  and  started 
for  the  door.  The  latter  soon  returned  and  whispered 
to  his  father,  and  both  left  the  room,  evincing  that 
something  unusual  was  at  hand.  Not  many  minutes 
elapsed,  however,  before  the  father  and  son  entered, 
accompanied  by  a  young  man,  whose  complexion 
showed  plainly  that  other  than  Anglo-Saxon  blood 
coursed  through  his  veins.  The  whole  company  rose, 
and  the  stranger  was  invited  to  draw  near  to  the  fire. 
Question  after  question  was  now  pressed  upon  the 
new-comer  by  the  colonel  and  the  squire,  but  without 
eliciting  satisfactory  replies. 

"  You  need  not  be  afraid,  my  friend,"  said  the  host, 
as  he  looked  intently  in  the  colored  man's  face,  "  to 
tell  where  you  are  from  and  to  what  place  you  are 
going.  If  you  are  a  fugitive,  as  I  suspect,  give  us 
your  story,  and  we  will  protect  and  defend  you  to  the 
last." 

Taking  courage  from  these  kind  remarks,  the  mu- 
latto said,  "  I  was  born,  sir,  in  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  raised  in  Missouri.  My  master  was  my 
father  ;  my  mother  was  his  slave.  That,  sir,  accounts 
for  the  fairness  of  my  complexion.  As  soon  as  I  was 
old  enough  to  labor  I  was  taken  into  my  master's 


280      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

dwelling  as  a  servant,  to  attend  upon  the  family.  My 
mistress,  aware  of  my  near  relationship  to  her  hus- 
band, felt  humiliated,  and  often  in  her  anger  would 
punish  me  severely  for  no  cause  whatever.  My  near 
approach  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  aroused  the  jealousy  and 
hatred  of  the  overseer,  and  he  flogged  me,  as  he  said, 
to  make  me  know  my  place.  My  fellow-slaves  hated 
me  because  I  was  whiter  than  "themselves.  Thus  my 
complexion  was  construed  into  a  crime,  and  I  was 
made  to  curse  my  father  for  the  Anglo-Saxon  blood 
that  courses  through  my  veins. 

"  My  master  raised  slaves  to  supply  the  southern 
market,  and  every  year  some  of  my  companions  were 
sold  to  the  slave-traders  and  taken  farther  south. 
Husbands  were  separated  from  their  wives,  and  chil- 
dren torn  from  the  arms  of  their  agonizing  mothers. 
These  outrages  were  committed  by  the  man  whom  na- 
ture compelled  me  to  look  upon  as  my  father.  My 
mother  and  brothers  were  sold  and  taken  away  from 
me ;  still  I  bore  all,  and  made  no  attempt  to  escape, 
for  I  yet  had  near  me  an  only  sister,  whom  I  dearly 
loved.  At  last,  the  negro  driver  attempted  to  rob  my 
sister  of  her  virtue.  She  appealed  to  me  for  protec- 
tion. Her  innocence,  beauty,  and  tears  were  enough 
to  stir  the  stoutest  heart.  My  own,  filled  with  grief 
and  indignation,  swelled  within  me  as  though  it  would 
burst  or  leap  from  my  bosom.  My  tears  refused  to 
flow :  the  fever  in  my  brain  dried  them  up.  I  could 
stand  it  no  longer.  I  seized  the  wretch  by  the  throat, 
and  hurled  him  to  the  ground ;  and  with  this  strong 
arm  I  paid  him  for  old  and  new.  The  next  day  I  was 
tried  by  a  jury  of  slaveholders  for  the  crime  of  having 
within  me  the  heart  of  a  man,  and  protecting  my  sister 


A  MAN  WITHOUT  A  NAME.  281 

from  the  licentious  embrace  of  a  libertine.  And  — 
would  you  believe  it,  sir? — that  jury  of  enlightened 
Americans, — yes,  sir,  Christian  Americans, —  after 
grave  deliberation,  decided  that  I  had  broken  the  laws, 
and  sentenced  me  to  receive  five  hundred  lashes  upon 
my  bare  back.  But,  sir,  I  escaped  from  them  the  night 
before  I  was  to  have  been  flogged. 

"  Afraid  of  being  arrested  and  taken  back,  I  re- 
mained the  following  day  hid  away  in  a  secluded  spot 
on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  River,  protected  from 
the  gaze  of  man  by  the  large  trees  and  thick  cane- 
brakes  that  sheltered  me.  I  waited  for  the  coming  of 
another  night.  All  was  silence  around  me,  save  the 
sweet  chant  of  the  feathered  songsters  in  the  forest,  or 
the  musical  ripple  of  the  eddying  waters  at  my  feet.  I 
watched  the  majestic  bluffs  as  they  gradually  faded 
away,  through  the  gray  twilight,  from  the  face  of  day 
into  the  darker  shades  of  night.  I  then  turned  to  the 
rising  moon  as  it  peered  above,  ascending  the  deep 
blue  ether,  high  in  the  heavens,  casting  its  mellow  rays 
over  the  surrounding  landscape,  and  gilding  the  smooth 
surface  of  the  noble  river  with  its  silvery  hue.  I  viewed 
with  interest  the  stars  as  they  appeared,  one  after  an- 
other, in  the  firmament.  It  was  then  and  there  that  I 
studied  nature  in  its  lonely  grandeur,  and  saw  in  it  the 
goodness  of  God,  and  felt  that  He  who  created  so 
much  beauty,  and  permitted  the  fowls  of  the  air  and 
the  beasts  of  the  field  to  roam  at  large  and  be  free, 
never  intended  that  man  should  be  the  slave  of  his  fel- 
low-man. I  resolved  that  I  would  be  a  bondman  no 
longer ;  and,  taking  for  my  guide  the  north  star,  I 
started  for  Canada,  the  negro's  land  of  liberty.  For 
many  weeks  I  travelled  by  night,  and  lay  by  during 
•24* 


the  day.  0,  how  often,  while  hid  away  in  the  forest, 
waiting  for  nightfall,  have  I  thought  of  the  beautiful 
lines  I  once  heard  a  stranger  recite :  — 

1  O,  hail  Columbia  !  happy  land  ! 

The  cradle  land  of  liberty ! 
"Where  none  but  negroes  bear  the  brand, 
Or  feel  the  lash  of  slavery. 

'  Then  let  the  glorious  anthem  peal, 

And  drown  "Britannia  rules  the  waves:  " 
Strike  up  the  song  that  men  can  feel  — 
"  Columbia  rules  four  million  slaves!  "  ' 

"  At  last  I  arrived  at  a  depot  of  the  Underground 
Railroad,  took  the  express  train,  and  here  I  am." 

"  You  are  welcome,"  said  Colonel  Rice,  as  he  rose 
from  his  chair,  walked  to  the  window  and  looked  out, 
as  if  apprehensive  that  the  fugitive's  pursuers  were 
near  by.  "  You  are  welcome,"  continued  he  ;  "  and  I 
will  aid  you  on  your  way  to  Canada,  for  you  are  not 
safe  here." 

"  Are  you  not  afraid  of  breaking  the  laws  by  assist- 
ing this  man  to  escape  ?  "  remarked  Squire  Loomis. 

"  I  care  not  for  laws  when  they  stand  in  the  way  of 
humanity,"  replied  the  colonel. 

"  If  you  aid  him  in  reaching  Canada,  and  we  should 
ever  have  a  war  with  England,  may  be  he'll  take  up 
arms  and  fight  against  his  own  country,"  said  the  squire. 

The  fugitive  eyed  the  law-abiding  man  attentively 
for  a  moment,  and  then  exclaimed,  "  Take  up  arms 
against  my  country  ?  What  country,  sir,  have  I  ?  The 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  the  laws  of 
the  south,  doom  me  to  be  the  slave  of  another.  There 
is  not  a  foot  of  soil  over  which  the  stars  and  stripes 


A   MAN    WITHOUT   A   NAME.  283 

wave,  where  I  can  stand  and  be  protected  by  law. 
I've  seen  my  mother  sold  in  the  cattle  market.  I 
looked  upon  my  brothers  as  they  were  driven  away  in 
chains  by  the  slave  speculator.  The  heavy  negro  whip 
has  been  applied  to  my  own  shoulders  until  its  biting 
lash  sunk  deep  into  my  quivering  flesh.  Still,  sir,  you 
call  this  my  country.  True,  true,  I  was  born  in  this 
land.  My  grandfather  fought  in  the  revolutionary 
war ;  my  own  father  was  in  the  war  of  1812.  Still, 
sir,  I  am  a  slave,  a  chattel,  a  thing,  a  piece  of  property. 
I've  been  sold  in  the  market  with  horses  and  swine ; 
the  initials  of  my  master's  name  are  branded  deep  in 
this  arm.  Still,  sir,  you  call  this  my  country.  And, 
now  that  I  am  making  my  escape,  you  feel  afraid, 
if  I  reach  Canada,  and  there  should  be  war  with  Eng- 
land, that  I  will  take  up  arms  against  my  own  coun- 
try. Sir,  I  have  no  country  but  the  grave  ;  and  I'll 
seek  freedom  there  before  I  will  again  be  taken  back 
to  slavery.  There  is  no  justice  for  me  at  the  south  ; 
every  right  of  my  race  is  trampled  in  the  dust,  until 
humanity  bleeds  at  every  pore.  I  am  bound  for  Can- 
ada, and  woe  to  him  that  shall  attempt  to  arrest  me. 
If  it  comes  to  the  worst,  I  will  die  fighting  for  free- 
dom." 

