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THE
SUPPRESSED BOOK
ABOUT
SLAVERY!
PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION IN 185 7,-
NEVER PUBLISHED UNTIL THE PRESENT TIME.
. - • NEW YORK:
CARLETON, P £TB LISWEK.
(*<,
■a
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by
GEO W. CARLETON,
in the Office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United States lor the.
Southern District of New York.
PREFACE.
The people of the United States are a Slave-holding people.
How much that term means we learn when we better understand
what Slavery is, and what is the complicity of the people of the
" free States" with it.
In the original draft of the Declaration of Independence one
of the oppressive acts charged against the Mother country was
the continuation of the Foreign Slave Trade, contrary to the in-
terests and in spite of the remonstrances of the Colonists. It
was afterwards omitted, at the dictate of those Southern Colonies
who could not consistently eomplain of that as a wrong which
they meant to claim as a privilege. When, at the close of the
war, a Convention of Delegates from all the States met to form a
Constitution, the two questions which threatened to be insur-
mountable obstacles in the way of a Federal Union were, whether
the system of Slavery, which was cherished in some of the States,
should be tolerated by those which had abolished or proposed to
abolish it ; and whether the traffic in African Slaves should be
continued. The difficulty was evaded by a " Compromise. " The
Foreign Slave Trade was permitted, but only for twenty years.
The rendition of fugitive Slaves was provided for by the Con-
stitution, because they were "property;" but the Slaves were
reckoned as three-fifths of the free population, as a basis of Con-
gressional representation, because they were men. On the other
hand, in case of direct taxation the same method of enumeration
was observed. On the side of the Slaveholder was not only
power, but "wisdom." The Foreign Slave Trade lasted as long
as it was wanted, and till a more profitable Domestic Trade was
about to arise to take its place. The Slaveholders have always
had, by virtue of the three-fifths rule, a compact representation,
as Slaveholders, in Congress, and have always held the balance
3
4 PREFACE.
of power. The Slave States, on the same basis of representation
as the "free/' would be entitled to only sixty-five representatives
in Congress, yet they have ninety; that is, twenty-five extra.
This discrepancy between population and representation arises
from the fact that, in determining between the number of repre-
sentatives to which each State is entitled, five Slaves are reckoned
equal to three Freemen. The Slaves have a representation equal
to that of the "free States" of New Hampshire, Vermont, Con-
necticut, Iowa, and Wisconsin ?
The Slavehunter may pursue and take his prey wherever he
can find him, between Canada and Mexico. The Northern man
is punished with fine and imprisonment who gives the trembling
fugitive a cup of water or a crust of bread.
These concessions to the Slaveholders, made for the sake of im-
mediate harmony and union, were supposed to be merely tem-
porary. Slavery, it was hoped, would speedily yield to the spirit
of freedom, and, confined within narrow limits, necessarily and
rapidly disappear. The leading men of that day have left upon
record their strong condemnation of the system, and some of them
were active members of associations formed for its extirpation.
But with another generation came new circumstances and new
ideas. The introduction of Cotton-culture opened a profitable
field for the employment of Slave labour. The acquisition of new
territory, permitting the extension of Slavery, and an economical
calculation showing that a planter could profitably "work up" a
gang of Slaves in seven years, and supply their place — not by
natural increase, but by new importations from older Slave States
— created an active Domestic trade, and secured, to Virginia,
Maryland, and the Carolinas an immense return for their "vi-
gintial" crop of Negroes. The North was reconciled to share
in the national iniquity by a commercial prosperity based upon
the steadily increasing production of a great staple export. The
admission of new Slave States to the Union added to the political
strength of the Slaveholders — the power to acquire and use
which the fatal concessions of the Constitution had put into their
hands.
Thus the growth of this Slaveholding despotism has advanced
with the growth and prosperity of the country. It has rarely
PREFACE. 5
excited the apprehension of the North. If, as at the time of the
acceptance of the Missouri Compromise, she has seemed for a
moment thoroughly aroused, it was easy to amuse and quiet her
with some cunning scheme of a Southern politician, made only
to be broken the moment the North demanded its promised ad-
vantage. The history of the Government from the beginning is
a repetition of similar acts of Slaveholding domination, faithless-
ness, and pusillanimity.
In preparing this work the author has not depended on the
facts or arguments of those who have been known as "Abo-
litionists," but has chosen rather to rely upon such authorities
and sources of information as cannot be impeached for their re-
lation to the Abolition party. For the character of Slavery the
South is its own witness. The Southern clergyman and his
Northern ally are permitted to show, in their own words, how
they reconcile that system to the Divine Will. The Northern
clergyman, whose standing in the Church and whose orthodox
integrity are unquestioned, bears impartial testimony to the
wickedness of an institution, the defender of which he, neverthe-
less, recognises as a Christian brother. The politician piles fact
upon fact, and argument upon argument, in denunciation of
Slavery and the Slave-power, through the organs of a party
which denies that it has any wish or intention to interfere with
Slavery where it already exists, or to withhold from the Slave-
holder any of the privileges which the Constitution confers upon
him. Against such witnesses there can be brought no charge of
fanaticism. If there shall seem to be any glaring inconsistency
between the avowal that Slavery is a gigantic wrong, or a heinous
sin, and a position as a Christian or a citizen which gives to it
that support without which it cannot exist, it is for those between
whose faith and works such contradiction appears, to explain
and justify it. The author of this work has done his part if by
unimpeachable testimony he has shown the true character and
the true relations of American Slavery.
1*
A PAGE FOE 1864!
WHY SUPPRESSED? Reader, would you like to know? Read
the Book, and you will presently discover why. Would you have
published it when it was written? Would you even have read it?
Would you not have indignantly put it from you, muttering some-
thing about "those abominable abolitionists"?
This Book was written Anno Domini 1857. The stereotype
plates from which it is now printed, were made then. Since that
time, as the penalty for having been brought into the world seven
years too soon, they have slumbered, unknown, unnoticed, and
undisturbed, beneath the surface of the earth.
But, while they slept, the nation has been "marching on."
Awake to its danger, it springs from its former lethargy, and
wonders at its long-continued apathy to its true interests. We
are not what we were seven years ago. We dare to read things
at which we then would have looked with suspicion. We no
longer tremble at the thought of what the slave power would do
to us, were it to catch us doing any thing contrary to its bidding.
We open our mouths to shout aloud what is right, instead of being
almost afraid to whisper it. We can print, publish, read, speak,
and listen to — exactly what we please.
And now, brought to the light of day, the Book discloses the
hideous skeleton of the institution which we have fondled and
petted till it has almost been the death of us. It reveals the dark
deeds of slavery, and opens to view its hideous purposes, its revo-
lutionary premeditations. It is no hackneyed hash of the worn,
out things which for a generation have been said about slavery.
It is fresh, vivid, sparkling, cutting to the very quick. Its pic-
tures are true to the life. Its almost prophetic utterances are
"borne out by the light of the terrible deeds of the past three years.
You can read it now. You will not have to conceal it in your
drawer, or furtively slip it into your waste-paper basket, or under
the table-cover, if you are interrupted while absorbed in the
thrilling interest of its pages. You can hold it open before your
neighbor, for he wants to read it. The nation wants to see it.
The world needs to know the truths contained in it.
AND NOW LET THE WORLD READ IT.
6
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PAET I.
THINGS PAST AND PRESENT.
Chap. I. — How the Negro has been Treated 9
II. — The unfortunate "Sons of Ham," as
Slaves . 87
III. — Commercial and "Union-Saving" Obe-
dience to Slavery 63
IV. — The Imperious Demands of the Slave
Power -.. 89
PART II.
SLAVES, HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE.
Chap. I. — The "Nigger Auction" Business 121
II. — Coffle Gangs, and the Separation of
Families 159
PART III.
SLAVE life on the plantation.
Chap. I. — The Barbarisms of the Institution.... 187
II. — Stripes, Chains, and Tortures 209
PART IV.
SLAVE education and religion.
Chap. I. — Ignorance of the Slave Begion... 233
II. — Muzzling the Press and mangling the
Bible 251
7
8 CONTENTS.
PART Y.
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
PAGE
Chap. I. — Fugitives and Bloodhounds 277
II. — Hunting " Runaw ay Niggers" 313
III. — Restoring Lost "Property" 335
PART VI.
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
Chap. I. — Ostend, Cuba, and Kansas 353
II. — Slavery to reign supreme in America. 367
Appendix A. — Colorphobia in Free States 381
B. — The Rev. Judicious Trimmer, D.D.. 393
C. — Domestic and Foreign Slave-Trade 407
D. — Dough-Face Religion 417
Postscript, 1864 427
Particular Index 429
illustrations.
Human Flesh at Auction (Frontispiece).
Halting at Noon.
The Coffle-G-ang.
Sold to go South.
The Lash.
Flogging the Negro.
The Bloodhound Business.
Running Away.
PART FIRST.
A GENEKAL VIEW OF THE PAST AM) PRESENT STATE
OF THINGS.
CHAPTER I.
" When I reflect that God is just, and that his justice can not sleep
for ever, I tremble for my country." — Jefferson.
" There is no power out of the churches that could sustain Slavery an
hour, if it were not sustained in them." — Barnes.
Under the whole heavens there is not to be found a people
pursued with a more relentless prejudice and persecution,
than are the " colored" children of the United States of North
America. Those who imbibe this prejudice against " color" —
a practical denial of the Unity of the Human race as taught
in the Bible — become infidels without suspecting it. Those
who oppose it, and oppose Slavery, are driven into the infi-
delity that rejects the Bible by hearing the Bible appealed to
in defence of them. In the New Testament, we are told that
" God hath made of one blood all nations of men," (Acts
xvii. 17 ;) and, that " he is no respecter of persons," (Acts
x. 34; Eph. vi. 9.) "In Christ," says St. Paul, "all are
one : there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond
nor free." And Christ has laid down as the foundation of all
true religion, and as the rule of our conduct toward him and
his children, that we love the Lord our God with all our heart,
and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and our Neighbor
1*
10 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
as ourselves. On these two commandments hang all the Law
and the prophets. (Matt, xxii., 37-40.)
Senator Morrill, of New Hampshire, in a Speech, delivered
in the United States Senate in 1820, said: "You excluded
not only your Soldiers of Color from their Constitutional
rights, but robbed them of the Patents of land you had given
them. They fought your battles. They defended your coun-
try They preserved your privileges, but have lost their own.
What did you say to them on their Enlistment ? ' We will
give you a monthly compensation, and, at the end of the war,
one hundred and sixty acres of land, on which you may settle,
and by cultivating the soil, spend your declining years in peace
and in the enjoyment of those immunities for which you have
fought and bled.' Now, sir, you restrict them, and will not
allow them to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Where is the
Public faith ? Did they suppose, with a Patent in their hand,
declaring their title to land in Missouri, with the Seal of the
Nation and the President's signature affixed thereto, it would
be said unto them, by any authority, ' you shall not possess
the premises' ? and yet this must follow if ' colored men are
not citizens.'"
He that is not a Citizen is either an Alien or Slave. He
that is not a Citizen can not inherit house or land. He can not
receive them by devise while he lives, nor bequeath them
by his Will when he dies. The property given to him reverts
to the State. His wife has no dower. His children have no
inheritance. He can not come into the Courts for redress.
He can neither sue to recover rights nor to obtain debts. He
can hold no trust and exercise no guardianship. He can be
hanged or sent to jail, but he can not sit in the Jury-box. He
can not be naturalized unless he is " white ;" can not acquire
rights by staying in the country, nor can he have a Passport
to go to any other. Such is the condition of him who is not
a citizen of the State under the Common Law, and such is
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 11
defined to be the condition of every " free colored" man and
woman, by the Supreme Court of the United States — that
Supreme Court which strains every nerve to catch a single
Slave, but does not scruple a moment to disfranchise seven
hundred and fifty thousand freemen !
At the time of the Declaration of Independence there were
but two States, South Carolina and Virginia, in which " free
colored men" were excluded from citizenship. In all the other
States no distinction was made as to the right of suffrage, on
the ground of " color ;" and so the matter also stood at the
period of the adoption of the Federal Constitution, except in
the case of little Delaware, she having adopted by that time
the exclusive policy.
Thomas Jefferson, the immortal penman of the Declaration
of Independence, ascribed Citizenship to the Slaves no less
than to the " free colored men." The following passage,
quoted from the " Proclamation" he issued in reference to the
outrage of the British man-of-war Leopard upon the American
frigate Chesapeake, relates to " free colored men." To under-
stand the force of this quotation, it should be recollected that
of the four seamen taken from the American service, the two
born in the United States were " black men," natives of Mary-
land. The passage in the " Proclamation" is as follows : —
" This enormity was not only without provocation or justifiable cause,
but was committed with the avowed purpose of taking by force from a
ship-of-war of the United States a part of her crew, and that no circum-
stance might be wanting to mark its character, it had been previously
ascertained that the seamen demanded were Native Citizens of the United
States."
In his " Notes on Virginia," Jefferson shows what he thought
as to the possibility of Slaves being Citizens *of the United
States. After enumerating some of the horrors of the atro-
cious concern called the " Peculiar Institution," he proceeds
as follows :
12 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
" And with what execration should the statesman be loaded, who, per-
mitting one half of the Citizens thus to trample on the rights of the other,
transforms those into despots, and these into enemies, destroys the
morals of the one and the amor patrioz of the other."
The Hon. Tristram Burgess, of Rhode Island, in a Speech in
Congress, in January, 1828, said: " At the commencement of
the war, Rhode Island had a large number of Slaves. A regi-
ment of them were enlisted into the Continental service, and
no braver men met the enemy in battle."
Governor Eustis. of Massachusetts, in his Speech against
Slavery in Missouri, in 1820, bore this testimony to the brav-
ery of the Colored Soldiers : " The blacks formed an entire
Regiment, and they discharged their duty with zeal and fidel-
ity. The gallant defence of Red Bank, New Jersey, in which
the Black Regiment bore a part, is among the proofs of
their valor."
The glory of the defence of Red Bank, which has been
pronounced one of the most Heroic actions of the War, be-
longs in reality to black men ; yet who now hears them spo-
ken of in connection with it ? Here are a few of the names
of the Soldiers composing the Regiment : —
Cato Greene, Philo Philipps, Eichard Cozzens,
Caesar Power, Primus Rhodes, Richard Rhodes,
Cuff Greene, Prince Greene, Sampson Hazzard,
Gay Watson, Prince Jenks, Scipio Brown,
Henry Taylor, Prince Vaughan, Thomas Brown,
Ichabod Northrup, Reuben Roberts, York Champlain.
Gentlemen, who had at first held back from taking commis-
sions, finding how matters were going, assumed commands, as
readily of the Black Companies as if they had been pure Cau-
casian blood. The nephew of General Washington, Captain
Humphreys — take notice, sham democrats of the nineteenth
century — a nephew of General Washington, acting under the
inspirations of his immortal uncle — commanded one of these
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 13
battalions; notice, likewise, that their courage was equal to
that of the white regulars.* The following is a list of some of
the names of the " Black Heroes" commanded by Captain
Humphreys. They belonged to the Second Company of the
Ninth Regiment of the Connecticut Line of the Revolutionary
Army : —
Alexander Judd, Herman Rodgers, Peter Lyon,
Andrew Jack, Isaac Higgins, Peter Mix,
Bill Sowers, Jack Arabus, Peter Morand,
Bristen Parker, Jack Little, Phineas Strong,
Caesar Chapman, James Dinah, Philo Freeman,
Cato Wilbrow, Jesse Rose, Pomp Cyras,
Cato Robinson, Job Csesar, Pomp Liberty,
* It would seem from the record that some black men could lead
off in a fight, on an emergency. A "descendant of Ham," named
Crispus Attucks, was advertised in the Boston "Gazette" of Nov.
20, 1750, as a "runaway nigger." History does not inform us
whether or not the "patriarch" who advertised him succeeded in
catching him. Probably not. Crispus may have been smart enough
to keep out of his way But on the 5th of March, 1770, the run-
away proved that he was no coward. Captain Preston, with a body
of British soldiers, undertook to repress symptoms of revolution
then manifest in a crowd of Bostonians at Dock Square and near the
Custom-House. The "white folks" hesitated a little, probably
fearing to inaugurate hostilities with the mother-country. At-
tucks, seeing the need of a leader, placed himself at the head
of the crowd, and urged them to drive the red-coats from the
streets. He rushed forward, shouting, "Come on! Don't be afraid!
We'll drive these red-coats out of Boston!" Two bullets pierced
his breast, and the black man fell, the first martyr in the struggle
for the freedom of the United States of America. No monument
marks the spot where the body of this courageous man lies,
simply because he was "a nigger." An effort was recently made,
in the Legislature of Massachusetts, to erect a monument to
him, but it failed. Had his epidermis been of the sort com-
monly known as "flesh-color," a magnificent and costly monu-
ment would have commemorated his brave deed. "Who did sin,
this man or his parents," that he was born with yellowish-brown
skin?
14
A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
Caesar Bagton,
Cuff Freeman,
Cuff Liberty,
Congo Zado,
Daniel Bradley,
Dick Freeman,
Dick Violet,
Ezekiel Tupham,
Gamelia Ferry,
Harry Williams,
Joe Etis,
John Ball,
John Cleveland,
John M'Lane,
John Rodgers, '
Juba Dyer,
Juba Freeman,
Lent Munson,
Lewis Martin,
Ned Freeman.
Pomp M'Cuff,
Prince Crosby,
Prince George,
Prince Johnson,
Shapp Rodgers,
Sharp Camp,
Solomon Lowtice,
Shubael Johnson,
Tim Caesar,
Tom Freeman.
Among the traits which distinguished the Black Regiments,
was devotion to their Officers. In the attack made upon the
American lines, near Croton river, Westchester County, New
York, on the 13th May, 1781, Colonel Christopher Greene,
the commander of the Regiment, was cut down and mortally
wounded, but the sabres of the enemy only reached him through
the bodies of his faithful guard of blacks, who hovered over
him, fighting with the utmost daring to protect him until the
last man of them was killed. No monumental piles distin-
guish their " dreamless beds ;" not an inch on the page of
History has been appropriated to their memory !
Not long ago, while the excavations for the vaults of a great
retail dry goods store, north of the Park, New York, were go-
ing on, a large quantity of human bones were thrown up by
the workmen. On inquiry it was ascertained that they were
the bones of Colored American Soldiers, who fell in the bat-
tles of Long Island, in 1776, and of such as died of wounds
then received. At that day, as at this, spite of the declara-
tion that " all men are created equal," the prejudice against
the " colored man" was intensely strong. The black and the
white had fought against the same enemy, under the same
banner, contending for the same object. But in the grave,
they must be divided. On the battlefield, the blacks and the
whites had mixed their bravery and their blood, but their
ashes must not mingle in the bosom of their common mother.
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 15
The white man, exclusive and haughty even in his burial, must
have his place of rest proudly apart from the grave of his
black brother, whom he had once enslaved. Now, after
seventy-nine years have passed by, the bones of these forgot-
ten victims of the Revolution are shovelled up, and carted off,
and thrown into the sea, as the rubbish of the City ! Had
they been white men's relics, they would have been honored
with sumptuous burial anew. Now they are the rubbish of
the Street. What boots it that the Colored man fought for
American freedom ; that he bled for liberty ; that he died for
his white brothers ? Does the Colored man deserve a tomb ?
(See Appendix A.)
Three quarters of a century have passed by since the re-
treat from Long Island. What a change since then ! From
the Washington of that day to the world's Washington of this,
what a change ! Under the pavement of Broadway, beneath
the walls of the Bazaar, there still lie the bones of the Colored
Martyrs of American Independence ! Dandies swarm gayly
over the threshold, heedless of the dead Colored Soldier, con-
temptuous of the living. And while these faithful bones were
being shoveled and carted to the sea, there was "a great
Slave-hunt" in New England : a man was kidnapped and car-
ried off to bondage.
The Hon. Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina, in a Speech
delivered in the United States Senate, in 1820, bore the fol-
lowing testimony to the services rendered by the Colored
Soldiers of 1776 : "At the commencement of the Revolution-
ary struggle with Great Britain, all the States had this class
of people. The New England States had numbers of them;
the Middle States had still more, although less than the South-
ern States. They all entered into the great contest with sim-
ilar views. Like brethren they contended for the benefit of
the whole, leaving to each the right to pursue its happiness in
its own way. They thus nobly toiled and bled together, real-
16 A GENERAL VIEW OP THE PAST
iy like brethren. The colored portion of the population then
were, as they still are, as valuable to the Union as any other
equal number of inhabitants. They were in numerous in-
stances the Pioneers, and in all, the Laborers of your Armies.
To their hands were owing the erection of the greatest part
of the Fortifications raised for the protection of our country.
In the Northern States, numerous bodies of them were enlist-
ed, and fought side by side with the whites the battles of the
Revolution."
The Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts, in his
Speech in Congress, on the Imprisonment of Colored Seamen,
September, 1850, bore this testimony to the gallant conduct
of the Colored Soldiers of the War of 1812 : "I have an im-
pression that, not, indeed, in these piping times of Peace, but
in the time of the War, when quite a boy, I have seen Black
Soldiers enlisted, who did faithful and excellent service. But,
however it may have been in the Northern States, I can tell
the Senator what happened in the Southern States at this
period. I believe that I shall be borne out in saying, that no
Regiments did better service at New Orleans, than did the
Black Regiments, which were organized under the direction
of General Jackson himself."
While the British force was approaching Louisiana, Gen-
eral Jackson learned that among its ranks were Regiments of
Colored Men, and he wished to excite the sentiments of loyalty
in the bosoms of the " colored people" of that state. The
condition of affairs was such, that not a man could be spared.
The Government at Washington had left New Orleans utterly
without defence, and the general had to avail himself of all
the means within his reach to get together a force strong
enough to make resistance with something like a chance in his
favor of success. To this end, on the 21st of September,
1814, he issued from his Headquarters, at Mobile, Alabama,
a " Proclamation," of which the following is a true copy :
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 17
Headquarters, 1th Military District,
Mobile, September 21, 1814.
To the Free Colored inhabitants of Louisiana :
Through a mistaken policy you have heretofore been deprived of a
participation in the glorious struggle for National Rights, in which your
country is engaged. This no longer shall exist. As sons of freedom,
you are now called on. to defend our most inestimable blessings. As
Americans, your country looks with confidence to her colored children for a
valorous support. As fathers, husbands, and brothers, you are summoned to
rally around the Standard of the Eagle, to defend all that is dear to exist-
ence. Your country, although calling for your exertions, does not wish
you to engage in her cause without remunerating you for the services
rendered. In the sincerity of a Soldier, and in the language of Truth, I
address you. To every noble-hearted man of Color, volunteering to
serve during the present contest with Great Britain, and no longer, there
will be paid the same bounty in money and land now received by the
white Soldiers of the United States, viz. : $124 in money, and 160 acres
of land. The non-commissioned officers and privates will also be entitled to
the same monthly pay and daily rations, and clothes, furnished to any white
American soldier. The major-general commanding will select officers for
your government from your white fellow-Citizens. Your non-commis-
sioned officers will be selected from yourselves. Due regard will be paid
to the feelings of Freemen and Soldiers. You will not, by being asso-
ciated with white men, in the same corps, be exposed to improper com-
parisons, or unjust sarcasm. As a distinct independent battalion or
regiment, pursuing the path of glory, you will, undivided, receive the
applause and gratitude of your countrymen. To insure you of the Sin-
cerity of my Intentions, and my anxiety to engage your valuable services
to our country, I have communicated my wishes to the Governor of
Louisiana, who is fully informed as to the manner of enrolments, and
will give you every necessary information on the subject of this address.
ANDREW JACKSON,
Major- General Commanding.
There is an elaborate Engraving of the Battle of New
Orleans, eighteen by twenty inches, executed by M. Hya-
cinthe Laclotte, the correctness of which was certified to, by
eleven of the Superior Officers in New Orleans, July 15, 1815,
when the drawing was completed. In the battle, General
Jackson and his staff were just at the right of the advancing
18 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
left column of the British, and near him were stationed the
Colored Soldiers. He is numbered " 6," and the position of
the Colored Soldiers, " 8." The chart explanation of" Report,
No. 8," from the American Army, reads thus : " 8. Captains
Dominique and Bluche, two 24-pounders; Major Lacoste's
battalion, formed of Men of Color, of New Orleans, and Major
Daquin's battalion, formed of the Men of Color of St. Domingo,
under Major Savery, second in command." When it is re-
membered that the whole number of Soldiers claimed by the
Americans to have been in that battle reached only 3,600, it
will be seen that the " Men of Color" were present in larger
proportion than their numbers in the country warranted.
General Jackson in his second " proclamation" said :
New Orleans, December 18, 1814.
To the Free People of Color :
Soldiers ! when on the banks of the Mobile, I called you to take up
arms, inviting you to partake the perils and glory of your white fellow-
Citizens, I expected much from you, for I was not ignorant that you
possessed qualities most formidable to an invading enemy. I knew with
what fortitude you could endure hnnger and thirst, and all the fatigues
of a campaign. I knew well how you loved your Native country, and that
you as well as ourselves, had to defend what Man holds most dear — his
Parents, Wife, Children, and Property. You have done more than 1 ex-
pected. In addition to the previous qualities 1 before knew you to possess, I
found among you a noble enthusiasm which leads to the performance of great
things. Soldiers ! the President of the United States shall hear how praise-
worthy icas your conduct in the hour of danger, and the Representatives of
the American people loill give you the praise your exploits entitle you to !
Your General anticipates them in applauding your noble ardor ! The
enemy approaches — his vessels cover our lakes — our brave Citizens are
united, and all contention (about color) has ceased among them. Their
only dispute is who shall win the prize of valor, or who the most glory,
its noblest reward. By order.
THOMAS BUTLER, Aid-de-Camp.
How have these promises been kept ? Alas ! alas ! What
a spectacle do we witness in the year of our Lord, 1857. A
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 19
country reaching from Sea to Sea. from the Gulf of tropic
heat to Lake Superior's arctic cold, and not one inch of free
soil all the way! A country 2,936,166 square miles, and not
a foot where a poor heart-broken fugitive from Slavery can be
free from the grasp of his " Master" or his agents ! And this
not the deed of a State reluctantly performing in her sovereign
right a Constitutional obligation, but, in hurried obedience to
despotic will !
Slavery, which was left to u die with decency," has become
the vital and animating spirit of the National Government.
The Slaveholders no longer conceal their purpose or deny
their assumptions. They control the Foreign and Domestic
policy, make War and Peace, enact and trample under foot
Laws, and Treaties, and Constitutions, as suits their despotic
wills. Their avowals are no less insulting than their acts are
insufferable. In the " temple of liberty," Liberty herself is
derided. In the Senate of the United States the dicta of its
founders are denounced as a lie. The celebration of the
" Fourth of July," in all the States, is looked upon as little
else than a treasonable emeute. The laws of Congress and
the " constitutional privileges" of the Citizens of the several
States are alike denied validity when conflicting with the
opinions or interests of the Slaveholders. Courts of justice,
which are denied in one State for the liberation of Citizens,
are perverted in another to the destruction of the liberties
of all.
Jefferson's prediction is fulfilled. The danger he dreaded
has come upon the people of the "free States." Here is his
warning, written thirty-five years ago. Every line and word
applies with startling distinctness, to the decision made by the
Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Dred Scott,
on the 7th of March, 1857 :—
" We already see the power installed for life, responsible to no author-
ity, (for impeachment is not even a scare-crow) advancing with a noise-
20 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
less and steady pace to the great object of consolidation. ITie founda-
tions are already deeply laid by their decisions for the annihilation of Consti-
tutional State Rights. This will not be borne. You will have to choose
between reformation and revolution. If I know the spirit of this country,
the one or the other is inevitable. Contrary to all correct example, they
go out of the question before them, to throw an anchor ahead, and grapple
further hold for future advances of power. They are, then, in fact, the
corps of Sappers and Miners, steadily working to undermine the inde-
pendent rights of the States. Nothing in the Constitution has given them
a right to decide for the Executive more than for the Executive to decide for
them. The opinion which gives to the Judges the right to decide what
laws are Constitutional, and what not, not only for themselves in then-
own sphere of action, but for the Legislature and Executive also in their
spheres, would make the Judiciary a despotic branch. If this opinion be
sound, then, indeed, is our Constitution a complete felo de se. For in-
tending to establish three departments coordinate and independent that
they might check and counterbalance one another, it has given, according
to this opinion, to one of them alone the Right to prescribe Rules for
the Government of the others— and to that one, too, which is unelected by
and independent of the Nation."
Such is the portrait of Chief-Justice Taney and his Slave-
holding associates, drawn by the pen that wrote the Declara-
tion of Independence. - Acknowledging no control either by
Congress, the Executive, or even " the People," this Court
issues edicts to each, and directs or forbids the action of all.
Never did man speak more truly than did Daniel Webster,
when he declared — " There is no North ;" for there is none.
The South goes clear up to the Canada line. The New York
Tribune of the 9th of March, 1857, says : " The people of the
free States have been accustomed to regard Slavery as a
* local' matter for which we were in no wise responsible. As
we have been used to say, it belonged to the Slave States
alone, and they must answer for it before the world. We can
say this no more. Now wherever the Stars and Stripes wave,
they protect Slavery and represent Slavery. The cursed
stain is on our hands also. From Maine to the Pacific, over
all future conquests and annexations, wherever in the islands
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 21
of western seas, or in the South American Continent, or in
the Mexican Gulf, the Flag of the Union, by just means or
unjust, shall be planted, there it plants the curse, and tears, and
blood, and unpaid toil of this 'Institution.' The Star of
Freedom and the Stripes of Bondage are henceforth one.
American Republicanism and American Slavery are for the
future synonymous. This, then, is the final fruit ! In this all
the labors of our statesmen, the blood of our heroes, the life-
long cares and toils of our forefathers, the aspirations of our
scholars, the prayers of good men, have finally ended !"
There is not upon the face of the earth so despotic a Gov-
ernment as that of either of the Slaveholding States of the
American Republic. Take, for example, the State of South
Carolina. What are the " qualifications of a Representative" ?
He must be legally seized and possessed, in his own right, of a
settled freehold of five hundred acres of land, and ten Slaves ;
or, of real estate of the value of seven hundred and fifty dol-
lars, clear of debt. If a man does not own Slaves, he must
own more land ; because when a man owns a certain amount
of land, he generally finds it necessary, in order to make it
profitable, and increase its value, to purchase Slaves; and
thus, as he increases the quantity of his land, he becomes
interested in " Slave property." In this way, even those dis-
tricts where there are but few Slaves will be represented by
the owners of those Slaves in the legislature. They, there-
fore, will concur generally in measures for the support of the
Slave interest — and thus the whole House of Representatives
must belong to the Slaveholders. But to be a Senator requires
twice the amount of freehold property qualification, that it
does to be a Representative. It will, therefore, follow, that
both Houses must represent the Slave interest, not by a cer-
tain majority only, but with absolute unanimity. And the
Governor of the State, whose duty it is to recommend meas-
ures for the action of the legislature, must be worth not less
22 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
than seven thousand dollars in settled estate. The governor,
therefore, is the Executive of the Slave interest.
The two United States Senators are elected by the State
Legislature. They must, therefore, represent the Slave in-
terest of their State. Again, the Legislature divides the
State Congressional Districts, and it so does it that the Repre-
sentatives in Congress shall represent the Slaveholding Dis-
tricts, chiefly. The State is entitled to seven Representatives
in Congress. Now mark how these " Liberty-loving" Caro-
linians have arranged it. The lower country, with a White
population of little over half that of the upper country, has
four Representatives, while the latter has only three Repre-
sentatives. In Congress, therefore, as well as in the State
Legislature, it is the Slaveholding interest that is provided
for.* Again, the Electors for President of the United States
are chosen, not directly by " the People," but by the Legisla-
ture ; and they, therefore, also represent the Slave interest.
Again, the Judges and the ordinary Magistrates are chosen by
the Legislature. Thus the Legislative, Executive, and Judi-
cial departments of the Government are all the Representa-
* South Carolina has seven Representatives in Congress, while New
Hampshire, with a free population greater by thirty-four thousand, has
only three ; and Virginia has thirteen, while Massachusetts, with a "free
population" greater by forty-five thousand, has only eleven ; and Missis-
sippi has fiie, while Wisconsin, with about ten thousand greater "free
population/' has only three. The Slave States, on the same basis of
representation as the " free," are entitled to only sixty-Jive Representa-
tives in Congress ; yet they have ninety ; that is, twenty-five extra.
This discrepancy between population and representation arises from the
fact that, in determining between the number of representatives to which
each State is entitled, Jive Slaves are reckoned equal to three Freemen !
The Slaves have a representation equal to that of the "free States" of
New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa, and Wisconsin ! With-
out the representation allowed to " Slave property" by the Compro-
misers of the "free States," the Slaveholders would have been kept in
proper check.
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 23
tives of the Slaveholding interest. And to make it sure that
this order of Government shall perpetually exist, the Consti-
tution of the State provides that no part of this Constitution
shall be altered unless a bill to alter the same shall have been
read three times in the House of Representatives, and three
times in the Senate, and agreed to by two thirds of both
branches of the whole representation ; neither shall any alter-
ation take place until the bill so agreed to, be published three
months previous to a new election for members of the House
of Representatives, and if the alteration proposed by the Legis-
lature shall be agreed to in their first Session, by two thirds
of the whole representation in both branches of the legislature,
after the same shall have been read three times, on three sev-
eral days in each House, then and not otherwise the same shall
become a part of the Constitution.
Now, we ask, when will this Slaveholding legislature, by a
vote of two thirds of both Houses in two different Sessions,
so alter the Constitution as to throw the majority of that body
upon the side of the non-Slaveholding interests of the State,
where it rightfully belongs ? They will never do it so long as
their Slaves can be of any profit to them. The non-Slave-
holders or poor whites, therefore, who have no interest in
Slavery, but whose interests are directly opposed to it, are
tied down, " neck-and-heels," politically speaking, by the
Slaveholding Power. They put their votes in the Ballot-box,
it is true, but can not vote for one of themselves. They must
make election from one of the Traffickers in Men, Women,
and Children!
Of what account, then, is the vote of the non-Slaveholding
portion of the white population of the State ? It does not help
them out in the least, but it serves to delude them with the
idea that they are " freemen," that they may not raise a clamor
about their "rights." And who are their " Masters"? Why,
the Slaveholding gentlemen, who, living upon the labor, &c,
24 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
&c, of Slaves, often their own Children, care not a straw
what is the condition of the poor but industrious white man,
nor what becomes of him or his family. If they can get some
of them for their Overseers, these they will take interest in,
according to their skill in " managing and driving" their " col-
ored brethren." The poor whites have no social equality —
no political force — no moral influence. Steeped in ignorance
and poverty, the Slaveholders neither respect their opinions
nor fear their power. The ostensible Representatives of
" the People," in obedience to their " Masters," have not only
reduced the " laboring masses" to servitude, but added insult
to injury, by openly avowing that " Slavery is the rightful
state of the laborer, everywhere, white or black."
The 32,000 Slaveholders in the State not only have De-
spotic Power over their 384,988 Slaves, but entire Political
Power over 242,567 white native-born freemen, who can not
by any Constitutional means redress themselves when op-
pressed by Legislative authority — who are so completely
kept under the iron hoof, that they can not even have the
question of their proper rights brought into discussion in the
only body that can Constitutionally effect a change in the
Government. Is there so great a despotism under the sun ?
In the non-Slaveholding States, we do not often find a
person who can not read ; but in South Carolina one fourth
of the adult whites can not read ; and there are few of the
other three fourths who can even do this with anything like
correctness. Nor are the non-Slaveholding portion of the
" genuine white population" of the other Slaveholding
States highly celebrated for their learning. Yet the De-
mocracy of the li free States" sympathize with this abhor-
rent power, which makes their Laws, builds their party Plat-
forms, and makes their " Public Opinion." They are egre-
giously humbugged — are they not? or do they begin to
understand it ?
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 25
Concerning this class, the poor whites, Mr. William Gregg,
of Charleston, in a pamphlet, called " Essays on Domestic In-
dustry, or an Inquiry into the Expediency of establishing
Cotton Manufactures in South Carolina," in 1845, says:
" Shall we pass unnoticed the thousands of poor, ignorant, de-
graded white people among us, who in this l land of plenty J
live in comparative nakedness and starvation ? Many a one is
reared in South Carolina, from birth to manhood, who has
never passed a month in which he has not, some part of the
time, been stinted for meat. Many a mother is there tvho will
tell you that her children are but scantily provided with bread,
and more scantily with meat ; and if they be clad with com-
fortable raiment, it is at the expense of these scanty alloivances
of food. These may be startling statements, but they are
nevertheless true ; and, if not believed in Charleston, the
members of our legislature, who have traversed the State in
Electioneering campaigns, can attest their truth. While we
are aware that Northern and Eastern States find no difficulty
in educating their poor, we are ready to despair of success in
the matter, for even penal laws against the neglect of educa-
tion would fail to bring many of our country people to send
their children to school. I have long been under the impression,
and every day's experience has strengthened my convictions,
that the evils exist in the wholly neglected condition of this
class of persons.
" Any man who is an observer of things could hardly pass
through our country without being struck by the fact that all
the capital, enterprise, and intelligence, is employed in direct-
ing Slave labor ; and the consequence is, that our poor white
people are wholly neglected, and are suffered to while away
an existence in a state but one step in advance of the Indian
of the forest. It is an evil of vast magnitude, and nothing but
a change in ' public sentiment' will effect its cure. These peo-
ple must be brought into daily contact with- the rich and intel-
2
26 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
ligent — they must be stimulated to mental action, and taught
to appreciate education and the comforts of civilized life ; and
this, we believe, may be effected only hy the introduction of
Manufactures. My experience at G-raniteville has satisfied me,
that unless our poor people can be brought together in villa-
ges, and some means of employment afforded them, it will be
an utterly hopeless effort to undertake to educate them. We
have collected at G-raniteville about 800 people, and as likely-
looking a set of country girls as may be found — industrious
and orderly people, but deplorably ignorant, three fourths of the
adults not being able to read. It is very clear to me that the
only means of educating and Christianizing our poor whites,
will be to bring them into such villages, where they will not
only become intelligent, but a thrifty and useful class in our
communit}\"
Governor Hammond, in an address before the South Caro-
lina Institute, in 1850, describes these poor whites, or non-
Slaveholders, as follows : " They obtain a precarious subsist-
ence by occasional jobs, by hunting, by fishing, by plundering
fields or folds, and too often by ivhat is in its effects far worse,
trading with Slaves, and seducing them to plunder for their
benefit." Governor M'Dufne openly declared, in 1835, that
the laboring population of any country, "bleached or un-
bleached," Avas a dangerous element unless reduced to Sla-
very. He predicted that the laboring people of the "free
States" would be virtually reduced to Slavery within thirty
years. Hear him : —
" If we look into the elements of which all political communities are
composed, it will be found that servitude, in some form or other, is one
of the essential constituents. In the very nature of things, there must
be classes of persons to discharge all the different offices of society, from
the highest to the lowest. Where these offices are performed by mem-
bers of the political community, a dangerous element is obviously intro-
Huced by the body politic. Domestic Slavery, therefore, instead of being
an evil, is the Comer-Stone of our Republican edifice." (Message to South
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 27
Carolina Legislature, 1835.) Of the Abolitionists he said : " The laws
of every community should punish this species of interference with death,
without benefit of clergy."
A mechanic, who was " doing well" in Massachusetts, but
wanted to " do better," removed with his family to South Car-
olina, wrote back the following account of the country and its
inhabitants : " You ask me how I like the country and the
people thereof. As to the land, it is cheap as dirt, but the cli-
mate is rather blowy and sultry. The owners of ' the people'
are distinguished for their chivalrous bearing. Cruelty, deceit,
and cowardice, are unknown among them. They are extreme-
ly philanthropic and wonderfully religious. Human sacrifices
are not very frequent, and cannibalism is scarcely ever heard
of. The principal exports of the State are cotton, rice, and
Negroes."
A man on Long Island, New York, a carpenter, who, as
master- workman had become successful, by industry, honesty,
and intelligence, in the pursuit of his business, and learning
that there was great demand for his work in the " land of
gentle gales," and thinking he might more rapidly acquire a
competency there, closed up his business and went South for
that purpose. He had hardly got into his shop, when a man
sent for him to make a contract with him for repairing and in
effect rebuilding some part of his establishment. He desired
him to make a computation of the cost, and to let him know
the lowest price at which he would undertake the business.
The bill somewhat exceeded his expectations. He reflected
a while, and at length told the man that on the whole he con-
cluded not to engage him. The work would take two or three
months, and he thought he could do better to buy a carpenter,
and sell him again in the spring. The man left the house,
went to his shop, packed up his tools, took passage for New
York, declaring that a country where men could buy their
carpenters and sell them again in the spring, was no place for
him or for free-labor to live in.
28 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
The Slave-traders of Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, &c, have
made sad work with the Sons and Daughters of South Caro-
lina. In 1790, the State had a " genuine white population"
of 140,178 souls, and in 1850, only 274,567. What has be-
come of the natural increase of the 140,178?
There ought to have been, in 1850, a population of 840,000.
The a Peculiar Institution" is chargeable with the defi-
ciency.
A book has recently been published in the South — a book
that has been indorsed by The Richmond (Va.) Enquirer, the
ablest organ of the Democratic party in the United States —
an organ that sustained the Administration of Franklin Pierce,
and sustains the Administration of James Buchanan. Here
are a few extracts from the work :
1. Make the laboring man the Slave of one man, instead of the Slave
of Society, and he would be far better off. Two hundred years of labor
have made white laborers a pauper banditti. Free society has failed, and
that which is not free must be substituted. Tree society is a monstrous
abortion, and Slavery is the healthy, and beautiful, and natural condition
which they are trying unconsciously to adopt. Nature has made the
weak in mind and body Slaves.
2. The Slaves are governed far better than the free laborers of the
North are governed. Our negroes are far better off as to physical com-
fort than the free laborers, and their moral condition is better. Slavery,
black or white, is right and necessary. Men are not born entitled to
equal rights. It would be far nearer to truth to say that some were born
with saddles on their backs, and others booted and spurred to ride them,
and riding does them good. They need the reins, the bit, and the
spur.
3. Life and liberty are not inalienable. The Declaration of Independ-
ence is exuberantly false and aborescently fallacious. Has not the ex-
periment of universal liberty failed ? Are not the evils of free society
insufferable 1 We repeat, then, that policy and humanity alike forbid the
extension of the evils of free society to a new people and coming genera-
tions. We would not have your rich, vulgar, licentious bosses, and your
brutal insubordinate factory hands in our midst, for all " the wealth of
Ormus and Ind." We would not exchange our situation for the count-
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 29
less millions of paupers and criminals who build up and sustain the
cowardly, infidel, licentious, revolutionary edifice of free society.
4. Until recently, the defence of Slavery has labored under difficulties,
but its apologists (for they are mere apologists), took halfway ground.
They confined the defence of Slavery to the mere Negro Slavery ; thereby
giving up the Slavery principle, admitting other forms of Slavery to be
wrong. The line of defence, however, is now changed. The South
maintains that Slavery is right, natural, and necessary, and does not depend
upon difference of complexion. The laws of the Slave States justify the
holding of white men in bondage. Repeatedly have we asked the North,
"Has not the experiment of liberty failed % Are not the evils of free
society insufferable ? . And do not thinking men among you propose to
subvert and reconstruct it ?" Still no answer. This gloomy silence is
another conclusive proof, added to many other conclusive evidences we
have furnished, that free society in the long run is an impracticable form
of society.
The people of Virginia certainly are . " a people blessed
above all other people." They might have Wealth ; they
might have Manufactures ; they might have Commerce ; but
they do not want a Society that it wouid bring along with it !
They are content now : give them territory enough so that they
can extend their " Institution" and sell annually $25,000,000
worth of their Sons and Daughters, and that " Commonwealth"
is content.
The party papers throughout the Southern States echo the
sentiments of the Richmond Enquirer boldly, while at the
North and West they clo the same. No Democratic paper
has dared to deny or controvert its position, nor will any do
so. The Democracy of the South may be regarded as the
Democracy of the Nation, for it has always given to the entire
party shape and direction as well as Platforms. The party
being, according to its own averment, exclusively " National,"
it must, of necessity, be the same North that it is South. The
Enquirer says, in its issue of June 16, 1856 :
The South contends for the equal extension of Slavery with othei
social forms, and must contend that it is equally worthy of extension.
30 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE FAST
Her old grounds of apology and excuse will avail her nothing. She
must prove that Slaves are as well provided, as happy and contented, as
hired laborers. She can easily show that they are better off in all these
respects than hirelings, and far less addicted to crime. She must alsc
show that Slaveholders are the equals in Morality, Piety, Courage, and
Intelligence, to the Bosses and Employers of the Northern States. It
will be easy to prove trat they are their Superiors. It will only remain for
her to show that the Bible sanctions Slavery, and her victory will be complete.
The Democrats of the Slaveholding States can not rely on the mere
Constitutional guarantees of Slavery, for such reliance is pregnant with
admission that Slavery is wrong, and, but for the Constitution, should be
abolished. Nor will it avail us aught to show that the Negro is most
happy and best situated in the condition of Slavery. If we stop there we
weaken our cause by the very argument intended to advance it ; for we
propose to introduce into new territory human beings whom we assert to
be unfit for liberty, self-government, and equal association with other
men. We must go a step further. We must show that Slavery is a
Moral, Religious, National, and a Necessary Institution of Society. We
know that we utter bold threats, but the time has arrived when their
utterance can be no longer suppressed. The true issue stands out in bold
relief, so that none may mistake it. This is the only line of argument
that will enable the South to maintain the doctrines of State Equality
and Slavery Extension.
The South Side Democrat, whose Editor was in the Winter
of 1855, a Candidate for Clerk of the House of Representa-
tives, and was supported by the Democratic members, says ;
" We have got to hating everything with the prefix free, from
free Niggers down and up through the whole catalogue — free
Farms, free Labor, free Society, free Will, free Thinking,
free Children, and free Schools — all belonging to the same
brood of detestable isms. But the worst of all these abomina-
tions is the system oTfree Schools." Another leading press
of the Democratic party, and a worthy organ of Pierce,
Buchanan, &: Co., published in South Carolina, sustains the
views taken by The Enquirer. It uses this plain language
on the subject : " Slavery is the natural normal condition of
the laboring man, whether white or black. The great evil of *
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. SI
Northern free Society is, that it is burthened with a Servile
class of Mechanics and laborers, unfit for self-government, and
clothed with the attributes of Citizens. Master and Slave is
a relation in Society as necessary as that of Parent and Child ;
and the Northern States of this Republic will yet have to in-
troduce it. Their theory of a 4 free Government' is a delusion."
Another prominent organ of the Democratic party, The Mus-
cogee (Ala.) Herald, a journal which goes even further than
its Virginia contemporaries, says : " Free society ! We sicken
of the name. What is it but a conglomeration of greasy me-
chanics, filthy operatives, small-fisted farmers, and moonstruck
theorists. All the Northern, and especially the Nero England
States, are devoid of society fitted for a well-bred gentleman.
The prevailing class one meets with, is that of mechanics
struggling to be genteel, and small farmers who do their own
drudgery ; and yet who are hardly fit for a Southern gentle-
man's body-servant. This is your free Society which the
Northern hordes are endeavoring to extend into the Terri-
tories."
The New York Day Booh, a journal which aspires to the
leadership of the Democratic forces of the entire country,
in its issue of June 21, 1856, says: "Negro Slavery is
the Basis of American Democracy. The insubordination
of an Inferior race has secured and always will secure, the
Equality of the Superior race." In its " Campaign Pros-
pectus" (a copy of which was sent to every Postmaster in the
United States and Territories, to be hung up in their respective
Offices), occurs the following portentous announcement: "We
have enlisted for the War against Abolitionism and its Impos-
tures, and we do not intend to stop until we subdue them."
The same Journal, in a leader on the " gallant conduct" of the
" chivalrous Brooks," of South Carolina, for his assault on the
defenceless Sumner of Massachusetts, says : " The time is
close at hand when such statesmen as Sumner, Seward, Hale,
32 A GENERAL VIEW OP THE PAST
arid "Wade, will have justice, full justice done them, when, in
short, an Abolitionist will be lynched as readily in New York
or Boston, as in Charleston or New Orleans."
The deadliest foe of the Northern Free Laborer is the
Slaveholder; as one increases must the other decrease. They
are natural antagonists. Yet so wily has the Slave power
been that, while it has with one hand grasped the reins of
government, it has with the other moulded the Free Laborer
of the North into a willing subservience to its interests, and
obedience to its commands.
At a " Mass Meeting" of the Democracy of Philadelphia,
held September 17, 1856, in "Independence Square," in com-
memoration of the Federal Constitution, Governor Johnson,
of Georgia, in a Speech on the "glories of Slavery," said:
" The results of the Institution shows that it is a great instru-
ment of Providence, intended to work out a magnificent des-
tiny for the Democracy of the entire country — and the con-
tinent of Africa ! And I would venture to throw out another
idea: the great contest that is now being waged, call it by
what name you will, is a contest between Capital on the. one
hand and Labor on the other ; and the only question is whether
it is better for the Southern States of our glorious Union to
own their labor or to hire it. (Cheering and hissing.) The
South did not interfere with the settlement of the Slavery
question in the Northern States of our happy Union, and all
I ask of the free States in return is, 'Hands off! in God's
name stop this excitement, this outrageous agitation, and let
us do as we please.' (Groans, hisses, and cries of 'Bravo!')
The South has determined that Capital shall own Labor.
Why ? It is better upon this ground, if no other, that their
Agricultural products are of such a* character that they can
not hire labor to cultivate them. They can not hire labor to
cultivate rice swamps, ditch their low ground, or drain their
" morasses. (Laughter, hisses, groans.) And why ? Because
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 33
the climate is deadly to the white man — he could not go there
and live a week, and therefore the vast territory would be a
barren waste unless Capital owned its Labor."* (Applause.)
The calculation has been made, and not been disputed, that
India could supply Cotton equal in staple to that of America,
and twenty-five per cent, cheaper. A regular trade in that
product, the raw material of England's most important branch
of industry, has been established between the districts of
Broach and Surat, and England. These territories lie along
the sea-coast, the Cotton lands being in no case more than
twenty miles from water-carriage to Bombay, where the ship-
ments are made ; but the produce is not of a high quality
Giving to the small demand, and the consequent limitation of
price. A larger demand and higher prices would act naturally
as encouragements to native agriculture. The lowest average
price of American Cotton is seven cents (three pence half-
penny) per pound — sufficient to act as a powerful stimulus to
its cultivation in India. Governor Adams, of South Carolina,
in his " Annual Message" to the Legislature of that State, in
November, 1856, said: " Whenever England and the Conti-
nent ca?i procure their supply of the raw material elseiuhere
than from us, and the Cotton States are limited to the Home
market, then will our doom be sealed. Destroy the value of
* At the same time, in this same city of Philadelphia, a cotton-
ridden church was trying to get rid of its minister, a faithful servant
of God, for having dared to speak from his pulpit plain words in
reference to the giant power to which the nation and the Church had
sold themselves. It was necessary,, "-in order to save the Union,"
that this minister should not rebuke certain Christians in his congre-
gation, who were in receipt of large incomes from the unrequited
toil of the colored brethren on their plantations in the South, whom
they claimed to own. The slave power in the church succeeded in
accomplishing its purposes. It almost killed the church, however,
in the struggle. The valiant soldier of the Cross is now doing duty
only a few blocks off, preaching to a congregation who are willing
to listen to an undiluted gospel.
34 A GENERAL VIEW OP THE PAST
Slave labor, and Emancipation follows inevitably. This,
England, our commercial rival, clearly sees, and hence her
systematic efforts to stimulate the production of Cotton in the
East. During the 'year 1855 the shipments of Cotton to
Great Britain were, from the United States, in round numbers,
six hundred and seventy-nine millions of pounds, and the East
Indies, Egypt, and Brazil, two hundred and two millions of
pounds ! France, too, is -encouraging and stimulating its
growth in Algeria, with like advantages of soil and labor.
To maintain our position, we must re-open the African Slave-
trade."
Governor Adams ought to be satisfied with the thirty-five
Slavers now in the field. (See Appendix C.) So long as
public opinion tolerates Slavery itself and the " Domestic"
traffic connected therewith, laws against the stealing of Men,
Women, and Children, from Africa, for the purpose of enslaving
them in the " Model Republic," must necessarily be a farce.
The Hon. F. W. Pickens, of South Carolina, in a • Speech
in Congress, said : " All society settles down into a classifica-
tion of Capitalists and Laborers. The former will own the
latter, either collectively through the Government, or individ-
ually in a state of Domestic servitude, as exists in the Southern
States of this glorious Confederacy. Jf laborers ever obtain
the political power of a country, it is in fact in a state of
revolution. We have already not only a right to the proceeds
of our laborers, but we own a class of laborers themselves.
But, let me say to gentlemen who represent the great class of
Capitalists at the North, beware, how you drive us into a sep-
arate system." Chancellor Harper, of the same State, in a
communication to The Southern Literary Messenger (a religious
periodical, published at Charleston), says : " Would you do a
benefit to the horse, or the ox, by giving him a cultivated
understanding, a fine feeling ? So far as the mere laborer has
the pride, the knowledge, or the aspiration of a freeman, he is
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 35
unfitted for his situation. If there are sordid, servile, laborious
offices to be performed, is it not better that there should be
sordid, servile, laborious beings to perform them ? Odium has
been cast upon our legislature on account of its forbidding the
elements of education being communicated to Slaves. But,
in truth, what injury is done them by this ? He who works
during the day with his hands does not read in the intervals
of leisure, for his amusement or the improvement of his
mind."
Professor De Bow (the Compiler of the United States
Census, of 1850), in the January number, 1850, of his
Review, in an article on Manufactures in South Carolina,
expresses his fears of bringing together masses of non-Slave-
holding Southern white population even for Manufacturing
purposes : —
So long as these poor but industrious people could see no mode of
living except by a degrading operation of work with the Slave upon the
plantation, they were content to endure life in its most discouraging forms,
satisfied that they were above the Slave, though faring often worse than
he. But the progress of the world is " onward," and though in some
sections (New England, for instance) it is slow, still it is onward. The
South hitherto has attempted to justify Negro Slavery as an exception
to a general rule, or, if wrong, as a matter of bargain between the North
and the South. The laws of God and Nature are immutable, and man
can not bargain them away. While it is far more obvious that Negroes
should be Slaves than Whites — for they are only fit to labor, not to
direct — yet the principle of Slavery is itself right, and does not depend
on difference of complexion.
When the mind once becomes familiarized with the process
of Slavery — of Enslaving first, Black, then Indian, then
Mulatto, then Quadroon, and when "blue eyes and golden
hair" are advertised every day of the year as properties of
Negroes, what protection is there for poor white people?
"We boast," says General John H. Eaton, of Washington,
D. C, " of Liberty and National justice ! How frequently
have I seen in the Southern States of our country weeping
36 A GENERAL VIEW OP THE PAST
-Mothers leading guiltless Infants to the Sales, with as deep
anguish as if they had led them to the Slaughter-house.
When I see these enormities practised upon beings whose
Complexion and Blood claim kindred with my own, I curse
the perpetrators, and weep over the wretched victims of their
rapacity."
A walk on the street in Washington is one of the best and
most touching commentaries on the character of the " Peculiar
Institution." A man's eyes are only needed to carry to his
mind the conviction of the servitude it entails upon the de-
scendants of the whites themselves. Along with the " blacks,"
side by side, stand the Mulatto, the Quadroon, the tenth part,
the twentieth part, the thirtieth part black, absolutely undis-
tinguishable from the white, all chained alike to the same in-
exorable and soul-breaking sorrows of Slavery. It results
from this that there is a class of Slaves in all respects Equal,
and in many cases Superior, to the " Master" or " Mistress"
who owns or controls them.
CHAPTER II.
" Slaverf," says the Hon. Charles J. Faulkner, of Virginia,
"is an Institution which presses heavily against the best inter-
ests of the State. It banishes free white labor ; it exterminates
the Mechanic, the Artisan, the Manufacturer. It deprives
them of bread. It converts the energy of a community into
indolence — its power into imbecility — its efficiency into
weakness. Sir, being thus injurious, have we not a right to
demand its extermination ? Shall society suffer that we Slave-
holders may continue to gather our Crops of Human Flesh ?
What is the Slaveholder's mere pecuniary claim, compared
with the great interests of the common weal. Must the coun-
try languish, droop, die, that the Slaveholder may flourish?
Shall all interests be subservient to one ? all rights subordi-
nate to those of the Slaveholder? Has not the Mechanic,
have not the middle classes their rights ? — rights incompatible
with the existence of Slavery ? Sir, I am gratified to perceive
that no gentleman has yet risen, in this hall, the avowed Ad-
vocate of Slavery. I even regret, sir, that we should find
those among us who enter the list of discussion as its Apolo-
gists. Sir, if there be one who concurs with the gentleman
(Mr. Golshon) from Brunswick County, in the ' harmless char-
acter' of this Institution, let me request him to compare the
condition of the Slaveholding portion of this State — barren,
desolate, and seared as it were by the avenging hand of Heaven
— with the descriptions which we have of this same country
38 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
from those who first broke its virgin soil. To what is this
change ascribable? Alone to the withering and Masting
ejects of Slavery. Sir, if this does not satisfy him, let me re-
quest him to extend his travels to the Northern States of this
Union, and beg him to contrast the happiness and contentment
which prevail throughout that portion of our country — the
busy and cheerful sound of Industry — the rapid and swelling
growth of their Population — their means and Institutions of
Education — their Skill and Proficiency in the Useful arts —
their Enterprise and Public spirit — the Monuments of their
Commercial and Manufacturing industry.
" To what, sir, is all this ascribable ? To what vice in the
organization of Society by which one half of its inhabitants are
arrayed in interest and feeling against the other half — to that
unfortunate state of Society in which freemen regard labor as
disgraceful, and Slaves shrink from it as a burden tyrannically
imposed upon them — to that condition of things in which over
half the population of the State can feel no sympathy with the
Society in the prosperity of ivhich they are forbidden to parti-
cipate, and no attachment to a Government at whose hands
they receive nothing but injustice. If this should not be suffi-
cient, and the curious and incredulous inquirer should suggest
that the contrast which has been adverted to, and which is so
manifest, might be traced to a difference of Climate or other
causes distinct from Slavery itself, permit me to refer him to
the two States of Kentucky and Ohio. No difference of soil,
no diversity of Climate, no diversity in the original settlement
of those two States, can account for the remarkable dispropor-
tion in the National advancement. Separated by a river
alone, they seem to have been purposely and providentially
designed to exhibit in their future histories the difference
which necessarily results from a country free from, and a
country afflicted with, the curse of Slavery. The same may
be said of the two States of Missouri and Illinois. What, sir,
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 39
have you lived for two hundred years without personal effort
or productive industry, in extravagance and indolence, sus-
tained alone by the returns from the Sales of the Increase of
Slaves, and retaining such a number as your now impover-
ished lands can sustain as Stock /"*
The subsequent acquisition of new Slave* States, and the
consequent rise in the price of Slaves, appear to have decided
Mr. Faulkner to " hold on a little longer," for he is now, in
1857, not only a Member of Congress, but one of the most
determined advocates of the infamous traffic he so warmly
condemned in 1832. (See Proverbs xxvi. 11, and St. Luke
xi. 24-26.) Only the other day, six of his party-colored chat-
tels — all of them the children, as a matter of course, of the
" unfortunate Ham" — made their escape from his plantation,
at Martin sburg, Virginia, to Canada.
The following " Circular" to the Postmasters, throughout
the Union, will give the reader a more correct idea of Mr.
Faulkner's position in July, 1856. It shows the effort that
was made, and the means used to train the " foreign-born pop-
ulation," and bring them into rank and file for the purpose of
electing Buchanan, and still further Extending the- area of
Slavery. It will be seen from the questions propounded that
the National Executive were prepared for any kind of elec-
tioneering. If they but knew a man's religion they* could
meet his wants — exactly : —
Democratic National Kesidents' Committee Booms,
Washington, D. C, July 2, 1856.
To , Esq., Chairman of Democratic Committee,
County of , State of :
Sir : Though the Executive National Committee have the most im-
plicit reliance in the discretion and sound judgment of the people and the
correctness of the principles maintained and asserted by the Democratic
party, upon which they are to pass their verdict at the impending Presi-
dential election, on the 4th November, 1856, they deem it, nevertheless,
* Speech in the Virginia House of Delegates, in 1832.
40 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
as a high duty, in view of the vast stake at issue — even the continuance
of the Union — to do all in their power to secure the success of the
Democratic cause, and the triumphant election of the nominees of the
Democratic Convention. We are now sure that Victory will follow our
banners [see chaps, i. and ii., of Part II. ; and chap, ii., of Part V.], but
to make Victory doubly sure, we invite you to send us an immediate
answer to the follo*wing queries : —
First: What is the probable number of Voters in your County who
speak the German language ? Are they American-born or immigrants,
and in what ratio 1
Second: Are there any French, Dutch (Hollanders), Norwegians, or
Swedes, in your County ? and if so, what is approximately the number
of votes cast by each respectively ?
Third: Are there any German newspapers printed in your county?
and if so, give the title of such paper or papers, and the place or places
of such publication. You will confer a favor on the National Commit-
tee by sending, during the whole canvass, a number of the weekly issue
of such paper or papers printed in the foreign language to the under-
signed, Chairman of the National Resident Committee.
Fourth: To what religious denominations do the German, French,
Dutch, Norwegian, or Swedish voters in your county belong \
Fifth : What are generally the political sentiments entertained by the
adopted citizens in your county, especially in regard to principles now
before the people, viz., the equality of the individual States in the settle-
ment of our Territories ; the equality of all Citizens in relation to Politi-
cal rights, and the rights of Conscience ?
Sixth : Have you appointed distributors in the different townships and
School districts of your county, who will place the documents sent by
the National Committee into the hands of your voters 1 or do you prefer
to have them sent to you franked to be directed by you 1
Seventh : Have you formed Democratic Clubs or Associations through-
out your county ? and if so, please to report the Officers to the National
Committee, with their Postoffices.
Eighth : How are the Democratic nominations in your county received,
and what is the probable vote the Democracy will cast ?
Ninth : Will you furnish us with the names of two active and zealous
Democrats contiguous to each Postomce in your county, who can be
relied upon to see the prompt distribution of documents forwarded to
them?
Tenth : Will you inform us the grounds upon which the Democratic
party is principally assailed in your county and suggest to us the kind
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 41
of documents which would best promote the success of the Democratic
party 1
Please report the names and Postoffices of some reliable German citi-
zens, living in the different townships of your county, in order to enable
the National Resident Committee to enter into a correspondence with
them. Please direct all communications to me.
CHARLES J. FAULKNER,
Chairman N. D. R. Committee.
Mr. Faulkner does not trouble his head about the Irish-
American Vote, he merely addresses his German, French,
Dutch, Norwegian, and Swedish "fellow-Citizens." As re-
spects the Irish- Americans, they are " all right." There is
no denying the fact. As a mass, they go for Slavery, and its
Extension. The Freeman's Journal, the Archbishop's organ, is
open for Slavery, for the degradation of that sort of labor, es-
pecially unskilled labor, which seven Irishmen out of every ten
pursue in the United States ; and thus these men are made to
degrade their own status to the level of Slavery !
The Irish- American s are great advocates of "European
Liberty," and great friends of American Slavery. The " Irish
patriots" of old were famous for making bulls ; in modern
times they would seem to be no less skilful in making asses*—
of themselves. This fact accounts for the extraordinary con-
duct of Mitchel, Meagher, & Co.
The shoe of Slavery will yet pinch the toes of the Irish-
Americans. An able-bodied " Irish-American Nigger" can,
even now, be purchased for about one third the price of an
able-bodied " black Nigger." Only the other day, the Hon. P.
T. Herbert, M. C, purchased from Judge Crawford, of Wash-
ington, the right of shooting an Irishman for three hundred
dollars. " Irish- American Niggers" are preferred to either
Dutch or German " Niggers," as being more " evangelical,"
and therefore, "more manageable" and "less likely to run
away." Accordingly, The Richmond (Va.) Enquirer, after
42 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
joining The Charleston (S. C.) Mercury and The New Orleans
Delta, in declaring the revival of the African Slave-trade " ne-
cessary, inevitable, and desirable," now turns a short corner
and opposes the introduction of "African Niggers."
$300 Eeward. — Ran away from the subscriber, on the 5th day of
July last, a white Negro boy, 29 years of age; height 5 feet and 10|
inches ; has blue eyes, a very fair skin, and a Roman nose. He will, no
doubt, endeavor to pass himself off for a white man.
A. BEARD.
[New Orleans Picayune.]
$250 Reward. — Ran away from the subscriber, on or about the 29th
of November last, a Negro girl, named Biddy, about sixteen years of
age, quite white, and reddish hair. She has three front teeth bucked out
and a cut on her upper lip; about five feet and seven inches high; has a
scar on her left buttock ; she passes for free ; talks English, French, and
Mountain-Irish or "Bog-Latin." She will try to pass herself off for
an Irish girl.
57 Common street, New Orleans. THOMAS FOSTER.
$500 Reward. — Ran away from the subscriber, on the 15th of May
last, a Negro girl, named Fanny. Said girl is twenty years old ; is
rather tall ; can read and write, and, consequently, can forge passes for
herself. She carried away with her a pair of ear-rings and a Bible with
a red cover. She is very pious ; she prays a great deal, and was, as
supposed, contented and happy. She is as white as most white women, with
straight light hair and blue eyes, and can pass herself for a white woman.
I will give $500 for her apprehension and delivery to me. She is very
intelligent.
JOHN BALCH.
$100 Reward. — Ran away from the subscriber, in Randolph county,
on the 18th of October last, a boy, named Jim. This boy is 19 years
of age, of a light color, with sun-burned hair, inclined to be tolerably
straight ; he is about five feet and seven inches high, and slightly made.
He had on when he left, a black-cloth cap, black-cloth pantaloons, a plaid
sack-coat, a fine shirt, and brogan shoes. One hundred dollars will be
paid for the recovery of the above-described Nigger, if taken out of the
State, or fifty dollars if taken in the State.
Huntsville, Missouri. Mrs. S. P. HALL.
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 43
We might go on giving advertisements and multiplying
proofs, of this sort, until our task swelled into a dozen vol-
umes, instead of one ; but enough has been said (see chapters
i., ii., and iii., of Part V.), to prove that White Slavery not
only actually but Legally exists in the United States of North
America. Will not those, then, whose ears are closed to the
cry of anguish of the millions of the despised and hated black,
brown, orange, drab, yellow, straw, and peach-blossom color-
ed " Niggers," extend a helping-hand to relieve the anguish
of the tens of thousands of " White Niggers," who are now in
chains in eleven of the Slave States of the Union ?
The Hon. S. W. Downs, late Senator from Louisiana, has
just published an elaborate Speech, on the "peculiar advan-
tages of Slave labor over free labor." In his discourse, this
" enlightened statesman " assumes that the white laborers of the
North are not so happy, contented, or comfortable, as the colored
and party-colored " Niggers" of the South. Reduce, there-
fore, the white laborer of the North to the condition of the
Southern Slave, and the sum of human happiness will be
promoted.
If this be the treatment reserved for the Democracy of the
North, it may well be supposed that the poor immigrants,
who are classed with " Niggers," can scarcely look for more
favorable treatment. Here is the remedy proposed for per-
sons of this class who may be found unable to support their
families — mark, it is not said for acknowledged mendicants,
or for persons who have applied for relief from the public
funds, but simply for those who may fall into poverty, and be
unable to support their families . Says Mr. Downs :
" Sell the parents of these children into Slavery. Let our Legislature
pass a Law, that, whoever will take these parents and take care of them
and their offspring, in sickness and in health, clothe them, feed them,
and house them, shall be Legally entitled to their services ; and let the
same Legislature decree, that, whoever receives these parents and their
4d A GENERAL VIEW OF THE TAST
children and obtains their services shall take care of them as long as they
live."
" Sir," said James M'Dowell, jr., " Virginia is withering under
the leprosy which is piercing her to the heart. Proud as are
the names, for intellect and patriotism, which enrich the vol-
umes of our history, and reverentially as we turn to them at
this period of waning reputation — that name — that man —
above all parallel would have been chief who could have blotted
out this curse from his country* In this investigation there
is no difficulty — nothing has been left to speculation or in-
quiry ; for, however widely men have differed upon the power
and justice of touching this ' property/ they have yet united
in a common testimony to its character. It has been frankly
and unequivocally declared from the very commencement of
this debate, by the most decided enemies of Abolition them-
selves, as well as by others, that this ' property' is an ' evil.'
Yes, Sir, the danger is inevitable and is increasing.t
* What has been the conduct of the people of Virginia, and the other
Slave States, toward the man who has been battling, to this end, for the
last twenty-seven years'? It has been most atrocious. Nor has he
fared better at the hands of the people of the "free States." He has
sought nothing for himself — neither office, nor money, nor yet praise.
He has aimed to do his duty to his Neighbor and his God ; who ever did
both more manfully ? See what his reward has been ! Outwardly,
abuse, scorn, hatred, loathing, from the State, and the hot curses of the
" evangelical Churches." But he has that inward recompense which
.fails no man — the satisfaction of duties done, yes, of cruel sorrows, in-
nocently and nobly borne. In the history of mankind, there is no man
who has more courageously gone on a forlorn hope, none who has borne
a cross so heavy with more sweetness and generous forbearance. Com-
ing generations will do justice to his memory.
t Every three and a half minutes that passes witnesses a " colored"
native American born to be a Slave. That child whom God made free,
and for whose happiness Christ suffered, bled, and died, is seized by the
Slaveholder, perhaps its own father, and blotted out from the Human
race.
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 45
" Who that looks upon his family with the Slave in its bosom,
ministering to its wants, but knows and feels that this is true
— who but sees and knows how much the safety of that fam-
ily depends upon forbearance, how little can be provided by
defence ? Sir, you may exhaust yourself upon schemes of
domestic defence ; and when you have examined every -project
which the mind can- suggest, you will, at last, have only a
deeper consciousness that nothing can be done. The curse
which, in combination with others, has been denounced against
man as a just punishment for his sins — the curse of having an
enemy in his household — has come upon us. We have an
enemy there to whom our dwelling is at all times accessible —
our persons at all times — our lives at all times, and that by
manifold weapons, both visible and concealed. But, Sir, I
will not expatiate further on this view of the subject. Suffice
it to say, that the defenceless situation of the ' Master,' and
the sense of injured rights in the Slave, are the best possible
preparatives for conflict — a conflict, too, which may be consid-
ered as more certainly at hand whenever and wherever the
numerical ascendency of the Slave shall inspire him with con-
fidence in his force."*
If Virginia had not a settler within her territory, and should
be opened at once to free Settlement, in ten years she would
have nearly as many white inhabitants as she now has, two
hundred and fifty years after her Settlement, and in twenty
years she would have nearly as mairy whites as the whole
number of Slaveholding States now have, provided 60,000
settlers should go in the first year, and that the rate of increase
should be as great as that of Wisconsin, Iowa, or Minnesota.
Even with this population of twenty years, she would not be
so densely peopled as Massachusetts was in 1850. The figures
prove it: thus, Wisconsin had,- in 1840, 30,749 whites; in
* Speech in the Virginia House of Delegates, in 1832.
46 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
1850, 304,756. Ratio of increase 89.11 per cent. Assume
60,000 whites in Virginia at the close of the first year, and
the rate of increase as above, in ten years she would have
594,660 white inhabitants, and in twenty years 5,793,475.
Number of whites in Virginia in 1850, 894,800 ; in the Slave-
holding States, 6>1 84,477. Thus, as to population, Slavery in
two hundred and fifty years has done the work of twenty. As
to the value of lands, it has done still worse. Thus, in little
more than ten years, Wisconsin had brought up the value of
her farms per acre to $9.54; Virginia, in two hundred and
fifty years, had barely raised the price of her lands to
$8.27 per acre.
Only a little while ago an auction of Virginia lands took
place at the Philadelphia Exchange. Some 40,000 acres
situated in the Comities of Doddridge, Gilmer, and Monongalia,
near Ohio and Pennsylvania, brought two cents (a penny) an
acre, and some 70,000 acres in the Counties of Montgomery
and Washington, near North Carolina and Tennessee, sold for
one cent (a halfpenny) an acre. The whole quantity sold on
the occasion, 150,000 acres, brought $1,800. Both prices
show the blighting influence of Slavery. Think of it ! Lands
lying near Navigable rivers and Railroads, in the oldest State
of the Union, endowed with Unsurpassed Fertility and Un-
bounded Mineral Wealth, selling in an open market, where
there are millions of capital for any tolerable speculation, for
one or two cents by the thousand acres !
The Hon. Willoughby Newton, of Virginia, in his Agri-
cultural Address, in 1850, said : "I look upon the introduction
of Guano, and the success attending its application to our
barren lands, in the light of a special interposition of Divine
Providence, to save Virginia from reverting into its former
state of wilderness and utter desolation. Until the discovery
of Guano — more valuable to us than the mines of California —
I looked upon the possibility of renovating our soil, of ever
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 47
bringing it to a point capable of producing remunerating crops,
as utterly hopeless."
Is Virginia, then, " saved" by Guano ? Mr. Newton recom-
mends the application of two hundred pounds per acre. The
number of acres of land under cultivation in Virginia in 1850,
was 26,152,311. The amount of Guano requisite to cover
this land, at the rate of two hundred pounds per acre, would
be 2,615,231 tons. This, at $50 per ton, would cost
$130,761,550. Guano must be applied every other year.
This would give the annual amount, 1,307,615 tons, and the
annual cost, $65,380,775. Where is the money to pay this an-
nual tax to come from ? How long would it take the per-
manent registered tonnage of Virginia (9,246 tons in 1855)
to import enough for one year's use ?
" Mr. Speaker," said Henry Berry, " coming from a county
[Jefferson] in which there are over 4,000 Slaves, being my-
self a Slaveholder — and I may say further, that the largest
' property' I have in Virginia lies about a hundred miles east
of the Blue Ridge, and consists of land and Slaves — under
these circumstances I hope I shall be excused by my brethren
of the North for saying a few words on this important and
deeply-interesting subject. That Slavery is a grinding curse
upon this State, I had supposed would have been admitted by
all, and that the only question for debate would have been the
possibility of removing the evil. But, Sir, in this I have been
disappointed. I have been astonished that there are advocates
here for Slavery, with all its effects. Sir, this only proves
how far, how very far, we may be carried by pecuniary in-
terest ; it proves what has been said by an immortal bard :
" ' That man is unco weak, and little to be trusted
If self the wavering balance shake, 'tis rarely right adjusted.'
" Sir, I believe no cancer on the physical body was ever more
certain, steady, and fatal, in its progress, than is this cancer on
48 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
the political body of the State of Virginia. It is eating into
her very vitals. Like a mighty avalanche the evil is rolling
toward us, accumulating weight and impetus at every turn.
And, Sir, if we do nothing to avert its progress, it will ulti-
mately overwhelm and destroy us for ever. And although I
have no fears for any general results from the efforts of this
class of our population now ; still, Sir, the time will come
when there will be imminent, general danger.* Pass as severe
laws as you will to keep these unfortunate creatures in igno-
rance, it is in vain, unless you extinguish that spark of intel-
lect which God has given them. Let any man who advocates
Slavery, examine the System of Laws that we have adopted
(from stern necessity, it may be said) toward these creatures,
and he may shed a tear upon that, and would to God, Sir, the
memory of it might thus be blotted out for ever.
" Sir, we have, as far as possible, closed every avenue by
which light might enter their minds ; we have only to go one
step further — to extinguish the capacity to see the light — and
our work would be accomplished ; they would then be reduced
below the level of the beasts of the field, and we would be
safe ; and I am not certain that we would not do it if we could
* The late Eev. John O. Choules, D. D., of Newport, Rhode Island,
who, while attending a Baptist Convention at Richmond, Virginia, had a
conversation with an Officer of the Baptist Church in that City, at whose
house he was a guest, says : I asked him if he did not apprehend that the
Slaves would eventually rise and exterminate their Masters 1 " Why,"
said the gentleman, "I did use to apprehend such a catastrophe, but
God has made a providential opening, a merciful safety-valve, and now I
do not feel alarmed, in the prospect of what is coming." What do you
mean, said Mr. Choules, by Providence opening a merciful safety-valve ?
"Why," said the gentleman, "I will tell you. The Slave-traders come
from the Cotton and Sugar plantations of the South, and are willing to
buy up more Slaves than we can part with. We must keep a Stock for
the purpose of Breeding, but we part with the most dangerous, and the
demand is very constant, and is likely to be so, for when they go to thos-e
Southern States, the average existence is only five years."
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 49
find out the necessary process, and that under the plea of ne-
cessity. But, Sir, this is impossible ; and can man be in the
midst of freemen and not know what freedom is ? Can he feel
that he has the power to assert his liberty, and will he. not do
it ? Yes, Sir, with the certainty of the current of time, will he
do it whenever he has the power. Sir, to prove that the
time will come, I need offer no other argument than that of
Arithmetic ; the conclusions from which are clear demonstra-
tions of this subject. The data are before us all, and every
man can work out the process for himself. Sir, a death-
struggle must come between the two classes, in which one or the
other will be extinguished for ever. Who can contemplate such
a catastrophe as even possible and be indifferent or inactive ?"*
The neighborhood of Slavery lessens the value of lands in
the Free States ; the neighborhood of Freedom increases it
in the Slave States. To such cm extent is this true, that in
Virginia, for example, the lands in counties naturally poor,
are, by the proximity of freedom, rendered more valuable than
the lands in the better portions of the State. The value, per
acre, of land in the Slave States, on the dividing line between
Freedom and Slavery, is suggestive : thus, in the Free States,
the value of Farms, per acre, is as follows, viz. : New Jersey,
$43.67; Pennsylvania, $27.27; Ohio, $19.99; Indiana,
$10.66; and Illinois, $7.99: average, $22.17. In the bor-
der Slave States, the value is as follows, viz. : Delaware,
$19.75; Maryland, $18.81; Virginia, $8.27; Kentucky,
$9.03 ; and Missouri, $6.49 : average, $9.25. If we take
the Slave States which by position, population, or intercourse,
feel least the influence of the Free States, we find the value
of farms, per acre, is, in North Carolina, $3,24 ; South Caro-
lina, $5.08; Tennessee, $5.16; Florida, $3.97; Georgia,
$4.19; Alabama, $5.30; Arkansas, $5.87; Texas, $1.44;
and Mississippi, $5.22 : average, $3.74.
* Speech in the Virginia House of Delegates, in 1 832.
3
50 A GENERAL VIEW OP THE PAST
If Tennessee bad been a Free State, her lands would have
been worth as much as those of Ohio — $19.99 per acre, in-
stead of $5.16 as now; and who can not see that, in that
event, the lands of North Carolina, South Carolina, and
Georgia, would have been worth more, per acre, than the
sums of $3.24, $5.08, $4.19, respectively?
" New England" (says " A Perfect Description of Virginia,"
published in London, in 1649) "is in a good condition of live-
lihood ; but for matter of any great hope but fishing there is
not much." Compared to Virginia, " it is as Scotland is to
England, so much difference, and lies upon the same land
northward as Scotland does to England ; there is much cold,
frost, and snow ; their land is barren, except a herring be put
into the hole when you set the corn in it, it will not come up ;
and it was a great pity all those planters, noiv about 20,000, did
not seat themselves at first in Virginia, in a warm and rich
country, where their industry could have produced Sugar,
Indigo, Ginger, Cotton, and the like commodities." Said Sir
Thomas Dale, in 1612, speaking of Virginia: " Take four of
the best kingdoms in Christendom, and put them all together,
they may in no way compare with this country either for com-
modities or goodness of soil." Says Beverley, at a later peri-
od : "In extreme fruitfulness Virginia is exceeded by no other
portion of the earth. No seed is sown there but it thrives,
and most of the northern plants are improved by being trans-
planted thither." Says Lane, the Governor of Raleigh Col-
ony, in 1585, speaking of Virginia and Carolina: "It is the
goodliest soil under the heaven, the most pleasing territory of
the world. The climate is so wholesome that we have not one
sick since we touched the land. If Virginia had but horses
and kine, and were inhabited with English, no realm in Chris-
tendom were comparable to it."
Who would have dreamed that in Virginia, the Eden of the
Republic, the average price of farms per acre would be, on
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 51
the 1st day of January, 1850, $8.27, while in Massachusetts it
was $32.50
The Hon. Thomas Marshall, another Slaveholder, bore this
testimony : " Slavery is ruinous to the whites ; it retards im-
provement — roots out an industrious population- 1 — banishes
the yeomanry of the country — deprives the Spinner, the
Weaver, the Smith, the Shoemaker, the Carpenter, of employ-
ment and support. It is increasing, and will continue to in-
crease, until the whole, country will be inundated by one black
wave, covering its entire extent, with a few genuine white
faces here and there floating on the surface. The Master has
no capital but what is vested in Human flesh ; the Father, in-
stead of being richer for his Sons, is at a loss to provide for
them. There is no diversity of occupations, no incentive to
enterprise. Labor of every description is disreputable, be-
cause performed mostly by Slaves. Our towns are stationary,
our villages everywhere declining ; and the general aspect of
the country marks the curse of a wasteful, idle, reckless popu-
lation, who have no interest in the soil, and care not how
much it is impoverished. Public improvements are neglected ;
and the entire continent does not present a region for which
nature has done so much, and art so little. If cultivated by
free labor, the soil of Virginia is capable of sustaining a dense
population, among whom labor would be honorable, and where
the busy hum of men would tell that all were happy, and that
all were free."*
Virginia, free, and as thickly settled as Massachusetts,
would have had, in 1850, 7,751,324 whites, instead of 894,800.
Massachusetts, a Slave State, and as thinly populated as Vir-
ginia, would have had, in 1850, 102,351 white inhabitants,
instead of 985,450. Virginia, free, would have had an annu-
al product of Manufactures amounting to $1,190,072,592, in-
stead of $29,705,387. Massachusetts, a Slave State, would
* Speech in the Virginia House of Delegates, in 1 832.
52 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
have had manufactures amounting to $3,776,601, instead of
$151,137,145. Virginia, free, would have been worth, in
real and personal property (on the basis of the Census esti-
mate), $4,333,525,367, instead of (value of Slaves deducted)
$203,635,238. Massachusetts, a Slave State, would have
been worth $48,604,335, instead of $551,106,824. Boston,
with Slavery, according to the increase of population in Vir-
ginia, would have contained 3,489 people, instead of 136,881.
In the whole South there are less than fifty cities with a pop-
ulation of 3,500. Richmond, Virginia, free, according to the
increase of population in Massachusetts, would have contained
1,076 ; 669 free people, instead of 17,643. (See Appendix D.)
The Hon. Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, now Governor of
the State, in 1855, during the canvass for Governor, speaking
to the Virginians, said : " You all own plenty of land, but it is
poverty added to poverty. Poor land added to poor, and
nothing added to nothing, makes nothing ; while the Owner
is talking Politics at Richmond, or in Congress, or spending
the summer at the White Springs, the lands grow poorer and
poorer, and this soon brings land, Slaves, and all, under the
hammer. You have the owners shinning the Slaves, and the
Slaves shinning the land, until all grow poor together. You
have relied alone on the single power of Agriculture, and such
Agriculture ! Your sedge-patches outshine the sun ; your in-
attention to your only source of Wealth has seared the bosom
of Mother Earth. Instead of having to feed cattle on a thou-
sand hills, you have to chase the stump-tailed steer through
the sedge-patches to procure a tough beef-steak."
While such admissions come from Slaveholders — while the
evils, social and moral, of Slavery are so deprecated by those
who have been reared amid its influences — while its blighting
effects are so abundantly and constantly manifest — is it not
enough to disgust qne with Human nature to find men styling
themselves " Ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ" writing
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 53
Eulogies on the blessedness of bondage. They will not allow
that " Niggers" are Men, because, if they did, it would show
that they themselves were not Christians. They have the
effrontery to say, " Slavery is right, natural, and necessary,
and does not depend upon difference of complexion ;" that
" the Slaves are far better off, physically and morally, than
the laborers, black or white, of the free States ;" that " policy
and humanity alike forbid the extension of the evils of free
society to a new people and coming generations." After per-
secuting the "free Negroes," and driving the wretched fugi-
tives from their doors (see chaps, i., ii., and hi., of Part V.,
and Appendix A), they turn round and tell us that the Slaves
are the happiest class of laborers in the world, and the most
perfectly contented ! Hear them :
" The free Negro is in a worse condition than the Slave,
physically and morally — less happy, less healthy, less con-
tented, less secure, less religious. Many of those that have
escaped have returned to their Masters of their own accord,
glad to escape from the wretchedness of their freedom." (See
chaps, i., ii., and hi., of Part V., and Appendix A.) "It is noto-
rious that in the Southern States the Slaves look down upon
the free Negroes with pity, and often with disdain, as being
altogether in a position inferior to their own. For they feel
themselves to be connected for life with the family of their
Master, sure of protection, sure of a comfortable home, sure of
a plentiful subsistence, sure of kind attendance in sickness and
old age, and sure of affection and confidence, unless they for-
feit them by unfaithfulness or rebellion. These advantages
are lost to the free Negro, and the Slaves have no difficulty
in understanding that he has nothing to replace them. True,
they must work. But so must the free Negro : so must the
laboring class in every civilized community. And when we
compare their condition with that of our hirelings" (that is, the
free white laborers of the North), "there are many points
54 A GENEKAL VIEW OF THE PAST
which seem to be greatly in their favor. For their work is
light and regular, as a general rule. They have abundant
time allowed for recreation and for holidays. They are not,
like the free laborer, liable to be dismissed at a moment's
warning, and forced to beg or suffer for want of work to do.
They are not tempted to strike for higher wages, when the
ordinary rates are too low for the necessaries of life.
" The Slaves are not exposed to the melancholy refuge of
the poorhouse, and turned out to die in poverty and neglect,
after their strength has been exhausted in a long struggle with
hardship and toil. They are not sent adrift among the dens of
infamy and pollution which contaminate all our cities" (that is,
of the North), "bidding defiance to the hands of the police and
the hearts of the benevolent. And if it be indeed a disadvan-
tage that they can not change their Masters, it is in most cases
more than a counterbalance for this that they could gain noth-
ing by the change ; since every laborer must have a Master
in order to live, and the Slave possesses the only security of
always having a Master who is bound to keep him from destitu-
tion, for years after the decays of nature have taken the power
of earning his livelihood away. When philanthropy, therefore,
gets rid of prejudice, and surveys the comparative advantages
of the two systems" (that is, Slavery and Freedom), "with im-
partial candor, and casts aside the odium which attaches to the
name of Slave, it will not appear so easy to determine that
Slavery is a calamity to the race of Africa.* On the contrary, it
* " That our Slaves," says the Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky,
" will be worse off if emancipated, is, we feel, but a specious pretext for
lulling our pangs of conscience, and answering the arguments of the
philanthropist. None of us believe that God has so created a whole
race that it is better for them to remain in Slavery. But it is not the
Slaves alone that suffer." No, Slavery crushes not only 5,000,000
souls of " the race of Africa" to the level of the swine in the gutter, but
dooms the 6,500,000 poor whites in the Slaveholding States to "hopeless
ionorance."
AND TltESENT STATE OF THINGS. 55
exhibits the nearest approach to the Patriarchal times, when
Abraham had 318 Servants"* (meaning Slaves) "born in his
own house, over whom he ruled with absolute power, but with
far more substantial comfort and advantage to them than if
they had been a band of ordinary hirelings.
" These statements may appear too highly colored or other-
wise, just as my readers may have been accustomed to regard
the subject. But however this may be, the fact remains un-
deniable that the Slaves of the South are, on the whole, the
happiest class of laborers in the w*orld, and the most perfectly
contented with their own condition, and this fact is of more
value than all the reasonings of abolitionism."f
Where did " the race of Africa" now in the North Ameri-
can Republic, come from ? Yellow, straw, Jersey-white, and
apple-blossom colored " Niggers" do not grow in " Africa."
No, these poor children of the " cursed seed of Ham" are na-
tives of the United States — Sons and Daughters of the Slave-
holding nobility and their drivers or " hirelings," and are as
justly entitled to the " Rights" of American citizenship as are
the native-born white sons and daughters of New England ;
and infinitely more so than are nine tenths of the Irish and
Dutch immigrants who crowd the Docks and flood the Natural-
ization offices for their " Papers" — to enable them not only
to vote away the rights of the true " Sons of the Sires of 1776,"
but to " rivet more firmly the chains" of the poor Slaves !