"  I  honor  you  for  your  courage,"  exclaimed  Squire 
Loomis,  as  he  sprang  from  his  seat,  and  walked  rapidly 
to  and  fro  through  the  room.  "  It  is  too  bad,"  contin- 
ued he,  "  that  such  men  should  be  enslaved  in  a  land 
whose  Declaration  of  Independence  proclaims  all  men 
to  be  free  and  equal.  I  will  aid  you  in  any  thing 
that  I  can.  What  is  your  name  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  name,"  said  the  fugitive.  "  I  once  had 
a  name, — it  was  William, — but  my  master's  nephew 


284     THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

came  to  live  with  him,  and  as  I  was  a  house  servant, 
and  the  young  master  and  I  would,  at  times,  get  con- 
fused in  the  same  name,  orders  were  given  for  me  to 
change  mine.  From  that  moment,  I  resolved  that,  as 
slavery  had  robbed  me  of  my  liberty  and  my  name,  I 
would  not  attempt  to  have  another  till  I  was  free.  So, 
sir,  for  once  you  have  a  man  standing  before  you  with- 
out a  name." 


SAMUEL     R.     WARD. 

FEW  public  speakers  exercised  greater  influence  in 
the  pulpit  and  on  the  platform,  in  behalf  of  human 
freedom,  than  did  Samuel  R.  Ward,  in  the  early  days  of 
abolition  agitation.  From  1840  up  to  the  passage  of  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law,  in  1850,  he  either  preached  or  lec- 
tured in  every  church,  hall,  or  school  house  in  Western 
and  Central  New  York.  Endowed  with  superior  mental 
powers,  and  having,  through  the  aid  of  Hon.  Gerrit 
Smith,  obtained  a  good  education,  and  being  a  close 
student,  Mr.  Ward's  intellectual  faculties  are  well  de- 
veloped. He  was,  for  several  'years,  settled  over  a 
white  congregation,  of  the  Presbyterian  order,  at  South 
Butler,  N.  Y.,  where  he  preached  with  great  accept- 
ance, and  was  highly  respected.  As  a  speaker,  he  was 
justly  held  up  as  one  of  the  ablest  men,  white  or  black, 
in  the  United  States.  The  first  time  we  ever  heard 
him,  (in  1842,)  he  was  announced  in  the  advertisement 
as  "  the  black  Daniel  Webster."  Standing  above  six 
feet  in  height,  possessing  a  strong  voice,  and  energetic 
in  his  gestures,  Mr.  Ward  always  impressed  his  highly 
finished  and  logical  speeches  upon  his  hearers.  No 


SAMUEL   R.    WARD.  285 

detractor  of  the  negro's  abilities  ever  attributed  his  tal- 
ents to  his  having  Anglo-Saxon  blood  in  his  veins.  As 
a  black  man,  Mr.  Ward  was  never  ashamed  of  his  com- 
plexion, but  rather  appeared  to  feel  proud  of  it.  When 
Captain  Rynders  and  his  followers  took  possession 
of  the  platform  of  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society, 
at  their  anniversary,  in  New  York,  in  the  spring  of 
1852,  Frederick  Douglass  rose  to  defend  the  rights  of 
the  Association  and  the  liberty  of  speech.  Rynders 
objected  to  the  speaker  upon  the  ground  that  he  was 
not  a  negro,  but  half  white.  Ward,  being  present, 
came  forward,  amid  great  applause,  and  the  rowdy 
leader  had  to  "  knock  under,"  and  confess  that  gen- 
uine eloquence  was  not  confined  to  the  white  man. 
William  J.  Wilson  says  of  Ward,  "  Ideas  form  the  ba- 
sis of  all  Mr.  Ward  utters.  If  words  and  ideas  are  not 
inseparable,  then,  as  mortar  is  to  the  stones  that  com- 
pose the  building,  so  are  his  words  to  his  ideas.  In 
this,  I  judge,  lies  Mr:  Ward's  greatest  strength.  Con- 
cise without  abruptness  ;  without  extraordinary  stress, 
always  clear  and  forcible  ;  if  sparing  of  ornament,  never 
inelegant,  —  in  all,  there  appears  a  consciousness  of 
strength,  developed  by  close  study  and  deep  reflection, 
and  only  put  forth  because  the  occasion  demands  it. 
His  appeals  are  directed  rather  to  the  understanding 
than  the  imagination  ;  but  so  forcibly  do  they  take 
possession  of  it,  that  the  heart  unhesitatingly  yields." 
Mr.  Ward  visited  England  in  1852,  where  he  was 
regarded  as  an  eloquent'  advocate  of  the  rights  of  his 
race.  He  now  resides  at  Kingston,  Jamaica. 


286      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 


SIR    EDWARD     JORDAN. 

EDWARD  JORDAN  was  born  in  Kingston,  Jamaica,  in 
the  year  1798.  After  quitting  school  he  entered  a 
clothing  store  as  a  clerk  ;  but  his  deep  hatred  to  slavery, 
and  the  political  and  social  outrages  committed  upon 
the  free  colored  men,  preyed  upon  his  mind  to  such  an 
extent  that,  in  1826,  he  associated  himself  with  Robert 
Osborn,  in  the  publication  of  The  Watchman,  a  weekly 
newspaper  devoted  to  the  freedom  and  enfranchisement 
of  the  people  of  color.  His  journal  was  conducted 
with  marked  ability,  and  Mr.  Jordan  soon  began  to 
wield  a  tremendous  influence  against  the  slave  power. 
While  absent  from  his  editorial  duties,  in  1830,  an  ar- 
ticle appeared  in  The  Watchman,  upon  which  its  editor 
was  indicted  for  constructive  treason.  He  was  at  once 
arrested,  placed  in  the  dock,  and  arraigned  for  trial. 
He  pleaded  "  not  guilty,"  and  asked  for  time  to  pre- 
pare for  his  defence.  The  plea  was  allowed,  and  the 
case  was  traversed  to  the  next  court.  The  trial  came 
on  at  the  appointed  time  ;  the  jury  was  packed,  for  the 
pro-slavery  element  had  determined  on  the  conviction 
of  the  distinguished  advocate  of  liberty.  The  whole 
city  appeared  to  be  lost  to  every  thing  but  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  assize.  It  was  feared,  that,  if  convicted,  a 
riot  would  be  the  result,  and  the  authorities  prepared 
for  this.  A  vessel  of  war  was  brought  up  abreast  of 
the  city,  the  guns  of  which  were  pointed  up  one  of  the 
principal  streets,  and  at  almost  every  avenue  leading 
to  the  sea,  a  merchant  vessel  was  moored,  armed  at 
least  with  one  great  gun,  pointing  in  a  similar  direc- 


SIR  EDWARD  JORDAN.  287 

tion,  to  rake  the  streets  from  bottom  to  top.  A  detach- 
ment of  soldiers  was  kept  under  arms,  with  orders  to 
be  ready  for  action  at  a  moment's  warning.  The  offi- 
cers of  the  court,  including  the  judge,  entered  upon 
their  duties,  armed  with  pistols;  and  the  sheriff  was 
instructed  to  shoot  the  prisoner  in  the  dock  if  a  rescue 
was  attempted.  If  convicted,  Mr.  Jordan's  punish- 
ment was  to  be  death.  Happily  for  all,  the  verdict 
was  "  not  guilty."  The  acquittal  of  the  editor  of 
The  Watchman  carried  disappointment  and  dismay 
into  the  ranks  of  the  slave  oligarchy,  while  it  gave  a 
new  impetus  to  the  anti-slavery  cause,  both  in  Jamaica 
and  in  Great  Britain,  and  which  culminated  in  the 
abolition  of  slavery  on  the  1st  of  August,  1834.  The 
following  year,  Mr.  Jordan  was  elected  member  of  the 
Assembly  for  the  city  of  Kingston,  which  he  still 
represents.  About  this  time,  The  Watchman  was 
converted  into  a  daily  paper,  under  the  title  of  The 
Morning  Journal,  still  in  existence,  and  owned  by 
Jordan  and  Osborn.  In  1853,  Mr.  Jordan  was  elected 
mayor  of  his  native  city  without  opposition,  which 
office  he  still  holds.  He  was  recently  chosen  premier 
of  the  island  and  president  of  the  privy  council. 

No  man  is  more  respected  in  the  Assembly  than  Mr. 
Jordan,  and  reform  measures  offered  by  him. are  often 
carried  through  the  house,  owing  to  the  respect  the 
members  have  for  the  introducer.  In  the  year  1860, 
the  honorable  gentleman  was  elevated  to  the  dignity 
of  knighthood  by  the  Queen.  Sir  Edward  Jordan  has 
ever  been  regarded  as  an  honest,  upright,  and  tem- 
perate man.  In  a  literary  point  of  view,  he  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  first  men  in  Jamaica. 

It  is  indeed  a  cheering  sign  for  the  negro  to  look 


288      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

at  one  of  his  race,  who,  a  few  years  ago,  was  tried  for 
his  life  in  a  city  in  which  he  is  now  the  chief  magis- 
trate, inspector  of  the  prison  in  which  he  was  once 
incarcerated,  and  occupying  a  seat  in  the  legislature  by 
the  side  of  the  white  man  who  ejected  him  from  his 
position  as  a  clerk,  on  account  of  his  color.  To  those 
who  say  that  the  two  races  cannot  live  in  peace  to- 
gether, we  point  to  the  Jamaica  Assembly,  with  more 
than  half  of  its  members  colored  ;  and  to  all  who  think 
that  the  negro  is  only  fit  for  servitude,  we  reply  by 
saying,  Look  at  Sir  Edward  Jordan. 


JOSEPH     CARTER. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of  the  city  of 
Bridgetown,  Barbadoes,  where  he  was  born  on  the  16th 
of  February,  1831.  At  the  early  age  of  eleven  years, 
he  was  apprenticed  to  William  Howell,  a  cabinet- 
maker of  his  native  place.  The  boy  showed  so  much 
genius  and  skill  even  at  this  tender  age.  that  he  ex- 
cited an  interest  in  his  behalf,  which  culminated  in  his 
becoming  the  ward  of  Miss  Hayes,  a  talented  lady,  of 
English  origin,  whose  guardianship  of  young  Carter 
did  much  to  pave  the  way  for  the  development  of  his 
hidden  powers.  In  his  seventeenth  year,  Joseph  came 
to  the  States  in  company  with  his  guardian,  and  settled 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  now  resides. 
Buoyant  with  hopes,  knowing  his  own  capacity,  and 
aspiring  in  his  nature,  the  young  man  went  forth  in 
search  of  employment,  little  dreaming  of  the  insur- 


JOSEPH   CARTER.  289 

mountable  prejudice  which  every  man  of  his  color  has 
to  meet  in  this  country,  and  more  especially  in  cities 
in  the  border  states.  In  vain  he  went  from  shop  to 
shop,  appealing  for  simple  justice,  feeling  confident 
that  if  once  in  employment,  he  could  keep  his  situation 
by  his  ability  as  a  workman.  Wherever  he  appeared 
before  a  manufacturer,  the  reply  was,  "  I  would  hire 
you  if  my  hands,  who  are  white,  would  not  leave  me." 
This  calls  to  mind  an  incident  that  was  related  to  me 
by  a  master  gilder  in  Sixth  Street,  Philadelphia,  a  few 
years  since.  I  had  stepped  into  his  place  to  purchase  a 
picture  frame,  when,  on  learning  that  I  was  from  Bos- 
ton, he  inquired  if  I  was  acquainted  with  Jacob  R. 
Andrews.  I  replied  that  I  was.  "  Then,"  said  he, 
"  do  you  see  that  bench  there?  "  "  Yes."  "  There  was 
where  he  learned  his  trade."  "  Was  he  apprenticed 
to  you  ?  "  I  inquired.  "  No,"  said  he  ;  "  he  came  to 
me,  wishing  to  learn  the  business ;  my  men  refused  to 
work  in  the  same  room  with  him,  although  he  was  as 
white  as  most  of  them.  So,  rather  than  turn  him 
away,  I  put  up  a  table  there,  and  set  him  to  work.  In 
a  short  time  he  was  able  to  turn  out  as  good  a  job  as 
any  man  in  the  establishment.  He  worked  for  me 
several  years,  and  I  must  say  that  I  never  had  a  better 
workman,  or  a  more  reliable  man  in  every  respect,  than 
he.  Andrews  often  waited  on  my  customers  in  my 
absence,  and,  whether  at  the  bench  at  work  or  behind 
the  counter,  he  was  always  the  gentleman."  I  was 
pleased  to  hear  so  favorable  an  account  of  Mr.  An- 
drews, for  I  had  formed  a  high  opinion  of  him,  both  as 
a  man  of  integrity  and  a  mechanic.  He  is  now  a 
flourishing  manufacturer  himself,  in  Beach  Street,  Bos- 
25 


ton,  where  he  can  count  among  his  patrons  some  of 
the  first  families  in  the  city.  Mr.  Carter,  therefore, 
had  energy  similar  to  Mr.  Andrews,  and  kept  applying 
till  he  obtained  work.  A  writer,  to  whom  I  am  in- 
debted for  the  early  history  of  my  subject,  says,  "  Two 
years  after  his  arrival  we  find  Carter  in  business,  man- 
ufacturing all  sorts  of  furniture,  from  a  pine  table  to 
the  rarest  cabinet.  In  1859  we  find  him  building 
organs  for  churches.  One  of  the  principal  churches 
in  this  city  (Philadelphia)  has  an  organ  manufactured 
by  him.  The  whole  work  is  done  by  his  own  hands ; 
the  rough  stuff  enters  his  establishment,  and  leaves.it 
a  perfect  specimen  of  art  and  ingenuity,  pure  and  mel- 
low in  tone,  and  polished,  and  carved,  and  elegantly 
finished.  Unlike  those  extensive  manufactories  having 
branches  and  departments  for  fashioning  the  various 
portions  of  such  instruments,  his  has  none.  You 
know  it  is  said  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  that  their 
sculpture  had  an  odd  and  awkward  appearance,  be- 
cause their  sculptors  never  chiselled  out  an  entire 
figure.  Some  made  the  arms,  some  the  legs,  some  the 
body,  some  the  head.  Perhaps  Mr.  Carter  has  the 
advantage  of  more  extensive  manufacturers  by  giving 
uniqueness  and  symmetry  to  his  instruments.  He  is 
now  making  a  very  large  one  to  order,  having  nine 
stops  and  pedals.  The  one  he  proposes  to  send  to  the 
Art  Exhibition  is  an  elaborately  finished  one  of  five 
stops  and  pedals,  of  walnut,  carved,  gothic  style,  and 
of  exceeding  richness  of  tone.  This  business  he  has 
taken  up  without  ever  receiving  an  hour's  instruction. 
He  was  imperceptibly  drawn  into  it  through  a  fondness 
for  music.  He  purchased  a  melodeon  for  his  own  use 


JAMES   LAWSON.  291 

and  amusement,  and  feeling  the  want  of  more  stops 
and  pedals,  set  about  the  work ;  and  this  attempt  not 
being  satisfactory,  he  built  an  organ  which  proved  to 
be  a  very  excellent  one." 


JAMES     LAWSON. 

JAMES  LAWSON  was  born  in  slavery  in  the  State  of 
Virginia,  where,  for  many  years,  he  was  the  chief  man 
on  his  master's  plantation  ;  and  when  the  rebellion 
broke  out,  the  rebel  owner  felt  sure,  from  James's  for- 
mer fidelity,  that  he  would  stand  by  him  in  that  con- 
test. So  confident  was  he  of  this,  that  he  sent  the 
chattel  to  an  important  military  station  with  the  fol- 
lowing recommendation :  "  You  may  trust  Jim  in 
any  way  that  you  can  use  him,  for  he  has  been  my 
slave  fourteen  years,  and  I  never  knew  him  to  deceive 
me  or  any  member  of  my  family.  Indeed,  I  have 
more  respect,  esteem,  and  good  feeling  for  him,  and 
more  confidence  in  his  integrity,  than  any  white  man 
of  my  acquaintance.  He  is  able  to  undertake  any 
affair,  of  either  great  or  small  importance." 