When we shall see a Slaveholder arm his "318 Servants"
and lead them hundreds of miles, over mountain, river, and
desert, unto a foreign country where no law or power can
* The Pro-Slavery definition of the word " Servant" is given in chap.
ii. 3 of Part IV.
f " The American Citizen: his Rights and Duties according to the
Spirit of the Constitution of the United States. By John Henry Hop-
kins, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
the Diocese of Vermont/' (pp. 131.) "New York: Pudney & Russell,
79 John street, 1857."
56 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
bind them to his service — when we shall see him thus lead-
ing his own trained and equipped household, for the rescue of
an unfortunate kinsman, and dividing with them the spoils of
war, we may begin to trace in that " Slaveholder" some re-
semblance to the patriarch Abraham. (See Gen. xiv. 13-24.)
Or when we shall see Henry A. Wise of Virginia, "William
Aiken of South Carolina, the "Right Reverend Father^ God,
Leonidas Polk, D. D., LL. D., of the Protestant Episcopal
Church in the Diocese of Louisiana," or any other '' evangeli-
cal" Slavehoiding Democrat, commissioning a Slave to go to
Canada — beyond the reach of " plantation discipline," equip-
ped with southern mules and a lot of other "likely nig-
gers" to take care of them — laden with Jewels and Gold —
having every facility for escape — yet trusted to choose a
Wife for his Master's son, and to negotiate the Marriage con-
tract, then again we may discern the features of patriarchal
Slavery in the Slavery of " Christian America." How palpa-
ble it is, that Abraham did not hold his " Servants" as chattel-
Slaves.*
~No sane man or non-" hireling" will question the com-
petence of the Rev. Robert J. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, to
describe what the Northern " evangelical"! Pro-Slavery D.
* We have no record of any auction sale of Eliezer, or of the
other "likely fellows," after the death of Abraham, in order to settle
that patriarch's estate. See Gen. xv. 2, 3.
Had Abraham died childless, Eliezer's prospects would have been
very different from those of the Southern ''chattel."
f It is not the thing to use the term "evangelical" in connection
■with a Slave-trafficking religion. True evangelical religion is that which
claims the most entire accordance with the Gospel in faith and practice.
It is a religion which takes the Gospel view of sin ; a religion which in-
sists upon laying the axe at the root of every form of iniquity; a religion
which regards selfishness as supreme wickedness, and insists upon the
need of regeneration ; a religion which would bring the precepts and
" spirit" of Christ to bear against every evil in the heart and the life, in
the individual and society.
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 57
D. s and LL. D. s call the "heaven-born Institution" — as
it is. And how does he — a Slaveholder himself — describe
it ? He says : " The man who can not see that involuntary
domestic Slavery, as it exists among us, is founded upon the
principle of taking that which is another's, has simply no
moral sense. Hereditary Slavery is without pretence except
in avowed rapacity." After enumerating the defences of
Slavery by his Southern brethren and their Northern "hire-
lings," he adds : " These are reasons for a Christian land to
look upon and then ask, ' Can any system which they are ad-
vanced to defend be compatible with virtue and truth ?' " He
gives the following analysis of Slavery :
What is Slavery as it exists among us ? We reply, it is that condition
enforced by one half of the States of this confederacy, in which one por-
tion of the community called " Masters," is allowed such power over an-
other called " Slaves ;" as, 1. To deprive them of the entire earnings of
their own Labor, except only so much as is necessary to continue labor
itself by continual healthful existence, thus committing robbery. 2. To
reduce them to the necessity of universal Concubinage, by denying to
them the civil rights of Marriage, thus breaking up the dearest relations
of life and encouraging universal Prostitution.* 3. To deprive them of
the means and opportunities of moral and intellectual culture, making it
a high penal offence to teach them to read ; thus perpetuating whatever
of evil there is that proceeds from ignorance. 4. To set up between
Parents and their Children an authority higher than the impulse of Nature
and the Laws of God ; which breaks up the Authority of the Father over
* The form of Marriage in use among the Slaves of Kentucky is that
in general use in all the Slaveholding States, and is as follows : '' Sambo !
do you take Dinah to be your wedded Wife, to live together in God's
holy ordinance of Matrimony until death shall you part, or as long as cir-
cumstances will permit ?" " Yes, mass'r." The Rev. Doctor then puts
the same question to Dinah, and receives the same response, when he
stretches out his hands with due solemnity, and says, "I pronounce you
man and wife according-to the laws of God — and the State of Kentucky."
The Georgia method of "Marrying by the Blanket" (described in chap,
ii., Part III.) is an improvement on the Kentucky plan.
3*
58 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
his Offspring, and at pleasure Separates the Mother at a returnlcss dis-
tance from her child ; thus abrogating the clearest laws of nature, thus
outraging all decency and justice, and degrading and oppressing hun-
dreds of thousands of beings created like themselves in the image of God.
This is Slavery as it is daily exhibited in the Slave States of this Republic.
A system which is utterly indefensible on every correct human principle,
and utterly abhorrent from every law of God.*
Does any one point out the crying evils of this frightful
system of iniquity — political, economical, and moral, and in-
sist that " something ought to be done," if not for its imme-
diate abolition, at least for restraining in some degree the "ab-
solute dominion" of the " Master," and, by bestowing upon tl.e
Slaves the privilege of Marriage and of permanent family ties,
providing the first basis of social advancement for what con-
stitutes in many of the States of the Union the larger half of
the entire population' — the man who makes these moderate
demands on behalf of humanity, Christianity, and civilization,
finds himself met by some " evangelical" Cat's-paw or " hire-
ling" of the Slave Power, and his mouth attempted to be stop-
ped by the cry :
" Sir, these Slaves for whose benefit you would thus undertake to legis-
late, are property, and property is a sacred thing — a gift from above — a
Patriarchal Institution, and in strict accordance with Natural and Re-
vealed religion, and can not be touched !"
* The Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky, desciibing the extent of the
" Domestic Slave-trade," its barbarities, &c, informs us, that " pro-
fessors of the religion of mercy, who hold to our communion, have torn
the Mother from the Children, and sent them into returnless exile. Yet
acts of discipline have never followed such conduct." In the General
Assembly of that Church, it was stated by Mr. Stewart, and without
contradiction, that "even Ministers of the Gospel and Doctors of Di-
vinity may engage in this unholy calling." " Elders," said he, " Min-
isters and Doctors of Divinity, are, with both hands, extensively en-
gaged in the practice." Yet nothing was done or said by the Assembly
in condemnation of it !
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 59
This cry of "property!" is the least objectionable thing
about Slavery. It labors under the more serious objections
of being false, hypocritical, and intended to deceive. It is the
cry of stop thief] raised by those who have just committed a
robbery, and who, in hopes of committing many others, raise
this cry by way of saving themselves from immediate arrest.
Wise fellows they, those Slaveholders and their Cat's-paw
"' hirelings," to set themselves up as the champions and advo-
cates of " property" in Men as good, if not better, than them-
selves. What saith the Rev. Nathan Lord, D. D., LL. D.,
President of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire ? Listen :
I. " Slavery is an Institution of God according to Natural religion."
II. " Slavery is a positive Institution of Revealed religion." III. " The
holding of Slaves, or the Carrying on of a System of Slavery" (that is,
breeding and selling Slaves), "by Civil regulations, in accordance with
the Divine plan, as understood by Natural and Revealed religion, is not
inconsistent with any ideas or principles suggested or enjoined bv Provi-
dence or the Word of God." IV. "The Nebraska bill, passed by the
Congress of 1854, was a politic measure and suited, by extending the
area of Slavery, to promote the best interests of the country." V. "It
is unwise and hazardous for Christian men to denounce or oppose the
Institution of Slavery, or to give encouragement, directly or indirectly,
to romantic and excited persons, who would subvert it." VI. "Min-
isters of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and all other Christian men, should
tike the doctrines of the Abolitionists into serious consideration, and use
the most effectual means in their power to withstand them, and save the
Nation from their pernicious influences." (See the Doughface and the
Rev. Judicious Trimmer, D. D., Appendix B.) VII. "Whether a
Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who has become convinced that
Slavery is a Divine Institution, and who could without conscientious mis-
givings, and who with gratitude to God for such an opportunity of bene-
fiting his degraded and suffering creatures, become himself a Slave-
holder, may not still hope for the forgiveness and charity of his brethren,
though he differs from them in the honest profession of his views."
It is difficult to treat the ludicrous idea and wicked refuge
of oppression that " God devoted Ham to perpetual Slavery,"
either with patience or gravity ; for, in the first place, it was
CO A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
not God, but Noah, who — immediately after waking from a
drunken debauch : — pronounced the curse ; in the second place,
the curse fell, not upon Ham, but upon Canaan, whose de-
scendants icere as white as the Hebrews themselves, or the
people of New England ; in the third place, the descendants
of Ham, as the Pro- Slavery Doctors of Divinity, North and
South, claim the Africans to be, have nothing to do with this
curse. Their pretensions to a right from Heaven to lay this
curse upon them, and hold them as their " property," is the
wildest, most sweeping and diabolical forgery ever conceived
or committed. They pretend to be, by charter from Heaven,
the ministers of God's vengeance against a whole continent of
men — a whole race of mankind — whom, in the execution of
that vengeance, they are to hold and sell as their " property."*
"Where is the sentence in which God ever appointed them, the
Anglo-Saxon race — they, who can not tell whether the blood
of Shem, Ham, Japhet, St. Patrick, Dick Turpin, or Job Von
Pronk, mingles in their veins — they, the asserters of a right
to traffic in Human flesh? The whole thing is a forgery.
" Ah, very true," says the trafficker in his fellow-men, " I
admit that Ham's race are not foreordained strangers, but
Slaves, and I am only executing God's predestination in- turn-
ing Pirate for the benefit of the Kingdom of Christ Jesus.
The foreign heathen must be brought in."f
The Southern view of " Foreign Missions" is an exceed-
* " Some people" appear to imagine that because an event has been
foretold, therefore all the parties, concerned in bringing about that event
must be set down as free from sin, but this is not true. "It must needs
be," said Christ, "that offences come, but cursed be he by whom they
come ! Better for him were it that a millstone were tied about his neck
and that he were cast into the depths of the sea."
t There is no word for sin in the Chinese language. When a China-
man commits Burglary, Arson, Rape, or Murder, he does not feel that
he has committed sin, because his " Book of Discipline" is silent on "the
sin question "
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. Gl
ingly comfortable doctrine. The Slaveholders point to the
savage condition of unenlightened Africa, and to the meagre
results of missionary labor there. Then, looking at the con-
verted Slaves in their midst, they say, " See what Slavery has
done for these poor benighted niggers ! It has accomplished
more than Foreign Missions." So, purely for the purpose
of converting these heathen, and converting them here,
rather than in their native land, they say that God sub-
jected Ham to bondage, and that they — the " evangelical"
Pro-Slavery Churches — are God's appointed instruments to
fasten the chains upon him, the curse, the vengeance, of per-
petual Slavery. But then, in another breath, in order to
excuse themselves for this instrumentality, and under a galling
sense of its odiousness and shame, they say that " God is a
God of wondrous mercy and love," and has appointed the poor
Africans to be Christians, and has made them no longer the
executioners of his wrath, but the almoners of his bounty, to
convert them, by means of Slavery, to Christ Jesus ! They
are appointed to put chains upon them, and buy and sell them
as their " property" for ever, in order to make freemen of
them, in Christ ! They are God's appointed missionaries, to
Christianize them by the Gospel of Slavery !
Now is it to be supposed that God does not see to the very
bottom of such hollow — such diabolical professions, or that
His indignation against such hypocrisy is any less at this day
than it was when He told the Jews that all their obligations,
and their approaches to Him, were an offence to him, in-
stead of gaining his approbation ; and that even when they
burned incense to Him, it was no better than if they blessed
an idol ? " Yea they have chosen their own ways, and their
soul delighteth in their abominations." They fasted, but
refused to break a single yoke. They prayed, they made long
prayers, and then turned and gave their influence against all
preaching and ail efforts to establish Freedom instead of Sla-
62 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
very, which was quite equivalent to making long prayers and
then " devouring widows' houses." Just so now the " evan-
gelical" Slaveholding and Slave-breeding Churches of the
South, and their allies in the '■"free North," prny for " Revivals
of Religion," but if any " brother from the country," too sim-
ple-hearted to understand the atmosphere and the currents of
the prayer-meeting, happens to pray for the deliverance of
the oppressed and the enslaved, a feeling runs through the
room as if a " foreign heathen" had appeared in the assembly.
The vital principle of the Bible is to love God with all your
heart and your Neighbor as yourself, and every "Law" that
interferes with this, pierces the vitals of the Christian religion
as the spear of the Roman soldier pierced the heart of the
Saviour on the Cross. Dr. Lord's idea of holding Christian
men in Slavery, to preserve them from a worse fate, is founded
neither on Scripture, nor on common sense. No worse fate is
possible. He that is a Slave, has lost all that he had to lose,
except life, and that is his only in a very qualified sense. As
an animal he might suffer more in the hands of one " Master"
than in the hands of another ; but his rights as a Man are
sacrificed to the same extent, whatever may be the character
of his "Master." The Slaveholder who recedes from the
" property" principle, does not execute the " Law," and in so
far, is not a Slaveholder. If the " Christian" respects his
Slave, and counts him a "brother" — as he must do — the
Slave law is no longer in force, and he can not be said to hold a
Slave. But if he does apply the " Law," and reduce the Man
or the Woman to a " chattel," what better is he than another
— than the common run of Slaveholders? It is no matter
what hand does the deed. Robbery, committed by "a pious
man" is just as much robbery as if committed by a profes-
sional highwayman. The assassin's knife, plunged to the
heart by the hand of a " friend," i i not less fatal than if driven
there by the hand of an enemy.
CHAPTEE III.
All the commercial cities of the "free States" are threat-
ened with the loss of " Southern trade" unless they consent to
remain true to the interests of Slavery. By this means Bos-
ton is made to vie with New York, and New York to vie
with Philadelphia, and Philadelphia to vie with Cincinnati, in
doing whatever work the Slave power may require at their
hands. The tariff is also a most effective instrument in the
hands of the Slave power in controlling Northern capitalists.
The North desires protection for her Manufactures ; the Slave
power will grant it only on condition of the most faithful alle-
giance on her part to its one great interest — its own preser-
vation and aggrandizement. Here, then, we have the two
dominant classes of society — the wealth and talent — placed
entirely at the disposal of the Slave power, and ever listening
to catch its word of command. Whatever crime is perpe-
trated against freedom, it is done to " save the Union." Is a
Slave to be recaptured, it must be done to " save the Union."
Is a Christian fined, imprisoned, or murdered for hiding the
outcast, it is done to " save the Union." Is the freedom of
speech cloven down by the lawless violence of a ruthless mob,
or by a shameful perversion of the law by a faithless Court, it
is done to " save the Union." Does a Doctor of Divinity
offer up his Mother or Son on the altar of Slavery (see Ap-
pendix B), to serve in the harem, or toil in the rice swamps,
it is to " save the Union." Indeed, no language can describe
64 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE EAST
the depth of degradation to which this guilty connection with
Slavery has reduced " the People." It has led them into the
perpetration of crimes at the bare mention of which all Chris-
tendom turn pale with horror.
" Great men," says Elihu, " are not always wise ; neither do
the aged understand judgment. Therefore I said, Hearken to
me; I also will show you mine opinion." (Job xxxii. 9, 10) :
" Many Southern Slaveholders/' says the Rev. Moses Stuart, D. D.,
LL. D., of Andover, Massachusetts, "are true Christians, and sending
back a fugitive from Slavery to them is not like restoring one to an idol-
atrous people. We may pity the fugitive, yet the Gospel does not
authorize the rejection of the claims of the Slaveholders to their stolen
■property"*
Is this in accordance with " Laws" of Him who said : " Thou
shait not deliver unto his Master the Servant which is escaped
from his Master unto thee ; he shall dwell with thee, among you,
in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where
it liketh him best ; thou shalt not oppress him." (Deut. xxiii.
15, 16.) And in Isaiah xvi. 3, 4: "Hide the outcast; betray
not him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee ;
be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoilers." Such
were the commands of God to his own " chosen people." The
Golden Rule does not enjoin us to " do unto white men [only]
as we would have them do to us ;" the Good Samaritan was
not commended for humanity to one of his own relations,
but for cherishing a wronged fellow-man of a despised and
detested race. The rights of Humanity know no distinction
founded on a difference of " color."
Professor Stuart served the Slaveholders, not by rebuking
* A runaway Slave assigned as his reason for not communing with
the Church to which he belonged, that the Church had Silver furniture
for the administration of the Lord's Supper, to procure which they sold
his Mother, and he could not bear the feelings it produced to go forward
and receive the Sacrament from vessels which were the purchase of his
poor Mother's blood.
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 65
them and calling them to repentance for their sins, but by-
showing them how, with Christ's name upon their lips, they
could most effectually serve their employer, and " rivet more
firmly the chains" of the poor Slaves. To be sure he does
not assert that Christianity was positively friendly to Slavery.
The Slaveholders did not ask him thus to stultify himself for
their sake. They only wanted to be assured that Slavehold-
ing, under the " peculiar" circumstances in which they were
placed, were not offences that should exclude them from the
" evangelical Churches ;" and this assurance Professor Moses
Stuart, D. D., LL. D., of Andover, Massachusetts, with the
" full weight" of his authority, as " a learned interpreter of the
Word of God," ventured to give them !
Another " evangelical " Pro-Slavery Doctor of Divinity, the
Rev. Samuel B. How, D. D., of New Brunswick, New Jersey,
speaking of the " divine origin of Slavery," thinks the tenth
Commandment places Wives, Maid-Servants, Men-Servants,
Oxen, and Asses, on the same Platform : —
" The objection that the New Dispensation had abolished all this was
of no avail since Christ himself had, in many instances, held fellowship
with Slaveholders. The Apostle Paul, in his remarks to believing
Slaveholders, did not command them to liberate their Slaves. Suppose
that Onesimus, the Slave of Philemon, the Slaveholder, should come to
us and ask to sit at the Communion-table with us, would we reject him ?
I trust we have not come to that point in the Church in which we make
the holding of a Slave a term of communion. Abraham was a Slave-
holder, and, indeed, at one time owned three hundred and eighteen
Slaves. Still God made the Covenant with him, that Covenant which,
alienated by the Jews in the crucifixion of Christ, has descended to the
visible Church, of which we" (Samuel B. How & Co.) "are a portion.
Christ has pictured the happiness of Heaven as consisting in lying in
Abraham's bosom, and I hope to lie in the bosom of that good old
Slaveholder. The tenth Commandment proves that ' Servants' and
66 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
'Maid-Servants' stood on precisely the same footing as other chattels
enumerated in that Commandment" (viz. : Wives, Oxen, arid Asses).
" This not only forbade depriving a man of property, which the Law of
the land secured to him, but even the secret thought of so doing. It
taught us" (Samuel B. How & Co.) "that there were rights of property '
(that is, in Human flesh). "That there were Masters and that there
were Slaves. This distinction of property lay at the foundation of
Civilization. Slavery is one of the penal effects with which God, in his
wrath, visits the sins of his people. If we were pure there would be no
such thing as Slavery."*
The Mormons vindicate Polygamy by precisely the same
arguments. They with great gusto appeal to the civilized
world, saying : " Have we not Abraham to our Father?" If
Abraham be good authority in the one case he ought to be
in the other. These " evangelical" Pro-Slavery D. D.'s and
LL. D.'s know well enough that the Dispensation under which
men now live, abrogates everything in the Old which is not
moral in its nature. But that feature of the Old Dispensa-
tion which allowed the existence of " bond-service" was no
part of the moral law. Hence even the Jews under the New
Dispensation, can have no warrant for the institution of
" bond-service" arising out of Mosaic allowance ; much less can
a " Christian nation" have such a warrant. Who would think
of pleading for the lawfulness of Polygamy for any cause
now, simply because it was tolerated under the Old Dispen-
sation ?
With regard to Slavery, Moses himself was an Abolition-
* It would have been nearer the truth to have said : If it had not
been for Cotton there would have been no such an animal as a Dough-
face or Time-server in New-Jersey. Show us the balance on the wrong
side of the ledger, and we will find you thousands of Doctors of Divin-
itv who would not only "pray" for the "cursed seed of Ram," but
maintain that Onesimus was not a Slave. Pro-Slavery piety, therefore,
begins and ends in Cotton. It is an exceedingly convenient religion.
It can be worn as a dress, or thrown over the shoulders as a wrap-
rascal.
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 67
ist of the most ultra type, for he killed a Slave-driver on the
premises (see Exodus ii. 11-14), and "ran" about two mil-
lions of Slaves out of Egypt. Egyptian theologians and poli-
ticians may have said hard things of him for not respecting
the " rights of property" which had been recognized for some
time in Egypt. But he, having the right on his«ide, could
afford to listen in patience to their arguments and their abuse.
The controversy was settled beyond dispute by the settlement
of a certain army under the waters of the Red Sea.
Nor does the New Testament, so often alluded to by the
Pro-Slavery D. D.s and LL. D.s, and their employers, give
any comfort, for we find that Christ denounced Slavery in
such words as these : " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy-
self." " Do . unto others as you would they should do unto
you." The Parable of the good Samaritan, and nearly every-
thing else he uttered, condemned both Slavery and Polygamy,
by enunciating principles and rules of conduct which inevita-
bly forbid them. He did not frame a Code ; he inculcated a.
"Spirit" that showed forth a life with which all moral evil —
all that degrades or imbrutes our weaker or more benighted
fellow-beings — is incompatible. The Bible disciplines the
Moral *Bense to the intent that we may judge of right and
wrong without the aid of Specific precepts. The Roman Em-
pire was Slaveholding, and the Apostles to the Gentiles were
brought into daily contact with it. Watched as they were by
the jealous and bitterly hostile Jews — hunted by accusations
of conspiracy, implacable hostility to the existing sway, and
"setting up another King, whose name is Jesus" — they were
constrained to great circumspection, especially in their pub-
lished writings. Why did the Herodians take counsel against
Christ to destroy him ? why did the Nazarenes rise up and
thrust him out of their city ? why were the Galileans filled
with madness against him ? why did the Jews take up stones
and stone him ? why did She chief Priests and Pharisees send
68 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
Officers to take him ? "Why ? Because he preached no ab-
stract Gospel emasculated of all reference to the crimes of his
hearers.
Another prominent Pro-Slavery Doctor of Divinity, the
Eev. Nehemiah Adams, D. D., of Boston, in the "free State"
of Massachusetts, speaking of the atrocious Fugitive Slave
Law, of 1850, says : —
" It seems hard, if some good understanding can not be had, to the
effect that travellers" (that is, Slaveholders) "from the South, visiters, are
to be protected in the enjoyment of services rendered by Members of their
families. Now they must stay at home, or leave their favorite Servants
behind them." (By no means, thanks to Dr. Adams and his co-workers
in the "free States" — see Appendix A.) "Are we afraid that the sight
of the happy relation subsisting between Masters and Slaves will make
our pr ople in love with the Institution ? We must put a stop to the un-
lawful seizure of colored Servants passing with their Masters through a
free State."* " Whatever our repugnance to Slavery may be, there is
a law of the land, a Constitution to which we must submit, or employ
suitable means to change it. While it remains, all our appeals to a
' Higher Law' are fanaticism." " We have been the assailants, she (the
South) the mark; we the persecutors, she the defendant; we the accu-
sers, she the self-justifying respondent." " The best thing which we at
the North can do to pacify the country, to help the colored race, to pre-
vent further Nebraska Measures, and promote our common interests, is
to reconsider our feelings and conduct in times past toward the South.
A penitent state of mind becomes us.
" The Apostolic spirit with regard to Slavery, surely is not of the
same tone with the spirit which encourages Slaves to run away from
their owners, and teaches them his boat, his purse, are theirs, if they wish
to escape. Philemon travelling with Onesimus, was not annoyed by a
* Is it not as "hard" that a Citizen of Massachusetts — Dr. Adams's
own State — can not travel into either North or South Carolina, or into
either Indiana or Illinois, attended by his " free colored Servant," with-
out running the risk of losing him altogether? A "free Nigger," on
entering either of these States, is imprisoned, and in case, at the end of
that imprisonment, he is not able to pay a heavy "fine," and bill for
"board" and "jail-fees," he is liable to be sold into perpetual Slavery,
(See chaps, i. and ii., of Part V., and Appendix A.)
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 69
Vigilance Committee of Paul's Christian friends, with a ' habeas corpus*
to rescue the Servant from his Master ; nor did these friends watch the
arrival of ships to receive a fugitive consigned by ' the saints and faith-
ful brethren which were at Colosse' to ' the friends of the Slave' at Cor-
inth. True, these disciples had not enjoyed the light which the Decla-
ration of American Independence sheds on the subject of Human rights.
Moses, Paul, and Christ, were their authorities on moral subjects ; but
our infidels" (that is, the friends of the oppressed) "tell us that we should
have" a far different New Testament, could it be written for lis now." —
A South-Side View of Slavery, by Nehemiah Adams, D. D., pp. 128, 156,
and 199.
Only a little while ago, while the Members of one " evan-
gelical" Church, in Boston, were Kidnapping the Members of
another Church, there was hardly a " respectable" Clergyman
in the City to lift up his voice against the hideous iniquity.
Husbands and Fathers were torn from their Families ; and
Mothers, with poor, helpless Children, fled at midnight, with
bleeding feet, through snow and ice, toward Canada ; and, in
the midst of these scenes, which have made America a by-
word and a hissing and an astonishment among all nations,
there were found men, " Christian men," " Ministers of the
Gospel" — alas! that this should ever be written — who,
standing in the Pulpit in the name of Jesus Christ, justified
and sanctioned these enormities, and used that most loving
and simple-hearted letter of the captive Paul to Philemon, to
justify these atrocities ! St. Paul speaks of this very Onesi-
nrus as his own Son ; and beseeches Philemon to receive him
as such, to receive him not as a "Servant/' not as a " run-
away nigger" is received when his master recovers him,
but as a Brother, beloved both in the flesh and in the
Lord. If Onesimus owed Philemon anything, the Apostle
tells him to set that to his (St. Paul's) account; but intimates
a strong belief that no claim of that sort would be preferred.
And he expresses the fullest confidence that Philemon would
readily do all he had requested, and more. Arid there is
70 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
every reason to believe that his wishes and expectations were
fully realized ; that the former " Master' and " Servant" met
together in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel, as Brethren
in the Lord, mutually delighting to promote each other's hap-
piness.
If Judas was worthy of his reward for betraying one whom
he knew had the power to extricate himself from the hands of
his crucifiers, then much more is he worthy of his reward who
casts — or helps to do it — into the hands of men more brutal
than Jewish crucifiers thousands of unoffending, weak, and
helpless Fathers and Mothers, Sons and Daughters, accused
of no infraction of Religious or Civil Law, and whose blood is
called for by no maddening populace, but by cold-blooded
avarice and the foulest of passions.*
At the " Commencement of Rutgers College," New Bruns-
wick, New Jersey, on the 1st of July, 1856, the "Orator of
the Day," the Rev. Dr. Junkin, President of Washington
College, Lexington, Virginia, on being introduced by Rodman
M. Price, Governor of the State, said : —
" Our first duty is to spread the Bible among the heathen Nations of
the old world. . The Bible has made us what we are ! We are bound to
contend against the atheistic systems of European nations. Our great
and glorious expansion, our Prospective population, our Tremendous
power and high Moral position among the nations of the earth, enforce
the question, ' What will the foreign heathen expect of us V " [Sensation. J
* In the " Memoir of Mrs. Ann E,. Page/' sister of Bishop Meade, of
Virginia (see chap, ii., of Part IV.), we are told that by her Marriage
she came into the relation of Mistress to some two hundred Slaves, the
" property" of her husband ; and her efforts for then* improvement and
emancipation occupy the first two chapters of the book. She portrays
the " heaven -horn. Institution" in these words : " Have you considered,
my friends, the full amount of the evils of Slavery? No.; they can not
be seen by Human eyes. They form a part of those hidden things of
darkness, which are linked by a chain which reaches into the dominion
of Satan, not only here on earth, but into his more complete dominion
in the realms of deepest hell.
AND PKESENT STATE OF THINGS. 71
" Slavery is represented as the great bar to the continuance of our glori-
ous Union. Look at it ! God has painted some five millions of people
black,* and brought them here ! They are more thoroughly Christian-
ized and Civilized than the people of the. Old World this day!" [Ap-
plause.] " More converts have been made to Christianity among this
people, during their dwelling among us, than in the rest of the World."
Here the speaker sketched the progress of what he was
pleased to call " our American territory," and spoke of the
time when " our people would be obliged to throw the protec-
tion of the Stars and Stripes over the benighted countries on
our Southern border, to preserve them from civil suicide.' ,
Nay, more, " we must turn Northward and carry forward the
work of benevolence — of regeneration, until British America
is brought under the influence of our glorious Institutions, and
' E Pluribus Unum' covers our misguided runaway Servants
(see chaps, i. and ii., of Part II.), and this Continent from the
frozen pole to the burning zone !"
In February, 1856, the Rev, William S. Plunier, D. I)., of
Richmond, was invited by the Cleveland (Ohio) Young Men's
Christian Association to deliver a lecture in the course then
before them. Dr. Plumer was absent from Richmond when
the letter of invitation reached his residence. On his return,
he lost no time in communicating to the Chairman of Corre-
spondence the following precious sample of Slave-holding
theology : —
" I have carefully watched the Anti-Slavery movement from its earli-
est existence, and everything I have seen or heard of its character, both
from its patrons and its enemies, has confirmed me, beyond repentance,
* Since they have been brought here, however, they have been
painted so many other shades of color, that the original "black"
has well nigh faded out. Perhaps it is their " conversion to Chris-
tianity" that has taken away the Hamite curse of the darker shades
of complexion. When they shall have "dwelt among us" till they
are all converted, the whole race may be bleached white.
72 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
in the belief that, let the character of the Abolitionists be what it may,
in the Sight of the Judge of all the Earth, this is the most meddlesome,
impudent, reckless, fierce, and wicked excitement I ever saw. If the
Abolitionists will set the country in a blaze, it is but fair that they should
receive the first wanning at the fire."*
Can the Missouri ruffians and cut-throats do more ! Have
they attempted, or ever threatened to do, anything more than
carry out the principles here so piously advocated ? It is an
old maxim, that " like Priest, like People." Is it any wonder
that the Country is filled with Atchisons and Stringfellows
thirsting for the blood of freemen, when she is taught her re-
ligion by such kind of Christians as the PeA\ William S.
Plumer, D. P. ? Charity compels us to believe that the
Young men who invited this ferocious Slave-breeding " minis-
ter" of the "heaven-horn Institution" to insult the Anti-Slavery
sentiment of Cleveland, by his lecturing, were entirely unac-
quainted with his character, and deceived by his position.
Let us compare the sentiments of this advocate of fire and
fagot — this pretended " minister" of the blessed Saviour —
with that of the "infidel Jefferson," who says, "All men have
inalienable rights, among which are liberty and the pursuit of
happiness" (heavenly sounds compared with the cruel breath-
ings of the Eev. William S. Plumer, D. D.) Speaking of
Slavery, he says : —
" When I reflect that God is just, I tremble for my country ;"
and in view of the possibility of a Slave insurrection, he says :
" There is no attribute in the character of the Deity that can
take part with us Slaveholders in such a contest." The Al-
* At a public meeting of the American Bible Society, held in the
Rev. George B. Gheever's Church, Union Square. New York, on the
6th of April, 1856, this man (William S. Plumer, D. D., of Richmond,
Virginia,) " acted a prominent and acceptable part." The object of the
meeting was to consider the expediency of giving a copy of the Bible tc
every poor white family in the United States. (See I Cor.xv. 33.)
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 73
mighty lias left us an unmistakable indication of his hatred of
Slavery in the destruction of an immense army of Slaveholders
in the Red Sea, who were obeying their Fugitive Slave Law.
" Proclaim," saith the Lord, " liberty throughout all the land
to all the inhabitants thereof." That is Abolitionism of the
strongest kind ; plain and positive. Yet the Rev. William S.
Plumer, D. D., raises his defiant arm, shakes his fist in the
face of the God of eternal justice, and, Slaveholder like,
says : " That is impudent !"
Liberty for the white man; slavery for the "nigger," so
long as the white man is able to hold him. Let the Reverend
Doctor be in the power of a very big black man, and the
question might be opened, who should be Master and who
should be " Servant,"
The Rev. Thornton Stringfellow, D. D., of Richmond, Va.,
has published in that city what he calls " Scriptural and Sta-
tistical Views in favor of Slavery" which has met with so
much favor in that latitude as to have reached its fourth edi-
tion. In this edition, he undertakes to answer a letter writ-
ten by a man called Elder Galusha to the Rev. Richard Fuller,
of S. C. Here is a specimen of his logic : —
"His second Scripture reference to disprove the lawfulness of Slavery
in the sight of God, is this : ( God has said a Man is better than a sheep.
This is a Scripture truth which I fully believe — and I have no doubt,
if we could ascertain what the Israelites had to pay for those Slaves they
bought with their money according to God's law, that we should find
they had to pay more for them than they paid for Sheep, for the reason
assigned by the Saviour; that is, that a Slave-man is better than a
Sheep ; for when he is done ploughing, or feeding cattle, and comes
in from the field, he will, at his owner's bidding prepare him his meal,
and wait upon him till he eats it, while the owner feels under no obliga-
tion even to thank him for it, because he has done no more than his du-
ty. (Luke xvii. 7, 8, 9.) This, and other important duties, which the
people of God bought their Slaves to perform for them, by the permis-
sion of their Maker, were duties which Sheep could not perform."
This " evangelical" apologist and trafficker in his " colored
4
74 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
Brethren and Sisters," must know that the Bible recognizes
no such traffick as that of property in Man, except as a wicked
oppression ; and the Mosaic legislation guarded the people at
every point against such oppression, and was admirably con-
trived to render it impossible. In consequence of these care-
ful and humane Statutes, both the spirit of the Hebrew con-
stitution and the letter of the Law so effectually secured Free-
dom as a personal Birthright, that the idea of Slavery, in the
American sense of the term, was never embodied in the lan-
guage. There is no word to signify what we call a Slave —
a Human being degraded into an article of " property." And
the laws were minute and specific in regard to the treatment
of Servants, and their rights, to such a degree, with such ex-
plicitness and exactness, in order that there might never be
any temptation to introduce or establish Slavery in the land,
it being from the outset made so impossible, that without direct
defiance of Almighty God, no man could intend such a thing,
and no tribe could accomplish it. And accordingly, notwith-
standing all the oppression of which the Jews were guilty, and
the instances and forms in which they evaded the law, and at
length attempted to establish Slavery itself instead of the sys-
tem of voluntary paid service prescribed by law, yet never at
any time in Palestine was there a Slave-mart or public Slave r
traffick. Babylon and Tyre, Greece and Rome, and other
heathen nations, maintained the Slave-trade; and never a phi-
losopher, unenlightened by God's Word, rose high enough to
see its wickedness ; but in Judea, its violation of the first
principles of justice and humanity was so manifest by the
Law of God, and so many Statutes combined to render it im-
possible, that though the idol altars of the heathen world were
at length naturalized in Israel, and in the seductions of idol
worship the people were carried headlong, yet the Slave-traffic
and the Slave-marts never once obtained a footing.
' At Platte City, the county-seat of Platte county, Missouri,
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 75 '
Senator Atchison's home, on the 5th of March, 1855, a Pro-
Slavery "Mass-Meeting" was held. Several speakers ad-
dressed it, among them the Rev. Leander Kerr, D. D., United
States Chaplain to the Army at Fort Leavenworth, who
said : —
"And now to ascertain your position and what are your duties in the eon-
test before you ; let us ascertain the cause for which you are contending !
What is that cause 1 It is the most just, righteous, and holy in which men
were ever engaged ! Go, then, to Kansas as men, as patriots, as Chris-
tians, and do your duty to yourselves, your country, and your God ! Do
you talk of ' lawful and honorable means' to prevent these New England
infidel Abolition vagabonds from entering among you ! If a midnight
robber were to attempt to break into my quarters I would avail myself
of the most efficient means at my command to expel him. I would not
sit down to ponder upon ' honorable and lawful means ;' the only law I
would recognize, in the case, would be the law of self-preservation.
Talk not of 'honorable and lawful means,' save the law of self-preserva-
tion, against men who trample alike the laws of heaven and your countiy
under their feet ; men who know as little of honor in their souls as a
monkey knows of the mechanism of a steam-engine ! Away with such
paltry sentimentalism ! It is as much out of place as lullaby songs and
nursery tales are out of place in the heat of battle, or in the midst of
storm and shipwreck! Honorable warfare is for honorable heroes, not
for robbers and banditti, and such these Abolition infidels are !"
How this " minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ" must
have rejoiced at the success of his teachings and the faithful
practice of them, by his fellow-Ruffians, shooting unarmed
men in cold blood, bayoneting single disarmed, w^ounded men,
shooting men by placing musket muzzles in their mouths,
scalping living citizens, cutting out, tearing, and mangling the
hearts of freemen, whom they hunted from their homes, by
going to their houses, to commit rape upon their defenceless
Christian wives and daughters ! Well have they practised on
the preaching of a " minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ"
who stigmatizes honor and justice as " paltry sentimentalism !"
Nor is the " Rev. Leander Kerr, D. D." the only cut-throat
76 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
" minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ" in Missouri, for we
find the Rev. John Bull, D. D., a " distinguished Clergyman"
of Weston, Missouri, " engaged, soul and body, in the good
cause." Hear him : —
" I could stand by and not have one nerve quiver, and see any man
cut up into inch pieces, who would say one word in defence of Aboli-
tionism, or a Northern Emigration Aid Society."
The Church Session of the First Presbyterian Church (New-
School) in St. Joseph, Missouri, advertise in The Christian
Observer for a Pastor, to take the place of the Rev. T. S.
Peeve, who had resigned. Hear them : —
" We will give from five to eight hundred dollars a year ; but we want
a man who is strictly religious and Southern in his feelings, and care not
where he was bom or educated."
It is very evident that neither St. Paul nor any of the other
Apostles would suit the " First Presbyterian Church in St. Jo-
seph, Missouri." Not one of them would have been " Southern"
in his "feelings" — only cosmopolitan and Christian. Neither
was the admiration of Paul for " bonds" of the N. S. Order.
He held them as the last thing one man should invoke for
another. In his magnificent appeal for Religion and Liberty
before the Roman Governor he has left nothing for the
scourges of party-colored Men, Women, and Children, to build
a theory upon. The Saint Joseph Christians should have
an edition of the Bible prepared to be read to them by this
" strictly religious" man, if they should get one of sufficient
education to read without skipping the hard words. This
edition should omit the history of Moses, the Ten Command-
ments, the Psalms, the Book of Proverbs, the prophecies of
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, the Life of our Saviour, and
the epistles of Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude ; and should
cut out such passages from other parts of the Sacred Word
as speak of God's justice, and His hatred of sin. They
AND PRESENT STATE OE THINGS. 77
should inscribe over the pulpit, "Prophesy unto us smooth
things, prophesy deceits."
The Rev. James Smylie, a minister of the State of Missis-
sippi, in a Pamphlet written in defence of Slaveholding, allu-
ding to the charges of the Abolitionists, admits the facts ad-
duced by them, but denies their criminality. " If Slavery be
a Sin," says he, " and advertising and apprehending Slaves
with a view to restore them to their owners, is a direct viola-
tion of the Divine law, and if the buying, selling, and holding
Slaves, for the sake of gain, is a heinous sin and scandal,
then, verily, three fourths of all the Methodists, Episcopalians,
Baptists, and Presbyterians, in the Slave States of this Union,
are of the Devil. They hold, if they do not buy and sell
Slaves, and they do not hesitate to apprehend and restore
runaway Slaves, when in their power. The right to buy, sell,
and hold Men, Women, and Children, for purposes of gain,
was given by express permission of God. The laws which
forbid the education of the Slave are right, and meet the ap-
probation of the reflecting part of the Christian community."
To call such a man a Christian, still more a Christian min-
ister, is to libel Him who came to deliver men from bondage,
not to enslave them.
What is it with which these Keverend Doctors are so des-
perately in Love ? It is that System of iniquity which denies
the right of a man to himself — to his Wife, to his Children!
It is that System of Satan which reduces a man, born in the
image of his God, with a soul immortal, to a condition below
the beasts of the field ! He possesses nothing in the world
that he can call his own, and serves a "Master" who may
beat him, blister him, bruise him, and burn him, and do what-
soever he will with him and his " Wife and Children." This
is the System the " evangelical" Pro-Slavery Churches call a
" heaven-bom Institution" — "a gift from above" and to refuse
to bow down to which is " blasphemy in the sight of God."
78 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
The Rev. Mr. Nelson, a conscience-stricken Slaveholder,
of North Carolina, says : — -
" I have resided in North Carolina forty years, and been intimately
acquainted with the System" (that is, Slavery), " and I can scarcely
think of its operations without shedding tears." (See chap. ii. of Part
IV.) " It causes me excessive grief to think of my own poor Slaves, for
whom I have for years been trying to find a free home. It strikes me
with equal astonishment and horror to hear Northern people make light of
Slavery. Had they seen and known as much of it as I, they could not
thus treat it, unless callous to the deepest woes and degradation of hu-
manity, and dead both to the religion and philanthropy of the Gospel of
Christ Jesus. But thousands of them are doing what the hard-hearted
tyrants of the South most desire. If it were not for the support of the
North, the fabric of blood would fall at once. Of all the upholders of this
frightful system of iniquity, none is so potent as that of the Pro-Slavery
'religious Periodicals and Newspapers' of the free States. They afford
just the kind of succor demanded by the Slaveholders. Tlie abuse of
the Abolitionists is music in Southern ears ivhich operates as a charm. But
nothing is equal to their harping upon the ' religious privileges and instruc-
tions' of the Slaves of the South. And nothing could be so false and inju-
rious (to the cause of freedom and religion) as the impressions they give on
that subject. I say what I know when I speak in relation to this matter.
" I have been intimately acquainted with the religious opportunities
of Slaves — in the constant habit of hearing Sermons which are preached
to them. And I solemnly affirm, that, during the forty years of my
residence and observations in this State, I never heard a single one of
these Sermons but what was taken up with the obligations and duties
of Slaves to their masters. Indeed, I never heard a Sermon to Slaves
but what made obedience to Masters by the Slaves the fundamental and
supreme law of Religion. Any candid and intelligent man can decide
whether such preaching is not, as to religious purposes worse than none
at all." (See chap ii. of Part IV.) "It is wonderful how the credulity
of the North is subjected to imposition in regard to the 'kind treatment'
of Slaves. For myself, I can clear up the apparent contradictions found
in writers who have resided at or visited the South. ' The majority of
the Slaveholders' say some, 'treat their Slaves with kindness.' Now
this may be true in certain districts, setting aside all questions of treat-
ment, except such as refer to the body. And yet, while ' the majority
of Slaveholders' in a certain section may be 'kind,' the majority of Slaves
in that Section will be treated with cruelty. This is the truth in many
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS.
79
such cases, that while there may be thirty men who may have but one
Slave a piece, and that a house Servant, a single man in their neighbor-
hood may have three hundred Slaves — all field-hands, half-fed, worked
excessively, and whipped most cruelly."
We have frequently heard it denied that there are any
Slaveholding and Slave-breeding "ministers" in the Northern
Methodist Episcopal Church. No one denies but there are
thousands of Slaveholding members, but it is stoutly denied
that there are " Slaveholding preachers" in the Northern
Church. Listen to the testimony of the Rev. B. F. Sedge-
wick, a Presiding Elder in Western Virginia, as published in
the Richmond journals, in 1855 :
" There are many Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church North,
residing in Slave States, who are Slaveholders for gain, and who buy and
sell Slaves. Such things, I know, have occurred and are still occurring.
I speak of that which I do know, and declare that the buying of Men,
Women, and Children, for the purpose of Enslaving them is of more
frequent occurrence in the M. E. Church, North, of late years, than it
was in former times, and that their crime is passed by in every case
with an apology, ' That to buy and sell Slaves is not buying Men to
enslave them;' and so the work goes on pleasantly. Deny it who dare !
And it can be proven that Slavery has for years, and does at this mo-
ment, exist in the ministry of the Church, North."
The Rev. J. Cable, of Indiana, in a letter to The Mercer
(Pa.) Luminary, says : " I have lived eight years in Virginia,
and received my Theological education at the Union Theologi-
cal Seminary, Hampden Sidney College. Those who know
anything about Slavery, know that the worst kind is 'jobbing
Slavery' — that is, the hiring out of Slaves from year to year,
while .the Master is not present to protect them. It is the
interest of the one who hires them, to get the worth of his
money out of them, and the loss is the Master's if they die.
What shocked me more than anything else was the Church
engaged in this jobbing of Slaves. The College Church which
I attended, and which was attended by all the students of
80 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
Hampden Sidney College and Union Theological Seminary,
held Slaves enough to pay their Pastor, Mr. Stanton, one
thousand dollars a year, of which the Church members did
not pay a dollar. The Slaves, who had been left to the
Church by some "pious Mother in Israel," had increased so
as to be a large and still increasing fund. These were hired
out on Christmas day of each year, the. day in which they
celebrate the birth of the Saviour, to the highest bidder !
This was the Church in which the professors of the Seminary
and the College often officiated. There were four Churches
near the College Church, that were in the same situation as
this, when I was in that country, that supported the pastor, in
whole or in part, in the same way, viz. : Cumberland Church,
John Kirkpatrick, Pastor ; Briny Church, William S. Plum-
er, Pastor; Buffalo Church, Mr. Cochran, Pastor; Pisgah
Church, near the peaks of Otter, J. Mitchell, Pastor."
Strange as it may seem, it is nevertheless true, there are
some Members of the Methodist Church, who bejieve that, since
the " Division" they are now entirely free from all connection
with Slavery and Slaveholders. For the benefit of all such
" simple souls," we give the following statement of one who
has recently returned from a visit to Missouri. The author is
a highly-esteemed member of the North Indiana Conference : —
"A person, who is in good standing in our Church, a few months
since" (in April, 1855), "sold a Member of the Church to a Southern
Slave-trader. When the poor fellow was delivered to his new owner,
they had to tie him, hand-and-foot, and throw him upon a dray, and send
him in this way to the Steamboat that was to convey him to the New
Orleans Slave-Market. And in the same city where this occurred, there
was, for many days, in that Slave-pen or prison, a colored man left for
sale to the highest bidder, whoever he might be, either a St. Clair or a
Legree, all the same ; after a few days, he was purchased by one of his
old neighbors, who was not willing to see him sold to the Southern
Slave-driver ; and this man that was thus sold was not only the property
of a Methodist, but also a Methodist preacher, of the Church, North. I
stood by on one occasion, and saw a Member of our Church, a Class-
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 81
leader, purchase a Slave girl, the last and only Child that a Slave
mother had left. I stood and looked upon that poor mother, as she
kneeled before him ; I heard her say, as she sobbed bitterly, ' Oh, massa,
spare my Child! Oh, please spare my last earthly comfort V And in
this way she continued to pray. It seemed to me almost enough to
move a heart of stone ; but he soon turned scornfully away, saying he
had not bought her to sell again, and thus tore her Child away where
they would never meet again in this world.
"I might continue and enumerate many similar cases that I could
vouch for their truth, but the above is sufficient.
" J. G. D. Pettijohn."
President Blanchard, of this Church, in a letter to the
Cleveland (Ohio) True Democrat, September 26, 1851, said:
" The Methodist Episcopal Church North, has about one fifth
•part as many Slaveholding Churches as the entire South. It
reports in the Slave States three Annual Conferences, 857
Preachers, 86,627 Members, all in actual and full fellowship
with Slaveholders." At the present moment (5th July,
1857), the Church North is " about" one third part owner of
the " race of Africa" or " cursed seed of Ham" in the Slave-
holding States.
The Rev. D. R. M'Annaly, in a letter to The St. Louis
(Mo.) Advocate, speaking of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
North, says :
" You could not make them more indignant than to intimate that
they had any sympathy with the Anti-Slavery cause. 'They operate
against Slavery !' I would like to know when, where, or how ? We
have had some knowledge of the operations of these Missionaries for some
two or three years past to the present time" (July, 1855), "and if ever
one of them preached, lectured, or exhorted, for the overthrow of Slavery,
we have never heard of it. Slavery is no bar to Communion in the M. E.
Church, North, any more than in the Church, South.
The Charleston (S. C.) Baptist Association, in a Memorial
to the Legislature of the State, insisted that "the Divine
Author of our holy religion adapted the Institution of Slavery
4*
82 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
as one of the allowed relations of Society. And neither
Society nor individuals have any authority to demand a re-
linquishment of this species of property without an equivalent,
We would resist, to the utmost, every innovation of this right,
come from what quarter and under what pretence it may.''
Of course, " "Why should God's people part with Endowments
with which their Creator has blessed them, or the money and
Niggers inherited from their Ancestors ?"
In the settlement of the estate of the Rev. Dr. Furman, of
the same sect, in the same State, his legal representatives ex-
ercised this " right" in an advertisement of a public sale of his
property at Auction. Hear them :
" A plantation or tract of land on and in Wateree Swamp, a tract of the
first quality of fine land in the town of Camden ; a Library of Miscel-
laneous character, chiefly Theological ; twenty-seven Negroes, some of
them very Prime articles ; two Mules, one Horse, and an old Wagon."
This is Baptist religion at the South. What is it at the
North ? The late Rev. Lucius Bolles, D. D., of Massachusetts,
Corresponding Secretary of the American Baptist Board for
Foreign Missions, said : " There is a pleasing degree of Union
among the multiplying thousands of Baptists throughout the
land. Our Southern brethern are generally, both Ministers
and People, Slaveholders."
The Baptist Churches and Associations have repeatedly, and
publicly, decided that Slaves separated by Sale or Removal
from their " Wives" or " Husbands" might " Marry again,"
without any violation of the " Book of Discipline," such sepa-
ration being equivalent to death- ; and that- every Slave Hus-
band or Wife may thus " Marry again as often as the separation
is repeated." A similar morality prevails in all the Slave-
holding Churches of the South. Why are these Churches so
inconsistent as to deny Mormonism a " privilege" which they
claim for Slavery ? They all allow the " privilege" of Bigamy
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 83
or Polygamy " to all persons similarly situated." Yes, and to
all persons not similarly situated.
A Slaveholder, of Charleston, brought to Pennsylvania a
Slave-mother and two of her Children and emancipated them,
being unable to secure their freedom in South Carolina. This
woman, before her emancipation and since, has borne a high
character for integrity and intelligence. She was Married by
the Church according to the usual method of marrying "all
-persons similarly situated" (see chap. ii. of Part III.), to a
man whom she loved with the devotion of a true wife, and to-
gether they were members of the M. E. Church, of Charleston,
and it was the only grief that darkened the brightness of her
joy that she was separated from him. By the assistance of
friends, arrangements were made for his purchase, and some
three hundred dollars were collected toward the object. Her
hope brightened, the satisfaction of her heart's yearning seemed
almost at hand, when the news fell upon her, crushing and
consuming to ashes all her anticipations, that her husband had
" marr { e d another woman." She got a friend to write to his
Class-leader in the Church, to secure his and the Church's aid
in bringing her husband to see the cruelty of his course, and
inducing him to abandon it. The Class-leader laid the case
before the Church, and afterward wrote to the heartbroken
wife the following letter, communicating their views of the
case :
Charleston, May 26, 1853.
I duly received your letter desiring me to inform you
of the reasons by which your husband justified his recent conduct. I re-
gret, indeed, that such should ever have been the case, but considering
the circumstances by which he is surrounded, I can not think him wholly
unjustifiable. It is a fact known to you, that he is not Master of his own
time, and can not, therefore, employ it at his will. He has been separated
from you two years, and has not the possibility of ever again seeing you.
It is out of his power to go to you, if so disposed. Conscious of this,
ind having been assured of your comfort and happiness, he availed him-
self of the privilege the Church allows all persons similarly situated, and
84 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
took to himself another wife. It is natural to mankind to seek and de-
sire companionship, and when deprived of this high privilege by circum-
stances beyond his control, and for so long a time, he becomes literally
a widower. Such being the case, it seems to me that one would be par-
donable if he sought those pleasures of sympathy and companionship in
the bosom of another. The precedent he has given leaves it optional
with you to follow his example if desirous. Sympathy and charity cover
a multitude of sins, and to these ennobling qualities of the mind this case
loudly appeals. Think not, Madam, from what I have said, that it is
my wish to defend or justify him. It is my desire only to present the
matter in a plain and reasonable light, and to reconcile you to the change,
if possible. Concerning his feelings, and the rest of his conduct, I can
not assure you of anything with the certainty of truth, but must leave you
to decide, as, in your judgment, his conduct justifies you. Yours, &c.
JACOB WESTON.
A truly Christian spirit of resignation to surrounding
circumstances. Cool comfort to the worse than agonized
wife. Mr. Weston's letter is a signal illustration of the
moral pollution and death which Slavery has wrought in the
Churches. The Church do.es not yield to a necessity it de-
plores, and is striving to avert. So far from it, the Slave sys-
tem, with its traffic in Human beings, its merciless sundering
of Families, and its degradation of soul and prostitution of
purity, finds its strongest bulwark in the Churches. The State
makes it " Legal," Custom makes it " Expedient," Avarice
pronounces it " Necessary and Profitable," but the Churches
consecrate it as " Divine ;" the especial object of Heaven's
favor, to oppose which is "Infidelity" and "Blasphemy."
They seek to perpetuate and extend the " Institution" to mul-
tiply its victims, both in and out of the Churches, " rivet their
chains for ever ;" and that, too, while hourly witnessing its
character and results, ay, while actively helping to form that
character and produce those results ! Thus, then, these self-
styled " Christian Churches" commit themselves before the
world to the righteousness of Bigamy and Polygamy ! It is
an odious Monopoly ; since it is mathematically certain that
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 85
every "genuine white brother" can have as many "colored
sisters" as he may desire ; and . all this the Churches proclaim
as a " beautiful arrangement," and " in perfect conformity to
the Laws of God."
If Polygamy, and the continual practice of it among " all
persons similarly situated," affords no ground for refusing to
those who give other " credible evidence of piety" admission
into the Churches, how can it be made an objection to admit-
ting Utah and the Mormons into political and social religious
fellowship and brotherhood? If a "converted" Slaveholder
may still " take" with safety to his soul, and without scandal
to his brethren, five, ten, twenty, forty, eighty, one hundred
and sixty, or three hundred and twenty " wives," on what
principle is the same privilege to be denied to Brigham
Young, or any other who may expound God's law after this
fashion ?
Professor W. T. Brantly, a "leading Southern Baptist,"
has published an article to show that his denomination is gain-
ing more rapidly in the Slave States than in the Free. He
infers from this that " Slavery is consistent with the purest
form of Christianity, and can not therefore be sinful." This is
the way that the moral sentiment of the world is occasionally
outraged by those who disgrace the office of the Christian
Ministry. What wonder then infidelity should increase, and
the most fearful immorality should stalk abroad in open day,
when the pretended embassadors of our holy religion are
propagating such views ! Who that has a soul worth saving
would not turn away in disgust from a religion that could by
any course of reasoning be brought to acknowledge Slavery
as " consistent with its purest forms !" In the " great day of
accounts," when the hidden purposes of all hearts shall be
made known, and the outraged Slave with his chains stricken
from his redeemed limbs, shall stand before the " great white
throne," side by side with his oppressor and this "leading
86 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
Southern Baptist," the wickedness and blasphemy of such
men will meet their reward. In that " final day of reckon-
ing/' will such men take their blasphemy with them, as
they stand before the Judge of all the earth ?
The following query was propounded to the Savannah
River (Georgia) Baptist Association of Preachers : " Wheth-
er in case of involuntary separation of such a character as to
preclude all further intercourse, the parties may be allowed to
Marry again ?" To this query the answer was as follows :
" That such separation, among persons situated as our Slaves
are, is civilly a separation by death, and we believe that, in
the sight of God, it would be so viewed. To forbid Marriages,
in such cases, would be to expose the parties not only to great-
er hardships and temptations, but to Church censure for acting
in obedience to their owners, who can not be expected to ac-
quiesce in a regulation at variance with justice to the Slaves,
and to the spirit of that command which regulates Marriage
between Christians. v The Slaves are not free agents, and a
dissolution by death is not more entirely without their consent
and beyond their control than by such separation. Resolved,
therefore, " That without a new Revelation from Heaven, no
Man is entitled to pronounce Slavery wrong."
" Brethren," such a religion came not down from " heaven"
— " wafted hither on fragrant gales" — but steamed up from
the bottomless pit, laden with foulest exhalations, and preg-
nant only with curses. May the Friend of the poor, the
wretched, the oppressed, send it to its " own place," that
Mankind may no longer be deceived by its wiles or bewitched
with its sorceries.
" Down let the shrine of Moloch sink,
And leave no traces where it stood :
No longer let its idol drink
His daily cup of Human blood ;
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 87
But rear another altar there,
*To Truth, and Love, and Mercy given,
And Freedom's gift, and Freedom's prayer,
Shall call an answer down from Heaven I"
James M'Dowell, Jr., of Virginia, a Slaveholder, in a
Speech in the House of Delegates of that State, in 1832,
said : —
" You may place the Slave where you please — you may dry up, to
your utmost, the fountain of his feelings, the springs of thought — you
may close up his mind to every avenue of knowledge, and cloud it over
with artificial night ; — you may yoke him to your labor, as the ox which
liveth only to work ; — you may put him under any process which, with-
out destroying his value as a Slave, will debase and crush him as a
rational being — you may do this, and the idea that he was horn to be
Free will survive it all. It is allied to his hopes of immortality; it is
the eternal part of his nature, which oppression can not reach. It is a
torch lit up in his soul by the hand of the God of eternal Justice that
can never be extinguished by the hand of the oppressor."
If in the countenances of their " Masters" only the Slaves
discovered the visage of a foe, not another sun would go down
upon an unbroken fetter. " "We of the South," says the
Marysville (Tenn.) Intelligencer, " are emphatically surround-
ed by a dangerous class of beings — degraded, stupid savages
— who, if they could but once entertain the idea that imme-
diate and unconditional death would not be their portion,
would react the St. Domingo tragedy. But the consciousness,
with all their stupidity, that a tenfold force, superior in disci-
pline, if not in barbarity, would gather from the four corners
of the United States and slaughter them, keeps them in sub-
jection. But to the non-Slaveholding States particularly are
we indebted for a permanent safeguard against insurrection.
Without their assistance, the white population of the South
would be too weak to quiet that innate desire of Liberty which
is ever ready to act itself out with every Rational creature."
The Charleston (S. C.) Religious Telegraph says : " Hatred
88 A GENERAL VIEW OP THE PAST
to the whites, with the exception in some cases of attachment
to the person and family of the Master, is universal among the
Slave population. "We have then a foe cherished in our own
bosoms — a foe willing to draw our life-blood whenever the
Opportunity is offered."
If there be any mandate of Christianity binding on man, it
is that which commands us to "do unto others whatsoever
we would have them do unto us ;" and he who holds his fel-
low-man as ''property," while he himself is unwilling to be
converted into a brute, is an infidel.
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. CO
CHAPTER IV.
Slavery is advancing. In 1776, it only reached on the
Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico ; but
in no case did it extend two hundred and fifty miles into
the interior. Now it has spread over every foot of Territory
in the Union; it has crossed the Alleghanies, and finds a
home in the great basins of the Mississippi. It is to be found
even in California; and notwithstanding their Constitution
prohibits bondage, yet Slaves, black, red, and white, are to be
found" there, and their owners are protected by the authorities
of the United States.
It is no longer a question of Slavery and Anti-Slavery, but
of Liberty on one side and Despotism on the other. The
viper, warmed into life by mistaken sympathies, has recovered
its ancient venom, and threatens to drive from the home of the
United States Constitution the rightful owners of the hearth-
stone !
The question is not, " Shall there be Slavery in one part
of the Nation ?" but if it is, then the question is, " Shall there
be Freedom in the other part ?" It is not possible. Slavery
is not and can not be a " local" influence, simply because it is
an " Institution." A morass may have a local position, but
the malaria which it exhales will poison the whole atmosphere,
and be wafted by winds in every direction : —
90
A GENERAL YIEW OF THE PAST
FREE STATES.
Sq. Ms.
SLAVE STATES.
Sq. Ms.
2,120
11,124
61,352
50,704
29,385
37,680
45,600
31,766
9,280
10,212
7,800
1,306
4,674
47,000
8,320
46,000
39,964
33,809
55,405
56,243
53,924
50,914
155,980
O New Hampshire
^ Maryland
O Massachusetts
O Rhode Island
IP Noith Carolina
fH South Carolina
$£ Kentucky
^ Tennessee
O New York
f|^ Alabama
(% Georgia
@ Florida
50,722
vff Pennsylvania
O Ohio
58,000
59,268
47,156
41,255
52,198
67,38n
257,504
|p Indiana
-3| Mississippi
f% Illinois .
@ Arkansas
#* Missouri
T*T 111
^ California
Total So^are Miles . . .
Total Square Miles . . .
871,448
207,007
185,030
299,170
123,022
612 597
60
114,798
166,025
335 88^
TERRITORIES.
@ District of Columbia..
{^ Kansas
TERRITORIES.
^ New Mexico
&& Oregon
<©> Utah
t§) Nebraska
^l Washington
Who has not seen a thorn in the finger produce fever, in-
crease the pulse, and destroy the appetite? And whoever has
seen this, has seen the brain, the heart, and the stomach, three
most vital organs, disturbed by a little irritation in the end of
the finger. A scratch has been known to produce lock-jaw and
death. Every surgeon knows the wide range of sympathies
which ever attend wounds and injuries. The brain surfers in
a very marked degree, the stomach loses its tone, the action of the
heart becomes fitful and irregular. When the secondary fever
sets in, the skin is hot, the face flushed, the pulse increased in
frequency, the appetite poor, and the tongue furred. And if
all these sympathies may come from a trifling u local" injury
in an unimportant part of the Human body, surely we ought
to feel no surprise that the cancer Slavery, festering and ulcer-
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 91
ating so vital an organ as " the South" or " lower extremities"
of the Republic, should set up a chain of morbid sympathies
involving the entire Union.
Slavery is felt in every fibre of the Nation. It has dead-
ened the public feeling to that Liberty which was purchased
with the blood of the Sires of '76 — purchased, too, with the
blood of "Our Colored Fellow- Citizens." It has suppressed
every generous expression of Liberty except when cautiously
guarded and limited to a certain description of white men.
"It sits" — to use the words of the Rev. George B. Cheever
— ■ " like a nightmare on the genius of the Gospel. It is a
mountain of despotism and the fear of man upon the truth." It
has taught the young men of the Rising generation to use all
specious reasoning that the despots of bygone ages employed
in defence of oppression. There has not been since the days
of the first Man-stealer, to this hour, a plea for injustice, a
sophistry in favor of the absolute power of one man over another,
that the young " Democrats," North and South, have not been
taught to employ. That sense of the sacredness of Man's nat-
ural rights, which every one of the old Revolutionary documents
breathe, and of which the Declaration of Independence is a type,
has become unpopular (practically so), and is very widely re-
garded as a " patriotic flourish." What says The Washington
(D. C.) Union, the recognized Organ of the Government — of
Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and the National Demo-
cratic Party ?
" There is no equality among Men, except in the universality to obey
the laws" (that is, of the traffickers in Men, Women, and Children) " of
the land. Freedom and equality are necessarily determined in any
given society or community by the varying influences of the origin of
caste, numbers, geographical position, and contact with other societies
and communities. The terms 'Liberty' and ' Freedom' are not in them-
selves expressive of a standard of freedom which excludes the Idea of
dependence or Slavery."
Was this the " Idea" of the Declaration of Independence ?
92 A GENERAL VIEW OP THE PAST
"Was this the " Idea" of the founders of the Republic ? Was
this the " Idea" which combined the " Sires of '76" on Bunker
Hill ; which carried Washington through a seven years' war ;
which inspired Lafayette ; which touched with coals of fire the
lips of Otis, Adams, and Patrick Henry ? In the days of the
Revolution, men held with Franklin, that " Slavery is an atro-
cious debasement' of human nature" — with Adams, that "con-
senting to Slavery is a sacrilegious breach of trust" — with
Jefferson that " one hour of American Slavery is fraught with
more misery than ages of that which we rose in rebellion to
oppose" — with Madison, that " Slavery is a dreadful calamity,"
that " imbecility is ever attendant upon a country filled with
Slaves" — with Monroe, that " Slavery has preyed upon the
vitals of the community in all the States where it has existed" —
with Patrick Henry, that " we should transmit to posterity our
abhorrence of Slavery," and with Montesquieu, that " even the
very earth, which teems with profusion under the cultivating
hand of the free-born laborer, shrinks into barrenness from the
contaminating sweat of the Slave." But the sentiment is changed
now. The whole power of the Government is wielded for its
benefit. The Administration never sends an " appointment"
to the Senate for confirmation, that the question is not asked,
" Is he sound on the Slavery question ?"
This abhorrent power puts its hand upon the Pulpit, and it
is dumb ; upon the Press, and it is silent ; upon Capital, and
straightway, for the sake of its per cent., it parts with its birth-
right ; upon Literature, and it is self-emasculated.
In the whole length and breadth of the country (2,936,166
square Miles) there is not a man, holding a Government office,
who says anything against Slavery. They do not dare. Was
there a breath of " freedom" in the Federal officers — Secre-
taries, Judges, &c. of the Administration of Franklin Pierce ?
Ask the Cabinet ; ask the Supreme Court ; ask the Federal
officers ; they were almost without exception, " Servants" of
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 93
Slavery. Out of 43,000 Government officers 40,000 were
strongly Pro-Slavery ; and from the other 3,000 who were at
heart Anti-Slavery, we have never heard the first Anti-Slavery
lisp. We listened from the 4th of March, 1853, until the 4th
of March, 1857, and heard not a word. On that " most glorious
day of his life" — the 4th of March, 1853, President Franklin
Pierce said : —
" I believe that involuntary servitude, as it exists in different States
of this confederacy, is recognized by the Constitution. I believe that it
stands like any other admitted right, and that the States where it exists
are entitled to efficient remedies to enforce the Constitutional provisions.
I hold that the laws of 1850, commonly called the ' Compromise Meas-
ures/ are strictly Constitutional, and to be unhesitatingly carried into
effect."
Consider, for a moment, some of the atrocities which one of
these "Measures" — the infamous Fugitive Slave Law of
1850 — solemnly requires the Authorities and People "unhesi-
tatingly" to commit: 1. It subjects the wretched fugitive or
runaway from bondage, to the power of the Man-stealer or a
perjured person, who may seize him by stratagem or violence.
2. It grants to the Man-stealer in this pursuit the aid of the
Nation; the aid of Statutes, the Courts, and Treasury, to-
gether with the Executive, Naval, and Military power of the
Nation. And the National Legislature demands that "All
good Citizens" shall say Amen ! 3. It offers to Slaveholders
facilities, helps, inducements, and therefore strong temptations,
to pursue those whom otherwise they might have suffered to
go free.
This atrocious "Law" knows no "color" or condition. It
puts it in the power of any stranger to swear that any person
whom he chooses was or is his Slave, and a Commissioner
must be satisfied and deliver him or her up in a " summary
manner." Say not this will never be done. It has been done
(see chapters i., ii., and iii., of Part V.), and while you sleep
your Son or Daughter may be doomed to hopeless bondage —
94 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
" according to Law." Let the young woman of " bilious tem-
perament," and the young man with " sun-burnt hair," be cau-
tious about travelling where they are personally unknown.
The time has come when " Ladies and Gentlemen" must car-
ry Certificates of Freedom in their pockets, and let them take
good heed lest they be lost or stolen from them.
The process of intermixture of the races is now so far ad-
vanced, and is so rapidly going forward, that a "perfectly
white complexion, light blue eyes, and flaxen hair," are
scarcely presumptive evidence of freedom. Persons thus de-
scribed are advertised as runaway Slaves, and are liable to be
pursued with Muskets and Bloodhounds, shot, maimed, cap-
tured, brought before the United States Marshals, sworn to be
Slaves, given up, and sent to the Rice-swamp, and Cotton and
Sugar plantations of the South, without trial by Jury, and by
a " summary process" that precludes anything deserving the
name of an investigation. Sometimes, under a peremptory
refusal to wait a few minutes for witnesses (see chapters i. and
ii. of Part V.) Yet " the People" of the Northern States im-
agine themselves "free," and their "liberties" secure under
the enactment of what Presidents Fillmore, Pierce, and Bu-
chanan, call the " Compromise Measures" — enacted under
cover of the infamous Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 ; which,
while it makes no distinction of " color" forbids them under
pains and penalties to harbor or entertain each other when
thus pursued !
"Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring
the poor that are cast out to thy house ? when thou seest the
naked, that thou cover him ; and that thou hide not thyself from
thine own flesh?" Isaiah 58, 7.
Whoso does this, says the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850,
whoso shall harbor a fellow-man, accused of no crime, fleeing
from the vilest system of Slavery that has ever cursed the
earth, and seeking only freedom without molestation or op-
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 95
pression, lie shall be fined one thousand dollars, and shall be
imprisoned six months for each and every instance in which
he thus transgresses ; and shall furthermore pay to the owner
or owners of such Slave or Slaves the assessed Money-value
of every fellow-man whom in obedience to the Gospel of
Christ, he has fed, or clothed, or sheltered, or visited.
It would seem that such a law must have been passed by
mistake ; or that, if passed in a time of heated excitement
culminating in the escape of a few Slaves of a Southern
Senator, it would be suffered to remain as a dead letter on
the Statute-Book of a "free" Nation. But the Slave power,
ruling the Nation, set the Nation at work doing its will. It
was supposed by many, at the time of the passing of the
Law, that no case would ever occur of its being put into
operation, and under this supposition some gave their con-
sent, for the sake of peace, to the enactment of that which
they would otherwise have opposed. The law was enforced,
as everybody knows, amid scenes of violence disgraceful to a
Christian Nation. There is no denying the fact that every
Fugitive-Slave case made thousands of Abolitionists, of those
who witnessed and read the proceedings. What low crea-
tures could have been found, so debased as to take delight in
carrying into execution the fiendish details of such a law?
Not merely obscure country magistrates, but no less persons
than Franklin Pierce, President of the United States, and
Caleb Cushing, his Attorney-Ceneral. Bead Caleb's letter,
for evidence of the fixed purpose of "The President of the
United States and all others in authority."
"Washington, Saturday, October 29, 1853.
" Dear Sir, *************. If there be any purpose more
fixed than another in the mind of the President and those with
whom he is accustomed t-o consult, it is that the dangerous
element of Abolitionism under, whatever guise or form it may
96 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
present itself, Shall be Crushed Out, so far as his Administra-
tion is concerned. This the President declared in his In-
augural Address — this he has declared ever since, at all times,
and in all places where he had occasion to speak on the sub-
ject. While he does not presume to judge of the hearts of
men who publicly avow sound principles" (that is, Sound on
the Slavery question), " he only needs overt acts to show
where they are, in order that his settled policy in the conduct-
ing the affairs of the Government shall be unequivocally
manifest! Those who have apprehended halting or hesita-
tion on the part of the President, in treading any path which
Truth and Patriotism open to him, Depend upon it, no matter
what consequences -may impend over him, he will never al-
low it to be shaken by Abolitionism ! but will set his face
like flint as well against right-handed backsliding as against
left-handed defections" (that is, against the friends of liberty
and justice), " which may embarrass the onward" (and down-
ward) " progress of the Republic !
" I remain very truly yours,
"C. CUSHING, Attorney General.
" Hon. E. Frothingham, Boston, Mass."
The Eev. George B. Cheever, of New York, in a Sermon
on the atrocious " Law" which gave rise to the above letter to
Mr. Frothingham, said : " To what conceivable degradation
or abuse can immortal beings be subjected more detestable than
to be put to a service which degrades even the animals em-
ployed in it, the Bloodhounds trained with ' peculiar' scent and
ferocity for the pursuit of Human victims ? The most odious
tyranny that ever existed never had such an atrocious feature
as that of compelling its subjects to execute the wickedness
of enslaving one another. Such a law is an execrable tyran-
ny, debasing every man beneath the swine in the gutter that
obeys it ; it is a hundred-fold worse than physical compulsion,
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 97
for it makes the man the acquiescent instrument in his own in-
famy. A being in the form of Humanity to be changed into
a Hound on the track of poor wo-begone fugitive Men, Wo-
men, and Children ! — pointed and ordered by the Slave-
holder, and his Northern allies, to precisely the same hunt on
which he unleashes the keen and hungry tigers of his kennel !
The veil of the forms of ' Law,' the refinement of its process,
the change of scene from swamp, forest, or river, to the City
or Court- House can not conceal the reality. The mind looks-
through the deception and sees at the bottom the victim and
the hound ! And to think of the 'Sons of Sires of '76' en-
gaging in such a work ' unhesitatingly !' "
" The Slave feels," says the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, " that
God never gave to anybody the 'right' to own anybody. Every
one of these poor hunted children of poverty and shame have
just as much right to freedom as you or I. There are Men
and Women among them who, through day and night, have
performed unrecorded heroism. When such Men and Women
come from the Slave States, seeking the yet further North, I
think that a man who would not, in such circumstances, stretch
out his hand to help them, is, before God, ' worse than an in-
fidel.' And if that is Christianity it is a Christianity only of
Satan ; for a Christianity that teacheth me to deny every in-
stinct of my nature and of humanity, to deny every sympathy
which a struggling Man craves from the bosom of love, needs
another Christ to die for it."
The Hon. Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, in a Speech
delivered in the United States Senate, said : " As the throne
of God is above every earthly throne, so are his Laws and
Statutes above all the laws and statutes of man. To question
these, is to question God himself. But to assume that human
laws are beyond question, is to claim for their fallible authors
infallibility. To assume that they are always in conformity
with the laws of God, is presumptuously and impiously to exalt
5
98 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
man to an equality with God. Clearly human laws are not
always in such conformity ; nor can they ever be beyond ques-
tion from each individual. When the conflict is open, as if
Congress should command the perpetration of murder, the
office of conscience as final arbiter is undisputed. But
in every conflict the same Queenly office is hers. By no
earthly power can she be dethroned. Each person, after
anxious examination, without haste, without passion, solemnly
for himself must decide this great controversy. Any other
rule attributes infallibility to human laws, places them beyond
question, and degrades all Men to an unthinking passive obe-
dience. * * * The mandates of an earthly power are to be
discu :zed ; those of Heaven must at once be performed; nor
can any agreement constrain us against God. Such is the
rule of Morals. Such, also, by the lips of Judges and Sages,
has been the proud declaration of the English law.
" And now, Sir, the rule is commended to us. The good
citizen, as he thinks of the shivering fugitive — guilty of no
crime — pursued — hunted down like a wild beast, while pray-
ing for Christian help and deliverance, and as he reads the
requirements of this Act, is filled with horror. Here is a
despotic mandate, to aid and assist in the prompt and efficient
execution of this ' Law !' Again, let me speak frankly. Not
rashly would I set myself against any provisions of law. This
grave responsibility I would not lightly assume. But here
the path of duty is clear. By the Supreme law, which com-
mands me to do no injustice ; by the comprehensive Christian
law of Brotherhood ; by the Constitution, which I have sworn
to support, I am bound to disobey this Act. Never, in any
capacity, can I render voluntary aid in its execution. Pains
and Penalties I will endure, but this great wrong I will not do.
' I can not obey, but I can suffer,' was the exclamation of the
author of Pilgrim's Progress, when imprisoned for disobedi-
ence to an earthly statute. Better suffer injustice than do it.
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS- 99
Better be the victim than the instrument of wrong. Better be
even the poor Slave, returned to bondage, than the unhappy
Commissioner.
"There is, Sir, an incident of history which suggests a
parallel, and affords a lesson of fidelity. Under the triumph-
ant exertions of that Apostolic Jesuit, St. Francis Xavier,
large numbers of the Japanese, amounting to as many as
200,000 — among them Princes, Generals, and the flower of
the Nobility — were converted to Christianity. Afterward,
amid the frenzy of civil war, Religious persecution arose, and
the penalty of Death was denounced against all who refused
to trample upon the effigy of the Redeemer. This was the
Pagan law of a Pagan land. But the delighted historian re-
cords that scarcely one from a multitude of converts was guilty
of this apostacy. The law of man was set at naught. Im-
prisonments, torture, death, were preferred. Thus did this
people refuse to trample on the painted image. Sir, multi-
tudes among us will not be less steadfast in refusing to trample
upon the living image of their Redeemer.
" Sir, less by genius or eminent services, than by sufferings,
are the fugitive Slaves of our country now commended. For
them every sentiment of humanity is aroused. Rude and
ignorant they may be, but in their very efforts for Freedom,
they claim kindred with all that is noble in the past. They are
among the heroes of our age. Romance has no stories of more
thrilling interest than theirs. Classical antiquity has preserved
no examples of adventurous trial more worthy of renown.
Among them are men whose names will be treasured in the
annals of their race. By their eloquent voice they have al-
ready done much to make their wrongs known, and to secure
the respect of the world. History will soon lend them her
avenging pen. Proscribed by you during life, they will pro-
scribe you through all time. Sir, already judgment is begin-
ning. A righteous public sentiment palsies your enactment !"
100 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
It relieves the humiliating picture of human weakness and
cupidity, to contemplate the image of a Man whom gold
could not bribe, nor honors seduce. Such a Man is Charles
Sumner.
" Of all evil things," says the Rev. George B. Cheever, " a
law that embodies in itself the example of wrong, the instruc-
tion, the authority, sanction, justification, and command of
injustice and oppression, in principle and in act, it is the
highest and the worst. It is worse than arsenic in the foun-
tain ; it is poison for the souls of men, poison for the great
heart of society — running through all the veins and corrupt-
ing the whole system. Well did Edmund Burke say, that of
all bad things bad laws are the very worst, and that they derive
a particular malignity from the good laws in their company,
under which they take shelter. If a system of wicked laws
be deliberately contrived, and fastened on a people for the
purpose of consolidating and rendering immovable the Gov-
ernmental despotism, and if, under those laws, a system of
Immorality and Cruelty is inaugurated as the Central fountain
of the Country's policy, to enter into both the Domestic and
Civic life of the People, to regulate all their Institutions, to
impose conditions on the Gospel itself; to compel Men in
every sphere of Society, every branch of Commerce, every
agency of active Business, to swear faithfulness to that im-
moral interest ; and if the Word of God itself, for the sake
of shielding all this iniquity, is either suppressed or perverted,
what really is the attitude of such a people toward God, and
what their character in his sight ? can anything cover up this
wickedness ? Can any professions of Religion induce him to
wink at it, or to connive at the Prostitution of religion itself
for its support ? God's own voice shall answer ; here is his
judgment from the Prophets : —
"'Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write
grievousness which they have prescribed, to turn aside from judgment,
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 101
and to take away the right from the poor of my people. Shall the
throne of equity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a
law?'
" If a man could take the bolt of God's thunder in his hand
and could flash the lightning in the face of the tyrannical,
usurping legislator, there could not be anything more' direct
than this. And is not this to be preached? And if the
Government of any Nation be guilty of this sin, is it not to
be charged upon them? And on whom rests the responsi-
sibility of doing this, and who have the right and authority
from God to do it, but the Preachers of the Word ? And will
any man dare to call this ' political preaching' ? It is indeed
the bringing of Religion into politics, according to God's com-
mand, and the application of the instructions and principles
of God's Word to the conduct of the nation and the people.
And such application the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah were
commanded to make, and the Son of God enjoined upon the
Preachers of the Gospel the same faithfulness. ' Cry aloud,
spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, show my people
their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins ?'
" The conservatism that would prevent the utterance of God's
Word on this fearful system of iniquity is a conservatism that
stands in the ways of righteousness, and yet it makes great
pretensions to sobriety and uprightness. It reminds one of the
prophet Jeremiah's satirical description : ' They are upright as
a palm-tree, but speak not' It preserves a sober and dignified
silence, when God commands a fearless, outspoken rebuke of
cherished sins. Preaching religion in politics, is God's own
command, both in the Old and New Testaments; but the
Preaching of politics in religion is quitd another thing — the
work of intriguing politicians and of Satan, seeking to blind
the minds of men, and keep God's light and God's authority
away from their hearts and consciences. If religion be not
preached and practised in the politics of a Nation, that Nation
302 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
is on tlie high road to perdition. It is not possible for the
individuals of a nation to support the nation's sins or apologize
for them, or ward off the light of God's Word from rebuking
them, and not put in peril their own piety and salvation.
Already over more than seven eighths of the Pulpits in the
North' American Republic, there hangs the ban of Excom-
munication if a single page of God's Word be applied against
Slavery ; the thing must not be mentioned, and a Political
silence prevails. The drums of God's Word are muffled, and
they beat a Funeral march instead of a Gospel onset. The
conservative Christians have turned Sextons ; they are for
Burying the truth instead of Publishing it. Their whole
terror is against the living truth, dead Men's bones and all
un cleanness have less that is repulsive for them than rousing,
cutting, and exciting truth — the truth of God, that brings
religion into their Cotton and Dry Goods speculations and
their Politics.
" ' My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto
them. Ephraim is a Merchant ; the balances of deceit are in his hands ;
he loveth to oppress. Yet he saith, I am become Rich ; I have found out
substance; in all my labors they shall find none iniquity in me that
were sin.'
" There may be iniquity in the ' abstract,' but nothing is sin
'per se' if there be great profit in it ; and where the pecuniary
interest of any system becomes vast there are enough of such
prophets as Nehemiah Adams, Nathan Lord, Moses Stuart,
John Henry Hopkins, to justify Ephraim in its preserva-
tion. Now, then, let such dead as these bury' their dead, but
the Gospel is not to walk as a mourner at the Grave-digger's
bidding. Preach tho*u the kingdom of God. Undertakers for
the dead ; Preachers for the living. Let not the first presume
to give instructions to the last. It is a different process, that
of nailing up Truth in a coffin, and putting it five feet under
ground, lest it be a stench in the nostrils of Cotton-Brokers
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 103
and Dry Goods Jobbers, and that of revealing its grand and
noble forms, as glorious Messengers from the Creator of
Heaven and Earth. Now, who have any interest to keep
Religion out of Politics except those who wish to serve Satan
by Politics?"
In the judgment-hall of Pilate, Christ Jesus himself tran-
scendency glorified and illustrated the duty of bearing testi-
mony to oppressed and persecuted Truth, by declaring that
his own object, even in becoming incarnate, was to give it
utterance, and to stand up in behalf of it : " To this end was
I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should
bear witness unto the truth."
John Randolph predicted that the Slaveholding Democracy
of the Union would be obliged to run away from their party-
colored brethren long before this time. He did not foresee the
events which have given a new impulse to Slavery, and made
Slave-breeding the most profitable occupation in the country.
Some of them, indeed, nobody could foresee. The opening
of new and rich Cotton-fields on the Lower Mississippi, and
the extension of Slavery into Texas, were far beyond the
reach of human foresight. But could Mr. Randolph, with all
his contempt for Northern dough-faces, have imagined it to be
possible that fifty Members of the United States House of
Representatives — from the "free States" — would be found
voting to admit Slavery into Territories, from which it was
excluded by a Solemn and time-honored compact, entered into
in 1820 ? Could Mr. Randolph, with all his patrician disdain
for Northern pettifoggers, have imagined it to be possible that
a Northern President would, if he had the power, plunge the
country into a War with Spain, or pay five times the price of
Louisiana and Florida for the acquisition of Cuba, and this for
the simple and avowed, purpose of propping up the Institution
of Domestic Slavery ? In short, could Mr. Randolph, with
all his knowledge of the means and appliances by which the
104 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
Slaveholders maintain their power, have imagined it to be
possible that, in 1857, with two thirds of the White population
in the " free States," the Government of the country should
be administered as if it had but one object — of extending and
perpetuating the traffic in Men, Women, and Children ?
The annexation of Texas, the passage of the Fugitive
Slave bill, in 1850, and repeal of the Missouri Compromise,
of 1820, have had the effect to advance at least one third the
price of "Slave property." So by these "beneficent and
righteous acts," obedience to which is proclaimed by the Pro-
Slavery Churches and Press, "the Slaves States will be
greatly enriched." The demand for Slaves will be increased
ten-fold. The injunction to " multiply and increase" — "Nig-
gers" will be obeyed by the " race of Africa" and the race
of the Slave States, with a zealous alacrity, since lust and
profit lie in the same direction. Few " Southern farmers"
will vex the unwilling earth as long as " Nigger-raising is less
laborious and more profitable."
This furnishes the " Key" to the extraordinary exertions of
the older Slave Spates in behalf of Slavery extension. It has
been a subject of marvel Why such States as Virginia and
Maryland are so much fiercer advocates of the " Peculiar In-
stitution" now 'than Louisiana, Tennessee, or Texas. The
vulgar or North side View explanation is that " the Abolition-
ists have wrought this mischief." Preposterous notion ! Vir-
ginia was infinitely more interested in introducing Slavery
into Kansas and Nebraska than Louisiana, for it opened a
New source of Life to her in her decrepitude ; so that while
her Representatives voted unanimously for the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise, of 1820, the foremost and ablest mem-
ber of the latter voted against it, and with the approbation of
his constituents. The rankest defenders of the Slave Power
in Congress are not from Louisiana and Texas, but from Vir-
ginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas. While Senator John Bell,
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 105
of Tennessee, and Senator Sam Houston, of Texas, have sub-
stantially stood by the North, Senator George E. Badger, of
North Carolina, and Senator Robert Toombs, of Georgia, have
been leading champions of Slave aggression. In fact, the
ground taken by Virginia now is — Slavery for ever, and its
extension over the whole country. The Richmond Examiner,
a leading Journal of the State, says : —
" It is all hallucination that we are ever going to get rid of Slavery
or that it will be desirable to do so. It is a thing that this glorious Re-
public can not do without. It is righteous, profitable, and permanent,
and belongs to Southern society as inherently, intrinsically, and durably,
as the white race itself. Southern men should act as if the canopy of
heaven were inscribed with a covenant, in letters of fire, that the Negro
is here, and here for ever — is never to be emancipated — is to be kept
hard at work and in rigid subjection all his days, ^^fc^********
* * In the early days of our glorious Republic, the superior sagacity
of Virginia statesmen enabled them to Rivet so firmly the Shackles of
the Slave, that all the Abolitionists, and other Infidels in the world, will
never be able to xinloose them ! A wide and impassable Gulf separates
the Proud and .glorious South from her Northern traducers." (See St.
Luke xvi. 25-26.) " The Mastiff dare not willingly assail the Skunk !
When Virginia takes the field, she Crushes the whole Abolition or In-
fidel party ; her slaughter is Wholesale, and 100,000 Anti-Slavery fanat-
ics are cut down — Crushed Out — and ti-ampled in the dust when she
issues her commands ! She makes and unmakes Presidents ; she dic-
tates her terms to the Northern Democracy, and they bow down and
obey her !"*
* Of thirteen Presidents, eight were born in the Slave States, and five
in the Northern States ; and of these the one most Northern in his birth
is Southernmost in his principles. For he who was born nearest the
North Star of Liberty, went down like the Serpent in the Book of Gen-
esis, craAvling on his belly, that he might do his " Master's" will. Who
could have believed that " a Son of New England" would be found to
head movements that trailed her honors in the dust, brought reproach^
upon her good name, and caused the Christian world to blush over the
coerced degradation of her Children ? X)f the Southern Presidents, five
have been re-elected ; of the five Northern, not one has been chosen
twice. The South has had her sons for President fifty-two years ; the
North twenty.
5*
106 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
There was a time when Virginia produced great Men, but
the breed of noble blood is lost. In the Federal Convention
which drew up the Constitution, Virginia counted members
like Washington, Madison, and Mason. So sincere was his
love of freedom, that Washington, besides being a gentleman,
was an avowed Abolitionist;* Madison, another gentleman,
considered it disgraceful for the Constitution to mention the
word Slave ; and what that great man, Mason, also a polished
gentleman; thought of Slavery we cite as novel and commend-
able to Slave-breeding Virginia at this moment : —
" The present question concerns not the Slave importing States alone,
but the whole Union. The evil of having Slaves was experienced during
the late war. Had Slaves been treated as they might have been by the en-
emy, they would have proved dangerous instruments in their hands. But
their folly dealt by the Slaves as it did by the Tories. Slavery discour-
ages Arts and Manufactures. The poor whites despise labor when per-
formed by Slaves. They prevent the immigration of whites, who really en-
rich and strengthen a country. They produce the most pernicious effects
on manners. Every owner of Slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring
the judgment of Heaven on a country. By an inevitable chain of causes
and effects Providence punishes National sins by National calamities. I
lament that some of our eastern brethren, from a lust of gain, have ero-
bai-ked in this nefarious traffic. As to the State being in the possession
of the right to import Slaves, that was the case with many other rights
now to be given up. I hold it essential in every point of view that the
General Government should have power to prevent the increase of Sla-
very."