When  the  history  of  the  "  Slaveholders'  Rebellion  " 
shall  be  impartially  written,  it  will  be  found  that  no 
class  has  done  more  good  service  to  the  Union  cause, 
and  were  more  reliable  in  every  respect,  than  those 
who  had  formerly  been  slaves.  A  correspondent  of  the 
"  New  York  Times,"  writing  from  the  head-quarters  of 
the  army  of  the  Potomac,  July  29,  1862,  says,  "  Some 
of  the  most  valuable  information  McClellan  has  re- 


292      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

ceived  in  regard  to  the  position,  movements  and  plans 
of  the  enemy,  the  topography  of  the  country,  and  the 
inclination  of  certain  inhabitants,  has  been  obtained 
through  contrabands.  Even  spies  and  traitors  have 
been  detected,  and  brought  before  the  proper  author- 
ities, upon  evidence  furnished  by  this  much-abused, 
but  generally  loyal  class  of  people." 

Probably  no  ten  men  have  done  so  much  in  the  way 
of  giving  information  and  performing  daring  acts  in 
the  enemy's  immediate  locality,  as  James  Lawson.  At 
one  time  we  find  him  mounted  on  horseback,  riding 
with  the  commanding  general  arid  his  staff,  piloting 
the  Union  forces  through  the  enemy's  country,  and  at 
another  heading  a  scouting  party,  and  saving  them 
all  from  capture,  by  his  superior  knowledge  of  the 
district  through  which  they  travelled.  After  doing 
considerable  service  for  the  army,  "  Jim,"  as  he  was 
generally  called,  shipped  on  board  the  flag  gunboat 
Freeborn,  Lieutenant  Samuel  Magaw  commanding. 
An  officer  from  that  vessel  says  of  Jim,  "  He  furnished 
Captain  Magaw  with  much  valuable  intelligence  con- 
cerning the  rebel  movements,  and,  from  his  quiet, 
every-day  behavior,  soon  won  the  esteem  of  the  com- 
manding officer. 

"  Captain  Magaw,  shortly  after  Jim's  arrival  on  board 
the  Freeborn,  sent  him  upon  a  scoviting  tour  through 
the  rebel  fortifications,  more  to  test  his  reliability  than 
any  thing  else  ;  and  the  mission,  although  fraught 
with  great  danger,  was  executed  by  Jim  in  the  most 
faithful  manner.  Again  Jim  was  sent  into  Virginia, 
landing  at  the  White  House,  below  Mount  Vernon, 
and  going  into  the  interior  for  several  miles,  encoun- 


JAMES   LAWSON.  293 

tering  the  fire  of  picket  guards  and  posted  sentries, 
returned  in  safety  to  the  shore,  and  was  brought 
off  in  the  captain's  gig,  under  the  fire  of  the  rebel 
musketry. 

"  Jim  had  a  wife  and  four  children  at  that  time  still 
in  Virginia.  They  belonged  to  the  same  man  as  Jim 
did.  He  was  anxious  to  get  them  ;  yet  it  seemed  im- 
possible. One  day  in  January  Jim  came  to  the  cap- 
tain's room  and  asked  for  permission  to  be  landed  that 
evening  on  the  Virginia  side,  as  he  wished  to  bring  off 
his  family.  <  Why,  Jim,'  said  Captain  Magaw,  i  how 
will  you  be  able  to  pass  the  pickets  ? ' 

"  *  I  want  to  try,  captain.  I  think  I  can  get  'em  over 
safely,'  meekly  replied  Jim. 

"  '  Well,  you  have  my  permission ; '  and  Captain 
Magaw  ordered  one  of  the  gunboats  to  land  Jim  that 
night  on  whatever  part  of  the  shore  Jim  designated, 
and  return  for  him  the  following  evening. 

"  True  to  his  appointment,  Jim  was  at  the  spot  with 
his  wife  and  family,  and  were  taken  on  board  the  gun- 
boat, and  brought  over  to  Liverpool  Point,  where  Colo- 
nel Graham  had  given  them  a  log  house  to  live  in,  just 
back  of  his  own  quarters.  Jim  ran  the  gantlet  of 
the  sentries  unharmed,  never  taking  to  the  roads,  but 
keeping  in  the  woods,  every  foot-path  of  which,  and 
almost  every  tree,  he  knew  from  his  boyhood  up. 

"  Several  weeks  afterwards,  another  reconnoissance 
was  planned,  and  Jim  sent  on  it.  He  returned  in  safety, 
and  was  highly  complimented  by  Generals  Hooker, 
Sickles,  and  the  entire  flotilla. 

"  On  Thursday,  a  week  ago,  it  became  necessary  to 
obtain  correct  information  of  the  enemy's  movements. 
25* 


294      THE  BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

Since  then,  batteries  at  Shipping  and  Cockpit  Points 
had  been  evacuated,  and  their  troops  moved  to  Fred- 
ericksburg.  Jim  was  the  man  picked  out  for  the 
occasion  by  General  Sickles  and  Captain  Magaw.  The 
general  came  down  to  Colonel  Graham's  quarters 
about  nine  in  the  evening,  and  sent  for  Jim.  There 
were  present  the  general,  Colonel  Graham,  and  myself. 
Jim  came  into  the  colonel's. 

" '  Jim,'  said  the  general,  '  I  want  you  to  go  over  to 
Virginia  to-night  and  find  out  what  forces  they  have 
at  Aquia  Creek  and  Fredericksburg.  If  you  want  any 
men  to  accompany  you,  pick  them  out.' 

"  *  I  know  two  men  that  would  like  to  go,'  Jim  an- 
swered. 

"  '  Well,  get  them  and  be  back  as  soon  as  possible.' 

"  Away  went  Jim  over  to  the  contraband  camp,  and 
returning  almost  immediately,  brought  into  our  pres- 
ence two  very  intelligent  looking  men. 

" '  Are  you  all  ready  ? '  inquired  the  general. 

"  c  All  ready,  sir,'  the  trio  responded. 

" '  Well,  here,  Jim,  you  take  my  pistol,'  said  General 
Sickles,  unbuckling  it  from  his  belt,  '  and  if  you  are 
successful,  I  will  give  you  a  hundred  dollars.' 

"  Jim  hoped  he  would  be,  and  bidding  us  good  by, 
started  off  for  the  gunboat  Satellite,  Captain  Foster, 
who  landed  them  a  short  distance  below  the  Potomac 
Creek  Batteries.  They  were  to  return  early  in  the 
morning,  but  were  unable,  from  the  great  distance 
they  went  in  the  interior.  Long  before  daylight  on 
Saturday  morning  the  gunboat  was  lying  off  the  ap- 
pointed place. 

"  As  the  day  dawned,  Captain  Foster  discovered  a 


JAMES  LAWSON.  295 

mounted  picket  guard  near  the  beach,  and  almost  at 
the  same  instant  saw  Jim  to  the  left  of  them,  in  the 
woods,  sighting  his  gun  at  the  rebel  cavalry.  He 
ordered  the  <  gig '  to  be  manned  and  rowed  to  the 
shore.  The  rebels  moved  along  slowly,  thinking  to 
intercept  the  boat,  when  Foster  gave  them  a  shell, 
which  scattered  them.  Jim,  with  only  one  of  his 
original  companions,  and  two  fresh  contrabands,  came 
on  board.  Jim  had  lost  the  other.  He  had  been  chal- 
lenged by  a  picket  when  some  distance  in  advance  of 
Jim,  and  the  negro,  instead  of  answering  the  sum- 
mons, fired  the  contents  of  Sickles's  revolver  at  the 
picket.  It  was  an  unfortunate  occurrence,  for  at  that 
time  the  entire  picket  guard  rushed  out  of  a  small 
house  near  the  spot,  and  fired  the  contents  of  their 
muskets  at  Jim's  companion,  killing  him  instantly. 
Jim  and  the  other  three  hid  themselves  in  a  hollow^ 
near  a  fence,  and  after  the  pickets  gave  up  pursuit, 
crept  through  the  woods  to  the  shore.  From  the 
close  proximity  of  the  rebel  pickets,  Jim  could  not 
display  a  light,  which  was  the  signal  for  Foster  to  send 
a  boat. 

"  Captain  Foster,  after  hearing  Jim's  story  of  the 
shooting  of  his  companion,  determined  to  avenge  his 
death  ;  so,  steaming  his  vessel  close  in  to  the  shore,  he 
sighted  his  guns  for  a  barn,  which  the  rebel  cavalry 
were  hiding  behind.  He  fired  two  shells  :  one  went 
right  through  the  barn,  killing  four  of  the  rebels  and 
seven  of  their  horses.  Captain  Foster,  seeing  the 
effect  of  his  shots,  said  to  Jim,  who  stood  by,  '  Well, 
Jim,  I've  avenged  the  death  of  poor  Cornelius '  (the 
name  of  Jim's  lost  companion). 