Such was the language of a truly great man, whose National
reputation is not such as his genius deserves, for he was in no-
wise second to Jefferson in constructive power. Compare
such nobility of sentiment and clearness of mental vision on
* In a letter to Robert Morris, dated Mount Vernon, April 12, 1786,
Washington said : " I can only say that there is not a man living who
wishes rnore sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the Abolition
of Slavery ; but there is only one proper and effectual mode in which it
can be accomplished, and that is by Legislative authority; and this, so
far as my suffrage will go, shall never be wanting."
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 107
the effect of Slavery — on it as a thing which the Nation has
to deal with, because the Nation will be punished by the irre-
sistible Moral law of the universe. Compare this with the
coarse-mouthed rant of Henry A. Wise, who bullies Aboli-
tionists, and foams about his " property" in Men as good, if
not better, than himself — and think that such a person has
been chosen Democratic Governor of Virginia — and then
measure, if you can, the depth of her fall.
" If the people of the 'free States,' " says the New York
Evening Post, " must be governed by the Slaveholders, it
would be far better that they should govern them directly in
their own name, than through a set of canting dependants on
their favor, recruited from the Northern politicians, and pre-
tending to impartiality in the differences which have arisen
between the Slave States and the ' Free.' It is better to live
under a rule which is simply unjust, than under one which is
both unjust and hypocritical."
To-day, July 5, 1857, twenty-seven millions of people,
" free" and enslaved, " colored," party-" colored," and " pure
w 7 hite," are under the feet of the Slaveholders. The South
now claims, and is constitutionally right in claiming, that th™
election of James Buchanan instead of John C. Fremont, has
settled the question that the majority of " the People" of the
United States are willing that Kansas, and the other Terri-
tories, should be " cut up into strips" and brought into the
Union as Slave States. It will, be useless for the people of
the "free North" to deny that they intended any such thing
by their votes. The reply will be, and it will be unanswera-
ble : "This was the issue between the two Parties — between
James Buchanan and Millard Fillmore, on the one side, and
John C. Fremont on the other ; and if you did not so under-
stand it, you have only yourselves to blame. This was the
issue plainly made, and we never denied it. It is on this
108
A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
plain issue that we gained the battle (on the 4th day of Nov-
ember, 1856), and now you have nothing to do but submit.
If you are opposed to the measures, which we intend to pur-
sue, you should have voted against us when your vote would
have effected something. It is now too late. You ought to
have understood better."
By reference to the following Table it will be seen that
there is a Majority of fifty-six Electoral votes in favor of the
"free States." With this remedy at hand, " the People" of
the "free States" who voted against Fremont — to wit, of New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and California — have
proven to the world how utterly unworthy they are of the
name of " freemen" : —
FREE STATES.
Maine
New Hampshire.
Vermont
Massachusetts. .
Connecticut ....
Rhode Island....
New York
Neio Jersey ....
Pennsylvania. . .
Ohio
Indiana . :
Illinois
Michigan
Iowa
Wisconsin
California
Total
Grand total.
Vote
176
296
SLAVE STATES.
Delaware
Maryland
Virginia . s . .
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Kentucky
Tennessee
Louisiana ,
Mississippi
Alabama
Missouri
Arkansas
Florida
Texas
Total
Free State majority . .
Necessary to a choice
Vote.
120
56
149
The election returns prove that Fillmore, and " our South-
ern customers," threw the election into the hands of Buchanan.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania alone could have prevented
Buchanan's election. Here are the figures : —
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS.
109
FOR FREMONT.
Vote.
FOR BUCHANAN.
Vote.
7
27
13
11
3
15
10
8
10
9
7
3
4
4
12
12
9
6
4
174
Maine
8
5
13
4
6
5
35
23
6
5
4
114
8
New Jersey
New Hampshire.
Pennsylvania
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Indiana
Illinois
Connecticut
Delaware
Virginia
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
South Carolina
Michigan
Georgia
Alabama
Iowa
Mississippi
Total
Florida
Texas
Missouri
FOR FILLMORE.
Maryland
Total
The Popular vote of the States going for Fremont is 47 per
cent, of all. His Electoral vote is only 39 per cent. Bucha-
nan's States cast only 51 per cent, of all the votes, yet give
him 59 per cent, of the Electors. Counting all the scattering
Votes not returned until too late to-be put in the " Official,"
we may call the aggregate vote of the Union 4,200,000, divided
thus:— Fremont 1,400,000; Buchanan, 1,900,000 ; Fillmore
900,000.
There were tens of thousands of men in the South who
sympathize with the Republicans, but had no opportunity to
express their sentiments at the Ballot-box.
The Chronicle and Sentinel, Augusta, Georgia, is unwilling
to let the Nullifiers of Virginia and South Carolina take to
themselves the entire credit of defeating Fremont by threaten-
ing to " dissolve the Union." It insists, very fairly, that a share
of the honor is to be accorded to its Fillmore brethren, say-
110 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
" These valiant gentlemen deceive themselves. They have had no
hand in the defeat of Fremont. The same men among them, if any such
there are, know very well that if Mr. Fillmore had not divided the North
— if the Fillmore men had not stood firmly against the Free-Soil host —
Mr. Buchanan would have been utterly overwhelmed, in spite of all the
Government patronage, all the bribery and corruption unscrupulously
used in his favor. To Mr. Fillmore and his men, and to them alone, is
due the credit of defeating Fremont. The Free-Soil candidate would
have been at this moment President elect of the United States, but for
Fillmore. Not a Northern State would have voted for Buchanan."
In the same spirit The Richmond (Va.) Enquirer exults that
" All danger of a dissolution of the Union is now over. Slavery
will hereafter be, as it always has been, the Strongest bond
and Cement of our Union ;" and proceeds to show that Slavery
is growing popular at the North : for
" In the year 1800 more than six per cent, of the population of New
Jersey were Slaves, but the public opinion was opposed to Slaveholding,
and she found no difficulty in abolishing it. Now" (November, 1856),
" Delaware does not own half as many Slaves in proportion to population
as New Jersey did then, yet Delaware clings to Slavery, and which is
another striking evidence of the growing popularity of Slavery.* In
talking of disunion, in the event of Fremont's election, we were advoca-
ting the cause of union, while those who talked of submission were dis-
unionists of the worst character. Union man as Governer Wise has al-
ways been, his patriotism was put to the hardest test when he found it
necessary to threaten a dissolution of the Union, in order to save it.
Here again he took the lead, and was more exposed to misconstruction,
abuse, and obloquy, than any other man in Virginia. But he did not
stand alone ;'the whole Democracy of the North and the South stood by him
and fought shoulder to shoulder with him. We notice him especially be-
cause he has been most vilified and abused."
* The Newark (N. J.) Daily Advertiser, of November 7, 1856, says:
" The Students of Princeton College on Wednesday" (November 5,
1856), "had a torchlight procession for the purpose of burying John C
Fremont. After parading the streets carrying a coffin, and groaning and
shouting to their hearts' content, they had a general oration, burnt the
coffin and then dispersed. The procession consisted of 75 students, one
of whom was dressed in woman's apparel" — to represent New Jersey.
AND PKESENT STATE OF THINGS. Ill
Thus the Slave Power everywhere understands that it has
succeeded in electing Buchanan to the Presidency of the
United States by cracking its whip over the head of the Com-
mercial and Officeholding classes at the North. And it will
infer that in case of future resistance to the revival of the
African Slave-Trade, the annexation of Nicaragua, the seizure
of Cuba, or any kindred project, it has only to crack " a little
louder" and the North will succumb.
It will be seen from the following document that as the
" President and Council" of the Fillmore-men issued their
" express and positive orders" to all the faithful to vote for
Fillmore with a view of electing Buchanan, so the " President
and Rulers" of Great Salt Lake, Utah Territory, issued their
orders " to all the Saints throughout the Union" to vote for
Buchanan ; he, old Bachelor though he is, being the "destined
instrument in the hands of Providence" for the fulfilment of
the prophecy of the coming of the day " when seven Women
shall lay hold of one man and shall say, ' Let us eat of our
own bread and wear our own apparel; only let us be called
by thy name to take away our reproach.' " Perhaps Mr.
Buchanan will now renounce his Bachelorship, and make up
for lost time by taking seven " Wives." But the Elders and
Rulers of " The Church of Latter-Day Saints" do not rely on
Scripture or Prophecy alone. They cite likewise a clause of
the " Cincinnati Platform." Hear them : —
This was a " keen move" of the faculty of the College, for " Southern
patronage." They had an eye to that passage of Scripture which says,
" Make unto yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness."
The Empire Club of New York turned out in procession in honor of the
victory, with a transparency representing the scourging of three black
men, and headed "Bleeding Kansas." We thought that was the depth
of degradation ; but it has-been exceeded, in the Metropolis of the Na-
tion, and under the eye of the Executive. A procession passed through
the streets of Washington, headed by a Government official, bearing a
transparency inscribed " Sumner and Kansas, let them bleed."
112 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
"TO THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
"The Elders and Riders of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints to the Saints in the United States of
America :
" Dear Brethren, Faithful Followers of the
L and the Recipients of his Grace : We call upon
you to stand firm to the principles of our Religion in the
coming contest for President of the United States. Our duty
is plain. There are Two principal Parties in the field — one
for us, the other against us. The Democratic Convention in
Cincinnati, which nominated James Buchanan for President,
passed the following resolution :
" ' Resolved, That Congress has no power under the Constitution of the
United States to interfere with or control the Domestic Institutions of
the several States, and that all such States are the sole and proper judges
of everything appertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by the
Constitution of the United States/
" This is a principle of the Democratic Party, which they
have extended to Territories as well as States, and the doc-
trine of Squatter Sovereignty" (invented by Og, the king of
Detroit, Michigan) " applies to us in Deseret as well as to the
settlers in Kansas and Nebraska. The Democratic party is
the instrument, in God's hand, by which is effected the rec-
ognition as a sovereign State, with the Domestic Institutions
of Slavery and Polygamy, as established by the Patriarchs
and Prophets of old, under Divine authority, and renewed to
the Saints of Latter days, through God's chosen Rulers and
Prophets. In the Republican Convention assembled at Phil-
adelphia, which nominated John C. Fremont for President,
it was
" ' Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States confers upon
Congress sovereign power over the Territories of the United States for
their Government, and that in the exercise of that power it is both the right
and the imperative duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those
twin relics of barbarism, Polygamy and Slavery/
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 113
" This is a blow aimed directly at our rights as Citizens of
one of the Territories, at our sacred Institutions" (Slavery
and Polygamy) " and our holy religion. Saints of the lat-
ter days ! to whom God reveals his will through his chosen
prophets" (that is, through Young, Kimball, Grant, & Co.),
" stand steadfast in the ancient Scriptures ! — And in that
day shall seven Women lay hold of one Man, and they will
say, ' Let us eat our own bread and wear our own apparel ;
only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach.'*
* The members of the Morman Council (13 persons) have 171
"Wives." Of these Heber C. Kimball, President of the Council, has
57; Daniel H. Wells, 19; Albert Carrington, 21; Orson Pratt, 7; Wil-
ford Woodruff, 12; John Stoker, 8; Lorin Parr, 3; Lorenzo Snow, 25;
Leonard E. Harrington, 3 ; Isaac Morley (72 years old), 5 ; John A. May,
2 ; George A. Smith, 5 : total 171. The Members of the House of Rep-
resentatives (26 persons) have 167 "Wives." Of these the late J. M.
Grant, Speaker, had 7 ; W. W. Phelps, printer, 9 ; A. P. Rockwood
(an old man), 8 ; Edwin D. Woolley (a small man), 5 ; J. W. Cum-
mings, 10 ; Hosea Stout; a Lawyer, 4 ; S. W. Richards,, a young Lawyer,
15 ; Jesse C. Little, a Lawyer from Boston, Mass., 3 ; William Snow,
from Vermont, 8 ; P. H. Young, elder brother of Brigham, tailor, 5 ; C.
V. Spencer, a small man from Boston, Mass., 2 ; Ezra S. Benson, an |
old and homely fellow, 15; James C. Snow, 3; Aaron Johnson, 6;
three of them are sisters. Lorenzo H. Hatch, wagon-maker, 2 ; Jacob
G. Bigler, farmer, 10; George Peacock, farmer, 10; John Eldredge,
phrenologist, 3 ; Isaac C. Haight, coal-digger, 12 ; Jesse N. Smith,
Lawyer, 2 ; John D. Parker, an old deaf fellow, 3 ; Jesse Hobsori, ox-
teamster, 10 ; J. C. Wright, hotel-keeper, 5 ; James Brown, dairyman, 7 ;
Enoch Reese, farmer, 2 ; W. A. Hickman, 3 : total 167. To which add
the officers of the House, to wit : Thomas Bullock, Clerk, 4 ; J. Grimshaw,
Assistant Clerk, 5 ; Chandler Holbrook, Foreman, 4 ; Jacob F. Hutch-
inson, Messenger, 2; Joel H. Johnson, Chaplain, 7: total 22. To
which add 76, the number now living of Governer Young's " Wives,"
and you have the whole number of females thus represented by the
members of the Legislature, Officers of the same, and his Excellency,
amounting to 438 ; or, in other words, 40 Men have 438 "Wives." The
Mormons boast or exult in calling things, as they say, " by their right
names ;" all parts of the human body are spoken of familiarly, in terms
that would make any but a Mormon blush, and they say it is a part of
114 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
" Given by Order of the President and Rulers, at Great
Salt Lake, Utah Territory, on the 14th day of August, 1856.
" BRIGHAM YOUNG, President.
"HEBER C. KIMBALL,
r
JEDIAH M. GRANT,
While the election of Buchanan " is sure to make the fortune
of the King of Dahomey," it will bear hard on Maryland, Vir-
ginia, the Carolinas, Kentucky, &c. What will become of
" Old Virginia" and her " Home Markets" for her " surplus
Stock ?" What will become of Governor Wise and the " evan-
gelical Churches?" -Re-open the Trade with Africa direct,
and the King of Dahomey would so far undersell Governor
Wise that the party-colored " Stock" of the latter would soon
become a drug in the Market. His kidnapping Majesty could
deliver a cargo of " black Niggers" in Norfolk, Charleston,
Savannah, or New Orleans, at a Hundred Dollars a head, and
make money by the operation. The consequence, in a short
time, would be such a glut of " black Niggers" in all the Slave
States — including California, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania,
and New Jersey — as to reduce Governor Wise and his co-
breeders to utter poverty and bankrupt the State.*
The (New Orleans) Delta, speaking of the " glorious fields"
opened up, through Buchanan's election to the Presidency of
the United States, says : " Numbers of Slaveholders have al-
ready written to us to know if they could safely take their
Slaves into Nicaragua to cultivate sugar, coffee, rice, indigo,
or chocolate plantations, as the case might be. We have al-
ways assured our correspondents that though Slaves were not
their duty, if not of their religion, to teach their Children a knowledge
of the " issues of life," as they term it.
=* It is reported that the King of Dahomey has sent two of his sons to
the College at Marseilles, France. A prominent Pro-Slavery Journal,
of New York, commenting upon this "piece of intelligence," says:
"What effect it will have upon the price of our Southern Slaves — no
mortal man can foresee." (See Appendixes A and B.)
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 115
recognised by law in Nicaragua, we had no doubt they would
be secured to their owners during Gen. Walker's administra-
tion, and that ultimately Slavery would have an established ex-
istence there of laiv as well as fact."
This " Walker" is the same who went to Nicaragua to " re-
generate a fallen race," and commenced his " holy mission"
by plunder, and confiscation, and the introduction of Slavery.
The Carolina Times fears that the New York, Boston, and
Philadelphia capitalists and shipowners who have given such
ardent support to Buchanan, would rush into the traffic with
such eagerness to make money out of it as not only to run
away with all the profits, but by their recklessness " to give
some cause for the reprehension of cruelty."
The South now proposes to " parcel off" twenty-eight addi-
tional Slave States, in the following order : Kansas to give
three ; Nebraska, two ; Texas, three ; Washington Territory,
two ; Oregon Territory, two ; New Mexico Territory, four ;
Utah Territory, four ; Minnesota Territory, two ; South Cali-
fornia, one ; Nicaragua, two ; Cuba, three.
It would seem to be impossible that people in their senses
should vote for their worst enemies, the Slaveholders, anni-
hilating themselves. But still it is so, and the blame of it be-
longs to corrupt demagogues and an equally corrupt press.
Formerly the masses had political morality enough to keep
corrupt men out of office, and to elect only men of probity and
character. But this ceased under the operation of the prin-
ciple, " the spoils to the victors." The popular conscience ex-
pired. Men of character had fair play, and now, character-
lessness and consciencelessness, so to speak, have become the
two indispensable recommendations of an " Office-seeker."
The country is in such a state that a good Citizen is compelled
either not to vote at all or from a number of " tall men" choose
the shortest. Really good and true men seeking the welfare of
the people, are as rare as white crows or " black Niggers" in
116 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
the Slave States ; and if corruption progresses in the ratio in
which it has for the last twenty-five years, there will be no
more such to be found, as no good man will longer care to
have any " Office."
" Human nature," says the Rev. George B. Cheever, " never
sunk to a greater debasement than it has in those men who,
under the light of Christianity, will, for the sake of an imagined
greater security of property, establish, or vote to establish, the
frightful curse of Slavery where it has not gone. To set this
cancer in the vitals of a new land, to inoculate with this awful
plague the heart of a new society, with the full knowledge of
all the evils it will entail, generation after generation, is a
climax of wickedness, a sublimity of crime, such as no other
nation under heaven before ever had a possibility of attaining.
Divine Providence has never once committed such a possi-
bility to mortals, and would not have done it now except to ' a
nation educated, trained, disciplined under the light of the
Gospel,' and therefore prepared to repel the evil and elect the
good. And now, for such a nation, having the power to de-
termine the policy, the social and civil institutions of another
State or States, and, in the words of God in Isaiah, to raise up
the foundations of many generations, deliberately, after long
dispute and discussion, to set the atrocious system of Slavery
at the heart of it or them, is a crime so gigantic, a cruelty so
infinite, that eternity alone can reVeal its enormity. It is a
transaction without a parallel on the face of the earth.
•"Nations have made Slaves, have practised Slavery; but to
compel another Nation abhorring it into the endurance and
establishment of this iniquity, puts a complication and intensity
of malignity into the transaction beyond the power of the
imagination to measure and of language to describe. If the
1 good Democrat' could take one immortal being, and set within
the circle of his faculties, for his profit, regardless of his fate, a
spring and machinery of 'incessant sin and misery, that would
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS, 117
be the supernatural wickedness of a fiend ; but who can ade-
quately illustrate or characterize the enormity of setting such
a spring at the heart of a whole Nation — of placing there this
productive cause of all miseries — this fountain and creative
agency of fraud, robbery, and murder ?"
But deep as is the guilt of the South, the North is still
more responsible for the existence, growth, and extension of
Slavery. In her hands — in the hands of the Northern
Churches — has been the destiny of the Republic from the
beginning. They could have Emancipated every Slave long
ere this had they been upright in heart and " free" in spirit.
They have given respectability, security, and the means of
subsistence and attack, to their deadliest foe. And if ever the
Union is dissolved or the Republic destroyed, the Christian
world, and the Historian, will hold the American Churches,
and not the Abolitionists, responsible for it.
" Let the time come," says the Rev. Albert Barnes, of Phila-
delphia, " when in all the denominations of Christians, it can
be announced that trafficking in the bodies and souls of Men,
Women, and Children, is ceased with them for ever, and let
the voice of each denomination be lifted up in kind, but firm
and solemn testimony against the system — with no mealy
words, with no attempt at apology, with no wish to blink it,
with no effort to throw the shield of religion over the hideous
system — and the work is done. There is no public sentiment
in the country — there could be none created — that would
resist the power of such testimony. There is no power out of
the Churches that could sustain Slavery an hour, if it were not
sustained in them."
Can the Churches do less than this, without incurring the
charge of "holding the truth in unrighteousness"? Can the
language of the one Master whom alone they acknowledge,
" All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them," be so interpreted as to require less ?
118 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE PAST
If the relative positions of the Slaves and the Church members
were the reverse of what they are — if those who are now the
Slaves were invested with the rights and franchises of the
Church members, and if those who are now the Church mem-
bers were enslaved — what would the latter desire that the
former should do for them ? That desire, whatever it might
with propriety be, is the measure of their present duty — a
duty which they may not neglect without the guilt of " holding
the truth in unrighteousness." It is because this duty is so
shamefully neglected that Slavery is perpetuated. It continues
to exist, and its domain is extended, and its power is augmented,
from year to year, because the Churches are, on the ivhole, and
with some rare exceptions, willing that it should be so I A few
despised Samaritans — "infidels," who have been driven out
from the Churches, or who are likely to be, bear testimony
against this gigantic system of iniquity, and are doing what
they can to relieve its lacerated and bleeding victims. But the
Priest and the Levite, as of old, together with the great ecclesi-
astical and other religious organizations that acknowledge their
leadership, pass by on the other side.
The position taken by Dr. Barnes is one which no man of
intelligence will have the hardihood to question or deny, as
the facts which go to substantiate it are patent to all the world.
If Dr. Barnes and his "evangelical" Anti-S\a,very brethren
would only act consistently in their opposition to Slavery, the
infamous "Peculiar Institution" could not live over a dozen
years. But alas! their garments are red with the Slaves'
blood ! Over four millions five hundred thousand of their
fellow-men — of the "cursed seed of Ham" — natives of the
United States of North America, " walk in darkness and grope
for the wall at noonday like them that have no eyes," while
those whose business it is to enlighten their -" benighted souls"
devote their time and money to the cultivation of the arid soil
of " foreign paganism."
AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS. 119
So long as trafficking in Men, Women, and Children, is
regarded at the North as compatible with a Christian profes-
sion ; so long as Abolitionism is branded as an " Infidel"
movement, so long as the Bible continues to be interpreted on
the side of Slavery, and yet accepted as the inspired Word of
God ; so long as Church-fellowship and denominational unity
exists between the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congrega-
tionalists, Baptists, and Methodists of the North and South,
just so long will the Slave Power succeed in lengthening its,
cords and strengthening its stakes, and accomplishing all its
purposes, however desperate and diabolical.
Dr. Adam Clarke, the learned commentator, said : " How
can any Nation pretend to fast, or worship God, or dare profess
to believe in the existence of such a being, while they traffic
in the souls, blood, and bodies of men ? Oh, ye most flagitious
of knaves and worst of hypocrites ! Cast off at once the
mask of religion, and deepen not your endless perdition by
professing the faith of Jesus Christ, while you continue in
4 .his traffic." (Comment on Isaiah xlviii. Q.)
" The advocates of oppression," says the Rev. George B.
Cheever, " are always saying to those who open the batteries
of truth, when noise and fury follow the cannonading, ' Had
you kept silence there would have been nothing of this agita-
tion ; you are stirring up nothing but contention and wrath.'
This was the very accusation brought against Jeremiah, him-
self, when he proclaimed the "Word of God in Jerusalem and
Judea against sins which the Government commanded, and
which the people declared they would defend and practise,
and which not a few among prophets and priests themselves
affirmed were no sins at all, but just a profitable policy: —
" ' Wo is me, for I am become a man of contention and strife. I love
peace, and I love my people, and I love my country, and out of love I
speak to them this Word of the Lord ! I have neither lent on usury,
nor men have lent to me on usury, yet every one of them doth curse me.'
120 PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF THINGS.
" Ah, Jeremiah, there are other ways to touch men's pockets,
and invite their avarice, beside charging two-and-a-half per
cent, a month for your money. Lay the tax of the Word of
God upon their profitable, legalized, and cherished sins, and
instantly they cry out violence and spoil, and the Word of
God itself will be made a reproach unto you and a derision,
daily : —
" ' Then, said they, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah ;
for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor council from the wise,
nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the
tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words/ "
The only hope for the deliverance of the land from bond-
age is from the Northern Churches ; and if the Churches in
the North will not act and hold up the mirror, that their re-
flections may tell upon the Churches in the South, the Satanic
system will be perpetuated for ever.
PAET SECOND.
AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES, HORSES, AND OTHER
CATTLE.
CHAPTER I.
"Cursed be he that oppresseth the Poor and they that Sell the Poor
for Silver, and the Needy to increase their Wealth." " The pride of
thine heart hath deceived thee, thou whose habitation is high ; that saith
in thine heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground 1 Though thou
shalt exalt thyself as the Eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the
Stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord."
The friends of the oppressed are accused of using harsh
language. They admit the charge. They confess the " sin."
They have not been able to find soft words to describe villany,
or to identify the perpetrator of it. The man who makes a
"chattel" of his brother — what is he? The man who keeps
back the hire of his laborers by fraud — what is he? They
who prohibit the circulation of the Bible — what are they?
They w T ho compel nearly five millions of Men and Women to
herd together, like brute beasts — w T hat are they? They who
sell Mothers by the pound, and Children " in lots to suit pur-
chasers" — what are they? We care not what terms are ap-
plied to themj provided they do apply. If they are not
thieves, if they are not tyrants, if they are not Men-stealers,
what is their true character, and by what names may they be
called ? It is as mild an epithet to say a thief is a thief, as it
is to say that a spade is a spade. Strong denunciatory lan-
6
122 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
guage is consistent with gentleness of spirit, long-suffering,
and perfect charity. It was the God whose name is Love,
who could speak, even to his chosen people, in the following
terms : —
"An end, the end has come upon the four corners of the land. I will
send mine anger upon thee, aud will judge thee according to thy ways,
and will recompense upon thee all thy abominations. And mine eye
shall not spare, neither will I have pity." " A third part of thee shall
die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the
midst of thee : and a third part shall fall by the sword, round about thee,
and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a
sword after them'?" It was the Lamb of God who could exclaim, "Wo
unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye devour widows'
houses, and for a pretence make long prayers : therefore ye shall receive
the greater damnation. Ye blind guides ! which strain at a gnat and
swallow a camel. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye
escape the damnation of hell 1 — " Why do ye not understand my speech 1
even because ye can not hear my words. Ye are of your father the devil,
and the lusts of your father ye will do : he was a murderer from the
beginning, and abode not in the truth ; because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own : for he is a liar, and the
father of it." It was the martyr Stephen, who, though in his dying ago-
nies, supplicated forgiveness for enemies, and, a few moments before his
cruel death, could address his countrymen in the following strain : — "Ye
stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the
Holy Ghost : as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have
not your fathers persecuted ? and ye have slain them which showed
before of the coming of the Just One : of whom ye have been now the
betrayers and murderers."
If Jefferson trembled for his country when he thought that
God is just, in view of the enormous injustice of the Slave sys-
tem, how much more may we tremble for Christianity, when it be-
comes its apologist and defender. Let those " South-side View"
preachers and professors, who have not considered the matter,
open their eyes to the undeniable fact, that infidelity gloats upon
their admission that Slavery is sanctioned by Revelation. Let
them consider how millions of deluded men, judging of the
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 123
Bible more by its interpreters than by its own teachings, have
been, and are now, bewildered by the zeal of " evangelical min-
isters of the Gospel of Jesus Christ" put forth in behalf of the
most atrocious system of iniquity that ever cursed the earth,
and the venom with which they pursue the defenders of the
oppressed. When " Christian ministers" abjure the plainest
teachings of common sense, in sustaining such an infamous
" Institution ;" when, with the language of piety on their lips,
they are recreant to every obligation of the religion of the
meek and lowly Jesus, so far as to vindicate on Scriptural
grounds the right to hold those for whom He suffered, bled,
and died in bondage, and the consistency of oppression with
religious character, what wonder that men should be disgusted,
and exclaim, " Away with such a religion !"
Wo to the Churches when the moral standard of the " infi-
del" is higher than the standard of the professed Christian !
Men will not receive, and love, and cherish, as from Heaven,
a religion that allows men to impose the yoke upon the necks
of their fellows ; that sanctions outrage upon human rights, in
the persons even of the least of God's children ; that will not
freely and heartily lend its sympathy and advocacy openly and
boldly to the cause of the oppressed. All the laws of God
against oppression, all the manifestations of his abhorrence of
it, go to show his intense feeling and judgment against Sla-
very. Listen : —
" Cursed be he that Oppresseth the poor, and they that Sell the poor
for Silver, and the needy to increase their Wealth." — " Cursed be he
that useth his neighbor's Service without Wages, and giveth him not for
his hire." — "He that getteth riches, but not by right, shall leave them in
the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool." — " Blessed is he
that considereth the poor : the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
The Lord will pi-eserve him, and keep him alive ; and he shall be bles-
sed upon the earth : and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his
enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing :
thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness."
124 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
Ten dollars a pound is about the Selling price for a com-
mon article. " Choice specimens" sell for fifteen dollars, and
" extra fine," for twenty-five dollars a pound. We quote the
Market Report of The Washington (D. C.) Union, the recog-
nized Organ of the President of the United States : —
"At Charlotte Courthouse, on Monday of last week, fifty Slaves,
belonging to the estate of John M. Thomas, were sold at Public Auc-
tion for the aggregate sum of $35,400. Some other Slaves were sold at
the same time. A likely Girl, 18 years of age, weighing 113 pounds,
brought $1,776. Two boys, weighing 95 pounds, brought $950." *
The Lynchburg Virginian, speaking of the state of the
Market in Maryland, says : " C. C. Magruder, Esquire, ad-
ministrator of Margaret A. Ghiselin, sold at Public Sale on
Wednesday last, in Prince George's County, a lot of Slaves,
some of whom brought very high prices. One Boy sold for
$1,365 ; another for $1,425 ; one for $1,150, and a fourth for
SI, 120. In the present state of the Money-market these may
be considered as high prices, being Sold for Cash. These are
about the rates at which Men, Women, and Children, have
been Selling for some time in our own State. It was pre-
dicted, by some of our Northern friends, that the passage of
the Compromise Measures of 1850, would have the effect of
cheapening, if not rendering valueless, this species of property
Behold the result !"
This is a strong argument in favor of the " Compromist
Measures." The people of the "free States" must be very
obstinate, indeed, if they can any longer oppose a " Law"
which Enhances the value and Quickens the Sale of Men,
Women, and Children ! There must be something potent in
the elements of a " Law" which enables the Slaveholder to
sell a Slave-husband for $1,425. And why should not all
men be denounced as traitors who refuse to shout hosannas to
a series of " Measures" which run up the value of a Boy to
$1,365.
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 125
The Wilmington (N. C.) Journal, speaking of the condition
of the Markets, says : —
" We know not to what cause to attribute it, bat better prices have
been offered by Traders for this description of property, than we have
ever before known. Niggers, of ordinary appearance, are bringing
$1,000 veiy readily. Women, from 16 to 20 years of age, are selling for
very large prices, varying from $1,000 to $2,000. Boys, weighing about
fifty pounds, can be sold for $500. This is the time for selling, if any
one is so disposed. We know one Broker (Mr. M. Conly), who sold a
number of Men, Women, and Children, last week, at prices ranging
from $825 to $1,350 ; and we learn that he has also sold Men without any
trade, as high as $1,500. One fancy Girl, 18 years of age, weighing
one hundred and thirty-one pounds, brought $1,750. It really seems
that there is to be no stop to this upward tendency of things. Good
breeders are at least 30 per cent, higher now (in the dull season of the
year) than they were in January last. What our Servants will bring
next year, no mortal man can tell. An intimate acquaintance of ours
had occasion, on Saturday last, to buy an ordinary house Girl, and the
price was $1,000."
That boys weighing only " 50 pounds" should fetch $500 a
piece, shows that Human flesh, when young and tender, is
worth about $10 a pound, though it is not usual to sell it so
— out of the Feejee Islands. That those ordinary looking
" Niggers" should fetch $1,000, who probably weigh, on the
average, 150 pounds, proves that their flesh is hardly worth
$7 a pound, the odds being the difference as to toughness.
Young Women, weighing, say, 130 pounds, are fetching $1,750.
This is a fair price a pound : their flesh is tender again. Al-
together, the prices are extraordinarily favorable.
Another prominent Carolina Journal cautions its readers to
be wide-awake as the Traders are about : " Speculators in
Slaves are to be found in every Court-yard, and at every
Corner, where Men, Women, or Children, are to be disposed
of. We would, therefore, recommend to such of our friends
as have Men, Women, or Children, to Sell to keep a steady
126 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
eye upon the Market, as this species of property seems to be
'looking up,' constantly improving in value."
The Hon. J. R. Giddings, of Ohio, in a Speech delivered
in Congress, in 1853, said : "You, Sir, lately saw an Adver-
tisement in the leading Whig Journal of this City, in these
words : l For Sale a Handsome and Accomplished Lady's
Maid — aged just Sixteen years J Now, Sir, except in this
City of Washington, D. C, and Terra del Fuego, I do not
think any Government within the bounds of Civilization would
have permitted such an outrage upon decency. I speak of
Terra del Fuego without intending any disrespect to the peo-
ple of that Island by comparing their habits with ours. They
buy Men and Women for Food only.* The object is far
more honorable and ' Christian-like' than that for which the
young Women of this City are Advertised and Sold."
The advertisement above referred to by Mr. Giddings, ap-
peared in The National Intelligencer, and was as follows : —
"For Sale: An accomplished and handsome Lady's Maid. She is just
Sixteen years of age, was raised in Maryland ; and is now offered for
Sale, not for any fault, but simply because the Owner has no further
* An Officer of the United States Navy, in a letter to The National
Intelligencer, in August, 1855, says : " In Terra del Fuego every man has
at least two Wives, some of them more, probably each as many as he
requires to take care of him, to paddle his canoe and collect his food,
for the whole labor devolves upon the Female portion of the commu-
nity. We were informed that these Savages were never Cannibals unless
when driven to it by absolute starvation, and they only eat their old
Women. Upon being asked why they did not kill and eat their Dogs,
of which animals they have great numbers, in preference to their old
Women, a gallows- looking fellow replied that Dogs were useful in help-
ing them to catch Otters, but old Women were good for nothing. On
being interrogated as to which they preferred for dinner, an Englishman
or a Yankee, they spoke strongly in favor of the former, for the reason
that he was 'more juicy.'"
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 127
use for her. A note directed to 0. K., Gadsby's Hotel, Washington,
D. C-, will receive prompt attention."
The Editor of the Worcester (Mass.) Spy, commenting upon
this advertisement, says : " This man offers for Sale an ac-
complished and handsome Girl of sixteen, simply because he
has no further use for her ! Now what does this plainly and
unmistakeably mean ? It means that an American democrat
— the father of this girl — under»the Sanction of and with
the Authority of the United States Government, will consign
a young and accomplished girl to Prostitution, for a Pecuniary
consideration, to be agreed upon by him and her purchaser.
She has been hitherto instructed in all the graces and accom-
plishments of a refined and cultivated woman, and doubtless
the inborn modesty and purity of her maiden sensibilities have
been quickened and increased by her education, but now she
is Publicly doomed to a fate from which she must recoil with
horror, and which no Man, who ever had a Daughter or Sister,
can contemplate, but with loathing and indignation. The con-
signment of this accomplished and handsome girl to Prostitu-
tion, it must be borne in mind, is not accidental. It is an act
Deliberately perpetrated by Professing Christians, under the
full Authority and Sanction of the Government. It is not
the mere act of Southern Slave-breeders, either, but it is *an
act deliberately consented to by every Northern man who rec-
ognises the legality of Slavery, in any shape or form what-
ever."
The case of this young girl is only a living illustration of
the " Compromise," or bargain between the " free" and Slave
States, which has been made the standing test of the Politi-
cians and Rhetoricians for several years past. It reveals
what that perdition-begotten word conceals, and what it ig
meant to conceal. What does the " Compromise," and " per-
petuity of the Compromise," signify, in connection with this
particular illustration of Slavery in the District of Columbia?
128 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
Does it signify the "perpetuity" of the assumed right to sell
innocent girls for purposes denounced in the law of God, com-
pletely subversive of the Sanctities of Social Life, and met
with utter reprobation and disgust by even the most savage
tribes of men ? Every " minister of the Gospel" in the United
States, or elsewhere, who has preached or spoken in favor of
this Bargain or Compromise, and every Citizen who has con-
sented to it, as a Legal and Constitutional basis of Law, has
consented to ignore the seventh Commandment, and to con-
sign this innocent young Woman, and tens of thousands like
her, to the clutches of the wretches who sell and buy them.
It was no doubt easy, in many cases, to consent to the pas-
sage of the " Compromise" in the abstract. " Compromise" is
only a word, and to millions of minds never seemed anything
else but a sound. But when we draw it aside, like a veil, and
see below it the pretended "Abolition of the Slave-trade in the
District of Columbia" resolved into the Sale of " handsome and
accomplished" young Women — and when we see the Fugitive
Slave Law become authority for Kidnappers to murder the
Citizens of what are called by courtesy, the "free States," we
find the word " Compromise" become a Sword, and the abstrac-
tion turned into an act of Rebellion against Heaven and Hu-
manity, and a Practical Disgrace to the American name as
Men and Freemen. Did you endorse the " Compromise,"
Northern father and brother? If you did, then you endorsed
this sale, and the primary and ulterior purposes of it. You
legitimatized, as far as in you lay, the cupidity of the wretch
who offered this Girl for Prostitution, and the lust of the
equally execrable Monster who Bought her. Think of this as
you look upon your beautiful Daughters and innocent Sisters ;
think of this as you contemplate what they are, and what they
may be ; think of this in connection with their future Joys and
Loves, and feel, if you can, when you do think so, that your
allegiance to a Political party demands the Ruin of such be-
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 129
ings, and all Domestic joy that God and Love promised
them.
" What means that sad and dismal look,
And why those falling tears ?
No voice is heard, no word is spoke,
Yet naught but grief appears.
Ah ! Mother, hast thou ever known
The pain of parting ties ?
Was ever Infant from thee torn
And sold before thine eyes V
Is there a Woman with Woman's heart and Woman's love,
whose soul does not bleed for the wrongs of the Slave ? How
could the Woman be lovely or attract virtuous love who should
fail to do this ? How could she respect herself, how could a
wise and manly husband confide in her, or how could she claim
for herself the respect due a Woman should she be justly
charged or suspected of indifference when Woman shrieks un-
der the Lash, when Woman's affections are outraged, when
Woman is torn from Husband and Child, when Woman is
crushed and Polluted by lawless and domineering lust, when
Woman is transformed into a beast ?
And this is all done for what ? For place, for Official hon-
ors ; for a temporary lease of high station ; for a day of au-
thority. Here they go ! and there they go ! From every
"free State," and from every County in every "free State,"
the examples of this humiliation crowd forward with a dis-
graceful alacrity. They come from hill and valley. High
and low throng in supple subserviency around the throne of
Slavery. They are called upon to disavow and repent of every
sentiment in favor of Freedom they ever expressed, and they
do it ! They apostatize from the faith of their fathers. They
repudiate their principles. They renounce their opinions.
They learn, embrace, and repeat the " Catechism" of the Power
at whose feet they cower. They begin, " / believe in one polit-
6*
130 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
icul god, and that god is Slavery. I will not resist nor oh-
struct his sway. 1 will perform his services according as I
shall be ordered. I will set up the symbols of his worship in
every Office. I shall hold under him," &c.
The moral degradation which has been reached in these
efforts is unspeakable. The apologies which are made by
Northern men for having entertained sentiments favorable to
Freedom make a man blush to own himself a Citizen of a
" free State."
"Auction Sale. — On Saturday morning, Dec. 11, 1853, in front of the
Auction-rooms, Washington City, D. C, I shall Sell, without reserve,
at 12 O'clock ; One Boy, 18 years of age; one Girl, 10 years of age;
three Horses, Saddles, Bridles, and Harness; one Carryall; two Carts;
one Wheelbarrow; one Hay-rake; two Ploughs; one Cultivator; one
Hay-cart; and a ot of Farm-harness. Terms Cash.
"JAMES C MAGUIRE, Auctioneer."
The above advertisement appeared in The National Intel-
ligencer, Washington, D. C, for several days prior to the Sale.
Pursuant thereto a crowd collected at the corner of Pennsylva-
nia Avenue and 10th Street. After the Sale of several Horses,
Cows, and Farming utensils, the Human cattle were called for.
On putting up the Boy, the Auctioneer said that he would give
any man $25 if he would relieve him of the disagreeable duty
of Selling those Children. No one offering to relieve him,
he proceeded to sell them. He stated that the boy was deaf,
had a running of the ears, and was an invalid ; that he was the
pet of his Mother, who was present, in great distress, and de-
sired not to be separated from him. These children were part
of the estate of Jesse Brown, deceased, late proprietor of
Brown's Hotel, and it was known that Marshall Brown (one
of the heirs) w T as present for the purpose of buying the Boy, if
sold at a reasonable price, that he might not be separated
from his Mother. The bidding commenced, and he was struck
off to Mr. Brown at $325, when a man by the name of Nay-
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 131
lor, a Slave-trader, claimed the bid as his, and insisted upon
the Boy being struck off to him. Mr. Brown averred that the
bid was his, and claimed the Boy. Naylor threatened to pros-
ecute the Auctioneer, if he did not get him. After much
cavilling amongst the bidders, the poor Boy was again put up.
The Slave-trader advanced the bid to $330, when the Auc-
tioneer, prompted by feelings of humanity, offered him $25 if
he would not bid any more. This offer was accepted by Nay-
lor, with the Satanic-like remark, that he " would as lief make
$25 in that way as to make it out of a Nigger." So the $25
was paid over, and the poor trembling Boy was delivered to
Mr. Brown.
The little Girl was next set up, and in the presence of her
agonized Mother, was struck down to Judge Sturgis, of Georgia,
where she is now leading the most wretched life that can be
imagined, with
"No arm to guard her from oppression's rod,
Her will subservient to a tyrant's nod !
No gentle hand, when life is in decay,
To soothe her pains, and charm her cares away ;
But helpless left to quit the horrid stage,
Harassed in youth, and desolate in age \"
Reader, this all took place in a " Christian country" — under
the shadow of the Capitol of the American Republic, where
sat, at the very hour this disgraceful scene was going on, the
Representative? of a people whose " laws are based on the
principle of equal rights and privileges," and who declare to
the world that " all men are created free and. equal !"
The Hon. J. R. Giddings, speaking, during the recent Ses-
sion of Congress, of the flourishing condition of this abomina-
ble traffic in the District of Columbia, said: "Yesterday after-
noon a servant man came to my room (at Brown's Hotel,
Washington, D. C), saying a colored woman wished to see
me. I told him to show her up. He soon returned with her.
132 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
She was sobbing and in great distress of mind. I asked the
cause of her grief. It was some time before she could so far
compose her mind as to relate to me her misfortune ; which
consisted in living under the barbarous ' Fugitive Slave Law/
or 'Compromise Measures' enacted by Congress in 1850, for
the government of this District. She said her Husband had
just been Sold to a Slave-dealer and taken to the Barracoons
of Alexandria — that his purchaser would take him to Ala-
bama in two or three days — that she had four Children at
home. At tins point she burst into tears, exclaiming, ' O my
Saviour ! O Jesus, pity me ! my dear Children ! O
my husband ! ' Then appealing to me, ' O Sir, for the bless-
ed Saviour's sake, do try to get back the Father of my Babes ! '
" I learned that her Husband's name was George Tooman.
His former 'owner' being a female named Martha John wood,
living east of the Capitol some half mile. George went to
work in the barn, at husking or shelling Indian-corn, without
any suspicion of the fate Avhich awaited him. The Slave-dealer
and an assistant went to the barn, seized him, handcuffed and
hurried him off to one of the Slave-pens of Alexandria. The
poor Wife hearing of it followed him on foot, and returned,
and then sought me in the vain hope that I should be able to
assist her. The day was said to be the coldest known in
"Washington for years, yet she was exposed to the keen pier-
cing winds, although wretchedly clad. She had not seen her
children since morning, when she left them without firewood.
I endeavored to soothe her sorrows by expressing some faint
hope that her husband might yet be redeemed — that I would
make inquiry, and ascertain if I could find some one who
would repurchase him, and permit him to remain in the District.
It was dark when she left my room to return to her desolate
home. The cold winds rocked the Hotel, and howled mourn-
fully about the corners. I reflected upon the barbarous ' Com-
promise Measures' by which Congress had authorized and en-
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 133
couraged such fearful crimes and inflicted such misery upon the
down-trodden of God's poor. I trembled for my country when
* I reflected that God was just, and that his justice will not sleep
for ever.' I asked myself the question, will Heaven permit such
dreadful wickedness, such barbarous cruelty, to go unpunished?"
" Oh, when shall Columbia's 'colored' sons find grace,
And know their dreadful bondage o'er ?
When shall the unoffending race,
Be bought and sold no more !"
At the conclusion of the Sermon in " Plymouth Church,"
Brooklyn, New York^on Sunday morning, June 1, 1856, the
Pastor — the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher — announced to his
congregation that he was about to perform an action of a most
extraordinary nature, which he would preface by reading a
portion of the 12th Chapter of St. Matthew. He accordingly
read the 10th, 11th, and 12th verses of that Chapter, after
which he proceeded to give a sketch of the later history of a
Slave girl, Sarah by name, an appeal in whose behalf he had
lately received. " She was," he said, " the daughter of a
Southern planter, acknowledged by himself as his own off-
spring, and reared in his own family until his other daughters
growing up had treated her so cruelly that she attempted to
escape. She was captured and taken back to her paternal
6 Master,' who made immediate preparations to sell her to the
Extreme South, refusing to dispose of her to any one who
would permit her to remain in her native State. Many per-
sons in the vicinity knowing her to be a most faithful, efficient,
and therefore ' valuable piece of property/ were anxious to
purchase her ; but her owner utterly refused to sell her to
them, his object being to have her removed to so great a dis-
tance that her near relationship to his other children could
occasion them no further mortification. She was accordingly
sold to a Southern man, who held her at $1,500, but who
finally consented to part with her for $1,200. A Slaveholder
134 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
in Washington, pitying the girl, bought her for the latter r-um,
immediately, however, setting on foot a subscription to enable
her to purchase her freedom, he himself contributing $100,
another man, also a Slaveholder, gave $100, and $700 were
finally obtained. At this juncture," said Mr. Beecher, " I re-
ceived a letter asking if we could do anything toward making
up the rest of the money, to which I replied, ' that I would
promise nothing unless we could see her here.' "
The reverend gentleman here stepped from his desk, and
with an encouraging, " Come up, Sarah," he led upon the altar
a young, intelligent-looking mulatto-girl, whom he presented to
the crowded audience as the Slave-girl in question. She was
apparently about twenty-three years of age, probably five
eighths white, and of very pleasing and modest appearance.
Mr. Beecher seated her in a chair by his side, while he con-
tinued his remarks. " She was here," he said, " on her parole
of honor. She had promised to go back, and she must return,
either with or without the five hundred dollars which were yet
necessary to make her a free woman. A collection would be
taken up, and the result would show T their verdict." By this
time there was hardly a dry eye in the congregation of nearly
three thousand people. Men w r ept, and women sobbed — not
shamefacedly, but openly and without any attempt at conceal-
ment. All seemed to be touched to the very heart. The
like scene has never been witnessed in any of the nations of
the old world. In the " Model Kepublic," on the Christian
Sabbath, in the "free State" of New York, in the Pulpit of a
Christian Church, by the lips of a Christian minister, a trem-
bling, shrinking woman begged money to save herself from a
life of Slavery and further compulsory prostitution ! One
gentleman here arose and announced that the money should
be forthcoming to " make her free" and that if necessary he
would be personally responsible for the entire amount. This
announcement was received with hearty and long-continued
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 135
applause, the audience being no longer able to restrain their
feelings, Mr. Beecher expressing his approval of the jubilant
demonstration.
Sarah, the Slave-girl, had, up to this time, preserved a tol-
erable composure, but when the certainty was declared that
she should not go back to a life of Slavery, she buried her
face in her handkerchief and wept aloud. As the collectors
passed among the audience, the plates were actually heaped
up with the tokens of substantial sympathy, one man took a
breast-pin from his shirt-bosom and cast it into the fund. The
amount collected and subscribed for on the spot was $784,
which, besides completing the sum necessary for the purchase
of Sarah, would also rescue her child, a boy of four years of
age, who was tnen held in bondage by its own Father — the
Father, too, of its unhappy Mother ! The scene was one of
the most remarkable and exciting ever enacted before a Re-
ligious congregation.
The Washington (D. C.) Star, the junior Organ of the
Pierce Administration, of February 23, 1857, contains the
following advertisement. TVe have, no objection to advertise
the goods and chattels of Mr. Francis Y. Nay lor, levied upon
by United States Marshal Hoover, President Pierce's escort
to New Hampshire on his late visit, including " ventilators,"
" saucepans," and a " Woman !" Here it is : —
"Marshal's Sale. — In virtue of a writ of fieri facias, issued from the
Clerk's Office of the Circuit Court for the County of Washington, in the
District of Columbia, and to me directed, I shall expose to public sale,
for cash, on Friday, the 27th day of February, 1857, commencing at 10
o'clock, a. m., at the Store-room of Francis Y. Naylor, on Pennsylvania
Avenue, between 3d and 42 streets, south side, the following goods and
chattels, in part, to wit : One Woman ; 2 bedsteads ; 1 looking-glass ;
1 ventilator; 1 saucepan; 1 dripping-pan; 1 ice-cream mould; and a
lot of other household goods, seized and levied upon as the goods and
chattels of Francis Y. Naylor, and will be sold to satisfy Judicial No. 1,
to October term, 1856. "J. D. Hoover,
" Marshal of the District of Columbia."
136 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
The correspondent of the New York Tribune says : " I
attended the Auction Sale of the Woman, on Pennsylvania
Avenue, yesterday. She was sold according to the terms of
the advertisement. I have no story to tell. Tears rolled
down the poor woman's cheeks, and she turned away her face
and wept. And this is the Nineteenth Century, and this the
Capitol of the ' great Republic' of modern days !"
The Hon. J. R. Giddings, in his Speech on the Slave ques-
tion, delivered in the House of Representatives of the United
States, December 10, 1856, said : — ■
" I never saw a panting fugitive flying from bondage that I
did not pray God most earnestly to speed him in his flight,
and to enable him to make good his escape. The whole sym-
pathy of my nature is at once enlisted in his behalf. I always
feel anxious that he may escape, from the crushing power un-
der which he has been borne down. And yet President
Franklin Pierce assumes to lecture me because I choose to
obey God rather than him. Why, sir, gentlemen may listen
while I tell them that I have seen at one time nine fugitives
dining in my own house- — fathers, mothers, husbands, wives,
and children, fleeing for their liberty, and, in spite Of the Pres-
ident's censure, I obeyed the Divine mandate to feed the hun-
gry and clothe the naked. I fed them, I clothed them. I
gave them money for their journey to Canada, and sent them
on their way. Was that treason ? If so, make the most of it !
"Mr. Bennett, of Mississippi. — I want to know if the
Gentleman would not have gone one step further ?
"Mr. Giddings. — Yes, sir, I would have gone one step
further. I would have driven the Slave-catcher who dared
pursue them from my premises. I would have kicked him
from my door-yard, if he had made his appearance there.
" Mr. Bennett. — Would not the Gentleman have justified
the taking of them by force or stealth in the first instance ?
" Mr. Giddings. — I would smite down the infamous Slave-
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 137
catcher if he were to enter my door to arrest and enslave a
brother man. I hope the President will feel no unhappiness
at what I am saying. Mr. Speaker, I make these state-
ments in order that the people of my native State of Ohio,
the people of our Northern States, may express their Man-
hood, and not be held in silence by Executive insolence. It
is the duty of every man, it is a Christian duty, that we should
speak out our honest sentiments in condemnation of those i?i^
famous crimes. But I want to speak a little further. I do
not mean to speak of Slavery as a mere crime. The Slave-
holder controls the Slave by the lash. He scourges him into
submission to his own will. But further than this, no person
is allowed to teach a Slave to read the Bible under a penalty
of imprisonment. Ignorance is encouraged by legislative
enactment. Now, sir, further than this, whenever a ' Master'
attempts to correct a Slave, and the Slave resists, the ' Master'
is at liberty to shoot down such Slave. Thus, the ' Master'
holds the power of life and death over his Slave, a tyranny
which sets at defiance all antediluvian despotisms.
"Mr. Bennett. — I want the member from Ohio to draw
the distinction between the Slaveholder bringing his Slave
into subjection by the lash, and the Northern men bringing
their poor people into subjection by starvation ?
"Mr. Giddings. — The Gentleman understands that the
* wife' of a Slave held by the ' Master' is liable to his pollu-
tions, and dare not resist her ' Master's' approaches. He sells
her children — ay, his own offspring, born of his Slave — for
paltry pelf. There is no such thing in our Northern code.
" Mr. Bennett. — I would ask the Gentleman from Ohio, if
he is not aware that in a certain case of a separation of a child
from its mother, by articles of separation, a Northern man was
the purchaser of the child, and not a Southern man ?
" Mr. Giddings. — I know not of the particular case refer-
red to by the Gentleman, but here, in the City of Washington,
138 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
as told you by that ' old man eloquent/ J. Q. Adams, twenty
years ago, a Slave-dealer, reeking in iniquity, purchased a
Mother and Child, up in Montgomery county, Md., and sepa-
rated them from the husband and father and other children
imprisoned them in that hell which once existed at the corner
of Seventh street and Maryland avenue. There the Mother,
with no eye but that of her God upon her contemplating the
past, and looking forward to the horrid future, saw the doom
to which she and her children were condemned, and when her
soul was wrought up with frenzy, she took the life of her
offspring, and then severed the thread of her own existence,
and rushed to the presence of her God, and there made her
appeal against those who uphold and apologize for Slavery.
In Covington, Kentucky, a Father and Mother, shut up in a
Slave-dungeon and doomed to a Southern Slave-Market, when
there was no eye to pity and no arm to save, by mutual agree-
ment, sent the souls of their children to Heaven rather than
have them descend to the hell of Slavery, and then committed
suicide, and rushed into the presence of God, and made their
appeal against those who now sustain crimes which rise to
Heaven and call for vengeance upon our guilty land.
"Mr. Bennett. — I desire to call the Gentleman's atten-
tion to another fact. I understand the Gentleman to take the
position that there is no authority in the Constitution for sur-
rendering up those who are held to service who flee from one
State into another.
"Mr. Giddings. — I do; and whenever a Slave sets foot
upon free soil, if I had the power, I would make him as free
as the air which he breathes.
" Mr. Bennett. — I would ask the Gentleman if he is pre-
pared to violate an express provision of the Constitution ?
"Mr. Giddings. — No, Sir. I understand the Constitu-
tion of the United States ; and I know that those who formed
it never intended to degrade me or my fellow Republicans, by
HORSES ; AND OTHER CATTLE. 139
making us the bloodhounds to chase the panting fugitive. Sir,
I repudiate and detest such doctrine. It never was the doc-
trine of the Constitution, and never will be.
"Mr. Bennett. — Another question. I ask the Gentle-
man to draw a distinction between the provision of the Con-
stitution which requires the rendition of Slaves, and that pro-
vision of the Constitution which in the Electoral vote, gives a
three-fifths Representation to Slaves. The words used are
identically the same. In the one instance it provides for the
rendition of those who are bound to Service ; and, in the other,
in fixing the rates of representation, it uses the words, ' those
bound to service.' And although the same words are used,
the Gentleman says, one means Slaves and the other Ap-
prentices.
" Mr. Giddings. — If the Gentleman will propound ques-
tions to me pertinent to the subject under consideration, I will
listen to them until my hour expires, but I am unwilling
that he should occupy my time with such interrogatories as
that now proposed. It has no relation~to the remarks I was
making.
" Mr. Bennett. — I desire to propound a question to the
Gentleman. The provision of the Constitution which the
Gentleman denies to be of binding force, uses identically the
same language as that contained in the provision giving three-
fifths representation. It says that persons escaping from ser-
vice shall be rendered, upon application, to him to whom that
service is due. The same language is used in the other clause
of the Constitution to which I referred.
" Mr. Giddings. — I will always hear Gentlemen courte-
ously who propound questions which are directed to the subject
which I am discussing; but I can not be led off into the field
which the Gentleman now asks, but he must not abuse my
courtesy, by misrepresenting me as denying any part of the
Constitution, when I distinctly informed him that I hold to that
140 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
instrument and will obey it. I was speaking of the right of
the people of the North to utter their sentiments upon this
question of returning fugitive Slaves.
" Mr. Bennett. — I desire the Gentleman to answer the
question which I have propounded.
" Mr. Giddings. — It takes the Gentleman from Missis-
sippi quite too long to propound questions. He has abused
my courtesy and transgressed all bounds of propriety. I will
not suffer him longer to encroach upon my brief hour. I was
about to proceed with remarks upon the opinions of the Pres-
ident and his usurpation and attempted tyranny, in thus en-
deavoring to exercise a supervision over the people who have
made him, politically, what he is.- But as I have but a minute
left, I will, without going further into that subject, remark, that
in what I have said touching the President, I have felt no
spirit of unkindness. I feel a pity, a sympathy for him. He
is somewhat advanced in life, and now cast off by his former
friends. In his old age, the South — having got all the ad-
vantage they can make out of him, used him, body, and soul,
and intellect — have now repudiated him; and, now that he is
about to retire to private life, I would not add a single pang to
his remorse."
A correspondent of the New York Evangelist, writing from
Richmond, Virginia, says : " In my ramble through this City
I passed a dismal-looking place, which, on inquiry, I found to
be appropriated to the buying and selling of Men, Women, and
Children. Curiosity prompted me to go in, and the scene I
witnessed will never be forgotten. It was painfully impressive,
and I suppose the great mass of the people of the ' free States'
would have felt just as I did. There I saw one feature of
Slavery, an awfully abhorrent one. The weather was un-
pleasant, and the number of Slaves brought in for sale did not
exceed twenty. I looked round upon them, and did not
wonder that the Nations of Europe should point the finger at
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 141
us, for our utter inconsistency in proclaiming ' Liberty,' while
we tolerate the abominable traffic in Men, Women, and Chil-
dren. All these were there. One young Woman, about
twenty years of age, attracted my special attention. She was
remarkably well proportioned, possessed a fine open counte-
nance, and, in spite of all her ignorance and degradation, was
vastly superior to her brutal ' Master.' I was shocked at the
revolting manner in which the ' gentlemen Buyers' examined
her, to see how much muscle and power of endurance she pos-
sessed. Says one, ' Open your mouth ;' and then the wretch
made his observation, as he would into the mouth of a horse.
She held in her arms a Child about two years old, as I judged.
I said to her, ' How old is your Child ?' The reply I shall
never forget, coming from one who was treated worse than a
brute : ' He will be two years old, Sir, on the 11th day of next
February.' What a burning indignation I felt, that my country
should be so disgraced in the eyes of the civilized world, by
such a spectacle !
" At length she was ordered to take the stand. The bidding
was spirited, and soon she was run up to $1,175. At this
point, the Auctioneer was about striking her down. Her
brutal ' owner' perceiving it, called out, ' She shall not go at
that price; I would sooner take her back to North Carolina.
So fine a Woman has not been in the Market for twelve
months' And took her from the stand. Much as I detested
him, I talked a little with him about her good qualities. He
told me what an amount of labor she could perform — how
many rails she could split in a day, and remarked, ' She left
one Child at home. I was sorry for it, but I could not help it.'
I tell you, my friend, my blood got almost to the boiling-point.
But it was well that I exercised a little prudence. I could
not have helped the poor Woman, and should have been
lynched. I saw and heard things, that filled me with the
direst apprehensions with regard to the Slavery issue."
142 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
A correspondent of The Free Presbyterian, writing from
Augusta County, Virginia, says : " Observing in one of t4ie
daily papers of this place that a Sale of Slaves was to take
place at Hill's Auction-rooms, I went down to see it. When
I arrived there, I found the room nearly filled with men who
had assembled to speculate in the flesh and blood of their fel-
lows ; and observing a crowd in one corner, between which
and the street-door a screen was placed, I stepped up, when I
saw a young Man, stripped entirely naked, and, amid the jeers
of Traders, examined in a manner too revolting to rehearse,
except it were in Newspapers published in a community where
such things are permitted. In these examinations Sex forms
no barrier. The Auctioneer announcing that the hour of Sale
had arrived, a fine-looking Man, aged about twenty, was placed
upon the stand. The Auctioneer commenced with enumerating
his good qualities, and asked for a bid. $1,000 was the first
oifer, and soon run up to $1,300, and then to $1,350. He
was now ordered to get down and walk across the room and
back again ; and several came up, asking questions and ex-
amining his teeth, &c. He again mounted the stand, and
bidding continued until $1,375 was offered. He was again
ordered down, and a similar course of examination took place.
He was finally knocked off at $1,550. Next came a Boy,
fifteen years of age. The same process was gone through as
with the Man, and he was knocked off at $1,050. Next came
a beautiful girl, about eighteen years of age, the same routine
of exhibition and examination gone through with, and knocked
off at $1,725.
" I left the Slave shambles with a sad sickened heart. But
a few days previous, I had seen two men leaving their homes
in the morning in perfect health ; and before the sun had sunk
behind the tall mountains, I had witnessed their mangled
corpses disentombed from beneath the mountain rock, that had
fallen upon and buried them. I had heard the shrieks and
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 143
witnessed the tears of the wife, the parents, brothers, and sis-
ters of the deceased ; and I hope never to pass through such
another scene. But what I witnessed at Hill's Auction-rooms
was more horrible still. For my own part, I would infinitely
rather bury every friend I have, than see them put on the
Auction-block ; and I would have declared the same to every
Man in the room, were I not well assured by persons who
could have no motive for misrepresentation, that it is but too
notorious that many here Sell their own jiesh and blood. In
fact, not only Sell their own Daughters but the Children of
these Daughters, and of which they are also, not unfrequently,
the Fathers. Such is the polluting, soul-withering influence
of Slavery."
"The following letter, from a gentleman travelling in the
Slave States, embodies a fair, unprejudiced, and impartial ac-
count of a regular Human cattle Sale in Virginia: "I came
here from Washington, D. C, on the 14th of April last, with-
out stopping in Fredericksburgh, as I intended. Richmond is
the Capital of Virginia, and has about 35,000 inhabitants.
******* In this City one can have a better opportunity
of observing the ' Peculiar Institution' than he could in Balti-
more or Washington. Yesterday, I visited two Auction Sales
of Slaves. I saw eleven sold, seven Men and Boys and four
Girls. There was one lot, apparently a Family, of fine,
healthy, sprightly Boys with their Sister. The Auctioneer
told me that they were brought there by a Man, who was said
to be their Father. The Girl was, I should judge, about 18
years of age, and the Boys say 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. The
youngest Boy was Sold first, and brought $750 ; the others
from $875 to $1,325. The purchasers would feel their arms,
legs, &c, poke them in the ribs, look into their mouths, exam-
ine their hair, and ask them all manner of questions about
themselves. They were taken — male and female — behind a
muslin screen, stripped naked, ' thoroughly examined,' and
144 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
then made to ' show their paces/ by walking backward and
forward on the long floor.
" One of the most beautiful young "Women I ever saw in
my life now mounted the stand. The Auctioneer's assistant,
a Slave, exposed the victim's person, to show the ' muscles/
&c. The Auctioneer then told the wretched girl to ' look
up/ and began : —
o*
'"Gentlemen: This is a very choice specimen — a very likely Girl,
warranted sound, in every respect, and the title is perfect ! — she's a tip-
top Seamstress and threatens to become magnificently prolific ! What
will you give for her, how much ? Do I hear, $1,000 ? $1,000 I'm only bid
for this superb piece of property ! [Here one of the ' gentlemen' in a dis-
tant part of the room cried out, ' Send her this way/ and the Auctioneer
stopped while the merchandise was told to ' walk out there, step lively
now !' The ' gentleman' then turned the Girl round and round, told her
to ' grin/ to show her teeth, and pushed her lips aside with his fingers,
and then examined her person, from head to foot, asked her several
questions about herself, and sent her back to the stand ; the Sale then
went on.] $1,100 — $1,200 — $1,300, and going at $1,300! Why,
gentlemen, I'm really astonished at your backwardness ! This Girl is
none of your every-day Niggers ! She's a specimen that some of your
Abolitionists would give almost any price for ; but they shan't have her!
— no we've looked out for that. The man that buys her must give
bonds never to let her go North again. $1,350 — $1,375 I'm only bid,
and going at $1,375, once, $1,375, twice, $1,375 — going — going, gone
to Cash for $1,375.'"
A young gentleman of New York, on his "first Southern
tour," and not yet Cottonized by the new influences surround-
ing him, in a letter to the Editor of the New York Tribime,
said : " Since I left home, I have seen the original ' Declara-
tion of Independence/ and I have seen it ' illustrated' in this
City of Richmond, Virginia. O my God! O my Coun-
try ! I have been an eye-witness this morning" (March 3,
1853) "to scenes such as have never been described, and never
can. I was told by some of my Pro-Slavery friends at the
North, that the evils of Slavery were 'exaggerated.' But
" ' § fit
ill
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 145
they have not been half told. I have neither the ability nor
the heart to describe the scenes I have this moment come
from witnessing. I have spent two hours at the Public Sales
of Men, Women, and Children. There are four of these
Man-Markets, and all in the same street, not more than two
blocks from the Exchange Hotel, where I am staying. These
Slave Depots are in one of the most frequented streets of the
City, and the Sales are conducted in the building on the first
floor, and within full View of the passers-by. There are small
screens, behind which the Women of mature years were taken
for inspection, but the Men and Boys were publicly examined
in the open room, before an audience of over one hundred
persons. These examinations were carried on by the various
parties interested, and were, I should think, enough to shock the
feelings of the most hardened vagabond on earth. You really
can not conceive that beings in Human shape could conduct
themselves so brutally ; each scar or mark was dwelt upon with
great minuteness — its cause, its general effect upon the health,
&c, &c. I saw full twenty Men and Women stripped this
morning, and only three of them had what the Traders termed
1 clean backs,' and some of them — I should think full one
quarter of them — were scarred with the Whip to such an extent
as to present a frightful appearance ; one in particular was so
cut up that I am sure you could not lay your finger on any
part of his back, without coming in contact with a scar. The
scars were mostly from the Whip or Cowhide, and were from
two inches to one foot in length. The marks damaged his
sale ; although but 40 years old, he only brought $675 ; but
for the scars, he would have brought $1,000. I saw several
Children sold. The handsomest Girls brought the largest
prices. Girls, from 12 to 18 years of age, brought from $575
to $1,530.
" One of the Slave-mothers attracted my attention. She was
a beautiful-looking Woman, about 25 years of age, with three
7
146 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
Children that would have done honor to any Lady m Christen-
dom. Her Children, as well as herself, were neatly dressed.
I took my stand near her to learn answers to the various ques-
tions put to her by the Traders. One of them asked her
what was the matter with her eyes ? Wiping away the tears,
she replied, ' I s'pose I have been crying.' ' Why do you cry?'
' Because I have left my husband behind, and his Master won't
let him come along.' ' Oh, if I buy you, I will furnish you
with a better husband than your old one.' ' I don't want any
better, and won t have any other as long as he lives.' ' Oh,
but you will, though, if I buy you.' 'No, massa, God helping
me, I never will.' The most indecent questions were put to
her, all of which, after a little hesitation, she answered. But
when asked if she thought she could ' turn out a chattel a
year,' she replied, ' No, massa, I will never have more, and I
am sorry I got these.' She was then ordered to ' take the
stand,' and the Sale commenced : —
"' Gentlemen, said the Auctioneer, look at this Girl ! Did yon ever
see a more likely Nigger ? — what will you give for her, how much ?
$1,000 is offered — $1,200 — $1,300 — $1,400 is offered for this magnifi-
cent article — something that no respectable man can do without ! — a
superb piece of property going off at a sacrifice ! — going off at a dead
loss! — how much am I bid? — that's it! — I see you, Sir — $1,500 is
bid — $1,550 — couldn't think of selling such a beautiful Nigger at such
a rate ! — did you say $1,600 ? — never mind speaking if you don't like
— a nod will do for me — $1,650 — $1,700, shall I say? $1,700 it is !
— $1,700 — that looks something like business — go it, gentlemen ! and
see who'll get tired first, you or me — keep at her ! — nothing like prog-
ress — this is an age of progress — what have you got up over there? —
'$1,725' — $1,750, did I hear? $1,750 it is! — go on!— you see,
gentlemen, I'm getting excited! Come, go on! — never mind that fel-
low at the other stand! — our side for ever! $1,775, do I hear? —
$1,775 it is! — that's it! — encourage true merit — don't be looking
over there, Sir — if you don't mind what you're about, you'll lose your
chance ! — you'll let her slip through your fingers ! Do I hear, $1,800 1
— $1,800 is offered, and going at $1,800 — $1,825 — $1,850, go it! —
$1,875! — that's the ticket! — $1,875, that's well nigh prime cost!
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 147
$1,875, and going at $1,875, once, $1,875, twice, $1,875, going — going,
gone to Cash for $1,875."'
A correspondent of the New York Independent, in a letter
to that journal, says : " While travelling not long ago in one
of the Southwestern counties of Virginia, the following in-
cident took place. Starting in the stage-coach, soon after
breakfast, the morning being a delightful one in the latter part
of the month of May, I took my seat on the box by the side
of the driver, and behind me, on, the top, w seated a bright,
intelligent-looking mulatto boy apparently of 18 or 19 years
of age. After being on the road a few minutes, I turned
about and asked him where he was going. He replied he was
1 going down a few miles to live with Master ,' who kept
the stagehouse at the west stand ; that he had lived with him
the last summer, and that his owner had sent him down to live
with him the coming season. Turning from the boy, the
driver remarked to me in -an under tone, ' The boy is deceived;
I am taking him down to the Slave-pen, a few miles on, where
Slaves are kept preparatory to being sent to Louisiana ; this
deception is practised to get him from his home and mother
without creating a disturbance on the place.'
" Shortly after we drew near to the place where the boy sup-
posed he was to stop ; he began to gather up, preparatory to
leaving the stage, the few articles he had brought away from
his home. The driver said to him in a decided tone of voice,
' You are not to get off the stage here.' The boy, in astonish-
ment, replied: 'Yes, I is; I'se got a letter for Master — I'se
going to live there this summer.' By this time we had
reached the house, and ' Master' making his appearance,
John (for that was the name of the boy) delivered his letter
and appealed to ' Master' to be delivered from the com-
mand of the driver. The 'Master' made no reply, as this
kind of deception was no new thing to him. After reading
the letter and folding it up, he was about putting it in his
148 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
pocket, when it flashed on the mind of the boy that he was
sold and was bound for the Slave-pen. He exclaimed, in
agony, ' Tell me, Master, if I'se sold!' No reply was made.
He exclaimed, again, * Tell me if I'se sold !' This last appeal
brought the response: 'Yes, John, you are sold.' The boy
threw himself back on the top of the stage, and rolling in
agony, sent up such a wail of wo as no one in the stage could
endure ; even the Hotel-keeper walked away in shame, and
the driver hurried into his box and drove off in haste, to
drown the noise of his cry. The passengers were all deeply
moved by the distress of the boy, and tried in various ways
to soothe his crushed spirit, but his agony was beyond the
reach of sympathy.
" When his agony had somewhat abated, he exclaimed : ' Oh,
if they had only let me bid my Mother good-by. They have
lied to me ! They have lied to me! If they had a' told me
I was sold and I could a' bid my Mother good-by, I'd a gone
without making them trouble, hard as it is.' By this time we
we had passed on some two or three miles since leaving the
stand ; when drawing near to a pretty thick wood the boy be-
came tranquil. Waiting till we had entered the wood a few rods
he jumped from the top of the stage and ran into the wood,
as agile as a deer, no doubt with the feeling that it was for his
life. The driver instantly dropped his reins and pursued the
boy. Proving himself no match, he returned, exclaiming:
'You see, I have done what I could to catch him.' He
mounted his box and drove on a mile or so, when he reined
up his horses to a house, and calling to the keeper, asked,
' Where are your sons ?' He replied, ( They left home this
morning, with the Hounds, to hunt a Nigger, and would not
be home before night.' The driver said to him Mr. had
sent his boy, John, on the stage that morning to be delivered
at the pen, and that he had jumped from the top of the stage
and taken to the woods. His reply was : ' We will hunt him
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 149
for you to-morrow.' The driver said he wished only to notify
him of being in the woods.
" As we drove on, I made the inquiry, i How long have you
driven a Stage on . this road ?' He replied, ' About fifteen
years.' ' Do you frequently take Negroes down to the Slave-
pen ?' ' Yes, frequently.' ' What will become of this boy,
John ?' He replied, ' He will skulk about the woods until he
is nearly starved, and will some night make his way up to his
Master's house, and in about two weeks, I shall bring him
down again to the Slave-pen in hand-cuffs.' After a pause,
even this driver feeling his degradation in being the instrument
of such misery, broke out into the exclamation : ' This is a
cursed business ; but in this case this is not the worse feature
of it. The man who sold him is his ow r n father!'"
Dr. C, G. Parsons, of Boston, Massachusetts, the Author
of a Book on Slavery, entitled " A Tour among the Planters,"
in 1852, says : " The female Slaves can not be otherwise than
degraded. Subjected at all times to the passions of the whites,
chastity and refinement are out of the question. They are
stripped entirely naked to be punished, not only on the Plan-
tations, but by the city marshals in the cities, to whom the
Slaveholders or 'Masters' send them for this purpose." (See
chaps, i. and ii., of Part III.) " And often they are exposed
in Public for Sale, in the same condition. Let the Northern
tourist visit the Slave-Market, or the Whipping-post, and he
will frequently behold scenes at which the most degraded
African ever imported, would hang his head in shame. Only
think of a Woman, entirely naked, surrounded by a profane
vulgar crowd, while she w 7 rithes under the Lash, or is offered,
for purposes of Prostitution, to the highest bidder ! Such is
the ' Christianizing influences' of which Northern Drs. of
Divinity so loudly boast."
Dr. Ellwood Harvey, in a letter dated December 25, says :
" I attended a ' Sale of Land and other Property,' near Peters-
150 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
burg, Virginia, and unexpectedly saw a great number of
Slaves sold at Auction. The wretched creatures were told
they would not be sold, and were collected in front of the
quarters, gazing on the assembled multitude. The land being
sold, the Auctioneer's loud voice was heard, ' Bring up the
Niggers !' A shade of astonishment and affright passed over
their faces, as they stared first at each other, and then at the
crowd of purchasers, whose attention was now directed to
them. When the horrible truth was revealed to their minds
that they were to be sold, and nearest relations and friends
parted for ever, the effect was indescribably agonizing. Wo-
men snatched up their Babes, and ran about the place scream-
ing. Children hid behind their distracted Mothers, and Hus-
bands, Fathers, and Brothers, stood in mute despair. The
Auctioneer stood on the portico of the house, and the ' Men
and Boys' were ranging in the yard for inspection. It was
announced that 'no warranty of soundness' would be given,
and ' Persons intending to Purchase must examine the Niggers
for themselves.' A few decrepit old Men were Sold at prices
from fifteen to thirty dollars, send it was painful to see the
poor creatures, bowed down with years of toil and suffering,
stand up to be the jest of brutal tyrants, and to hear them tell
of their disease and worthlessness, fearing that they would be
bought by the Traders and taken ' down the river.'
" A white Boy, about fifteen years of age, was now placed
on the stand. His hair was brown and straight, his skin
exactly the same hue as that of other white persons and no
discernible trace of Negro features in his countenance. Some
vulgar jests were passed on his ' color,' and $750 was bid for
him ; but the Auctioneer said that was 'not enough to begin
on for such a likely young Nigger.' (Here a Slaveholder,
said to be the Father of the Boy, said to me, in a sneering
way, that it was ' wrong to Sell white Niggers.') Just before
the Boy was bid off, his Mother, a fine-looking Woman, and
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 151
as white as nine tenths of the Ladies of New England, rushed
from the yard upon the portico, crying in frantic grief, ' My
dear Son! — Oh, my poor Boy! — they will take away my
dear — ' Here her voice was lost, as she was rudely pushed
back and the door closed. The Sale was not for a moment
interrupted, and none of the crowd appeared to be in the least
affected by the scene. The poor Boy, afraid to cry before so
many strangers, who showed no signs of sympathy or pity,
trembled and wiped the tears from his cheeks with his sleeves.
During the Sale, the place resounded with cries and lamenta-
tions that made my heart ache .
" ' Oh, I pity the poor little slave,
Who labors hard through all the day,
And has no one,
When day is done,
To teach his youthful heart to pray.
" ' No words of love, no fond embrace,
No smiles from parents, kind and dear ;
No tears are shed
Around his bed
When fevers rage and death is near.
" ' None feel for him when heavy chains
Are fastened to his tender limbs ;
No pitying eyes,
No sympathies,
No prayers are raised to Heaven for him/
" A Woman was next called by name. She gave her infant
one wild embrace before leaving it with an old Woman, and
hastened mechanically to obey the call; but stopped, threw
up her hands, screamed and was unable to move. One Qf my
companions touched my shoulder and said, ' Come, let us leave
here, I can bear no more.' We left the ground."
What keeps down the consciences of these traffickers in
the Children of the Slave States ? It is the " Public senti-
152 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
ment" of the community where they live ; and that " Public
sentiment" is made by what are called " Evangelical Ministers
and Members of the Churches of Jesus Christ," North and
South. The Slaveholder sees plainly enough that, if " Slavery
is sanctioned by God," and it is right to set it up in new terri-
tory, it is right to take means to do this ; and, as Slaves do
not grow on bushes in Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, New
Mexico, &c, it is necessary that there should be traders to
gather up coffles and carry them there ; and as they can not
always take whole families, it is necessary that they should
part them ; and, as Slaves will not go by moral suasion, it is
necessary that they should be forced ; and, as gentle force will
not do, they must whip and torture. Hence come gags,
thumbscrews, cowhides, blood — all necessary measures for
carrying out what the " evangelical Churches" say God sanc-
tions.
A correspondent of The Brooklyn (N. Y.) lYmes, writing
from Petersburg, Friday, March 21, 1856, says : " Gentlemen,
one of your friends while in Richmond yesterday, attended an
' Auction Sale of Negroes,' and it being an entirely new scene
to him, he thought some account of it would interest you.
The Sale was in progress when I got there. On the block or
stand was a large and powerful Man in the prime of life ; after
several biddings he was knocked down at $1,350. I counted
fourteen Women, and about the same number of Men, beside
several small Children, all waiting their turn to be sold. Most
of the Men were from 20 to 35 years of age ; they brought
from $900 to $1,150; and Women, aged from 14 to 30
years of age, brought from $700 to $1,850. A smart little
Boy, apparently about 8 years of age, brought $500 ; and some
girls, aged about 12, were sold at from $700 to $850.
"The Auctioneer had a 'Nigger' to assist him, whose busi-
ness was to bring his fellow- Slaves to the stand and exercise
them, in order to display their ' points' to the bidders, that they
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 153
might judge of their value ; and accordingly, as soon as one
was sold, the poor fellow would go and bring up another.
' Now, gentlemen,' said the Auctioneer, standing near the vic-
tim, ' here is a fine Boy' (Men generally are called ' Boys,'
and Women ' Girls,' regardless of age), l and warranted sound,
clear title, and is sold for no fault.' In the meantime the as-
sistant made the man pull off his coat and vest, roll up his shirt-
sleeves, take off his shoes and stockings, and pull up his pan-
taloons, that the audience might see his limbs. ' Hold up your
head ! Stand up straight ; open your mouth, and show the
gentlemen your teeth,' said the Slave-assistant. ' Gentlemen,
how much am I offered ?' asked the Auctioneer — ' $600, $650,
$700, $725, $750' — and, bids beginning to drag, 'Gentle-
men,' said the Slave-assistant, 'you do not see this Boy.'
(Auctioneer meanwhile stops.) ' Come down here,' said the
assistant, and he walked him up and down the room. ' Walk
fast ; hold up your head ; now get up there again.' The Auc-
tioneer then went on — $750, $775, $800, $825.' ' Bring that
Nigger here,' called out one of the bidders from the back part
of the room, which the assistant did. The gentlemen traffick-
ers examined him closely, looked at his teeth and limbs, asked
him various questions, and back he went to the stand again,
and was finally sold for $l,12o, and taken off to make room
for the next.
" ' Here, gentlemen, is a young lady for you,' said the as-
sistant, as he led along a beautiful Girl, of 16 or 17 years of
age. The Auctioneer began again, assistant rolling up her
sleeves ; all her limbs being more or less shown by him, and
examined by the ' gentlemen traders,' and she went through
the walking exercise, which was done in every case. ' There,
gentlemen,' said the Auctioneer, as another Girl was put upon
the stand, ' is as handsome a piece of furniture as can be pro-
duced in our glorious Republic,' and she was a fine-looking
Woman, neatly dressed. 'Bring that Nigger here,' said a
7*
154 AUCTION SALES OF SLATES,
man near me ; the examination, and the questions he asked, I
may as well omit. I remained in the room long enough to see
from 25 to 30 sold. All were knocked down singly, except
in one case, where a ' Brother and Sister' were sold together.
Among the groups to be disposed of were a ' Man and his
Wife,' with a Child some six months old ; and opposite them
sat a Woman with a Child about three years of age."
The Staunton .(V a.) Spectator, speaking of the late "pres-
sure in the Money-market," says it did not seem to affect the
price of Slaves :
" On New- Year's day, the Slaves belonging to the estate of John Fra-
zier, deceased, were Sold at Public Sale in this place, at prices which
show that Money can not be very scarce, notwithstanding the 'hard
times.' A gang of Men, Women, and Children, varying from 3 months
to 45 years old, averaged $900 each."
At a Sale of " Slaves, Horses, and other Cattle," in Abing-
don, Va., in front of the Court-House, on the 25th of Decem-
ber, "very high prices were obtained." A large concourse of
persons were present and the bidding was extremely spirited.
" Good breeders were much sought after." At a Commission-
er's Sale, in Danville, a Man sold for $1,270, and a Woman
with a Child 5 months old, for $1,315. The rest of the " gang"
sold for proportionately high prices.
The Slave population of Virginia, in 1830, as shown by the
Census of that year, was 469,757. In the ten years following
that Census, the Slave population of the United States in-
creased to within a fraction of 24 per cent. According to this
the Slave population of Virginia, in 1840, would have been
581,559, had there been in the meantime no deportation of
Slaves. In the next ten years (viz.: from 1840 to 1850) the
Slave population of the Union increased 28 per cent. At that
rate of Natural increase, the Slave population of Virginia, in
1850, without any deportation in the meantime, would have
been 749,106. But the actual Slave population of Virginia,
HOUSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 155
in 1850, as shown by the Census, was only 472, 528. The
difference of 276,578 is to be accounted for by the deportation
of Slaves. In other words, this difference is the result of the
Virginia Slave trade.
This then is the fact which we commend to the attention of
all, who ignore the hideous atrocity of the American " Domes-
tic Slave Trade," and who in that willing ignorance affirm that
" the Sale of a Converted Slave, except by the Slave's own Con-
sent, is an almost unheard-of occurrence." The denial of this
fact by mercenary scribblers may deceive persons at a distance,
but it can impose upon no one in the Slave States. In sepa-
rating a " Husband and Wife," or " Parent and Child," the
trader or "owner" violates no "Law" of the State — nei-
ther Statute nor " Common Law." He buys or sells at
auction or privately that which the "Majesty of the Law" has
declared to be " property." The natural increase of Slaves in
Virginia has been diminished by deportation at the rate of
15,828 Souls every year, for the twenty years .preceding the
Census of 1850. Those dry tables of the Census, with all the
pains-taking of the Government to prevent any information
about " Slavery" and " The Slave Trade" getting into them,
have, nevertheless, a terrible testimony to give upon a careful
Cross-examination.
The New York Journal of Commerce (an inveterate Pro-
Slavery journal), of October 12th, 1835, contains a letter from
a Virginian, whom the Editor calls " a very good and sensible
man," asserting that 20,000 Slaves had been driven to the
South from Virginia that year, but little more than three
fourths of which had then elapsed. The Virginia Times (a
weekly newspaper, published in Wheeling) estimated, that in
the year 1836, the number of Slaves exported for Sale from
Virginia alone, during " the twelve months preceding," at
40,000 souls ; the aggregate value of whom may be computed
at S35,000,000. Since 1836, the Trade hag. greatly increased.
156 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
Thomas J. Randolph, in a Speech in the Virginia House of
Delegates, in 1832, said : " How can an honorable mind and a
lover of his country bear to see this ' ancient Dominion,' ren-
dered illustrious by the noble devotion and patriotism of her
Sons in the cause of Liberty, converted into one grand Me-
nagerie, where Men and Women are reared for the Market,
like oxen or hogs for the shambles ?" Is it better, is it not
worse than the African Slave Trade ; that trade which enlisted
the labor of the good and wise of every civilized nation of the
world to abolish ? The Pirate-captain receives the stolen Man,
a stranger in language, aspect, and manners, from the Mer-
chant-kidnapper who has brought him from the interior. The
ties of father, mother, husband, and child, have all been rent in
twain ; before he receives him, his soul has become callous.
But here in Virginia, Sir, individuals whom the ' Master' has
known from infancy, whom he has seen ' sporting in the inno-
cent gambols of childhood,' who have been ' accustomed to look
to him for protection,' he tears from the Mother's arms, and
sells into a strange country, among strange people, subject to
cruel taskmasters. It has been attempted to justify Slavery
here, because it once existed in ' heathen lands.' Upon the
same principle, the upholders of this withering system could
justify Mahometanism, with its plurality of wives, petty wars
for plunder, robbery, and murder, or any of the abominations
and enormities committed in our midst — by the Christian
Churches ? Does Slavery exist in any part of Europe ? No,
Sir, in no part of it."
The New York Herald, of January 21, 1857, says: " The
Warrenton (Va.) Whig was informed by Messrs. Dickinson,
Hill, & Co., Auctioneers, of Richmond, that the gross amount
of their Sales of men, Women, and Children, in 1856, reached
$2,000,000. The entire Sales of houses in Richmond alone
would make the amount go over $4,000,000, and still the
business is increasing. ' We ourselves,' says the Whig, i wit-
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 157
nessed the Sale of thirty-five Slaves at an average value of
$700. Girls, not ten years of age, sold for $800. A Car-
penter, nearly forty years of age, brought $1,615. In Wil-
liamsburg, last week, Mr. R. Saunders, executor of the estate
of the late Rev. S. Jones, exposed for sale twenty Slaves, all
of whom commanded a most excellent price.' "
The Richmond (Va.) Dispatch says : " There has been a
greater demand for Slaves in this city than ever known before,
and they have commanded better prices. Prime 'field hands
(Men) now bring from $1,250 to $1,500 ; and Women, from
$900 to $1,100. Not long since a likely Girl sold in this
city at private sale for $1,700. A large number of Men, Wo-
men, and Children, are bought on speculation, and probably
there is not less than $2,000,000 in town now seeking inves-
ture in such property."
The Hon. Charles Sumner thus alludes to his tour in the
Slave States, and to what fell under his personal observation :
" It has been my fortune latterly to see Slavery face to face in
its own home, in the Slave States ; and I take this early oppor-
tunity" (December 2, 1855) "to offer my testimony to the open
barbarism which it sanctions. I have seen a Human being
knocked off at Auction on the steps of the Court-House, and,
as the sale went on, compelled to open his mouth and show
his teeth like a horse. I have been detained in a Stage-coach
that our driver might, in the phrase of the country, ' help lick
a Nigger ;' and I have been constrained, at a public table, to
witness the revolting spectacle of a poor Slave, yet a child,
felled to the floor by a blow on the head from a clenched fist.
Such incidents were not calculated to shake my original con-
victions. The distant Slaveholder who, in ' generous solici-
tude' for the Truth which makes for Freedom feared that like
a certain Doctor of Divinity" (Nehemiah Adams), "I might,
under the influence of ' personal kindness' be hastily swayed
from these convictions, may be assured that I saw nothing to
158 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
change them in one tittle, but to confirm them, while I was
entirely satisfied that here in Massachusetts, where all read,
the true character of Slavery is better known than in the
Slave States themselves, where ignorance and prejudice close
the avenues of knowledge."