296      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

"  General  Hooker  has  transmitted  to  the  war  depart- 
ment an  account  of  Jim's  reconnoissance  to  Fredericks- 
burg,  and  unites  with  the  army  and  navy  stationed  on 
the  left  wing  of  the  Potomac,  in  the  hope  that  the 
government  will  present  Jim  with  a  fitting  recom- 
pense for  his  gallant  services." 

The  gunboat  soon  after  was  ordered  to  Newbern, 
N.  C.,  where  James  Lawson  was  again  to  be  the  centre 
of  attraction,  but  in  a  new  character.  Anxious  that 
his  fellow-slaves  (many  of  whom  had  shipped  in  the 
same  vessel)  should  excel  as  oarsmen,  he  was  fre- 
quently out  practising  with  them,  until  a  race  was 
agreed  upon,  in  which  the  blacks  were  to  pull  against 
the  whites.  A  correspondent  of  the  "  New  York 
Times  "  gives  the  following  as  the  result :  — 

"  One  of  the  two  boats  entered  was  manned  by  six 
contraband  seamen,  beautifully  attired  in  man-of-war 
costume,  and  the  other  was  manned  by  eight  white 
seamen,  who  were  considered  the  crack  crew  of  these 
waters.  Distance  was  offered  the  contraband  crew, 
who  had  only  been  seamen  some  three  months  ;  but 
their  captain  refused  to  accept  of  any  advantage  what- 
ever, and  insisted  on  giving  the  white  seamen  the  ad- 
vantage of  two  men.  Every  thing  being  in  readiness, 
the  word  was  given,  and  off  went  the  boats,  throwing 
the  crowd,  white  and  black,  into  the  most  intense 
excitement.  Judge  of  the  astonishment  of  all,  when 
the  boat  containing  the  contrabands  was  seen  to  turn 
the  mile  post  first ;  and  great  was  the  excitement  and 
deafening  were  the  cheers  as  they  came  in  some  three 
rods  in  advance  of  the  white  crew,  who  were  dripping 
with  perspiration,  and  thoroughly  mortified  at  the 


CAPTAIN  CALLIOUX.  297 

unexpected  result.  They  were  inclined  to  think  the 
contest  an  unfair  one,  until  the  captain  of  the  contra- 
bands offered  to  renew  the  race  by  having  the  crews 
exchange  boats,  which  proposition  was  not  accepted  by 
the  white  seamen  for  fear  of  a  like  result.  The  cap- 
tain said  his  contrabands  could  not  only  pull  a  small 
boat  faster  and  with  more  steadiness  than  the  same 
number  of  white  seamen,  but  that  they,  with  others  he 
had  on  board,  could  man  his  big  guns  with  more  agili- 
ty and  skill  in  time  of  action  than  any  white  seamen 
he  had  ever  seen." 

Mr.  Lawson,  at  last  accounts,  was  holding  a  promi- 
nent office  in  General  Foster's  command. 


CAPTAIN     CALLIOUX. 

"  In  war  was  never  lion's  rage  so  fierce  ; 
In  peace  was  never  gentle  lamb  more  mild." 

SlIAKSPEARE. 

REVOLUTIONS  are  occasioned  by  the  growth  of  so- 
ciety beyond  the  growth  of  government,  and  they  will 
be  peaceful  or  violent  just  in  proportion  as  the  people 
and  government  shall  be  wise  and  virtuous  or  vicious 
and  ignorant.  Such  revolutions  or  reforms  are  gener- 
ally of  a  peaceful  nature  in  communities  in  which  the 
government  has  made  provision  for  the  gradual  expan- 
sion of  its  institutions,  to  suit  the  onward  march  of 
society.  No  government  is  wise  in  overlooking,  what- 
ever may  be  the  strength  of  its  own  traditions,  or 
however  glorious  its  history,  that  human  institutions 
will  outlive  their  time ;  that  those  institutions  which 


298       THE   BLACK  MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

have  been  adapted  for  a  barbarous  state  of  society, 
will  cease  to  be  adapted  for  more  civilized  and  intelli- 
gent times  ;  and  unless  government  make  a  provision 
for  the  gradual  expansion,  nothing  can  prevent  a 
storm,  either  of  an  intellectual  or  a  physical  nature. 

The  great  American  rebellion,  therefore,  is  a  legiti- 
mate revolution  growing  out  of  the  incongruity  of 
freedom  and  slavery  ;  and  the  first  gun  fired  at  Sum- 
ter  was  hailed  by  every  true  friend  of  freedom,  and 
especially  the  negro,  as  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day 
for  the  black  man.  But  it  was  evident,  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  clash  of  arms,  that  the  despised 
race  was  to  take  no  part  in  their  exercise,  unless  the 
Federal  authorities  were  forced  into  it  by  the  magni- 
tude of  the  rebellion.  His  services  refused  by  the 
Federal  government,  all  classes  declaring  that  they 
would  not  "fight  by  the  side  of  a  nigger"  the  black 
man  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  fold  his  arms  and  bide 
his  time.  Defeat  after  defeat  appeared  to  make  no 
change  in  the  pro-slavery  public  mind,  for  the  nation 
seemed  determined  to  perish  rather  than  receive  help 
from  a  black  hand.  The  rout  at  Bull  Run,  the  sad 
affair  at  Ball's  Bluff,  the  unfortunate  mistake  at  Big 
Bethel,  the  loss  of  100,000  brave  men  during  the  first 
fifteen  months  of  the  rebellion,  and  the  display  of 
Copperhead  feeling  in  the  Northern  States,  caused  the 
far-seeing  ones  to  feel  that  the  ship  of  state  was  fast 
drifting  to  sea  without  a  rudder.  The  announcement 
that  a  proclamation  of  emancipation  would  be  issued 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  brought  forth  a  howl 
of  denunciation  from  those  who  despised  the  negro 
more  than  they  did  the  rebels.  Still  the  cry  rose  from 


CAPTAIN    CALLTOUX.  299 

the  majority,  "  Let  the  republic  perish  rather  than  see 
the  nigger  in  uniform." 

All  this  time,  the  black  man  was  silently,  yet  stead- 
ily, creating  an  under-current,  which  was,  at  a  later 
day,  to  carry  him  to  the  battle  field.  The  heroic  act 
of  Tillman  on  the  high  seas,  the  "strategy"  of  Captain 
Small  in  taking  the  Planter  past  the  guns  of  Sumter, 
and  the  reliable  intelligence  conveyed  to  the  Union 
army  by  "intelligent  contrabands," — all  tended  to 
soften  the  negro  hate,  and  to  pave  the  way  for  justice. 
All  honor  to  the  "  New  York  Tribune,"  for  its  noble 
defence  of  my  race,  and  its  advocacy  of  the  black 
man's  right  to  bear  arms.  The  organization  of  negro 
regiments  once  begun  by  General  Hunter,  soon  found 
favor  with  the  more  liberal  portion  of  the  northern 
people. 

By  and  by,  that  brave,  generous,  and  highly  culti- 
vated scholar,  gentleman,  and  Christian,  Thomas  Went- 
worth  Higginson,  lent  the  influence  of  his  name,  and 
accepted  an  office  in  the  first  South  Carolina  regi- 
ment, made  an  excursion  into  the  heart  of  slavery, 
met  the  rebels  and  defeated  them  with  his  negro  sol- 
diers, and  reported  through  the  public  journals  what 
he  had  witnessed  of  the  black  man's  ability  on  the 
field  of  battle.  Then  the  tide  begun  to  turn. 

The  announcement  that  a  regiment  of  colored  sol- 
diers was  to  be  raised  in  Massachusetts,  created  an- 
other sensation  among  the  Copperheads,  and  no  means 
were  left  unused  to  deter  them  from  enlisting.  An 
early  prejudice  was  brought  against  the  movement, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  commissioned  officers  were 
white,  and  no  door  was  to  be  opened  to  the  black 


300       THE   BLACK  MAN'S   GENIUS   AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

man's  elevation.  Would  colored  men  enlist  under 
such  restrictions?  was  a  question  asked  in  every  circle. 
All  admitted  that  they  had  no  inducement,  save  that 
of  a  wish  to  aid  in  freeing  their  brethren  of  the  south. 

Disfranchised  in  a  majority  of  the  free  states,  labor- 
ing under  an  inhuman  and  withering  prejudice,  shut 
out  of  the  political,  religious,  and  social  associations 
of  the  nation,  the  black  man's  case  was  a  hard  one. 
In  the  past,  every  weapon  that  genius  or  ignorance 
could  invent  or  command  had  been  turned  against 
him.  Missiles  had  been  hurled  at  his  devoted  head 
from  every  quarter. 

The  pulpit,  the  platform,  and  the  press,  had  all 
united  against  him.  The  statesman  in  the  councils 
of  the  nation  had  lowered  his  standard  in  his  attempts 
to  dehumanize  the  negro;  the  scholar  had  forgotten 
his  calling  while  turning  aside  to  coin  epithets  against 
the  race.  All  of  this  he  would  have  to  forget  before 
he  could  accept  the  musket  and  the  knapsack.  Yet 
he  did  forget  all,  and  in  a  few  short  days  the  Massa- 
chusetts fifty-fourth  regiment  stood  before  the  coun- 
try as  another  evidence  of  the  black  man's  fidelity  and 
patriotism.  It  is  but  simple  justice  to  say  of  this 
regiment,  that  the  adjutant  general,  on  its  departure 
for  the  seat  of  war,  paid  it  the  high  compliment  of 
being  the  most  sober  and  well  behaved,  and  of  having 
cost  less  for  its  organization,  than  any  regiment  that  had 
left  the  commonwealth,  and  that  it  was  better  drilled 
than  all,  except  the  twelfth.  While  the  fifty-fourth, 
by  its  military  skill  and  good  order,  was  softening  the 
hard  hearts  of  the  people  north,  the  negro  regiments 
of  Louisiana  were  attracting  attention  by  the  bold- 


CAPTAIN  CALLIOUX.  301 

ness  of  their  request  to  General  Banks  to  be  sent  to 
the  field  of  active  duty,  and  to  be  put  in  the  front  of 
the  fight. 

When  New  Orleans  was  captured  by  General  Butler, 
he  found  there  a  regiment  of  colored  men  bearing  the 
name  of  the  "  Native  Guard."  These  men  had  been 
compelled  to  serve  under  the  rebels  ;  but  when  the 
latter  left  the  city,  the  former  refused  to  follow,  and 
embraced  the  earliest  opportunity  to  oifer  their  ser- 
vices to  the  Union  cause.  They  were  at  once  accepted 
by  General  Butler,  under  the  title  of  the  first  Louis- 
iana regiment. 

The  census  of  1860  placed  the  number  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  city  of  New  Orleans  at  175,000.  Of 
these,  15,000  were  free  colored,  10,000  were  slaves, 
and  the  remainder  were  whites.  The  free  colored 
men  were  taxed  for  an  average  of  $  1000  to  eacli  per- 
son, while  the  white  were  taxed  for  only  $732  to  each 
person.  The  first  Louisiana  regiment  was  composed 
principally  of  this  class  of  the  free  black  population. 
The  professions,  the  mercantile,  and  the  trades  were 
well  represented,  while  not  a  few  were  men  of  ex- 
treme wealth.  Nearly  all  were  liberally  educated  ; 
some  were  scholars  of  a  high  order.  The  brave,  the 
enthusiastic,  and  the  patriotic  found  full  scope  for  the 
development  of  their  powers  in  this  regiment.  One 
of  the  most  efficient  of  the  officers  was  Captain  Cal- 
lioux,  a  man  whose  identity  with  his  race  could 
never  be  mistaken,  for  he  prided  himself  on  being  the 
blackest  individual  in  the  Crescent  City.  Whether  in 
the  drawing-room  or  on  the  parade,  he  was  ever  the 
centre  of  attraction.  Finely  educated,  polished  in  his 
26 


302       THE   BLACK    MAN'S   GENIUS   AND    ACHIEVEMENTS. 

manners,  a  splendid  horseman,  a  good  boxer,  bold, 
athletic,  and  daring,  he  never  lacked  admirers.  His 
men  were  ready  at  any  time  to  follow  him  to  the  can- 
non's mouth  ;  and  he  was  as  ready  to  lead  them.  Gen- 
eral Banks  granted  their  request,  and  the  regiment 
was  brought  before  the  rifle  pits  and  heavy  guns  of 
Port  Hudson  on  the  26th  of  May,  1863.  Night  fell  — 
the  lovely  southern  night,  with  its  silvery  moonshine 
on  the  gleaming  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  that  passed 
directly  by  the  intrenched  town.  The  glistening  stars 
appeared  suspended  in  the  upper  air  as  globes  of 
liquid  light,  with  its  fresh,  soft  breeze,  bearing  such 
sweet  scents  from  the  odoriferous  trees  and  plants,  that 
a  poet  might  have  fancied  angelic  spirits  were  abroad, 
making  the  atmosphere  luminous  with  their  pure  pres- 
ence, and  every  breeze  fragrant  with  their  luscious 
breath.  The  deep-red  sun  that  rose  on  the  next 
morning  indicated  that  the  day  would  be  warm,  and, 
as  it  advanced,  the  heat  became  intense.  The  earth 
had  been  long  parched,  and  the  hitherto  green  verdure 
had  begun  to  turn  yellow.  Clouds  of  dust  followed 
every  step  and  movement  of  the  troops.  The  air  was 
filled  with  dust ;  clouds  gathered,  frowned  upon  the 
earth,  and  hastened  away.  The  weatherwise  watched 
the  red  masses  of  the  morning,  and  still  hoped  for  a 
shower  to  cool  the  air  and  lay  the  dust,  before  the 
work  of  death  commenced  ;  but  none  came,  and  the 
very  atmosphere  seemed  as  if  it  was  from  an  over- 
heated oven.  The  laying  aside  of  all  unnecessary  ac- 
coutrements, arid  the  preparation  that  showed  itself  on 
every  side,  told  all  present  that  the  conflict  was  near 
at  hand.  General  D wight  was  the  officer  in  com- 


CAPTAIN    CALLIOUX.  303 

mand  over  the  colored  brigade,  and  his  antecedents 
with  regard  to  the  rights  and  the  ability  of  the  negro 
were  not  of  the  most  favorable  character,  and  busy 
rumor,  that  knows  every  thing,  had  whispered  it  about, 
that  the  valor  of  the  black  man  was  to  be  put  to  the 
severest  test  that  day. 

The  black  forces  consisted  of  the  first  Louisiana, 
under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Bassett,  and  the  third  Lou- 
isiana, under  Colonel  Nelson.  These  officers  were 
white,  but  the  line  officers  of  the  first  Louisiana 
were  colored.  The  number  of  the  colored  troops 
was  1080  strong,  and  formed  into  four  lines,  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Bassett,  first  Louisiana,  forming  the 
first  line,  and  the  others  forming  the  second  line.  As 
the  moment  of  attack  drew  near,  the  greatest  sup- 
pressed excitement  existed,  but  all  were  eager  for  the 
fight.  Captain  Callioux  walked  proudly  up  and  down 
the  line,  and  smilingly  greeted  the  familiar  faces  of  his 
company.  Colonel  Nelson  being  called  to  act  as  brig- 
adier-general, Lieutenant-Colonel  Finnegas  took  his 
place.  The  third  Louisiana  was  composed  mostly  of 
freed  men,  whose  backs  still  bore  the  marks  of  the 
lash,  and  whose  brave,  stout  hearts  beat  high  at  the 
thought  that  the  hour  had  come  when  they  were  to 
meet  their  proud  and  unfeeling  oppressors.  New 
England  officers  and  privates  looked  on,  and  asked 
each  other  what  they  thought  would  be  the  result. 
Would  these  blacks  stand  fire  ?  Was  not  the  test  by 
which  they  were  to  be  tried  too  severe  ? 

The  enemy,  in  his  stronghold,  felt  his  power,  and 
bade  defiance  to  the  expected  attack.  At  last,  the 
welcome  word  was  given,  and  our  men  started.  The 


304  THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS    AND    ACHIEVEMENTS." 

enemy  opened  a  blistering  fire  of  shell,  canister,  grape, 
and  musketry.  The  first  shell  thrown  by  the  enemy 
killed  and  wounded  a  number  of  the  blacks ;  but  on 
they  went.  "  Charge  "  was  the  word  — 

"  '  Charge  ! '    Trump  and  drum  awoko  ; 
Onward  the  bondmen  broke ; 
Bayonet  and  sabre-stroke 
Vainly  opposed  their  rush." 