CHAPTER II.
" We should transmit to posterity our abhorrence of Slavery."
Patrick Henry.
The Hon. J. K. Paulding, late Secretary of the United
States Navy, gives the following picture of a scene he wit-
nessed in Virginia : —
" The sun was shining out very hot, and in turning an angle
of the road, we encountered the following group : first, a little
cart drawn by one horse, in which five or six half-naked col-
ored children were tumbled like pigs together. The cart had
no covering, and they seemed to have been actually broiled to
sleep. Behind the cart marched three colored women, with
head, neck, and breasts, uncovered, and without shoes or stock-
ings ; next came three men, bareheaded, half-naked, and fas-
tened together with an ox-chain. Last of all came a white
man on horseback, carrying a brace of pistols in his belt, and
who, as we passed him, had the impudence to look us in the
face without blushing. I should like to have seen him hunted
by bloodhounds. At a house where w T e stopped, a little fur-
ther on, we learned that he had bought these miserable beings
in Maryland, and was marching them in this manner to some
of the more Southern markets. Shame on the State of Mary-
land ! I say — and shame on the State of Virginia! and every
State through which this wretched cavalcade was permitted to
pass. Do they expect that such exhibitions will not disgrace
160 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
them in the eyes of strangers, however they may be reconciled
to them by education and habit ?"
The Washington correspondent of the New York Indepen-
dent, in a letter to that Journal in July, 1856, spoke of a case
of peculiar hardship in that city, growing out of the atrocious
Slave system. The sequel of the case has recently transpired,
and we give it to illustrate the working of the " institution" : —
A noble specimen of colored manhood was born in Virginia,
of a Slave mother. On the demise of his " owner" he was
manumitted. The heirs-at-law broke the Will, and Charles
was remanded to servitude again. Through the influence of
some Quakers in the vicinity who knew the man, a nominal
price of five hundred dollars was set upon his head, which,
with the aid of his friends, he promptly met, and rejoiced in
the possession and full ownership of his own body and soul.
But the sad part of the story was, that " Ms wife and three
children" were still doomed " to grind in the prison-house,"
and their descendants after them for ever. By the solicita-
tions of the neighbors and friends, a man in the vicinity pur-
chased the family for six hundred dollars, and offered the hus-
band and father a " bill of sale" of his household when he
should be able to refund that amount. This man was, and is,
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the head
Steward of that Church in his vicinity. The " boy" Charles
was a Member of the same Church, and for years communed
at the same altar.
Twelve years had gone by, and the family of Charles had
toiled faithfully for the " owner." He himself had early gone
to Washington (D. C.) to labor, and, if possible, raise the re-
quired sum to free his little household, and gather them around
an humble altar which he could call his own. He had visited
" his family" four times a year, sometimes taking down clothing,
and such little things as a " husband and father," in such cir-
cumstances, would be prompted by affection to carry. In the
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 161
meantime, the " family" had increased to six children. When
the case was made known to a " Friend" by Charles himself,
this " Friend" offered to see that the six hundred dollars was
forthcoming, and he could, at the first opportunity, seek an
interview, with the " owner" of " his family," and make all
necessary preparations for their liberty. He sorrowfully told
his " Friend" that a generous man in Washington had made
him the offer of assistance previously, but from certain indi-
cations he had observed, he did not believe this professed
Christian steward would comply with his promise. However,
he tried, and his fears were fully realized, when this old sin-
ner, of seventy years, coolly asked " four thousand dollars for
the family." The man ! all the man, in the freed and noble
father and husband rose at this wanton and wilful violation
of all decency, Christianity, and honor. He attempted to
reason, basing his claims upon the God-given conjugal and
parental affections supposed to have a lodgment in the person
of the " owner" of another man's wife and children, but was
peremptorily ordered to hold his tongue, and to mention the
subject no more ! The sequel is as follows : Within three
months, Charles visited his family in Virginia, and went up to
the " Master's house," as usual. He again introduced the sub-
ject of the purchase of his family, and the steward of the stony
heart persisted in his demand of four thousand dollars. His
offer was accepted, and he was asked to give a writing to that
effect, specifying that upon payment of that sum the " wife
and children" should be free. This also he refused to do.
The next day, he himself went to the nearest town and
made a complaint against Charles, on a trumped-up story,
that he was engaged in running off Slaves, and had the
officers out in pursuit of him. It is sufficient to say, that due
notice was given the victim, and the, officers of the law did not
succeed in finding his " brother communicant." The son and
heir-at-law of the gray-headed steward, not being fully initia-
162 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
ted into his father's duplicity, took sides against the officers,
and in favor of Charles, stating that he was well known in
that vicinity, and was respectable and strictly honest. The
officers, not relishing the business, or the denunciations, in-
formed the son as to who made the complaint, and a small
family scene ensued. Of course, a hasty retreat had been
beaten by the poor sufferer, and wearied, foot-sore, and
broken-hearted, he entered again Washington city, after trav-
elling on foot fifty miles without daring to stop and rest himself.
The Savannah (Ga.) Republican, speaking of the " flourish-
ing condition" of the Markets of the South, in December, 1856,
says : "On Monday last, at "YVarrenton, Va., many Slaves
were sold at Auction, and brought extremely high prices. A
boy, about eighteen years of age, sold for $1,245, and another
boy, not over ten, for $799. A little girl sold for upward of
$600. At a recent sale of the estate of Zeph. Turner, de-
ceased, Rappahannock county, eighty Slaves, ranging from
twelve to thirty-seven years of age, averaged $1,115."
In November, 1855, a Slaveholder with a family of his
chattels, consisting of " husband, wife, and several children/'
took passage at Louisville, Kentucky, for Memphis, Tennessee,
where he intended to take all except the husband ashore. The
latter was hand-cuffed, and although his " Master" said nothing
of his intention, the poor fellow made up his mind from ap-
pearances, as well as from the remarks of those around him,
that he was destined for the Southern market. The Steamer
reached Memphis during the night, and while within sight
of the city, the heart-broken man caused "his wife" to divide
their things, as though resigned to the separation, and then
taking a moment, when his " owner's" back was turned, ran for-
ward and jumped into the river. He sank, and his " Master"
was $1,500 poorer than a moment before.
"Commissioner's Sale of Slaves. — As Commissioner, under a
Decree of the Bourbon County Court, at the March Term, in the case
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 163
of Alpheus Lewis and Margaret his wife, I will expose to Public Sale, at
the Court-House door in Paris, on the 2d day of April next, County
Court day for said County, on a credit of four months, two valuable
Slaves, to wit : a Woman aged about twenty-five, and a Girl about
twelve. Persons wishing to purchase, can see said Slaves by calling on
J. Porter. Bond, with approved security, will be required, having the
force and effect of a replevy bond.
"THOMAS A. TAYLOR, Commissioner.
"Pakis (Ky.), March 22, 1855."
The younger of the two Slaves above spoken of, was found,
" upon close examination," to have been cruelly treated. She
showed burns that evidently were made with hot-irons upon
her neck, hands, under both arms, and between her legs, both
behind and before ; besides bruises upon her head, and bleed-
ing at the ears. It was also made known by white men in
Mr. Lewis's employ, that Sally, the oldest Slave and the
Mother of several Children, had been stripped, by Mrs. Lewis's,
direction, entirely naked, and her feet tied to a tree, about four
feet from the ground. She then made a Woman force the
pump, and another direct the hose so as to drench poor Sally
with water, while she would stand off a pace and pelt her with
stones, and then take to her more favored method of torture,
the hot-iron. Sally had old scars upon her back and legs that
could scarcely be covered with the palm of the hand. Both
Slaves had suffered dreadfully from hunger and cold.
Mr. Alpheus Lewis is the son of Alpheus Lewis, of Clarke
County, Ky. Mr. Lewis, senior, is a Member of the Baptist
Church, a man of wealth, and reputed to be of one of the " best
families" in the State. Mrs. Lewis's maiden name was Scott,
daughter of Rgbert Scott.
A Committee of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church, of
Kentucky, who had been appointed to make a Report on the
condition of the Slaves in that State, said : " After making all
allowances, the ' colored' population of the State, bond and
free, can be considered, at the most, but semi-heathen. As to
164 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
their temporal estate — Brutal stripes, and all the various
kinds of personal indignities, are not the only species of cruelty
which Slavery licenses. The law does not recognise the
family relations of the Slave, and extends to him no protection
in the enjoyment of domestic endearments. The members of
a Slave family may be forcibly separated, so that they shall
never more meet until the final judgment. Brothers and
Sisters, Parents and Children, Husbands and Wives, are torn
asunder never more to meet on earth. Those acts are daily
occurring in the midst of us. The shrieks and the agony often
witnessed on such occasions proclaim with trumpet-tongue the
iniquity and cruelty of the 'Institution/ There is not a
neighborhood where these heart-rending scenes are not dis-
played. There is not a village or road that does not behold
the sad procession of manacled outcasts, whose chains and"
mournful countenances tell that they are exiled by force from
all that their hearts hold dear. Our Church, years ago, raised
its voice of solemn warning against this flagrant violation of
every principle of mercy, justice, and humanity. Yet, we
blush to announce to the world that this warning has been dis-
regarded, even by those who hold to our communion. Pro-
fessors of the Religion of mercy have torn the Mother from
her Children and sent her into merciless and returnless exile.
Yet acts of Church discipline have never followed such con-
duct."
The Rev. James H. Dickey, speaking of the horrors- of
Slavery in Kentucky, says : " As I was returning with my
family from a visit to the barrens of Kentucky, I witnessed a
scene such as I never witnessed before, and such as I hope
never to witness again. Having passed through Paris, in
Bourbon county, Ky., the sound of music (beyond a little
rising ground) attracted my attention. I looked forward, and
saw the Flag of my Country waving. Supposing that I was
about to meet a Military parade, I drove hastily to the side of
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 165
the road, and having gained the ascent, I discovered about
forty Men, all chained together after the following manner :
each of them was hand-cuffed, and they were arranged in
rank-and-file. A chain was stretched between the two ranks,
to which short chains were joined, which connected with the
hand-cuffs. Behind them were about thirty Women, in double
rank, the couples tied hand to hand. A solemn sadness sat on
every countenance, and the dismal silence of this march of
despair was interrupted only by the sound of two Violins, yes,
as if to add insult to injury, the foremost couple were furnished
with a Violin a-piece ; the second couple were ornamented with
Cockades, while near the centre waved the ' Star-Spangled
Banner.' — the Flag of the 'Model Republic/ carried literally
in chains ! I could not forbear, as I drove by, exclaiming, in
the words of Whittier, to the blear-eyed monster-captain of the
gang :—
" 'What, ho ! our countrymen in chains ! -
The whip on woman's shrinking flesh !
Our soil yet reddening with the stains,
Caught from her scourging, warm and fresh !
What ! mothers from their children riven !
What ! God's own image bought and sold !
Americans to market driven, and bartered as the brute for gold !'
" Heaven will curse that man who engages in such a traffic,
and the Government that protects him in it. I pursued my
journey until evening, and put up for the night, when I men-
tioned the scene I had witnessed. i Ah !' cried my landlady,
' that is my brother !' From her I learned that his name is
Stone, of Bourbon county, Kentucky, in partnership with one
Cunningham, of Paris ; and that a few days before he had
purchased a Woman from a man in Nicholas county. She
refused to go with him ; he attempted to compel her, but she
defended herself. Without further ceremony, he stepped back,
and by a blow on the side of her head with the butt of his
166 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
whip, brought her to the ground ; he then tied her, put her on
a cart, and drove off. I learned further, that there were
1 about seventy Niggers,' besides the drove I had seen, shut up
in the Paris prison for safe-keeping, to be added to the gang,
and that they were designed for the New Orleans market."
The following letter, the publication of which caused Mr.
J. Brady, a New England Schoolmaster, to be Lynched, at
Lexington, Kentucky, by the "free and enlightened Demo-
crats" of that place, will help the reader to a more correct
knowledge of the workings of the " 'heaven-bom institution" of
the Republic:
''Lexington, Kt., Tuesday, December 25, 1855.
" Mr. Editor : Christmas has come around again. It is a
great day here" (perhaps I should say week), " especially for
two classes — Slaves and School-children. Most of the former
have that day as a holiday ; the latter in most places in this
State, have a week, sometimes including New Year's Day.
Christmas is regarded as a great occasion, and was celebrated
in the Episcopal and Catholic Churches. I have just returned
from attending the service of the former. Both these
Churches regard the day with much veneration, and well they
may, being the Anniversary of the birth of our Saviour — of
him ' who spake as man never spake/ whose wisdom and
righteousness was above that of all men, and who gave him-
self a sacrifice for the sins of guilty humanity, so that all who
would come unto him might have eternal life. To hear of
this Saviour we assembled. Although it was so great an An-
niversary, and the expected presence of the Bishop was an-
nounced, yet but a few persons were scattered over the Church.
Notwithstanding the small attendance, all the ceremonies of
that denomination were faithfully rehearsed. These were fol-
lowed by a short but very eloquent discourse on the birth, life,
and death of our Saviour. The prophecies in relation to his
coming into the world, his holy life, and victorious death, were
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 167
repeated ; the actual verification of these prophecies in his real
life and character was dwelt upon ; and the noble sentiments
which he had uttered, and the rules of conduct which he laid
down for the observance of his followers, were made the sub-
ject of comment. In conclusion, the minister, on behalf of
himself and congregation, in loud strains, thanked our Father
in Heaven, that he had given to the World his Only Begotten
Son to die for sinners ; that he had cast our lots in a ' Christian
land;' and especially, that he had cast them 'in the most en-
lightened community in all the earth, where peace, liberty,
happiness, and Christian privileges, are vouchsafed to all.'
" We listened attentively, wondered that so few were present,
and regretted that more were not in attendance to learn the
extent of our blessings, and to receive upon their minds a still
more forcible impression of the beauty and excellence of the
sentiments uttered by the second person of the adorable Trin-
ity, An invocation to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that
their blessings might rest upon us, closed the exercises, and
we went forth in thoughtful mood, reflecting on that maxim of
our Saviour. ' Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them,' which is said to contain the essence of all
our duties to our fellow-men, and on those two commandments,
* hang all the law and the prophets.' Scarcely had we pro-
ceeded two squares ere our footsteps were arrested by a crowd
of men on the sidewalk, so dense that ladies could not pass,
but were compelled to cross to the next sidewalk, pass round
and- recross beyond them. Curiosity at beholding a crowd
so much denser than at the Church attracted my attention, and
led me to halt a moment, when lo ! there came to my ears the
hoarse notes of the Auctioneer selling a fellow-creature, a
Human being to the highest bidder ! Never were my feelings
so much shocked. Though I had before witnessed the horrid
spectacle of the sale of a Human being, yet, upon this day, com-
memorative of such an event as can never be known again on
168 AUCTION SALES OF SLATES,
earth — the birth of the immaculate and only Son of God —
and after such a discourse as that to which we had listened, to
witness a deed so revolting at any time to the feelings of any
one in the least degree imbued with Christian philanthropy,
and so contradictory to every precept of Him for whom the
day has been named, was shocking beyond description. The
Auctioneer was crying with stentorian voice : —
"'Only $1,285 is bid for this Boy — a fine, likely Nigger going at
$1,285 — must be sold to the highest bidder — $1,300 — $1,325, and go-
ing at $1,325, once, $1,325, twice, and going at $1,325 — going, gone to
Cash for $1,325/
" Oh ! what a contrast was this scene, almost at the door of
the Church, to what we might have expected of that ' com-
munity' of which we had just heard so favorable an account.
If this scene was thought to be in accordance with the
Christian character, and the minister had such scene in view
when speaking in such high terms of the ' community' (as he
must have had), i" wondered, as the hour suited, after the
Sermon, and before the Benediction, they had not held the Sale
at the Church, the Minister being Auctioneer. Perhaps, how-
ever, they knew that they could not get such a crowd there as
they wanted, and, therefore, they came to the way leading up
to the Temple of Justice. Oh ! how I wished for a Paul to
stand up before them, at the entrance of this Temple, and
' reason to them as to Felix, of righteousness, of temperance,
and of judgment to come.' Like Felix, they must have
' trembled' at his reasoning ; but like him, those who could be
guilty of such an act of inhumanity, with all the lights of the
Nineteenth century beaming upon them, would probably an-
swer, ' Go thy way for this time ; when I have no more Nig-
gers to sell I will call for thee.'" — (See chapters i. and ii. of
Part III.)
A correspondent of the New York Tribune, writing from
Cleveland, Ohio, under date August 9, 1856, says: "During
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 169
the past winter and summer I have been travelling through
Western Missouri and Kansas, and on the 21st of February
last I was in Lexington, Missouri. On the morning of that
day I was, for the first time in my life, a spectator of the Sale
of Slaves. Two young men, and a girl, about eighteen years
of age, were placed upon the block, surrounded by forty or
fifty Slaveholders. The first put up was a ' Nigger' of great
beauty and fine form. The Auctioneer commenced by exhort-
ing the farmers to remember that the hemp was all down —
hands were scarce — Niggers had taken a rise ; and told them
that there stood one of the best-looking 'Niggers' in the
Republic; that he was sound — had good teeth and eyes. In
short, was an 'excellent Nigger.' The bidding proceeded
until Si, 250 was reached. During the sale the Auctioneer,
and others, indulged in witticisms and puns upon the boy,
which set the crowd to laughing ; but the Slave did not laugh.
Not a smile did I notice during the whole time. His expres-
sion was that of deep despondency. Being called away, I did
not see the other two sold."
A woman and several children were sold at Goldsboro',
North Carolina, a short time since, at prices ranging from
$710 to $827. The Goldsboro' Patriot says :—
" They were the children of a free Negro by the name of Adam Wynne,
who had purchased their Mother, his wife, previous to their birth. They
were, consequently, his Slaves ; and he having become involved, they
were sold for his debts."
We have seen many phases of the workings of Slavery
presented, but none more revolting than the above. Here is
a Man who has shown a most devoted attachment to one who
afterward became his "Wife" — having purchased her free-
dom for that purpose ! She was thus raised to equality with
himself; and after years have passed of domestic happiness,
she and her children are seized by the remorseless Demon-
8
170 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
power of Slavery, and sold from the husband and father intc
life-long servitude, to appease the inexorable demands of the
creditors of this unhappy Man ! Ever since the days of
Shakespeare, the name of Shylock has been held in abhor-
rence; but the exaction of the pound of flesh, of the Mer-
chant of Venice, as "nominated in the bond" was merciful
when compared to that of these Slaveholding fiends in human
shape. Yet this is Slavery as it exists by " Law" in more
than one half of the States and Territories of the " Model
Republic" — which has been declared by the Presbyterian
General Assembly to be " no bar to Christian communion."
" 100 Slaves for Sale. — I shall offer at Public Sale, on the premises,
commencing on the 22d day of February next, 100 Slaves, comprising
some excellent Mechanics, such as Carpenters, brick and stone Masons,
and the best Field-hands, many of whom have been, for the last few-
years, employed in the cultivation of Cotton on my plantation in the
South ; several excellent House-servants, Cooks, Washers, Ironers, &c.
All of these Negroes were either raised by myself or purchased, for my own
use, and I hazard nothing in saying, comprise altogether, the likeliest lot
of Slaves ever before offered for Sale in this Republic, almost all of them
being young, and consisting, chiefly, of able-bodied Men, Boys, and
Girls. At the same time and place, I shall hire out 15 or 20 likely
female Slaves to the highest bidders, some of them excellent House-
servants. "N. T. Green, Warren County, N. C."
In South Carolina, the " Market is firm." The demand for
" Good breeders" is active. " The arrivals are below the
wants of the 'trade" — and "the tendency is still upward."
" A moderate business has been done in Women and Children
for export."
The Columbia (S. C.) Times, speaking of the " happy con-
dition of things" in that place, says : —
"There was a large amount of property sold yesterday (January 1),
which we can not enumerate in full. Mr. A. B,. Phillips sold an im-
mense number of Men, Women, and Children. We subjoin some of
the prices: One ordinary Man, 22 years of age, $1,085; 1 ordinary
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 171
Woman, 20 years of age, $1,070 ; 1 Boy, 15 years of age, $780; 1 Wo-
man, 36 years, and Son, 4 years, $1,175; 1 Woman, 30 years, and 3
Children, $1,750; 1 Woman, and 5 Children, $1,960; 1 Woman, 32
years, and two Children, $1,380; 1 Girl, $580. For Commissioner in
Equity: 1 Woman and 1 Child, $1,776."
A friend writing from Columbia (S. C), says: "Never
having seen a Slave-Auction, I determined to be a witness to
one. Accordingly, about fifteen minutes before the appointed
hour, I left my Hotel, and while yet within some distance of
the Court-House, I heard the voice of the Auctioneer, as he
appraised his Human chattels, and rattled out — '$750 — no
more than $750 for this likely Nigger fellow — $775,' &c.
This was early on Monday morning. Scarcely had the echoes
of the high anthem that pealed from the Episcopal organ and
choir, a few hours before, yet died away. Hardly had the
swell of the tune that rose from Dr. Palmer's Presbyterian
Church yet murmured to the stars ; and the loud Psalm-shout
that ascended from the throats of a thousand Baptists the
preceding Sabbath evening had as yet hardly time (if time it
takes) to ' mingle with the triumphal and eternal chorus of the
harps of heaven.' Having so lately heard all these, with
what harsh and grating discord did the horrid voice of the
Man-seller shake the heavens and strike upon my ear.
" ' Is it, O man, with such discordant noises,
With such accursed instruments as these,
Thou drownest nature's sweet and kindly voices,
And jarrest the celestial harmonies V
" The Sale took place on the steps of the ' Court of Justice'
(ironically so called). Of the seventy-five or one hundred
persons that composed the bidders, such a collection is never
seen in a civilized community. There were groups of petty
Merchants of the town, hard, close-fisted, money-loving, mean-
looking men. There were a number of the poor Clay-eaters,
from the Sand-hills, who were easily distinguishable by their
172 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
cadaverous, ashen-white and half-human appearance. There
were the gross, vulgar, and lecherous youths of the town.
And (must I tell it, or shall I go backward and hide the
shame?) there was a professed 'minister of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ,' with the badge of his order round his throat,
and who but a sun previous, had offered ' salvation and heav-
en' to all. Bidding was tolerably brisk, and competition keen.
The first offered was a middle-aged Man, of, I should judge,
about forty years of age, whose care-worn, broken-down, and
dispirited countenance and deeply-wrinkled brow, intimated
that the toil and trouble of at least twice forty years had been
compressed into his brief existence. He sold for $875.
Another Man sold for $1,345. A middle-aged Woman then
took the stand. She had a vacant, careless look, and as the
Auctioneer praised up her qualities, a malignant-like grin
would now and then flit across her countenance. He de-
claimed about her, and continued repeating her praises as.
' This splendid Seamstress and Cutter. As a sewer and cutter,
lam told Lucretia has no equal — besides being a valuable
Housekeeper,' &c. She was sold to a man who I learned was
going to keep a Tavern. The next victim was a young
Woman, who (her ' owner' and the Auctioneer said) was 'just
eighteen years of age ;' she was of an Olive-color, and had a
pleasing countenance and mild, lustrous eyes. Her ' owner'
(who was said to be. her Father) took off her hood, to show
her countenance, and, when she replaced it, again took it off;
and in appraising her, by word and action, appealed to the
loivest and basest passions of the assembled crowd. She clasped
to her bosom a light-colored, blue-eyed child only three months
old, and who, young as it was, cast a mournful look upon its.
Father, the l owner' of its unhappy Mother, as much as to say,
* O father ! O father !' The Sale now commenced : —
" * Gentlenien,' said the Auctioneer,' (taking off her hood), ; did you
ever see such a Face and Head, and Form as that 1 Look at this V
HOUSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 173
(pulling up her clothes and showing her limbs,) 'she's only eighteen
years of age, and already has a child — a Male child — three months old,
and will, consequently, make a valuable piece of property for some one.
She's a splendid Housekeeper and Seamstress. Gentlemen, you hare
only to look at her and you will behold the most lovely Nigger you ever
saw! That's a fact, Sir, and I'll put you down at $1,500! You say
you didn't say anything — well, if you didn't, you smiled, and nobody
has a right to smile at this stand unless they mean something ! Smile
again, Sir, if you please — that's it — $1,600 — $1,650 — don't mind the
fifties — go it by hundreds ! You all know what Shakespeare says about
beautiful Niggers — don't damn him, Sir — and he's good authority —
$1,700 — $1,800, did you say, Sir? $1,800 then! I don't want to
make any reflections on the character and standing of the ' highly re-
spectable gentlemen' before me, but you must all be aware that nothing
improves a man's taste so much as the study of the works of nature —
don't damn them, Sir, and by buying this magnificent specimen you will
have an opportunity of indulging it to the fullest extent ! Come, gentle-
men, how much more am I bid for this splendid Nigger — how much —
/iow much? Why, gentlemen, the speech I am making upon her is
worth the money alone — how much for her with the Child — how much ?
$1,900 — $1,925 — $1,950 — $1,975 — that's it!— go ahead ! — $1,975,
I'm only bid for these remarkable specimens of humanity! — $1,975.
Gentlemen, you're not going to let me be beat by that fellow at the
Northern stand there, are you? — no, I am sure you won't — see how
he looks at me, as much as to say, 'You can't come it!' — come now,
bid up for the credit of our side of the Republic ! — it will never do to let
me be beat by that Northerner — I know you're all friends and will stand
by my side of the Union — that's it ! — $2,000 — that's the way to fetch
me up ! $2,000 — our side of the Republic for ever ! — they can't hold
a candle to us ! $2,000, and going at $2,000, once — $2,000, twice —
going, gone to Brother Eoster, for $2,000.'
" The tears stood glittering in the poor Girl's eyes, and at
every licentious allusion, she cast a look of pity and of wo at the
Auctioneer, and at the crowd — which was responded to only
by a brutal laugh. She was knocked down to ' Brother Fos-
ter/ a beastly-looking fellow about sixty-five years of age.
She descended from the Court-House steps, looked at the
audience, looked fondly into her Child's face, pressed it warm-
ly to her bosom, with the Auctioneer's hard-hearted remark
174 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
ringing in her ears, that ' that Child won't trouble her pur
chaser long.' I made my way to my temporary home, over-
powered with a chaos of horrors. And when I entered the
hall of the house, the merry glee and loud laugh of the female
inmates too plainly announced to me the fact that the ' colored'
daughters of ' the golden-rivered land of the plantain' find but
few on earth who will shed for their sorrows a sisterly tear."
Surely the Virgins of the Heavenly land will descend at
times to comfort their woful hearts — while God himself will
'' gather their tears in his bottle." He whose heart was so
tender that he wept at the grave of Lazarus, over a sorrow
that he was so soon to turn into joy — what does he think of
this constant heart-breaking anguish ?
"By permission of the Court of Ordinary, on the first Tuesday in Jan-
uary next, will be Sold at the Court-House in Gillisonville, Beaufort
District (S. C), fifteen Slaves, belonging to the Estate of William H.
Mangin, deceased, and sold for the benefit of said estate. Terms Cash.
"J.J. STONY, Executor.
•'N. B. — In connection with the above, will be Sold, in addition, ten
Slaves, the property of John Stoddard, comprising the Families of the
foregoing."
Now look at the cruelty of the above advertisement. First
are to be sold the Parents, separately, or in the lot, as pur-
chasers may incline. Then follow the Children, " comprising
the Families of the foregoing" — a stroke of the Auctioneer's
hammer settling the question whether the Parents go in one
direction, and the Children in another.
" On Tuesday next, will be Sold at the North of the Exchange, at 10
o'clock, a. m., a prime gang of Negroes, accustomed to the culture of
Cotton and Provisions, owned by ' The Independent Church/ in Christ
Church Parish. " THOMAS N. GADSDEN, Auctioneer."
A correspondent of the New York Evening Post, writing
from Charleston, says : "I have just seen a family of Slaves
sold at Auction at noon-day, in the Public Square of this City.
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE/ 175
They were placed on a cart as if for punishment. A red
Flag was hoisted at their side — fit emblem of Crime and
Slavery. The Auctioneer (Thomas N. Gadsden), who, I was
told, was i well received in Society,' praised the qualities of a
poor Slave as ' very intelligent, and first-rate gardener.' The
purchasers weDt up to the Men, Women, and Children, opened
their mouths, and examined their teeth, limbs, &c, &c. The
bidding then commenced, and the bargains were struck off.
Twenty steps off, precisely in the same manner, they were
Selling an Ass and an old Man. The ass sold for $71, and
the Man for $69 — $2 less than the ass !"
" For Sale. — A Girl, about 29 years of age, raised in Virginia, and her
two female children, one two and the other one year. The girl never
had a day's sickness, with the exception of the s/xa/Z-pox, in her life.
The children are fine and healthy. She is very prolific in her generating
qualities, and affords a magnificent opportunity to any man who wishes
to raise a family of healthy Niggers for his own use. Any man wishing
to purchase will please leave his address at this office." — Charleston
(S.C.) Mercury.
A Slave-mother, " belonging to Dempsey Weaver, Esq.,"
of Nashville, Tennessee, having committed some fault, Weaver
threatened to sell her next day to a Mississippi trader. But
she determined not to be sold or separated from her child, and
jumped into the river with her babe in her arms, and were
both drowned.
A young gentleman, who, like many other foolish young
men, went South " for the benefit of his health," writing from
New Orleans, says : " While at Tyrel Springs, twenty miles
from Nashville, Tennessee, on the border of Kentucky, my host-
ess said, one day, ' Yonder comes a Gang of Slaves, chained.'
I counted them and observed their position. They were di-
vided by three one-horse "wagons, each containing a ' driver,'
armed to the teeth, and so posted as to command the whole
gang. The old Men and Women were unchained ; sixty
176 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
were chained in two companies, thirty in each, the right hand
of one to the left hand of the opposite one, making fifteen each
side of a large ox-chain, to which the hands were fastened,
and necessarily compelled to hold up — Men and Women
promiscuously, and about in equal proportions, all young peo-
ple. No Children here, except a few in a wagon behind,
which were the only Children in the four gangs. I said to a
mulatto-Woman in the house, ' Is it true that the Negro-
traders take Mothers from their Babies ?' — ' Massa, it is
true; for here, last week, such a Girl' (naming her), 'who
lives about a mile off, was taken after dinner — knew nothing
of it in the morning — sold, put into the gang, and her Baby
taken away. She was a beautiful young Woman, and brought
a high price.' "
The Savannah Georgian, of the 7th January, 1856, has
the following Market intelligence : " Tuesday last was Gen-
eral Sales-Day throughout many of the States of the Repub-
lic — a day when Sheriffs, &c, offer property at Public Sale,
to satisfy Executions, to close Estates, &c. We notice, from
reported Sales in various localities that Men, Women, and
Children, generally brought good prices — affording gratifying
evidence that th# times are not as hard as has been supposed.
We need no better evidences than are thus afforded that the
Money pressure is by no means of a general or serious char-
acter. As we have already said, the country is Solvent, and
business affairs will soon regulate themselves. In short,
Stock-raising" (that is to say, Slave-breeding) " was never in
a more flourishing or glorious condition.''
The Georgia Annual Conference of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church resolved as follows : " Resolved, That the testimony
of colored Members of the Churches shall not he taken against
a white person." In the Day of Judgment " Nigger" testi-
mony will be received, and there will then be heard the voices
of the " evangelical" traffickers in Human flesh saying to the
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 177
mountains and the rocks, " Fall on us and hide us irom thu
face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of
the Lamb." Think of it !
The Augusta (Ga.) Sentinel, speaking of the " property" of'
Ulm & Walker, which was advertised in its columns, says :
" The Slaves averaged $499 per head, although there were
among them a large number of Children, several at the breast,
old Men and old Women, two superannuated, and one old fel-
low dead. The mules and jackasses averaged $148 per head.
We are glad to see the property of our friends selling so w r ell."
What under the sun could have induced any " living man" to
pay $499. for a "dead Nigger?"—
" "T'was not meat for a Christian you'll own ;
'T'was plenty of skin — with a good deal of bone,"
What respect can a community in which such things are
done and reported so coolly, have for Human nature ? The
man or woman who would sell the " Dead" at Public Auction,
and the people who would " Sanction" such infamy, would not
hesitate to sell the body of our Saviour — were it in their
clutches. Why is it that " the People" do such things ? Is
it because they " live in a land of Bibles and Protestant priv-
ileges ?" Why is it that " heathen nations" never commit such
deeds ? Is it because they are not " blessed" with such "priv-
ileges ?" Why is it that all the efforts of the Pro-Slavery
Churches in " heathen lands" have, thus far, done no good but
positive evil?
The New York Dispatch (a Pro- Slavery Journal), of March
20, 1856, says: "The Hawaiian nation which seventy years
ago was estimated variously at 150,000 to 200,000, now only
counts 72,000, a decrease within this period of at least two
thirds. Vast tracts of land once under cultivation, are left to
the rule of grass and weeds. The island of Kaui, remarkable
for the productiveness of its soil, and able to sustain a popula*
tion of 100,000 souls, contains a population of 6,000. ' It is
8*
178 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
not to cruel and devastating wars that is attributed this unpar-
alleled falling off in so short a time, but to the social contact
with civilized man' So writes one who is thoroughly ac-
quainted with the history of the Sandwich Islands. And yet
this same Hawaiian nation is constantly pointed at by the
American Foreign Missionary Society as the evidence of their
work. * We have civilized and Christianized that people,' say
they, i by the untiring efforts of our Missionaries have the in-
habitants of those islands been brought to a saving knowledge
of the Gospel !' With truth they could add : * It is true, they
were a happy though a rude people, before our teachers went
among their garden islands, once well populated and well cul-
tivated ; and, save a few incidental complaints, which native
herbs could remove, they were tolerably ignorant of small-pox
and other loathsome diseases — diseases which have since taint-
ed the blood of every Hawaiian, and fearfully reduced their
number ; but then we have taught them the value of rum, to-
bacco, silver coin, and Christianity.' There will not be a
thousand Kenackers alive twenty years hence ; their doom
is sealed, but have they not been 'saved'? — saved by the
words of our Missionaries, backed by our Bible and New
England rum."
Dr. C. G. Parsons, of Boston, Massachusetts, in his " Tour
among the Planters," speaking of an Auction Sale of Slaves he
witnessed in Georgia, says : " The doomed ' fathers and moth-
ers' were standing with their arms around the necks of their
' wives and husbands,' from whom they were the next moment
to be torn. These mothers were to become the mothers of
yet more unfortunate children in Louisiana. The sale over,
the Slaves were ordered to take their departure. They broke
away from their ' wives and husbands' at the sound of the whip
and started for that City of the Graveyard — New Orleans.
One of them — whose name was Robinson — bounded back
and gave ' his wife' a ' last kiss' of affection, and was then
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 179
pushed on board. The heart-broken ' wife' had a present tied
up, in an old handkerchief, which she designed to give her
* husband' as the last token of her love for him. But in the
more than mortal agony of parting sh^ had forgotten the pres-
ent until the cars had started; and then she ran — screaming
— as she threw the bundle toward the car ; ' Oh, here, Robin-
son ! I meant to give you this !' But instead of reaching
him, it fell to the ground through the space between the cars,
and such a shriek as that Woman gave, when she saw that
solitary emblem of love for her ' husband' fail to reach him.
Her heart was breaking ! She could no longer suppress her
grief, and for some distance after the cars started, the air was
rent with her bitter lamentations."
A Slave-mother was hung lately at Cedartown, Georgia.
Her " owner" told her that he had sold her four Children to a
man, to whom they were to be delivered next day. The pur-
chaser was known through the neighborhood as a tyrant and
miser, who not only half-starved his Slaves, but beat them
brutally at every opportunity. The mother, who tenderly
loved her Children, was overcome with grief at the thought
of having them sold to such a monster. She begged her
" Master," on her knees, to keep the Children, or if they must
be sold, to let them go to a more humane " Master." But all
her efforts proving vain, and being driven to desperation, she,
on the following night murdered the Children. This was the
crime for which she was hung. (See chap. t. of Part V.)
At the Sale of the property of the late Edwin Townsend,
of Huntsville, Georgia, the Slaves, 285 in number, all Field-
hands, and a large proportion of them Children, sold for
$207,195, being an average of $727. A young "man and
wife," having no children — bu| thought to be "good breeding
stock," sold for $3,005. Many boys and girls, from 1 6 to 22
years of age, brought from $1,300 to $1,750. Two twin-brothers ;
15 years of age, sold for $2,350; a sister of these twins, 16
180 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
years of age, sold for $1,796, and a twin-sister for $1,630.
The entire amount of the sale was within a fraction of $330,000.
" My poor Children," said a Slave-mother, " We are going
to be Sold to-morrow, a$id we will never see one another again ;
when you are far away from your poor mother, remember that
I shall see the same Moon and Stars that you look at, and
when we die, we shall go to Heaven and be evermore with
Jesus ! O my Saviour ! O my Children ! O my Saviour !
O my poor Children !"
" For Sale.— The Executors of the late Col. John H. M'Intosh, offer
for Sale, and are ready to receive applications for the Purchase of all his
real and personal property, consisting of mules, hogs, plantation imple-
ments, and about 221 Slaves, &c, all of which are on the plantation called
' Burlington/ Duval County, Florida."
By a refinement of contemptuous cruelty, the mules, hogs,
and the very implements of toil, receive precedence of the
despised Slaves. The Auctioneer is not even sure of their
number — "about* and the "&c." are full of meaning. They
tell of Slaves unborn, who will open their eyes on nothing but
Slavery, but whose advertised existence, as yet unconscious to
themselves, may screw some dollars additional out of the hard
list of the thin-lipped, ashen-faced Trader, or the unpitying-
featured Yankee " admirer" of the " heaven-horn. Institution."
The National Intelligencer, published at Washington, D. C,
and " renowned for its taste and talent," informs us that there
" Will be Sold at Auction, at Bank's Arcade, on Magazine
street, in the City of New Orleans, at 12 o'clock, on Tuesday,
January 16, 1855, the Slaves (about 385 in number) of the
late H. B. W. Hill, including choice Plantation Slaves, accus-
tomed to the culture of Sugar and Cotton, and considered to
be one of the most likely gan£g in the South, and comprising
all the requisite Mechanics, such as Sugar-Makers, Engineers;
Blacksmiths, Coopers, Carpenters, Bricklayers, choice House-
Servants, Cooks, and Field-Hands, and are to be Sold in
- HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 181
Families, and Singly, by a descriptive Catalogue. The Slaves
are guarantied in title only."
Who and what was this "Hill" — dead or alive — that
Human beings — skilled Mechanics — belonged to him? By
what right, beyond that rewarded with the gallows in civilized
communities, did he own them, and by what right were they
conveyed to Executors ?
" For Sale. — Twelve Slaves, Men, "Women, and Children ; a small
Schooner, a Ferry -Boat ; some Cows, Calves, Heifers, Bulls, Sheep, and
four Philadelphia Hogs ; a lot of Purniture ; the contents of a Grocery
Store, consisting of Hardware, Crockery- Ware, Groceries, Dry-Goods,
a Boar-Pig," &c. [New Orleans Bee.]
A correspondent, writing from New Orleans, on the ] 8th
of January last, says : " I have just returned from a Slave
Auction, the most hideous exhibition of human depravity on
earth. I as little dreamed, two hours ago, of attending a
4 Nigger Auction,' as I did of taking a trip to the Cannibal
Islands, or to the Kingdom of Siam. Let me tell you how it
came about : I was sauntering along St. Louis street, when I
observed a gang of Slaves, composed of Men, Women, and
Children, marching, under the escort of a mean-looking Irish-
man, toward the St. Louis Hotel. A moment afterward, I
observed another gang going in the same direction, and soon
after a third. I had the curiosity to follow them, and as I en-
tered the rotunda of the Hotel, observed, I should presume,
no less than two hundred and fifty Slaves ranged in front of
the different Auctioneers' stands. ' Operations' had not yet
commenced. ' Fresh lots of Niggers' were constantly coming
in, and the various ' dealers' were making examinations of the
different 'articles' on exhibition. The immense Rotunda —
an elegant and fashionable affair — was thronged with specu-
lators, buyers, dealers, and lookers-on. Some were smoking
their Havanas — some were taking their toddies — some were
chattering on politics, the money-market, and the weather.
182 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
The laugh — the smile — the cordial greeting of friends — the
courteous Auctioneers — the elegant hall — the flash of fashion,
and the atmosphere of gentility pervading the gay throng —
how unlike the horrors of my gloomy imaginings. Yet, what
amazing callousness !
" The clock struck 12 ! A change came over the spirit of
the scene. The batons of the Auctioneers, brought down
against the solid marble, acted with the potency of magic upon
the babbling throng. Four Auctioneers, in several sections of
the Rotunda, hammered away with frightful gesticulation at
four several parcels of Human ' chattels.' The four ' gentle-
men Auctioneers' shouting at the top of their voices, as if each
made a point of striving to drown the voices of the others. But
the ' gentleman' on my right seemed to carry off the honors,
both as respected strength of lungs and rapidity of utterance.
I wish you were standing near me, for I can give you but a
very indifferent Daguerreotype of the efforts of this popular
orator. Having ordered a Woman, with a sad, sickly coun-
tenance, to the stand, he informed the spectators that ' this
Girl' (she was not under forty) ' is always pretending to be
sick,' and did ' not, therefore, warrant her.' He sold her, how-
ever, for $645, and the next instant her place was supplied by
a fine-looking, bright-eyed, young mulatto Woman, with an
Infant, perfectly white, in her arms. He informed his patrons
that ' this Girl is named Ann, aged twenty-two, and free from
the diseases and vices designated by law,' and proceeded after
the following fashion :
" ' Gentlemen, look at this Girl ! Good nurse and seamstress. Do I
hear $1 ,000 1 — $1,100 — Si ,200 — $1 ,250 — $1,275 — $1,300 — $1,325
— $1,350, and going at $1,350 — going — going, gone to Cash for
$1,350/
" The next victim, a Plantation-hand, named Onesimus, was
bought by a man who gave his name as Nehemiah Adams, at
which everybody laughed, and some strange allusions were
HOUSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 183
made to the condition of the Churches in Boston, calling the Roll
at Bunker Hill, &c. For a few moments the Sale nagged, and
many stood on tip-toe to get a look at the last Buyer, whom they
supposed to be the veritable Author of the ' South- Side View.'
The next chattel, a girl about eighteen years of age, was sold
to John H. Hopkins, for $1,776. The crowd again stared,
and those near the purchaser eyed him from head to foot;
some asking him questions about the state of the Markets in
Vermont, &c. Our eloquent friend having disposed of his
entire 'stock,' proceeded with hardly a moment's interruption,
to sell a ' lot of real estate.' The three other 'gentlemen
Auctioneers' were driving on an equally nourishing, though
not quite so rapid a trade. One of them — a very handsome
young-looking man — was devoting himself exclusively to the
sale of young mulatto Women. On the block, at the time I
approached his stand, was one of the most beautiful young
Women I ever saw. She was aged about sixteen years, was
dressed in a cheap striped woollen gown, and bare-headed. I
could not discover a single trace of the African about her
features. She was much whiter than the average of white
New England women ; her form was graceful in the extreme,
and she carried a pair of eyes that pierced one through and
through. Unlike many of her fellow-captives, she seemed
fully sensible of her degraded position, and shrank with true
maiden timidity from the stare of the hard-featured throng
about her. She was struck off for $1,725, to one of the most
lecherous-looking old brutes I ever set eyes on.
" ■ Oh, how my very heart fills with sadness and grief,
As I think of that poor girl's fate ! —
Not a friend to protect or shield her from crime,
Nor lift from her spirit the weight.
" ' That vile Slavery's curse must evermove bind
On all who are held in its thrall :
184 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
Poor delicate, sensitive, heart-bowed quadroon,
You must bear the rudeness of all.
" ' You stand on that block to be sold for a sum
That to you is nothing at all ;
The one who bids highest will claim as his own
Your body, your spirit, your all.
" ' How sad and how hopeless your young life must be !
How hard to endure its rough blast !
Oh, may you but hear of the Saviour's kind power,
And on Jesus your sorrows all cast/
" But I was destined a moment after to witness a far-sadder*
more heart-rending scene. A noble-looking mulatto Woman
was sitting upon a bench holding in her arms two little Chil-
dren — one an Infant, and the other a beautiful bright-eyed
little Boy of some seven or eight years. Her face wore a
troubled and frightened look, as if she was conscious that some
great evil was about to befall her. "When her turn to be sold
came, she ascended the platform, the Babe in her arms, and
the little Boy clinging to her skirts. The Auctioneer offered to
"sell the lot together," but no bids having been made, the
Mother and the Children were put up separately, and sold to
separate parties — the Mother going to Texas and the Children
to Georgia. The final separation of the Mother and her
children took place a few minutes afterward. I shall never
forget the horror and agony of that parting. The poor frantic
Mother implored ' Massa' to ' buy the children too' (and I will
do him the justice to say that he was much moved by her
appeals), and when she found that her efforts were in vain,
she burst forth into the most frantic wails that ever despair
gave utterance to. At last Mother and Children were forcibly
separated and hurried off, to see each other no more.
" I asked a noble-looking Man, nearly white, who was on
the point of being sold, if he had a family. ' Yes, massa,' he
said, ' a Wife and three Children, two Boys and a Girl. One
HORSES, AND OTHER CATTLE. 185
of my Boys was sold on Thursday last, to a Dealer from
Mississippi; the other to a man from Georgia; and my poor
Daughter, over there' (pointing to a beautiful Girl, of fifteen
or sixteen years of age) ' has just been purchased by that big
red-headed Irishman, and my Wife is now on her way to
Kansas.' The allusion to his family seemed too much for
him, for his frame quivered, and the tears began to flow.
" The Hotel, above and around this mart for the sale of
Human flesh was filled with ' wealth and beauty,' and the
music of piano and guitar were blending with the ' still sweeter
music of glad voices.' Above the hoarser din of the mart
below, was heard the loud laugh and ' heartful glee' of many
of the Slaveholding nobility of the Sunny South. Gay
equipages were drawing up before the stately pile and ' fair
women and brave men' were proudly disappearing through its
portak to swell the throng. Within the ' sumptuous halls' —
amid that gay and gleeful throng — amid the 'flash of beauty,
fashion, and wealth,' where so many splendors were gathered
— who would dream that, under the same broad dome, and in
the effulgence of the same ; golden sun-light' — crime, sin, and
despair, were holding high revel? Who would dream that
the former drew their sustenance from the latter ?"
The New Orleans Delta, of the 24th of February last, has
among the cold facts and speculations of its " Money-article,"
the following statement : —
"Within the last six weeks, upward of $1,000,000 in value of Men,
Women, and Children, have been thrown upon the Market, and the
means to pay for them have been extracted from the floating capital of
the place. This amount, in the various ramifications through which it
has gone, has liquidated a much larger amount of indebtedness, but as
it has merely wiped out an amount which was unnatural and redundant,
the benefit is rather of the negative sort, in preventing embarrassment,
than of the kind which positively aids, by going into new channels and
fertilizing new fields."
186 AUCTION SALES OF SLAVES,
There is something worthy the arch-fiend himself in this
mode of speaking of liquidating " indebtedness" to the amount
of a million of dollars. Whoever heard of a Slaveholder
" fertilizing" the soil ? Slavery disgraces labor by making the
laborer a brute — a "chattel," while it makes the Slaveholder
the immediate rival of the free laborer in all the markets of
the world. Kence Tiberius Gracchus, one of the greatest of
Roman citizens, early saw that in a State where Slaveholders
at the same time monopolized -and disgraced labor, there would
necessarily be a vast demoralized population, who would
demand support of the State, and be ready for the service of
the demagogue, who is always the tyrant. Gracchus was
killed, but the issue proved the prophet. The canker which
Rome cherished in her bosom ate out her heart, and the
Empire whose splendor flashed over the whole world, fell like
a blighted tree. Not until Slavery had barbarized the great
mass of " the People" did Rome fall.
Slavery annihilates the conditions of human progress. Its
necessary result is the destruction of humanity ; and this not
only directly upon the Slave, but indirectly by its effect upon
the " Master." In the one it destroys the self-respect which
is the basis of manhood, and is thus a capital crime against
humanity. In the other it fosters pride, indolence, luxury,
and licentiousness, which equally imbrute the human being.
Therefore in Slave States there is no literature, no art, no
progressive civilization. Manners are fantastic and fierce ;
brute force supplants moral principle ; freedom of speech is
suppressed because the natural speech of man condemns Sla-
very ; a sensitive vanity is called " honor," and cowardly
swagger, " chivalry ;" real respect for Woman is destroyed
by universal licentiousness ; lazy indifference is called " gal-
lantry," and an impudent familiarity, " cordiality."
PART THIRD
SLAVE LITE ON THE PLANTATION.
CHAPTER I.
"Avarice alone can drive, as it does, this infernal traffic, and the
wretched victims of it, like so many post-horses whipped to death in a
mail-coach. Ambition has its cover-sluts in the pride, pomp, and cir-
cumstance of 'glorious war;' but where are the trophies of avarice, the
hand-cuff, the manacle, the blood-stained cowhide ?" Randolph.
It used to be thought that Christianity was the religion of
brotherly love, which had virtually annulled distinctions of
race among men, by the revelation of their common father-
hood in God ; but the Slaveholders, and their allies, insist that
this is a lamentable mistake. Christianity, according to them,
means the right of one man to appropriate the faculties and
labors of another, the right to reduce him to the level of the
brute — to deny him education and the means of spiritual
growth — to control his most sacred domestic relations, and to
buy and sell and scourge him, under no other restraint than
simple self-interest. In excuse of this robbery, it has been
pretended by the Slaveholders, and their abettors, that though
indeed these children of the " cursed seed of Ham" are torn by
fraud and violence from their homes, yet, " they thereby be-
come the happier, and their condition the more eligible."
They assure us that the Slaves are " well fed," " well clothed/''
and as " happy as kings." In fact, " perfectly contented !" Of
I
188 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
course they are contented ! do not the " misguided runaways"
sing, nightly, to admiring audiences, " Oh, carry me home to
Tennessee !"
Do they not clamor to be taken home to the arms of the
loving " patriarchs'' whom, in a moment of hasty ill-judg-
ment, they have forsaken ? Do they not mourn over their in-
gratitude in running away from " cottage, food, and raiment" ?
In Baltimore, Maryland, a Slave was killed a short time
since by his " Master," and " without any adequate provoca-
tion," as was proven. The deceased was esteemed by all who
knew him as an honest, industrious, and inoffensive man. This
man's " wife," on hearing of the death of her " husband,"
jumped out of the window of the place in which her beastly
" owner" had confined her, and immediately took the nearest
route to throw herself into the river. She was rescued, but
begged the bystanders to let her drown herself, saying: "J
would sooner be dead, than go back again to be beaten, and
otherwise abused, as I have been."
A friend, writing from Baltimore, states that the Slave of a
Farmer in Jefferson County, having been jumped upon and
stamped by his " Master," with spurs on so as to cruelly lacerate
his face as well as his body, was found, next morning, in an
adjacent pond, having tied a stone to his own neck and plung-
ed in, under feelings of desperation, caused by the fiendish
treatment of his " owner."
At a fire which recently took place in the Eastern section
of the City, the firemen found a beautiful girl tied in the gar-
ret of a house, and bearing the marks of improper chastisement.
She stated that she had been kept in that condition for nearly
four weeks, and with scarcely a sufficiency of food to sustain
life. As soon as she was loosed from her prison-house, she
escaped and sought refuge in the house of an acquaintance in
the Western part of the City. There was another woman, of
a darker complexion — found in the same house, who had re-
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 189
ceived the most barbarous treatment at the hands of the same
parties. Her back, face, and limbs, were most horribly muti-
lated, while there was a severe contusion on her head, and it
was thought that the skull was fractured. This poor girl was
sent to the Infirmary, where her wounds could receive proper
treatment.
A male Slave, belonging to a " lady" residing in Baltimore,
and moving in the "first circles,'' died in the winter of 1855,
at the Hospital in that City. He was her Coachman. Dur-
ing the severest weather he used to be kept sitting on the car-
riage-box, opposite to the lady's window, half clad, and, as was
well known to be the case with this woman's Slaves, half
starved. In this condition the man suffered, and eventually
froze. The poor fellow becoming thus disabled and wholly
unfit for service, a physician was sent for, who, after examin-
ing him, declared that he was frost-bitten from head to foot
and could not live. He was sent to the Infirmary, where both
his feet were amputated, and he shortly afterward died. A
few years previous this same man's "wife," who also belonged
to his Mistress, was so badly treated that she ran away and
prevailed upon old Slater, the Slave-dealer, to buy her out of
her Mistress' clutches. He did so ; and she was ever after
prohibited all intercourse with her " husband," who was kept
from his "wife" to be treated in the manner we have described.
This woman, on hearing that her " husband" was at the Infir-
mary, went to inquire after him. She was informed that he
was dead, whereupon she fell on the floor in a fit and died.
Another female Slave, belonging to this woman, also ran
away. Her son, a young man, was sent in pursuit of the fu-
gitive. She was found at Cockeysville, 18 miles from Balti-
more. He seized her, tied her to his buggy, and in that way
drove her into the City at a rapid rate, with the woman run-
ning by the side of the vehicle. It was stated by some whc
witnessed the scene that it was hard to tell which was whipped
190 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
most on the road, the horse or the Woman. Another female
Slave belonging to the same fiend-woman fell from the third
storj' of her Mistress' house, while engaged in washing the
windows, and was taken up a cripple for life. It turned out
that her Mistress, by way of punishment, had deprived her of
sleep by compelling her to pass the night standing by her side,
and that thus she fell asleep, which circumstance caused the fall.
" In Virginia," says the Hon. Alexander Smythe, "the Slaves
are ill-fed. They are doomed to scarcity and hunger. They
get only two meals a day; breakfast from 10 to 11 o'clock,
A.M., and supper from 7 to 9 or 10 at night, as the season
and crops may be." Another Virginian, Mr. William Left-
witch,- says : " The Slaves generally take their meals without
knife, dish, or spoon. They have neither beds nor bedsteads."
The Hon. T. T. Bouldin, of Virginia, in a Speech in Con-
gress, said he knew " that many Slaves had died from expo-
sure to the weather ;" and added, " The Slaves are clad in a
flimsy fabric, which will turn neither wind nor weather."
The Rev. C. S. Renshaw, speaking of the shocking condition
of the Slaves in Virginia, says : " I have seen Men and Wo-
men at work in the fields, more than half naked." In the
South generally Men' and Women have scarce clothes enough
to hide their nakedness, and the boys and girls, eight and ten
years of age, are often entirely naked among their Master's
non-colored children."
In the " Will" of John Randolph, distinguished as a " kind
Master," we find the following clause : " To my old and faith-
ful Servants Essex and his wife Hetty, I give and bequeath a
'pair of strong shoes, a suit of clothes, and a blanket each, to be
paid them annually ; also a hat annually to JEssex" No socks,
stockings, bonnets, cloaks, handkerchiefs, or towels — no change
either of outside or inner garments. And a solemn " Last
Will and Testament" was deemed necessary to secure to them
even the articles specified !
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 191
" Slavery," we are told, " is remarkably mild in Virginia ;"
but the following specimens explain what is meant by the
phrase : On the 1st day of September, 1849, Simeon Souther,
a Slaveholder of Virginia, tied his Slave Sam to a tree, and
then whipped him with switches, and afterward with a cow-
hide ; and, when fatigued with the labor of whipping, he called
upon another Slave to cob Sam with a paddle.* He also
called upon Sam's " wife" to cob him. And, after cobbing
and whipping, he applied fire to ****** an( j. other parts,
of his person. He then caused him to be washed down with
warm water, in which pods of red pepper had been steeped.
After this tying, whipping, cobbing, burning, and washing, he
kicked, stamped upon, and otherwise tortured, his wretched
victim, until he died.f
On the 18th of July, 1854, a Slave, a young Man in the
prime of life, was stripped, tied, strung up, and whipped in the
most shocking manner, by an Overseer, in the neighborhood
of Richmond. He was whipped for a very trifling offence.
When so exhausted that he fainted, he was washed with brine ;
then whipped again. This was repeated several times. He
was tied up early in the morning, and was released about one
o'clock, and sent out to work. He fainted in the field. A
shower came up, and he contrived to get into the barn, where
he died. While the Overseer was beating him, he begged
him to shoot him ; while he could speak, he kept moaning,
" Oh, pray, Massa ! Oh, my Saviour ! Oh, pray, Massa !
Oh, my Saviour ! Oh, pray, Massa !" The murderer moved
about as if he had done nothing uncommon.
" Some people" have thought, and still think, that Legree
* The " paddle" is a thin shingle-like piece of wood, in which many
holes are bored ; when a blow is struck, these holes, from the rush and
partial exhaustion of air in them, act like diminutive cups.
t " Souther vs. The Commonwealth," Grattan's Reports, vol. vii., p,
€73, 1851.
192 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
was too great a fiend to be natural. We, however, sometimes
see a symptom of his un-Christian spirit even among " gentle-
men moving in the highest ranks of society." For instance, a
"free Negro," named . Fleming, had a dispute with a Mr. and
Mrs. Poe about a small sum of money due him, and becoming
excited, told his debtors what he thought of them. They had
him arrested, and the Mayor directed that he should have
" thirty-nine stripes, well laid on," on that day, and " thirty-
nine more" the next, and then ordered his commitment " for
twelve months in default of $500 security to keep the peace
and be of good behavior," &c. The Richmond Republican,
in its Report of the case, said : — -
"Our only regret is, that the Mayor did not assess the punishment at
three hundred lashes, well laid on with a hot iron-rod, to be repeated
twice a week for twelve months. Such an impudent Nigger should no
more be permitted to go at large than a mad dog."
On examining the Police reports of a single number of this
"highly respectable journal," we find that "Jordan Goode,
Slave of Haxall and Brother, was caged on Sunday night for
not having his pass endorsed. The Mayor let him off, but for
the next offence, won't he catch it ?" — " Isaac Allen, a gentle-
man of color, Slave to Goode & Allen, received a part of his
holiday suit yesterday, by order of the Mayor, for failing to
have his Pass endorsed, and running from the watchman." —
" Felix Harwood, Slave to George Turner, was caught by the
watch when stealing a stick of firewood, on Sunday night last,
and was caged. The Court ordered him a warm jacket, that
his system might be heated,by additional dressing. A striped
jacket must have felt fine yesterday, as cold as the wind
blowed." — "Joe Shieaway says he is a free Nigger,' but as
he was without a register to prove it, and no one felt disposed
to take his word for it, the Mayor directed his delivery into
the kind keeping of the old Commodore." — "Thomas Jeffer-
son — what a big name for a Nigger! — was brought before
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 193
the Mayor yesterday, and ordered thirty-nine lashes for firing
pop-crackers in Carey street, on Saturday evening last. A
lady of color was caged and condemned by the Mayor to re-
ceive thirty-nine lashes for being found without papers, and
assaulting Elizabeth King, and endeavoring to make her
escape from the City, attired as a Man."
If the word diabolical does not apply to the malicious delight
in suffering and utter heartlessness of the foregoing, it should
be discharged from the dictionary as useless. Think of talk-
ing of a torture which savages would be ashamed to inflict, as
a " holiday suit," or a " warm jacket," and notice the offences
for which poor creatures were flogged !
The following facts, gleaned from the examination of John
Capheart, in One of the rescue trials, at Boston, Massachusetts,
throws some light upon this "deeply interesting subject": —
" Question. Mr. Capheart, is it a part of your duty, as a
Policeman, to take up colored persons who are out after hours
in the streets ?
"Answer. Yes, sir.
" Q. "What is done with them ?
"A. "We put them in the lock-up, and in the morning they
are brought into Court and ordered to be punished — those
that are to be punished.
" Q. "What punishment do they get ?
"•A. Not exceeding thirty-nine lashes.
" Q. "Who gives them these lashes ?
"A. Any of the Officers. I do, sometimes.
"Q. Are you paid extra for this? How much?
"A. Fifty cents a head. It used to be sixty-two cents.
Now, it is only fifty. Fifty cents for each one we arrest, and
fifty more for each one we flog.
" Q. Are these persons you flog Men and Boys only, or are
they "Women and Girls also ?
"A. Men, "Women, Boys, and Girls, just as it happens."
9
194 SLAVE LIFE ON TOE PLANTATION.
["Here the Government interfered, and tried to prevent any
furtner examination; and said, among other things, that he
" only performed his duty as Police-Officer under the Law."
After some discussion, Judge Curtis allowed it to proceed.]
" Q. Is your flogging confined to these cases ? Do you not
flog Slaves at the request of their Masters ?*
"A. Sometimes I do. Certainly, when I am called upon.
"Q. In these cases of private flogging, are the Negroes sent
to you ? Have you a place for flogging ?
U A. No ; I go round, as I am sent for.
" Q. Is this part of your duty as an Officer ?
"A. No, sir.
* Hence such advertisements as the following: —
"Committed to jail as a runaway, a negro woman named Martha,
17 or 18 years of age, has numerous scars of the whip on her back."
— Nashville Banner.
"Ten dollars reward for my woman Sally, very much scarred
about the neck and ears by whipping." — Mobile Com. Adv.
"Lodged in jail, a mulatto boy, having large marks of the whip
on his shoulders and other parts of his body." — Milledgeville Stand-
ard of the Union.
"Committed to jail, a mulatto fellow — his back shows lasting im-
pressions of the whip, and leaves no doubt of his being a slave." —
Fayetteville Observer.
"Was committed, a negro boy named Tom; is much marked with
the whip." — Charleston Courier.
"Ran away, a negro man named Johnson — he has a great many
marks of the whip on his back/' — Augusta Chronicle.
"Ran away, a mulatto boy named Quash; considerably marked
on the back and other places with the lash." — N. 0. Bulletin.
"One hundred dollars reward for my negro Glasgow, and Kate,
his wife. Glasgow is 24 years old — 'has marks of the whip on his
back. Kate is 26 — has a scar on her cheek, and several marks of
the whip." — Macon Messenger.
"Ran away, a negro fellow named Dick — has many scars on his
back from being whipped." — Vicksburg Sentinel.
"Brought to jail, a negro man named George — he has a great
many scars from the lash." — Milledgeville Journal.
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 195
" Q. In these cases of private flogging, do you inquire into
the circumstances to see what the fault has been, or if there is
any?
U A. That's none of my business. I do as I am bid. The
Master is responsible.
"Q. In these cases, too, I suppose you flog Women and
Girls, as well as Men ?
"A. Women and Men.
" Q. Mr. Capheart, how long have you been engaged in this
business ?
"A. Ever since 1836.
" Q. How many Negroes do you suppose you have flogged,
in all, Women and Children included ?
" A. (Looking calmly round the room.) I don't know how
many Niggers you have got here in Massachusetts, but I
should think I had flogged as many as you've got in the
State."
The same man testified that he was often employed to pur-
sue fugitive Slaves. His reply to the question was, " I never
refuse a good job in that line."
" Q. Don't they sometimes turn out bad jobs ?
" A. Never, if I can help it.
" Q. . Are they not sometimes discharged after you get
them ?
" A. Not often. I don't know that they ever are."
Hon. John P. Hale : " Why, gentlemen, he sells agony !
Torture is his stock-in-trade ! He is a walking scourge ? He
hawks, peddles, retails, groans and tears about the streets of
Norfolk !"
The obligations of Marriage can not be performed by a
Slave. The " husband" promises to protect his " wife" and
provide for her. The " wife" promises to be the help-mate of
her "husband." They mutually promise to live with and
cherish each other till parted by death. But what can such
196 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
promises by Slaves mean ? The legal relation of " Master"
and Slave renders them utterly void. It forbids the Slave-
" husband" to protect even himself. It clothes his " Master" with
authority to bid him inflict deadly blows on the Woman he has
sworn to protect. It prohibits his possession of any property
wherewith to sustain her. The labor of his hands it takes
from him. It bids the Woman to assist, not her " husband,"
but her " owner." Nay, it gives him unlimited control and full
possession of her person, and forbids her, on pain of death, to
resist him. The following is a case in point :
A Slaveholder, named Richard Dudley, having been " re-
fused" by a 3'oung Slave-" wife," and being urged thereto by
her Slave-" husband," ordered two stakes or posts to be driven
deep into the earth in his barn-yard. Two of the strongest
Slaves on the plantation were compelled to perform this task.
When the stakes were well driven, he commanded George
and Caroline, " man and wife," to be tied fast, one to each
stake. The stakes were about five feet apart and six feet
high. The victims had their hands tied together fast to the
top of the post, so that they stood on tip-toe, and their feet were
tied fast to the stake just above the ground. In this way their
bodies were exposed to the keen lash of the whipper, a poor
white vagabond, called Robinson. The barn-yard was filled
with sad and unwilling spectators of the infamous scene ; some
slowly sauntering about, others looking gloomily on, and others
still turning their faces away. While the preparations were
being made for the execution of the sentence, the Slaveholder
continued to curse and upbraid Caroline with her obstinacy
and disobedience in not acceding to his lustful desires. "I'll
put an end to your fun," said he ; "I '11 make it a dear job for
you both," he continued.
Meanwhile, poor Caroline was overcome with terror. Every
now and then her unhappy " husband" would address her, in
an undertone, in words of consolation and encouragement ; but
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 197
lie dared not so speak as to be heard by his " Master," else his
sympathy would but excite his rage still more. Caroline —
who was as white and good-looking as any "Woman in the
State — was strung up high against the post, with her back to
the whipper. Her chemise, a light cotton one, afforded no
protection to the heavy blows of the whip. " Begin now !"
shouted the Slaveholder, while he stood back some yards,
placing his arms akimbo, and leisurely taking a survey of the
scene. Robinson stepped up, took his stand at the requisite
distance from his victims, raised his whip, swung the long and
heavy lash scientifically around him several times, and brought
it down with such force upon the back of poor Caroline, that
it seemed to jar and shatter her whole frame. Instantly the
blow extorted from her a loud and long scream of agony, which
rent the air, and appalled every listener; and she writhed
in intense pain. But Robinson was well used to such things.
Her awful scream did not engross his attention for an instant,
and he returned to repeat the exploit upon the more vigorous
frame of his other victim. He cut and carved his broad back
and shoulders scientifically, and exerted his utmost strength to
make the blow tell upon him. George did not move. Yet he
could not but utter one deep groan of suffering, forced from
him by the pain which the blow inflicted. Next came Caro-
line's turn. The same blow, and the same scream, so heart-
rending and affecting, were repeated. But Robinson paused
not in his work. He had no time to lose. It would be night
before his task was ended, and he had to hurry himself. Fast
and thick the blows fell upon the two young Slaves. George
gave but little proof of his sufferings. Caroline, long before
a hundred blows had been dealt her, had ceased to scream, or
to wail ; but hung insensible by her hands to the post which
sustained her lacerated body. And long before her " two hun-
dred and fifty lashes" had been given, not only her chemise
had been cut to pieces by the thong of Robinson's whip, but
198 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
her whole back was cut into deep gashes ; blood flowed plenti-
fully down her person, and every time the lash touched her
body it sank deeply into the soft, mashed, and lacerated flesh.
Caroline had already ceased to feel. She was for a few
moments beyond the power of her " Master's" rage. She had
fainted. By the Slaveholder's orders she was untied from the
stake, and several of the elder Slaves carried her insensible
body back to the hut, where they left her to recover as best
she might, as they were afraid to offer her any assistance, lest
they themselves might excite the wrath of their "Master."
George still remained tied to the stake. He had yet one hun-
dred and fifty blows to endure. As Robinson resumed his
bloody task, the poor wretch could endure it no longer, and
broke out into earnest supplication, " Oh, Master Richard,
don't, don't whip me any more. I 'm most gone !" said he,
frantically. " Lay it on the scoundrel, lay it on," Richard
peremptorily commanded Robinson, who obeyed him with
alacrity. The body of George was by this time covered with
scars, and cuts, and welts. The blood flowed freely. His
sobs and groans alternated with the heavy blows of Robinson's
whip. By the time his allotted four hundred lashes had been
inflicted, the flesh hung in stripes from his bones. George,
too, had fainted. His nature, strong and vigorous as it was,
had sunk beneath the agony of that fierce struggle between
fiendish wrath on the one hand, and enduring constancy on
the other.
The four hundred lashes had been told, and Robinson's
execrable work was done. George's body was covered with
blood. The Slaveholder approached him and examined his
wounds, while Robinson stepped back to sit down upon a log
and rest himself. The Slaveholder seeing the loose flesh hang-
ing in stripes from George's lacerated back, took his jack-knife
from Ms pocket, and amid the screams of his victim, just re-
turning again to consciousness, cut off the stripes of flesh, and
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 199
threw the pieces to the hogs in the barn-yard, which ate them
with avidity. He then commanded George to be untied.
The poor wretch fell immediately to the earth. He could not
stand, and moaning in his great agony, he, too^ was cariied to
his quarters among the Slave-huts.
Mr. George A. Avery, of Rochester, N. Y., says : " I know
a local Methodist minister in Virginia, a man of talents, and
popular as a preacher, who took one of his party-colored Girls
into the barn to whip her, and she was brought out a corpse."
Mr. Avery states further, that the friends of this " minister"
seemed to think it of no importance to his ministerial stand-
ing. He was not indicted. Mr. Avery also says, that he
knew a young Man in Virginia who had been out hunting, and
returning with some of his friends, seeing a Slave in the road,
at a little distance, deliberately drew up his rifle and shot him
dead. This was done without the slightest provocation, or a
word passing. Another wretch killed a Woman with an axe-
helve, for stealing a little salt. No notice was taken of the
affair.
Lillburn Lewis (nephew of Thomas Jefferson, the penman
of the Declaration of Independence), of Livingston county,
Kentucky, was the owner of " about" fifty Slaves, whom he
drove constantly, fed sparingly, and lashed severely. The
consequence was, that some of them were in the habit of run-
ning away. This gave Lewis great anxieties until he found
them, or until they had starved out and returned. Among
the rest was a boy named George, about seventeen years of
age, who, having just returned, was sent to a spring for water,
and let fall a pitcher breaking it. This was the occasion.
It was night. Lewis then collected all the Slaves into an out-
house, and ordered a rousing fire to be made. When the
door was secured, that none might escape, either through fear
or sympathy, Lewis opened the design of the meeting, namely,
that they might be effectually taught to stay at home and obey
200 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
his orders. All things being now in train, lie called up George,
who approached his " Master" with the most unreserved sub-
mission. He hound him with cords, and laid him on a meat-
block, and seizing a broad axe, proceeded to chop him into
pieces, commencing at the ankles.
In vain did the unhappy victim call upon his " Master" to
forgive him. In vain did he scream. Not a Slave durst
interfere. Casting the feet into the fire, he lectured the Slaves
at some length. He then chopped off below the knees, and
admonished them again, throwing the legs into the fire. He
then chopped off above the knees, tossing the joints into the
fire, lecturing as he proceeded. The next two or three strdkes
severed the thighs from the body. These were also committed
to the flames. And so were the arms, head and trunk, until
all was in the fire. Still protracting the intervals with lec-
tures, and threatening^ of like punishment, in case of dis-
obedience and running away. The Slaves were then per-
mitted to disperse.
When the monster returned to his house, Mrs. Lewis ex-,
claimed, " Oh! Mr. Lewis where have you been, and what
have you done /" She had heard a strange pounding, and
dreadful screams, and had smelled something like fresh meat
burning ! He replied that he had never enjoyed himself at a
ball so well as he had enjoyed himself that evening.
John Randolph, speaking of the wretched condition of the
Slaves, said : " When the measure of their tears is full, when
their groans have involved heaven itself in darkness, doubtless
a God of justice will listen to their distress." And when that
day of retribution comes it will be the lore terrible from this
long delay, and the attempts to deceive the people and defraud
them of their rights. On another occasion, in a Speech in
Congress, he said : " What man is worse received in society
for being a hard master ? Who denies the hand of a sister
or a daughter to such a monster ?"
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 201
Had Mr. Randolph lived in these times, and put forth such
sentiments, he would have been denounced by the whole pack
of Administration followers, who train under the desecrated
name of Democracy, as an " abolition fanatic," an " enemy to
the Constitution," and a " treasonable sectionalism"
The Rev. James A. Thome, a native of Kentucky, and the
son of a Slaveholder, says : " Slavery in the American Repub-
lic is the parent of more suffering than has flowed from all
other sources since the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Such
sufferings too ! Sufferings inconceivable and innumerable ;
unmingled wretchedness from the ties of nature rudely broken
and destroyed ; the acutest bodily tortures, groans, tears, and
blood ; lying for ever in weariness and painfulness, in watch-
ings, in hunger and in thirst, in cold and in nakedness."
" The poor Slave," says the Hon. C. M. Clay, of Kentucky,
" rolls himself in his blanket about midnight, and is called up
between three and four o'clock to commence another day's
work."
Those who know anything about Slavery in the Southern
States, agree that whipping Men and Women to death does
frequently occur, but all will not believe that any one for con-
science's sake, has died by the lash in '•'-free America," but
this is a mistake. One afternoon, while passing a Church in
Walnut street, in Louisville, we heard the voices of the con-
gregation singing. A clergyman who was with us, said it was
a congregation of Methodists, and assured us that he had
once dropped in and 'heard a sermon he liked. We went in
and took a seat. A plain-looking elderly man preached in
the style usual for Methodist preachers in country places —
all about religion — its comforts in life and triumphs in death.
Like Uncle Tom, he insisted, with great earnestness, that it
was a great thing to be a Christian. Religion — it made the
weak strong, and the meanest most honorable. To illustrate
this grand truth, he told an anecdote as something coming
9*
202 SLAVE LTFE ON THE PLANTATION.
within the range of his own knowledge, of an old Slave who
had " got religion." His " Master" was kind, but irreligious
and reckless, and was, withal, much impressed by the earnest-
ness of his Slaves' prayers and exhortations. But one day, one
evil day, on the Sabbath, too, this same " kind Master" was
drinking and playing cards with a visiter, when the conversa-
tion turned upon the " religion of Slaves." The visiter boasted
that he could " whip the religion out of any Nigger in the State
in half an hour." The " Mastery proud of possessing a rare
specimen, boasted that he had one out of whom the religion
could not be whipped. A bet was laid, and the martyr sum-
moned. A fearful oath of recantation, and blasphemous
denial of his Saviour, was required of the poor Slave, upon
pain of being whipped to death. The answer was — " Bress
de Lord, Massa, I can't."
Threats, oaths, and entreaties, were tried, but he fell on his
knees, and holding up his hands, pleaded, " Bress de Lord,
Massa, I can't! Jesus, he die for poor Nigger! Massa,
please, Massa, I can't." The executioner summoned his aids,
the old man was tied up, and the whipping commenced ; but
the shrieks for mercy were all intermingled with prayer and
praises — prayers for his own soul and those of his murderers.
When fainting and revived, the terms of future freedom from
punishment were offered again, and again he put them away
with the continued exclamation, " Jesus, he die for me ! Bress
de Lord, Massa, I can't."
The bet was to the full value of the " property" endangered.
The men were flushed with wine, and the experimenter on
"Nigger religion" insisted on "trying it out." Honor de-
manded he should have a fair chance to w T in his bet, and the
wretched victim died under the lash, blessing the Lord, that
Jesus had died for him. The preacher gave his recital with
many tears, and before he was done, we do not think there
was a dry eye, except our own, in the house. Our pulses all
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 203
stood still with horror, but the speaker did not appear to dream
that his story had any bearing against the " Institution" with
which he was surrounded. He gave us this story of " suffer-
ing for conscience's sake" of a member of his own Church, to
show what a good thing religion was. Of those who heard it,
and the many persons there to whom we related it, we found
not one who appeared to doubt it. Any indignation felt and
expressed was against the individual actors in the tragedy.
On Saturday, July 8, 1854, the Rev. Joel Lambert, of
Hendersonville, was seen to knock down one of his " colored"
Boys several times with a loaded whip, and give him more
than one hundred lashes. The wretched creature died in a
few hours. The Coroner, Mr. James Rouse, held an inquest
over the body, and the verdict was, that the Slave came to his
death by " overheating and imprudent whipping."
Mrs. Nancy Lowry, a native of Kentucky, gives us an ac-
count of the deaths of three Slaves, named John, Ned, and
James, " caused by severe whipping." Mr. Long, the inflict-
or and " owner," was " a strict professor of the Christian re-
ligion."
The Rev. Francis Hawley, of Kentucky, states that a son
of a Slaveholder " took the wife of one of the Slaves. The
poor husband felt himself greatly injured, and expostulated
with him. The wretch drew a pistol and deliberately shot
him dead."
The "owner" of a girl (said to be his own daughter), a
Methodist Class-Leader, proposed criminal intercourse with
her ; she refused. He sent her to the Overseer of his planta-
tion to be flogged. Again he made advances — again she re-
fused, and again she was flogged. Afterward she was com-
pelled to yield.
The Cincinnati (Ohio) Commercial, of the 28th December,
1855, says that two Slaveholders (Dobyns and Bacon), of
Maysville, Kentucky, had, the day before, murdered one of
204 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
the waiters at the Parker House, in that place. The poor
fellow, having been kept up until a very late hour, was so
overcome with fatigue that he fell into a " deep sleep." The
Slave-breeders concluded they would set fire to him, to awaken
him. With, this view they took a Camphene lamp and poured
the fluid over his face, neck, and chest, which became instantly
wrapped in an intense blaze. The sufferings of the victim
were dreadful in the extreme. No refinement of torture could
have produced more excruciating misery. But strange to say,
death did not release him from torment till after the lapse of
two weeks. The poor creature was the Slave of Mr. Ball,
proprietor of the Parker House, who says that "no human
suffering could exceed that of the Boy" (said to be his own
son) " during the fortnight that he lived after the burning."
The Slave-breeders are young men and wealthy. They com-
promised the matter "by paying to Mr. Ball $1,200 for the
loss of his Boy." No movement has been made toward a legal
investigation of the matter.
The Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky, speaking of the hor-
rible condition of the Sons and Daughters of the " cursed seed
of Ham" in that State, say : " The poor creatures suffer all
that can be inflicted by wanton caprice, by grasping avarice,
by brutal lust, by malignant spite, and by insane anger. Their
happiness is the sport of every whim, the prey of every pas-
sion that may occasionally infest the Master's bosom."
The New York Tribune, of May 9, 1857, contains the fol-
lowing paragraph, copied from The Cincinnati (Ohio) Gazette :
" A man in Pulaski County, a few days since, whipped one of
his Slaves to such an extent that he died. He punished him
six mornings in succession, and on the seventh day the Slave
died. The poor fellow desired to see his i wife,' who was
owned by and lived with another party. The 'Master' re
fused permission ; the Slave disobeyed, and visited Ms ' wife'
in the evening, returning early next morning. For this the
unfortunate man was whipped to death."
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 205
The Missouri Express has an account of the death of a
Slave, in June, 1855, at the hands of his "Master," Josephus
Hicklin, from which we make the following extract : —
" The only fault alleged against the Negro was that he was dissatisfied
with his Master, and wanted to be sold. For this alleged offence he
was put to the torture. It would he difficult to find any case that, in
point of cruelty, affords a parallel to this. The gag, the lash, fire,
gouging out of eyes, beating over the head, and rubbing of cayenne pep-
per and tobacco-juice into his eyes, wounds, &c, were some of the appli-
ances used, not for a single hour, a single day, or a single week, but
every day for more than three weeks, until he died."
A German family emigrated to the United States, in May,
1853, and on the passage out the Father died. Subsequently,
and after arriving in St. Louis, Missouri, the Mother died,
leaving a small Boy, who, being entirely destitute, was picked
up by a man named Christopher Herbert, then living in St.
Louis. Herbert moved to a farm in Jefferson County, taking
the boy with him and treating him with severity. Occasion-
ally the boy would be sent into the woods to search for the
cattle, and if he either got lost himself or failed to find them,
was invariably beaten inhumanly. At length, the treatment
became so harsh that the boy could no longer stand it, but
would often pass night after night in the woods ; but upon
returning for something to eat would only receive severer
punishment. It seems that the lad, thus intimidated, remained
out several nights, and was seeking some food in the evening
late, when he was caught by Herbert, tied with a rope, the
flesh stripped almost from his body with a Slaveholder's cow-
hide, and then tied and thrown into an outhouse, where he re-
mained twenty-four hours. When released he again escaped,
and endeavored to sustain life by going into the orchard at
night and plucking fruit ; but Herbert, it seems, suspecting
this also, lay in wait for him, and again caught him. The
punishment then inflicted is too inhuman for repetition. It is
sufficient to add that the next morning the boy endeavored to
206 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
crawl to a neighbor's house, but failed to do so, and lay ex-
hausted in an adjoining field for two days before he was found.
When discovered, his back was a mass of putrid flesh ; he was
fly-blown and covered with vermin, and evidently beyond the
hope of recovery. The person who discovered him carried
him in his arms to Herbert, the nearest place, and it is said
that the moment Herbert saw his victim it was with difficulty
he was prevented from again punishing his " runaway Slave,"
as he called him. Death, however, soon put an end to his
miseries. The body was then thrust into an old boot-box,
without clothing, and unceremoniously buried in a " mud-hole,"
dug by Herbert.
A correspondent of the New York Tribune, writing from
Lexington, Missouri, under date August 11, 1856, says: "On
Friday" (February 8, 1856), " a scene was presented in the
Court-House of this place which almost beggars description.
Sheriff Withers, having a ' Nigger Woman,' who, on the pre-
vious day, had been neglectful of her task-work, sent for a
blacksmith to come and chastise her. He came, bolted the
door, tied the woman's hands together, and lashed them over
her head to the ceiling, and commenced whipping. The
screams of the woman brought her ' husband' to the rescue.
He broke open' the door, and with a butcher's knife in his
hand rushed forward to cut his ' wife' loose. The Slave and
blacksmith encountered each other, and in the affray the latter
got his arm cut. The Slave finally surrendered, and was led
away to Jail, while the woman received a double whipping.
News of this ' horrible outrage' was soon circulated, and the
excitement became intense. One leading man was heard to
say, ' I '11 be hanged if I do n't put a stop to this Slave rebel-
lion, if I can only get three men to join with me.' When
asked how he would do it, he said, ' I will take this Slave and
that other one in Jail, and hang them both upon the same tree,
and let them hang there a month !' Three men came forward
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 207
to assist him, and the hour of four o'clock that afternoon was
agreed upon for the execution. The excitement grew, wax-
ing wilder and fiercer every hour, until such a storm of pas-
sion raged as was fearful to behold.
" At four o'clock, the mob, numbering about three hundred,
moved toward the Court-House. The * boy,' a quadroon, of
about 40 years of age, was brought into the building and placed
within the bar. Col. Reed was called upon to preside, and Col.
Walton explained the object of the meeting. He said : 'A
great crime has been committed — an outrage upon one of our
citizens by a Nigger. We have come together not to imbrue
our hands in the^blood of innocence, but rebellion of Slaves is
becoming common. Something must be done to put a stop to
it, to protect our Wives, our Children, and our Sacred homes.'
A member of the Legislature earnestly remonstrated against
mob law, and recommended that a day be appointed to whip
the Slave, and have all the Slaves in the County present. He
was not heard through, for the speech did not suit the mob.
A Committee of twelve was appointed to decide immediately
what punishment the Slave should receive. That Committee
retired, but soon returned, with Col. Reed at their head, who
read the following announcement :
" ' Your Committee have decided that the Slave shall receive one thou-
sand lashes on his bare back, two hundred to be administered this eve-
ning, and the remaining eight hundred from time to time, as in the judg-
ment of the Committee his physical nature can bear under it. Also, we
advise that a Committee of three Citizens be chosen to whip him. Also,
that the person whose arm was cut by the Slave have the privilege of
giving him the last two hundred lashes/
" The whipping commenced. More than a hundred heads
were peering in to get a sight of their victim. But before a
dozen lashes had been administered, the Slave fell to the floor,
bleeding and writhing in agony. The whipper struck the
harder, and ordered him to get up. Some one declared that
208 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
lie could never stand a thousand such lashes. Another cried
out : ' 988 yet to come/ and the whipping was resumed. Lash
upon lash was inflicted, until one hundred had been given,
when his whole back, from the top of his shoulders down to
his feet, was a mass of blood and mangled flesh. The whip-
ping was continued without cessation amidst the most piteous
and beseeching wails and cries, such as : ' O gentlemen, gen-
tlemen, have mercy !' ' Lord ! O Lord, come down in
mercy !' ' gentlemen ! Lord ! Lord !' until they be-
came fainter and died away upon the ear.
" When they commenced giving him the second hundred, I
left the room in anguish of spirit, exclaiming to myself: ' Oh
that I io ere a dog, that I might not call man my brother !\ He
was not permitted to rise until the two hundred lashes were
given. He was taken out the next day, but it was decided he
was too sore to whip. On the third day he was taken out and
whipped again in the presence of a large crowd ; but when
they had given him twenty, his strength completely failed him.
Whether the whole of the thousand lashes were administered
or whether he gave out before receiving the complete penalty,
I have no means of knowing ; but I do know that some of the
leading Slaveholders pledged themselves to each other to carry
it through, despite the indignation of a portion of the commu-
nity and of the entreaties of his ' Master,' although at first the
' Master' had given him up to the mob heartily, and was even
willing they should hang him. He also acquiesced in the
judgment of the Committee.
"On the next evening (Saturday, Feb. 9, 1856), after the
200 lashes had been inflicted upon the Slave, Gov. Shannon
arrived en route for Kansas Territory. A grand reception
supper, costing some $300, was got up for him. The Gover-
nor was largely toasted, and replied in a speech, boasting of
the power he had received from President Franklin Pierce, and
how he would ' compel submission to the laws.' "
CHAPTER II.
In North Carolina the greater part of the Slaves go half-
starved most of the time. The breakfast is generally from 10
to 11 o'clock, a. m., and the dinner from 7 to 11, P. M. In
the pine-tree country, the Slaves are employed in manufactur-
ing turpentine. The allowance of the "turpentine hands"
varies. The Slaves in the rural districts receive one peck of
Indian meal per week. On the turpentine plantations some
" bosses" allow, in addition, one quart of molasses. On many
plantations the Slaves are allowed only one peck of meal a
week, without any other provisions. Several who received no
pork, or only two pounds a fortnight, complained that " we's
not fed 'nuf, Massa, for the work they takes out on us," and
others said the sameness of the diet was sickening.
The Manchester and Wilmington Railroad hands sleep in
miserable shanties along the line. Their bed, a board — nothing
softer. Their covering, a blanket. This road runs through
the most desolate-looking country in the Union. Nothing but
pine-trees can be seen from Wilmington until you enter South
Carolina. Poor fellows, in that dreary section of country, they
seldom see a woman from Christmas to Christmas. If they
are " married" Men, they are tantalized with the thought that
their " Wives" are performing for others those services that
would gladden their weary life. They have still sadder re-
flections.
A " minister of the Gospel" in South Carolina, had a " Sab-
210 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
bath appointment" to preach, about eight miles from his resi-
dence. He was in the habit of riding thither in his " gig,"
with a swift trotting horse, which he always drove briskly. Be-
hind him ran one of his party-colored boys on foot, who was
required to be at the place of appointment as soon as his
" reverend Master," to take care of his horse. Sometimes he
could not keep up, and kept his " Master," waiting for him a
few minutes, for which he was always punished. On one oc-
casion of this kind, after sermon, the "reverend gentleman"
told the Slave that he would this time take care to have him
keep up with him, going home. So he tied him by the wrists,
with a halter, to his gig, behind, and drove rapidly home. The
result was that, about two or three miles from home, the Slave's
feet and legs failed him, and he was dragged on the ground
the rest of the way ! Whether the " Master" knew it or not
till he reached home is not certain ; but on alighting and look-
ing around, he exclaimed, " Well ! I thought you would keep
up with me this time !" so saying, he coolly walked into the
house. Some of the Slaves came out and took up the poor
sufferer for dead. After a time he revived a little, lingered
for a day or two, and died. These facts were known all over
the neighborhood, but nothing was done about it! The "rev-
erend gentleman" continued preaching as before.
There really appears to be no end to the crimes against the
Slaves committed by men living under the garb of a " Christian
profession."
In a public address, recently delivered at Cincinnati, Ohio,
by the Rev. Edward Smith, of Pittsburgh, Pa., he stated that
a certain D. D. of his acquaintance, a Slaveholder, and a
severe one, too, often, with his own hands, applied the cowhide
to the naked backs of his Slaves. " On one occasion, a Woman
that served in the house, committed, on Sabbath morning,
some slight offence, but which was considered of too great
magnitude to go unpunished until Monday morning. The Dr.
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 211
took his Woman into the cellar, and as is usual in such cases,
stripped her, and then applied the lash. The woman writhed
under each stroke, and cried, ' O Lord ! O Lord ! ! O
Lord ! ! !' The Doctor stopped, and his hands fell to his sides
as though struck with palsy, gazed on the Woman with aston-
ishment, and thus addressed her (the congregation must par-
don me for repeating his words), ' Hush, you *******
b h, will you take the name of the Lord in vain on the
Sabbath day ?' When he had stopped the Woman from the
gross profanity of crying to ^od on the Sabbath day, he
finished whipping her, and then went and essayed to preach
that Gospel to his congregation which proclaims liberty to the
captive, and the opening of the prison-doors to them who are
bound."
Recently, at a meeting of the Planters in South Carolina,
the question was seriously discussed, " whether the Slave is
more profitable to the owners, if well fed, well clothed, and
moderately worked ; or, made the most of at once, and ex-
hausted in some five or six years." The decision was in favor
of the last alternative !
The Southern Cultivator, for May, 1855, has the following
hideous announcement, copied from The JEdgejield (S. C.)
Advertiser, and which The Cidtivator strongly recommends
" to other Masters and employers :" —
" Overseers, Read This ! — It will be remembered by the Overseers of
Edgefield, that Col. M. Frazier has offered a fine Watch as a reward to
the Overseer (working not less than ten Slaves) who will report the best-
managed plantation, largest crop per hand of cotton, corn, wheat, and
pork for the present year. Col. Frazier has just returned from the North
and laid before us this elegant prize. It is a fine English lever Watch,
encased in a heavy silver hunting-case upon the back of which is beauti-
fully engraved ' Presented by M. Frazier, Edgefield, S. C, as a reward of
Merit.' We assure those who are contestants for this valuable prize
that it is eminently worthy of the donor and calculated to call forth the
utmost energy and skill of which the candidates may be possessed.
212 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
Remember, then, that the prize is now fairly upon the stake, and that the
longest pole knocks down the persimmon. Whip ! whip ! ! Hurrah ! ! !"
Here we have an appeal to avarice and cruelty of the worst
sort. Lest the work of the Overseer, however, should not be
complete under the ordinary incentives of .their power, here
we have a reward offered for blood and sweat extortions —
prizes for inhumanity — couched in saintly phraseology.*
"The smack of the whip," says Dr. J. Edwards, "is all
day long in the ears of those who are on the plantation, or in
the vicinity ; and it is used with such dexterity and severity
as not only to Jacerate the skin, but to tear out small portions
of the flesh at almost every stroke. This is the general treat-
ment of the Slaves. But many suffer still more severely.
Many are knocked down ; some have their eyes beaten out ;
some have an arm or a leg broken, or chopped off: and many,
for a very small, or for no crime at all, have been beaten to
death."
At a Planter's dinner-table, one day, a guest — a Dry-Goods
Jobber from Philadelphia — remarked upon the "hypocrisy
of all religious Slaves." The planter dissented. He was the
* " Were it not for the din and clamor of Northern invectives against
Slavery, we should hear more distinctly the candid expressions of our
. Southern friends with regard to the evils of the system. They tell us —
and, indeed, every one sees it — that Slave labor in many cases is oppres-
sively expensive, and the more so in proportion to the conscientiousness of
the owners. It takes more hands to do the same amount of work than
with us" (in New England); "the Slaves are hearty, and great con-
sumers, frequently costing more for their food than the rest of the fam-
ily." — " A South-side Vieio of Slavery," &c, " By Nehemiah Adams,
D. D.," p. 90. And, pray, at whose expense did " the rest of the family"
get their living ? Dr. Adams reasons like a man who has stolen an
estate which belongs to a family of orphans. Out of its munificent
revenues, he gives the orphans "food and clothing," while he retains tho
rest for his own use, declaring that he is thus rendering to them that
which is just and equal.
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 213
"owner" of one who would rather die than deny Christ. This
was ridiculed. The Slave was brought in and put to the test.
He was ordered to deny his belief in Christ. He refused ;
was terribly whipped ; retained his integrity ; the whipping
was repeated, and he died in consequence.
" In Tennessee," says the Rev. John Eankin, " thousands
of the Slaves are pressed with the gnawings of hunger ; and
suffer extremely both while they labor and when they sleep,
for want of clothing to keep them warm." The Maryville
(Tenn.) Intelligencer says of the Slaves of the South and
West, generally, that " their condition through time will be
second only to that of the wretched creatures in hell."
Recently, one of the Slaves of Matthew Raynor ran away.
He pursued the fugitive and apprehended him in Memphis,
and took him home. The next day Raynor commenced his
cruel and fiend-like punishment, and after inflicting upon the
poor fellow hundreds of lashes, and washing him down with
brine, finished by cutting off both his ears, close to his head.
In Georgia the allowance of food is not adequate to the
support of a laboring man. The corn is ground in a hand-
mill, by the Slave, after his task is done. Generally there is
but one mill on a plantation, and as but one can grind at a
time, the mill is going sometimes very late at night.
Any person of " color," bond or free, is forbidden to occupy
any tenement except a kitchen or outhouse, under penalty of
from twenty to fifty lashes. Some of these laws are applicable
only to particular cities, towns, or counties ; others to several
counties. The huts are generally put up without a nail, and
contain neither chairs, table, nor bedstead. On the cold ground
they must lie without covering, and shiver while they slumber.
The best possible testimony as to the condition of the
Slaves, is that of the Slaveholders themselves, when given
incidentally. They certainly can have no motive to represent
their condition as worse than it is, and they have abundant
214 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
means of knowing. We take the following from "A Detail of
a Plan for the Moral Improvement of Negroes on Plantations,"
by Thomas Clay, a Slaveholder, and one of the most promi-
nent men in the State. He says, on p. 13: "A subject, not
less important, presents itself in the dwellings of the Slaves,
and until greater attention is paid to this subject, it will be
impossible to inculcate and maintain that regard for decency,
which is so essential to good morals. Our physical habits
have a vast influence on our moral ; neither can they be en-
tirely separated. Man is a physical, as well a moral being;
and this fact must always be kept in view, in our endeavors to
give elevation to the character. Should we fail to do this, the
subjects of our philanthropy will point out the inconsistency,
and distrust our sincerity. These reflections are strikingly
applicable to the evils obviously arising from the mode of
lodging in Slave-houses. Too many individuals of different
sexes are crowded into the house, and the proper separation
of apartments can not be observed. That they are familiar
with these inconveniences, and insensible to the evils arising
from them, does not, in the least, lessen the unhappy conse-
quences in which they result."
The Slaves have often been spoken harshly of in conse-
quence of their " thievish habits." " In walking in the vicinity
of Augusta, Georgia, one day," says John Ball, jr., " I came
up to a Slave, who was carrying a bag of provisions from town
to his owner's plantation. We talked a long time about the
'patriarchal Institution.' He said that plantation Slaves in
this vicinity generally received one peck of meal and from one
to two and a half pounds of pork a week. He knew one
planter who gave a very 'short' allowance of meat:
" ' So you see, Mass'r, his Slaves steal whatever they can
lay their hands on. He's constant a whippin' 'em; but it
does n't stop 'em. My ' Boss' gives us two and a half pounds,
and so we never takes anything ; we 's above it.'
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 215
" ' Are you a married man V
" ' Yes, Mass'r.'
" ' Were you married by a clergyman ?'
" ' No, Mass'r ; I was married by the blanket !'
" ' How 's that ?'
" ' Wall, Mass'r, we comes together into the same cabin ; and
she brings her blanket and lays itL.down beside mine ; and we
gets married that-a-way.'
" ' How many suits of clothes are you allowed a year ?'
" < Two, Mass'r.'
" ' How many shirts ?'
" ' Two, Mass'r ; only one at a time/
" ' How do you get it washed ?'
" ' I washes it at night, and sleeps naked till it 's dry/
" ' Do preachers never marry you ?'
" ' Yes, Mass'r, sometimes ; but not often. Mass'r, has you
got a chaw o' 'bacco ?'
" This question has been asked me dozens of times by
Slaves — in fact, every time that I have gone into the country.
Negroes, with an humble air and with hand touching hat, have
asked me for it. ' A chaw o' 'bacco' has seldom failed to be
jthe ' instrument' of conveying Republican ideas."
Dr. G. G. Parsons, of Boston, Massachusetts, speaking of
his " Tour among the Planters," in 1853, says : "A few weeks
before I left Savannah, I boarded at the Marshall House. A
friend of mine who boarded at the same house for several
years, and who had become an advocate of Slavery, not having
witnessed much of the privations and sufferings of the Slaves,
inquired of me if the Slaves in that city did not appear to be
in better condition than the ' free Negroes of the North.' And
I was constrained to admit that, so far as I had been able to
judge from what I had seen, the Slaves were ' cared for/
But before I left that house, some facts came to my knowledge
in relation to the treatment of Slaves at public boarding-houses,
216 SLAYE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
which astonished some of my brother Yankees, who had been
there for years. Mr. L., of Maine, contracted with Mr. Johnson,
proprietor of the Marshall House, for a lease of the premises
for several years. The keys were put into his hands on the
third morning of January, 1853. When Mr. L. opened the
bar-room door, he found three male-slaves sleeping on narrow
boards placed on chairs, the jloor being sanded, without a pillow
or blanket. He opened the boot-room, and there found two of
the boot-blacks in a place too short for them to lie down at full
length, with nothing but boots for pillows. In the kitchen there
were five female-cooks sleeping on the solid brick hearth. Mr.
L. inquired of Mr. Johnson, if there were no beds furnished,
and sleeping apartments appropriated to the Slaves ? ' No,'
replied Mr. J., ' Niggers never sleep on beds in the public
houses in this State.' This being mentioned to a gentleman
who was boarding at the Pulaski House, he said, ' Mr. Johnson
is a brute not to furnish his Negroes with beds, for they have
to work very hard.' The gentleman was then asked, ' Do they
have beds at your house ?' ' Of course they do,' was the re-
ply. ' Are you sure ? Because Mr. Johnson says they never
have beds at the taverns.'
" The next day the gentleman asked Captain "W., the pro-
prietor of the Pulaski House, what kind of beds were fur-
nished for his Slaves. ' Beds /' exclaimed Captain W., ' don't
you know that Niggers never sleep on beds ? Put one of my
Niggers on the best bed there is in the house, and he won't lie
there half-an-hour. Niggers prefer sleeping on the floor?"
The frightful spectacle of " burning a Nigger alive," took
place in Sumter County, on the 28th of May, 1855. The
pyre was composed of several cords of light dry wood, in the
centre of which was a green willow stake, selected in conse-
quence of its indestructibility by fire. On the top of the pile
the " Nigger Dave" was placed, and securely chained to the
stake. The match was then applied, and in a few moments
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 217
the devouring flames were enveloping the doomed Man ; his
fearful cries resounded through the air, while the surrounding
Slaves who witnessed his dreadful agony and horrible contor-
tions sent up an involuntary howl of horror. His sufferings
were excruciating ; in a few minutes the flames had enveloped
him entirely, revealing now and then, as they fitfully swayed
hither and thither, his black and burning carcass, like a demon
of the fire, grinning as if in triumph at his tormentors. Soon
all was over, nothing was left but the burning flesh and char*
red skeleton. The heavens were reeking with the stench.
Had a white man committed similar crimes to those for
which " Dave" suffered, upon the Wife or Daughter of a
Slave, he would have got clear on the payment of the " as-
sessed Money value" of such Slave to the " owner." Had the
" owner" himself committed such a crime, it would have been
simply a " loss of property."
A Slaveholder in Stewart County, had two fine young Men,
brothers, for whom he was offered $1,350 and $1,500, for
some cause or other he had entertained a dislike to them, and
was constantly punishing them for the most trivial offences.
He had them laid on the ground, and successively paddled
them from the neck to the heels. He then, with the fiat part
of a handsaw, broke all the blisters caused by the holes ivhich
had been bored in the paddle. He then bathed their backs in a
solution of red pepper and salt brine. Such were the torments
inflicted on these poor suffering sons of humanity, that they
determined upon absconding. The day following they were
absent. He, fearing they had made their way northward, got
up a party of his neighbors, armed to the teeth, and with a
pack of bloodhounds went in pursuit. After a long search
they came up with them on Flint River. When they heard
the hounds baying (that is, the moment the dogs came close
upon their prey, they utter a most hideous and mournful howl),
the runaways plunged into the river. In went the hounds after
10
218 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
them, some at one Slave, and some at the other. They bit them
on the necks, arms, backs, and tried to pidl them under the
water. The poor fellows fought as long as they could, but got
■paralyzed, and not being able to swim and contend with the
dogs at the same time, they appeared to resign themselves to
their fate. A few gurgling sounds ascended to heaven, and
their spirits had fled to Christ.
Another Slaveholder had a woman who was in the habit of
smoking a pipe in the field ; the overseer cautioned her several
times not to do so — however, one day she clandestinely carried
some fire to the field, and was lighting her pipe. All of a
sudden, the Overseer made his appearance. He said, "I
thought I told you the next time I saw you smoke, I would
blow your brains out," and immediately shot her dead.
Another Slaveholder had a " Nigger" who ran away. The
day he was brought home, he had a dog die of the distemper ;
he called the " cook," and desired her to cut off the hind leg,
skin, hair and all, and slice it up, this he had fried in fat, and
made the captured runaway eat it.
" In Georgia," says William Savery, Minister of the Friends'
Society, " we rode through many rice swamps, where the Slaves
were numerous — working up to the middle in water, Men and
Women nearly naked." John Parrish, Minister of the Friends'
Society, says : " In the rural districts, both male and female
go without clothing until the age of eight or ten years."
In Alabama the Slaves are, as a general thing, wretchedly
provided for. Thousands have hardly a rag of clothing on
them. Generally the only bedding is a blanket, and that of
the poorest manufacture.
- Mr. Nero Geldersleve, of Georgia, formerly an elder in a
Presbyterian Church at Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, descri-
bing the flogging of a Slave, in which one hundred lashes were
inflicted on his naked body, says : " I stood by and witnessed
the whole without feeling the least compassion ; so hardening
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 219
is the influence of Slavery." Such an admission does Mr.
Geldersleve no credit. Cold-blooded selfish natures, like his,
are very rarely, if ever, troubled with " compassion." Show
a man of Mr. G.'s ilk a glittering bait, and he would do the
work of Satan.
The Rev. Robert Jones, of Chambers county, a preacher
of the Methodist denomination, lately stripped and tied one of
his Boys to a tree, and whipped him to death. The account
of this barbarity is given in The Alabama Herald. A neigh-
boring clergyman, to whom a friend mentioned this case, said
there was " nothing in the act contrary to the Book of Disci-
pline. The man had a perfect right to do what he pleased
with his own property."
The mutilation and murder of Slaves are thought to be so
slight or unimportant matters, that not more than one case in
twenty or thirty is ever reported in the papers at all. In fact,
the Editors dare not do it.
A Slaveholder, near Courland, of the name of Thompson,
recently shot a beautiful Slave girl, because she refused to
comply with a proposition he had made to her. He buried
her in an old log heap.
Two men found a fine-looking " colored man" at Dandridge's
Quarter, without a " pass," and flogged him so that he died in
two or three hours. They were not punished. Colonel Block-
er's overseer attempted to flog one of the Slaves. He refused
to be flogged, whereupon the overseer seized an axe and split
his head open down to the neck. The Colonel justified it.
One Jones whipped a half-starved Woman to death for grab-
bing a few potatoes.
An overseer of another Plantation came up to a Woman
who was rather lagging behind. Naming her, he said: "I
say, I thought I told you to mend your gait." — "Well,
Mass'r," she replied, with tears trickling down her wo-begone
face, " I'se so sick, I can hardly drag one foot after the othei."
220 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
The monster laid clown his lash, and took up a pine-root and
made a blow at her head. The wretched creature tried to
avoid the blow and received the weight of it on her neck.
Her " husband" was obliged to stand aside to let her fall. She
was taken up insensible and lingered till the following day.
The New York Tribune^ of April 9, 1856, says: "Burn-
ing at the stake for heresies and crimes no longer exists in
Europe, not even in Turkey. Roasting martyrs and evil-doers
alive is a system which belongs there to the past. And yet
Europe is almost entirely Monarchical. Saving Switzerland,
the hereditary system of privilege is practically acknowledged
in every European State. But, notwithstanding that such is
the mitigation of the old severities there, here in Democratic
America, the flames roar around the criminal, for if a Slave,
he may be burned alive. It is false to call us civilized ; we are
not so. Some five millions of human beings are held in abject
submission and ignorance, and hence habitually tending to
commit violent crimes in the same proportion ; and according-
ly the necessities of the barbarous society which so debases
them, cause the kind of punishment of which we are treating.
"We admire, therefore, the consistency of the local Southern
press in despatching the matchless horrors of burning a Man
to death in three lines, which we copy from The Montgomery
Journal, published at the capital of Alabama, one of the sov-
ereign States of the Union. That paper, on the 3d instant"
(April 3, 1856), "made the following statement: —
" 'Burning of a Negro. — We learn that the Negro who murdered Mr.
Capheart'" (see p. 193) "'was burned to death yesterday at Mount
Meigs. He acknowledged himself guilty.'
" This is at least consistent. A state of society essentially
barbarous causes the 'burning of a Negro;' and such inflam-
matory procedures must multiply with the mental improve-
ment of the Slave, and his increased restlessness. So, burn
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 221
away, 'brother Democrat/ but no sentiment, if you please,
thereupon !"
In Mississippi the Slaves are half-starved. They receive
two wretched meals a day. Breakfast about eleven o'clock,
A. m. ; the other meal during the evening. The Eev. H. B.
Abbott, of Augusta, Maine, says : "I am acquainted with a
Baptist preacher in Mississippi, who compelled his Slaves,
men, women, and children, to labor on the Sabbath, and jus-
tified himself under the plea that if they were not at work
they would be roving about the fields, thereby desecrating the
Lord's day more than by laboring under an overseer."
A young man, who went South in the hope of " bettering"
his condition, stopped at a village in Mississippi, and obtained
employment in the largest and most influential house in the
place, as book-keeper. " A Slaveholder," writes this young
man, "residing near the village, a bachelor, thirty years of
age, became embarrassed, and executed a mortgage to my
employer on a noble-looking Slave. He was quick-witted,
active, obedient, and remarkably faithful, trusty, and honest —
so much so that he was held up as an example. He had a
' wife' that he loved. His owner cast his eyes upon her, and
she became his paramour. The poor ' husband' remonstrated
with his owner, and told him that he tried faithfully to perform
his every duty, that he was a good and faithful Nigger to him,
and it was cruel, after he had toiled hard all da}^, and till ten
or eleven o'clock at night, without wages, for him to have the
i wife' of his heart taken from him, and his domestic relations
broken up. The white man denied the charge. One night
the heart-broken ' husband' came home earlier than usual. It
was a wet dismal night ; he made a fire in his cabin, went to
get his supper, and found ocular demonstration of the guilt of
his owner. He became enraged, as any man would, seized a
knife and cut his owner's throat, stabbed his ' wife' in over
twenty places, and came to the village and knocked at the
222 SLAVE LIFE OX THE PLANTATION.
Office door. I told him to come in. He did so, and asked
for my employer. I called him. The man then told him
that he had killed his owner, and his ' wife/ and what for ?
My employer locked him up, and he and a doctor and myself
went to the house of the old bachelor, and found him dead,
and the wretched ' wife' nearly so.
" My employer and myself returned to the village, watched
the ' husband' until about sunrise, left him locked up, and went
to get our breakfasts, intending to take him to jail (as it was
my employer's interest, if possible, to save him, having $1,000
at stake in him), but while we were at breakfast, some per-
sons, who had heard of the murder, broke open the door, seized
the poor fellow, put a long chain round his neck, and started
him for ijie woods at the point of the bayonet, marching by
where we were eating with a great deal of noise. My em-
ployer hearing it, ran out, and rescued the man. The mob
again broke in, and took him, and marched him out of town.
My employer begged them not to disgrace their town in such
a manner ; but to appoint a jury of twelve men, to decide what
should be done ; whereupon twelve of the mob stepped for-
ward and said he must be hanged. They then tied a rope
round his neck, and set him on a horse. He made a speech
to the mob, which I at the time thought, if it had come from
some Senator, would have been received with rounds of ap-
plause ; and withal, he was more calm than I am now in wri-
ting this. And after he had told all about the deed, and its
cause, kicked the horse out from under him, and was launched
into eternity. My employer has often remarked, that he never
saw anything more noble in his life, than the conduct of that
poor Slave."
A shocking murder of an inoffensive Slave-mother was re-
cently committed by John Manning, an Overseer on a Cotton
plantation near Natchez, Mississippi. The Slaves, men and
women, were " hoeing" each their " row" of Cotton, and about
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 223
twenty yards from a fence, when suddenly the Babe of one of
the Women began to scream as though its little heart-strings
would break. No Slave being allowed to leave off work with-
out permission from the Overseer, the state of the poor Moth-
er's mind may well be imagined ; but in this case, the mater-
nal feelings got beyond the fear of orders, and she rushed to
the rescue of her Child, which was struggling with a huge
snake. Manning cried out, "Stick to your work, your b — h, or
Til cut you in pieces." But the poor trembling Mother kept
on her maternal errand of mercy, snatched up the little one
with the snake wound around it ; the Overseer followed close
upon her heels with curses and imprecations for leaving her
work without orders. He stripped her as naked as the day
she was born, fastened a rope upon her wrists, and ordered two
Slaves to climb a tree with the other end of the rope, and pull
her up so that her feet would be about two feet from the ground.
This done. Manning whipped her until he literally cut her in
pieces, as he said he would. She screamed as the lash went
into her flesh, in these words : "Pray, massa ! Pray, massa !
pray, massa ! Snake bite chile, massa ! massa, forgive
me, massa ! Snake bite chile, massa! Lord make massa have
a little feeling for poor Nigger ! massa, forgive me, mas-
sa! Snake bite chile, massa! Jesus, pity me! pity me!
Massa, forgive me! forgive me! Snake bite chile."
Her voice became more and more faint, till the faculty of
speech was whipped out of her, so that she hung without any
motion whatever. Rousing herself for a single moment she
glanced in the direction of her child, and murmured — ''Jesus
— heaven — chile, come — co — " and her spirit took flight to
a happier world.
" O massa, let me stay, to catch
My baby's sobbing breath ;
His little glassy eye to watch,
And smooth his limbs in death,
224 SLAVE LIFE ON THE FLAKTATIOST.
And cover him with grass and leaf,
Beneath the plantain tree !
It is not sullenness, but grief —
O Massa, pity me I"
The condition of Solomon Northrop, during the nine years
that he was in the hands of Eppes, was of a character nearly
approaching that described by Mrs. Ii. B. Stowe, as the con-
dition of "Uncle Tom," while in Mississippi. During that
whole period poor Northrop's hut contained neither a floor,
nor a chair, nor a bed, nor a mattress, nor anything for him to
lie upon except a board about twelve inches wide, with a block
of wood for his pillow, and with a single blanket to cover him,
while the walls of his hut did not by any means protect him
from the inclemency of the weather. He was sometimes com-
pelled to perform acts revolting to humanity, and outrageous
in the highest degree. On one occasion, a party-colored girl
belonging to Eppes, about 17 years of age, went one Sunday,
without the permission of her " Master," to the nearest planta-
tion, about half a mile distant, to visit another girl of her ac-
"quaintance. She returned in the course of two or three hours,
and for that offence she was called up for punishment, which
Solomon was required to inflict. Eppes compelled, him to
drive four stakes into the ground at such distances that the
hands and ankles of the girl might be tied to them, as she lay
with her face upon the ground ; and having thus fastened her
down, he compelled him, while standing by himself, to inflict
one hundred lashes upon her bare flesh, she being stripped en-
tirely naked. Having inflicted one hundred blows, Solomon
refused to proceed any further. Eppe^ tried to compel him to
go on, but he absolutely set him at defiance, and refused to
murder the girl. Eppes then seized the whip and applied it
until he was too weary to continue it. Blood flowed from her
neck to her feet, and in this condition she was compelled the
next day to go into the field to work.
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 225
On the 21st of March, 1853, while at dinner in a Public
House, at Wablack, Miss., -a man was telling of having his
saddle-girth cut; and said he got out his dogs (blood-hounds),
and put them on the track, and followed to a hut, where they
seized a Slave by the throat, whom they took to his " Master"
to whip him. The owner contended that the dog-testimony
was not evidence, and that the man should not be whipped on
the strength of it. But his captor, who had two friends with
him, told the owner they were determined to whip him. Ac-
cordingly, they commenced whipping him by turns, till they
had given him three hundred lashes. His owner then asked
him, " Did you cut it?" "Yes, massa, I did." His owner
then beat him to death. v
James Clark, a well-known citizen of Clark county, made
an assault upon one of his Slave women, for an object which
need not be stated. He then ordered her into a corner of the
room, and commenced pitching his knife at her, point foremost.
As the knife would enter her flesh, he would compel his victim
to draw it forth, and return it to him. This demoniacal
amusement was continued until the poor Slave was covered
with some fifty bleeding gashes ! The same day he whipped
his own wife, cut her all over the head with his knife, in a mass
of cruel and painful punctures. He also cut off her eyelids !
This drama wound up on the following day by the commission
of murder. Clark ordered his wife to go and call Lewis, a
Slave belonging to the family. She obeyed, but the Slave re-
fused to come, through a dread of his enraged " Master." Mrs.
Clark returned, and was whipped by her husband for not
bringing the Slave. Five times was she sent up on this capri-
cious mission, five times was it fruitless, and each time she was
whipped for her failure. Clark then called to Lewis, inform-
ing him that he would shoot him next morning. The Slave,
it seems, did not heed the warning, for while splitting rails the
next day, he was deliberately shot by Clark. The wound was
10*
226 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
fatal ; poor Lewis ran two or three hundred yards, and fell in
mortal agony. Clark confessed that he had committed these
crimes, but justified his conduct by quoting Scripture, saying,
" the Bible commands Wives and other Servants to obey their
Owners, and if they will not, the Master should make them."
The Rev. J. A. Lyon, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church,
in Columbus, in a lecture delivered in that City, and published
in Mississippi, in June, 1855, says: "The reckless manner in
which the sixth Commandment, which forbids murder, is dis-
regarded in this community, is truly alarming, and should
excite the well-grounded fears of every friend of morality and
good order. An army is slain every year by the hands of vio-
lence in our country, boasting of more intelligence, freedom,
and civilization, than any other upon the globe ! We find that
of the murdered host, only thirty-two fell in the six New
England States, only one hundred and six in the Middle
States, including the largest States and Cities in the Union.
The blood of all the rest was spilt in the South and West.
Three hundred and forty-six have been slaughtered in the
South alone ; that is, in the Southern States proper, not in-
cluding Missouri, Kansas, or California. I am sorry to say
that as many as thirty-two have been slaughtered in Missis-
sippi."
Mr. Lyon does not appear to have kept a record of more
than one murder in every seven committed.
In Louisiana there is a great deal of suffering among the
Slaves from hunger. Thousands perish every winter for
want of proper food and clothing. Until recently the Sugar
planters usually found it necessary to employ twice the amount
of labor during the " boiling season" that was required during
the season of raising, but can now, by excessive driving, day
and nighU during the boiling season, accomplish the whole
labor with " one set of hands." By pursuing this plan they
can " afford to sacrifice one setx)f hands once in seven years."
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 227
The late Mr.* Samuel Black well, of Jersey City (N. J.),
visited many of the Sugar plantations in Louisiana, and said :
" The planters generally declared to me that they were obliged
to so overwork their Slaves, during the Sugar-making season"
(from ten to tw r elve weeks), "as to use them up in five or six
years; for, said they, ; after the process is commenced, it must
be pushed without cessation, night and day, and we can not
afford to keep a sufficient number of Slaves to do the extra
work at the time of Sugar-making, as we could not 'profitably
employ them the rest of the year.' "
The late Hon. Henr} r Clay, of Kentucky (himself a Slave-
holder), in a conversation with James G. Birney, said that,
Outerbridge Horsey — formerly a Senator in Congress, and
the owner of a Sugar plantation in Louisiana — declared to
him that his Overseer w r orked his hands so closely that one of
the Women brought forth a Child while engaged in the labors
of the field. Also, that he was at a brick-yard in the environs
of New Orleans, in which one hundred hands were employed ;
among them were from twenty to thirty young Women, in the
prime of life. He was told by the proprietor that there had
not been a Child born among them for the last two or three
years, although they all had " husbands."
When a Child is a week old the Mother is considered to be
" in working " order."
One of the most revolting deeds, for the benefit of Slavery,
ever witnessed in a " Christian community," took place at
Alexandria (La.), in September, 1855. It was the public
execution of a lad not quite ten years of age, and, strange to
say, " Christian men and women" rode forty miles to see it.
As an evidence of how r mere a child he was, some gentlemen
who called to see him the day before his execution, found him
playing with marbles in his cell. On telling him that he was
to be hung the next morning, and asking him what he thought
of it and why he did not pray, he answered that it was noth-
228 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
ing, adding that he had been hung many a time. He was
playing all the time in jail, never once realizing the dreadful
fate that awaited him. When brought out to die, and seeing
the preparations that had been made for his execution, for the
first time he began to have some idea of what was before him.
He then asked that he might be allowed to pray, after doing
which he began to cry, and in the midst of his childish wail-
ings was sent out of the world.
The secret of this affair is, that he belonged to the "race
of Africa" or " cursed seed of Ham" and was executed for
giving his tyrannical owner, the Rev. J. J. Weems, a knock on
the head. For the purpose of " impressing the surrounding
Slave population" a boy of ten years of age was just as good
as an adult who had arrived to years of moral responsibility,
and possibly better.
The Pro- Slavery Pulpits and the Pro- Slavery Presses,
protest against Uncle Tom's Cabin, on the ground that its
incidents are " exaggerated," in fact, " a stupendous lie," al-
though the accomplished writer, in her " Key to Uncle Tom,"
has justified every event and circumstance which it describes,
by citing parallel facts. But if the Key had never been pre-
pared, the columns of the Southern journals themselves would
have furnished ample evidence of the substantial truth of Mrs.
Stowe's representations. No one of her incidents, for instance,
has created more remark than the death of Uncle Tom by
means of the violence of Legree, and it has been said that no
such wretch as he is represented to be could exist in a " Chris-
tian country," and that no such event as the murder of an
old, faithful, and pious Slave by his owner, was likely to occur.
Yet read the following paragraph from The Garrollton (La.)
Star : —
" We grieve to have to record an outrage practised on the body of an
old Negro of this place, named Johnson, the Slave of Charles Hines, by
Hines himself, which resulted in death. The Negro was nearly ninety
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 229
years of age, and venerated for his honesty, as well as for his Revolutionary
reminiscences. The Master, taking umbrage at some petty offence, delib-
erately whipped, stamped, and kicked him to death. Persons who wit-
nessed poor Johnson's sufferings, say that the sight was extremely sicken-
ing — his whole back cut and bruised into jelly, and the lower part of
his person kicked to pieces."
Only think of the hideous cruelty of murdering an old man
who had reached the Patriarchal age of nearly ninety, and who
appears to have served in the Revolutionary war ! — deliber-
ately whipped and kicked to death ! Is there anything in any
of the " Novels" that have been written to show the fiend-like
influence of Slavery more clearly than this ? Yet we are told
that these " Novels" do Southern society the greatest injustice,
and are libels upon the truth !
A Slave little girl, named Louise, aged ten years, on the
7th of October, 1855, presented herself at the Police office of
the Second district, New Orleans, seeking protection from the
ci*uel treatment of her " Mistress," Madame E. Cruzelle. The
Slave had been brutally beaten, her back, and other parts of
her body, being literally cut to pieces. She stated that her
owner had beaten her in this manner because she did not sell
enough cakes, &c, to gratify her cupidity. She was placed
in jail to await an investigation of the matter.
Society in New Orleans appears to be resolving itself into
its pristine elements, and the community bounding onward to
political chaos. Just look at the chronicle of the City for a
single month, as recorded in The True Delta; and, as a pri-
vate letter says, " bad as it is, it does not include more than
half of what has taken -place :" On November 1, there was an
inquest upon the body of Joseph Steiner, and on the same day
Joseph Damon snapped a pistol at a Slave named Long. On
the 2d, a man named Oullen shot Daniel Hallem in a coffee-
house, and Thomas Armstrong was arrested for wounding his
sister with a Cotton-hook. On the 3d, Henry Kelter was
230 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
charged with firing a pistol at Herman Baurichter, and two
men named Fitzgerald were examined for murdering their
sister ; it was recorded, likewise, that Dr. Meighan was stabbed
in several places at his own door. On the 4th, an unknown-
man was found drowned in a saw-mill pond ; a record was
made of the murder of Mike Anderson by George Thomas,
in a coffee-house, and examination of James Coyle for stabbing
John Reilly, with intent to kill, was postponed.
On the 5th, a German named Allemande was badly wounded,
and Antoine Freiler killed ; Major Blaize was shot at and
wounded ; E. S. White, the contractor, was slung-shotted ; a
tailor was stabbed, and a man named Patterson was knocked
down and kicked severely; Joseph Nutter was shot in the
leg ; James Boyle and Edward Jones were shot at ; a man
was shot dead; James Peterson was stabbed, and Edward
Evans was beaten so unmercifully that his life was despaired
of. On the 6th, Dr. C. Sherener was shot at his own door
and died, and Nicholas Gavin was stabbed. On the 7th,
Watchman Tate was brutally beaten while discharging his
duty. On the 8th, Mr. A. B. Bacon, a lawyer, was badly
beaten at the polls with a slung-shot. On the 9th, a grocer
named McCogga knocked down Joseph Goddard, and further
maimed him by biting off his nose and two fingers. On the
10th, a German named Krost had several fingers bitten off;
an engineer on the railroad was stabbed ; Alderman Dural was
knocked down with a pair of brass knuckles ; a Slave was
prevented from shooting his owner; and a gang of rowdies
beat Felix Bosquillon to death for refusing them liquor. On
the 11th, one murder and five robberies were committed. On
the 12 th, Daniel Sullivan beat awfully and tried to kill his
brother-in-law by firing a pistol.
On the loth, A. H. Dobbins wounded Christian Shaffer with
a drinking glass, and Charles Smelsey struck Jean Loze with
a slung-shot. The 14th was a day of rest. On the 15th,
SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 231
Jack Allen was arrested for murder ; and a free colored man
stabbed another. ; On the 1 6th, an application was made and
refused on behalf of Charles Bell, charged with shooting
murderously at his brother-in-law ; Owen Marth stabbed Mrs.
Burns, and her son, who interfered; Pierre Trousky as-
saulted John, a Slave, and attempted to shoot Clarissa, an-
other Slave ; Thomas Farris stabbed Michael Henly at the
polls ; and Captain Snow was arrested for cutting C. A. Clark.
On the 21st, J. G. Cabore was fired at. On the 23d, John
Feehan was badly cut by a police officer; and Samuel Smith
badly wounded Andres Quitana. On the 25th, Martin Gray
cut off the finger of Patrick Nolan. On the 26th, F. Barsicola,
an Italian, was murdered. On the 27th, C. de la Torra died
of intemperance ; Thomas Hussey was badly cut ; the body
of a new-born infant was found — a case of infanticide; a
woman and child were wounded in the streets, from the shot
of parties fighting with double-barreled guns in a grocery ; an
English sailor was thrown down stairs, and had his skull frac-
tured ; James M' Gregor was thrown from a window, and
died ; and J. Dabill was stabbed by robbers.
On the 28th, Barletta Walker, a German woman, far gone
in pregnancy, was brought to the Hospital, stabbed by her
husband ; and Major Blaze was assaulted by a man with in-
tent to kill ; John Graham died of his wounds, and Mrs. C.
Howard was stabbed by Thomas Foley ; and another woman
and a man besides were stabbed. On the 29 th, a German
named Eczinger, was shot and wounded in three places ;
John Shaeffer and Moran Meinnich were stabbed ; a Slave
stabbed a free colored man ; Patrick Brown was stabbed ; a
German named Dreyfuss was stabbed ; Hayes, an Irishman,
was stabbed ; Charles Gavin slung-shotted and shot.
The (New Orleans) True Delta, of the 4th November, 1856,
has the following paragraph : " The assassination of citizens
has now become so common that the reporters of the daily
232 SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION.
press scarcely deem them worth an item. Literally and truly
we have no laws. Equally literally and truly may it be said
that we have no public opinion."*
These facts need no commentary. They show the horrible
cruelty of the Slaveholding Democracy of the " Model Re-
public," and the unmitigated diabolism of a Slaveholding re-
ligion. What meaning can there be in the words justice or
mercy, what significance in the doctrine of human brotherhood,
or what force in the precepts, " Love thy neighbor as thyself,"
" Remember them that are in bonds," &c. In every Slave-
consuming State see the " Receiving-houses," whither these
poor wrecks and remnants of families are constantly borne !
Who preaches the Gospel to the Slave-coffles ? Who preaches
the Gospel in the Slave-prisons ? Is it not mockery to pray,
" Thy Kingdom come," and refuse to engage in labors like
these ? If the work of elevating depressed humanity be
Christ's work, should not the " undoing of the heavy burthens,"
and " letting the oppressed go free," be the work of Christians,
the mission of the Church of Christ ? If you turn away in-
different from this cause — " if you forbear to deliver them that
are drawn unto death, and those that be ready to be slain ; if
thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, doth not He that pondereth
the Heart consider it, and He that keepeth the soul, doth He
not know it, shall He not render to every man according to his
works ?"
The bodily tortures endured by the Slaves are, indeed,
enough to awaken profound sympathy and excite an intense
indignation ; but, oh ! how much more appalling is the violence
done to those higher faculties, through which they are allied to
God, and made heirs to an immortal life !
* A correspondent of one of the "evangelical" Pro-Slavery journals
of New York, writing from the interior of Turkey, enlarges upon the
"barbarous habits of the people," and states, as an appalling fact, that
" in the course of a year, one man has been killed in public, and three
brutally beaten." The " interior of Turkey" must try again.
PAET FOURTH.
EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF " SER-
VANTS," AND OTHER NEGROES.
CHAPTER I.
" We should march up to the very verge of the Constitution to destroy
the traffic in Human flesh." — Franklin.
The Slave Power goes further. It lays its deadly grasp
on the very souls of its victims. It subjects all the " religious
privileges" of the Slave — we beg the reader's pardon, of the
" Servant" — to the absolute will of the " Master," whether he
be " Christian" or infidel. It does more, it prohibits the
" Master" from teaching his Slaves to read, even the Word of
God, and thus cuts off the unfortunate creature from one of
the greatest privileges which God has ever bestowed on man.
It aims to keep the mind in abject ignorance and degradation,
lest the enslaved should grow dissatisfied, and claim the in-
alienable rights of humanity.
Nor is the non-Slaveholding white portion of the population
scarcely in a better condition. Ignorance is an " Institution"
in the Slaveholding States. It is a political necessity, and is
as much provided for by legislation and by " public senti-
ment," and guarded by enactments, as intelligence is in the
"free States." It must be. The restrictions which keep it
from the Slaves keep it from the "free whites," excepting, al-
234: EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
ways, the few who live at the top.. There can not be an
atmosphere of intelligence. Slaves would be in danger of
breathing that. " knowledge is Power," not only, but Powder,
putting the South in the risk of being blown up, by careless
handling and too great abundance.
The self-preservation of the Slaveholders, requires that
Negroes, bond and free, should be treated worse than asses —
beaten, and cruelly tortured, or murdered if refractory. In
consonance with this " opinion," we deem such resolutions as
the following, passed a short time since at a public meeting in
Upper Marlboro', Prince George county, Maryland, absolutely
necessary :
"Resolved, That, in a Slaveholding community like this, it is unwise,
inexpedient, and dangerous, to allow large bodies of Slaves or free
Negroes to assemble at night for any purpose whatever, whether it be
Religions, Social, or Moral ; such assemblages are sure to beget feelings
of Physical superiority, in regard to numbers of the white race, and, even
when unaccompanied by tumult, have always a natural tendency to en-
gender discontent and insubordination on the part of the colored race.
"Resolved, That this meeting is animated by no feelings of Political
or Religious excitement whatever, but as Slaveholders alone, regardful
of their own personal rights and safety, they have met together to express
their unqualified disapprobation of such night meetings of their Slaves."
In Virginia, it is enacted " that all meetings or assemblages
of Slaves, free Negroes, or mulattoes mixing and associating
with such Slaves at any Meeting-house or houses, &c, in the
night ; or at any school or schools for teaching them reading
or writing, either in the day or night, under whatsoever pre-
text, shall be deemed and considered an unlawful assemblage."
— " Corporal punishment may be inflicted on the offender or
offenders, at the discretion of any Justice of the Peace, not
exceeding twenty lashes. If a Postmaster, or deputy Post-
master, know that any book or other writing has been received
at his office in the mail, he shall give notice thereof to some-
Justice, who shall inquire into the circumstances and have such
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 235
booh or writing burned in his presence ; if it appear to him
that the person to whom it was directed subscribed therefor,
knowing its character, or agreed to receive it for circulation to
aid the purpose of Abolitionists, the Justice shall commit such
person to Jail. If any Postmaster, or deputy Postmaster,
violate this section, he shall be fined not exceeding two hundred
dollars."— (Revised Code, p. 434.)
The Richmond Enquirer (a leading Buchanan journal), of
August 29, 1856, says: "Every school and college in the
South should teach that Slave society is the common, natural,
rightful, and normal state of society. Any doctrine short of
this contains Abolition in the germ ; for, if it be not the right-
ful and natural form of society, it can not last, and we should
prepare for its gradual but ultimate Abolition. They should
also teach that no other form of society is, in the general, right
or expedient. There are exceptional cases, such as desert or
mountainous countries, where the small patches of fertile land
are inadequate to support a larger family than husband, wife,
and children — such as Lapland, Sweden, Norway, Switzer-
land, and parts of Africa — such, also, as New England, and
Eastern New York, and Eastern Pennsylvania, which, though
admirably adapted for commerce, manufactures, and fishing,
are little fitted for Cotton or Sugar raising. Our schools should
also teach that the Slaves should be a different race or nation
from the Master, -and the wider the distinction the better, as in
such case the Slave is less apt to be degraded, or wish to as-
sert his freedom and equality. To teach such doctrines we
must have Southern teachers. It is from the school that pub-
lic opinion proceeds, and the schools should be set right. No
teacher should be employed in a private family or public
schools at the South, who is not ready to teach these doctrines.
Parents, trustees, and visiters, should look to this thing."
The citizens of Caroline county, held a mass meeting in
September, 1855, to consider the proper course to be pursued
236 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
with regard to '''•free Negroes" in their midst, when the follow-
ing pregnant preamble and resolutions, reported by a Commit-
tee of twenty prominent citizens appointed at a former meet-
ing, were unanimously adopted : —
" All Governments restrict and diminish the liberties of the People, in
order to promote the happiness and well-being of society. They who
are governed can not be tree. Various forms and degrees of govern-
ment have ever existed in society, each answering equally well for all
nations and individuals endowed with various degrees of self-control,
morality, and civilization. The least degree of government to which
men most civilized, moral, and enlightened, can be subjected, consistent-
ly with good order and security, is that of being governed by laws made
by representatives chosen by themselves. But this degree of liberty can
be safely given but to a small fraction of individuals, even in the best
and purest society. The children must be governed by parents and
guardians; the apprentices by Masters" (that is, Slaveholders); "the
soldiers and sailors by superior officers ; wives must be subjected to hus-
bands ; lunatics and idiots to trustees and committees, and criminals be
confined in jails and penitentiaries. In all cases, it is not the law of the
land that governs, but the will of a Master" (that is, a Slaveholder). "All
experience, all history, shows that man is only fitted for the government
of mere law when he has become so highly civilized, prudent, and moral,
as to regard liberty in its broad and common sense as a thing to be avoided
as an evil, rather than as a good to be sought after. With the whites, we
carefully adapt the mode and degree of government to the wants of the
governed. Let us adopt the same wise and just rule with our Servants.
Let us not attempt to govern those by mere law, who when adults, re-
quire, as much as white children between sixteen and tweitfy-one, to be
governed by the will of another. Call that other 'guardian/ 'Com-
mittee,' 'captain,' or 'Master,' 'tis but a different name — the mode of
government is the same. The strong and stringent measures adopted by
many of the 'free States' to exclude 'free Negroes' from their territories,
justify our present course, and rebuke our past tardiness, because the
reasons and necessity for their exclusion exist in tenfold greater in-
tensity with us than with them.
"A. S. BROADUS, Chairman.
" Brokexbrough Peytox, Secretary."
The Constitution and Statutes of " free States" debarring
their u free colored Citizens" from eligibility to Office, and
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 237
from equal access to the Ballot-box, are among the most
marked and mischievous specimens of injury to the colored
race. This greatly encourages and sustains the Slave States
in their oppression of both the bond and the free.
"Virginia," says The Richmond Argus, of March 24,1854,
"is a 'very great State — very great! Virginia in this con-
federacy is the Impersonation of the Well-born, Well-edu-
cated, Well-bred Aristocrat." Well-born, indeed, while the
Children of Jefferson and the only Children of Madison are a
" connecting link between the human and brute creation ;"
Well-educated, with 25 per cent, of her White adults unable
to read the vote they cast against the unalienable rights of
man ; Well-bred, when her great product for exportation is —
the Children of her own loins ! Slavery is a " patriarchal in-
stitution ;" the democratic Abrahams of Virginia do not " Of-
fer up" their Isaacs to the Lord ; that would be a " Sacrifice
of property" They only sell them. Virginia is, indeed, " a
very great State," so far as this article of export is concerned,
for she Sells $25,000,000 worth of her Sons and Daughters
every year.
At the Sunday School Convention, which was held in
Lynchburg, in June, 1855, a Committee of twelve Clergymen
and Laymen representing the "evangelical" denominations in
the town, was appointed to prepare an Address in behalf of
Christian education in Southwestern Virginia. It has been
published and presents some suggestive statistics. According
to the Census of 1850, the entire white population of the
State was 971,770. Of these there are over 20 years of age,
452,832 ; of whom there are who can not read, 86,183. That
is nearly one in five of the grown whites of the State. Where
will these adults learn to read, if not in the Sunday School ?
They are too old, or too poor, or too proud, to attend any
other. But again, there were in 1855, in Virginia, 379,845
young persons between 5 and 20 years of age, of whom there
238 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
were at school or college only 111,327; leaving as attending
no school at all 268,416; that is, for every young person in
the State between 5 and 20 years of age receiving instruction,
there are two who receive none ! In other words, two thirds
of that portion of population who are to become Citizens with-
in the next fifteen years, are, in these most precious years of
their history, going totally untaught.
To the questions, " What can be done to change this sad
prospect?" "How is light to be poured upon the darkness
which is thus settling all around the- people ?" " How are the
blessings, of general, and especially of Christian instruction to
be here diffused?" the Report answers as follows : —
" The best hope, we have no hesitation in answering, is in that ad-
mirable institution of our age, which is peculiarly conformed to the spirit
of Christianity, the Sunday School. This agency, whether conducted
on individual responsibility, or under denominational direction, we cor-
dially recommend as eminently beneficial in tendency. But there is one
great Sunday School organization of which we would especially speak
as peculiarly adapted to the wants of the land — The American Sunday
School Union. This is a great National association of good men, be-
longing to the leading evangelical denominations of the country," &c.
These facts are startling. One in five of the grown white
persons of Virginia — the "Old Dominion" — unable to read !
An education is due to them, such as will enable them to un-
derstand their duties and their rights. But will even these
simple suggestions be carried out ? Of course not. The peo-
ple in twenty-six counties even, of a State which will tax its
downtrodden u free Negroes" $50,000 for sending the afore-
said u free Negroes" — who don't want to go — to Africa, and
then steal the money and throw it into the Treasury for State
purposes, as Virginia has lately done, will raise no money by
taxing themselves for Sunday Schools, or any other schools,
to educate their own ignorant whites, so long as they can
thrust an arm into the vaults of a' Northern Sunday School
Union for such an object.
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 239
The Washington Star, in reference to some observations
made by the New York Tribune, in January, 1856, on the
shocking condition of the poor whites of the Slave States and
Territories of the Union, put the following question : —
" The theory is that the existence of Slavery in a community degrades
free labor therein. Now, throughout the Slaveholding States no others
are more emphatic enemies of Abolitionists and Abolitionism than our worh-
ingmen, in all callings. Far moref?*ee to do and say as they please, than
those who live by the employment of the Capital of others at the North,
not an Abolitionist is to be found among them ! If they are degraded, why
is it that they do not show something like restiveness under their con-
dition? Why do they, the freest, most independent, and self-billed
laborers on the face of the globe, who have been living since the forma-
tion of the Government in this alleged degraded condition, hate and de-
spise Abolitionism with unanimity and heartiness such as teas never before
exhibited on any other subject by any other people in our country ? Here is
a nut to crack."
Unfortunately the great bulk of the poor whites of the
Slave States and Territories are altogether too ignorant to
have any precise idea of the extent of their degradation, and
still less of the causes of it, and of the means of its removal.
The enmity of the whites, and especially of that most de-
graded class of them, the inhabitants of villages and towns, to
Abolitionists and Abolitionism, is very easily explained. De-
graded as they are, they still have the consolation of seeing
beneath them a class, and a large class, still more degraded in
the eye of the law. What a consolation to that pride so in-
nate in the human heart, and one of the mainsprings of human
action, for the most worthless, idle, pauper vagabond of a white
man still to be able to set himself down as standing in the social
scale above the great mass of the laboring population, and in
the Slave States above the majority of the whole population !
The poor whites are able to see that the abolition of Sla-
very would deprive them of this " glorious advantage ;" that
if Slavery were abolished, capacity and industry would then
240 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
become the test, and that in order to keep in advance of the
Slave population, it would be necessary to surpass them in
labor, intelligence, usefulness, and productive skill. They see
plainly enough what they would lose ; they are not able to see
what they might gain. Never having known a state of society
different from that in which they live, they have no means of
conceiving of the advantages which Freedom gives to the in-
telligent and industrious laborer, and their Slaveholding neigh-
bors make it a point to do their best to prevent anybody from
giving them the needed information. The Slaveholder knows
very well that when you have taught a man what are his nat-
ural rights, he will begin to inquire why he is deprived of
them. He reads in his Bible that God has given the earth to
the children of men ; he knows himself to be a man's child,
and he therefore asks, " Where is my portion of the Earth ?"
He perceives he has no interest in the soil, and has nothing
which he can call his own ; that he is a Slave, not the Slave
of a particular individual, but of the State.
The Hon. Cassius M. Clay, of Kentucky, himself formerly
an extensive " owner" of Slaves, whom he had emancipated,
in an address to the Slaveholders of his native State, said : —
"No! it is you who repress Education and Moral instruction — who
dare deny the Holy Scriptures to the poor Slaves and all the non-Slave-
holding White Millions of this accursed South — who sear the conscience
and imhrute men to violate female innocence and murder infants ! The
fact is on record, in divers places, that you have been the cause of the
committal of those crimes upon the Wives and Daughters of the friends
of the poor Slave and caused the perpetrators to run off." Again :
" Under your infamous Statute, 2d and 3d Sections, the liberty of over
700,000 of the native White population of the State is insidiously en-
dangered. Whenever a man is true enough to the instincts of nature to
refuse to become your watch-dog, some one of your number — and you
are not wanting in that virtue — has only to swear that he suspects him
of an intent to induce a Slave to runaway, and the poor devil is thrown
into prison to die, or forced to sign the warrant of his own exile from
his native land." Again : " Shall the poor man have no home ? Shall
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 241
the Sanctity of the Bedchamber and the Hearthstone be Jcnoivn only to the
wealthy Slaveholder ? Shall the laborer's Wife and Children have no rest-
ing-place where brutal intruders dare not come ? Where are the sons of the
Boones and the Kentons ? Does, no rusty rifle rest upon the rack, to
teach our tyrants that, among freemen, the cabin and the palace are
alike inyiolable."
Mr. Clay, in a Lecture on the " Despotism of Slavery," de-
livered in the Tabernacle, New York, said : " Citizens of New
York, where are your rights South of Mason and Dixon's
Line ?" (that is, South of the State of Delaware.) " Where is
your right to petition? Does the Senate at this day respect it
and give you a hearing ? Has not the Postoffice been viola-
ted, and letters of friendship and affection rudely broken open
by those who are in search of information against the lovers
of liberty and haters of oppression."
Judge Hall, at the opening of the United States Circuit
Court, Canandaigua, New York, in June, 1855, in his re-
marks to the Grand Inquest, alluded to this infamous practice,
and charged that no man, whether in the employ of thf Gov-
ernment or not, had any right whatever except in case of
" dead letters," to open a letter intrusted to the Mail, or to de-
tain such letter. Judge Hall was at the head of the Postoffice
Department during the Administration of Millard Fillmore.
The same infamous practice was pursued during the Admin-
istration of Franklin Pierce, and will be continued under the
Administration of James Buchanan.
The JVeiv York Tribune, in June, 1855, said: "The United
States Government, as the reader is aware, has an army of
employees called ' Mail Agents,' who travel with the mails on
our leading thoroughfares. The Mails go under their guard-
ianship, and it has heretofore been supposed that the people
were gaining something by the arrangement in the way of
security to their communications. But this appears to be an
entire mistake. These Mail Agents have free access to the
mails ; and not only so, but it seems they take the liberty of
11
242 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
opening letters whenever they see Jit to do it. If Mail Agents
are in the habit of opening letters, may they not sometimes
pocket the contents? They may as well do it as to break
open a letter and copy it."
A few days later (June 23, 1855) the Tribune said:
" There is certainly an immense number of letters mailed
which never reach their destination ; scarcely a day passes that
we do not at this office obtain letters stating that money has been
remitted to us which we have never received. A business firm
writes us from Illinois : ' We consider the management of the
Postoffice past all endurance. Our own losses from stolen
letters during the last year amount to $2,685.' "
Every Postmaster acts as a Spy and a Judge Lynch on
every document that comes into his hands. Nor is this sys-
tem confined to the Slave States and Territories. You will
find it, as we have, to our great cost and injury, in New Jer-
sey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and other States of the
"free North." But the worst of all the "free States" is New
Jersey, because the most Pro-Slavery.
In the city of Louisville, when, on a recent occasion, an
attempt was made to assert the " rights" of the working-classes
of Kentucky, the men who made the attempt were met with
the Revolver and Bowie-knife.
The " people" of Kentucky, if permitted to breathe free
air, would be brave and generous ; but Slavery has broken
their spirit, and they now wink at crimes and outrages which
would make savages stare with astonishment.
When Mr. Brady, the Lexington schoolmaster, was sur-
rounded — in December, 1855 — by a gang of ferocious poor
whites, all burning with a desire to " taste the blood of an
Abolitionist," and peering through the windows to see that he
did not escape, there were in the same apartment with him,
the School Committee, four Members of the City Council, the
City Marshal, and the Mayor. They urged him to sneak out
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 243
of the back-door ! He asked them whether it was not their
business, in such a case, to protect him ? They shrank from
the task, and replied, that u it would cost them their lives if
they did ;" in other words, it would be dangerous to do their
duty ! Mr. Brady bravely, nobly, manfully told them, that he
scorned to fly when he had committed no crime ; so he went
forth to meet the mob ; and the mob, taking advantage of his
defenceless condition, wreaked their cowardly vengeance upon
him. The " chivalrous" officers did sneak out of the back
door ; but the " trembling Abolitionist" fearlessly confronted
the mob. What a contrast does this present ! Alas for Ken-
tucky ! (Seep. 166.)
It having been reported that the Abolitionists of New Eng-
land intended to establish an Anti-Slavery paper at Lexing-
ton, on account of the outrage on Brady, the Louisville
Times, the leading " Democratic paper" of the place, replied
as follows : —
" Those that commence the paper had better get all the hair taken off
their heads, so that the Lexington people will only have the trouble of
taking off their skin."
Barbarians have a natural antipathy to a stranger. Should
one by chance come among them, he is looked upon as a
" natural enemy" and killed, perhaps cooked, without further
ceremony. There is some sense in the custom, if it be ad-
mitted that barbarism is a good thing, and worth keeping in
repair. Strange eyes and " foreign tongues" are bad for
abuses of any kind. So that those who thrive by them, or
think they do, may well be jealous of such prying intrusions.
The Slaveholding Democracy of the Slave States and Terri-
tories share to a considerable degree in this suspiciousness.
They don't like spies about them, and there are thousands of
instances of their dealing with lookers-on who had unpleasant-
ly excited their notice, in a way that would have done no dis-
credit to a Feejee Islander.
244 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
In North Carolina, to teach a Slave to read or Avrite, is
punished with thirty-nine lashes or imprisonment, if the of-
fender be a "free Negro ;" but if a white man, then with a
fine of $200. The reason for this " law," assigned in its pre-
amble, is, that teaching Slaves to read and write " tends to
dissatisfaction in their minds, and to produce insurrection and
rebellion" The patrols search every hut for books or prints
of any kind. Bibles and Hymn-books are looked upon as
" most dangerous to the welfare and happiness of the domes-
tic institutions" (Slavery and Polygamy) " of the South."
In 1853, the Mechanics of Concord, Cahawus county, with-
out consulting the Slaveholders of the place, held a meeting to
discuss their own business, and consult on matters of mutual
interest ; to discover particularly what their position was in
relation to the colored and party-colored population about
them. Their great complaint was that wealthy men, who had
"Slave mechanics^ were in the habit of underbidding them on
contracts, and that "free Negroes" who bound their oivn bodies,
to be security to white men for Money loaned, came into the
county and took away business that belonged to the white la-
borers. The principal speaker at the meeting was a young
man of more than ordinary intelligence, to which he united
the irascibility of his countrymen. He spoke in favor of res-
olutions to employ no Slaves or " free Negroes" as journey-
men while whites could be had. This young man was un-
married but supported an aged Mother.
The next day the meeting was discussed by the " influen-
tial" men. The speeches and resolutions were condemned.
Mark this, by men who were not mechanics, and who had no
interest in common with mechanics. The leader in this move-
ment was a fiery fellow, entirely unworthy the confidence of
the community — a " Nigger speckylator," illiterate and un-
reasonable — as an evidence of which we mention the fact
that about that time he nearly killed with a knife, while in a
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 245
passion, his brother-in-law, whom he cut severely many times
before he could be made to comprehend that he had hold of
the wrong man, and that his antagonist had escaped. This
person advised to send the chief speaker out of the country — ■
lie was a dangerous man to have about. This course was
agreed upon, and one of " the freest, most independent, self
willed laborers on the face of the globe" had to leave his home
on the demand of a " Nigger-driver," because he dared talk
as if he had " rights."
In South Carolina, it is declared that " having Slaves taught
to write, or suffering them to be employed in writing, may be
attended with great inconveniences." It is therefore enacted
that " all and every person or persons whatsoever, who shall
teach or cause any Slave or Slaves to be taught to write, or
shall use or employ any Slave as a scribe, in any manner of
writing whatsoever, hereafter taught to write, every suck
person or persons shall for every such offence, forfeit the sum
of $500." (Brevard's Digest, p. 243.) Again : "All assemblies
of Slaves, free Negroes, Mulattoes, and Mestizoes" (mixtures
of white and Indian), "whether composed all of any such
description of persons, or of all or any of the same, and of a
portion of white persons met together for the purpose of men-
tal instruction, are declared to be an unlawful meeting, and
the Officers dispersing such unlawful assemblage may inflict
such corporal punishment, not exceeding thirty-nine lashes, as
they may judge necessary. It shall not be lawful for any
number of Slaves, free Negroes, Mulattoes, or Mestizoes, even
in company with white persons, to meet together for the pur-
pose of mental instruction, either before the rising of the sun,
or after the going down of the same." — (Brevard's Digest,
p. 254.)
The Southern Presbyterian, published at Charleston, S. C,
thinks that " if Slaves are taught to read the Bible, they may
read other books ; and then they may rebel ; and our Wives
246 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
and our Daughters may fall victims to their vengeance."
Where did the party-colored population of the Slaveholding
States come from?
A short time since the Methodist Conference of South Car-
olina appointed a Missionary to " labor among the colored peo-
ple," but it was soon '-' suppressed by the citizens." A Com-
mittee was appointed, who addressed a letter to the Missionary
requesting him to desist. This was backed up by a remon-
strance to the same effect, signed by James S. Pope and 76
others. The document argued at length the incompatibility
of Slavery with the "mental and religious instruction of Slaves."
Hear them :
" Verbal instruction," said they, " will increase the desire of the Slave
population to le,arn. We know of upward of a dozen Negroes in the
neighborhood of Cambridge (S. C), who can now read, some of whom
are members of your societies at Mount Lebanon and New Salem. Of
course, they will supply themselves with Bibles, Hymn-books, and Cate-
chisms. Open the Missionary sluice, and the current will swell in its
gradual onward advance. We thus expect that a progressive system of
improvement will be introduced, or will follow, from the nature and force
of circumstances, and, if not checked — though they may be shi-oudedin
sophistry and disguise — will ultimately revolutionize our Civil institu-
tions."
The document referred to the " Laws of the State," and
hoped that " South Carolina is yet true to her vital interests."
The missionary enterprise was at once relinquished.
The Editors of The Mountaineer, published at Greenville,
said : " The opposition to the late Home Missionary among us
comprised the great body of our most respectable citizens."
In Georgia, if a white man teach a free Negro or Slave to
read or write, he is fined $500, and imprisoned at the discre-
tion of the Court. If the offender be a " colored" man, bond
or free, he may be fined or whipped, at the discretion of the
Court. Of course, a father may be flogged for teaching his
own child. " No congregation, or company of Negroes, shall,
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 247
under any pretence of divine worship, assemble themselves, con-
trary to the act regulating patrols." {Prince's Digest, p. 342.)
No poor white laborer dare show any sympathy with Anti-
Slavery sentiments ; if suspected of having a pitiful heart to-
ward the Slave, he is marked and doomed ; there is no rest
for him till he finds it in a "free State." And as the majority
of that class can not readily command the means to move their
families into a " land of freedom," the condition of remaining
where they are is silence on the subject of Emancipation and
opposition to all forms of Anti-Slavery.
We have known of Northern men strongly opposed to Sla-
very, whose business called them temporarily to the South, who
have bought one or more Slaves, in order to quiet the suspi-
cions and gain the confidence of the oppressors who give
" character and tone" to Society. Northern Anti-Slavery
clergymen become Slaveholders w T ith the design, apparently,
of disproving the sincerity of their former opinions.
It is well known to those who know the South that Slave-
holders resort to various tyrannical methods to free their neigh-
borhoods of poor whites, especially if they show any discon-
tent with Slavery. If they can not buy the little property
owned by those poor people, they often set up false claims to
it, or find some pretended ground of legal action against them ;
and as the Courts always favor the Slaveholder, the result is
always disastrous to the helpless and friendless non-Slave-
holder. Instead of being, as The Washington Star affirms,
"the freest, most independent, and ^//-willed laborers on the
face of the globe," they are the most dependent and obsequious
white men in the world, and as much the objects of pity as the
Slaves themselves. They are too ignorant and too poor to
escape from their degradation, and remain quietly where they
are only by loving and hating w r hat the fierce, unreasoning
Slaveholder loves and hates.
The Rev. Charles C. Jones, of Georgia, addressing "Mas-
248 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
ters," says : " You have the power to open the kingdom of
Heaven or to shut it, to jour Slaves." (Religious Instruction
of the Negroes, p. 158.)
The Georgia, a prominent journal of the State, commenting
on the deplorable condition of the non-Slaveholding white
population, says : " By reference to the last Census, it will be
seen that between 1840 and 1850 the rate of increase of the
entire white population was a little under 28 per cent. Dur-
ing the same time the rate of increase of the number of adult
Citizens in the State, unable to read, was over 34J per cent.
It is only by distinctly observing this rapid increase that we
see the facts in their appalling magnitude. This vast army of
ignoramuses will be more than doubled in thirty years ! At
the rate of the increase shown by the Census, it will have
within its ranks, in the year 1900, one hundred and seventy
thousand of the citizens of Georgia. This is the rigid result
yielded by the figures. The boy of to-day, who may live to
old age, will see the time when this host of unlettered, uncared-
for multitude in our State will have grown to over two hun-
dred thousand, unless an entirely new and effective effort be
made to drive this sore evil from the land."
The nature and value of that " liberty" w r hich a community
enjoys in conjunction with Slavery, is thus frequently illus-
trated by the Slaveholders themselves, but seldom more forci-
bly than in the recent outbreak at Mobile, Alabama. Here is
one of the Slaveholding mob's own version of the affair and its
provocation :
"Mobile, Saturday, August 16, 1856.
" There has been great excitement here to ilay, which had its origin in
the sale of Abolition books by a stationery firm in this city. The name
of the firm in question is Strickland $- Co.; the individual members be-
ing Win. Strickland and Edwin Upson. The only charge against them
was the selling of books that were regarded as of an incendiary charac-
ter, inasmuch as they favored the freedom of the Slave. This, however,
was more than our people could submit to, and a Committee of Five of
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 249
our Citizens was accordingly formed, who waited upon the individuals
above alluded to, and ordered them to leave the city in five days. As
soon as the action of the Committee became generally known, the excite-
ment rapidly increased, and the parties, for fear of more desperate meas-
ures against them, fled the City in the most secret manner possible.
The firm was in the enjoyment of a large business, and have heretofore
been liberally patronized by our Citizens."
It is not pretended that these booksellers had violated any
law ; if they had, there was no need of a " Committee of Five"
to " order them to leave the city in five days." On the con-
trary, they would have been prosecuted, arrested, and held to
answer for their offence. They were only charged with " sell-
ing books that were regarded as of an incendiary character,
inasmuch as they favored the freedom of the Slave." Jeffer-
son's Notes on Virginia, might suffice to sustain this allegation.
It was charged that they sold such books to Slaves, nor even
to "free Negroes." Of course, they only sold to such Citizens
as wanted books of that character ; had there been no buyers,
there would have been no sale. And for thus supplying "free
Citizens of Alabama" with such books as they desired and
chose to read, in violation of no law and no right, these book-
sellers were hunted like wolves from Alabama, and had their
business broken up.
The Mobile Tribune, of August 17, 1856, gives the fol-
lowing list of " gentlemen" present at the meeting : " Dr. J'. C.
Nott, the Hon. John Bragg, the Rev. W. Hawthorne, Dr. J.
H. Woodcock, Dr. H. S. Leverett, ¥m. F. Cleaveland, A.
Brooks, Joseph Sewell, the Hon. A. P. Bagby (Minister to
Russia, in 1848), A. G. Humphreys, the Hon. J. W. Lesesne,
Dr. G. A. Ketchum, Wra. Boyles, Esq., J. H. Daughdrili,
John Scott, Jacob Magee, the Rev. Dr. F. A. Ross, Joseph E.
Murrill, R. C. Macy, the Hon. E. S. Dargan, Wm. Harris,
John Hall, Goddard Bailey, S. C. Stramler, John Mann.
" The examining Committee was composed of the following
gentlemen: The Hon. J. W. Lesesne, Dr. J. C. Nott, the
11*
250 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
Hon. John Bragg, Dr. J. H. Woodcock, J. S. Secor, Esq.
The Committee who were appointed to wait on Messrs. Strick-
land & Co., were Dr. J. C. Nott, Dr. H. S. Leverett, W. F.
Cleveland, Esq."
To the Rev. W. Hawthorne, Messrs. Strickland & Upson
are indebted for the loss of their business, he having acted the
spy and informer. A pretty " follower of Christ," to be sure !
The night following that on which Strickland & Upson were
examined, immense columns of smoke were seen issuing from
the chimneys of several of the bookstores.
OE SERVANTS AND OTHER NEGROES.
CHAPTER II.
In Louisiana, the law declares, that using language in any
public discourse, from the bar, bench, stage, or pulpit, or in
any other place, or in any private conversation, or making use
of any signs or actions having a tendency to produce discon-
tent among the free colored population, or among the Slaves,
or who shall be knowingly instrumental in bringing into the
State any paper, book, or pamphlet, having the like tendency,
shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment or death,
at the discretion of the Court.
The Pro-Slavery Churches, North, " fear" that if Emanci-
pation of the Slaves took place it would be followed up by
Amalgamation ! just as if Slaveholders would be getting mar-
ried to "black girls." This argument is certainly paying a
fine compliment to "black women" and a very poor one to
white ones. "Amalgamation !" — why, a Slaveholder would no
sooner give up amalgamation than he would his life. There
is no adjunct of Slavery that he so much fancies as amalgama-
tion. Where did the party-colored population of the Slave
States come from ? The various shades of complexion every-
where tell the story. The very first "Act" of Slavery was to
abolish the Marriage relation, and the result is that we dare
not reveal the horrors of that infamous concern., called the
" Peculiar Institution."
The slang about amalgamation' generally proceeds from men
who have its odor strong upon them. Whoever needs any
2i>2 EDUCATION AND 11ELIG10US INSTRUCTION
confirmation of its truth has only to trace out the origin of a
half dozen of the " colored" sons of the " cursed seed of Jlam"
nearest him. Of the whole class, now in the United States,
there is no man who doubts that ninety-nine of every hundred
of the white fathers are Slaveholders, or at least vehemently
hostile to Abolition. Every city in the Slaveholding States
and Territories is checkered with half-bleached and three-
quarters-bleached " Niggers," while the birth of one in an Anti-
Slavery community is as rare as that of an Albino.
It is common to suppose that the creeds of the Slaveholding
Churches are " derived from the Bible," that this is a " sym-
bolical book." No mistake could be greater. They are
founded in the Slaveholder ; he is the hope of these Churches,
North and South, and Slavery is " translated out of the original
tongues" and " appointed to be read in the Churches."
The word " Servant" is a most convenient term in the " re-
ligious instruction" of Slaves, as it brings them within all the
Scriptural injunctions respecting Servants, and by keeping out
of view Human chattelization, it adroitly places, as we shall
see, the Slave on the same level with every Man who receives
Wages or a salary. Thus, in one of the Sermons composed by
Bishop Meade, of the Episcopal Church, for Slaves — "to
be read to them," and "preached to them," they are told,
" You must let your light shine as Servants, Some of us
must always be Servants. The richest and best man among
us must be a Servant to some one. Every clerk in a store is
a Servant. Every lawyer is a Servant to the men who em-
ploy him. Every minister of the Gospel is a Servant to his
people, and every physician a Servant to his patient."
Little, indeed, can the Slave be raised above idiocy, if he
does not perceive and despise such contemptible sophistry.
His grievance is, not that he works for another, but that, unlike
the lawyer, the physician, and the preacher himself, he works
without pay and under the lash.
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHEE NEGKOES. 253
The abhorred ' word " Slave" is rarely mentioned by the
preachers. Circumlocution is resorted to. They seek to
escape a guilty confession ; they call it by the reputable name
of " Servant," instead of the accursed word " Slave." As the
Syrian queen, about to perpetrate a deed which would consign her
character to infamy, called it by the sacred name of " marriage"
and committed it, so the "ministers of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ," speaking of the most guilty and cruel of all relations
between man and man, seek to avert their eyes from the act,
and to pacify the remonstrances of conscience against every
participation in the atrocious crime, by hiding under the re-
putable word £i Servant ;" but the day is coming when God will
lay bare their hypocrisy.
" Now," continues this precious Doctor of Divinity, " when
correction is given you, you either deserve it, or you do not
deserve it. Bat whether you really deserve it or not, it is
your duty, and Almighty God requires, that you bear it
patiently. You may, perhaps, think this is hard doctrine ;
but if you consider it rightly, you must needs think otherwise
of it. Suppose, then, that you deserve correction, you can not
but say that it is just and right you should have it. Suppose
you do not, or, at least, if you do not deserve so much or so
severe a correction for the fault you have committed, you, per-
haps, have escaped a great many more, and are at last paid
for all. Or, suppose you are quite innocent of what is laid to
your charge, and suffer wrongfully in that particular thing, is
it not possible you may have done some other bad thing which
was never discovered, and that Almighty God, who saw you
doing it, would not let you escape without punishment one
time or another ? And ought you not in such a case to give
glory to Him, and be thankful that he w r ould rather punish you
in this life for your wickedness than destroy your souls for it
in the next life ?"
The preacher seems doubtful whether it will satisfy his
254 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
"colored brother," writhing under the lash, or sinking under
his labor, to be told that he is only a " Servant," like the
richest and the best man in the country ; hence the " power
of religious faith" is called in to produce passive obedience,
and he is told again that God has made him what he is — that
God has placed him where he is. Hear him :
" All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye
even so unto them ; that is, do by all mankind just as you would desire
they should do by you, if you were in their place, and they in yours.
Now, to suit the rule to your particular circumstances, suppose you were
Masters and Mistresses, and had Servants under you, would you not de-
sire that your Servants should do their business faithfully and honestly,
as well when your back was turned as while you were looking over them ?
Would you not expect that they should take notice of what you said to
them ? that they should behave themselves with respect toward you and
yours, and be as careful of everything belonging to you as you would be
yourselves ? You are Servants : do, therefore, as you would wish to be done
by, and you will be both good Servants to your Masters and to God, who
requires this of you, and will reward you well for it, if you do it for the
sake of conscience, in obedience to His commands. Take care that you
do not fret or murmur, grumble or repine at your condition, for this
would not only make your life uneasy, but would greatly offend God.
Consider that it is not yourselves, it is not the people that own you, it is
not the men that have brought you to it, but it is the will of God, who
hath by his providence made you Servants, because, no doubt, he knew
that condition would be best for you in this world, and help you the
better toward Heaven, if you would but do your duty in it. So that any
discontent at your not being free, or rich, or great, as you see some
others, is quarrelling with your heavenly Master, and finding fault with
God himself, ivho hath made you what you are. If others will run the
hazard of their souls, they have a chance of getting wealth and power, of
heaping up riches, and enjoying all the ease, luxury, and pleasure, their
hearts long after. But you can have none of these things ; so that, if you
sell your souls for the sake of what poor matters you can get in this
world, you have made a very foolish bargain indeed. Brethren, beware
of temptation."
We find the South Corolina Episcopal Church declaring,
through Bishop Freeman's Tract, that " Slavery, as it exists
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 255
at the present day, is agreeable to the order of Divine Provi-
dence." And Slavery of the present day virtually denies the
Bible to 4,500,000 of the colored and party-colored natives of
the country. But let them be comforted, their want of the
Bible is a matter of no consequence. Listen to the consoling
words of the preacher :
" The sun is sometimes shut up behind a cloud, so that you can not
see it : you can not point where it is. Yet you can see all around you
light enough to answer your purposes. You work by that light" (that is,
a Pro-Slavery Christianity). " You enjoy that light, and for all common
things" (that is, Niggers) " it answers just as well as if there was no cloud,
and the sun was pouring down upon you. It is just so about the Bible.
You can not read. The Bible is hid from you just like the sun behind
the cloud."
Surely there are Bibles enough in New York, Boston, Phila-
delphia, Cincinnati, and the other Union-saving Cities of the
Republic, to give light behind the cloud. Let the Bible So-
cieties cease to waste the people's money in printing more. It
is sickening to see men styling themselves " ministers of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ," instead of sympathizing with the poor
Slave and condemning his grievous wrongs, resorting to all
sorts of tricks, and sophisms, and falsehoods, to make him be-
lieve that his privations and sufferings proceed not from cruel
laws and wicked men, but from God himself, and that " re-
ligious privileges," which are deemed of " inestimable value"
to white men, are not needed by the Slaves and "free blacks."
Mrs. Douglas, a pious lady of Norfolk, Virginia, not em-
bracing this " doctrine" about the Bible shining behind the
"cloud, undertook to teach some "free colored children" to read,
and was committed to Jail. As God enslaves the "race of
Africa,'" or "cursed seed of Ham," so, perhaps, He imprisoned
this lady, and therefore her imprisonment was, like Slavery,
"just and holy." Mrs. Douglas suffered imprisonment not
because it was actually a crime to teach a "free colored child"
256 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
to read, but because intelligence is dangerous to Slavery. It
was deemed necessary to make an example of her to deter all
future offenders. Judge Baker, in vindication of the "justice
of the sentence," said :
" In good sense and sound morality, my discretionary power to imprison
for six months or less does not authorize a mere minimum punishment.
Your guilt is beyond a doubt, and there are many aggravating circum-
stances. Therefore, as a terror to those who acknowledge no rule of
action but their own evil will and pleasure, and in vindication of the just-
ness of the laws, the judgment of the Court is, that you be imprisoned for
a period of one Month in the City Jail."
On the imprisonment of Mrs. Douglas every Anti-Slavery
heart in the "free States" cried "Shame!" " Shame ! !"
" Shame ! ! !" The Slaveholders then offered to release her on
condition that she would leave the State, &c. This, with true
nobility of soul, she utterly refused to do, preferring to suffer
the full penalty of the " law," though her jailers hoped she
would leave the city. It was then (February 9, 1854) that
The Norfolk Argus said : " On this refusal becoming known
all sympathy departed, and in the breast of every one rose a
righteous indignation toward a person who would throw con-
tempt in the face of the laws, and brave the imprisonment for
the ' cause of humanity.' "
Such a burlesque of all that is truly enlightened and just
can not be improved by any comment. It is an admirable
illustration of the significance attached to that clause in the
Declaration of Independence which guaranties " life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness" to every American citizen,
whether applied to Mrs. Douglas or the "free colored chil-
dren." It explains the fact that of the 971,770 white or non-
" colored" sons and daughters of Virginia, there are 86,180
adults who can not read.
We have another Sermon about the Bible, and a queer one
it is. How could that be morally right which renders obedi-
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 257
ence to Divine command Impossible ? How could Slaves and
"free blacks," forbidden to read, search the Scriptures ? The
late Rev. C. K. Nelson, of North Carolina (see chap. iii. of
Part I., p. 78), answers the question. Taking the Bull by the
horns, he has published a Sermon to Slaves, on the command
itself ! After showing the necessity of the Bible, its great ex-
cellency and the goodness of God in giving it, he comes to the
passage — " Search the Scriptures." But they can not read ;
no matter, God does not command impossibilities. Hear him :
" Brethren, it is not necessary you should know how to read to search
the Scriptures. Don't your Master or Mistress read this book every
morning and evening at prayers ? Don't your minister read it at Church
every Sunday'? Can't you go there and search the Scriptures'? Have
you no young Master or Mistress who would read the Bible to you 1
Have you ever asked them ? Brethren, God tells you to ' Search the
Scriptures,' and God would not tell you to do so unless you could."
In the whole range of Pro-Slavery Theology, it would be
difficult to match the cool impudence of this Sermon. In his
last days, Mr. Nelson appeared to have an instinctive dread
of the future, and hence his remarks, given at page 78. If
the Sermons and Catechisms " prepared for Slaves" and "free
blacks," are wretchedly adapted to win their faith to a religion
which, instead of condemning, approves and sanctifies their
wrongs, still less are the men who minister to the Slaves and
"free blacks/' fitted to attract their confidence and affection.
With very rare exceptions, they are themselves dealers in
Human flesh, and identified in feeling and interest with their
brother Slaveholders.
Bishop Polk, brother of Ex-President James K. Polk, was
lately lauded in The Neio York Observer for the excellent
management of his plantation. The Hon. Erastus Brooks,
the principal Editor and proprietor of the New York Express,
visited, in 1853, the plantation of this " eminent Churchman,"
and was so much delighted with its management, that we can
258 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
scarcely avoid wishing that, instead of laboring as an Editor
to strengthen and extend Slavery, he could personally experi-
ence its pleasures under Episcopal sway. The Bishop, it
would seem, "prefers raising his Stock to buying it." He
had, according to Mr. Brooks, " ninety children under ten years
of age" For these lambs of his flock the Bishop established
no school in which they could be taught to read the word of
God. No spelling-books, no hymn-books, no Sunday-school
books, were theirs. But, says Mr. Brooks, " The young ones
eat hominy and possum-fat, sweetened w r ith sugar, -plentifully
supplied, and, with an appetite that one might envy."
That the Bishop's lambs are well-fattened for Market, there
can be no doubt. " Eighteen Children had been born upon the
-plantation in less than a year, and a Child twenty-four hours
old is worth $100." A crop of Babies, in less than a year,
worth $1,800 is rather a novel source of revenue for "a Ser-
vant of Jesus Christ," but it fully warrants a liberal supply of
hominy and sugar, especially as these black lambs, under ten
years old, "are worth about $12 per pound."
The Rev. Prelate is too good a manager to let his Mothers
waste their time in taking care of their Children : " The
Children have their Nurseries, where the very old take care
of the very young, while the Mothers are at work on the
plantation." Thus the Slaves w r ho can not labor are turned to
account as Nurses, while the Mothers are sent to the field.
" The Bishop's Slaves, about 340 in number," Mr. Brooks
assures us, "fare sumptuously."
" Oh, 'tis den we are so happy, when we all sit a watchin'
As de last piece go 1 from de bones ob de possum."
Bishop Polk, according to The New York Observer, " rules
his Slaves in obedience to Christ's command." The Ri°-ht
Reverend Father in God, Leonidas Polk, Bishop of the
Protestant Episcopal Church of Louisiana, therefore, "is a
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 259
Servant of Christ." The Bishop of course, breeds and fattens
them for the Market, in pursuance of a command from the
same authority. Happy is it when " religious duty" coincides
with " pecuniary interests." Who can fail to see and feel what
powerful influence in hastening the Abolition of Slavery in
Louisiana the Gospel must exert, when preached as it is
throughout the State by a Right Rev. Father in God, holding
"about 340" of his fellow-immOrtals in abject bondage, and
deriving an annual addition to his wealth of $1,800 from his
crop of Babies, in addition to the unpaid labor of their
Parents ?
With no exceptions worthy of consideration, the Churches,
"ministers and people," are banded together in maintaining
the Satanic traffic. Yes, the " servants of Christ," and the
servants of Satan are united, heart and soul, in spreading the
horrors and abominations of Slavery. Thus we find the " re-
ligious Press" urging the establishment of Slavery in Kansas.
The " evangelical" Stock-raisers forego, for " a week," the
services of their " colored sisters in Christ," and permit them
to become Mothers, and then, instead of knocking them on the
head, " mercifully raise the helpless and Infant offspring," and
are rewarded for their benevolence by the value of the " prop-
erty" thus acquired.
What estimate can a true disciple of Christ have of the
piety of a teacher, however " venerable" he may be in years,
who would torture the truths of Revelation to support open
Robbery and universal Prostitution ?
The House of Bishops, of the Episcopal Church, now,
January 1, 1857, consists of the following Doctors of Divinity.
The stars attached indicate Slave States and Territories : — ■
The Right Rev. Dr. Brownell, of Connecticut,
Right Rev. Dr. Meade, of Virginia,*
Right Rev. Dr. H. U. Ondcrdonk, of Pennsylvania,
Right Rev. Dr. B. T. Onderdonk, of New York,
260 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
Right Rev. Dr. John Henry Hopkins, of Vermont,
Right Rev. Dr. Smith, of Kentucky,*
Right Rev. Dr. M '11 vane, of Ohio,
Right Rev. Dr. Doane, of New Jersey,
Right Rev. Dr. Otey, of Tennessee,*
Right Rev. Dr. Kemper, of Wisconsin,
Right Rev. Dr. M'Coskry, of Michigan,
Right Rev. Dr. Leonidas Polk, of Louisiana,*
Right Rev. Dr. Delancy, of Western New York,
Right Rev. Dr. Whittinghani", of Maryland,*
Right Rev. Dr. Elliot, of Georgia,*
Right Rev. Dr. Lee, of Delaware,*
Right Rev. Dr. Johns, of Virginia,*
Right Rev. Dr. Eastburn, of Massachusetts,
Right Rev. Dr. Chase, of New Hampshire,
Right Rev. Dr. Clark, of Rhode Island,
Right Rev. Dr. Cobb, of Alabama *
Right Rev. Dr. Hawks, of Missouri,*
Right Rev. Dr. Freeman, of Texas,*
Right Rev. Dr. Boone, Missionary Bishop,
Right Rev. Dr. Southgate, Missionary Bishop,
Right Rev. Dr. Potter, of Pennsylvania,
Right Rev. Dr. Burgess, of Maine,
Right Rev. Dr. Up fold, of Indiana,
Right Rev. Dr. Green, of Mississippi,*
Right Rev. Dr. Payne, Missionary Bishop,
Right Rev. Dr. Rutledge, of Florida ,*
Right Rev. Dr. Williams, of Connecticut,
Right Rev. Dr. Whitehouse, of Illinois,
Right Rev. Dr. Davis, of South Carolina,*
Right Rev. Dr. Atkinson, of North Carolina,*
Right Rev. Dr. Kipp, of California,
Right Rev. Dr. Scott, of Oregon,
Right Rev. Dr. Lee, of Iowa,
Right Rev. Dr. H. Potter, of New York.
The Right Reverend Father of the North echoes the
sentiments of the Right Reverend Father of the South.
While Leonidas of Louisiana raises providentially accursed
children of an inferior race ; on his plantation, John Henry
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 261
of Vermont exerts himself, in his diocese, to keep up the value
thereof. The principal undertaking of Bishop Hopkins' book,
"The American Citizen, his Rights and Duties," is to prove
that it is the duty of each citizen to assist in returning fugi-
tive slaves; and Bishop Polk writes to his fellow Bishops of
the South, on the necessity of adopting more stringent mea-
sures against the "Abolitionists or infidels of the North."
Piety is, as a general thing, proportionate to the number of
Slaves held by the " elect" brethren. If a saint in crape be
twice a saint in lawn, a saint with a hundred Slaves may well
take precedence in the path to Heaven of one that only owns
fifty ; and if a confessor rise to the possession of three hundred
Slaves, the halo that irradiates his brow is enough to illumi-
nate a whole Church, not to say a presbytery or a diocese.
Nor must it be supposed that the " evangelical" Slaveholding
" Churches of Jesus Christ" are only for the purity of the
faith that hath been committed unto them. They exercise,
also, a strict surveillance over the lives and conversations of
Clergymen and Professors, and either correct gently lapses
from "pure morality," or else cut off the offending member
and cast it from them — as was done in the case of the "gross
heresy and immorality" of the Rev. Mr. Boardman, by which
he had shocked the saints of Beaufort, S. C.
The crime of dancing hath more than once exercised their
anxious thoughts, and the offence of " profane stage-plays" is
one that weigheth heavily on their hearts. " The posture
suitable to be used in prayer" is another question which hath
powerfully agitated their souls, and hath not been entirely set
at rest yet. It is true that some of the more material of the
' discussions to which these " vital" matters have given rise
have been held in the Northern States. But it has been
generally on the frontier, where the " Southern brethren" are
in strong force, and greatly influence, if they do not entirely
control, the assembly of the good. There is plenty of mint,
262 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
anise, and cummin tithed everywhere, as is well known to all ;
but we think the more zealous of the exactors of the tenths
of these herbs will be found among the " Southern Christians"
and their " South-side" brethren farther North.
An important question has lately been settled by the Lu-
theran Synod of Missouri. It touched a matter no less " vital"
than the mode of distributing the " Sacramental-loaf" among
the believers. The Godly were divided in opinion as to the
point whether it were more orthodox to cut it or to break it.
•Grave doubts hung over that portion of the Vineyard, and
there was a danger of schism and a divided Zion. The dis-
pute was finally settled — Slaveholder-like — in favor of the
knife, on the ground that " breaking the bread was connected
with the Popish Doctrine of the Real presence ;" and this,
although it was admitted that breaking, and not cutting, was/
the example set by Christ and the Apostles. We do not per-
ceive, ourselves, the precise pertinency of the argument on
which the decision was made, but we feel that we can leave
this important matter in no better hands than those of the
" eminent" Divines and " pious" Laymen, North and South,
w r ho have undertaken the "holy cause" of perpetuating the
cancers of Slavery and Polygamy by hallowing them with the
sanctions of Religion.
William Aiken, an Irish-American, of South Carolina, one
of the present Members of Congress, and who came within two
Votes of being elected Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives, goes ahead of Bishop Polk as a trafficker in his fellow-
men. He owns " about 1,300" of the unfortunate sons and
daughters of the " race of Africa" or " cursed seed of Ham."
They are " valued at $1,300,000." What a commentary on
Republican institutions ! So it is. The Irish-American traf-
fickers in Men, Women, and Children, occupy seats in Con-
gress, and make laws for " freemen." It is such glaring in-
consistencies as this that induces " outside barbarians" to
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 2G3
mock at the Republic. They can not see how supporters of
the most shocking system of iniquity on the face of the earth
can be honest in their " patriotic" speeches for freedom.