At  every  pace  the  column  was  thinned  by  the  falling 
dead  and  wounded.  The  negroes  closed  up  steadily  as 
their  comrades  fell,  and  advanced  within  fifty  paces  of 
where  the  rebels  were  working  a  masked  battery,  situa- 
ted on  a  bluff  where  the  guns  could  sweep  the  whole 
field  over  which  the  troops  must  charge.  This  battery 
was  on  the  left  of  the  charging  line.  Another  battery 
of  three  or  four  guns  commanded  the  front,  and  six 
heavy  pieces  raked  the  right  of  the  line  as  it  formed, 
and  enfiladed  its  flank  and  rear  as  it  charged  on  the 
bluff.  It  was  ascertained  that  a  bayou  ran  under  the 
bluff  where  the  guns  lay — a  bayou  deeper  than  a  man 
could  ford.  This  charge  was  repulsed  with  severe  loss. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Finnegas  was  then  ordered  to 
charge,  and  in  a  well-dressed,  steady  line  his  men  went 
on  the  double  quick  down  over  the  field  of  death.  No 
matter  how  gallantly  the  men  behaved  —  no  matter 
how  bravely  they  were  led  —  it  was  not  in  the  course 
of  things  that  this  gallant  brigade  should  take  these 
works  by  charge.  Yet  charge  after  charge  was  or- 
dered, and  carried  out,  under  all  these  disasters,  with 
Spartan  firmness.  Six  charges  in  all  were  made. 
Colonel  Nelson  reported  to  General  Dwight  the  fearful 
odds  he  had  to  contend  with.  Says  General  Dwight, 


CAPTAIN  CALLIOUX.  305 

in  reply,  "  Tell  Colonel  Nelson  I  shall  consider  that 
he  has  accomplished  nothing  unless  he  takes  those 
guns."  Thus  the  last  few  charges  were  made  under 
the  spur  of  desperation. 

The  ground  was  already  strewn  with  the  dead  and 
wounded,  and  many  of  the  brave  officers  had  fallen 
early  in  the  engagement.  Among  them  was  the  gal- 
lant and  highly-cultivated  Anselms.  He  was  a  stan- 
dard-bearer, and  hugged  the  Stars  and  Stripes  to  his 
heart  as  he  fell  forward  upon  them,  pierced  by  five 
balls.  Two  corporals  near  by  struggled  between 
themselves  as  to  who  should  have  the  honor  of  again 
raising  those  blood-stained  emblems  to  the  breeze. 
Each  was  eager  for  the  honor,  and  during  the  struggle 
a  missile  from  the  enemy  wounded  one  of  them,  and 
the  other  corporal  shouldered  the  dear  old  flag  in 
triumph,  and  bore  it  through  the  charge  in  the  front 
of  the  advancing  line. 

Shells  from  the  rebel  guns  cut  down  trees  three 
feet  in  diameter,  and  they  fell  at  one  time  burying 
a  whole  company  beneath  their  branches. 

Thus  they  charged  bravely  on  certain  destruction, 
till  the  ground  was  slippery  with  the  gore  of  the  slaugh- 
tered, and  cumbered  with  the  bodies  of  the  maimed. 
The  last  charge  was  made  about  one  o'clock. 

At  this  juncture,  Captain  Callioux  was  seen  with 
his  left  arm  dangling  by  his  side, — for  a  ball  had  broken 
it  above  the  elbow, — while  his  right  hand  held  his  un- 
sheathed sword  gleaming  in  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
his  hoarse,  faint  voice  was  heard  cheering  on  his  men. 
A  moment  more  and  the  brave  and  generous  Callioux 
was  struck  by  a  shell,  and  fell  far  in  advance  of  his 
26* 


306     THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

company.  The  fall  of  this  officer  so  exasperated  his 
men,  that  they  appeared  to  be  filled  with  new  enthusi- 
asm, and  they  rushed  forward  with  a  recklessness  that 
probably  never  has  been  equalled.  Seeing  it  to  be  a 
hopeless  effort,  the  taking  of  these  batteries,  order  was 
given  to  change  the  programme,  and  the  troops  were 
called  off.  But  had  they  accomplished  any  thing  more 
than  the  loss  of  many  of  their  brave  men  ?  Yes,  they 
had.  The  self-forgetfulness,  the  undaunted  heroism, 
and  the  great  endurance  of  the  negro,  as  exhibited 
that  day,  created  a  new  chapter  in  American  history 
for  the  black  man.  No  negro  hater  will  ever  again 
dare  to  urge  the  withholding  of  our  rights  upon  the 
plea  that  we  will  not  fight. 

The  stale  and  stereotyped  falsehood  that  the  blacks 
are  wanting  in  patriotism,  was  nailed  to  the  counter 
as  base  coin,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  Many 
Persians  were  slain  at  the  battle  of  Thermopyla3,  but 
history  records  only  the  fall  of  Leonidas  and  his  four 
hundred  companions.  So,  in  the  future,  when  we 
shall  have  passed  away  from  the  stage,  and  rising  gen- 
erations shall  speak  of  the  conflict  at  Port  Hudson, 
and  the  celebrated  charge  of  the  Negro  Brigade,  they 
will  forget  all  others,  in  their  admiration  for  Captain 
Callioux  and  his  black  associates.  I  should  have  said, 
the  expedition  against  this  strongly  fortified  place  was 
Major-General  Banks's,  under  whom  the  other  officers 
acted.  The  commander,  in  his  official  report  of  the 
engagement,  bears  the  following  testimony  to  the 
bravery  of  the  colored  troops.  He  says,  — 

"  On  the  extreme  right  of  our  lines  I  posted  the 
first  and  third  regiments  of  negro  troops.  The  first 
regiment  of  Louisiana  engineers,  composed  exclusively 


CAPTAIN    CALLIOUX.  307 

of  colored  men,  excepting  the  officers,  was  also  en- 
gaged in  the  operations  of  the  day.  The  position 
occupied  by  these  troops  was  one  of  importance,  and 
called  for  the  utmost  steadiness  and  bravery  in  those 
to  whom  it  was  confided. 

"  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  report  that  they  answered 
every  expectation.  In  many  respects  their  conduct 
was  heroic  ;  no  troops  could  be  more  determined  or 
more  daring.  They  made,  during  the  day,  three  charges 
upon  the  batteries  of  the  enemy,  suffering  very  heavy 
losses,  and  holding  their  position  at  nightfall  with  the 
other  troops  on  the  right  of  our  lines.  The  high- 
est commendation  is  bestowed  upon  them  by  all  the 
officers  in  command  on  the  right. 

"  Whatever  doubt  may  have  existed  heretofore  as  to 
the  efficiency  of  organizations  of  this  character,  the 
history  of  this  day  proves  conclusively  to  those  who 
were  in  condition  to  observe  the  conduct  of  these  regi- 
ments, that  the  government  will  find  in  this  class  of 
troops  effective  supporters  and  defenders.  The  severe 
test  to  which  they  were  subjected,  and  the  determined 
manner  in  which  they  encountered  the  enemy,  leaves 
upon  my  mind  no  doubt  of  their  ultimate  success." 

The  Hon.  B.  F.  Flanders,  writing  from  New  Orleans, 
under  date  of  June  2, 1863,  pays  the  following  tribute 
to  the  bravery  of  those  invincible  men :  — 

"  The  unanimous  report  of  all  those  who  were  in 
the  recent  severe  fight  at  Port  Hudson,  in  regard  to 
the  negroes,  is,  that  they  fought  like,  devils.  They 
have  completely  conquered  the  prejudice  of  the  army 
against  them.  Never  was  there  before  such  an  extra- 
ordinary revolution  of  sentiment  as  that  of  this  army 
in  respect  to  the  negroes  as  soldiers." 


308      THE  BLACK  MAN'S  GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 


CAPTAIN    JOSEPH    HOWARD. 

"  Freemen,  now's  your  day  for  doing  — 

Great  the  issues  in  your  hand ; 
Risk  them  not  by  faint  pursuing, 
Peal  the  watchword  through  the  land  : 

On  for  Freedom, 
God,  our  Country,  and  the  Eight !  " 

AMONG  the  colored  troops  which  Major-General  But- 
ler found  at  New  Orleans,  when  that  place  was  evac- 
uated by  the  rebels,  was  the  Second  Louisiana  Native 
Guards.  When  General  Banks  superseded  General 
Butler,  and  took  command,  the  Second  Louisiana  was 
stationed  at  Baton  Rouge.  This  was  considered  one 
of  the  finest  regiments  in  that  section.  The  line  offi- 
cers were  all  colored,  and  the  best  discipline  prevailed 
throughout  the  ranks.  Nevertheless,  the  white  officers 
of  the  New  England  troops,  either  through  jealousy, 
or  hatred  to  the  colored  men  on  account  of  their  com- 
plexion, demanded  that  the  latter  should  be  turned 
out  of  office,  and  that  their  places  be  filled  by  whites, 
from  the  ranks  of  the  other  regiments.  And  to  the 
everlasting  shame  of  General  Banks,  and  the  disgrace 
of  the  Union  cause,  the  gallant  men  who  had  got  ivp 
the  Second  Louisiana  regiment  were  dismissed.  The 
order  for  this  change  had  scarcely  been  promulgated 
ere  the  retiring  officers  found  themselves  the  object  of 
so  much  obloquy  and  abuse  that  they  were  forced  to 
quit  Baton  Rouge  and  return  to  New  Orleans.  The 
colored  soldiers  were  deeply  pained  at  seeing  the  offi- 
cers of  their  choice  taken  from  them,  for  they  were 
much  attached  to  their  commanders,  some  of  whom 


CAPTAIN   JOSEPH    HOWARD.  309 

were  special  favorites  with  the  whole  regiment. 
Among  these  were  First  Lieutenant  Joseph  Howard, 
of  Company  I,  and  Second  Lieutenant  Joseph  G. 
Parker,  of  Company  .C.  These  gentlemen  were  both 
possessed  of  ample  wealth,  and  had  entered  the  army, 
not  as  a  matter  of  speculation,  as  too  many  have  done, 
but  from  a  love  of  military  life.  Their  hatred  of  op- 
pression,"and  attachment  to  the  Union  cause,  kept 
them  from  following  the  rebels  in  their  hasty  flight. 