The Rev. Robert Fair, of Abbeville, South Carolina,
argues in favor of giving the Bible to Slaves, as the best
means of convincing them of the Divine authority of the in-
stitution of Human bondage. Hear him : —
" There is enough between the lids of the Bible upon the suhject, fully
impressed upon the mind and heart of the Slave by human and divine
instrumentalities, to guaranty the stability and perpetuity of the institu-
tion of Slavery, without one line of legislation upon our part, looking to
the accomplishment of such an end. So rooted and grounded are we in
the faith of the entire Scriptural propriety of Slavery, from the fullness
of the Bible upon the subject, we can not discard from the mind the be-
lief, that it is by means of the teachings of his Word, in justification of the
institution, operating by divine influence upon the heart of the Slave, and
we may say of the Master too, the Almighty intended to secure its per-
petuation ; and we should trust him for the accomplishment of His pur-
poses, and look alone to these means in hopes of maintaining the insti-
tution ; for it is by them alone that it can be maintained."
We advise the " Rev. Robert Fair" to lose no time in pro-
curing a copy of a little work published by M. W. Dodd,
Broadway, near Broome Street, New York, entitled, " The
Converted Murderer." By Rev. William Blood. (See Rev-
elation, xxii. 15.)
In a Report from a Committee of the Synod of South Car-
olina and Georgia, printed in Charleston, we have the follow-
ing opinion of Slave piety : —
"From long-continued and close observation, we believe that the
Moral character and Religious condition of the Slaves is such that they
may be justly considered the Heathen of this Christian country. * * *
* # # # The influence of the Negroes upon the Moral and Religious in-
terests of the whites is destructive in the extreme. We can not" (dare
not) " go into detail. It is unnecessary. We make our appeal to uni-
versal experience. We are chained to a putrid Carcase ; it Sickens and
Destroys us. We have a millstone hanging about the neck of our Soci-
264 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
ety to sink us deep in the Sea of Vice. Our children are corrupted from
their infancy; nor can we prevent it. Many an anxious parent wishes
that his children could be brought up beyond the reach of these corrupt-
ing influences. Nor are these influences confined to mere childhood.
If that were all, it would be tremendous ; but it follows us into youth,
into manhood, and into old age."
"What else could be expected, when we find that this same
" Synod of South Carolina and Georgia" were, and are, traf-
fickers in the blood and bones of their fellow-men ? Here is
the proof from The Savannah (Ga.) Republican, of the £od
March, 1855 : —
"Also, at the same time and place, the following Slaves, to wit:
Charles, Peggy, Antone.t, Davy, September, Maria, Jenny, Isaac, &c,
levied on as the property of Henry T. Hall, to satisfy a mortgage f. fa.,
issued out of the Supreme Court, in favor of the Board of Directors of
the Theological Seminary of the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia,
vs. said Henry T. Hall. Conditions, Cash. " C. O'NEAL, Sheriff."
An article of the creed of this very Committee, of the Synod
it represents, and indeed of all the Soul-destroying and Child-
corrupting Churches of the Slaveholding States, is, that "the
Institution is of Divine appointment," and, as Bishop Freeman
asserts, and the Churches respond, " Xo man is entitled to pro-
nounce it wrong !" But it will be said, " This 'putrid carcase*
consists of the heathen, not of the 'Christian Slaves' — not
those who have been ' baptized' and ' confirmed' and ' received
the communion,' and ' committed to memory' the ' Catechism
for Slaves.' " Then hear the Committee once more : —
" The offences of colored communicants against Christian character
and Church order are very numerous, and frequently heinous. The
discipline is difficult, wearisome, and unpleasant."
These " revelations," be it remembered, are not the
" ravings of fanatical Abolitionists," but the solemn assevera-
tions of Southern " evangelical" Clergymen and Laymen of
the City of Charleston, South Carolina, the very hotbed and
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 265
focus of Slavery propagandism and Cotton divinity ; made by
men who are themselves engaged in defending and upholding
the accursed system and blessing it " in Name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost." They dread and deplore the
contamination of their " white children," but show no compas-
sion for their party-colored children, deprived by law of all
conjugal and parental rights. They are zealous in sending
Bibles to black, blackish-brown, brown, and peach-blossom
colored " foreign heathen," but to the yellow, ashy-pale, and
French-white heathen at home, the Bible is as a Sun hid be-
hind a Cloud, and they need not its bright effulgence.
" There are," we are told, " very pious men indeed among
the Southern clergy," but their piety seems never to prompt
them to remove the " putrid carcase" from among them. They
love the corpse ; they behold it with delight ; they hug and
kiss it !: — it is their cow, their bread, and their butter.* They
acknowledge it to be " a Gift from heaven" They are anx-
ious to transmit it to their white children, and fly into a pas-
sion with those who would fain relieve them of it. But it
does, they admit, smell very bad, and injures their white chil-
dren's health ; and hence they go to work, not like sensible
men, to bury it, but like a party of midnight conjurers, to dis-
infect it by certain religious incantations and strange Cate-
chisms, and equally repugnant to common sense and the glori-
ous Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thomas Jefferson (the immortal penman of the Declaration
of Independence), in a letter to M. Warville. Paris, February,
1788, speaking of the intercourse between "Master" and
Slave, says : " The parent storms, the child looks on, catches
* Dr. Bowring, in his " Manners in China," says : " A dead body is
an object of so little concern that it is sometimes not thought worth
while to remove it from the spot where it putrifies.on the surface of the
earth. Often have I seen a corpse under the table of gamblers — often
have I trod over a putrid body at the threshold of a door."
12
266 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
the lineaments of wrath, puts on the same airs in the circle of
smaller Slaves" (see Engraving at the head of chap, i., of this
Part) " gives loose to his worst passions ; and, thus nursed,
educated, and daily exercised in tyranny, can not but be
stamped by it with odious peculiarities."
The Hon. Lewis Summers, Judge of the General Court of
Virginia, and a Slaveholder, said in a Speech before the Vir-
ginia Legislature, in 1832 : ' ; Lisping infancy learns the vocab-
ulary of abusive epithets, and struts the embryo tyrant of its
domain. The consciousness of ' superior destiny' takes posses-
sion 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 the world with miserable notions of self-impor-
tance, and under the government of an unbridled temper"
What a state of society that must be to afford opportunity
to escape from the influence of which " gentlemen" send their
children to foreign lands to be educated !
Well has it been said by The True American, published at
Trenton, New Jersey, that " the greatest impediment to the
success of the Anti-Slavery cause is the opposition to it by
those men who profess to have been commissioned by heaven
to go abroad and use their efforts for the mitigation of human
wrong. This assertion, which appears so monstrous, will not
surprise any one who lives among Slaveholders. Our convic-
tion of its truth has been confirmed by extensive observation,
North and South."
Sunday after Sunday, Church-members meet to listen to the
garbled presentation of God's word, members of one Church,
claiming one God as their Father, one Heaven, to which there
i<, according to Jesus Christ — but one strait and narrow
way of entrance ; yet here in the visible Church, divided,
black from white, by a wooden fence, and on Sacrament days,
after the white members had partaken of the " bread and
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 267
wine," the party-colored members crawled through a little
gate, left open only on that day, and came forward, ten or
twelve at a time, to take the bread and wine.* We have lis-
tened to one of these " ministers of the Gospel" read the
" Discipline" and explain the clause forbidding to Church-
members the traffic in Slaves, by remarking that it referred to
the African Slave Trade, but had no allusion to American
Slavery, or to the exchange of Slaves already in bondage, and
then proceed to an harangue of an hour's length on the sin of
wearing jewelry and artificial flowers.
" As in water face answereth to face," so will Southern and
Northern Pro-Slavery piety, in all religious denominations an-
swer this picture. And this religion, the very embodiment of
Atheistic selfishness, cruelty, and oppression, baptizes itself
(what astounding blasphemy !) in the name of Him who came
to proclaim liberty to the captives and opening the prison to
them that are bound !
The Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian Press, a Journal which
vaunts itself as the especial champion of " Evangelical" Or-
thodoxy, while it brands the friends of the Slave, as " infidels"
with whom no Christian can associate without being defiled,
says : —
* 'The Neio York Tribune of December 6, 1855, speaking of the
Churches of that City, says: "Each congregation seems to enjoy and
desire only the most exclusive attendance of its own members and pew-
holders ; they do not literally post up a notice at the holy gate, prohibit-
ing visiters, or any species of outsiders, from the sacred fold, but they
do morally, and quite as effectively, the same thing. He must indeed
be bold who ventures, a stranger and alone, into a great Church in this
City ; his nerves need to be well-balanced, and his temper under steady
control." Such Churches need another Christ to die for them. They
are dying for lack of the poor in the midst of them. The real Church,
it seems, even in the nineteenth century of the Christian era, is to be
found among " publicans and sinners." Not only has a " Church of
Christ" no right to withdraw its worship and ordinances from the lowly,
but by so doing it utterly destroys its own vitality.
2G8 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
" The external forms of religion, a compliance with which costs no
sacrifice, receive from a large majority of its professors far more atten-
tion than the practical godliness which affords the only true evidence of
a saving union with Christ. There is not one in ten of the professed
followers of Christ who maintain a consistent regard of his requirements,
and are governed by the principles of his gospel. Probably not one in
fifty of those who profess to love Christ, and the souls of their fellow-
men, feel any real practical interest in the salvation of sinners, or put
forth any adequate efforts for their conversion. There is not one in
twenty of those who pretend to preach the Gospel who declare the whole
counsel of God, and who do not seek the praise of men more than the
praise of God. The amount of money expended in building and decora-
ting Churches, not for the purer worship of God, but the gratification
of pride, exceeds a hundred-fold the amount contributed to give the
blessings of an uncorrupted Gospel to the destitute, and to those who
are perishing in ignorance and sin. The amount of talent and money
expended for the propagation and support of denominational interests —
in other words, sectarianism — exceeds a hundred-fold the amount ex-
pended for the dissemination of the essential saving doctrines of the
Gospel. The Churches, for many years, have put forth vastly more ef-
fort for the unity of the Churches in sin than for their purification from
sin. This is especially true in regard to the enormous sin of Slavery.
It is admitted and declared by the leading teachers of Religion, that if the
Churches would purify themselves from the sin of Slavery, there is no other
power that could sustain that sin, and it would speedily be removed from
the land; yet many leading men in the Churches, those who have the
pre-eminence, oppose to the utmost all efficient measures for the removal
of Slavery from the Churches. Hence the sacerdotal robes of the
Churches are stained with blood of millions of Men, Women, and
Children, in bondage under the yoke of oppression."
Now the opponents of Slavery affirm that the Churches
and Ministry, whose portraits are thus sketched, are not the
Churches and Ministry of Him who came to preach deliver-
ance to the oppressed, but an arrant imposture — synagogues
of Satan. At this The Christian Press waxes indignant, and
affirms that, notwithstanding their manifold corruptions, " they
are the Official representatives of Christ, having in their hands
His commission, which endows them with authority of which
they can not divest themselves." "Which of these parties ex-
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 2G0
bibits the spirit of the Xazarene, and which that of the Phar-
isees ?
The Slaveholding Churches boast, with regard to the
" heathen of foreign lands," of the " peculiar" advantages they
enjoy by means of what they are pleased to call " an express
revelation from heaven" forgetting that they themselves are, in
effect, these very heathen ; for, with all their " superior light,"
they instil into those whom they call " benighted heathen," the
most despicable opinion of Human nature. They, to the ut-
most of their power, weaken and dissolve the universal tie
that binds and unites mankind. They sacrifice their reason,
their humanity, their Christianity, to an unnatural sordid gain.
How can Churches and Missionary Boards, who traffic in Hu-
man flesh — who are steeped to the eyelids in the pollutions
of Slavery, dare to offer the Bible to "foreign heathen"?
How are they to " give the Bible to all the nations," w T hile
consenting to the withholding of Bibles from 4,500,000 of
their fellow-men at home ? How teach Christian marriage
abroad, while they consent to and assist in its abrogation at
home? How teach that "the Polygamy of the Mormon
Church is of Satan," while they constantly practise, sanction,
and sanctify it in their own Churches. How call "foreign
heathen to repentance" for " their barbarity, their injustice,
their violations of human rights, their spirit and their usages
of caste, their concubinage, impurity, and lust," while they
quietly and complacently sit down at the " Communion Table"
with the same sins at home ?
• The fact is the Slaveholding Churches have tinkered the
" foreign heathen" quite long enough to prove their utter im-
potency — heavenward. These Churches have become so
perfectly coated with " professional piety" that they are "like
unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful out-
ward, but are within full of dead men's bones and all un-
cleanness."
270 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
It is easy to wear a long face and make long prayers, and
eat bread, and drink wine in the name of a " crucified Saviour."
This is done by the greatest robbers and oppressors the world
ever saw — by men who fatten on the unpaid toil of the outcast
and imbruted Slave, and sell him on the Auction-block to
raise Money with which to convert the " foreign heathen ;"
compassing Sea and Land to make Proselytes, and leaving'
them fifty-fold more the children of Perdition than they were
before, by teaching them, in addition to all other vices which
fester and grow under a spurious Christianity —
" To break the bondman's heart for bread,
Pour out the bondman's blood for wine ;"
in confirmation of the infinite love manifested in that sublime
death on Calvary, 1800 years ago. Conversion to such a
Religion, instead of indicating any progress in the cause of
Justice, Freedom, and Christianity, or furnishing any occa-
sion for congratulation, is a sure sign of Moral degeneracy,
Judicial blindness, and Pharisaical malignity.
On the 29th of November, 1856, " Thanksgiving Day," the
Rev. George B. Cheever (Editor of a Religious Family News-
paper, called " The Independent" published weekly, by Joseph
H. Ladd, at No. 22 Beekman st., New York), delivered, be-
fore a large Congregation, a most interesting discourse, taking
for his text the 14th verse of the 29th chapter of Proverbs :
" The King that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall
be established for ever."'
In the course of his Sermon, the w r orthy Doctor said, that
although it was not stated in the text that a nation that op-
pressed its poor, or does not faithfully judge them should not
at any time prosper, but on the contrary, in the Word of God,
it was admitted that for a season, even by means of oppression,
there might be great apparent power, luxury, and riches, yet
God demonstrated to us that the end thereof was death, and
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 271
that such a nation was on the high road to perdition ; the most
striking example of which was given in the history of the
Jews. The most pointed and tremendous illustration of the
text might be found in the 2 2d and 34th chapters of the
Prophecy of Jeremiah. In regard to these people, they be-
came so in love with power, and of such insatiable avarice in
the desire of turning their " Men servants" and " Maid ser-
vants" into Slaves and articles of property, whom they could
hold at their pleasure and exact their service without hire ; that
they combined to introduce and establish in place of the system
of freedom and paid labor which God had appointed, the sys-
tem of Slavery which he had forbidden. They concocted and
completed this enormous crime under the reign and guidance
of Zedekiah, the last King of Judak, and they had no sooner
done it than the sentence of God's wrath followed, from which
there was no reprieve, and in only three years time Jerusalem
was burned with fire, and the whole people were swept into
captivity or destroyed with sword and famine.
The 22d chapter of Ezekiel and oth chapter of Jeremiah
were also cited in illustration of the text. (At this point a
prominent member of the Church left his seat and bustled
out of the Church, slamming the door as he left the house.)
6 Now although," said the speaker, "some may wish that all ref-
erence to such a subject as that of Slavery could be avoided on
every such occasion as this (and would to God there were no
such thing as Slavery, so that there never need be any occa„
sion to mention it), yet all must be compelled to acknowledge
that the view of that subject which we find in God's word is
God's own view in regard to it, and is put there for his
creatures' guidance ; and it is neither wise nor safe for us to
hide ourselves from God's judgment on that or any other sub-
ject. And after all our circuitous political turnings and wind-
ings, we shall have to present ourselves at the bar of God's
word. It must oome to that, for God is the judge, and pro-
272 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
motion cometh neither from the east nor from the west, nor
from the south; but God is the judge — he putteth down one
and setteth up another. And although this is a sore spot for
us, and the whole region of the sore very tender to the touch,
and easily irritated, yet I will not think so poorly of an audi-
ence in the Church of the Puritans as to deem any apology
necessary for presenting any of God's messages, historical or
perspective. It is the selfish pursuit of wealth, prosperity, and
power, as ends and not means, with the neglect at first, and
afterward the oppression, of the poor, the weak, and the unpro-
tected, that has brought nearly every great Nation of the globe
in turn to destruction. Slavery has always been one of the
producing causes of national poverty, though it has been ranked
among the sources of national wealth ; but Slavery is ignorance
and poverty combined, and oppression added. The Roman
Empire fell by this cause — the selfish luxury of the wealthy,
and the frightful ignorance of the poor."
The 82d Psalm, against unjust governors and judges, no-
gether with the 94th, 74th, and 72d, was consulted in illustra-
tion of the text. The provision appointed in the word of
God — the speaker said the faithful judgment and right govern-
ment of the poor requires and comprises their Education in
Religious knowledge, which is at the bottom of everything
else, and is the only security and pledge of perseverance in
any and every effort of benevolence that can be resorted to.
I£j:he pulpits of the Northern States were supplied with
true men — with men who really cared for the oppressed,
they would produce a revolution more sublime than any which
the world has yet witnessed. American Slavery could not
last a year under such preaching. Heaven speed the day
when every Pro-Slavery pulpit in the "free States" shall be
sent to quarantine, and kept there — until their "owner" calls
for them.
" If there is in the world," says a writer in a late number
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 273
of the Revue des Deux Mb?ides, "a great nation which has
need to turn back upon itself and to sound by reflection the
dangers of the future concealed beneath present prosperity, it
is surely the United States of America. The great increase
of their population, the boldness of their enterprises, the prog-
ress of their wealth, .may doubtless dazzle the traveller who
runs through them, and may bewilder themselves. Of such
illusions there are abundant examples. In the political order,
the equality of men has been proclaimed as the absolute basis,
and, as it were, special prerogative of this Republic. Alone
arnong nations it pretends to follow this principle to the end*
and yet to-day not only the maintenance but the extension and
consecration of Slavery has become the pivot of its entire politi-
cal movement. This so shameful question agitates the elec-
tions, absorbs the press, and floats as a flag at. the head of a
party ; and this party, which wishes to keep in eternal Slavery
a whole race of Men, is the preponderant party ! Within, it
controls the Administration ; without, it makes conquests of
Territories, for the sole purpose of legalizing Slavery there, in
order that this crime may be represented in Congress by so
many additional members that it may secure a perpetual
majority, and may become the palladium of the sanctuary of
equality.
" And to arrive at this end, this party does not fear to favor
aggressions which touch not merely feeble neighbors, but which,
to a certain degree, infringe upon the interests, the ideas, the
honor, even of European nations ; so that, under the actual
circumstances, a European war against America, whatever
might be the cause or pretext of it, would be likely to take on
the character of a Monarchical crusade for the rights of Man
against a Republic which disregards and oppresses them ! If
these fundamental contradictions of this internal anarchy do
not develop themselves in some exterior discord, if this contest
of principles does not tend to manifest itself in events, then
12*
274 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
America must be a part of the world where facts and thoughts
have no connection with eacli other — a state of things even
more lamentable than would be revolutions from which it is
saved at such an expense.
" In consequence of not having listened to Jefferson, America
still drags this chain, growing daily still and still heavier —
herself the Slave of Slaves. She proceeds in a course oppo-
site to that of other nations, and notwithstanding the prodigies
of productive industry which she exhibits, she runs, with all
steam up, headlong toward barbarism. It is impossible that in
this mad course she will not dash against some rock which God
will put before her. Heart-rending delineations of American
Slavery, which, obliged to defend itself against universal re-
pulsion by atrocious laws, corrupts the family of the Master,
teaches ferocity to his children" (see Engraving at the head of
chap. i. of this Part), " and unsexes the heart of his wife, have
found readers even here. This will be the first instance of a
Republic maintaining itself by perverting morality at its source,
and in the face of the common idea that the strength of Re-
publics is in their morality. This, too, will be the first time
that a State has set itself to run counter to the movements of
the whole world without being trodden under foot. May the
voices, as yet but too few, which raise themselves in the United
States against this scourge, grown now almost irresistible, be
better listened to."
The French writer, quoted above, has missed the most
alarming symptom in the case. It has insinuated itself into
the heart's blood of the Churches, North and South. It has
diffused its poisonous and disorganizing leaven through all the
great institutions of benevolence. It subjects the religious
books, tracts, and all other publications, to a Pro-Slavery cen-
sorship, and is constantly attempting to gag the few Pulpits
whose occupants have the courage to speak " a seasonable
word for freedom."
OF SERVANTS, AND OTHER NEGROES. 275
The preachers, with rare exceptions, refuse to say anything
about Slavery or political wickedness. They complain that it
makes them nervous and spoils their dinner. In their prayer-
meetings Jhe subject of American oppression is never alluded
to, because they " never heard of such a thing as Slavery or
oppression in the United States !" Ah, they did, indeed, some-
times in India, and the South Sea Islands, and other places in
distant heathen regions, where the missionary work was going
on, but not in " Christian America," for this was too near
home, and too political. It is easy and popular to preach
about idolatry and persecution, and distress among " the heathen
of the old world," and speak about " breaking their chains,"
and they sing :
" Go to. many a tropic isle,
In the bosom of the deep,
Where the skies forever smile,
And the oppressed for ever weep."
This is very proper, but to talk about Slavery and idolatry,
and the oppressed, in the United States and Territories, only
rouses up opposition and wrath, and makes " some people"
nervous, and " grieves the Spirit of God, and prevents Revi-
vals of Religion." So the iniquity is shielded, is concealed
from exposure, and all mention of it is abhorred. The preach-
ers do in effect make Christ the minister of sin ; and in forbid-
ding the manifestation of this fearful system of wickedness, as
God's Word condemns it, and in exciting men's prejudices and
aversion against all reference to it, they keep the people in
the dark in regard to it, and thus prevent that repentance on
account of it, on the part of the people, which would forbid hs
extension, procure God's forgiveness, and secure the country
from ruin.
Every reason that demanded or made necessary God's ven-
geance against the Jews exists in full force against the people
of the United States and Territories, and their iniquity being
276 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION.
the same as theirs, what possible imagination can any man in-
dulge, that whereas the Jews perished, the traffickers in Men,
Women, and Children of " Christian America," shall escape ;
the Jews in the furnace of Divine wrath, " Young America"
walking at large in the area of his exultant oppression unre-
buked, unvisited ; the Jews in the mire of the Nations, trod-
den under foot, begging for the privilege of selling " old clothes,"
Young America on the throne claiming international sanction
for the breeding and trading of " property" in Human flesh,
frequently the Children of his own loins !
How can any man but see, who believes in a God, and re-
flects at all, or has examined the record, that every attribute
of Jehovah is pledged against the Churches, the Preachers,
and the People, who uphold or connive at such an atrocious sys-
tem of iniquity. The glory of His name, the majesty and
purity of His law, the truth of His predictions, the Divine na-
ture of His statutes, their wisdom and benevolence, requiring
to be demonstrated against the blasphemous libel of their being
a cover and shield of the most execrable avarice and oppres-
sion ; the vindication of the New Testament, as well as the
Old, and its religion of love, from such a burning odium as that
of practically going against its own great law of doing to others
as we would they should do to us ; the vindication of Chris-
tianity against infidelity, and the rescuing of imprisoned souls
made injidel by the Churches enshrining oppression as a form
of Christianity — all these things compel the descent of God's
curse upon the " evangelical" traffickers in their colored and
party-colored fellow-men, and for whom, with us, Christ Jesus
surfered, bled, and died.
PART FIFTH.
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
CHAPTER I,
" They all lie in wait for blood ; they hunt every man his brother with
a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince ask-
eth, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man he uttereth
his mischievous desire : so they wrap it up."
" It is really astonishing," said the Right Reverend Father
in God, Leonidas Polk, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of the Protes-
tant Episcopal Church of Louisiana, " how little our colored
Serva7its appreciate the special blessings of their condition."
(See chap. ii. of Part IV.) And yet, strange to say, to get out
of it, one secretes himself in the hold of a vessel; another
packs himself in a cask ; a third threads woods and swamps in
the dark, guided only by the North star ; a fourth swims rivers
and risks bloodhounds and rifle-bullets sooner than be taken ;
a fifth disguises himself and sets out for Canada without a
penny in his pocket ; a sixth plunges into the river, preferring
drowning to capture. One day it is a boy that has run away,
the next day a girl ; then a man and his " wife ;" then a mother
and her children ; then a superannuated old man. Last week
we heard of six from Virginia, yesterday of eleven from Ar-
kansas, to-day sixteen from Kentucky. One is half-naked,
278 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
another has a scarred cheek, a third a branded forehead, a
fourth a mangled back, a fifth a bullet in his leg, a sixth an
arm broken, a seventh an ear cut off, an eighth an eye put out-
Yet all these were " better fed, clothed, and treated," and more
kindly " cared for in old age," we are expected to believe,
" than the laborers of the New England States," &c.
If Slavery is so agreeable a condition tr the Slaves ; if they
are so well nurtured and " cared for" under it, how comes it
that Women are crazed by the thought of being returned to
it? How comes it that they forget all the dictates of a Moth-
er's heart, and condemn their Children to death by their own
hands, rather than relinquish the possession of them to their
pretended owners ? How comes it that their companions, who
are arrested as accomplices in this crime of murder, say that they
would rather be tried for their lives, and afterward marched to
the gallows, than be sent back to Slavery ? They know what
Slavery is, and they know what Death is, and, with many that
have gone before them in this world, they cry, " Death before
Slavery."
There is something in the heart of the poor Slave which
whispers to him that the body is more than raiment, and the
freedom of the soul infinitely greater than the comforts of the
body. Like the rest of us, he yearns for Freedom, and hav-
ing achieved freedom, though but for a few days, he welcomes
the grave as the alternative to bondage. But in doing this he
has in History some pertinent and illustrious examples. The
annals of man are filled with similar incidents. There are
names that have been rescued from that mortality which fol-
lows all human affairs, solely on the ground of such exhibitions
as we have seen in Ohio and other sections of the "free North,"
not to mention the thousand occurrences in barbarian times
— when fathers and brothers despairing of safety destroyed
those who were most dear to them.
When Mithridates was defeated by Luculles he ordered the
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 279
sacrifice of his wife and sister to prevent their falling into the
hands of the enemy ; and writers who relate the tale are
accustomed to dilate upon the act as a proof of the dignity and
grandeur of his soul. When Yirginius, summoned by Appius
Claudius to surrender his daughter as a Slave, plunged the
dagger into her bosom rather than yield to the demand, the
pen of the historian warmed into eloquence as he described
the heroic virtue of the Roman father, and the imaginations
of the poets were kindled into tragic sublimity.
The finest of the Lays of Rome, written by Macaulay, is
decidedly that which tells of the fate of the hapless Virginia ;
one of the most touching and effective of recent tragedies is
founded upon the same subject. We have seen the latter,
indeed, as enacted upon the stage, melt the eyes and stir the
inmost depths of emotion in large audiences, in whose shud-
dering sympathy with the child was always mingled a lurking
admiration for the stern heroism of the parent. Yet in what
respect does the act of the Roman Virginius differ from that
of the poor Slave-mother on the banks of the Ohio ? In the
one case the daughter was claimed as a Slave, under an in-
famous law of Rome, trumped up for the occasion, and the
father, rather than submit to it, plunged his knife in the heart
of his daughter. In the other case the child is claimed as a
Slave, under an infamous " Law" of the United States of
America, and the Mother, rather than yield to it, drew the
knife across the throat of her child. In the former, however,
the crime becomes classic ; History celebrates it ; Artists
spread it on their canvass ; poets embalm the memory of it in
undying lines ; and the world does not cease to admire it,
while it shudders, as a manifestation of the sternness and
grandeur of Roman courage. But, in the latter case, where
there is even more to excuse the criminal aspect of the trans-
action, and more to heighten its pathetic interest, because the
perpetrator is a Woman and a Mother, she is hurled to prison
280 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE , STATES.
as a murderess, either to suffer the penalty of the " Law," in
that character, or to be restored to a bondage which she re-
gards as infinitely worse than Death.
*o •
" Oh, thou mother, maddened, frenzied, when the hunter's toils ensnared
Thee and thy brood of nestlings, till thy anguished spirit dared
Send to God, uncalled, one darling life that round thine own did twine —
Worthy of a Spartan mother was that fearful deed of thine !
Worthy of the Roman father, who sheathed deep his flashing knife
In the bosom of Virginia, in the current of her life !
Who, rather than his beauteous child should live a tyrant's Slave,
Opened the way to freedom through the portals of the grave !"
The New Bedford (Mass.) Standard, of September 5th,
1855, says: "Mrs. Peterson called upon us, yesterday morn-
ing, with two Slave children, of whom we before spoke as
having been purchased in Washington, D. C, by the liberality
of some of our Citizens and persons in Boston. The children
are little girls, of the ages of six and eight years. They are
bright, intelligent-looking and quite pretty, with a remarkable
regularity of features. The most acute observer would not
discover the slightest evidence that African blood flowed in
their veins, and, the fact of their having been Slaves to the
contrary, we can scarcely believe that they are not as pure
Anglo-Saxon as any children in Massachusetts. There is not
about either of them the first physical peculiarity indicating
that they belong to the ' colored' race, and not one person in a
hundred thousand would ever entertain a suspicion that such
was the case. We trust that some one, if not all, our Da-
guerrean artists will take pictures of these little girls, and
place them in their case of ' specimens' by the street side,
so that the world may see what an American 'Nigger' is
made of."
There are hundreds of thousands of just such instances of
white children in bondage in the Slave States of the " Model
Republic." That the " Niggers" are fast " bleaching out" is
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 281
well known, and that thousands with the blood of Southern
Statesmen and Northern " hirelings" in their veins are now in
chains, can not be disputed. In a few years more there will
scarcely be a " black Nigger" in Slavery.
A Southerner arrived in New York City in March, 1856,
and made known to a confidential friend — a Cotton Broker,
that he had come in pursuit of a " runaway Nigger," his own
property, and from the fact of the Slave being kt a beautiful
female Nigger, about sixteen years of age, and perfectly
white," he thought it advisable not to attempt to recover her
by making application in any quarter where the fact of his
pursuit would be likely to be made known to the public, as his
object might thereby be frustrated. His friend advised him,
therefore, to offer a reward of three hundred dollars, to some
intelligent Police officer, for the arrest of the fugitive, and
trust to his prudence and discretion. The advice was taken,
and after a while a clue was got to the whereabouts of the
" beautiful Nigger/' but before she could be arrested she was
" up and gone," the graceless girl, and away to Canada, and
beyond the reach of her " legal owner."
There was nothing unusual or marvellous in all this, but it
was discovered during the time that the search for the fugitive
was being made, that the "beautiful Nigger" was his own
daughter, and had escaped from a lecherous old wretch, to
whom he had hired her for five years. Soon after her arrival
in New York, she had captivated the heart of a white gen-
tleman who married her. He did not suspect her origin.
The husband having by some means or other got scent of the
danger, instead of playing the part of Inkle to his Yarico, had
the manliness to start with her to Canada.
Isaac Johnson and his wife, who recently escaped from
Slavery, give a narrative of the hardships they endured, and
from which we deduce the following facts. They were held
as " property" in the State of Mississippi, a short time since.
282 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
and were the parents of an only child, which was about thir-
teen months old. A few days before they started on the
hazardous voyage to Canada, the mother learned that she was
sold to a Slave-trader, who intended to separate her from her
" husband" and child, never more to see them on earth. But
they resolved on running away with their child or perish.
They succeeded in reaching what is called a "free State"
(Indiana), with their child, where they were chased until it
was sacrificed. On seeing that they were closely pursued,
they broke and ran to a corn-field — the "wife" first got over
the fence, and the " husband" handed her the child, with which
she ran as fast as she could. She heard the pursuer saying,
" stop, stop, or I'll shoot you down ;" and before she had pro-
ceeded far, a gun was fired, and her child was shot dead from
her back — and the ball, which passed through the child's
neck, cut off one corner of the mother's ears. At this moment
the poor mother fell down with her lifeless babe, when she
was rushed upon by two men, who tried to tie her with cords ;
but when she cried for help, her " husband" came to her relief
— the contest was desperate for a few moments; the "wife
and husband" both fought until they brought down the mur-
derer of their child, and his companion fled. The " husband
and wife," fearing that they would soon be surrounded and
overpowered, and seeing that their little one was dead, and
that they could do it no good, reluctantly left it lying by the
villain who shot it. Fortunately for them, they soon found a
depot of the " underground railroad," and one of the con-
ductors thereof was kind enough to put on an extra train,
which soon landed them on Canadian soil.
On Sunday evening, October 5, 1856, about nine o'clock,
the steamship Roanoke arrived at her dock, in New York,
from Richmond, Virginia, and during the night, as they were
discharging her cargo, one of the hands discovered a box, in
which was secreted a Man, who being nearly suffocated for the
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 283
want of air, had forced the lid, when it was discovered that lie
was a fugitive Slave. The Steamer was immediately sent
from her dock, and anchored off Sandy Hook, and the Slave
put on board one of the Richmond packets, to be taken back
to " Old Virginia."
In September, 1851, a warrant was issued in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, by Edward D. Ingraham, United States Mar-
shal, authorizing the arrest of two party-colored Men, claimed
to be the " property" of Edward Gorsuch, a prominent Mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who with his two
Sons, Dickinson and Joshua, and his nephew, Doctor Thomas
Pierce, and several other persons, reached the place where
the fugitives were harbored at daybreak, on the 11th of Sep-
tember, 1851. This was a two-story stone building on the
farm of Levi Pownall, three miles from the village of Christi-
ana, in the county of Lancaster. The Slaves were sum-
moned to surrender, and the United States warrant read aloud
by the Marshal. The owner of the house denied that the
Slaves were in the house, although the hunters had seen them
at the upper window, and called upon them to descend. Upon
their refusal to do so, the Marshal attempted to ascend the
stairs, whereupon an axe was hurled at him from above, and
a gun fired from the window ; the Marshal then fired a pistol,
and his fire was returned by the Slaves. The Marshal and
his party then withdrew from the house, and were again fired
upon from the upper windows.
The Marshal again read aloud his warrant, and Mr. Gor-
such entreated his -property to surrender. During this parley,
two w r hite men, Elijah Lewis and Castner Hanway, came up
— a horn was blown, and several " colored men" rushed to the
scene from the surrounding woods. Some of them were armed
with guns and pistols, and others with scythes and corn-cutters.
The Marshal and his posse requested Lewis and Hanway to
aid in making the arrests, and exhibited and read the warrant.
234 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
But this they refused to do. Upon this encouragement, the
party outside surrounded the Marshal and his men, shouted
and fired upon them. Edward Gorsuch fell dead. Dickin-
son, his son, while running to his aid, was shot through the
heart ; and Joshua received a shot in the head. Dr. Pierce
fought desperately. He was wounded in more than twenty
places.
A most disgraceful and brutal occurrence took place at
Wilkesbarre, on the 23d of September, 1853. About 7
o'clock, a. m., an attempt was made by " Deputy Marshal
Wynkoop" (a brother to Colonel Wynkoop) and' " Joe Jen-
kins," and three assistants from Virginia, to arrest, as a fugi-
tive Slave, a waiter, in the Dining-room of the Phoenix Hotel.
Immediately after receiving their breakfast at the hands of
" Bill," the unsuspecting fugitive, who is a tall, noble-looking,
remarkably intelligent, and active man, they suddenly, from
behind, knocked him down, and partially shackled him ; but,
by a desperate effort, and after a most severe struggle, with
the whole five upon him, he shook them off, and with the aid
of his handcuffs, which were only fast upon his right hand,
he inflicted wounds on the countenances of the hunters, the
marks of which they will carry to their graves. But, notwith-
standing the odds against him, he broke from their grasp, and,
covered with blood, rushed from the Hotel, and plunged into
the Iiiver close by, exclaiming, " / will drown myself rather
than be taken alive /" His pursuers fired twice at him on his
way, without checking his speed, and, on reaching the bank,
they presented their revolvers, and called on the fugitive, who
stood up to his neck in the water, to come out and surrender
himself, or they would blow his brains out. He replied,
"There's no use — Til never go back — -Til drown myself first 1"
They then deliberately fired at him five times; the last ball was
supposed to have wounded his head, for his face was instantly
covered with blood, and the poor fellow shrieked out in agony,
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 285
and no doubt would have sunk, but for the buoyancy of the
water holding him up. The wretched, chicken-hearted Citi-
zens, who had by this time collected in large numbers, were
becoming excited, and could no longer, refrain from crying
out, " Shame, shame !" and which had the effect of causing the
hunters to retire a short distance, in evident consultation.
The Slave, not seeing his pursuers, came to the shore ; but
not being able to support himself in the water, he lay down
exhausted, and was supposed to be dying, on hearing which
the Slave-catchers remarked that " dead Niggers were not
worth taking South." A poor "free colored woman" brought
a shirt and a pair of pantaloons and put them on the fugitive,
who, in a few minutes, unexpectedly revived, and was walking
off from the river, partly held up by the husband of this poor
woman, whose name was Rex ; on seeing which the hunters
again headed him, and presented their revolvers, and called
upon him to stop, threatening to shoot any one who assisted
him. The white doughface friends of Rex instantly shouted,
"Stand away! stand away, Rex! You'll get shot, too."
This was bad advice, as it had the effect of encouraging the
pirates, who kept advancing toward the fugitive, and at the
same time intimidated Rex, who drew back, exclaiming to the
Slave : " Away, Bill, to the water again ; don't be taken
alive !"
The poor fellow, seeing himself deserted (for there was a
general drawback of the doughfaces, on the Revolvers being
presented), turned, and plunged into the river, and this time
swam out of the range of pistol-shot, where he remained upward
of an hour, covered with blood, and in full view of hundreds
of things called " white men," who lined the banks of the river.
His pursuers dared not follow him into the water, for, as he
afterward remarked, " I would have died contented could I but
have carried two or three of them down with me." In the
meantime, some few " Men" had arrived, who were deter-
286 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
mined to have the hunters arrested. Judge Collins questioned
them as to their names and authority, to which they replied:
" You act more like a lunatic than a Judge," &c. They, how-
ever, saw the sentiment was strong against them, and drove off
before an officer could be found to arrest them. A telegraphic
despatch to the constable in Hazleton caused their detention
there ; but he was overawed by such pompous United States
officers, and they were allowed to go.
After the departure of the pirates, the poor fugitive, afraid to
come out there again, sw 7 am some distance up stream, and got
out above, and was found by some " colored women," flat on his
face in a corn-field ! These Christian women carried him to
a place of safety, dressed his wounds, and at night he was so
far recovered as to be able to start for Canada.
There was a general dread of the pirates, who bullied and
browbeat any one who ventured to speak above his breath, ex-
claiming, occasionally : " Gentlemen, you can have him for
$1,500 ; but we are United States Officers ; resist us at your
peril."
On the 18th September, 1854, at 4 p. m., a suspicious-look-
ing carriage-full of white men was seen near Byberry ; they
lurked about in the neighborhood until nightfall, when they drove
up and rushed into a house and seized a " colored man," in the
presence of his wife and another woman, threatening to shoot
them if they interfered, and dragged him out, beating him over
the head at the same time. The poor fellow continued to
scream for help, but they forced him into their carriage and
drove off, before any assistance could be offered. The neigh-
borhood is cut up by several roads, leading in various direc-
tions, which facilitated their diabolical deed, making it impos-
sible, under cover of the night, to tell which road they had
taken. The kidnapped man had resided several months in
Byberry, previous to which he had lived in New Jersey.
Whether he had ever been a Slave or not, none could tell.
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 287
He had gained the respect of the people of Byberry by his
sober and industrious habits. He left a heart-broken wife and
cne child to mourn his loss.
Byberry is a Quaker neighborhood not more than fifteen
miles from the Hall where the Declaration of Independence
was signed on the fourth day of July, 1776.
The borough of Harrisburgh was thrown into a state of
"considerable excitement" on the 23d of February, 1855, in
consequence of a daring attempt to Kidnap George Clark, a
"free colored boy." The circumstances of this case are briefly
these : Clark had been lured from a dance-house, kept by a
"colored man," under the pretext of being sent on an errand
for brandy for the occasion. Two white men, Dr. Thompson
and J. Jackson, accompanied him, and took him to Solomon
Snyder's residence, in the lower section of the borough, and
invited him up-stairs to get some " grog." Immediately after
entering Snyder's room, the latter fastened the door and said :
" Clark, I am going to take you back to your owner." A
struggle ensued ; the boy made for a window' fronting on the
depot of the Pennsylvania Railroad, broke the sash through —
severely cutting his arm — and raised a cry of "Murder!"
A number of people made for the spot, and found Clark hang-
ing out of the window, some forty feet from the ground, head
downward, and Snyder and his wife holding on to his legs. A
party rushed up-stairs, and learned from the boy that he was
" free ;" that an attempt had been made to knock him down and
gag him, and that his only refuge was to jump from the window.
Snyder, who stood like a felon detected in his wicked act,
had nothing to say for himself, and was taken before a magis
trate and thence to prison. Jackson was captured, but Thomp-
son made his escape.
Judge Stroud, of Pennsylvania, in his " Sketch of Slavery,"
says : " Remote as in the City of Philadelphia from those of
the Slaveholding States in which the introduction of Slaves
288 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLATE STATES.
from place to place within the United States is freely permit-
ted, and where also the market is tempting, it has been ascer-
tained that more than thirty free colored persons, mostly Chil-
dren, have been kidnapped here and carried away within the
last two years.* Five of these, through the kind interposi-
tion of several humane gentlemen, have been restored to their
friends, though not without great expense and difficulty. The
others are still retained in bondage."
On the 13th of December, 1854, Mary E. Parker, a young
woman, residing in Chester county, was seized, in the evening,
by two kidnappers, and carried to Baltimore, sold, and trans-
ported to New Orleans. A fortnight later, December 30th,
her sister, Rachael Parker, was forcibly taken from the house
of Joseph C. Miller, by two men, who took her to Baltimore
and sold her.
Mary Gilmore, of Philadelphia, claimed as a "runaway
Slave," was proved to be the child of Irish parents, and had
not a drop of African blood in her veins.
Another outrage, of this sort, was perpetrated on r Sunday
evening, July 1, 1855. The facts of the case are as follows:
Benjamin Johnson, a lad 15 years of age, was on his way
from the residence of his parents, near Evansburgh, to Samuel
Jarrett's, near Jeffersonville, with whom he had been living.
* The New York Tribune, of the 7th of October, 1856, says : "It may
surprise many of our readers to learn that from thirty to forty white
Children are stolen eA r ery year in New York from their parents, and
never heard of more. Yet such is the fact. A child is lost, search is
made by the parents ; days, weeks, months pass, but no tidings of their
little one are ever heard. At last the search is given over, and the mat-
ter is forgotten until a similar calamity brings anguish into another fam-
ily. The mystery is, what is done with them 1 Something ought to be
done to preserve the children and save parents the anguish of losing
them." The kidnappers invariably seize the handsomest children, nine
out of ten being female children. Handsome " white Nigger girls" are
"anxiously sought after" — in the Southern Markets.
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 289
He was overtaken by a well-dressed, genteel-looking young
man in a carriage, who asked him where he was going, and
then told him that as he was going to Jeffersonville if he
would get into the carriage he would take him there. The
boy at first declined, but finally consented. The man then
drove in the direction of Jeffersonville for about a mile, con-
versing with the boy meanwhile on various subjects. He then
drove off at a rapid pace on another road. Night coming on,
the boy became fearful that all was not right, and resolved, if
possible to make his escape. He made an effort to spring
from the carriage, when the villain caught him and drove off
at full speed, and by threats and blows prevented him from
making any alarm. He drove to the stone hills, fifteen miles
from Jeffersonville, where, in consequence of his whole atten-
tion and strength being required to manage the horse, the boy
succeeded in escaping from the carriage and making off, and
reached his father's residence at sunrise next morning.
On Friday, July 9th, 1855, at an early hour in the morn-
ing, a white girl, fourteen years of age, the daughter of Samuel
Godshall, residing within three miles of Downington, Chester
county, was carried away by two men, in a close carriage, a
distance of twelve miles from her home, toward the Maryland
line. The girl had been with a neighbor for the past two or
three weeks taking care of a sick child, and on the morning
of Friday, while going along the road to drive a cow from the
pasture-field, she was accosted by two men, very genteelly
dressed, who were standing near a carriage. They asked her
name, and where she lived, to which inquiries she gave an-
swers without hesitation, supposing that they were friends or
acquaintances of a gentleman residing in the neighborhood.
Without any further conversation, one of them opened a tin
box, and took therefrom what appeared to be a pitch-plaster,
which he instantly clapped over her mouth, when both of them
dragged her into the carriage and drove off, by an indirect
13
290 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
route from the place, through Coatesville, three miles from her
home. Here she managed to jump from the carriage and run
into a wood.
The poor girl, faint and sick from mental excitement and
terror, scarcely knew where she was or what to do, when she
was met by two colored men, who assisted her and advised
her as to her course homeward. She reached her home late
in the evening. She stated that when her sobs and efforts to
cry prevailed, the kidnappers threatened to knock her brains
out.
Among the freight which passed through Pittsburgh recent-
ly, on the "Underground Railroad," was a daughter of "a
wealthy and influential citizen" of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a
young lady of remarkable beauty and no mean supply of spirit
and intelligence. She had been well brought up and kindly
cared for by her father ; but a creditor levied on her for debt.
She was taken to New Orleans and placed in a calaboose for
safe-keeping, and for the inspection of purchasers. Among
those who thought of buying the article was one gentleman,
who wished to learn if her bust was indebted to padding for
its form ; but the girl resented this pursuit after knowledge as
a personal insult, whereupon the wretch drew a heavy whip
and dealt her a blow, which she caught upon her right arm
and shoulder. That night — the night before the sale — some
one came into her prison, and gave her a suit of gentleman's
clothing, bade her dress quickly, and follow. She did so, and
was placed by the unknown friend on a Steamboat bound for
Pittsburgh, where she arrived safely. Her arm and shoulder
were disabled from the effects of the blow by her " chivalric"
would-be purchaser, but she was thankful to have got off so
cheaply ; was hopeful for the future, and, with a considerable
company of emigrants, was promptly forwarded to Canada.
We learn from The Pittsburg (Pa.) Dispatch, of the 6th
of August, 1856, that a grand " Nigger-hunt" had just come off
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 291
in Greene county, in which fifty armed white men were en-
gaged in the pursuit of nine Slaves, who had runaway from
Booth's Creek, Harrison county, Virginia (eight miles from
Clarksburg), a few days before. The fugitive.-', three men and
six children, escaped, and the Pennsylvania " Nigger-hunters''
earned, not the reward they so anxiously sought, but the con-
tempt of all honorable men. In one township half a dozen of
them drew their Revolvers on a Woman, who had refused to
allow them to search her house for the runaways.
The New York Tribune, of the 7th of August, 1856, says:
" Two runaway Slaves from the northern part of Kentucky
arrived in Erie (Pa.) on Saturday last. Some of their friends
in town secreted them and arranged for their translation to
Canada, which last stage in their journey was safely traversed,
although the poor fellows were hotly pursued by a man who
claimed to own them. He arrived in Erie in time to learn
that they had evaded him."
Not long since a runaway Slave, from a plantation in
Western Maryland, was captured and taken to Baltimore, half
doubled up with the weight of irons around his neck, which
the poor fellow said he had worn for nearly ten months. This
iron-collar was so arranged as to have a bell in it behind his
shoulders. When he was brought in, a crowd of the " poor
whites" collected around him to know where he was from, and
who he belonged to ; and in the crowd was one more bold
than the rest, who spoke, and said, " Take off his irons, take
off his irons." But an old gray-headed man spoke up and
said, " Oh, no, no, I would not take off his irons ; make the
black rascal keep them on." And that same old man had, only
the day before, received the " Holy Sacrament" at " Christ's
Church," the Rev. Dr. Johns.
Mr. John H. Pope, of Frederick, Maryland, addressed a
letter, in January, 1855, to the Editor of The Montreal Ga-
zette, in relation to his proposed " Nigger-hunt" on British
292 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
ground. It is so exquisitely " chivalric," so thoroughly indica-
tive of the " great beauties of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850,"
and of the means proposed " to conquer the prejudices" (to quote
from Daniel Webster's 7th March speech) of the people of
free communities, that we can not refrain from copying it
entire. Here it is :
"Frederick (Md.), Jan. 16, 1855.
" To the Editor of the Montreal Gazette:
" Sir : Properly to reply to the article in your paper, commenting on
a letter received by the Sheriff of your City, would be impossible, as I
have been unable, as yet, to obtain the article, and can only speak of it
as I gather its import from The Baltimore Sun. The generous reception,
and still more generous treatment which you promise, in anticipation of
my coming, is fully appreciated, and is as much as could be expected
from one of Her Majesty's 'most loyal subjects.' What a magnanimous
people the Britons are ! Why, Sir, with my dog ' Taylor,' named after ' old
Zack,' and six good mounted riflemen, I would not hesitate to inA^ade Can-
ada, hang Her Majesty's sheriff, tar and feather Her loving editors, and
place myself 'at the head of affairs.' Fear to enter Canada in pursuit of
my runaway property ! No, Sir ; the wife of that German Prince will
soon be compelled to relinquish her American possessions, and the least
violence offered to a free and enlightened American Citizen would only
anticipate the event. Her Majesty's ' black regiment,' composed mostly
of runaway Niggers from Western Maryland, would likely be the first to
yield the ground, as many of them are familiar with the bark, if not the
bite of ' Taylor/ and Her Majesty's editor, whom we suppose either
black or tinctured with the blood, had better not be in command, for fear
that ' Taylor' might want his accustomed provisions.
" In conclusion, we have only to say that Her Majesty's editor and
Her Majesty's sheriff have only to prepare against an invasion which in-
volves more than runaway Niggers, and which, in result, will give free-
dom to Canadians, and a defeat to that power which has ruled the wave
and the land for the last few years ; save when General Jackson, with
his forces, lick'd the devil out of 'em at New Orleans.* Now I have
done with you, Mr. Editor, and have only to request that you will be
* Since which time he appears to have been the " particular patron"
of the "good people" of Western Maryland. t
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 293
honest, and give my sentiments to the world ; then honest men may-
judge between us, and ascribe to each his proper share of praise.
" JOHN H. POPE."
Travellers, with Sun-burnt complexions, should be extremely
cautious as to how they " circulate" themselves in Western
Maryland.* But the Slaveholding States are not the only
States where bloodhounds are kept to hunt down and destroy
" the race of Africa" or " cursed seed of Ham." The Cleveland
(Ohio) Plaindealer, says : " Ephraim Whitehead, son of Mr.
R. Whitehead, who lives on Cedar street, was missing on Sat-
urday (March 29, 1856), about 11 o'clock. After dinner the
family became alarmed, and search was instituted for him. A
nephew of Mr. Whitehead discovered the boy in a field, some
twenty rods from the house, nearly dead, having been attacked
and torn in a most shocking manner by a bloodhound slut.
The poor little fellow lived only half an hour after he was
found. When he was discovered, the question was asked
if it was the bloodhound that had attacked him. He had
barely strength enough to half articulate ' Yes.' The boy was
about eight years of age, and was a general favorite with the
family. The hound is of the same breed used by Slaveholders
* The Philadelphia (Pa.) Bulletin, of the 28th July, 1856, contains the
following, which it gives as perfectly reliable : "It seems that in some of
the border counties of Maryland there is a patrol established to prevent
the escape of Slaves. A few days ago two men belonging to this patrol
were walking along, when they met with a Slave whom they accosted,
asking where he was from. He replied, naming a well-known place.
One of the parties questioned him further, and for a reply the Slave sud-
denly drew a weapon, and, with a back-handed blow, severed his inquis-
itor's head from his body ! The headless trunk dropped on the road.
The surviving man's first impulse, after the shock, was to pursue the
Slave, but he gave up the chase, and the Slave escaped. A bowie-knife
and revolver were found upon the person of the dead man. The scene
of this tragedy was in Cecil County, near the head of Sassafras river.
The Maryland people have published nothing about it, as it is consider-
ed 'more prudent to keep quiet about all such things.'"
294 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
to hunt runaway Negroes. We hope that this sad event will
teach and enforce the necessity of killing all Slaveholders'
dogs, as it is dangerous to the safety of Women and Chil-
dren to have such animals in a thickly-populated City like
ours"
Ohio is full of such animals. The Dry-goods Jobbers, &c,
of the State have to look after the interests of those in Ken-
tucky, Tennessee, and other Slave States, with whom they " do
business."
The Cleveland Herald, of June 13th, 1856, has an article
stating that great havoc had been committed by Slaveholders'
bloodhounds among flocks of sheep in different parts of the
State. One farmer had 90 killed in one night ; another lost
30, and so on.
The following incident occurred in the Township of Orange :
A Slaveholder's bloodhound kept by a Mr. Honeywell, rush-
ed into a School-house among the children, biting them right
and left. One little girl was dragged all around the School-
room by the brute, and six children were bitten. One little
girl had a large piece taken from her hip. The children
sought refuge under the benches and wherever they could, to
get out of the reach of the brute. A man came with an iron
bar to the relief of the children and killed the monster.
The assertion has been frequently reiterated by the Pro-
Slavery Doctors of Divinity and their allies, that the fugitives in
Canada are incompetent to provide for themselves, that many
persons consider it no act of kindness to aid them in their
flight from bondage. Determined to ascertain their actual
condition, a gentleman of the highest respectability, a resi-
dent of Cleveland, Ohio, who visited in Dec, 1855, parts of
the Upper Province, in which a great many of them reside,
says : " My efforts were both successful and highly satisfactory.
Everything appertaining to this persecuted people I found had
been misrepresented. Evidences in abundance were discover-
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 295
ed to show that they are as competent to take care of them-
selves as the white folks of New England. Their Farms,
Dwellings, Workshops, day and Sabbath schools, are as well
managed as similar matters and things among our Yankee
population. If you should travel from house to house, in any
direction from Cleveland, among the New England Farmers,
you would not find stronger evidences of advancement and
comfortable living than were discoverable among an equal
number of these colored Families. On the score of Kindness,
Affability, and Good manners, it is feared the former would
suffer by the comparison.
"It is evident that the present generation of colored men
are rapidly accumulating wealth and power, and it requires no
spirit of prophecy to predict that the ensuing generation will
make its mark upon the page of history. The young, of both
sexes, harbor a deadly hatred toward the South, and even
against the whole Union. From infancy they have heard one
constant narrative of wrongs suffered by their parents, and
many of them expressed both an anxiety and determination to
seek revenge whenever circumstances would permit. With-
out knowing how to read or write, many of them are sensible
and judicious in their conversation and actions. The want of
Education evidently stimulates them to furnish means for in-
structing their Children."
" Ran away from the subscriber, living near Upper Marlboro', Prince
George's county, Maryland, on Monday, the 28th August, a Negro boy,
who calls himself Allen West. He is about 20 years of age, a bright
light color, freckled face, straight red hair ; has a large scar on one of his
wrists (caused by the bite of Mr. Pope's dog 'Taylor') ; he is about 5
feet 6 inches in height. He has relations living in Washington City.
He has also a brother belonging to Richard B. B. Chew, Esq., and a
sister belonging to Thomas Talbert, Esq. ; and his father belongs to
Colonel William D. Bowie, and stays at his ' Bellfield plantation.' I
have reason to believe he is endeavoring to pass himself off as a white
boy! I will give $300 reward for his apprehension, if taken in a free
296 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
State, or $100, if taken elsewhere, provided he is brought to me or se-
cured in some jail so that I can get him.
" CHARLES CLAGETT."
"$100 Reward. — The above reward will be paid for the apprehension
of my Slave man William. He is of a very light color, and has straight
yellowish hair. I have no doubt he will change his name, and try to pass
himself for a white man, which he may be able to do, unless to a very
close observer. " T. S. PITCHAKD."
The staple argument in favor of Slavery is based on the
inferiority of the African blood, but as in more than half the
States of the Republic three fourths or more of the blood is
mixed with the blood of the "first families," such advertise-
ments as the above are of every-day occurrence. Fathers
advertise for, and hunt down with bloodhounds, their runa-
way Sons and Daughters, and Grandchildren, and catching
them, sell them into Slavery." If a Slave can "pass himself
off for white" he- is essentially white ; and the " Nigger argu-
ment" falls to the ground.
Notwithstanding the constant boastings by the champions
of Slavery of the "kind indulgence extended to the Negro
race in Slaveholding communities," how uniformly do facts
disprove the truth of such boastings, and hold up to scorn the
heartless exercise of power by the fearful and, consequently,
cruel oppressors of their fellow-men. A short time since one
of the Washington Newspapers contained an account of the
arrest of a dozen or more "free men of color," who had, as
was proved, assembled in a room, at night (the only time they
probably could have taken), for the purpose of raising a suffi-
cient fund, out of their own means, in good part, to purchase the
freedom of a young woman whom they wished to befriend ;
and of their being detained in the watch-house all night, and
in the morning compelled to pay, to the Corporation of Wash-
ington, fines exceeding in the aggregate the amount of the
fund they had collected for the noble purpose they had in
.DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 297
"Ran Away from the plantation of James Surgett, the following Ne-
groes : Eandall has one ear cropped ; Bob has lost one eye ;
Kentucky Tom has one jaw broken." — Southern Telegraph, Wash-
ington, D. C.
"$300 Reward. — Han away from the subscriber on 'Difficult Run/
near George W. Hunter's Mill, Fairfax county, Va., on Sunday, the
13th inst., a Negro woman, having with her a child six months of age,
almost white. The said woman is delicately made, of a very light color,
is five feet two inches in height, and is supposed to be in the neighbor-
hood of Georgetown, D. C. The above reward will be given if she be
taken in Georgetown or Washington, or the adjoining counties, and
secured so that I can get her. " CHAS. W. ADAMS."
Washington Star, Jan. 18, 1856. -
There can be no difficulty in deducing from facts like these
the moral and religious condition of the people of the District
of Columbia. Evils, crimes, and purposes like these, can only
spring from a public sentiment utterly corrupted, no matter
what may be the Religious pretensions and professions of the
people. " By their fruits shall ye know them."
To run away from Slavery has been declared to run away
from God. The " evangelical'' Slaveholding " Church of
Jesus Christ at Union, Farquier county, Virginia," has pro-
nounced excommunication against one of its members for run-
ning away from his " evangelical" owner, a member of the
same establishment, and " seeking freedom in the North."
This " Nigger" (see Engraving at the head of this chapter)
" who so disobeyed the laws of God and man," in the lan-
guage of that Church, was caught, and by the active endeavors
of President Franklin Pierce and his Agents, and the Agents
of Cotton and Doughfacery, was restored to " Christian Soci-
ety," and the " pious owner" who bewailed his Slave's back-
sliding into Massachusetts. After a season of repentance, un-
der the exhortations of the " blood-stained cow-hide" and the
Rev. John Clark, this member of the blood-stained me~nagerie
was bought out of Slavery by the Abolitionists of Boston,
13*
298 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAYE STATES.
Massachusetts, and presented to himself. Taking the gift, he
straightway went to Oberlin, Ohio, to Educate it for the min-
istry. Arrived there, he, Child-like, wrote back to Union, to
his old Pastor, for a letter of dismission from the Church he
so wickedly ran away from when he ran away from Slavery.
The Pastor, the Rev. John Clark, made the following answer :
" The Church of Jesus Christ, at Uniox, Fauquier Co., Va. :
" To all lohom it may concern.
" Whereas, Anthony Burns, a member of the Church, has made appli-
cation to us by letter to our Pastor, for a letter of dismission in fellow-
ship, in order that he, may unite with another Church of the same faith
and order ; and, Whereas, it has been satisfactorily established before us
that the said Anthony Bums, absconded from the service of his owner,
and refused to return voluntarily, thereby disobeying both the laws of God
and man, although he subsequently obtained his freedom by purchase,
yet we have vow to consider him only as a fugitive from labor (as he was
before his arrest and restoration to his owner), have, therefore, Resolved,
unanimously, that he be excommunicated from the Communion and
Fellowship of the Church of Jesus Christ — Done by order of the
Church, in regular Church-meeting, this 20th of October, 1855.
"W. W. WEST, Clerk."
With this " evangelical" Slave-breeders' " Bull" of excom-
munication went a letter from the Pastor, which "pitched
into Burns" in a fashion which would be called " diabolically
vicious" if it did not proceed from an " evangelical minister of
the Gospel." He convicts him, " logically and from the Holy
Scriptures," of having denied the Christian character in seek-
ing Freedom while his owner wanted him to remain a Slave
— recommends him when licensed to preach, to select for his
field of labor the North bank of the Ohio River, and taking
the text about Onesimus, to exhort therefrom all " runaway
Niggers" from Virginia to run straight back to their owners.
' k By so doing," adds this precious Slave-breeding Saint, " you
may measurably make amends to Jesus Christ for stealing
yourself away from your legal owner."
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 299
The fate of Anthony Burns is indeed a warning to all slip-
pery and slipping sinners of his slippery class. He now
knows what he has lost by his perverseness in allowing the
rebellious old Adam to harden his heart. He thought it hard
to work for another man for nothing, and to be beaten with
stripes to boot. He yielded to the promptings of his own
carnal nature, and now what is his condition ? Cut off from
" the Church," denied the sympathies and prayers of its mem-
bers, shut out from the ordinances of Religion, the door of
Heaven slammed in his face, and he given over to be buffeted
by the great Adversary of Mankind ! Poor Anthony ! Much
as we blame him, we can not but feel some natural yearnings
of compassion toward him. Indeed, he is as Touchstone said
to Corin, " in a parlous state."
If the Church, at Union, Fauquier county, Virginia, is losing
members by what the " evangelical" Pro-Slavery Doctors of
Divinity call the " Infidel love of Freedom," is it not " largely
growing in grace ?"
" The Richmond (Va.) Enquirer, of the 10th December,
1856, says: "Every day develops some fresh scheme of
revolt among the Slaves of the Western and more Southern
States. To those already reported in our Columns, we have
to add another prepared plan of insurrection just detected and
defeated in South Carolina. Occurring at the same time in
so many separate localities, these discoveries suggest the sus-
picion of a very general spirit of insubordination among the
Slave population. Why should fhis State alone be exempt
from the danger which impends over nearly the entire
Southern community? In Montgomery county and in the
Vicinity of Williamsburg, facts have been brought to light
which warrant the apprehension of an outbreak, and justify
the owners in the most summary measures of suppression.
It is, a remarkable circumstance in all these schemes of medi-
tated insurrection that Christmas was selected as the day of
300 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
their accomplishment. Now observing so wide-spread a spirit
o*" revolt among the Slaves, perceiving that the same incendiary
causes operate in full vigor in this State, and seeing, indeed,
that indications of intended outbreak have been detected in
more than one County in Virginia, we venture, at the hazard
of even -exciting unnecessary apprehension, to inquire if it is
not the duty of the authorities and of the people to provide
every possible precaution against any demonstration of vio-
lence among our own Slaves ? Shall we not be admonished
by timely discoveries in other States ? Or, shall we neglect
our own security until we too, are exposed to extreme alarm,
if not to actual peril ?
" The military system of Virginia is in utter dilapidation.
Out of the cities we have no organized means of protection
against a sudden emergency. Every consideration, then,
suggests the necessity of adopting immediate measures of
prevention. Obviously the best thing to be done under the
circumstances, is to appoint patrols for the counties, and to
stimulate the police of the towns to more rigor and vigilance.
It is especially important that the counties should be thoroughly
patrolled, so as to interrupt extensive communications among
the Slaves, and to prevent them from assembling in large
numbers."
11 Ran Away from the subscriber, living in the County of Rappahan-
nock, on Tuesday last, Daniel, about 5 feet 8 inches high, about 35 years
old, very intelligent, has been a wagoner for several years, and is pretty
well acquainted from Richmond'to Alexandria. He calls himself Daniel
Turner; his hair curls, without showing black blood, or wool; he has a scar
on one cheek, and his left hand has been injured by a pistol-shot, and he
was shabbily dressed, when last seen. I will give $25 reward if taken
out of the county, and secured in jail, so that I can get him, or $10, if
taken in the county. "A. M. WILLIS.
" Rappahannock Co., Va., Nov. 29."
"$100 Reward will be given for the apprehension of my Negro,
Edward Kenney. He has straight hair, and complexion so white that it
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 301
is believed a stranger would suppose there was no African blood in him.
He was with my boy Dick a short time since in Norfolk, and offered him
for Sale, and was apprehended, but escaped under pretence of being a
white man ! " ANDERSON BOWLES."
Richmond (Va.) Whig.
A colored man who had obtained- his freedom^ by placing
the Ohio river between him and his " Master," a liberty which
he, however, held by a precarious title, though it was previous
to the enactment of the Fugitive law, was compelled to leave
his " wife" behind him in bondage. He did not, however, forget
her. Freedom without her was but half enjoyed, while the
thought of what she was suffering embittered his days. He
meditated many a scheme for her deliverance, which, however,
he was unable to put into execution. Her " owner" was a
Presbyterian clergyman "in good standing" with his Church
in Louisville, Kentucky. He, however, had no inclination to
practise that portion of the Gospel which proclaims u deliver-
ance to the captive," and the enslaved " wife" was held, like
hundreds of thousands of her fellow-Slaves, in forcible separa-
tion from her " husband," by one who professed to be a " fol-
lower of Christ."
The " husband" of this woman was brave and determined,
and he had a brother, of a spirit like unto his own, who was
also a fugitive from Slavery. The two concerted a plan for
the deliverance of the " wife." Inasmuch as the brother was
unknown to the " owner," and would therefore be less likely to
be intercepted in his enterprise, it was determined that he
should cross the river, visit the plantation, and attempt her
rescue. The " husband," meanwhile, was to prepare himself,
and meet them at the Ferry on the Kentucky side of the river.
Late on Saturday night the brother reached the Plantation of
the clergyman, and on Sabbath morning, just before the time
for service, it was ascertained that one of the preacher's Slave
women had fled. The first impulse of the Rev. Doctor was
302 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
to make instant pursuit himself, but remembering his pulpit
duties, he mounted his horse, and having given the alarm, and
started some " well-armed brethren" on the track, he applied
himself to the duties of the day, preaching in person and hunt-
ing Slaves by proxy. The fugitives had the advantage of the
night travel, but the pursuers were mounted, and at the very
instant when the brother met, and congratulated his " wife"
and brother on the bank of the river, the " evangelical" horse-
men in pursuit dashed down to the Ferry, and sprung from
their horses to secure their prey. They at once remonstrated
with the Slaves, and spoke of the wickedness of stealing them-
selves from a " minister of Christ." To this the brothers re-
plied with a contemptuous laugh.
Large promises of better treatment were made, but this
made no impression. The hunters enraged, drew their re-
volvers ; the " husband" and brother coolly presented theirs
also, and told them they were also ready to shoot. They stood
close by a small skiff used at the Ferry, its bows just clinging
to the shore. The Slaves facing their pursuers, and with
pistols presented, with the " wife" behind them, marched back-
ward to the boat. The woman and brother seated themselves,
and the " husband" stepped in and shoved off. The water was
shallow, and a Kentuckian rushed forward and seized her bow,
and attempted to drag it back to the shore, but a bullet from
the brother's pistol grazing the top of his head, stunned him
for an instant ; he seized once more the boat, when the " hus-
band" shot him through the breast, and he fell, while the boat
was shoved rapidly into the river, in the midst of a volley of
shots.
The wounded hunter was placed in a house near the Ferry,
and seemed to be rapidly approaching his end. The next
morning the reverend trafficker in human flesh hurried to the
scene. He found that his Slave had, indeed, escaped, and that
his hired pursuer was mortally wounded. Finding that noth-
iag could be accomplished by remaining, he gave his friend
some "excellent counsel" about u life's uncertainties/' and
departed. The Slave hunter, of course, went to heaven, the
final abode of all good Slave catchers, and their defenders.
Had he not obeyed tx^e Lord's will in carrying out, to the
utmost of his ability, the duty to curse the wretched seed of
Ham ? Had he not spent the Sabbath in this holy business
of fulfilling prophecy? Did he not depart in expectation
that the Slaveholder, Abraham, would reach out his arms and
welcome him to glory ? No Abolitionists in heaven ! No
Nigger-stealers in Abraham's bosom !
" Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is
escaped from his master unto thee : he shall dwell with thee,
even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of
thy gates, where it liketh him best : thou shalt not oppress him."
A party of men, three of whom were Kentuckians from
Mason and Fleming counties, recently passed through New
Petersburg, Ohio, in pursuit of three Slaves, the " property" of
one of the hunters, named Pierce, and another " owner." It
seems that they had information from a Pro-Slavery Doctor of
Divinity in Ohio, which put them " on the track," and led
them to believe that the Slaves were on the route through New
Petersburg to Greenfield, but they had not yet crossed Rattle-
snake Creek, which runs about a mile east of Petersburg.
From Petersburg there are two roads leading to Greenfield,
one of which crosses the creek over a bridge, and the other by
a ford half a mile further up. Three of the hunters stationed
themselves at the bridge, and two at the ford, and awaited the
coming of the Slaves. The hunters at the bridge had not
waited long, when the Slaves, two men and a woman, made
their appearance, escorted by a white man and a boy, as guides.
As soon as they were fairly within the bridge, which is a
covered one, the Kentuckians sprang upon them and a des-
perate fight ensued. The fugitives were armed with guns,
pistols, and knives, and fought with the utmost energy and
304: DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN .THE SLAVE STATES.
desperation. The battle lasted for nearly an hour. The re-
sult was, that one of the Slaves was captured, after being shot
and cut up in a most shocking manner. The others escaped.
Pierce, the " owner" of the captured Slave, was " done up
brown." The desperate character of the affray may be judged
from the fact that the broken britch of a gun and pistol was
found on the spot, and the place was covered with blood.
The Editor of The Oberlin (Ohio) Times, speaking of the
death and burial of a fugitive Child, which occurred a short
time since in that village, says : " We were present last Sab-
bath afternoon at one of the most affecting scenes that has ever
occurred in our town. Many of our friends were not, and
perhaps a brief sketch of the exercises may not be uninterest-
ing to many, although it can not convey the impression made
upon the minds of eye-witnesses. The audience, as usual,
was large, numbering, at a low estimate, two thousand souls.
After an able and truly eloquent sermon from Prof. Thome,
founded on the words, ' Jesus wept,' it was announced to the
congregation that the Funeral exercise of a little slave boy
would take place after service, and those of the congregation
who chose to remain in the Church could do so. The entire
audience remained. The Corpse was then brought in, and
the mourners took their seats in front of the pulpit. They
consisted of the gentleman and Ms wife at whose house the
little one had died the day before, and also a young lady —
'Dorcas' — who had watched over the little sufferer with a
tenderness and self-forgetfulness that we fear is thought less of
on earth than in Heaven. Prof. Peck, who took charge of the
. funeral, then remarked :
" ' My friends, we meet this afternoon under ' peculiar' cir-
cumstances, to pay our respects to the lifeless form of what,
according to the Laws of the United States is, at most, a ' chat-
tel.' The brief history of this little Child is simply this. He
was the son of his 'Master,' his mother being: a Slave. Two
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SJLAVE STATES. 305
years since, when the little one was three years old, his mother
dying, left him to the care of a fellow Slave. The ' husband'
of this caretaker was sold South, and she then determined to
flee. A few weeks since she left her hut in Kentucky, and
took with her seven of her children, but forgot not the promise
made to the dying one I She folded it to her bosom and gave
it protection with her own. The weather was damp and cold,
the travelling was bad, and close at hand and hard after, was
the ' Master,' the father of the little boy, in hot pursuit, to drag
back to the prison-house his own offspring. The poor woman,
with her precious charge, arrived here, and escaped the
clutches of the Slaveholder, but fatigue and cold had done its
work upon the little boy, and he was left to die among
strangers. After a week's suffering he has gone to a Court
that knows no ' Compromise Measures,' or ' Fugitive Slave
Law.' What a commentary on the ' institution' of Slavery is
this. A father hunting his own son to doom him to the 'prison-
house of Slavery! Can anything be more abominable?
Look at the corpse of this little one ! I thank God that seven
hundred young people are assembled in this place to be in-
structed, and may we not hope that all of you will be found
on the side of Justice and Humanity — that no one of you
will yield to the ' Slave-power,' and thus degrade your nature?
Cursed be the hand that shall be raised to help the miserable
wretch who comes to tear away the poor and stricken ones
from all life holds dear and sacred, and consign them to the
awful doom of Slavery.'
" At this point in the Doctor's address our pencil would not
write — our heart was in the Coffin with the little fellow, or it
had gone (on a fool's errand in the ' Model Republic') to seek
an altar to Liberty to renew its vows to her.
" Professor Thome, following, said : ' My friends there is
more than ordinary interest connected with this case. I feel,
as I have observed my brethren feel, a sentiment struggling in
306 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
my breast for utterance, a sentiment that I can not fully ex-
press. A motherless babe is left with us to be unwept — a
victim of that atrocious system of ' chattel' Slavery. And yet
it is not in view of this single case alone that our sympathies
are drawn out. It is for the millions of helpless sufferers that
this one comes to represent. It conjures them up before us !
They hover around us ! They ask us to remember their
wrongs — the wrongs of two hundred and fifty years inflicted
upon their race by American ' Democrats !' and to look along
down the dark future, and weep for the woes of millions — yet
unborn. My young friends, no better occasion could be fur-
nished you, than is granted you to-day in the Sanctuary of
the Religion of Jesus Christ, to gather around this Coffin and
sw r ear eternal allegiance to the interests of Humanity, and
ceaseless hostility to Slavery !'
" His remarks to the friends who had taken care of the de-
ceased were extremely affecting. We can not attempt to give
them. He concluded : ' Let that Grave be a Sacred spot.
Plant there the flower, to be watered by the tears of the future
visiter. Erect a Monument to the Memory of the little Slave
boy, bearing the inscription ' Resurgam !' and believe that as
certainly as this little one shall rise again, so surely is it written
on the ' institution' of Slavery, ' it shall fall !' '
"The day with its Sabbath stillness — the place, a Christian
Church, sacred to Civil and Religious freedom — the large
congregation of young people preparing for active public life
— the effect of a Sermon representing so clearly the Son of
God as identifying himself with Human suffering — the sweet
innocence of the poor, hunted little boy — all contributed to
make common words eloquent, and eloquent words almost
divine. We could but wish, from our inmost heart, that the
father of that little boy and every Slaveholder and trafficker
in the flesh and blood of their fellow-men in the American
Republic were present.
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 307
"After the exercises at the Church, a large company went
to the Grave and gave the little fugitive a permanent home.
Then by its side — poor Child ! were sung the following
verses, composed by a heart that loves and feels for the
crushed and bleeding race : —
" ' Shielded by an Almighty arm,
Thy griefs and sufferings now are o'er ;
Beyond the reach of tyrant's harm,
Freed spirit, rest for evermore !
" 'Lone little wanderer, now no more
'Mid stranger hearts to seek for love,
Thou'st gained thy home, thy native shore
And boundless love thy bliss will prove.
" ' Thy Father called thee, suffering one,
He knew and felt thy untold grief,
To him complexions all are one,
He died alike for their relief.
" ' Thy Angel-mother waits her child,
Without a pang she'll bless thee now;
She fears no scenes of danger wild,
There's heavenly calmness on her brow.' "
On the 1st of August, 1855, there arrived in Delaware,
Ohio, six runaway Slaves — a man and his " wife" and four
children. They were taken to Church and placed behind a
screen. During the service, a clergyman made some eloquent
and touching remarks on the horrors of Slavery, and then
drew the curtain, not only in language, but in reality. " There,"
said he, " is a specimen of the fruits of the infernal system of
Slavery, as practised in the ' great Republic' " The audience
were surprised and horror-stricken. Eyes were filled with
tears, and money was at once contributed to pay their way,
by the " Underground Railroad," to Canada.
The Cincinnati Gazette, of the 29th of January, 1856, says:
308 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
"A party of seventeen Slaves escaped from Boone and Ken-
ton counties" (sixteen miles from the Ohio river), " Kentucky,
on Sunday night last, and taking with them two horses and a
sled, drove that night to the Ohio river, opposite Western
Row, in this City. Leaving the horses and sled standing
there, they crossed the river on foot on the ice. Five of them
were the Slaves of Archibald K. Gaines, three of John Mar-
shall, both living in Boone county, a short distance beyond
Florence, and six of ' Misther L. F. Dougherty,' of Kenton
county. We have not learned who claims the other three.
Abdbt seven o'clock this morning the owners and agents ar-
rived in pursuit. They swore out a warrant before J. L. Pen-
dery, United States Commissioner, which was put into the
hands of Deputy United States Marshal Geo. S. Bennet, who
obtained information that they were in a house belonging to a
son of Joe Kite, the third house beyond Mill-creek. The son
of Kite was formerly owned in the neighborhood from which
they had escaped, and was bought from Slavery by his father.
"About ten o'clock the Deputy United States Marshal pro-
ceeded there with his posse, including the Slave-owners and
their agents and ' Misther Murphy,' an extensive Slaveholder.
On the Slaves being ordered to surrender, a firm and decided
negative was the response. The officers, backed by a large
crowd of Cotton-Brokers, Dry-Goods Jobbers, Sugar and To-
bacco dealers, and other persons, 'doing business with the
Slave States,' then made a descent. Breaking open the doors,
they were assailed by the Slaves with pistols and cudgels.
Several shots were fired, but only one took effect, so far as we
could ascertain. A bullet struck a man named John Patter-
son, one of the Marshal's Deputies, cutting off a finger of his
right hand, and dislocating several of his teeth.
" On looking around, horrible was the sight which met our
eyes. In one corner of the room was a Slave-child bleeding
to death. His throat was cut from ear to ear, and the blood
DOMESTIC AMUSEEENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 309
was spouting out profusely, showing that the deed was but re-
cently committed. Scarcely was this fact noticed, when a
scream issuing from an adjoining room drew attention thither.
A glance into the apartment revealed a Slave-mother holding
in her hand a knife literally dripping with gore, over the
heads of two of her children, who were crouched to the floor
and uttering the cries whose agonized peals had first startled
them. Quickly the knife was wrenched from the hand of the
mother, and a more close investigation instituted as to the con-
dition of the children. They were discovered to be cut in
several places and the blood trickled down their backs and
upon their sleeves.
" The woman avowed herself the Mother of the children, and
said she had killed one, and would like to kill the other three,
rather than see them returned to Slavery. On being asked
whether she would rather go back to bondage or be tried for
murder, with a chance of being hanged, she said :
" ' Rather than go back to Slavery, I would go Dancing to the Gallows.'
" To the inquiry if she w T as not excited almost to madness
when she committed the act: ' No,' she replied, '/ was as cool
as I noio am; and would much, rather kill them at once, and
thus end their sufferings, than have them taken back to Slavery,
and be murdered by piecemeal." 1 "
But this poor heart-broken Mother did not have an oppor-
tunity to " go Dancing to the Gallows." The United States
Judge (Leavitt) decided that if a runaway Slave, .commits
a murder in the State of Ohio, the Slaveholder's claim takes
precedence over Ohio law, and the murderer must be delivered
up into bondage, and the Laws of Ohio trodden under the hoof
of the Slave-Power!
John Joliffe, Esq., of Cincinnati, defended the Slave-mother
through the arduous struggle, without the slightest hope of re-
ward. Several citizens, however, of Cincinnati, appreciating
310 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
such noble conduct, contributed a handsome sum, and present-
ed it to him as a Testimonial of regard for his humane efforts,
with an appropriate letter. Among the names of the Com-
mittee, signing this letter, was that of Samuel Straight, a
member of the house of Straight, Demming & Co., wholesale
grocers. Hereupon some " dear lover of the Union," and of
" good customers," marked the letter in The Cincinnati
Gazette, and sent it to sundry Southern firms dealing with
Cincinnati, whence it elicited the following response : —
" Nashville, March 6, 1856.
" To Messrs. Straight, Demming Sc Co., Cincinnati : —
" Gentlemen : We notice in The Cincinnati Gazette, of the 1st inst.,
a letter addressed to Mr. John Joliffe, tendering him sympathy, and re-
munerating him, pecuniarily, for his defence of fugitive Slaves, to which
we observe the name of S. Straight attached. From our former pleasant
business correspondence with you, we feel at liberty to ask you if this
Mr. S. Straight is a member of your firm, and if his name was placed to
that letter by his own free will and accord, and if that letter expres-
ses Ins views upon the subjects therein discussed. A prompt reply is
respectfully solicited. Yours, respectfully,
"HART, MACRAE & CO., " S. N. HOLLINGSWORTH,
"B. LANIER & CO., " MERRIT S. PITCHER,
"B. W. MACRAE & CO., "LANIER & PHILLIPS,
"ROBB & SMITH/'
To this inquiry, Mr. Straight very courteously replied, ad-
mitting that he was a signer of the letter in question, but ex-
plaining that its phraseology was not chosen by him, and did
not precisely express his views, and trusting that " the free ex-
pression of views conscientiously cherished" would not be
deemed offensive by his Southern customers. But this " soft
answer" did not turn away the wrath of the Nashvillians.
Hear them : —
"Nashville, March 24, 1856.
" S. Straight, Esq., Cincinnati : * * * * * You say you are unable
to divine the objects of our favor of the 6th inst. One of our objects was
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 311
to afford you a fair opportunity to disclaim, excuse, or justify your parti-
cipancy in the presentation letter to Mr. Joliffe. Some of us have been in
pleasant business correspondence with you for several years, in which
position we could not conscientiously remain, provided you answered our
questions in the affirmative ; and as you have done so, we here take
occasion to say, that though we grant you the fullest privilege in regard
to freedom of thought and expression of cherished views, we, as South-
ern merchants, possessing the same free privileges as yourself, can not
longer contribute to sustain by our patronage a merchant, however cor-
rect as such he may be, who entertains views so hostile to institutions
which we cherish" (that is, Slavery and Polygamy), "and have been
reared up from childhood to look upon as the most sacred rights guaran-
tied by the Constitution of the United States."
A " new beauty" of the infamous Fugitive Slave Law, of
1850, was developed in the trial of this Slave-mother: that
while the Government, at Washington, will pay the fees of
witnesses who testify in favor of the kidnappers, it is its prac-
tice to refuse compensation to all witnesses who testify in be-
half of the freedom of the alleged Slave.
The Cincinnati (Ohio) Freeman, of the 7th August, 1856,
says : " On Monday last, a mother and a son, haggard with
long travel, crossed the river, en route for Canada. The
bloodhounds, two-legged and four-legged, were after them.
The boy was remarkably handsome ; his mild, bright eyes
were full of intelligence, his head was finely shaped, and the
curling ringlets of auburn hair that clustered about his brow
were extremely beautiful. The mother was a woman some-
what darker than her son, of great intelligence and energy.
She was a Christian mother liying, wnn ner chna, from tne
demon of Slavery."
" Wicked laws," says the Rev. George B. Cheever, " are
no excuse for personal wickedness, nor any apology for dis-
obedience to God. They are not to be obeyed, but. on the
contrary, denounced and rejected; and only by being thus
faithful to God can a people keep their freedom. And while
it shows that a people are on the high-road to ruin who will
312 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
suffer and obey wicked Statutes, it also shows the terrific re-
sponsibility and wickedness of those who concoct and endeavor
to enforce such Statutes, and who set the example of such in-
iquity. If there he a lower pit in hell than any other, such
men will, leyond all question, occupy it, along with those who
have put out or concealed the lights of God's Word, and have
put up false lights to lure men to perdition. It is such as
these, whom God gives judicially over to a reprobate mind, to
be filled with all unrighteousness, who, knowing the judgment
of God, that they who commit such things are worthy of
death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that
do them.
" Nothing can go beyond this wickedness. It is a fountain
sin, a germinating sin, an accumulating and multiplying sin,
a sin that causes others to sin, a sin that enlarges from genera-
tion to generation all the way into the eternal world. If it
brings a million of souls under its power this year, it may
bring two millions the next ; this generation ten, the next gen-
eration twenty, the next forty. ' Cursed be he that maketh
the blind to wander out of the way, and all the people shall
say, Amen !' But he that strikes out the eyesight of a whole
nation, that obliterates the law of justice and humanity, and
sets in its place Statutes of injustice and inhumanity, and thus
compels a nation, so blinded, to wander in iniquity, what shall
be said of such a monster ? What curse is heavy enough for
such an incarnation of malignity, or what curse can measure
in retribution the dreadful consequences of such crime ?"
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 313
CHAPTER II.
" This is a people robbed and spoiled ; they are all of them snared in
Holes, and they are hid in Prison-houses ; they are for a prey, and none
delivereth ; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore."
" The glorious tree of American liberty," says The Colum-
bia (S. C.) Telegraph, " is springing up everywhere, and the
benighted Nations of Europe will recline — one of these days
— in its shade. Our example is contagious."
In another column, of the same number of The Telegraph,
the Editor says : " Let us declare that Slavery shall not be
open for discussion ; that the system is too deep-rooted among
us, and must remain for ever ; that the moment anybody at-
tempts to lecture us upon its immoralities — in the same mo-
ment his or her tongue shall be cut out and cast upon the dung-
hill. Let us, with the friends of freedom and justice every-
where, make common cause against all disorganizing influ-
ences, isms, and invasions of the glorious principles of the
Constitution of our highly-favored country."
Nothing could be more fitted to create contempt for a Re-
publican form of Government, than such barefaced and shame-
less inconsistency. The Roman Republic feared death from
the advance of barbarians ; the North American Republic
fears it from the retreat of ■' Niggers," ninety-nine in a hun-
dred of whom are the Children of her own loins.
14
314 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
"Ban away from the subscriber, in November lasr., a Negro man,
about 35 years of age ; height about 5 feet 8 or 10 inches , has blue eyes,
yellow hair, very fair skin, particularly under his clothes. Said Negro
was raised in Columbia, S. C, and is well known by the name of Dick
M. Frazier." (See p. 211.) "He was lately known to be working on
the Railroad in Alabama, near Moore's Turnout, and passed as a white
man by the name of Joseph Tears. I will give a reward of two hundred
dollars for his delivery in any jail so that I can get him ; and I will give
five hundred dollars for sufficient proof to convict, in open court, any
man who took him away "J. D. ALLEN."
"Barnwell Court-House, S. C."
The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, of the 13th December,
1856, says: "Under our Telegraph head will be found the
startling intelligence of a Slave insurrection in South Caro-
lina. To what extent the insurrectionary spirit of the Slave
population of the State extends, we are not apprized. We
trust it is confined to a small extent of country, but our fears
are for the worst. For years past Northern emissaries have
been in our midst tampering with our Slaves. We have too
often suffered them to depart 'unhung. Simply tarring and
ejecting an Abolitionist is but a child's remedy ; and so far
from its having the effect to stop his mischief, it will only case-
harden and make him worse. Hang them when you catch
them in your midst. Your self-preservation, the security of
yourselves and families, and the perpetuity of the institution
itself, demand that the life of an Abolition emissary should
pay the forfeit of his temerity. Wherever you catch an
Abolitionist, there let him find his grave."
While Mr. Core, a planter, of Fayette county, South Caro-
lina, was on his plantation, a short distance from his residence,
he perceived, approaching him from the woods, a stout, able-
bodied runaway Slave. Mr. Core awaited his approach,
thinking he belonged to one of his neighbors, and had been
sent upon some errand. He came boldly up to Mr. C, and
accosted him thus : " Your name is Core ; I am a runaway
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 315
find have long wished to have a conversation with you. I do
not fear being apprehended — I am well armed" (exhibiting a
brace of Pistols and a Bowie-knife) — " but I have long want-
ed to see you."
Mr. Core, doubting the propriety of attempting to arrest
him, as he was alone, concluded he would question him about
two runaways, who had been gone some time, and asked him
if he knew them, and when he had seen them. The fugitive
promptly replied, that he did know them, and volunteered to
assist Mr. C. in arresting them, and told him, " if he would
meet him alone, at the same place, the next day, he would
carry him where he could arrest both, as they had been very
troublesome to him, and he wanted to get rid of them." Mr.
Core promised to meet him at the place and time appointed ;
but, instead of going alone, he took with* him his Overseer,
and another man, and secreted them, armed with double-
parrelled guns, in the vicinity of the place of meeting.
At the appointed time the fugitive made his appearance, but
instead of finding Mr. C. alone, found the two men with tfieir
guns levelled upon him. He at once surrendered, and gave
up his weapons, begging them not to hand-cuff or tie him, as
he wanted to be taken, and was tired of staying out, having
been in the woods long enough ; and he belonged to a man in
Alabama, and that he would still go with them and show them
the two runaways as he had promised. They concluded to
trust him, and all four proceeded in company to an old deserted
cabin close by. Upon approaching it he informed his captors
that their runaway "property" was in it — that if they would
suffer him to approach the cabin first, as soon as they entered
the door he might close it up, and thus capture them with his
assistance. They agreed to this plan, and he proceeded cau-
tiously toward the cabin, and as he entered the door beckoned
to them to rush up. They did so ; but lo and behold ! they
perceived a back window, through which their prisoner had
31 G DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
jumped, and mounting Mr. Core's horse, made good his
escape. *
The Rev. Edward Mathews, an agent of the American Free
Mission Society, recently visited Richmond, Madison County,
Kentucky, and took occasion to advocate from the pulpit Anti-
Slavery sentiments, after which he was assailed by a mob, and
driven from the town. Returning in a short time, he left a
communication respecting the transaction at the office of The
Richmond Chronicle, and again departed, but had not gone far
before he was overtaken by four men, who seized him, and'
led him to an out-of-the-way place, where they consulted as to
what they should do with him. They resolved to duck him,
ascertaining first that he could swim. Two of them took him
* The Macon "Telegraph" gives us a description of an under-
ground den in which such runaways hide: —
"A runaway's den was discovered on Sunday near the Washington
Spring, in a little patch of woods, where it had been for several
months, so artfully concealed under ground that it was detected only
by accident, though in sight of two or three houses, and near the
road and fields where there has been constant passing. The entrance
was concealed by a pile of pine straw, representing a hog-bed — ■
which being removed, discovered a trap-door and steps that led to a
room about six feet square, comfortably ceiled with plank, containing a
small fireplace, the flue of which was ingeniously concealed in the
straw. The inmates took the alarm and made their escape ; but Mr.
Adams and his excellent dogs, being put upon the trail, soon ran
down and secured one of them, which proved to be a negro fellow
who had been out about a year."
Hurrah for the "excellent dogs" of the excellent Mr. Adams!
Doubtless some people say, "What a fool the nigger was, to live
in such a miserable place, when he might have had ' enough and
to spare' if he had stayed with his master!" So he might; but it is
a noteworthy fact that some other people are so fond of liberty as
to take it under any circumstances they can get it. We are told in
the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, that some ex-
cellent persons, "of whom the world was not worthy," lived in
"dens and caves of the earth."
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. Sl7
and threw him into a pond, as far as the}^ could, and on his
rising on the surface, bade him come out. He did so, and on
his refusing to promise never to come to Richmond, they threw
him in again. This operation was repeated four times, when
he yielded. They next demanded of him a promise that he
would leave Kentucky, and never return again. He refused
to give it, and they threw him in the water again, when, his
strength failing, and they threatening to shoot him, he gave
the pledge required, and left the State.
On the 16th of June, 1855, evidence was obtained that a
Mr. Pullam, of Garrard county, had induced some Slaves to
runaway. Accordingly a warrant was issued by a Magistrate
of Bryan tsville for his arrest. The constable, with five assist-
ants, went to the field where he was working and arrested him.
They started to return, but after progressing a short distance
the prisoner broke away. He outran the officer and his posse,
and the constable seeing his prize about to escape, fired a pistol,
hitting him on the back. He instantly fell, screaming with
pain, but just as the pursuing party came up, he arose and fled
toward the river. Coming to a high cliff he fell first about
seven feet, then ten, and finally over a preci piece thirty feet
high, making the fall altogether forty-seven feet.
Pullam seemed endowed with more than mortal vigor, and
rising, plunged into the river. Nothing has been seen or heard
of him since. The poor fellow merited a more fortunate end.
His blood will be found, at the Day of Judgment, on the skirts
of the Pro-Slavery Churches.
" Ran Away from the subscriber, at the Gait House, Louisville, a Negro
Woman named Polly, aged about forty years. She has long auburn hair,
and a blemish on her right hand, caused by a burn, which stiffens her
fingers. She has a quantity of good clothing, and most of the time
dresses in black. Her general appearance is modest and genteel. I will
give $250 reward for her if taken out of Kentucky, or $100 if in this city
or State, and secured so that I can get her.
" MRS. ELLEN A. JAR VIS."
318 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
Long auburn hair, well dressed, modest, and genteel. That
will do very well.
Miss Mary Gibson, another "beautiful Slave girl," escaped
recently from- Marysville, and succeeded in reaching Canada.
Miss Gibson is as white as any woman in the United States.
Unless informed of the fact, no one would have the remotest
suspicion that she had a drop of " colored" blood in her veins.
Her eyes are blue, her hair brown, her complexion fair and
clear. She is very intelligent, and her appearance exceedingly
prepossessing. The name of the " high-born aristocrat" who
owned Miss Mary Gibson is not given. The man who
would keep such a fair chattel should be known, but in default
of such knowledge, let us imagine a public dinner, and the
company, with that " chivalrous" man present, and the pro-
ceedings, at Toast No. 13 :
" Woman !" (Nine cheers.)
" 0, woman ! in our hours of ease,
Uncertain, coy, and hard to please,"
&c, &c,, &c.
(Immense applause, the w r hole company rising and using
their glasses, some breaking them.)
The gallant Colonel Fitz, of Kentucky, being called upon to
respond to this toast, rises and speaks as follows :
" Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen : It is a time-honored
custom to toast ' Woman' at public dinners ; and, what is more,
to reserve the toast till the close of the feast, when our hearts
are warmest, and, under the inspiration of jolly Bacchus,
our feelings mellowest." (Cheers and laughter.) " Woman !
what shall not be said in her favor? When too young tc
know love or gratitude, who nurtured us at her breast, and
soothed our helplessness and infant sorrows ?"
A Voice — " Yer Mother !" (Cheers.)
" Who ran to help me when I stumbled 1
Who raised me gently when I tumbled?
Who flogged me soundly when I grumbled ?"
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 319
A Voice — " Yer Mother !" (Laughter.)
" When a little older, the first beam of divine feeling comes
from the rainbow of undefined passion which overarches our
existence, even in the dawn of youth." (Applause and dis-
order.) " Then in our days of ripened passion, what makes
the stars shine, the floweret perfume, the grove vocal — what
makes life worth the toil of existence but the love of woman !
" Who sewed the buttons on my shirt V
A Voice — " Yer Wife !" (Cheers and laughter.)
" how poor, how mean is our boasted ambition, our public
honors, our private labors, without her smile !" (Applause and
hiccoughs.) " But how doubly, trebly, quadruply blest, are
we in this 'land of liberty,' where alone Woman is respected
and protected by the law ! Look at Europe, and you find her
ever and everywhere doomed to the coarsest toils. War's
greatest martyrs, and the shame of Peace ! She plows, digs,
delves, carries loads, plays scavenger, and is habitually pros-
tituted. But in our glorious country — the 'land of the free
and the home of the brave' — Woman first finds a place due
her honor, nobility, and tenderness. Here she is respected.
Free as virtue can render her, respected, beloved, venerated — ■
this is her paradise." (Cheering and hiccoughing ad libitum.)
" Go where you will in the thirty-one States, and the Ter-
ritories (including the District of Columbia) of our glorious
Republic, and a halo of idolatry encircles her fair brow !" (A
gentleman who hiccoughs, " All except Niggers.") " The gen-
tleman need not correct me — I said fair brow." (Great cheer-
ing and laughter.) " Woman, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen,
now and for ever — God bless her !"
Need we add that, beyond doubt, the gallant Colonel sat
down amid loud applause, long continued, and that in spite of
his speech, Miss Mary Gibson found it necessary to run away
from his proprietorship.
320 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
"Si 00 Reward. — Ran away from James Hyhart, Paris, Ky., the
boy Norton. Would be taken for a white boy, if not very closely ex-
amined. His hair is black and straight."
The Indianapolis (Ind.) Journal gives an account of the
capture of two fugitive Slaves by John Mancourt, conductor
on the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, and William Mun-
roe, Adams & Co.'s Express Agent. It seems that the poor
Slaves had been hunted by bloodhounds on the Kentucky side
of the river, but had in a desperate fight hilled the animals
with knives. They then crossed the river and were wander-
ing from Sunday night till Friday without provisions. Worn-
out, ragged, and foot-sore, having had nothing to eat but what
the orchards and forest trees provided, they despaired of es-
cape, and hailed the cars. They were taken on board and
carried to Vernon to the United States Commissioner, and be-
fore sundown were again in Slavery in Kentucky.
A native or citizen of a "free State," who would thus vol-
unteer to restore a fellow-man to bondage, is no better than a
pirate.
The Eev. T. B. M'Cormick, of this State (Indiana), was
suspended in October, 1855, from the functions of the "Gospel
ministry," on suspicion of having been concerned in the " un-
derground railroad" — helping poor fugitives from Slavery, on
their way to Canada. For this he was compelled to flee from
his family, and from the "free State" of which he is a citizen,
to escape arrest under a warrant of Gov. Wright of Indi-
ana, issued in compliance with a requision of Gov. Powell of
Kentucky.
If there are heights of tyranny or depths of servility not yet
reached by the Slaveocrats and their cringing sycophants, we
are becoming curious to learn what they can be. Here is a
Citizen of a "free State" suspected of no crime but that of as-
sisting some of his fellow-men to ''secure the blessings of lib-
erty," by sending them to Canada. This Christian minister,
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 321
for this " UEf- Christian conduct," or rather on mere suspicion of
it, is gravely arraigned and authoritatively " suspended from the
functions of the Gospel ministry !" This otherwise blameless
citizen, suspected only of assisting his fellow-citizens to " se-
cure the blessing of liberty," is placed under the ban of a '"free
State" and hunted from off its soil as a felon !
The statement of such a case appears more like fiction than
like reality. A writer even of romance should be criticised
when his narratives, by being overdrawn, do violence to that
innate instinct of probability, so necessary to invest fiction with
the interest of imagined fact. An effort will be required in
the reader before he can fully realize that the facts of this case
are facts. He will wish to see, as we have seen, the man him-
self, and have the attestation from his own lips. He will wish to
see and handle, as we have done, the Official document, under
the Seal of the State of Indiana, and signed by her Secretary,
the attested copy of the indictment of the Kentucky grand jury,
and the requisition of the Kentucky Governor. The significancy
of an event like this awaits a full revelation afterward. Judge
Kane and Passmore Williamson, Gov. Wright and T. B. M'-
Cormick — names long to be pondered — letters of an alpha-
bet yet to be mastered, wherewith seeing eyes may divine
nameless and yet shapeless things. The elements of a fu-
ture — the cypher of a coming American history may be in
process of development in these dim beginnings. There is
much yet to be learned, much yet to be attempted, much yet
to be achieved. A great nation is to be delivered from the
fangs of the "evangelical" Pro-Slavery Churches.
In October, sixteen Slaves, Men, Women, and Children, ar-
rived in Chicago, Illinois, worn down with fatigue, and sick-
ened by the exposure which they had undergone in travelling.
They were not only poor, but destitute, and sought not only
bread and meat, but that protection and support which they
had a right to expect from people who profess to be fol-
14*
322 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
lowers " of the meek and lowly Jesus," and which neither Turk
nor Algerine has ever refused to give to weary strangers who
cast themselves upon their hospitality. Several of these per-
sons had long passed the meridian of life. Four of them were
fathers, the same number were mothers, and they all possessed
those earnest affections which are alone developed by that cir-
cumstance, and which would entitle them to honor and respect
even among heathens. Two were young men, with strong
arms and hearts, that throbbed for " liberty." Two also were
young girls just in the bud of womanhood. Four were little
babes, not taken from their mothers' breasts, and entirely
oblivious to the deep emotion which stirred the fountains
whence they drew their life. Poor things ! how little did they
know that the tears which trickled down upon them, and the
cold and hunger which those mofhers had endured for many
long weary days and nights, were that they should not be torn
from their hearts and trained up in physical and spiritual pros-
titution.
If the angels of Heaven who had never heard of the Pro-
Siavery Churches or the "lower law" D. D. s and LL. T>. s,
could have looked on this little group, how their hearts would
have exulted in the expectations of seeing the thousands of
professing " Christian people" who dwell in the city meet them
as they entered it, and welcome them to their protection and
hospitality — each one striving to perform those little offices
of kindness which Christ blessed, saying, " Inasmuch as ye did
it unto the least of these ye did it unto me." But no ! they
came into the city when it was dark — when the Churches of
Cotton-divinity or " lower law" were fast asleep, so that they
might not be seen by those who were ready to let loose upon
them the bloodhounds of " the law." Their arrival was not
heralded abroad but whispered from one to another, as if it
were a fearful responsibility to know of their presence, and in-
volving one 'Still more fearful to tender them the aid which
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 323
their destitute condition demanded. But their presence did
become known. The bloodhounds, in human shape, were upon
their tracks. The Governor of the State, from his high place,
had commanded the Military Companies to get ready, with
swords drawn, bayonets set, and cartridges rammed down, to
aid the bloodhound minions of a bastard Democracy to take
and bind these helpless way-worn and sick fugitives, and send
them — where, and what for? The men and fathers, who had
toiled, early and late, all their lives for their self-constituted
k ' Masters," were wanted to toil more. The mothers who had
scrubbed, washed, baked, and drudged from infancy, and who
had given birth to children that had been taken from them
and sold at Auction in order to fill their " Masters' " pockets,
were wanted to scrub and drudge the remainder of their days,
and to give birth to more babes to sell to the Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Nebraska speculators in Human cattle, or to
the libertine, just as the demands of the one or the other pre-
ponderated.
The young men were also " wanted" for Slaves that their
" Master's" cupidity might be gratified. And the young w t o-
men, with their full round forms, their bright orange-colored
faces, deep black eyes, pouting lips, and gently curling tresses
— what were the two-legged bloodhounds so anxious to take
them for?* And those little babes — helpless little creatures,
whom the Saviour requested might be permitted to come unto
him, because of such was the Kingdom of Heaven — they, too,
were " wanted," that they might be torn from their mothers'
hearts, and turned over to the Auctioneer like so many pigs or
* The Author of the " South- Side View of Slavery" says, at p. 87, that
" the only object of the Slaves in running away is to form a new adulter-
ous man-iage." Yv r hile laws exist to punish swindling in the sale of a bo-
gus watch, we do not see why there should not be laws to punish the
"getter-up" of a book intended to deceive. But so it is. The world
has got into its head that laws to punish lying in the " evangelical" Pro-
Slavery Churches are unnecessary.
324 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
calves for the butcher's shambles. And it was for this that
the Governor of the "free State" of Illinois issued his mandate,
and that the National Guards, commanded by a " good Demo-
crat," one " Misther Thomas Shirely," paraded the streets of
Chicago with the " Star-spangled Banner" flying, their bayonets
set, and their muskets charged with powder and ball, ready to
shoot down all persons who might dare to interfere between
the ravisher and his victim ! Brave men ! voluntarily becom-
ing parties to the ravishment that was sought to be accom-
plished ! — standing by, with the United States flag flying, and
swords drawn to compel the victim to submit !
We have not learned words that sufficiently express our
detestation of the men — mankind, forgive the insult! — who
thus lend themselves to the capture of Women and little
Children, that they might be consigned to physical and moral
prostitution. It was an act of meanness, so atrocious in every
light by which it can be viewed, that it has no parallel in the
history of the most brutish nation of the antediluvian world ;
and if men's spirits pervaded their bodies, the worms that
feast and riot with luxury upon a dead dog would turn from
the carcass of the Slave-breeder with loathing and disgust.
Had any person asserted that there was a single individual
in Chicago who would lend his aid, directly or indirectly, in
hunting down modest young women, that they might be debauched
by force, or in tearing little babies from their mothers' breasts,
to be sold — where, and to whom, God only knows — the citi-
zens would have repelled it as the veriest libel that ever was
perpetrated. But, alas! the National Guards — National? —
God forbid — showed that they, like their brethren of Boston,
Mass., in the case of Anthony Burns, were infinitely below
the point we had thought poor weak humanity could reach.
" We have just met," says the Chicago Free Press, " with
another white American Slave-mother. We could detect no
trace of African characteristics about her. Her employment
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 325
in South Carolina — the land of 'chivalry' — was that of a
Field-hand. Her patience held out until her last child was
sold to satisfy the claims of her 'Master's' creditors, when, to save
herself from the like calamity, she set her face Canada-ward."
In December, 1855, an attempt was made by a Slaveholder,
to bribe the Chief of Police of Montreal, Canada, to aid in
enticing to " the other side of the river" an unfortunate " chat-
tel" who had escaped from bondage. It seems that the ill
success attending the efforts of this Southern specimen of
humanity has not had the effect of deterring others from
making similar ventures.
Mrs. Sylvia Young, a "colored" woman — now residing
with Mr. Thomas, of the Shakespeare Restaurant, Stratford,
Canada, was formerly the " property" of a lady of the name
of Dustin. Mrs. Young is an excellent cook, and in the Slave
States of the " Model Republic," where such " property" is an
article of merchandise, would have sold for about $1,800.
The woman, Dustin, got married to a fellow, named Stewart,
and removed to Chicago. Stewart, like a " good Democrat,"
then thought of looking after his wife's runaway " property,"
and, putting their heads together, they hit upon what they,
doubtless, conceived to be a cunningly-devised scheme, to be
rewarded with success. Accordingly in pursuance of their
plan, the wife addressed a letter to her runaway " chattel" or
Human cow, of which the following is a copy : —
" Chicago, Illinois, December 23, 1855.
" Sylvia : You see, from the date of my letter, that I have changed
my place of residence. We have been living here about four months;
we like the place very much. I at first thought I would not answer your
letter at all, but the children seemed so anxious to see you and hear from
you again, that I have consented to write to you and make a proposition,
and let your feelings and judgment decide for you. You say you are
happy. I can not think one with your strong feelings can be happy so
far from your relations and native home. Now, if you are disposed to
come j^re — which is a short journey — and live with me, and serve, me
326 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
faithfully two years, I will give you your free papers. Then you will be
at liberty to settle among your old friends, and not be compelled to
confine yourself to Canada. Write to me and let me know what you
think of my proposal. Besides, Sylvia, you know you will, -in a few
years, at farthest, inherit considerable from your father. I do not wish to
persuade you against your will ; but, located in a strange place, I would
be glad to have the services of one that understands my ways as well as
you do. The children all send their love. " Your friend,
"E. G. DUSTIK"
On the same day that the above ingenious and loving letter
arrived, Mr. Townsend, Chief- Constable of Stratford, received
a very different communication from her husband, W. G.
Stewart, proprietor of the Boone House, corner of Clarke and
Jackson streets, Chicago, Illinois : —
" Chicago, Illinois, Monday, Dec, 24, 1855.
" Chief-Constable — Sir: I enclose you a letter from a runaway
Slave, who belongs to my wife as well as myself, late residents of Louis-
ville, Kentucky. You see what she says about going to Cincinnati. /
want to catch her there I If you will put her into my possession there, or
in the custody of the State Marshal in that city, so that I can secure her,
I icill pay you the sum of $200. Should you feel disposed to act in this
matter, it would be necessary for my wife and self to be in Cincinnati at
the time she would be there. You might follow her on to that city and
trace her to where she would stop, and if you could notify me to be there,
1 would do the rest, and pay you the $200.
" W. G. STEWART."
Mr. Townsend, very properly, handed this letter to the
magistrate of the town, and w T rote Stewart an evasive reply,
so as to induce him to visit Canada, in order to secure his
missing "property." Had he done Stratford the honor of
visiting it, he would have " caught" something which he would
have had good cause for remembering to the last hour of his
villanous life.
" Bloodhounds ! I would respectfully inform the citizens of Mis-
souri that I still have my Nigger Dogs, and that they are in prime train
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 327
mg, and ready to attend to all calls of Hunting and Catching- runaway
Niggers, at the following rates : Hunting per day $5, or if I have to
travel, every day will be charged for, in going and returning, as for hunt-
ing, and at the same rates. Not less than five dollars will be charged in
any case where the Niggers come in before I reach the place. From $15
to §25 will be charged for catching; according to the trouble; if the
Nigger has weapons, the charge will be made according to the difficulty
had in taking him, or in case he kills some of the Do£S, the charge will
not be governed by the above rates. I am explicit to prevent any mis-
understanding. The owner of the Nigger to pay all expenses in all cases.
I venture to suggest to any person having a Nigger runaway, that the
better plan is to send for the Dogs forthwith when the Nigger goes off', if
they intend sending at all, and let no other person go in the direction, if
they know which way the runaway went ; as many persons having other
Niggers to hunt over the track, and failing of success, send for the Dogs,
and then, perhaps, fail in consequence to catch their Nigger, and thus
causelessly fault the Dogs. Terms cash. If the money is not paid at
the time the Nigger hunted for is caught, he will be held bound for the
money. I can be found at home at all times, five and a half miles east
of Lexington, except when professionally engaged — in hunting with
the Dogs. "JOHN LONG."
Lexington (Mo.) Democratic Advocate, Feb. 14, 1855.
In April, 1856, a female Slave of a Mr. Pond, living near
Palmyra, Missouri, ran away, and, after several days' search,
she was captured on the Ferryboat crossing from Missouri to
Quincy, Illinois. She had been kept at the house of a Mr.
Davids, a German, in Palmyra, for a few days, and brought
from thence by a Mr. Scheible, another German, to the Ferry-
boat opposite Quincy. When she was taken back to Palmyra,
both Germans were imprisoned. Upon the examination of
Scheible, he swore that he did not know the girl was a Slave,
as she was as white as any woman in the State. Several
gentlemen were called on the witness stand, who testified that
they had seen her while she was at Davids, and thought
she was a genuine white woman. After a three days' trial
Scheible was discharged, on the ground of his ignorance of her
being a Slave; but" be found it necessary," said the Pcdmyra
328 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
Whig, " to leave the State forthwith." Davids, it was inti-
mated, would be sent for five years to the Penitentiary.
This case presents the true features of the " peculiar insti-
tution" in a strong light. An honest German brings what he
supposes to be a white woman in his carriage from Palmyra
to Quincy. He is suddenly arrested, thrown into prison, held
up to the .-community as a " Nigger-stealer," subjected to a
trial, and would have been sent to the State-prison for five
years had it not been for the fortunate circumstance that sev-
eral gentlemen in Palmyra had seen the girl, and had the moral
courage to come into court and testify that they believed her to
be a white woman ! And even after being discharged, the man,
for fear of personal violence from the " poor whites" of Pal-
myra, had to leave the State, because he did not know that a
white woman was a " Nigger" ! After this, travellers in Mis-
souri must be cautious whom they ride with. Before a man
can safely admit a woman into his carriage he must insist upon
seeing her " dockymints" — her "free papers," or have legal
evidence that she is not a " Nigger."
The Missourians, not content with managing the affairs of
Kansas, seem also to have undertaken a similar good office for
the State of Illinois. We find in The St. Louis Republican
the following rather singular notice : —
"Runaway Notice.— Was taken up in Union County, in the State
of Illinois, as a runaway Slave, on the 15th of October, 1855, a Negro
man, who calls himself Nicholas, and says he belongs to Umprey White,
in Onslow County, in the State of North Carolina. Said Negro is dark
copper color, five feet tive inches high, aged about 40 years, weighs about
150 pounds, and had on when taken up, a drab cloth coat, stripped worsted
pants, cloth cap, and is blind in his right eye. The owner of said Negro
is hereby required to come and prove said property, pay all charges in-
curred on account of said Negro, within three months, otherwise he will
e sold on Saturday, the 7th day of March, 1857, at the Court- House id
ckson, Cape Girardeau County, State of Missouri, for ready Cash.
"JOHN F.BURNS,
" Sheriff of Cape Girardeau County, Mo."
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 329
From this Advertisement, it would appear that the Missouri
sheriffs of the border counties of that State, consider the adja-
cent counties of the bordering "free States" as falling within
their respective bailiwicks, so far as the " colored population"
are concerned. Or, is there a sort of private partnership
between Sheriff Burns and certain residents of Union County,
Illinois, by virtue of which they are to Kidnap and to convey
to Missouri all the stray " Niggers" on which they can lay
their hands, while the said sheriff is to sell them, for the joint
benefit of the parties ?
The Missouri Democrat, of the 4th of December, 1856,
says : " In calling attention to the frequency and increase of
the reported plots on the part of the Slave population within
the past year, we design not so much to speak of the measures
which have been found necessary for their repression, as to
point to one great cause which has more than all else encour-
aged and instigated them, and that is the agitation of the
Slavery question by every demagogue in the Slave States,
who wishes to acquire transient notoriety. In Missouri, es-
pecially, have we felt the effect of this Slavery agitation and
Slavery extension policy upon the part of the nullification
faction, who have sought to float into power and office by con-
tinually exciting the passions of men, and provoking discus-
sion in regard to this theme ; and we venture to assert that in
consequence thereof more Slaves have been induced ,to run
away, more desperate resolutions having been put into their
heads, and more general insecurity entailed upon that species
of property within the past year, than during any five years
preceding. The ferment excited in the minds of the Masters
soon extended itself to the Slaves — for all who have lived in
Slaveholding communities well know how eagerly every scrap
of parlor conversation, every excited harangue on the stump,
or loud-toned dispute in the streets, is treasured up by the
Nigger, and made the burden of comment during the night."
330 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAYE STATES.
" Ran A way from the subscriber, living near White's Store, Anson
county, on the 3d of May last, a bright boy, named Robert. He is about
five feet high, will weigh ahout 130 pounds ; is about 22 years old, and
has some beard on his upper lip. His left leg is somewhat shorter than
his right, causing him to hobble in his walk ; has a very fine face, and
will show color like a white man. It is probable he has gone off with
some wagoner or trader, or he may have fiee papers and be passing as a
free white man. He has straight hair. I will give a reward of two hun-
dred and twenty-five dollars for the delivery to me of said Nigger boy,
or for his confinement in any jail, so that I can get him.
Newbern (N. C.) Spectator. "ADAM LOCKHART."
"$250 Reward will be given for the apprehension and delivery tome
of the following Slaves : Samuel and Judy, his wife, with their four chil-
dren, belonging to the estate of Sacker Dubberly, deceased. I will give
ten dollars for the apprehension of William Dubberly, a Slave belonging
to the estate. William is about nineteen years of age, quite white, and
would not readily be taken for a Nigger.
Newborn (N. C.) Spectator. • "JOHN L. LANE."
The West Tennessee Democrat, edited by the Rev. Mr.
Brownlow (commonly called " Parson Brownlow"), of Knox-
ville, is horrified at the impiety of Mrs. H. B. Stowe, whom
the " pious Editor" sets down as a " dangerous infidel," and
styles her book — Uncle Tom's Cabin — "a fling at the
Christian religion in general, and Southern Methodism" (of
which the Parson is a burnin' and shinin' light) " in particu-
lar." The "pious Editor" Avaxes wroth at the inhumanity of
such a publication, but has no word of comment upon the fol-
lowing, which appears in the same number of his paper : — ■
"Bloodhounds ! I have two of the finest Dogs for catching runaway
Niggers in the South- West. They can take a trail twelve hours after the
Nigger has passed, and catch him with ease. I live just four miles
south-west of Bolivar, on the road leading from Bolivar to Whitesville.
I am ready at all times to catch runaway property of every description.
" Bolivar, West Tennessee." . "DAVID TURNER.
This " Rev. gentleman," speaking of the " burning alive of
a Nigger," for a crime that would have only sent a white
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 331
Southerner to jail for a week or two, if at all, says : k ' We un-
hesitatingly affirm that the punishment was unequal to the
crime. Had we been there, we would have taken a part, and
even suggested the pinching of pieces out of him with red-hot
pinchers — of cutting off of a limb at a time, and then burn-
ing them all in a heap.* The true-hearted Citizens of Ten-
nessee and prope?iy-ho\ders, ought to enter into a league, and
whip black, and ride on a rail, irrespective of age, calling, or
family associations, every Clergyman, Citizen, or Traveller, who
dares to utter one word in opposition to our Domestic Institu-
tions" (Slavery and Polygamy), " or who is found in posses-
sion of an Anti-Slavery document. These are our sentiments,
and w T e are willing and ready to help others to carry them
out."
" Ran Away from the subscriber on the 23d of June last, a bright
mulatto Woman, named Julia, about twenty-five years of age. She is
common size, very nearly white, and very good-looking — for a Nigger.
* What a difference between the Methodist John Wesley, and the
Methodist Brownlow! Southern Methodists "swear by" Wesley,
but indignantly insist that he never called slavery "the sum of all
villainies." We need no further proof that it is, than to see how
thoroughly it has imbued this good brother Brownlow with the spirit
of the devil. Brownlow would be at home among the tortures of the
Inquisition, and would clap his hands for joy, to see some poor
mortal (provided he were a "nigger" mortal or an "abolitionist")
broken alive upon the wheel. From all such preachers, and from all
their preaching; from all who uphold them, and from all the hellish
things by which they are upheld; from the sinkings of their own
conscience (if they have any conscience) here on earth, and from
the eternal tortures of remorse in the world to come — worse than
red-hot pincers and pinching, cutting" and burning and mangling —
may the Good Lord deliver us! There is every reason to believe
that John Wesley was a good Christian; and that, with his clear
convictions of gospel truth, and his stern views of church dis-
cipline, he would have turned Brother Brownlow out of meet-
ing.
332 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
She is a good Seamstress, and reads a little. She may attempt to pass
for white : dresses fine. She took with her Anna, her Child, eight years
old. She once belonged to a Mr. Helm, of Columbia, Tennessee. I
will give a reward of $50 for said Nigger and Child if delivered to me,
or confined in any jail in Tennessee so I can get them, or $100 if taken
in any other Slave State ; and $200 if caught in any free State, and put
in any good jail in Kentucky or Tennessee, so I can get them.
"A. W. JOHNSON."
Republican Banner and Nashville Whig.
"Notice to Property-Holders. — On the first of November last,
I took up and committed to jail a runaway Nigger — nearly white, cal-
ling himself Ireneus Prime. He had on a large Neck-iron, with a huge
pair of horns, and a band or clog of iron on his left leg. He lost his
hat and bundle in a cane-brake while running from my Dogs. The
owner of said Nigger is requested to prove property, pay charges, and
take him away. The rascal says his father is a white man and lives in
New York. ' "N. ROSS.
"Randolph, Tipton county, Tennessee."
In March, 1855, we saw a poor heart-broken Slave pass
through the streets of Nashville, who had been captured by a
pack of four-legged and two-legged bloodhounds, belonging to a
" gentleman" of that city. His coat, pantaloons, and shirt, were
torn to pieces, and his person mangled in a most shocking man-
ner ; the blood was streaming from his face, hands, legs, &c.
When a wretched runaway is killed, either designedly or
by accident, the Southern newspapers speak of it merely as a
" loss of property." Nothing is ever said about the bereaved
Widow, Children, or Parents of the deceased.
Bloodhounds ! " The undersigned, having purchased the well-known
Nigger-Dogs of David Turner, formerly of this County, offers his ser-
vices to the Citizens of this and adjoining Counties, for the purpose of
Hunting and catching runaway Niggei-s. All who have Niggers in the
woods will please give me a call. I live three miles north of Bolivar, on
the Jackson road/ - "JAMES SMITH."
Bolivar (Tenn.) Democrat, May 9, 1855.
" $500 Reward. — Ran away from the subscriber, on the 25th of May
last, a Nigger boy, twenty-one years of age, named Washington. Said
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 333
Nigger, without close observation, might pass himself for a white man, as he
is light colored, has sandy hair, blue eyes, and a fine set of teeth. He is an
excellent bricklayer; but I have no idea that he will pursue his trade,
for fear of detection. Although he is like a white man in appearance, he
has the disposition of a black Nigger," and delights in comic songs and
witty expressions." He is an excellent house servant, very handy about
a hotel ; tall and slender, and has rather a down look, especially when
spoken to, and is sometimes inclined to be sulky. I have no doubt but
he has been decoyed off by some Abolition scoundrel; and I will give
the above reward for the apprehension of the boy and thief, if delivered
at Chattanooga; or I will give $200 for the boy alone, or $100 if con-
fined in any jail so that I cau get him.
The Chattanooga (Tenn ) Gazette. " GEORGE. 0. RAGLAND."
The leading Journal of the National Democratic Party —
Pierce, Buchanan, & Co.'s " Own," speaking of the " deplorable
condition of the down-trodden people of the Nations of the Old
World" says:
" Ignorance of the real state of political parties in this Country, and
the force and direction of our National currents, may naturally be ex-
pected among a class of men whose interests are all wrapped in old laws
and customs. Being foreigners, they can not know our Character, or
judge correctly of our Social, Moral, Religious, or Political condition ;
for ho one can understand, thoroughly, the Opinions, Feelings, and Habits
of Americans, who has not studied them on their own Soil, and at their
own Firesides. Being opposed to a Republican form of Government,
they are naturally prejudiced against us, are liable to be deceived, and
are pleased when they can seize upon anything that can be twisted into
an argument against a, free and happy people. Our citizens" (that is, the
genuine whites) " know that their arguments in favor of Monarchical and
Despotic forms of-Government are not supported by facts. Here the op-
pressed children of the Old World can bask in the sunshine of Civil and
Religious liberty, and be protected in their natural rights. We must let
our light shine."
The Persians have an old saying, to the effect, that it is well
to aim at the Sun, for, although the arrow will not hit the
mark, it will fly higher than if aimed at an object on the plane.
There are, however, two sides to this " question," and the other
334 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
view is given and illustrated by the veritable historian iEsop,
in the fable of the Frog that attempted to blow himself up to
the size of an Ox, and made a melancholy failure of it. It
will be remembered that he not only fell far short of the di-
mensions of the Ox, but utterly blighted his tareer of useful-
ness as a Frog, by bursting himself into a great number of
small speckled or party-colored fragments, each one of which
impressively set forth the melancholy consequences of inor-
dinate ambition. Sad as was the fate of the lamented ba-
trachian gentleman, who not improbably left behind him a
weeping widow and a large family of mourning tadpoles, all
mortals do not take to heart the lesson, but are far more influ-
enced in their actions by the " glittering generalities" of the
Persian proverb, than by the mournful speciality of the
Phrygian fable.
The National Democratic Party — Pierce, Buchanan, &
Co.'s " Own" — have yet to learn the true signification of the
parable of the Good Samaritan. (See Hebrews xiii. 3 ; Ro-
mans i. 14 ; and James ii. 4-9.)
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
CHAPTER III.
"When the measure of their tears is full, when their Groans have
involved Heaven itself in darkness, doubtless a God of Justice will
listen to their distress." — Jefferson.
The Savannah Republican, printed in a State which boasts
a Senator, Robert Toombs, who sa}^s he will yet "call the
roll" of his Slaves u at the foot of Bunker Hill monument/'
has in its impression of the 15th October, 1855, the follow-
ing advertisement : —
"Ran Away from the subscriber, on the 22d ult., my Negro man,
Albert Jock, who is twenty-seven years of age, very white, so much so
that he would not be suspected of being a Negro. He has blue eyes, and
light hair. Wore when he left, a long thin beard, and rode a sorrel
horse. He is about 5 feet 8 inches high, weighs about 140 pounds,
has an humble and meek appearance, can neither read nor write,
and is a kind and amiable fellow, speaks much like a low country
Negro. He has no . doubt been led ofi° by some infidel during my
absence to New York. $50 reward will be paid for his delivery to
me, or to Tison & Mackay, or for his apprehension and confinement
in any jail where I can get at him.
"J. M. TISON.
"Bethel, Glynn Co., Georgia."
"There was ne'er a loon in a' the toun like our little Jock,
There was ne'er a loon in a' the toun like our little Jock;
But since he became a member o' the Young Band o' Hope,
There's a wonderfu' improvement on our little Jock.
He wadna bide within the door, nor gang to kirk or schule —
He tore a suit o' claes to rags frae Whitsunday to Yule ;
He ran through Winter's frost an' snaw without a shoe or sock,
Sic a hardy little customer was our little Jock."
Odb DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
Dr. C. G. Parsons, of Boston, Massachusetts, speaking of
his " Tour among the Planters," gives us an account of a Slave-
hunt he witnessed on Flint Piver. Having ascended a small
hill, he saw a man coming up on the other side slowly, and
almost naked. The instant the man saw Mr. Parsons, he
threw up both hands, and exclaimed imploringly, " Goddy,
Massa !" Mr. Parsons supposing that the poor runaway
thought he would betray him, said : " I will not betray you."
But before he had time to inquire into his history, two blood-
hounds came dashing over another hill, half a mile distant.
The moment the baying of the dogs reached the ear of the
Slave, he made for the river, jumped in, and swam a long dis-
tance under water toward the opposite bank ; on reaching
which, he ran to a large tree, got up into it, and seated him-
self on a limb. The hounds came following the track — and
well they might, for the blood of the wretched fugitive was left
in every footstep — keeping up a constant baying. They
rushed up the hill, plunged into the river where the Slave did,
swam across, and ran up to the tree baying in blood-thirsty
tones in triumph of success. Soon two men came over the
hill on horseback, an<f when they saw the Slave in the tree,
and heard the hounds baying beneath it, they shouted and rode
on at full speed.
" One day," says Dr. Parsons, " while I was in Macon,
there was a cry of ' a Nigger in the river !' Besides the
' Nigger,' three bloodhounds were in the river also, endeavor-
ing to catch him ; but the poor fellow, being a good swimmer,
every time the hounds came close upon him, would dive a
long distance under water, so deep, that the hounds could not
see the direction he took, but when he raised his head above
the water to breathe, they swam toward him and seized his
limbs and held on till he jerked them away, leaving his flesh
in their teeth. Soon his two-legged bloodhound pursuers were
seen coming from the woods, and perceiving that farther at-
amM^M^ i%tAi
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 337
tempts to elude them were in vain, he told them if they would
call off the dogs he would come out. This they did. Two of
the hunters dismounted, and took him, one by either arm, to
lead him over the bridge into the city, in the midst of hosts of
the exulting ' poor whites.' No sympathy was manifested for
the suffering Slave, whose naked limbs were horribly lacerated
by the hounds. And what most shocked the feelings, as the
two-legged hounds were leading him, was to hear the ' poor
whites,' men and boys, tell the dogs to bite him — saying, ' Seek
him !' ' Take hold of him !' — just as they would set the dogs on
swine, and with as little pity."
The following letter was received lately in Oberlin, Ohio,
from a prominent Member of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Georgia. Its authenticity is guarantied by the Editor of
The Oberlin Evangelist :
" Dear Sir : I take my pen to write to you once more, though it is not
I that write to you, but the Lord that writeth through me. Permit me
to inform you that since I wrote you last I have come out and embraced
the Religion of the Lord Jesus Christ, and am now living in the light
and liberty of the children of God. We have had quite an interesting
Church meeting here last week in relation to Deacon D . It was
thought by many that he would be disfellowshipped ; but his case was
set forth in such a vivid light by the influential members of the Church,
our Pastor among the rest, that he was honorably discharged. • For fear
you will think the case worse than it is, I will just state the facts : The
Deacon had an old Slave that had been in the habit of running away,
but had always been caught, until finally about two weeks ago, he made
another escape. No sooner was the old fellow missing than cousin H —
borrowed neighbor P 's hounds and started in search of him. He
had not proceeded far in the woods before he found the old man perched'
upon the limb of a large tree. He ordered him several times to come
down, but the old fellow, stubborn as an ass, still maintained his position.
The deacon then becoming excited, fired his gun at him. The ball passed
through the old man's ankle, and mangled it in such a manner that it
mortified and he died. But as I have before stated, our good Pastor
(may the Lord prosper him) held for the justification of the Deacon in
such a vivid, Aeai'en-approving style, that he was discharged upon the
15
338 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
ground that he had a right to do what he pleased with his own property
— a judgment that would have been passed by any righteous man. Your
Uncle J died last week. We had the greatest kind of a time when
he was a-dyin' — he went straight to glory, anyhow. His Niggers are
a-goin' to be sold on Saturday next.
"I have partly bargained for fifty Niggers belonging to a neighbor.
If I can get them as cheap as I expect to, I shall make a handsome profit
on them, for I understand that the Orleans market is quite good now.
I expect to send them down as soon as my Driver recovers ; for in flog-
ging one of my old Slaves the other day, he received a very severe wound
from him, he having struck him with his hoe, whereupon the Driver in-
stantly drew his pistol and shot him dead upon the spot, a fate which he
justly merited. From his extreme age (being a little over 79 years), I
consider his death a gain and not a loss to me.
" In your last letter you spoke of visiting us next year. If you come,
I pray you to leave your Abolitionism behind, and show yourself a man.
It is now time to go to Prayer-meeting, and I must close. My wife joins
me in love to you."
It is a question which becomes the more hardened compara-
tively in iniquity — a nation or an individual ? The individ-
ual has his moments of reflection, but the nation once on the
downward slope appears to have neither brains nor bowels.
There is a familiarity with evil which the Apostle calls being
" dead in trespasses and sins." There is an awful paralysis
of the Moral sense when deeds unholiest and crimes most fear-
ful cease any longer to affect the nerve. The bloodhound, the
emblem of cowardly distrust and brutal cupidity, is now a
household word — a " domestic institution" of more than one
half the States and Territories of the Union. He is as regular-
ly advertised as the animal Man. Shame is no longer felt in
this regard. Hear them :
"Bloodhounds! The undersigned having a magnificent Pack of
Hounds, for Trailing and Catching runaway Niggers, takes this method
of informing his Friends and the Public, generally, that his prices are as
follows : For each day employed in either Hunting or Trailing, $2.50;
for catching each Slave, $10; forgoing over ten miles and catching a
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 339
Slave, $20. If sent for, the above prices will be expected, in Cash. The
subscriber lives one mile and a half south of Dadeville.
Dadeville (Ala.) Banner. "B. BLACK."
Was this the " Idea" which blazed and culminated on the
lips of the "Sires of '76"? Was this the " Idea" which
prompted that spirit of fraternal affection which produced the
last great fruit of the Revolution — the Union of the States
under a Constitution of confederated Republican Government ?
Was this the " Idea" of the men who penned the Declaration
that "All men are born Free and Equal, and entitled to Life,
Liberty, and the pursuit of — of — of — of — Happiness" ?
" Bloodhounds ! The undersigned having purchased an entire Pack
of Hounds, of the Hay and Allen Stock, he now purposes to Catch run-
away Niggers, of every description. His charges will be $3 a day for
Hunting, and $15 for Catching.
North Livingston (Ala.) Whig. "WILLIAM GAMBREL."
"Bloodhounds! The undersigned would respectfully inform the
Citizens of Montgomery and the surrounding Country, that he is sta-
tioned one mile from the Court-House, on the South Plank Road, with
the Well-known Pack of Hounds formerly owned by G. W. Edwards,
and will attend to all calls he may be favored with. Terms of Hunting
as follows : Catching, $10, if in or near the City, and charges in propor-
tion to distance and trouble. Information by any person or persons of
Niggers lying about their premises will be attended to, without charge,
if they are not their own* " A. V. WORTHY.
"Montgomery (Ala.), May 29, 1855."
The Christian reader shudders — and well he may — at the
reading of such advertisements as these, but in Alabama, or
any of the Slaveholding States and Territories, they excite no
more attention than the reading of the ordinary advertisements
* The New York Ledger, of the 9th August, 1856, says : "A fugitive
Slave, that was hunted with Dogs among the swamps of Alabama, a few
days since, finding escape impossible, turned at bay, and after a despe-
rate fight, was torn in pieces by the Hounds, but not until he had killed
two of them and severely damaged three others,
served a better fate.
340 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
published in the towns and cities of the "free States." What,
then, must be the "public sentiment" of such a people? — to
what must it have sunk, when scenes like these can not only
be advertised, but continually enacted, and the people mean-
time, instead of blushing for shame, at such abominations,
boastingly declare themselves the " Model Republic," and in-
vite all the people of Europe to institute similar Governments
for themselves.
Did the eccentric imagination of Rabelais or the morbid
misanthropy of Swift ever conjure up such grotesque mon-
strosities and incredible contradictions ? What is the "Ameri-
can Idea" or " Machine" worth when the Press of Anglo-
Saxondom enforces diabolism unknown, in the desperate
meanness and cruelty of its details, to the scalping Savage ?
He at least scents out his victim and runs his mortal risk.
But the Hunters with Bloodhounds of the poor shivering
Slaves, sons of poverty and shame, what shall we say of
them ? Why, perdition itself has scarcely an adequate state
of punishment for such wretches.
There are thousands of poor runaways whose story the
world never hears. Their bones lie bleaching in the lone
forests, in the dismal swamps, in the caves, and in the river-
beds, not only of the South and West, but of the "free North."
Oh, if they could speak, they would tell us of the intolerable
cruelties from which they fled, to encounter cold and heat,
darkness and tempests, bears and wolves, nakedness and
starvation, and bloodhounds, or their more brutal " Masters."
" Ran Aw at from the subscriber, working on the plantation of Col.
II. Tinker, a boy, named Alfred. He is about eighteen years old, pretty
well grown ; has blue eyes, light flaxen hair, and shin disposed to freckle.
He will try to pass as freeborn. " S. G. STEWART."
" Greene County, Ala."
V Will be Sold, in front of the Court-House, in this County, on the
first Monday in November next for cash, between the hours of 11, a. m.,
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 841
and 4, p. m., of said day, a Nigger woman, named Elizabeth Johnson,
who says she is free, and that she is from Charleston, South Carolina.
She is about 27 years of age, five feet six or seven inches high, of very
light copper complexion, and has very straight hair. Said woman was
committed to jail on the 5th of January, by Thomas Durden, a Justice
of the Peace for Montgomery County, as a runaway Slave ; and her own-
er having failed to come forward, prove property, pay charges, and take her
away, she is, therefore, to be sold, in compliance with the Statute in
such cases made and provided, to pay jail fees, &c.
"J. J. STEWAET,
" Sheriff of Montgomery County, Alabama."
"$10O Beward. — Ean away from the subscriber, a bright mulatto
man-Slave, named Sam. Light, sandy hair, blue eyes, and ruddy com-
plexion — is so white as very easily to pass for a free white man.
"Mobile, Ala." "ED WIN PECK."
Two runaway Slaves, from Alabama, sought protection in
Billy Bowlegs' camp, in Mississippi. Repeated demands for
their return to their " Master" had been denied by that Chief
of the Seminoles. On the 4th of July, two of Billy's men,
Toney and Simon, visited the United States troops. They
were seized and heavily ironed, and placed in the custody of
the Camp guard, to be held until Billy sent in the two run-
away Slaves for their ransom. One of the Slaves was brought
in and one of Billy's men demanded. To this demand, the
Indian Agent refused to accede. The Slave was taken into
custody and returned to his " owner."
The first treaty made with the, Creek Indians, contained a
provision for the return of fugitive Slaves. That treaty was
violated. The Indian, debased as he was, could not return
his flying brother into the horrors of Slavery. He had not
been corrupted by Theological dissertations. To " teach" the
poor Indians a "lesson," $125,000 due them were according-
ly withheld, to pay the value of fifteen Slaves ! Besides this,
$150,000 were also "appropriated" to repay Slave-breeders
for children not yet born.
^42 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
" Ran Aw at. — A Nigger girl, called Mary Orville Dewey ; has a scar
over her left eye, a green patch over the other, a piece bitten out of her
upper lip, and a good many teeth missing. The letters M. O. D. are
branded with a hot iron on her forehead, cheeks, and the inside of her
legs, half way between her knees and buttock." — Natchez (Miss.) Courier.
The practical illustration of the " peculiar institution" of the
" Model Republic" has no limits ; its honors swell into infinity.
Human language can not describe its cruelties. No pencil
can portray them ; no statistics exhibit the sum total. The
Slave Code is sufficiently horrible, but every syllable of it can
be written, printed, and measured by pages.
" Notice to Property Owners. — A Negro's head was picked up
yesterday, which the Owner can have by calling at this Office, on pay-
ing for this advertisement." — Natchez (Miss.) Free-Trader.
" Ran Away, or stolen, from the subscriber, living near Aberdeen,
Miss., a light-colored Woman, of small size, and about 23 years of age.
She has long, black, straight hair, and she usually keeps it in good order.
When she left she had on either a white dress, or a brown calico one
Avith white spots or figures, and took with her a red handkerchief, and a
red or pink sun-bonnet. She generally dresses very neatly. She calls her-
self Mary Ann Paine — can read — has some freckles on her face and
hands — Shoes No. 4 — had two rings on her fingers. She is very intel-
ligent. Fifty dollars reward will be given for her, if taken out of the
State, and twenty-five, if taken within the State.
"U. MCALLISTER."
" $25 Reward will be given for the apprehension and confinement in
any jail of the Slave-man Hardy, who ran away from the subscriber, re-
siding at Lake St. John, near Rifle Point, Concordia parish, La., on the
9 th of August last. Hardy is a remarkably likely Nigger, entirely free
from all marks, scars, or blemishes, when he left. He is about six feet
high, of light complexion, fine countenance, unsually smooth skin, good
head of hair, fine eyes and teeth. Address the subscriber at Rifle Point,
Concordia Parish, Louisiana. "ROBERT Y. JONES."
Daily Courier, Natchez, Miss.
"S25 Reward. — Ran away from the undersigned, a Negro man by
the name of Allen, about 23 years of age, near six feet high, of dark
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 343
mulatto color, no mark, save one, and that caused by the bite of a dog ; had
on, when he left, Lowell pants, and cotton shirt; reads imperfectly, can
make a short calculation correctly, and can write some few words. Said
boy has runaway heretofore, and when taken up was in possession of a
free pass. He is quick-spoken, lively, and smiles when in conversation
I will give the above reward to any one who will confine said Negro in
any Jail, so that I can get him. "THOS. R. CHEATEM."
Natches (Miss.) Free Trader.
A Slave belonging to Captain Newport, of East Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, while closely pursued by the bloodhounds
of an Irish-American " Demmycrat," of the name of Roark,
ascended a tree and hung himself. " Misther Roark," with Cap-
tain Newport's son-in-law and an Overseer, were in pursuit
of a runaway Slave. They did not know this one was " out,"
and were surprised upon their arrival, a few minutes in the
rear of their fellow-bloodhounds to find him suspended by his
neck, with his feet dangling only a foot or two from the earth.
Every effort was made to restore animation, but without suc-
cess, although on their coming up the body was still warm.
The act was one, it would seem, of resolute predetermination,
as the Slave was well provided with cords, which he made use
of to perpetrate his suicidal purpose. This " speaks volumes"
for the " tender mercies" of the " divine institution."
The St. Francisville (La.) Chronicle has an account of a
« Nigger-hunt," from which we learn that a gentleman of that
Parish while out hunting runaways came upon three of them
on Cat Island. He succeeded in arresting two, but the third
made fight, and upon being shot in the shoulders fled to a
sluice, where the hounds succeeded in drowning him before
assistance could arrive.
"Bloodhounds! The undersigned would respectfully inform the
Citizens of Ouachita and adjacent Parishes, that he has located about
two miles east of Deacon John White's, on the road leading from Mon-
roe to Bastrop, and that he has a superb Pack of Hounds for catching
runaway Niggers, of every variety. Ladies or gentlemen wishing Nig-
344 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
gers caught will do well to give him a Call. He can always be found at
his stand, when not professionally engaged. Terms as follows : $5 per
day and found, when there is no track pointed out. When the track is
shown, $25 will be charged for Catching. "M. C. GOFF."
Ouachita Register, Monroe, Louisiana.
Pardon Davis, a citizen of Berlin, Marquette county, Wis-
consin, had been spending some time in Tensas Parish, La.,
engaged in business. In September, 1855, having settled up
his business, he was upon the point of returning to the North,
when he was met by Perkins and his bloodhounds, who drew
a revolver and threatened to fire upon him in case he moved
or made a noise. He was then handcuffed and brought before
a Magistrate, who informed him that he was accused of " aid-
ing Slaves to escape from their owners." The whole town
was soon assembled, and in a high state of excitement. The
citizens, fearing that the evidence against Mr. Davis would
prove insufficient, formed themselves into a mob for the pur-
pose of inflicting lynch-law, in case he should be acquitted.
Some cried, " Hang him ;" some, " Shoot him," others, " Give
him a thousand lashes on the bare back." No one dared speak
a word in his behalf, save a Mississippi lawyer, who informed
the prisoner that the chances were against him — that if he had
been charged with larceny or even murder, there might be hope,
but little hope as the case was. He was conducted to jail,
through a heavy rain, where he was handcuffed and his feet
put in stocks. Mr. Davis, the prisoner, subsequently had his
trial, and was sentenced to twenty years confinement in the
State Prison of Louisiana, and is now in Baton Rouge, suffer-
ing this penalty.
The arrest of Mr. Davis was brought about in this way.
A man in Mississippi having discovered a trail of runaway
Slaves sent for Perkins to come, with his hounds, and catch
them, l^erkins went and caught them, after a chase of thirty-
five miles. Upon overtaking them, they all ran. to a tree, and
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLATE STATES. 345
got up into it. Perkins, with his" four-legged bloodhounds,
dashed up, drew his revolver, and asked the Slaves who they
belonged to. They, poor fellows, gave a fictitious name, and
presented their passes, which he read ; but being, like all other
cat's-paws of Slavery, North and South, a villain at heart — and
wishing to show his employers the dangers he had to encoun-
ter — ordered them down, two at a time, and then set the
hounds on them. The poor creatures, after being torn in a
shocking manner, promised, if he would desist, they would tell
the truth.* The hounds being called off, the wretched men
made the following confession :
" We belong to Mr. Dunkin. The overseer, Mr. Higgins, whipped
us nearly every night, because being new hands, we could not pick Cot-
ton enough. We stood it as long as we could, and then ran away. We
went to Mr. Davis's woodyard and told him our complaint. He let us
hide in the wood and carried us bread and water until last Saturday
night. He baked us some bread, gave one of us a pair of shoes, an-
other a hat, another a shirt, three quilts, to sleep under, some money,
these passes, and then took us across the river in a canoe, one at a time,
and told us to go toward the sunrise, but, getting entangled in the
swamp, we lost our way/'
" Oh, if you could," said Mr. Davis, in a letter to his friends
at Berlin, " be on the plantation near where I have lived, and,
at night, when the Cotton is weighed, out of two hundred
Slaves, not less than twelve are whipped every night — Oh!
could you hear the shrieks, cries, groans, prayers to God, to
Christ — yes, if you could hear all this, and see the victim on
his knees praying with all the earnestness a man is capable of,
* " Stranger," said a two-legged bloodhound of St. Francisville, La.,
" if I can catch a cuss'd runaway Nigger without killing him, very
good ; though I generally let the Hounds punish him a little, and some-
times give him a load of squirrel-shot. If mild measures, like these, do
not suffice, I use harsher punishment." The moment the hounds come
close upon their prey, they utter a hideous and mournful howl. Then
heaven pity the poor Slave.
15*
546 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
to that brutal overseer, and promising to strain every nerve
on the morrow to pick more Cotton — it would melt your
hearts. Who can look on such scenes as these and not be
moved to tears ? I feel that my days are numbered. And
now, my friends, when you meet to pray for the i heathen of
foreign lands/ remember, Oh, remember, our own country.
Watch over the declining steps of my parents ; 'tis the greatest
boon I can ask, for I fear that this intelligence will bring the
gray hairs of a loving father and an affectionate mother to the
grave. Comfort them with the thought that we may meet in a
happier world."
" Ran away from the plantation of the undersigned, the Nigger Shad-
rach, a preacher, 5 feet 9 inches high, about 40 years of age ; has the letters
M. B. stamped on his breast, and both small toes cut off. He is of a very
dark complexion, with eyes small but bright, and a look quite insolent.
He dresses well, for a Nigger, and was taken up as a runaway at DonalHs-
ville some three years ago. A reward of three hundred dollars will be
paid for his arrest, by addressing Messrs. Armant, Brothers, St. James*
parish, or A. Miltenberger & Co., 30 Carondelet St., New Orleans."
This is the loudest " call" for a preacher we have seen lately.
Clergymen of the " right stripe," we are glad to learn, " are in
great requisition." The fact indicates a pervading religious
sentiment highly creditable to the "free and enlightened
Democracy" of the "great Republic." But it is quite unusual
to offer a reward for preachers who, for any cause, change
their parish. Shadrach must have been a very " acceptable
dispenser of the word" to have his return pressed so earnestly.
But poor Shadrach succeeded in escaping the " tender mercies"
.of his " beloved brethren," North and South, and now keeps
an eating-house at 72± Notre Dame street, Montreal, Canada,
and displays upon his show-board the words, " Uncle Tom's
Cabin, by Shadrach."
The following case — the circumstances of which are a
romance of themselves — show how inexorable the Slave law
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 347
contends with the kind designs of the "Master:" Elisha
Brazealle, a planter, was attacked with a loathsome disease.
During his illness he was faithfully nursed, by a beautiful
Slave girl, to whose assiduous attentions he felt that he owed
his life. He was duly impressed by her devotion, and soon
after his recovery took her to Ohio and had her educated.
She was very intelligent, and improved her advantages so
rapidly that when he visited her again he determined to marry
her. He executed a deed for her emancipation, and had it
recorded, and made her his wife. Mr. Brazealle returned
with her, and in process of time had a son. After a few years
he sickened and died, leaving a " Will," in which, after reciting
the deed of emancipation, he declared his intention to ratify it,
and devised all his property to his wife and son, acknowledging
them in the will to be such. Some poor and distant relations
in North Carolina, whom he did not know, and for whom he
did not care, hearing of his death, came on, and claimed the
property thus devised. They instituted a suit for its recovery,
and the case (it is reported in Howard's Reports, vol. ii., p. 837)
came before Judge Sharkey. He decided it, and in that decision
declared the act of emancipation "an offence against morality,
and pernicious and detestable as an example." He set aside
the " Will," gave the property of Brazealle to his distant
relations, condemned Brazealle's son, and his wife, that son's
mother, again to bondage, and made them the Slaves of these
North Carolina kinsmen, as part of the assets of the estate !
In March, 1818, three ships arrived at New Orleans bring-
ing several hundred German emigrants from the province of
Al.-ace on the lower Rhine. Among them was Daniel Muller
and his two daughters, Dorothea and Salome, whose mother
had died' on the passage. Soon after his arrival at New Or-
leans, Muller, taking with him his two daughters, both young
children, went up the river to Attakapas parish, to work on
the plantation of John F. Miller. A few weeks later, his
343 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
relatives, who had remained at New Orleans, learned that he
had died of the fever of the country. They immediately sent
for the two girls, but they had disappeared, and the relatives,
notwithstanding repeated and persevering inquiries and re-
searches, could find no traces of them. They were at length
given up for dead. Dorothea was never again heard of, nor
was anything known of Salome from 1818 till 1843. In the
summer of that year, Madame Karl, a German woman, who
had come over in the same ship with the Mullers, was passing
through a street in New Orleans, and 'accidentally saw Salome
in a wine-shop, belonging to Louis Belmonte, by whom she
was held as a Slave. Madame Karl recognised her at once,
and took her to the house of Mrs. Schubert, who was Salome's
cousin and God-mother, who declared, the moment she saw
her, " My God ! here is the long-lost Salome Muller !"
" Ran Away from the plantation of Madame Fergus Duplantier, on or
about the 27th of June last, a boy named Ned ; he is stout-built, about
five feet eleven inches high, and speaks English and French ; he is about
thirty-five years of age. He may try to pass himself for a white man,
as he is of a very clear color, and has sandy hair. Twenty-five dollars
reward will be paid to whoever will bring him to Madame Duplanticr's
plantation, Manchac, or lodge him in some jail, where he can be obtained."
New Orleans Picayune.
" Ran Aw at from a Gang, in February last, a boy, named Nehemiah
Adams. He is about five feet, three inches in height, with hazel eyes and
brownish hair. He will not acknowledge that he is a Slave ; says his
father is a white man and lives somewhere in Boston, Massachusetts.
He is an habitual runaway, and was shot in the ankle while endeavoring
to escape from Baton Rouge Jail. A reward of $325 will be paid on
his delivery to me, or for his apprehension and commitment to any jail
from which I can get him." " A. L. BINGHAM."
New Orleans Delta. _
The Cincinnati (Ohio) Columbian, says, that a legal gentle-
man of that City was called on in March, 1855, to write a
deed of manumission to be given by a Louisiana planter to
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 349
one of his Slaves, a young girl whom he had brought with
him. As the description of the girl was somewhat curious,
the Editor of The Columbian copied it from the deed : "Said
Sarah Maria is 17 years of age, medium height, and rather
slim figure, very fair complexion, with straight light brown
hair, and hazel eyes, with features of the Caucasian race."
" Bloodhounds ! The undersigned would respectfully inform his
Friends find the Public generally, that he will keep in the County of
Brazoria, the celebrated Pack of Hounds formerly owned by Deacon
John Glascock. Price for Catching a runaway Nigger $25, or $5 per
day. "J. PORTICE.
"Brazoria County, Texas."
" Bloodhounds ! The undersigned would respectfully inform his
Priends and the Public generally, that he has just purchased Mr. Ruff
Perry's famous Nigger Dogs, and will give his undivided attention to
the business of Hunting and Catching runaway Niggers. His terms are
$20 for Catching, or $3.50 per day. " JOHN DE VEREUX.
"Marshall, Texas."
In July, 1855, a fight took place between Sam Jones, a
notorious desperado of Texas, and fifteen Lipau Indians.
Jones was in a corn-field when the " Sons of the Forest"
made their appearance, but managed to escape, with an old
German, into his cabin. The Indians soon surrounded the
house. Jones had but little ammunition, and was anxious
that every shot should tell. When the Indians attempted to
break in the door, he would shoot ; and while he was loading,
the German kept them at bay, by pointing an unloaded gun
at them through the crevices of the house. They managed in
this way till the outside of the house was bristling with arrows,
aimed at them between the logs, and Jones' powder had given
out. At this moment, the Indians retreated a short distance
to hold a council of war. The besieged availed themselves of
the chance to get the assistance of a dozen of bloodhounds that
were confined in an outbuilding. Under cover of the two un-
350 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
loaded guns, Mrs. Jones liberated the dogs. Here was a rein-
forcement the Indians had not calculated upon, and, in the
twinkling of an eye, five of them were torn to pieces. The
others came to the rescue, and soon shot the remainder of their
arrows into the hounds, and beat a retreat, leaving their dead
and wounded. After the fight, the field exhibited even dead
Indians and five dogs, sundry pieces of buckskin, mingled with
clotted masses of Indian flesh, and hundreds of arrows and
pieces of bows.
" The origin of all Slavery on the Globe," says the Rev.
George B. Cheever, "has been violence and theft. An un-
righteous predatory w r ar is theft. A man taken, from his
family and thrust into bondage is a stolen man, no matter
whether ten men did the deed or ten thousand. The first
gang of captives landed in Virginia, the origin of Slavery in
the United States, were brought in as the prey of Kidnappers,
Slave-traders, the most abandoned, degraded, infernal mis-
creants on the face of the earth, hovering on the coast, steal-
ing up the creeks and rivers, prowling about the unguarded
hamlets, and like vultures, grasping their victims in their
talons, or with stratagems and lures, bribing others to entrap
them. The Slave-ships and the Slave-pens, have been
crowded, and are still, for still the accursed traffic rages, with
such outraged and down-trodden human beings, bought and
sold, and the ' Slave property/ so called, in the United States
and Territories is the result of bloody violence and theft.
Though the Slaveholder may tell as much as he pleases of his
Slaves having been ' inherited,' or as having been the ' prop-
erty' of his father, or grandfather, or great-grandfather, yet
every increase from every ship's cargo ever landed in the
United States, from the latest importation in this generation,
back to the landing and enslavement of the very first gang, is
piracy ; and all the increase by natural propagation is the
result of it, and the race is a stolen race.
DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES. 351
" The quality of crime, the taint of theft, the essential ele-
ment of man-stealing, is in the very title by which the Slave-
holder claims his fellow-man as ' property.' It is a brand that
no art can efface, no file of sophistry rasp out, no machinerj'
of law erase. The brand of ignominy which he puts upon
the man when he calls him a ' chattel,' and treats him as
such, is the brand burned deeper in his bargain, in his com-
plicity with robbery, in the immorality of his ' legal title,' and
generation after generation can not eliminate it; can not so
vulcanize it, but that the fires of the Judgment-Day will bring
out its essence of oppression and iniquity.
" The sum of $100,000,000 might be paid for a man by a
Slave-trader, but he would have no more right of ' property'
in him, after he had paid that sum, than before, or than if he
had paid but one farthing. The common law lays down this
principle, even in regard to a horse, which, if it be stolen and
sold forty times over, neither the selling, any more than the
stealing, can take away the right of the lawful owner ; but
whenever, and wherever, he appears he can claim his proper-
ty. Now a stolen man may have been passed through five hun-
dred hands, and the five-hundredth may have paid more for
him than all the four hundred and ninety-nine put together ;
but the last purchaser has no more rightful claim over him,
no more right of ' property' in him, than the first stealer. And
if he purchased him with the knowledge of his being originally
stolen, he is himself also a thief, a conspirator, a pirate — on
the principles of common law and righteousness. And if he
had not that knowledge, but made the purchase ignorant of
the original theft, his ignorance can not change right into
wrong, can not take away the man's indefeasible and inalien
able right of ownership over himself. The price of a world
might have been paid for him, but he is still his own.
" The Slave holds, under God's own hand, a note against
the robbers of his liberty, with compound interest, for the
352 DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS IN THE SLAVE STATES.
crime committed against his father ; and when the Slavehold-
er lays his grasp upon his children, and takes them as his
' property,' the note is more than doubled against him, and the
interest runs on." (See the Slave-Trade, Appendix C.)
Ah ! there is a God in heaven that looks on, and his jus-
tice takes account of these atrocious transactions. Think of
it! (See Matt. xxv. 34-46 ; Hebrews xiii. 3 ; Romans i. 14;
and James ii. 4-9.) With nations, as with individuals, when
the course of corruption begins, it is too often the principle —
"I am in blood
Steeped in so far, that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o'er."
,
PAET SIXTH.
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
CHAPTER I.
" It has often been observed by lawyers skilled in criminal
jurisprudence," says the New York Tribune, " as well as by
those who in civil practice have obtained a wide knowledge
of human nature, that if you can get a rogue to write a series
of letters, he is sure, while attempting to give plausibility to
his falsehoods, to involve himself in such contradictions as
can not fail to betray his real character and objects. Since
the advent of Franklin Pierce's Administration" (on the 4th
March, 1853), "in the only important cases which have
arisen, the foreign policy of the country has been governed by
one invariable rule. This rule may be stated, in brief, as sim-
ply to truckle to the strong, and bully the weak." What
saith the historian?
And it came to pass after these things, that Isabella, the Spaniard, had an
Island called Cuba, hard by the Model Republic of Uncle Sam, the Yan-
kee ; and Uncle Sam spake — through his servant, Soule — unto Isabella,
the Spaniard, saying, Give me thy Island, that I may have it for breeding
Niggers, because it is near unto my dominions, and I will give thee the
worth of it in money ; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another
down the river — in the Mississippi. And Isabella, the Spaniard, said
to Uncle Sam, the Yankee, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give tho
inheritance of mv fathers unto thee. And Uncle Sam came into his
354 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
"White House, heavy and displeased because of the words Isabella, the
Spaniard, had spoken unto him, and he laid him down upon his bed, and
turned away his face, and would eat no bread. But his servant, Marcy,
said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread ? And
he said unto him, Because I spake unto Isabella, the Spaniard, and said
unto her, Give me Cuba, for money ; or else, if it please thee, I will give
thee another for it down the river — in the Mississippi; and she an-
swered, The Lord forb'I it me, that I should give the inheritance of my
fathers unto thee. And his servant, Marcy, said unto him, Dost thou
not now govern the Model Republic? arise, and eat bread, and let thine
heart be merry : I will give thee the Island of Isabella, the Spaniard.
So he wrote letters, in Uncle Sam's name, and sealed them with his
seal, and sent the letters unto his fellow-seiwants, Soule, Buchanan, and
Mason ; and he wrote in the letters, saying, You are hereby command-
ed to proceed, forthwith, to Ostend, in the Kingdom of Belgium, and
there await further orders. (See 1 Kings xxi. 1-16.)
The Ostend correspondence reveals a most remarkable
Executive, Administrative, and Diplomatic confusion. First,
we have a Minister to Spain apparently selected because of
his known filibustering tendencies with reference to the fair-
est portion of Spain's territories — a. selection most indecorous
in itself, and involving conduct unworthy of a great power to-
ward a weak one. To make the matter worse, that Minister,
made, on the very eve of his departure upon his Mission, a
street harangue to a band of lawless persons, avowedly organ-
ized for the purpose of wresting that territory from Spain, in
which he expressed sympathy with their design, and very
broadly intimated that he was empowered to employ his
official powers for that object. A mission thus begun could
not be otherwise than unfortunate in its progress and conclu-
sion. The whole business was a playing at cross purposes,
the parties to the sharp practice being Franklin Pierce, the
President of the United States — the greater the pity that it
should have to be said — William L. Marcy, Secretary of
State; Pierre Soule, Minister to Spain X and a Mr. Perry, hia
THE SLATE TOTTER ADVANCING. 355
(Soule's) Secretary. Each seems to have been chiefly aim-
ing at outwitting the other.
The President consigned Mr. Soule to Secretary Marcy for
instructions, and Mr. Marcy gave them, in accordance, as he
believed, with the views of the President. Mr. Soule re-
ceived them with all apparent respect, as though he designed
in good faith to follow them. Then the President supplied
him (Soule) with a secretary (Perry), after, with seeming
delicacy, consulting his wishes, and Mr. Soule received him
(Perry) into his confidence accordingly, and Mr. Perry ap-
peared to work harmoniously in his subordinate capacity to
the Minister. So far, each kept his secret and preserved the
semblance of candor, harmony, and good faith. But it is pro-
verbially difficult for tw T o persons to act disingenuously toward
each other for any length of time without a rupture ; and the
difficulty is more than quadrupled where four persons are
playing at a game of cross purposes. The structure of dis-
ingenuousness gives way, and what an exposure follows !
President Pierce seems to bear the palm of disingenuous-
ness, for it does not admit of a doubt that — while leaving his
Secretary of State to suppose that, in virtue of his office, he
had alone given Mr. Soule instructions — secret, and superior
orders, were received by the Minister from the President ; and
while the President virtually encouraged Mr. Soule to place
unlimited confidence in his secretary (Perry), he at the same
time permitted, if he did not invite, that officer to act the part
of a spy and informer upon his superior officer. Nor was this
all. The President seduced the Minister, temporarily, from
his post, on the pretence that he would highly value the joint
council of himself and others on an important question ; and
during his absence at Ostend, his secretary (Perry) had abun-
dant opportunity and leisure to peruse the records and corre-
spondence of the legation, and make to his employer (Presi-
dent Pierce) a full report against his superior (Soule). No
3&6 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
one will say that in this matter the Chief Magistrate of the
Model Republic appeared in a very dignified or favorable
light.
Mr Perry having finished his work of espionage, Mr. Soule
returned to Madrid from Ostend, and a communication from
the Secretary of State, in the President's name, opened his
eyes to the fact that the Ostend Conference was but a trap,
and that he must straightway undo and unsay all that he had
done and said under his former instructions from the President
and Secretary of State, and then he had been tripped up at his
highest speed by his own confidential secretary (Perry) with
the connivance of Pierce and Marcy !
There can be no doubt but that from the first the President
was playing a double game with the Secretary of State, as well
as with Mr. Soule. But Mr. Marcy had more experience in
political life than President Pierce, and is altogether a
shrewder and abler man, and it is by no means improbable
that Mr. Marcy appreciated the relative position of the Presi-
dent and Mr. Soule, and comprehended from an early day the
understanding that existed between them ; but maintaining his
seeming ignorance of such duplicity, skilfully manoeuvred to
lead the plot to its final development. That he has, by his
adroitness and prudence, saved the country a needless and not
reputable war with Spain, and with other powers, which em-
broilment was evidently the object of the President and Mr.
Soule's proceedings, is now beyond a doubt. But that does
not exonerate Marcy from connivance at and encouragement
of the clandestine correspondence of Mr. Perry and his
espionage over his superior. Mr. Marcy partakes, equally
with the President, in the disgrace of that complicity with a
spy upon the actions of a gentleman in whom they both pro-
fessed to have confidence, and whom they treated as though in
correspondence with him alone.
While Mr. Marcy was deceiving Mr. Soule, Mr. Soule was
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING. 357
deceiving Mr. Marcy (but preserving some degree of good
faith with the President), for while pressing the acquisition
of Cuba, in obedience to the President's instructions, he was
purposely retarding the settlement of the " Black Warrior"
claim by withholding from the Spanish Government communi-
cations made to him from the State Department by Marcy for
the purpose of being laid before that Government. And he
was himself deceived in turn by his secretary (Perry), who
was making notes of his proceedings and passing his own com-
ments upon them in a clandestine correspondence with the
Government at Washington !
The conduct of Mr. Perry has been excused, on the ground
that he saw that the interests of his country were being wilfully
sacrificed by Mr. Soule, and thought it his duty to acquaint
his Government of the fact.
There is not a redeeming point of honor in the whole busi-
ness. If the Executive is to stoop to these acts of duplicity
and fickleness, what is to become of the " high character" of
American diplomacy ? What gentleman, what man, with a
spark of self-respect, or innate sense of honor, will consent to
wear the title of " American Minister" abroad, if it is to be un-
derstood that the President has placed a spy and informer at
his elbow, to supervise his diplomacy and whisper secretly in
the President's ear his own interpretation of his (the Minister's)
acts, and that informer is his (the Minister's) subordinate, his
own President appointed secretary ? What security has Mr.
Buchanan, late Minister to England, and now President of the
United States, that Mr. Dan Sickles did not review his every
act in secret correspondence with President Pierce ? Or Mr.
Mason, the Minister to France, or any other Minister, that his
secretary does not clandestinely pursue the same course, with
the President's approval and encouragement ; and that a
similar correspondence to Mr. Perry's awaits an opportunity
to be used against him ?'
358 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
As to Mr. Soule's successor, General C. A. Dodge, no one
can pity him if he is betrayed, like his predecessor, for he ac-
cepted the mission with the same secretary (Perry) attached
to it !
The country is deeply disgraced when its first Magistrate,
and its Officials, stand before the world in the light of such
revelations as these. Every citizen shares in the disgrace.
This is no " party matter." It can not be made a party ques-
tion. No party will be quite mean enough to attempt its de-
fence. Just imagine how utterly suicidal it would be for any
party — Whig, Democrat, Fusion, or Know-Nothing — to in-
corporate this plank into its platform :
" Resolved, That it is honorable to the man, and befitting to the Chief
Magistrate of the United States, as well as delicate and proper toward
the Ministers of this Republic, accredited at Foreign Courts, that a s^ys-
tera of secret espionage shall be exercised over those Ministers by the
President, and that their subordinates in office be employed for that pur-
pose ; for which end they shall open a clandestine correspondence with
the President of this Republic, and cultivate the fullest confidence of their
superiors. And the more honorably to fulfil this duty, the President shall
occasionally send the leading Ministers on a fool's errand to Land's End,
that their trusted secretaries may have opportunity and leisure to study
the correspondence of the legation, and so make a better show of service
to the Chief of the Spy Department at Washington, D. C."
The bombardment of Greytown, and the Sacking and burn-
ing of Lawrence and Osawattomie, are the " great achieve-
ments" of President Pierce's Administration. What a spec-
tacle it was — a great power directing its force against a
helpless little seaport of five hundred inhabitants, which had
committed no offence, except that its territory was coveted by
Slaveholders. In respect to Lawrence, the " free-State men"
were able and ready to defend themselves from merely " border
ruffian" attacks, but a " border ruffian" attack, led by United
States officers, and instigated by President Pierce himself,
was more than they could stand up against.
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING. 359
In the " sacking" of Lawrence, assassinations, robberies, and
outrages of every description were freely practised. Other
and still more infamous deeds were committed — deeds that
should have aroused the "free States," from Maine to Iowa, as
one man, and shaken the Nation to its centre.
At a " Mass Meeting of the Citizens of New York," held at
the Tabernacle, in that City, on the 27th day of August, 1856,
Ex-Governor Reeder, of Kansas Territory, said:
" The robbers, ravishers, and murderers of Kansas, have in their own
hands the arms of the law, and they are made the ministers of this awful
and horrible system of civil, political, and social oppression. I shall
not undertake to give you a catalogue of the robberies, the house-bum-
ings, the plunderings, the horse-stealings, the murders and outrages, that
have been perpetrated upon the soil of Kansas ; for, did I undertake
such a task I should request you to camp here a week. It is beyond the
limits assigned any speaker to present such an inventory. Should I un-
dertake even to give you any portion of the details, where the acts of our
oppressors were stained with blood, and with every attribute that could
disgrace humanity, I should not know where to begin or end." * * *
# # * " I have seen not long since, Representatives of the people,
from the 'free States/ whose conduct I could not explain or reconcile,
except on the supposition that if the South should demand it of them,
they would have Slavery among you in the North. And I believe there
are men among you now, who, were the question raised, would be ready
to introduce it into New York. At one time, I should have considered this
idle talk ; but that time has gone by, and the existence of this fact should
put every man upon his guard, and make him exceedingly sensitive to
public opinion upon this subject."
The Hartford (Ct.) Press, of August 30, 1856, contains
what it calls " verbatim copy" of a Speech delivered at a
" Kansas Aid Meeting," held in that city, on Friday, August
29, 1856, by a "runaway border ruffian," Mr. Seidell C.
Williams, formerly of Meriden, Ct. The Connecticut journals
endorse Mr. Williams as " a reputable and reliable man." It
would seem, according to Mr. Williams's account, that Buford's
men are not only ruffians and murderers, but also partake
somewhat of the character of cannibals :
360 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
" In one of the forays upon which we were sent, we came upon a small
party of ' free-State men/ They resisted our taking away their property,
and Buford's men left them dead upon the grass ! When we were in
the Shawnee Country, we were invited to call at one of the Mission
Churches. As the doors opened before us, what a sight presented itself!
Three Massachusetts men were hanging by the neck. For daring to
say they were for ' free-Soil/ two had been shot and one stabbed to the
heart, and they were hung up, to strike terror to the hearts of the people
from the East. Four days after, one of Buford's men came into the
camp, holding upon the. point of a Bowie-knife a human heart ! ' Boys/
said he, ' see here is the heart of a d d Abolitionist ; he told me he
was an Abolitionist, and I up with my rifle and dropped him. I cut his
heart out, and it ain't cold yet ; and now I'll cut it open and see how it
looks inside ; then I shall fry it and see how the d d thing tastes !' "
General J. H. Lane (Commander of the "free-State party"), .
in a letter to the New York journals, dated Fremont County,
Iowa, September, 22, 1856, says:
" On my arrival in Kansas I found the border papers teeming with in-
flammatory denunciations of our citizens, and boldly proclaiming against
them a war of extermination ; and in response to their incitements,
hordes of depraved, misguided desperadoes entered the country, many of
them having inscribed on their hats, 'Death to Abolitionists, and no
quarter.' A mother and her two daughters, in the absence of the hus-
band and father, were violated by nearly one hundred fiendish men.
The gifted Major Hoyt, who had gallantly served his country in the
Mexican war, was brutally hacked to pieces, and a few sods thrown over
him, leaving his arms and feet projecting from the earth, a prey for
wolves. Prisoners were murdered in a manner exceeding the shocking
barbarity of savage tribes, and afterward scalped. One man was scalped
while alive, and who yet lives to exhibit his skinless head to an outraged
world. Dwellings were burned over helpless women and screaming
children."
The Sub. Committee, of the National Kansas Committee, in
obedience to instructions, waited on President Pierce, on Sat-
urday, the 30th August, 1856, and prayed his interposition
against his border ruffian herds. The following is a sum-
mary of results. We give it without remark. Comment is
not needed. The President said :
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING. 361
"While Government has been exhausting its Constitutional powers,
to maintain order, Kansas Aid Societies have been actively Stirling up re-
bellion. A factious spirit among the people of Kansas respecting insti-
tutions which they need not have concerned themselves about, and which
would have all come right in time, originated the troubles. Erom the
nature, habits, and education of the border-men, it was natural to find
them excited at such an agitation. The sufferings of the settlers are of
their own seeking, and the legitimate fruits of that gunpowder-Bible-
preaching which they and then* supporters at the North have advocated."
REPLY OF THE COMMITTEE.
" Mr. President, during the eighteen months or more that
Executive power has been exerted, as is alleged, to preserve
peace in Kansas, and vainly exerted, it would seem, from ad-
missions here made, the disorders of that Territory have grown
only worse. At this moment, they are more threatening than
ever ; a peaceful solution of its troubles seems still more un-
certain than at any period of its former history. The Presi-
dent affirms that he has exhausted all his Constitutional powers.
And yet ' order' is not restored. Under such circumstances,
may it not be worth while to inquire whether the germ of the
evils is not to be found in the Territorial laivs themselves?"
President — " This question I do not propose to discuss, at the present
time."
Committee — " From whatever source, then, sir, the difficul-
ties in Kansas have originated, this one thing is patent to the
country and the world : that notwithstanding all the efforts of
the Government, disorders of the most frightful character have
prevailed; disorders that would shame the worst despotism of
the worst ages ; disorders so wide-spread and so atrocious, so
bloody and so infernal, so deeply damning and inhuman, that
to escape them, the wretched inhabitants would make a gain
if transferred to the most despotic Government that ever ex-
isted in the antediluvian world. During this dark reign of
blood and terror ; during this fearful tempest of violence and
anarchy, these poor unshielded victims of plotted vengeance
16
362 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
have broken no law and committed no crime. For hating
Slavery, because they loved Liberty, all these things have
come upon them. Such, Sir, is the nature and character of
the events which have transpired in Kansas during the past
eighteen months' policy of the Government. As representa-
tives of the National Kansas Committee, we are here to-day
to ask whether any change in this policy of the Administration
is to be expected?"
President — " No, Sirs ! There will be none ! ! the laws of the Terri-
tory must be obeyed ! ! !"
" Such, gentlemen of the National Kansas Committee, is the
substance of our interview with President Franklin Pierce.
The duty of commenting on the facts here stated we leave to
you. Our mission is ended.
"Respectfully, etc.,
"THADDETJS HYATT,
"W. F. AENY,
"EDWARD DANIELS,
New York, Sept. 1, 1856. "Sub. Com. of Nat. Kansas Com.'*
Reader, look for a moment, and see what those " laws" are
which President Franklin Pierce says, "must be obeyed."
Here is a specimen : —
" Section 1. Be it enacted, by the Governor and Legisla-
tive Assembly of the Territory of Kansas, That every person,
bond or free, who shall be convicted of actually raising a
rebellion, or insurrection of Slaves, free Negroes or mulattoes,
in this Territory, shall suffer death.
" Sec. 2. Every free person, who shall aid and assist in any
rebellion or insurrection of Slaves, free Negroes, or Mulattoes,
or shall furnish Arms, or do any overt act in furtherance of
such rebellion or insurrection, shall suffer death.
" Sec. 3. If any free person shall, by speaking, writing, or
printings advise, persuade, or induce any Slave to rebel, con-
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING. 363
spire against, or murder any Citizen of this Territory, or
shall bring into, print, write, publish, or circulate, or cause to
be brought into, printed, written, published, or circulated, or
shall knowingly aid or assist in the bringing into, printing,
writing, publishing, or circulating in this Territory, any book,
paper, magazine, pamphlet, or circular, for the purpose of
exciting insurrection on the part of the Slaves, free Negroes,
or Mulattoes, against the Territory, or any part of them, such
person shall be guilty of Felony and suffer death.
" Sec. 4. If any person shall entice, decoy, or carry away
out of this Territory, any Slaves belonging to another, with
the intent to deprive the owner thereof of the services of such
Slaves, or with intent to effect or procure the freedom of such
Slaves, he shall be adjudged guilty of grand larceny, and, on
conviction thereof, shall suffer death, or be imprisoned at hard
labor for not less than ten years."
SECTION I.
Be it enacted by our noble band
Of Border-Ruffians (bowie-knife in hand),
That should a sneaking Yankee from the East
Come here, and dare to meddle, in the least,
With any of our Niggers, and incite
Them to resist our sacred right ;
Then, whether they be Niggers, black as night,
Or those in whom we've mix'd a little white,
"Whether they wear the chains of Slavery,
Or have the sad misfortune to be free,
Any Missourian, happening to be here,
May cut that Yankee's throat from ear to ear.
SECTION II.
If Northern whites, pretending to be free,
Shall aid our Niggers to gain their liberty,
Or furnish rifle, cannon, shot, or shell,
To help them send their owners back to hell,
Then some good friend of order and of law,
Around the Traitor's necks the hemp shall draw.
3G4 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
SECTION III.
If any Yankee in this Territory,
Shall circulate an Abolition story,
That tends to make the happy, well-fed Slave
Begin to think his owner is a Knave,
And when he feels the lash, to snarl and pout,
Until, at length, he e'en presumes to doubt
Our right to trade in Human flesh and bones ;
Then brave Stringfellow, or gallant Jones,
Or Atchison, or any man of note,
May cut his cuss'd Anti-Slavery throat.
SECTION IV.
If any notion-pedlar shall induce
A Nigger from his owner to cut loose,
And slope for Canada — shall aid his flight,
And thus deprive his owner of his right —
Shall coax the Nigger thus to flee,
With horrible intent to make him free,
He shall be guilty of Grand Larceny ;
And, if we catch him, on a gallows high
Th' infernal Abolition cuss shall die,
Or toil ten years in prison with a throng
Of thieves and robbers, should he live so long.
Ex-Governor Robinson, of Kansas, in a Speech on the suf-
ferings of the people of that Territory, at the Academy of
Music, New York, Oct. 22, 1856, said:—
" But many will ask here to-night, ' Are not these things exaggerated V
'Have the people of Kansas really suffered as it is said they have?'
' Are the Newspaper reports true V Now, 1 tell you that I have not the
power to depict to you the outrages that have been committed there, and if 1
had the power, you coidd not believe them. 1 tell you that you can have nc
adequate conception of the outrages perpetrated there. No I the tongue of an
angel could not show them."
The Providence (R. I.) Journal, contains a letter from
General Pomeroy, to the Rev. S. Wolcott, dated Lawrence,
Kansas, October 22, 1856, in which he says: —
u The prairie fires have spread over our rich, rolling grass-
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING. 365
fields, and a terrible fire of war and passion has burned up
every green thing in society and in our comforts, and our
prospects are dark and dreary. There are men, women, and
little children, who are reaping a harvest of sorrow from seeds
sown by invaders from Missouri and the South. I visited,
the other day, a family of six little girls. Their mother left
them sorrowfully last spring, for * that undiscovered country.'
Their father, a noble man, is a prisoner at Lecompton ; and
for a month the oldest girl, of twelve years, had to support all
the little ones by getting corn from the fields and grinding it
upon a tin pan, punched full of holes with a nail, then making
a cake and baking it in the ashes. I am unused to weeping,
but I wept like a child at such a scene. I could only supply
them temporarily, and commend them to the Great Shepherd
' who tempereth the wind to the shorn lamb.' Oh, what a
record of sorrow and crime stands charged to the Administra-
tion of Franklin Pierce ! There are scores of men, unknown
to fame, but whose record is on high, who lie sleeping in their
bloody shrouds, 'uncofjined, without a stone to mark the place
of their resting. Day before yesterday we followed to the
grave, Mr. Bowles, who died a prisoner at Lecompton. He
came here from a Slave State, to get away from Slavery, and
early identified himself with the bravest defenders of Free-
dom. His long marches, exposures, and night watchesf brought
on a fever, and after forty-eight hours of suffering, unattended
by physician or relative, death, the despairing prisoner's friend,
came to his release. There are over a hundred of our young
men now in prison, and some are sick — all confined for acts
and efforts which an angel might envy."
The Chicago (Illinois) Tribune has the following statement.
We presume the informant of that journal is Governor Gor-
man of Minnesota Territory : —
" We are told by a Democrat of unquestioned faithfulness to his party,
himself a Governor, that in a late conversation with Governor Geary,
366 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
that gentleman stated that, during a trip on a much frequented road, soon
after his arrival in the Territory, he saio the bodies of twenty-six murdered
Free-State men. Some of these had been shot or brained, and thrown
out by the roadside to rot under the burning sun. Others had been
scalped as Indians scalp their victims. One was pinioned to a tree by a
bowie-knife driven through his heart into the solid wood at his back ; on
his breast Avas fastened a written warning to aU other " Abolitionists."