Lieutenant  Howard  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary ability  in  military  tactics,  and  a  braver  or  more 
daring  officer  could  not  be  found  in  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi.  He'  was  well  educated,  speaking  the 
English,  French,  and  Spanish  languages  fluently,  and 
was  considered  a  scholar  of  rare  literary  attainments. 
He,  with  his  friend,  felt  sorely  the  deep  humiliation 
attending  their  dismissal,  and  they  seldom  showed 
themselves  on  the  streets  of  their  native  city. 

When  the  news  reached  New  Orleans  of  the  heroic 
charge  made  by  the  first  Louisiana  regiment,  at  Port 
Hudson,  on  the  27th  of  May,  Howard  at  once  called 
on  his  friend  Parker,  and  they  were  so  fired  with  the 
intelligence  that  they  determined  to  proceed  to  Port 
Hudson,  and  to  join  their  old  regiment  as  privates. 
That  night  they  took  passage,  and  the  next  day  found 
them  with  their  former  friends  in  arms.  The  regiment 
was  still  in  position,  close  to  the  enemy's  works,  and 
the  appearance  of  the  two  lieutenants  was  hailed  with 
demonstrations  of  joy.  Instead  of  being  placed  as 
privates  in  the  ranks,  they  were  both  immediately 
assigned  the  command  of  a  company  each,  not 
from  any  compliment  to  them,  but  sheer  necessity, 


310      THE   BLACK   MAN'S   GENIUS   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS. 

because  the  white  officers  of  these  companies,  feeling 
that  the  colored  soldiers  were  put  in  the  front  of  the 
battle  owing  to  their  complexion,  were  not  willing  to 
risk  their  lives,  and  had  thrown  up  their  commissions. 
On  the  20th  of  June,  these  two  officers  were  put  to  the 
test,  and  nobly  did  they  maintain  their  former  rep- 
utation for  bravery.  Captain  Howard  leading  the 
way,  they  charged  upon  the  enemy's  rifle  pits  —  drove 
them  out  and  took  possession,  and  held  them  for  three 
hours,  in  the  face  of  a  raking  fire  of  artillery.  Sev- 
eral times  the  blacks  were  so  completely  hidden  from 
view  by  the  smoke  of  their  own  guns  and  the  enemy's 
heavy  cannon,  that  they  could  not  be  seen.  It  was  at 
this  time  that  Captain  Howard  exhibited  his  splendid 
powers  as  a  commander.  The  negroes  never  hesitated, 
never  flinched,  but  gallantly  did  their  duty. 

Amid  the  roar  of  artillery  and  the  rattling  of  mus- 
ketry, the  groans  of  the  wounded  and  the  ghastly 
appearance  of  the  dead,  the  heroic  and  the  intrepid 
Howard  was  the  same.  He  never  said  to  his  men, 
"  Go,"  but  always,  "  Follow  me."  At  last,  when  many 
of  their  men  were  killed,  and  the  severe  fire  of  the 
enemy's  artillery  seemed  to  mow  down  every  thing  be- 
fore it,  these  brave  men  were  compelled  to  fall  back 
from  the  pits  which  they  had  so  triumphantly  taken. 

At  nightfall,  General  Banks  paid  the  negro  officers 
a  high  compliment,  shaking  the  hand  of  Captain  How- 
ard, and  congratulating  him  on  his  return,  and  telling 
his  aids  that  this  man  was  worthy  of  a  more  elevated 
place.  .  Great  amount  of  prejudice  was  conquered 
that  day  by  the  intrepid  Howard  and  his  companions. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PEESS. 


From  Frederick  Douglass'  Monthly. 

"Though  MR.  BROWN'S  book  may  stand  alone  upon  its 
own  merits,  and  stand  strong,  yet  while  reading  its  interesting 
pages,  —  abounding  in  fact  and  argument,  replete  with  elo- 
quence, logic,  and  learning, — clothed  with  simple  yet  eloquent 
language,  it  is  hard  to  repress  the  inquiry,  Whence  has  this 
man  this  knowledge  ?  He  seems  to  have  read  and  remem- 
bered nearly  every  thing  which  has  been  written  or  said 
respecting  the  ability  of  the  negro,  and  has  condensed  and 
arranged  the  whole  into  an  admirable  argument,  calculated 
both  to  interest  and  convince." 

From  the  Liberator. 

"  RAPID  SALE.  —  We  are  informed  that  the  first  edition 
of  '  THE  BLACK  MAN,'  the  new  work  by  WM.  WELLS 
BROWN,  has  been  sold,  and  a  second  is  to  be  published  in  a 
few  days.  Such  rapid  sale  of  a  book  devoted  entirely  to  an 
exhibition  of  the  genius,  the  talent,  and  the  heroism  of  the 
hated  Negro,  and  advocating  his  elevation  and  equality, 
shows  that  a  great  change  has  come  over  the  minds  of  the 
American  people,  and  that  justice  to  a  long  injured  class  is 
not  far  off.  This  work  has  done  good  service  among  those 
who  are  impregnated  with  the  idea  that  the  blacks  were 
created  for  nothing  but  slaves.  The  new  edition  will  be  re- 
vised and  enlarged,  and  will  contain  an  original  sketch  of  the 
heroic  and  daring  charge  of  the  First  Louisiana  Regiment 
at  Port  Hudson.  The  price  of  the  book  will  remain  the 
same— $1.00." 

From  the  KTew  York  Anti-Slavery  Standard. 

"  In  '  THE  BLACK  MAN,'  MR.  BROWN  gives  us  authentic 
and  well  written  sketches  of  more  than  fifty  colored  men  and 
women,  of  the  past  and  present  time,  who,  by  their  talents, 
attainments,  and  earnest  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  their  race, 

(311) 


312  OPINIONS    OF   THE    PRESS.         * 

have  made  themselves  more  or  less  eminent,  and  whose  lives 
and  labors  afford  the  best  possible  illustration  of  the  intellec- 
tual and  moral  capacity  of  the  Negro,  and  the  best  possible 
answer  to  those  who  make  his  alleged  inferiority  an  excuse 
for  his  enslavement." 

From  the  New  York  Herald  of  Progress. 

"MR.  BROWN  has  given  us  an  interesting  work.  The 
subjects  of  the  biographies  are  well  chosen  to  exhibit  the 
versatility  and  range  of  the  genius  of  the  African  race. 
Science  and  Philosophy,  Literature  and  the  Arts,  are  shown 
to  be  richly  indebted  to  it.  MR.  BROWN'S  book  is  an  incon- 
testable argument." 

From  the  Boston  Transcript. 

"  THE  BLACK  MAN  :  His  Antecedents,  His  Genius,  and  His 
Achievements.  —  This  is  the  title  of  a  new  book  by  WM. 
WELLS  BROWN,  the  well-known  lecturer  and  able  advocate 
of  his  race.  The  work  comprises  fifty-three  biographical 
sketches  of  persons  of  pure  or  mixed  African  descent  who,  in 
modern  times,  have  been  representative  men  and  women, 
besides  reference  to  many  illustrious  names  among  the 
ancients.  This  is  the  best  account  of  the  ability  of  the  Negro 
ever  put  in  print.  The  genius  of  the  race  is  well  brought 

out." 

From  Zion's  Herald,  of  Boston. 

"This  is  just  the  book  for  the  crisis.  We  would  that 
every  pro-slavery  man  in  the  country  would  read  it." 

From  Hon.  Gerrit  Smith. 

"PETERBORO',  December,  1862. 

"  WM.  WELLS  BROWN.  My  dear  Sir :  I  am  glad  that  you 
have  written  such  a  book.  It  will  do  great  good.  Send  me 
five  dollars'  worth  of  it.  Heaven  bless  you. 

Your  friend,  GERRITT  SMITH." 

From  Lewis  Tappan,  Esq. 

Lewis  Tappan,  in  his  Cooper  Institute  Speech,  on  the  5th 
of  January,  1863,  said:  "This  is  just  the  book  for  the  hour; 
it  will  do  more  for  the  colored  man's  elevation  than  any  work 
yet  published."