Some were buried just beneath the prairie sod, their hands and arms left
sticking out of the shallow holes into which they had been thrown.
Upon others, the nameless mutilations of private parts had been com-
mitted. In all cases, brutality seemed to have exhausted itself in insult-
ing what, among civilized men, whether friend or foe, are looked upon
with respect — the bodies of the dead."
Even in this world, retribution sometimes follows hard upon
the heels of sin. Franklin Pierce thought lie had secured his
renomination to the Presidency of the United States by pur-
suing the course we have described. But the Slaveholders
demanded an exhibition of virtue even sterner than this ; they
demanded a larger sacrifice, and Mr. Pierce, like Mr. Douglas,
gave himself away — " sold out."
There were some such apostles of Democracy in the days
of old, and of one of these Jeremiah the prophet speaks thus :
" Therefore, thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim, the son of
Josiah, king of Judea : They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah, Ah,
Lord ! or Ah, his Glory! Ah, my brother ! or Ah, my Sister! but he
shall be buried with the burial of an ass."
There have been such funerals in all the "free States" of
the Union, and there will be many more. (See the Dough-
face, Appendix B.)
CHAPTER II.
During the debates on the repeal of the " Missouri Com-
promise," in the United States House of Representatives, in
1854, the following language was addressed to the opponents
of that " Measure" by Senator Alexander H. Stephens, of
Georgia :
" Well, gentlemen, you make a great deal of clamor on the 'Nebraska
Measure,' but it don't alarm us at all. We have got used to that kind
of talk. You have threatened before but never performed. You have
always caved in, and you will again. You are a mouthing, white-livered
set ! Of course you will oppose : we expect that, but we don't care for
your opposition. You will rail, but we don't care for your railing. You
are like the devils that were pitched over the battlements of heaven into
hell ! They set up a howl of discomfiture, and so will you ! But their
fate Avas sealed, and so is yours ! You must submit to the yoke. But
don't chafe. Gentlemen, we have got you in our power. You tried to drive
us to the wall in 1850, but times are changed. You went a wooling and
came home fleeced. Don't be so impudent as to complain. You will
only be slapped in the face. Don't resist, you will only be lashed into obe-
dience."
On the 22d of May, 1856, while Senator Charles Sumner,
of Massachusetts, was writing at his desk, in the United States
Senate Chamber, he was violently assaulted by two men —
Preston S. Brooks and Lawrence M. Keitt, members of the
House of Representatives, from South Carolina. They had
armed themselves with Revolvers and heavy Bludgeons, and
368 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
approaching the Senator, while sitting at his desk, engaged in
writing, Brooks struck him with his bludgeon a violent blow
on the head, which brought him stunned to the floor, and
Keitt, with his weapons, kept off the bystanders, while Brooks
repeated the blows upon the head of the apparently lifeless
victim.
The Richmond (Va.) Whig, speaking of this assault, ranted
its joy after the following fashion : " A glorious deed ! a
most glorious deed ! ! Mr. Brooks, of South Carolina, ad-
ministered to Senator Sumner, the notorious Abolitionist, from
Massachusetts, an effectual and classical caning. We are re-
joiced. The only regret we feel is that Mr. Brooks did not
employ a Slave-whip, instead of a stick. We trust the ball
may be kept in motion. Seward and others should catch it
next." v
The Petersburg ( Va.) Intelligencer said : " We entirely con-
cur with The Richmond Whig, that if thrashing is the only
remedy by which the Abolitionists can be controlled, that it
will be well to give Senator William H. Seward a double
dose at least every other day until it operates freely on his
political bowels."
The Richmond (Va.) Examiner, one of the most blasphe-
mous and " highly respectable" journals in the State, com-
menced thus : " Good ! — good ! '- — very good ! ! ! The Aboli-
tionists have been suffered to run too long without collars.
They must be lashed into submission. Sumner, in particular,
ought to have nine-and-thirty early every morning. There is
the blackguard, Senator Wilson, an ignorant Natick cobbler,
swaggering in excess of muscle, and absolutely dying for a
beating. Will not somebody take him in hand ? Senator Hale
is another huge, red-faced, sweating scoundrel, whom some
gentleman should kick and cuff until he abates something of
his impudent talk. We trust other gentlemen will follow the
example of Mr. Brooks, that a curb may be imposed upon the
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING. 369
truculence and audacity of Abolition speakers. If need be,
let us have a caning or co winding every day."
The jExaminer-man but echoes the all-prevailing sentiment
of the unhappy South, whose feverish writhings and contor-
tions seem to indicate " the torments of the damned." and may
appropriately exclaim in the language of Milton's Satan :
" Me miserable ! "Whither shall I fly 1
Which way I turn is hell — myself am hell !"
The South Side (Va.) Democrat said : " The telegraph has
recently announced no information more grateful to the feelings
of the chivalrous sons of the South than the caning which this
Abolitionist received in the United States Senate, on the 2 2d
instant" (May 22d, 1856), "at the hands of the chivalrous
Brooks, of South Carolina."
It is clear, that if Senators and Representatives from the
"free States" can not enjoy the right of free speech or free dis-
cussion, without being liable to brutal assaults, they must, of
necessity, arm themselves with Bowie-knives, Sword-canes,
and Revolvers. To think of enduring quietly such attacks as
that upon Mr. Sumner is craven and pusillanimous. The
" chivalrous" champion traffickers in Human flesh will never
learn to respect Northern men until a few of their number
have rapiers thrust through their ribs or feel bullets in their
throats. It is the only way to put a stop to their " classical"
Slave-breeding nonsense. Once admit the idea of the pre-
dominance of brute force — of the right of individual appeal
from words to blows — and human society becomes a state of
Trar diversified by interludes of fitful and hollow truce. And
they who, as legislators, editors, public speakers, or in what-
ever capacity, suggest apologies for ruffian assaults, or intimate
that words can excuse them, make themselves partners in the
crime and the infamy.
The New York Journal of Commerce apologized for the
. 16*
370 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
brutality of Brooks and Keitt, by saying that Sumner was
guilty of " wholesale denunciation and bitter personalities,"
and quoted what one of the Slaveholder's Organ, The Wash'
ington (D. C.) Star, said of the character of Mr. Sumner's
speech. What the Star said was nothing to the purpose, the
question is, what Mr. Sumner said, and as his speech was pub-
lished prior to the publication of The Journal's article, the
" pious editors" of that " highly respectable evangelical journal"
should have placed it before their readers. They had, how-
ever, an eye to the " Southern department" of their business,
and prudently kept the provocation out of sight.
Every press, North and South, in the employment of Satan
and Slavery, has a thousand times iterated and reiterated the
cry of "slander" and "falsehood," but no one has made a
single specification. They dare not make the attempt. They
know the charges are true, and that every villany Mr. Sumner
charged them with they have committed. It is, in very truth,
because it is not false, that he has offended. If his charges
were false, all that was necessary to consign him to disgrace
was to prove them so. But no number of canings or murders
will ever prove these charges false. They are irrelevant
testimony. They do not touch the case, or if they do, they
only go to confirm the truth of Mr. Sumner's statement.
He says that " Slaveholding is aggressive, insolent, and over-
bearing." Keitt says it is a " lie," and a " slander," and
Brooks, to prove it a He and a slander, clubs him for saying so.
He does this " as a gentleman," and this the Slaveholders and
their " white Niggers," North and South, consider conclusive
proof that Sumner's charges are false !
In countries not essentially barbarous, when a man commits
a murder, everybody has a right to speak of it. The criminal,
instead of being permitted to kill, or to threaten, to kill, like
Brooks, those who speak of it, is shut up in jail and considered
the culprit.
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING. 371
General James Watson Webb, Editor of The New York
Courier and Enquirer, in a letter to his Journal, dated Wash-
ington, D. C, May 24, 1856, says :
u To attempt to describe the actual state of affairs here in the
Capitol of the Nation, would be a hopeless task. It would not
be believed were one from Heaven to 'proclaim it trumpet-tonguea
through the land, and yet no one can live here, as I have for
the last six months, without feeling his blood boil at witness-
ing the fears and apprehensions of fatal consequences, on the
part of our Northern men, if any one ventures openly and
manfully to speak the truth in the bar-rooms, on the corners
of the streets, and on the floor of Congress. And there is
reason for these fears ! This is a city in a Slave District,
visiters are mostly from the Slave States, and a large majority
of them (not the better portion of them), carry Revolvers and
Bowie-knives ; and what is more, they have both here, and
elsewhere, proved that they will not hesitate, on occasion,
freely to use them. They are overbearing, threatening, and
defiant in their manners, and our people have been overawed
and cowed. It is the right of Freemen boldly to express their
sentiments here, as well as elsewhere ; I tell them, in all sin-
cerity, that the time has arrived when they must do so, courte-
ously, and fearlessly, on all proper occasions, and in all proper
places, or we shall all, and speedily too, become as completely
the Slaves of the Slave Power as are their plantation chattels ;
or, what is far more degrading, we shall become the same pliant,
cringing, and sycophantic instruments of the Slaveocracy as
are the Northern doughfaces" (see Appendix B), " who are
made by the present Administration to discourse just such
music as their Souihem Masters may be pleased to dictate for
the time being.
" Aside from the favored few in the Slave States, nineteen
twentieths of their population carry Arms, Bowie-knives, Re-
volvers, and Sword-canes. This is conclusive as regards the
372 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
demoralizing tendencies of an ' institution' which the Admin-
istration, acting under the dictation of the Slave Poiver, and
■aided by unscrupulous politicians of the North, are endeavor-
ing to force upon the free people of Kansas. To this end, the
entire influence and patronage of the Government, its Civil,
Military, and Moral power, are all directed ; and alongside of
these, prominent and threatening, stands the bullying of the
Slaveocracy, boastingly pointing to the Bowie-knife, the Ee-
volver, and the Bludgeon, and impudently taunting the entire
North with cowardice ! I can not blame them for their love
of power and their desire to extend it ; I do not quarrel with
their ruder civilization, the natural offspring of their ' peculiar
institution ;' and I do not wonder at their believing that the
doughfaces of the North, who so meekly do their behests, are
but a type of our whole people, and that we can be bullied,
whipped, or 'kicked' into any course of policy which they may
please to dictate to us.
"Will the North — the free, and educated, and civilized,
and peace-loving North — tamely submit to the impudence
and the bullying of the Slave Power? This is the question
which I desire to put, directly, to every law-abiding and
Union-loving freeman of the North." (See Appendix B.)
" I would have the entire North awaken to the attempt of the
Slave-Power to extend the ' institution' into free Territory,
and the means resorted to, to accomplish that nefarious pur-
pose. I would have them feel that the time for action has
arrived ; and that not only must that action be prompt and
efficient, if we would protect ourselves from the encroachments
of Slavery, but that if we tamely submit to the bullying habit-
ually resorted to here, in the Capital of the Nation, we shall
very soon be taught that Liberty of Speech is a boon which
we hold subject to the caprices of the Slave Power, and to in-
dulge in it equally with themselves may, at any time, be visit-
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING. 373
ed by the discretionary application of the Revolver and the
Bludgeon.
" Of the purposes of the Slave Power and its Northern
allies in the coming Presidential Election" (November 4th,
1856), "there is no longer any doubt. It is openly declared
by the Democratic press from Maine to Texas ; and only this
day, the Government organ" {The Union) "published in this
City, boldly declares that ' whatever other question may enter
into the coming contest, the Slavery issue, as included in the
Kansas measure, must and will take precedence. In compari-
son with it, all other questions are of minor i??ipo? , ta?zce.' And
in allusion to Mr. Buchanan's past Federalism, and the sus-
picion only that it may cause him to prefer his country, and
the rights of freedom, to mere party, it adds : ' We want no
man whose record is not thoroughly Democratic?
" These declarations are significant ; and richly will the
people of the North have merited the outrages and contumely
which are daily heaped upon them by men immeasurably
their inferiors as regards manhood and civilization, if they
hesitate to vindicate their right to freedom of speech, or falter
in their determination to drive back into the fens and marshes,
where it properly belongs, the 'institution' which Washington,
and Jefferson, and Madison, alike condemned, but of which
Pierce, and Douglas, and the doughfaces of the North, acting
under the lash of the Slave Power, have become the willing
propagandists."
The General, speaking of the cowardly assault on Mr.
Sumner, adds: "Upon receiving the blows, given in quick
succession, and with great force, Mr. Sumner attempted to
rise from his seat, to which he was in a measure pinioned, by
his legs being under the desk — the legs of which, like all the
desks of the Senate Chamber, have plates of iron fastened to
them, and these plates are firmly secured to the floor. His
first attempt to rise was a failure, and he fell back into his
Oii. THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING
chair, and the blows of his assailant continued to fall merci-
lessly upon his uncovered head. His second attempt ripped
up the iron fastenings of his desk, and he precipitated himself
forward. He was prostrate on the floor, and covered with
blood. The assault was justified and even applauded bj
Douglas, Toombs, and their fellow Senators, and by every
Representative of the people, save two" (Humphrey Marshall,
of Kentucky, and Henry W. Hoffman, of Maryland), "from
the Slave States, and by every Representative of the people,
North and Sauth, who speaks the sentiments or sustains the
measures of the Administration of the country."
. That General Webb, Editor of The New York Courier and
Enquirer, hitherto one of the bitterest enemies of the Anti-
Slavery cause, and the instigator of the Pro-Slavery riots of
1835, should now be found battling, side by side, with the
Abolitionists, is, to say the least of it, "the very biggest
phenomenon of the Nineteenth Century." We hope the
General won't backslide from the faith.
In October, 1835, the General, speaking of the friends of
the oppressed, said : " These, dangerous men" (that is, the
Abolitionists, the true friends of the country) " must be met !
They agitate a question that must not be tampered with !
They are plotting the destruction of our Government, and
they must not be allowed to screen themselves from the enor-
mousness of their guilt, under canting pretences !" ******
" And now, we ask the Citizens of the United States, if they
are prepared to bring such a catastrophe upon the country, to
gratify the visionary projects of a band of canting fanatics ?"
********** u ^ re t } ie y willing^ by giving countenance
and currency to such a man as William Lloyd Garrison, to
put in jeopardy the fair fabric of our liberty — the last and the
only hope of Civil and Religious freedom on earth?"
The good book assures us that " the wise man's eyes are in
his head." The General's eyesight was " considerably ob-
scured "—in 1835.
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING. 375
As respects the great pioneer and leader of the Anti-
Slavery cause, he has the consolation of reflecting, that when
the falsehoods of the day are withered and rotten, he shall
be respected and esteemed. And if the name of General
James Watson Webb, and his co-workers, should descend to
posterity, they will be known only as the recorded instru-
ments of part of his persecutions, sufferings, and misfortunes.
The Governor of South Carolina, in his " Message," for the
year 1854, said: " South Carolina must hereafter exist as a
military people. The history of our country for the last ten
years affords abundant proof that, as long as the Union en-
dures, there is to be no peace for the Slaveholder. An eter-
nal warfare against his rights and property, under the associa-
ted influence of the people and States of the North, has been
solemnly and deliberately decreed. For this reason it is
essential that the State should be prepared at any moment for
every emergency."
South Carolina is rather a talkative little State. She has
about 274,567 "genuine white inhabitants," and about 393,580
party-colored ones. But these "white inhabitants" make up
for their paucity of numbers by an immensity of brag and
bluster, which is truly terrible to listen to. See what
South Carolina has done in a military way. In 1775. after
the battle of Bunker Hill, Congress voted that each State
should raise its contingent of Soldiers, for the common defence.
South Carolina asked that her soldiers might remain at home,
in consequence of her "peculiar institutions." The request
was granted, and her soldiers stayed at home. Compare her
revolutionary services with New England. In the nine years
of the Revolution, South Carolina sent into the continental
army 6,417 soldiers ; Connecticut, 32,039. Yet Connecticut
had not so large a population as South Carolina. At the same
time, Massachusetts sent into the continental army 83,162
soldiers. The six Slave States sent only 59/336 soldiers tc
376
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
that war, while New England alone sent 119,305, besides
Militia.
Nevertheless, the children of South Carolina are taught to
despise such names as Bunker Hill, Lexington and Mon-
mouth, when compared with Eutaw Springs, Cowpens and
Fort Moultrie. The Northern child, when asked, " Who was
the greatest man of America?" is apt to reply, "G-'eorge
Washington;" the Carolina child pertly answers, John C.
Calhoun! The Southern child needs an honest " History of
the United States of America."
The following Table shows the number of " Troops" and
" Militia" furnished by the several States, for the support cf
the Revolutionary war, from 1775 to 1783, inclusive: —
Yet, so great is the spirit of "brag" in that chivalrous
State, that a Senator from South Carolina had the effront-
ery to attribute the independence of the country to the Slave-
holders of that State. The records of the country disown the
suggestion. The State of South Carolina itself, by authentic
THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING. 377
history, disowns it. We have " peculiar" and decisive testi-
mony on this head, under date of March 29, 1779, from the
Secret Journals of the Continental Congress : " The commit-
tee appointed to take into consideration the circumstances of
the Southern States, and the ways and means for their safety
and defence, report that the State of South Carolina (as rep-
resented by the delegates of the said State, and by Mr. Huger,
who has come here at the request of the Governor of the
said State, on purpose to explain the circumstances thereof),
is unable to make any effectual efforts with Militia, by reason
of the great proportion of citizens necessary to remain at home,
to prevent insurrection among the Slaves, and to prevent the
desertion of them to the enemy. That the state of the country,
and the great number of these people among them, expose the
inhabitants to great danger, from the endeavors of the enemy
to excite them to revolt or desert." {Life of Gen. Greene,
vol. i., p. 105.)
"There is not," said a Member of Congress from South
Carolina, " a gentleman on the floor who is a stranger to the
feeble situation of our State, when we entered into the war to
oppose the British power. We were not only without money,
without an army or Military stores, but were few in numbers,
and likely to be entangled with our Slaves, in case the enemy
invaded us." {Annals of Congress, 1789, 1791, vol. ii., p.
1474.)
Similar testimony to the weakness engendered by Slavery was
borne by Mr. Madison, in debate in Congress : ' k Every ad-
dition Georgia and South Carolina receive to their number of
Slaves, tends to weaken them and render them less capable
of self-defence." {Annals of Congress, vol. i., p. 340.)
Dr. Ramsey (the Historian of South Carolina), a contem-
porary observer of the scenes which he describes, exposes this
weakness : " The forces under the command of Gen. Provost
marched through the richest settlements of the State, where
378 THE SLAVE POWER ADVANCING.
are the fewest white inhabitants in proportion to the number
of Slaves.' The hapless Slaves, allured with the hope of free-
dom, forsook their owners, and repaired in great numbers to
the Royal Army. They endeavor to recommend themselves
to the British by discovering where their owners had conceal-
ed their property, and were assisting in carrying it off."
{History of South Carolina, vol. i., p. 312.) The same can-
did historian, describing the invasion of the next year, says :
"The Slaves a second time flocked to the British Army."
(Vol. i., p. 336.)
At a still later period, Mr. Justice Johnson, of the Supreme
Court of the United States, and a Citizen of South Carolina,
in his elaborate life of General Greene, speaking of the Slaves,
makes the same admission : " But the numbers dispersed
through the Southern States was very great ; so great as to
render it impossible for the Citizens to muster free men enough
to withstand the pressure of the British arms." (Vol. ii., p.
427.)
From the letters of Gen. Otho Holland Williams, of Mary-
land, one of the noblest men of the time, the intimate friend
and right-hand man of Gen. Nathanael Greene, many passages
could be quoted in proof of the abject state of South Carolina
during the War of Independence. One or two will suffice.
Gen. Williams, writing to his brother, in Maryland, after the
capture of Charleston by Sir Henry Clinton, says :
" You may rely on it, my dear brother, that the enemy have had such
footing and influence in this country, that their success in putting the in-
habitants together by the ears has exceeded even their own expectations ;
the distraction that prevails surpasses anything 1 ever before ivitnessed, and
equals any idea which your imagination can conceive of a desperate and
inveterate civil war. There are a few virtuous and good men in this State
and in Georgia, but a great majority of the people is composed of the most
infamous scoundrels that ever existed on earth. The daily deliberate mur-
ders committed by pretended Whigs and reputed Tories (men who are
actually neither one thing nor the other in principle), are too numerous
the slay:: fottee advancing. 379
and shocking to relate. The licentiousness of various classes and de*
nominations of villains desolate this country, impoverish all who attempt
to live by any other means, and destroy the strength and resources of the
country, which ought to be collected and united against a common
enemy."
Toward the close of the war, Gen. Williams thus writes to
a brother Officer, Major Edw r ards, vindicating General Greene
from the slanderous charges heaped upon him :
" The late revolution in South Carolina is owing not only to a change
of circumstances, but to a change of men in the Government of that
country. How daringly impudent is it for those who have been rescued
from misery and dejection, to arraign the virtue that saved them. Gen.
Greene exercised a superior judgment, changed the system of Military
operations in that country, and used the only possible means of recover-
ing it — and dare the ingrates now accuse him of any interested design,
or any view of ambition, other than that which receives its highest grati-
fication from the thanks and approbation of a 'free people''? And do
the devils dare to treat with neglect and contempt that little corps of
gallant men who saved them from despair ! There are sensible, amiable
characters in Carolina, but I always feared the majority were envious, jeal-
ous, malicious, designing, unprincipled people. Come one, come all of you
away and leave them ! I am glad to hear the Northern troops are re-
turning. Though I can not flatter myself with the pleasure of seeing
them rewarded as they deserve, there will be something done for them ;
they will not starve on the same fields in which they have bled."
General Williams' original letters, from which these extracts
have been made, are now in the possession of his grandson,
residing in Baltimore.
But "never mind all that" South Carolina is growing mar-
tial — k ' a crisis is approaching," as witness the following para-
graph from the " Message" of Governor Adams, delivered in
the South Carolina Legislature, on the 27th day of November,
1855:
" The agitation in relation to Slavery continues to increase, and is rap-
idly tending to a bloody termination. Measures, which it was hoped
by some, would give quiet to the country and dignity to its deliberations,
have served but to redouble the efforts and augment the power of Aboli*
580 THE SLATE POWER ADVANCING.
tion. Civil war is a direful calamity, but its scourges are to be endured
in preference to degradation and ruin. The people of South Carolina
are alive to the issue, and are mindful of their obligations ; they are calm,
because they are prepared and self-reliant. They have not forgotten their
history, and will not fail to vindicate its teachings. The right to provide
new guards for their future security, has been sealed by the blood of their
ancestors, and it will never be surrendered."
The imperious spirit of South Carolina is not confined to
that fussy little State. The whole row of cotton-growing
States are agitating the re-opening of the African Slave-
Trade, with all its horrors and its hideous enormities. The
entire South is wild with excited clamor about its "rights/'
and about the wrongs which it claims to have suffered at the
hands of the "infidel Abolitionists of the North." Pam-
pered with official patronage, puffed up by political victories,
the Slave Power defiantly shakes its fist in the Nation's face,
crying, "More! more!"
Men of America! Shall Slavery rule the Nation? Or
shall not the spirit of freedom be heard and felt in her
Councils ?
"All men are created equal : they are endowed by
their Creator with certain inalienable
rights; among these are life,
liberty, and the pursuit
APPENDIX A.
COLORPHOBIA IN THE "FREE STATES."
In Heaven, according to the theology of America, a " colored
man" may sit down with the just made perfect, his sins washed
white " in the blood of the Lamb :" but when he comes to a
certain Baptist Church in Boston, Massachusetts, he can not
own a pew. And there are few Churches where he can sit in
a pew at all.
In the earlier years of the Anti-Slavery effort in Boston,
before it became absolutely certain that the clergy were to be
" out-and-out" opposers and not helpers of it, the prayers of
the Churches, on Sundays, were hundreds of times requested,
in the ordinary form, by Anti-Slavery men and women, in
behalf of Slaves whose cases were then before the public, and
hundreds of times refused. To ascertain whether any change
had taken place between the years 1831 and 1851, an Anti-
Slavery man made trial as follows. The Old South Church
(Rev. Dr. Biagden's, equally with Park Street Church the head-
quarters of Boston orthodoxy) had for many years maintained
in its vestry a daily morning Prayer-meeting. Finding it
customary to present requests, sometimes verbal and sometimes
written, that particular bodies or individuals might be made
the subjects of. special prayer, one morning in May, 1851,
while the Boston court-house was in chains, and the case of
the kidnapped Sims yet unfinished, he handed in the following
note : —
382 COLORPHOBIA IN THE FEEE STATES.
" The prayers of this congregation are requested in behalf of a brother
who is now in imminent danger of being torn away from the religious
privileges of Boston, and carried as a Slave to Georgia, where the laws
forbid him to read the Bible ; also, that God would be pleased to arouse
the Churches of this city to a sense of the duty of not delivering again
to his Master" (that is, Kidnapper) "the Servant" (that is, the Stolen
man) " who has escaped from his Master" (that is, his Kidnapper) " unto
them."
This note was presented during the singing of a hymn.
The chairman (Rev. Dorus Clarke), having cast his eye over
it, beckoned to Deacon Safford, who sat near him, and after
he also had read the note, they held a brief whispered con-
ference together. The purport of this could only be con-
jectured, but as the note was not read to the meeting, nor any
allusion whatever made to it, it was manifest they had decided
that the poor man who had fallen among thieves belonged to
another parish ; that they were neither his " keepers" nor his
" neighbors," and that the interests of their Zion would pros-
per quite as well whether he were adjudged a Slave or a
freeman.
In Boston, as in New York, the " colored" man is turned
out of the Omnibus, out of the Burial-ground. There is a
burial-ground in the neighborhood, and in the Deed that con-
fers the land it is stipulated that no person with Negro blood
in his or her veins can ever be buried there. Nowhere but in
the jail and on the gallows has the black man equal rights
with the white in American legislation.
A Congregational Church in New Haven, Connecticut,
parcelled out in its Cemetery, a side lot for the burial of " Nig-
gers." But it became necessary to enlarge the Cemetery and
bury whites on the other side of the " Niggers," so that they
now -^-" to the great mortification of the more respectable
members of the Church" — occupy the centre. One "brother"
proposed to erect a wall three feet in height, on both sides of
the " Nigger ground." This was assented to, with a proviso
COLORPHOBIA IN THE FREE STATES. 383
that the wall be five instead of three feet. The pastor of the
Church thought " a wall five feet in height altogether too low/'
and proposed one of seven. The good man evidently thought
there would be a practical difference between a wall of seven
and one of five feet. A " Nigger"-soul might be capable,
he thought, of jumping over a five-feet wall, but could be kept
at bay by the height of a seven-barred gate ; " black souls"
being inferior to white ones in leaping according to the Pro-
Slavery or " Lower Law" estimate.
Alexander Crummel, a colored young man of the city of
New York, made application to become a candidate for " holy
Orders." He received from his Bishop the usual circular in
such cases, in which he was encouraged to "belong to the
General Theological Seminary," located at New York. In
the Statutes of the Seminary it is expressly said, " Every
person producing to the Faculty satisfactory evidence of his
having been admitted a candidate for holy Orders," &c,
" shall be received as a student of the Seminary." He was,
however, referred to the Board of Trustees. A Committee
was appointed to consider and report, consisting of Bishop
Doane, Rev. Drs. Milnor, Taylor, and Smith, and Messrs. D.
B. Ogden, Newton, and Johnson. The next day (June 26,
1839), Bishop Doane, on request, was excused from further
service on this Committee, and Bishop Onderdonk, of Penn-
sylvania, appointed to fill the vacancy. This Committee
reported, June 27th, that " having deliberately considered the
said petition, they are of opinion that it ought not be granted,"
and they recommended a resolution accordingly, which, on
'motion of Rev. Dr. Hawks, was adopted. Mr. Huntington
moved that the subject be referred to the Faculty, which was
lost. Bishop Doane, June 28th, asked leave to state to the
Board his reasons for dissent, with a view to the entering of
the same on the minutes. Leave was not granted. During
these proceedings Mr. Crummel was advised by the Bishop
384 COLORPHOBIA IN THE FREE STATES.
of New York to withdraw his petition, and was assured that
" the Faculty were willing to impart to him private instruction."
In the minutes of the proceedings there was a careful
avoidance of all allusion to the cause of excluding Mr. Crum-
mel, leaving it to be inferred that it was for some cause besides
his " color," which was not the fact. Mr. Crummel afterward
became a member of the Theological department of Yale
College, New Haven, Connecticut, but not being treated there
as white students are, he was compelled to complete his educa-
tion in Europe.
This unchristian prejudice has stood in the way of the
emancipation of thousands of Slaves ; and it will be at once
perceived that, should the position of the " free colored people,"
be conspicuously reversed in the "free States," the effect upon
the emancipation of the Slave would be very great. They,
then, who, in the "free States," keep up this prejudice are no
less Slaveholders than their " brethren" of the South.
The Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, in a letter to the New
York Independent, of September 4, 1856, says: —
" The most miserable creatures that we know of are those
who attempt to unite a love of Slavery and of Liberty. Like
all hermaphrodites, they are merely monsters. Every day,
we meet men who hate Abolitionists more than they love
liberty. They turn away from every step toward Liberty with
aversion. They are eager to believe falsehood against Anti-
Slavery men. They are reluctant to believe the truth. When
any event occurs tending to deepen the public feeling in favor
of liberty and against Slavery, they refuse to aid in publishing
it. They eye it askance, with sneering jealousy. But the
moment that means and opportunity are afforded to discredit
such movement, they become zealous and active. ■ We have
never seen this more illustrated than in the case of the Slave-
woman Sarah, whose substantial emancipation took place in
Plymouth Church not long ago." (See p. 133.) "As much
COLORrHOBIA IN THE FREE STATES. 385
as we knew of the vindictiveness of the ' we-dislihe-Slavery-as-
much-as-anybody' men, we were surprised at their conduct in this
matter. There could hardly be a case to appeal more irresisti-
bly to the human soul. Indeed, there were present in Church,
at the time, many Southerners, and several Slaveholders. Not
one of them was unmoved. They wept, and contributed liber-
ally. Sarah behaved herself with such modest and womanly
propriety, her case was so affecting, the Slave of her own
father, sold by him to go South, bought by a Slave-trader
through sympathy, who offered to sell her to herself for a
hundred dollars less than he paid for her, her little daughter
of four years old, kept from her by her own white father, the
spontaneous uprising of three thousand strangers, and their
eager charity to put into her hands that golden key which
should unlock the door of her prison — all these things consti-
tuted one of the strongest cases that could arise.
" What has been the result ? All papers and persons who
had hearts worthy of men rejoiced in the deed and spread it
abroad. But others, what did they? Scarcely a day had
passed before rumors were set in motion that it was all a
deception. Pro-Slavery papers, in New York, Boston, Phila-
delphia, Cincinnati,, and elsewhere, were shocked that such a
violation of the Sabbath-day and of the sacredness of a Church
should be tolerated ! The poor woman's character was grossly
assailed, and she was charged with voluntary immoralities.
Fabulous incidents were paraded — such as, that a diamond
cross had been put into the contribution by some fair child of
wealth, whose sympathies had been deceived, and it was as-
sumed that probably the cross was a gift of love, and squan-
dered upon a lie ; whereas, no cross of any kind was ever
contributed, and nothing except money, with the exception of
a small common breastpin, worth one dollar, given by a poor
man who had nothing else to give. Sarah's story was pro-
nounced a forgery, the whole thing was declared to be a specu-
17
386 COLORPHOBIA IN THE FREE STATES.
lation, and finally, it was blazoned abroad that she was tired
of liberty, and had of her own accord gone back to her master
and to Slavery. This last story roused up the Slave-trader
who had bought her of her father, and he sent the following
letter to the Editor of the The New York Daily Times, which
duly appeared in that paper : —
" 'Richmond, Wednesday, August 6, 1856.
" 'Dear Sir : I saw a correspondence in your paper, that the Slave-
girl, Sarah, had returned to me, which is a base falsehood, which I wish
to correct. I had nothing to do with her going to New York, nor her
coming away from there. I purchased the girl through motives of sym-
pathy, for $1,200, and agreed to emancipate her on the payment of $1,100,
which amount has been paid to me, and I have executed to her her eman-
cipation papers in the usual way. I have not seen her, or had any con-
trol over her for the last two months. I understand that she is living in
Washington City with a widow lady. Yours, respectfully.
" ' F. SCHEFFER.'
"But there is a Southern side of this story. This Mr.
Scheffer, who in the whole transaction has labored with a
humanity worthy of all praise, and who has proved himself a
man of feeling in spite of his ignominious trade, this man was
subject to such animosity on account of his simple kindness,
that he was in danger of being mobbed, and was obliged, for a
time, to seclude himself What is the condition of a community
when its Slave-traders are liable to popular violence for hu-
manity to Slaves ? This was in Richmond, Virginia. In a
State whose wealth largely depends upon the Slaves, it is not
deemed safe to allow Slave-brokers and Slave-traders to pos-
sess over-nice feelings about their cattle. When Sarah, re-
turned from New York to Washington, for the purpose of col-
lecting the subscriptions which had been made toward her
freedom, she found multitudes who refused to pay their sub-
scriptions. Some because she had been among the Aboli-
tionists, and many of the clerks in Government employ refused
to keep their promises, because, if known, it would cost them
COLORPHOBIA IN THE FREE STATES. 387
their places. On this account, it became necessary to use all
that had been raised for the purchase of Sarah's child, and to
raise a hundred dollars more for the completion of her own
purchase-money, and the child is still in bondage.
" In another age this story will figure in history. Such in-
cidents as these are characteristic of the age and communities
in which they happen. And men will recount this incident as
an evidence of the utter corruption both of human feeling and
of moral courage, wrought in a ''free Nation' by that universal
corruptor — Slavery. For though the Slaves live only in the
South, the spirit of Slavery pervades the Nation — a contempt
of man in his weakness, a contempt of liberty, except for the
strong, and a hatred of everything that works for liberty.
Slavery, like a dismal swamp, is local, but its miasma is Na-
tional. It has poisoned the very Constitution, the laws, the
customs, and the people themselves, of a Nation which boasts
of nothing so much as its Love, its hereditary Love of Liberty
for all ! " HENRY WARD BEE CHER."
A Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia advertised burial
lots for sale, with the particular recommendation of them, that
no colored persons or executed criminals were buried in the
cemetery.
The New York Evening Post, of May 21, 1857, says :
" Robert Purvis, of Pennsylvania, the ' light-complexioned mulatto/
who spoke so eloquently at the recent Anti-Slavery Convention against
the Dred Scott decision, has a special reason to feel aggrieved by oppres-
sive legislation and prejudice against the colored race. It appears that
Mr. Purvis, who enjoys the advantages of wealth and a foreign educa-
tion, and who once received from James Forsyth, Secretary of State, a
passport recognising his citizenship, is the largest school-tax payer but
one in the county where he resides, and yet the law forbids his children
from attending the very schools he does so much to support."
In March, 1855, Miss Isabella Newall, a teacher in one of the
Public schools in Cincinnati, Ohio, " discovered" a " Nigger"
388 COLOEPHOBIA IN TIIE FREE STATES.
in her school, and immediately applied to the Board of Edu-
cation of the City, soliciting his dismission, not for improper
conduct, nor on account of his inability or unwillingness to re-
ceive instruction, but because his skin was " darker than that
of some of the other scholars." The matter was brought be-
fore the Board, and appears to have received considerable dis-
cussion in that body, but it was finally decided he " must take
his walking papers." The vote stood fifteen to ten. Upon
the announcement of the result, two of the Board resigned,
both members from the District in which the contemptible
Miss Isabella teaches. The young Miss is said to be the
daughter of a most " venerable" Pro-Slavery saint, having an
extensive business connection in Kentucky, which may account
for her repugnance to "Niggers" — especially educated ones.
The Cincinnati Times, of March 9, 1855, gives the gene-
alogy of this poor boy, which we copy — " for the benefit of
mankind :"
" The great-grandfather was a full-blooded white man, and a Methodist
clergyman in the State of Indiana, where he died. The father, David
E. Graham, was a Baptist clergyman, in Athens County, Ohio, where
he preached to several white congregations. The wife of Allen E.
Graham was half Indian and half white hlood, making the grand-parents
on the mother's side — the grandfather, one eighth African and the rest
white. The grandmother had no African blood at all in her veins, but
had a small portion of Indian blood. The mother of the boy is about
one-sixteenth African blood, and about the same amount of Indian blood,
but is of fair complexion. The boy Graham has one thirty-second part of
African blood in his veins, and about the same of Indian. The boy has
fair skin, a high Roman nose, and light straight hair, and has no African
features about him."
The cutaneous democracy of Ohio vindicated itself in the
State Senate by the exclusion of William H. Day, Editor of
The Cleveland Alienated American, a colored man of the
highest respectability, and graduate of Oberlin (Ohio) College.
The "free State" of Illinois (may God save our feet from
COLORPIIOBIA IN THE FREE STATES. 389
ever touching her soil), passed, on the 24th February, 1853,
one of the most atrocious laws ever written in a Statute-book.
It is not enough for the " Evangelical" Pro-Slavery Law-
makers of this State to insist that no Slave shall be freed — it
will not suffice to re-fetter every colored or party-colored man,
who, in horrible anguish, had snapt asunder his chains. No !
the "free and enlightened Democrats of Illinois" must begin
the work of manufacturing Slaves — at the North where people
shout themselves hoarse for " liberty, equality, and fraternity !"
And the cursed business commenced, too, in a State that ought
to have been proud of its liberties, but will for ever after this
be a by-word among the Nations. Legree, or Satan himself,
would have shrunk back with affright from such an iniquity.
To be a Slaveholder is one thing — but to sell at Auction free
Men in a "free State," is a more stupendous wickedness.
This infamous law is called, " An act to prevent the immi-
gration of free Negroes into the State of Illinois"
To cap the climax, the " act" provides that, after paying to
the prosecutor one half of the money accruing from the prose-
cution and' sale of "free Negroes," the remainder shall be kept
as a distinct and separate fund, " to be called ' The Charity
Fund,' and said fund shall be used for the express purpose of
relieving the poor" ! ! I This is intended as a religious conse-
cration to devilism.
" Ran Away. — Committed to the County Jail of Alexander County,
Illinois, on the 31st day of October, 1854, by L. L. Lightner, County
Judge, a Negro boy about 30 years of age, weighs about 155 pounds, dark
copper color ; has a small scar over his right eye, two upper front teeth
out, and several jaw teeth gone. Calls himself Samuel Sears. The owner
is requested tc come forward, prove property, pay charges, and take him
away. " W. C. MASSE Y, Sheriff of Alexander Co.
" Thebes, Illinois, October 31, 1854."
Look at the style of this advertisement. How glibly a
Sheriff of "free Illinois" uses the Southern phraselogy, as if
390 COLORPHOBIA IN THE FREE STATES.
all his life had been passed on a plantation in Mississippi,
Louisiana, or Texas, and the crack of the " Nigger"-driver's
whip familiar to his ears.
The Government has lately reiterated the petty and pitiful
injustice and lawlessness of refusing Passports to " colored"
native Americans — Rice's Minstrels — who intended to travel
in Europe, that refusal being based on the ground, that, al-
though fc born free" in the States of New York and Pennsyl-
vania, they are not citizens of the United States !
"Department of State,
"Washington, November 4, 1856
.}
" H. H. Rice, Esq., New York City : — Sir : Your letters of the 29th
ultimo and 3d instant, requesting passports for eleven colored persons,
have been received, and I am directed by the Secretary of State" ( Wil-
liam L. Marcy) " to inform you that the papers transmitted by you do
not warrant the Department in complying with your request. A pass-
port is a certificate that the person to whom it is granted is a citizen of
the United States, and it can only be issued upon proof of this fact. In
the papers which accompany your communication, there is not satisfactory
evidence that the persons, for whom you request passports, are of this
description. They are represented in your letters as 'colored,' and de-
scribed in the affidavits as 'black/ from which statements it may be
fairly inferred that they are Negroes. If this is so, there can be no doubt
that they are not citizens of the United States. The question whether 'free
Negroes' are such citizens is not now presented for the first time, but
has repeatedly arisen in the Administration of both the National and
State Governments. In 1821, a controversy arose as to whether 'free
persons of color' were citizens of the United States, within the intent
and meaning of the acts of Congress regulating foreign and coasting
trade, so as to be disqualified to command vessels ; and Mr. Wirt,
Attorney-General, decided that they were not ; and, moreover, held that
the words 'citizens of the United States' were used in the acts of Con-
gress in the same sense as in the Constitution. This view is also fully
sustained in a recent opinion of Mr. Cushing, the present Attorney-
General.
" The judicial decisions of the country are to the same effect. In Kent's
Commentaries, vol. ii., p. 277, it is stated that, in 1833, Chief-Justice
Dagget, of Connecticut, held that 'free blacks are not citizens within the
COLORPHOBIA IN THE FREE STATES. 391
meaning of the term as used in the Constitution of the United States ;' and
rhe Supreme Court of Tennessee, in the case of the State against Clai-
borne, held the same doctrine. Such being the construction of the Con-
stitution in regard to free persons of color, it is conceived that they can
not be regarded, when beyond the jurisdiction of this Government, as
entitled to the full rights of citizens ; but the Secretary directs me to say,
that though the Department could not certify that such persons are citi-
zens of the United States, yet if satisfied of the truth of the facts, it
would give a certificate that they were born in the United States, and free ;
and that the Government thereof would regard it to be its duty to pro-
tect them if wronged by a foreign Government, while within its jurisdic-
tion for a legal and proper purpose.
" I am, Sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,
"J. A. THOMAS, Assistant Secretary."
Supposing Christ was now on earth, as he was once, what
course is it probable that he would pursue with regard to this
unchristian prejudice of " color" ? There was a class of men
in those days as much despised by the Jews as the party-col-
ored native Americans are by the " genuine white" portion of
the population ; and it was a complaint made of Christ that he
was a " friend of publicans and sinners." And if Christ should
enter, on some sabbath morning, into one of the " evangelical"
Pro-Slavery Churches of the "free North," and see a " Nig-
ger" sitting afar off by himself, would it not be just in his
spirit to go there and sit with him, rather than to take the
seats of his richer and more prosperous brother ?
" A poor wayfaring man of grief,
Hath often crossed me on my way,
Who sued so humbly for relief,
That I could never answer nay.
I had not power to ask his name,
Whither he went, or whence he came ;
Yet there was something in his eye,
Which won my love, I knew not why.
" Once, when my scanty meal was spread,
He entered — not a word he spake —
392 COLOKPHOBIA IN THE FREE STATES.
Just perishing for want of bread,
I gave him all ; he blessed it, brake,
And ate, but gave me part again :
Mine was an angel's portion then,
For while I fed with eager haste,
The crust was manna to my taste.
" 'T was night. The floods were out ; it blew
A winter hurricane aloof :
I heard his voice abroad, and flew
To bid him welcome to my roof;
I warmed, I clothed, I cheered my guest,
I laid him on my couch to rest :
Then made the ground my bed, and seemed
In Eden's garden while I dreamed.
" I saw him bleeding in his chains,
And tortured 'neath the driver's lash,
His sweat fell fast along the plains,
Deep-dyed from many a fearful gash :
But I in bonds remembered him,
And strove to free each fettered limb,
As with my tears I washed his blood,
Me he baptized with mercy's flood.
" I saw him in the ' Nigger-pew/
His head hung low upon his breast,
His locks were wet with drops of dew,
Gathered while he for entrance pressed
Within those aisles, whose courts are given
That Black and White may reach one Heaven ;
And as I meekly sought his feet,
He smiled, and made a throne my seat.
" In prison, I saw him next condemned
To meet a traitor's doom at mora ;
The tide of lying tongues I stemmed,
And honored him midst shame and scorn.
My friendship's utmost zeal to try,
He asked, if I for him would die ;
The flesh was weak, my blood ran chill,
But the free spirit cried, ' I will.'
THE DOUGHFACE. 393
" Then in a moment, to my view,
The stranger darted from disguise ;
The tokens in his hands I knew,
My Saviour stood before my eyes !
He spoke, and my poor name he named —
' Of me thou hast not been ashamed ;
These deeds shall thy memorial be ;
Fear not, thou didst them unto me.'"
Montgomery and Denison.
There is power enough in true religion to melt down the
most stubborn prejudices, to overthrow the highest walls of
partition, to break the strongest caste, to improve and elevate
the most degraded, to unite in fellowship the most hostile, and
equalize and bless all its recipients. (See St. James ii. 2-9.)
APPENDIX B.
THE DOUGHFACE AND THE REV. JUDICIOUS
TRIMMER, D. D.
I. — The Doughface is a man facile and ductile in the
hands of those who have him in possession, and who have an
object to serve in moulding him.
John Randolph used, for the first time, the term " dough-
faces." He applied it to Senators and Members of Congress
from the "free States," and said : " We will drive you back !
We will nail you to the counter, like base coin !" All North-
erners were angry. John Randolph has kept his word. We
are not aware that Mr. Randolph himself ever gave any ex-
planation of the true orthography of the term which he em-
ployed, or of the precise sense in which he used it. Probably
he was willing to allow it to be taken in all the senses suggest-
ed, according to the difference of humors and fancies ; trust-
17*
394 THE DOUGHFACE.
ing, like a good rhetorician as he was, that each person would
understand it in the sense that seemed to him most forcibly
contemptuous. Backed up, however, by a quotation from
Hosea, as explained by Matthew Henry's Commentary upon
it, the spelling " doughface," and the idea of " dough-head,"
have pretty generally prevailed as the true orthography and
real meaning of an epithet so essential at the present moment
to the haters of oppression — to the true friends of the Slave.
The genuine doughface loves "our glorious Union." He
venerates the American Eagle. If he has an enthusiasm, it is
for the Star-Spangled Banner, and he says so on all occasions.
He denies that there are any Legrees at the South ; denies
that Families are separated at Private sale, or at the Auction-
block ; denies that Bloodhounds are kept on the larger Plan-
tations, to hunt up runaway u property ;" denies^fchat Women
are flogged on their naked backs, or murdered in cold blood ;
denies that the Slave-breeding States sell tens of thousands of
their " colored" Children every year ; denies that young "Wo-
men are picked out, like four-legged animals, and set apart as
Breeders ; denies that young Women are sold as Mistresses to
any one who pays most ; denies that fathers — often members
of Churches — sell their own Children ; denies that the
Churches sanction Polygamy among their members, or are
supported, in part, by the wages of Prostitution ; denies that
Education and the Bible are forbidden the Slaves and free
people of color. He " would like to know how some people
came to be so much wiser than our forefathers? Why didn't
they abolish Slavery? Why didn't they mention Niggers in
the Declaration of Independence, if they meant to include
'em?" He is confident that the Fugitive Slave bill, of 1850,
and the Nebraska bill, of 1854, would have received their ap-
proval ; in fact, he is inclined to -think that the original drafts
of them were made by Jay and Hamilton. " To be sure they
emancipated their Niggers," but he doubts " whether they
THE DOUGHFACE. 395
would have done it if they had foreseen the use some people
would make of it. And if Washington did emancipate his
diggers, it was when he was on his death-bed, and, probably,
after his mind began to wander."
The Doughface is " an American, in the true sense of the
word." He is " not an Abolitionist, or a Disunionist, or an
Amalgamationist, or anything of that sort — nothing but a
man ;" that is all. He has been brought up to reverence the
Union ; he has no notion of dissolving it himself or having
anybody else do it. He is also a great lover of " Law and
Order." He considers Mob attacks on Kidnappers shameful
outrages. He is not a Lawyer himself, but his "opinion is
that such offences come under the head of high treason, in the
first degree." He is confident he has seen a decision some-
where, to that effect, by Judges Taney and Kane. He is sure
of one thing : That the entire safety of Society depends upon
the maintenance of "law." The laws may be imperfect;
they may seem wrong; but they must be supported. The
only chance of getting better is to obey such as exist. He is
an Abolitionist; he abhors Slavery. But with the Slave
States none can legaily interfere ; the extension of the System
can not be legally resisted ; the Constitution guaranties the
return of Fugitives. He is very sorry, but it can not be
helped. He is particularly fond of quoting Daniel Webster's
Speech against " South Carolina Secession" where it talks
about " the broken fragments of a once glorious Union, dis-
severed, discordant, and drenched with fraternal blood," which
he says, was " intended as a warning to posterity not to elect
4nti-Nebraska members of Congress." He considers Slavery
"a moral and political evil; and yet, what can be done to
get rid of it, without some Greater evil happening? — that i§
the question." Again : " As to my own position and opinions,
on the Slavery question #■ all my friends" (he is a Commission
Merchant in t|\e lo\ver section of New York city, and receives
396 THE DOUGHFACE.
large consignments, of Cotton, Sugar, etc., from the South)
" understand me very well, and know that I am opposed to it,
root and branch, in All places, and under All circumstances."
But he thinks that by weakening the South it gives the North
greater commercial advantages and political preponderances.
Nothing would give him greater pleasure than to help forward
the Anti-Slavery cause, but really lie has " no time to attend
to such matters. My Anti- Slavery friends must know, from
seeing me so constantly pressed for time, in my Office, with
my own business, that 1 can not do anything else" He has,
nevertheless, written to his " particular" and " very respect-
able" friends, male and female, some rather strongly-worded
letters, favoring the Anti-Sl&very cause, but " would not, for
the world," see lithograph copies of one or more of them in an
Anti- Slavery book, as that would be certain to cause the
transfer of his Southern clients into other hands.
The doughface admires the Southern character. He de-
plores the much misrepresented condition of the Slaves —
" well fed and well clothed, and taken care of in their old age.
What more do they want?" He is for ever talking about
what he calls " the horrors of sectional strife," his great object
being to " pour oil upon the troubled waters," to conciliate the
conflicting interests of opposing localities and at all hazards to
" Save the Union."* He did not justify the butchery of
* The history of Congressional proceedings for the last thirty
years may be summed up in one sentence, namely, that the Slave
Power legislators have demanded what legislation they wanted, with
the threat that they would dissolve the Union if they did not get it ;
and that the legislators of the North have, with trembling hearts,
granted all their demands, "to save the Union." The Lord have
mercy on the poor souls who have not had the manliness to do what
they knew to be their duty ! Likewise on their constituents, who,
for the sake of holding on to their Southern customers, have stufi'ed
cotton in their ears, that they might not hear the cry of black
brethren, praying for deliverance from worse than Algerine bondage !
THE REV. JUDICIOUS TRIMMER, D. D. o'J7
Senator Sumner, of Massachusetts, by Brooks and Keitt, of
South Carolina; but, then, if a man chooses to insult people,
by telling the truth in plain language, as plain as that used in
telling lies on the other side, he must make up his mind to
take the consequences. In short, that though Brooks and
Keitt were entirely wrong, still, they served Mr. Sumner
exactly right.*
The doughface is a perfect enthusiast in his admiration of
the Holy Bible, yet loves his own race better than any other,
and has a peculiar horror of that kind of preaching which
drives a man into the corner of his pew and makes him think
the devil is after him. -
II. The Rev. Judicious Trimmer, D. D. — Dr. Trimmer
began to study the "signs of the times." He became con-
vinced that reformatory movements could not be " crushed
out." He must look out for his interest, and like Uzzah who
was a martyr to his extreme caution, he conceived it to be his
mission to steady the ark. Radicalism he hated ; but in order
to head radicalism, he must turn moderate reformer. Aboli-
tionists could not be held back from doing something, unless
it was by men who had some reputation as reformers. By
gaining such a reputation, Dr. Trimmer could be useful to
himself in various ways. The conservatives would pay him
for holding back the radicals, and the radicals would pay him
for dragging along the heavy conservatives. He could get up
a reputation as a reformer cheap. He could " pray for the
enemies of our glorious Union," and that would catch the
* moral-suasion Abolitionists." He could denounce " infidel
reformers," and that would keep peace with the " conservative
theologians." He could talk about Slavery as a "sin," but
* If the Union should happen to be saved, small thanks to Mr.
Doughface and his time-serving friends and adherents.
398 THE KEY. JUDICIOUS TRIMMER, D. D.
denounce those who secluded themselves from the Churches
which upheld the sin. After each Sermon or essay in favor
of " gradual emancipation," he could assert his determination
to live and die in his Church, whether it went for emancipation
or not. Thus he would be able to get support and praise
from both sides.
By preaching a little Anti-Slavery himself, he could keep
itinerant brethren out of his pulpit. The Elders could say,
" our minister preaches on the subject, and we have no need of
lecturers." He could thus hold the people under his hand,
and could keep all things steady. He did not like Senator
Sumner's speech, but thought Brooks had not done altogether
right. He believed that Mrs. Stowe did injustice to the
Slaveholder's character, but he thought her genius noble and
fine. He did not vote for Fremont; he did not like the
array of hostility to the South which the Republican party
presented. He does not profess to know what is 'politic, or
what is not ; he seeks only to see the truth, and as he sees it
to express it; and he thinks it would be just as well to let
such simple persons as himself have a place in the world, to
say their say, unharmed. He is no time-server ; but he does
not believe that all the truths of man's nature are violated by
his friends at the South any more than by his friends at the
North; neither is altogether right, -or altogether wrong ; still
less that it is just for either side of the Republic to charge the
other with crimes never committed. In this conviction he
expects to live and die.
Dr. Trimmer pursued the same course in regard to " Chris-
tian union." He hated Sectarianism, he said, but he was
equally afraid of come-out-ism. When a man came into the
place to preach " Christian union," he proposed to exchange
with his Baptist brother, and thus show how friendly they
were, so as to " take the wind out of the sails of this union
movement."
THE REV. JUDICIOUS TRIMMER, D. D. 309
Mr. Judicious Trimmer, D. D., like the Editors of certain
milk-and-water Anti-Slavery journals of New York, Boston,
Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and other Cotton-ridden Cities, adopt-
ed this absorption system generally. That is, when any re-
form began to grow popular, he would engage in it just enough
to keep " peace in the Church," and quiet the community, un-
der the impression that the " minister" was a " reformer," and
yet be careful not to render any real aid to radicalism. Words
of reform were cheap. He could use them, too, with a "good
conscience. ;" and as these reformatory words pleased the peo-
ple, he became an adept in their use. At the same time, he
kept at peace with his denomination. If any grew restless
under the idea that the denomination was not advancing fast
enough, Mr. Trimmer was just the man to be put forward to
restore quiet. Was he not a reformer ? and did he not re-
main in the Church ? Did he not talk against Slavery and
Sectarianism, and keep in the organization? Such a man
must be right. Thus, you see, he formed a kind of break-
water on both sides, and catched any stray " donation" or " rise"
in Salary which floated up from either side. He is "not a
professed friend nor a professed enemy of Slavery" — he re-
gards it as a " perplexing question" — and thinks it does not
" professionally" belong to his calling, etc.
Mr. Trimmer went for " restricting and limiting evils" — but
was not so fanatical as to think of abolishing them. Wherever
there was a Church which was likely to lose some of their
members by secession, he was just the man for that place. He
could be reformer enough in words to keep the radicals quiet,
and he never did any deed to disturb the others. On sev-
eral occasions he attended "protracted meetings" with such
Churches, and " healed all their breaches, by his judicious
course." True, his meeting*, with all his reform talk, left the
Church dead on such subjects, practically ; but Mr. Trimmer
became all the more popular. Some of the radicals complain'
400 "the abolitionists did it all."
ed of him as worse than a, dozen opposers, for they said that
his reputation as a reformer gave him double power to stab the
cause. Many young ministers took him as a " model." The
seminaries taught his system of clerical tactics, under the head
of " Pastoral theology," and the Rev. Solomon Straw-watcher,
D. D., often referred young students to his success, as an illus-
tration of the system. He won praise from all parties, and
his wealth increased, thus showing how to obey that passage
of Scripture which says, " Make unto yourselves friends of the
mammon of unrighteousness."
The judicious trimmers know the infamous character of the
" heaven-horn institution." They know it is an " institution"
opposed to God's law of love, and man's sense of right. They
know it is a blight to every state which cherishes it, and a
curse to the " free States." They know that it degrades labor;
begets indolence, fosters violence, and drags down society to a
permanent barbarism. They know that from the first it has
been, and until it is destroyed it will be, a cause of dissension,
and strife, and practical disunion, in the land. But they are
time-servers, they have an eye to the golden calf. Therefore
they cry to this hideous monster of perdition, " Be thou our
God !" and bow to it, and worship it.
On the whole, the Doughface is the most contemptible spe-
cimen of humanity on earth.
The Slaveholders and their allies — the doughfaces — accuse
the Abolitionists of having done the Anti-Slavery cause more
injury than good; but this is denied; and no better reply to
such nonsense can be given than that which we find in a letter
of Wendell Philips, Esq., of Boston, Massachusetts, to a
" friend" in England :
" My Dear Sir : Your letter needed no apology ; it was a
pleasure to receive it; such criticisms do us good, they show
us how we strike strangers (distance of place performs the
part of distance of time), and recall us to the duty of recon-
"THE abolitionists did it all." 401
sidering our course, and the reasons on which it is based. It
is not claiming much to ask that you will not suppose us so
foolish as to w 7 ish the lives we give to a hard duty utterly
thrown away, by a bad choice of means or misdirected effort.
If we are in error, therefore, he does us a kindness who sets
us right ; and our gratitude should be in proportion to the
worth of the cause such error harms — the value we set on
ours, and our sincere conviction of the goodness of the means
we use to forward it, we have show^n by the lives we devote
to them. Your letter objects to the language and temper in
which the Anti-Slavery agitation is conducted, and the per-
sonal character it often assumes. You ask us to consider
whether such a course is either justifiable or expedient; and
I judge from a letter which enclosed yours, that you think our
mistake in these respects, has injured the Anti- Slavery cause
in the Slave States, and put back emancipation, especially in
Virginia, Delaware, Kentucky, and Maryland.
"I will tell you my views on these points ; though frequent
experience leads me to doubt whether, except in rare cases,
any but an American can fully understand our position. Na-
poleon, you know, alw T ays maintained that Wellington ought,
according to all military rule, to have been beaten at Waterloo.
The world, I believe, has never had the patience to listen to
his explanation. The victory settled for us the military suffi-
ciency of the means that gained it. Our case, allow me to
say, is precisely similar. In 1830, the cause of the Slave was
desperate enough. The reaction, after the intense political
excitement of the Missouri question, was perfect ; and the
whole nation went to sleep. The pulpit was dumb, the press
discreetly silent, and every politician avoided the fatal ques-
tion with the instinct of self-preservation. Since then, the
Anti-Slavery agitation, under Mr. Garrison, has achieved a
wider and more immediate success than any similar cause ever
gained in the world before. It has aroused the whole country,
402 "the abolitionists did it all."
driven the South to that madness and those rash counsels,
which, according to the Greek proverb, always precede destruc-
tion ; swallowed up, like Aaron's rod, all the other political
issues — Bank — Tariff — Internal Improvements, etc. ; drew
into the vortex of its own excitement all the great statesmen
who had again and again pledged themselves never to touch
the question, Webster, Benton, Clay, etc. ; blotted out the
lives of the two parties that have ruled us for half a century,
and turned every man into Pro or Anti-slavery — unionist or
disunionist — broken to pieces the two greatest sects, Presby-
terian and Methodist, and is putting the rest on their good be-
havior ; it has filled every pulpit, railroad car, lyceum, pub-
lic hall, and private fireside, every arena, literary, religious or
political, with discussion; witness (the last instance) Mr.
Clioate so desperate as to steal the occasion of a literary ad-
dress for a caucus speech. In a word, it has taken up the
Nation by the four corners, and shaken it out of all its old
habits and trains of thought, turning it into an Anti-Slavery
Debating Society ; and all this, living in a country ruled by
Public Opinion, and conscious that Truth is on our side, we do
not despair of success. If God grant us as much during the next
twenty years as we have had the past, our first of August will
be near, if not over, unless some other and bloody Exodus is
before us in the providence of God.
" I know you may say all this would have happened with-
out Mr. Garrison and his friends. So, perhaps, the Reforma-
tion would have come some time or other, without Luther, and
our Revolution without Washington or Adams. But he who
maintained that either event would have taken place as and
when it did, without these men, will recollect that the pre-
sumption is the other way, and that the burden of proof rests
upon him. You may urge also, that the Anti-Slavery agita-
tion would have succeeded better if differently conducted.
But when the success has been so unparalleled, the objector
"the abolitionists did it all." 403
must recollect that the burden of proof rests upon him., and
that, until the contrary is shown, such unequalled success is
conclusive evidence that the method of agitation ivas well de-
vised. It may be very natural for parties whom Mr. Garrison
has annihilated, and sects which he has broken to pieces, to
find fault with him ; but it was hardly to be expected they should
allege that the campaign in which they have been so signally
defeated, by a miserable minority, was ill planned and worse
executed.
" What I wish you to observe is, that you are calling on the
conqueror, in a case where accident could have no part, to
prove his military capacity. He answers you, in Wren's
epitaph, ' Circumspice !' Look around you. As you remark
in your letter, all American discussions, political and religious,
are carried on with such personality and frank and blunt' cen-
sure as are distasteful to an Englishman. Granted. It ought
then, to be no matter of surprise that the Anti-Slavery agita-
tion shares in the national fault ; nor should it be matter of
special blame, that a man, in becoming an Abolitionist, did not
cease to be an American in his habits and tastes. Indeed, we
might claim that if there be any cause which could justify the
most direct and harsh censure, and the utmost personality, it
must be ours. Could we sit down together, and compare the
Anti-Slavery with the religious and political press of the United
States, I think that you would allow that its higher aims and
purer principles have elevated and refined, as you think they
should do, the tone of its discussions. Indeed, making fair
allowance for difference of individual tastes, recollecting the
priceless right we are battling for, and that our ranks are too
poorly filled to refuse any man who offers his aid, I can say I
have no fault to find with the language or temper of the Anti-
Slavery press. To Alexander's criticism of their weapons, the
Scythians made answer, ' If you knew how sweet freedom was,
you would think it right to defend it even with axes.'
404 "the abolitionists did it all."
" Consider our position and recollect our object. Living in
a land governed exclusively by Public Opinion — ruled by men
not by laws — we are attempting to abolish a system of Slavery
sanctioned by Public Opinion. To effect our object we must
entirely change this Public Opinion. We are a minority ; all
the posts of influence are held against us, the pulpit, the press,
the senate-house, and the market-place. Yet to succeed, we
must reach every class in the community, the thoughtless and
the thoughtful — the calm and the enterprising — the rude and
the refined, the ignorant and the educated. In such circum-
stances, to expect every Abolition speaker to model himself on
Dr. Channing is the greatest mistake. Dr. Channing spoke
to the man of refinement and culture, with feelings sensitively
alive to every consideration of duty and humanity. But with
the exception of % these, a few thousands at best, he was of no
avail till lips more Saxon than his translated him for the benefit
of the masses. The world has been criticising, for a century,
the Methodist and the Moravian for their want of taste, and
the rude familiarity with which they speak of things held sacred,
and usually approached only with great decorum. But the
Methodist and Moravian have touched more hearts than all
the educated pulpits. The Quaker, while his words were
half battles and stung like adders, made converts. He has
become staid and decorous and ceased to grow. The fact is a
new idea, the germ of Reform, is first a sentiment, then a
thought — and afterward a principle. Hence almost all Re-
forms have originated among the masses and worked their way
upward. I do not know that a single great Moral Reform has
sprung from the schools ; and when any Moral Reformer has
appeared there, he has found himself speedily ejected and
forced into the company of those who live in their sentiments,
the mass of mankind. Their language is rough, blunt, and
often coarse, as some over-fastidious ears count coarseness.
Reformers are usually made of the same stuff, and share these
"the abolitionists did it all." 405
faults. And one of a different stamp seeking to bridge over
the space between him and his audience, borrows for the mo-
ment their vocabulary.
" You allude to the personality of our discussions. In a
country like ours, governed, as I have reminded you already,
entirely by Public Opinion, the opinions of those who either
in the pulpit, at the head of the press, or in political station,
represent and seek to mould the moral sentiment of the com-
munity, are practically facts of momentous import to all of us.
Our immediate welfare and our future destiny are inevitably
and deeply affected by them. In such circumstances those
persons have no right to complain if their opinions and actions
are scanned and criticised with relentless scrutiny by parties
so deeply concerned in them as we are. If they shrink from
this responsibility they must quit the post which entails it.
The politician is our servant, whose acts it is our duty and
right to criticise — the mistakes of the clergyman and the
editor make our farms less valuable and our lives less secure —
endanger free speech and jeopard the welfare of our children — ■
they must expect to be vigilantly watched.
" If you object to our frequent judgment of motives, I need
only remind you that such judgment is necessarily made upon
a very close consideration of the thousand minute circumstances
of a man's past history, present position, previous declarations,
known associates, general character, &c, &c, which none hut
those near at hand can properly estimate, so that we may he
oftener right than your general knowledge of our country would
lead you to think. As to the expediency of openly stating that
which is generally surmised, who can doubt that it is one
powerful means of destroying the influence of the plausible ar-
guments of designing men to point out to those they are likely
to delude, the corrupt and interested motives by which they
are led. It seems to me that nothing but very false charity
would require that we should omit from our criticisms of
406 "the abolitionists did it all."
Webster the well-known fact, that he did not believe his own
statements or rely on his own arguments, and would never
have used either but from calculations of political expediency
and the hope of the Presidential chair. Our cause must be
very strong, indeed, when it can afford to forego, in its unequal
battle with a Nation, so potent a means of opening men's eyes
to the treachery of his conduct, and the fatal course on which
he was leading the Nation. After all, the masses judge of opin-
ions more by the men who hold them than by the arguments on
which they rest. Our aim is to free the Slave, by changing
the sentiment of this Nation. We must take human nature as
we find it, and use all honest means Jo reach and mould the
National heart.
" As for the here oft-answered objection about Delaware,
Maryland, &c, it is one of the stale pretences of Pro-Slavery
hypocrisy. Every candid man, of all parties, North and South,
laughs at such statements. They served their purpose years
ago, but have long since fallen into the kennel of exploded lies.
Intelligent Southerners have again and again confessed that
the agitation had weakened the whole system ; Cassius M.
Clay acknowledged it for Kentucky — Mr. Vaughan, his part-
ner in the editorship of the Louisville Examiner, added his
testimony for that and other States. If you wish more palpa-
ble evidence, take it in the clouded close of the life of John C.
Calhoun, who sank to his grave, confessing that the days of
Slavery were numbered, and throwing all the blame on the
Anti-Slavery agitation. Indeed, if the Garrison movement,
with the political efforts which have resulted from it, is putting
back emancipation, how comes it that for twenty years the
South has gone frantic with fear, and been calling on the
North to quell it ? threatening to dissolve the Union if it were
not stopped, and rushing on the maddest course to regain the
balance of power, which they felt was slipping from their
hands. Do men usually exhibit such fear and hatred toward
THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE. 407
those who are confirming their power and adding value to their
property ? Have the manufacturers of your country offered a
reward of £5,000 for the head of Sir Joseph Paxton ? or did
your landholders, during the late corn-law excitement, tar and
feather the Dukes of Richmond and Buckingham ? Judge
the South by its acts, not its pretences — and you will easily
learn by those alone the true effects of our agitation on Slavery
even in the Slave States."
APPENDIX C.
THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE.
It has often been said that the Slave-Trade was still carried
on from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, &c, but as the
charge has been of a vague and general character, it attracted
little attention. The world is, however, beginning to get light
on the subject. There is now lying in Prison, in New York,
a man (Captain James Smith) who has been tried, in the
United States Circuit Court, before Judges Nelson and Betts,
found guilty, and sentenced to two years' imprisonment, and to
pay a fine of $1,000, for being engaged in the trade. The
testimony in the case was ample, and although Smith protest-
ed against his condemnation, on the ground that he was a
" foreigner," and not amenable to the laws of the United
States, he did not deny the fact of his share in the business.
He spoke of it to his friends, and related, with unconcealed
exultation, the particulars of his wild and desperate career.
The Editor of The New York Evangelist, who had seen
and talked with Smith in his prison, says that he told his
story, not like a criminal making a confession, but rather with
the freedom and pride of an old soldier relating his battles.
408 THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE.
Nor did he intimate a wish that what he said should be kept
private. Indeed, he had previously boasted to others his vil-
lanous deeds on the African coast. His disclosures, therefore,
are public property. Some of these are curious. Whether
he told the truth the world must judge. It is not very prob-
able that a man would make up a story which implicated him-
self in a capital crime. Besides, his account is consistent with
itself; it agrees perfectly with what was proven on the trial,
and with the descriptions in Captain Canot's book. We be-
lieve, therefore, that Captain Smith let out the truth : —
" New York," said Captain Smith, " is the chief port in the
world for the Slave-Trade." He repeated two or three times,
" It is the greatest place in the universe for it. Neither in
Cuba nor in the Brazils is it carried on so extensively. Ships
that convey Slaves to the West Indies and South America are
fitted out from New York. Now and then one sails from
Boston and Philadelphia ; but New York is our headquarters.
My vessel was the brig Julia Moulton. I got her in Boston,
and brought her here, and sailed from this port direct for the
coast of Africa." " But do you mean to say that this business
is going on now ?" " Yes, all the while. Not so many vessels
have been sent out this year — perhaps not over twenty-Jive.
But last year there were thirty-jive."
" Are there large shipping-houses engaged in it ?" " Yes ;
I can go down to South street, and go into a number of houses
that help to fit out ships for the business. I don't know how
far they own the vessels, or receive the profits of the cargoes.
But these houses know all about it. They know me. They
see me sail out of port with a ship and come back a passenger.
They sometimes ask me, ' Captain, where is your ship ?' "
(with a shrug). " They know what has become of her."*
* The profits accruing from a successful run to and from the West
Coast of Africa are so great, that the captain generally hides all traces
of his crime immediately after landing his cargo, by either setting on fire
THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE. 409
" But how do you manage to get away without exciting sus-
picion ?" " Why, you see, we keep close, and get everything
aboard, and do not ask for our papers until we are just ready
to sail. Then we go to the Custom-house, and take out papers
for Rio Janeiro, St. Helena, the Cape de Verde islands, or any
port we please — it don't matter where — and instantly clear."
' k But if you were seized at that moment, could the officers
tell, by searching a ship, that she was a Slaver ?" " Oh, yes,
they couldn't help knowing. Besides, they must suspect
something from seeing such an almighty crew. My little
brig carried but 200 tons, and could be manned by four men.
But I had fourteen before the mast. The moment of leaving
port is the one of danger. But we don't lose time. A steam-
er is kept ready, and we get away immediately.* Often two
or three Slavers leave at once. We steam down the bay and
or scuttling the vessel. In this way a steady market has been established
for light swift-sailing schooners and brigs, which are built "for one voy-
age only."
* Formerly these vessels took out weapons to overawe the blacks as
well as to fight off intruders ; they also carried shackles enough to secure
as many Slaves as they could carry. Now they depend upon their speed
to elude cruisers, and instead of binding their human cargo, they simply
carry a keg or two of sharp carpet-tacks ; and, if the Slaves become res-
tive, a handful or two of these sprinkled among them soon reduces them
to submission. The Slaves being naked and closely packed, can not
make any movement against their captors without being subjected to the
most excruciating pain — every step which they take forcing the sharp
points of the nails into their feet. They also stow the coppers away ;
and, if boarded by a cruiser before the Slaves are taken on board, the
vessel presents the appearance of a legitimate trader. A few scattered
bricks might perhaps be found, as well as a barrel of lime, on a close
scrutiny; but the former may easily pass for ballast; and if anybody
should be inquisitive enough to ask the use of the latter, why it would
be the easiest matter in the world to convince him that it was required to
purify the ship. Once on the Slave coast, however, and the Slaves on
board, the bricks and mortar \vould serve just as well to fit up the coppers
for cooking their food. Such are a few of the modern improvements.
18
410 THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE.
over the bar, and then the ocean is before us, and we set our
course for any quarter we please." " But when you reach the
African coast, are you not in great danger from British Ships-
of-War?" "Oh, no, we don't care a button for an English
squadron. We run up the America?! flag, and if they come
aboard, all we have to do is to show our American papers, and
they have no right to search us." " That may be very well
when you are going in empty. But suppose you are coming
out with a cargo of Slaves on board ?" " Even then we can
get along well enough, if the Niggers will keep quiet. We put
them all below deck, and nail down our hatches, and then pre-
sent our papers. The officers have no right to go below. The
only danger in this case is that they will stay on board too
long, and the Niggers begin to get smothered and make a noise."
" How many Slaves could you carry on your vessel ?"
"We took on board 664. We might have stowed away 800.
If she had been going to the Brazils, we should have taken
that number. She would carry 750 with ease. The boys
and women we kept on the upper deck. But all the strong
men — those giant Africans that might make us trouble — we
put below on the Slave deck." " Did you chain them or put
on handcuffs ?" " No, never ; they would die. We let them
move about." " Are you very severe with them ?" " We
have to be pretty strict at first — for a week or so — to make
them feel that we are masters. Then we lighten up for the
rest of the voyage." " How do you pack them at night ?"
'• They lie down upon the deck, on their sides, body to body.
There would not be room enough for all to lie on their backs."
" Did many die on the passage ?" " Yes. I lost a good many
the last cruise — more than ever before. Sometimes we find
them dead when we go below in the morning. Then we throw
them overboard." " Are the profits of the trade large ?"
"Yes, sir, very large. My Brig cost $13,000 to fit her out
completely. My last cargo to Cuba was worth $220,000."
THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN SLATE-TRADE. 411
"Did you ever get chased by the English ships?" "Yes;
once a Man-of-War chased two of us. The mate betrayed
me. I never liked the man. He was scared. He had no
heart. You see, it takes a man of a particular constitution to
engage in our business. When once at sea with a Slave cargo,
we are in free bottoms. We belong to no country. We are
under the protection of no law. We must defend ourselves.
A man must have a great deal of nerve in such a situation
when he is liable to be chased by ships-of-war, or perhaps, finds
himself suddenly in the midst of a whole fleet. The Mate
once served me a trick for which I should have been perfectly
justified in shooting him dead. We were running in between
the islands of Martinique and Dominique, when suddenly
there shot out from behind the land an English steamer. The
Mate thought it was a Ship-of-AYar, and so did I. He was
frightened and instantly turned the vessel off her course. This
was the very movement to bring down the enemy in chase. I
saw the danger and flew to the helm, and put her back again,
and we passed by in safety." " But are you not tired of this
business ?" " Why, I didn't want to go out the last voyage.
I tried to get another Captain to take charge of my ship. I
wanted to stay at home and get married.* But good men in
our business are scarce. And I had to go."
A short time since, The New York Daily Times said, " The
Slave-Trade is now actively carried on between New York
and the coast of Africa. The conduct of the Federal officials
on this subject is absolutely incredible. Vessels are fitted up
almost every week, ostensibly for Cuban ports, or for legiti-
mate trade on the coast of Africa, which almost any trader to
that coast will not have a moment's hesitation in identifying
as destined for the Slave-trade. Yet not one of them has the
slightest difficulty in securing regular American papers.
* What a lovely husband the scoundrel would be ! Who speaks
first, young ladies?
412 THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE.
" There are Merchants in our streets to-day who are making
their tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly by a
traffic condemned alike by the laws and the public sentiment
of the civilized w T orld." Again : " There are hundreds of Mer-
chants in New York, who are constantly and largely engaged
in this traffic; who carry it on as their regular business —
who grow rich by it, and live in splendid style, and claim and
hold high rank in the rich circles of our metropolis by virtue
of their w r ealth thus acquired. This fact is generally known,
and not a week passes in which vessels are not cleared at
the Custom-House, of whose destination and employment in
the Slave-trade, the houses who ship crews for them, and even
the Officials who prepare and sign their papers, are morally
certain. New York and Baltimore are now, and have been
for years, the great head-quarters of the African Slave-trade."
The Richmond (Va.) Dispatch, speaking of the African
Slave-trade, says : " It is a notorious and undeniable fact, that
the African Slave-trade always has been, is now" (Nov., 1856),
" and in all probability always will be, carried on by Northern
hands. The- vessels engaged in the trade are built in and
owned in New York and New England, and are manned
mostly by New-Englanders."
The conscience of the Nation has been utterly debauched
on the whole question of Slavery, and nothing short of a com-
plete extermination of the "evangelical" Pro-Slavery Churches
can work a cure of the wide-spread corruption. If emancipa-
tion is such an evil that Doctors of Divinity " can not pray
for it," why should not the "evangelical" Merchants — mem-
bers of those Churches — be allowed to import hundreds of
thousands of Slaves every year, without forfeiting their stand-
ing either in the Churches or in Social life ?
It is a common subterfuge of the Slaveholders and their
allies, in order to shield themselves from the just condemnation
of an indignant world, to claim that the transfer of the Africans
THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE. 413
from their native land to America has greatly improved their
condition. As if the true method to civilize the ignorant and
to enlighten the superstitious were to ravage their coasts —
give their dwellings to the consuming fire — shoot down all
who offer any resistance — seize and manacle such as can
make no defence — drag them on board of Slave ships — pack
them to suffocation in the holds of those "floating hells" —
subject them to all the horrors of the middle passage — drive
the survivors to unrequited toil under the lash, denying to
them all the rights of our common humanity, forbidding them
to learn to read the name of God, legally affirming them to be
" goods and chattels, to all intents, purposes and constructions
whatsoever," and trafficking in them as in cattle and swine !
"Why, then, prohibit the African Slave-trade, under such a
penalty ? Why not give unlimited encouragement to it ?
Why not let Christian philanthropy be as broad as the Atlan-
tic, and Africa be depopulated afresh ? What ! put to death
those benevolent men who kidnap benighted heathens for
their good ! What ! brand those as pirates who forcibly
remove the natives of Guinea to the plantations of Carolina,
seeing the result will be their temporal and everlasting wel-
fare ! Is not this the command of Christ — " Go ye into all
Africa, and seize as many of its wretched inhabitants as ye
can by fraud and violence, that they may be taken to Slave -
holding America, where my Gospel is proclaimed !"
The Rev. Mr. Bushnell, an American Missionary on the
Western Coast of Africa for thirteen years, in a letter to The
New York .Evangelist, in March, 1857, says :
"The Slave-trade is the great curse of Africa; it renders the wildest
savages still more fierce and cruel, and baffles all attempts at civilization.
Of course all other commerce is killed by this traffic. The country is
rich in natural products and might furnish a large export. But all is
kept down by this one trade. The moment a British squadron, hovering
on the coast, puts the Slavers in fear and causes their trade to languish,
other branches of industry revive. The chiefs, finding less demand for
414 THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE.
human flesh, bring down other commodities — ivory, palm oil, gold dust,
dye woods, and ebony. Thus the instant the Slave-trade is checked,
there springs up a legitimate commerce. But while that is in full blast,
it kills everything else, for it is more exciting and more lucrative. The
trade in Slaves is more profitable than trade in ivory, for it is easier to
steal a child than kill an elephant.
"But the commercial loss is nothing to the moral desolation which it
leaves behind it. The Slave-trade is the cause of almost all the wars be-
tween different tribes. It keeps them constantly fighting to procure fresh
victims. It excites them to attack defenceless villages, and to seize men,
women, and children. Thus it stimulates to burnings, to murder and to
massacre. And it is shocking to think that it was ' Christian traders'
who first taught the poor natives these arts of cruelty. And it is the cu-
pidity of American traders which spurs on the natives to burning and
butchery, and which brings upon this desolate coast all the woes of hell.
" A natural effect of such a trade in human flesh and blood is to produce
a frightful disregard of human life. It has reduced the value of a man to
the trifle that he will bring from the trader. Many a man has been
bought for a keg of rum. Lately the price has risen, so that now an
able-bodied man will fetch about $40, and a boy or girl half that sum.
"It is often said that these poor Africans do not suffer much, for that
they are incapable of feeling. They are little above the beasts, and, like
animals, all places are indifferent to them. On the contrary, they are a
very sensitive race. Natives of that torrid clime, they are true children
of the sun. Living in the open air, they drink in bright influences from
sunshine and from sky. Their feelings are quick. They have a pas-
sionate love of music. The gondoliers of Venice, floating on their grand
canal, are not more spontaneous and gushing in their melody than these
Africans, floating on theft' inland waters. As the boat glides along the
lagoons and rivers, the oarsmen keep time with a rising and falling strain.
If any incident occurs in the sail they instantly improvise a rude poetry,
and accompany it with a wild melody. Thus everywhere — in their
boats or bamboo-huts, in every scene of gladness or of grief, at the wed-
ding or the funeral — their hearts find vent in song.
"And do these simple children of nature feel nothing when torn from
their homes and country ? When I first landed on the coast, the Slave-
trade was flourishing, and there were many factories near us. I often
visited the barracoons, and such utter wo and despair I never saw on
any human faces. Their lightness and gayety were all gone. Their songs
were hushed, and they sat silent and gloomy. It was not a grief which
THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE. 415
burst forth in wild lament, nor a despair which nerved them to fierce re-
sistance, but a wan and weary look, a despair which was speechless and
hopeless, as of those doomed to die. There they sat upon the shore
chained together, now turning a last fond look to the hills and palm
groves in the distance, and now looking to the Slave-ship which began to
show its dark hull on the horizon. Thus they watched and wept, their
stifled sobs answering to the desolate moaning of the sea."
The Trade goes on briskly — the dealers separate husbands,
wives, sons, and daughters ; severing all the purest and holiest
ties. Each year millions of dollars are invested in this in-
famous traffic, and thousands of its victims perish in the rice-
swamps and sugar-field of the South ; men whose purses are
heavy with the gold gained as the price of blood by the sale
of their Slaves, mingle in the highest social circles North and
South, sit in Congress, or at the Communion Table, or stand
in the Pulpit, in fellowship with the great majority of the
Churches. The bloody Slave-whip is ever doing its cruel
work, and the red-hot branding-iron hissing in the flesh of the
wretched victims of cruelty, and sorrow and anguish unutter-
able dwell in the hearts of millions.
Such are some of the results of a long career of compromise
with sin.
The Nation has sold itself to the Slave Power. That
Power has hitherto had control of the Government, and is
now to hold it until 1861. For the last twelve years, to go
no further back, each successive Administration has per-
formed some act of signal service to the Power which con-
trols it.
Thus, from 1845 to 1849, Polk, Dallas & Co. were the
political agents to do the business of the Slaveholder. They
re-annexed Texas, made the Mexican war, and at great cost
of money and men, plundered a sister Republic of an enor-
mous tract of land, whence Slave States are one day to be
made.
416 THE SLAVE AND FREE STATES, CONTRASTED.
From 1849 to 1853, Taylor, Fillmore & Co. had the man-
agement of the political business. The senior partner in
that firm, a man too honest to be in such a concern — for it
was "a nomination not fit to be made" in more senses than
one — soon died of "the Washington distemper/' and the
survivors managed as they saw fit. They had a whole Omni-
bus load of "Compromise Measures. " The Fugitive Slave
Bill was passed; Kidnapping became common; practical
Atheism was proclaimed throughout the land as the first
principle of Republican Government; the sentence, "No
Higher Law," was added to the Litany of the Churches of
Commerce, and the State Rights of the North were broken
down by the Federal arm of Slavery.
From 1853 to 1857, Pierce, Gushing, Douglas, Brooks, &
Co. had a general Power of Attorney to do all matters and
things pertaining to the triumph of Slavery and the over-
throw of Freedom; and most diligently did they do their
work. This firm attended to the minute details of Slave-
driving, and, while it encouraged Walker's fillibustering in
Nicaragua, and Lecompte's bloody assizes in Kansas, it
turned Dr. Jackson out of his postmastership at Cresson,
Pennsylvania, because he helped to cure the wounds of
Senator Sumner.
Now, from 1857 to 1861, if the firm does not break before,
Buchanan, Breckinridge, & Co. are to carry on the same
business at the old stand — sign of the Spread Eagle and
thirteen Stripes.
APPENDIX D.
DOUGH-FACE RELIGION.
The American Tract Society. — The American Tract
Society has, it seems, full liberty to rebuke "evangelical
Christians :" 1. For sending children to dancing-school — but
not for sending them to the Auction-block; 2. For reading
novels — but not for preventing millions of colored men,
women, and children from reading the Bible; 3. For covet-
ousness — but not for compelling others to labor without
wages; 4. For trading in intoxicating liquors — but not for
trading in the bodies and souls of their fellow-men, or even
of their u fellow-Christians;" 5. For attending horse-races —
but not for driving men and women under the lash to the
Cotton and Sugar fields; 6. For drinking wine — but not for
robbing millions of men, women, and children of all Civil
and Religious' freedom; 7. For visiting the circus — but not
for annihilating, by law, the Marriage relation.
Whenever the books of the Society allude to the existence
of Slavery, it is as a system unknown to the people of the
United States, but existing as a phenomenon in distant parts
of the world. Hear them: —
"Suppose you were now in Brazil, and the owner of a large esta-
blishment to fit out Slave-traders with hand-cuffs for the coast of
Africa, and could not change your business without considerable
pecuniary sacrifice, would you make the sacrifice, or would you
keep your fires and hammers going?" And again: "If a man only
lives to make a descent on the peaceful abodes of Africa, and to
tear away parents from their weeping children, and husbands from
their wives and homes, where is the man that will deem this a
417-
418 THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.
moral business? Other men will prey upon unoffending Africa,
and bear human sinews across the ocean to be sold. Have you a
right to do it?" — (Tract No. 305.) Once more, speaking of the
duty of rescuing the drunkard, it is asked: "What would you not
do to pull a neighbor out of the water, or out of the fire, or to
deliver him from Algerine captivity?" — (Tract No. 422.)
During the twenty-nine years of its existence, the American
Tract Society has not published a line intended to touch the
conscience of a Slaveholder. On the contrary, special care
has been taken to expunge from its reprints of British,
French, and German books every expression that could
imply a censure on the stupendous National iniquity. This
extreme sensitiveness is shown in the mutilation of a passage
in its reprint of Mr. J. J. Gurney's u Essay on the Habitual
Exercise of Love to God." On page 142 of the original
edition, is the following passage : —
"If this love had always prevailed among professing Christians,
where would have been the sword of the Crusader? Where the
African Slave-trade? Where the odious system which permits to
man a property in his fellow-man, and converts rational beings into
marketable chattels?"
This was meat too strong for the digestion of the American
Tract Society, and hence was carefully diluted, so that it
might be swallowed without producing the slightest nausea.
In the Society's edition, page 199, the passage stands thus : —
" If this love had always prevailed among professing Christians,
where would have been the sword of the Crusader ? Where the tor-
ture of the Inquisition ? Where every system of oppression and
wrong by which he who has the power revels in luxury and ease at
the expense of his fellow-men ?"
The Society, in its reprint of the well-known "Essays to do
good," by the Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather, declares in the Pre-
face: — "In this edition such portions of the original Essays
are omitted, and such changes have been made in the phrase-
ology, as might be expected after the lapse of more than a
THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 419
century since the work was written." The natural inference
from this language is, that nothing had been omitted which
could be of any interest to the reader of our time. Not so.
In the original edition occurs this passage : —
"0 that the souls of our Slaves were more regarded by us, and
not using them as if they had no souls! That the poor Slaves
which live "with us may, by our means,. be made the candidates of
the heavenly life! that we might give a better demonstration that
we despise not our souls, by doing what we can for the souls of our
Slaves. How can we pretend to Christianity, when we do no more
to Christianise our Slaves ?"
But in the Society's edition (p. 44,) we read : —
" that the souls of our Servants were more regarded by us ! that
we might give a better demonstration that we despise not our own
souls, by doing what we can for the souls of our Servants. How
can we pretend to Christianity, when we do no more to Christianise
our Servants ?"
Though " the Ethiopian cannot change his skin," yet
Staves have changed to Servants in somewhat "more than a
century." This " might have been expected." Probably
owing to the bleaching process going on in the South !
The Memoir of Mary Lundie Duncan, of Scotland, by her
mother, first had a wide circulation abroad, then was pub-
lished in full by Robert Carter and Brothers, New York, in
various styles, and some as cheap as could be desired; but
now it is published, in a mutilated form, by the American
Tract Society. Both Mary Lundie Duncan and her mother
hated Slavery, and loved freedom. Therefore the book would
not be acceptable to the dear brethren who owned " niggers."
To send forth a book, with two or three short paragraphs
on the subject of Slavery omitted, and call it "an abridg-
ment of the original," is an insult to both author and reader.
The attempts of the "Managers" of t^he Society to defend
themselves against these serious charges have been more
numerous than successful. It was at first set up that the
420 THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.
charge of mutilating the works republished by the Society
was "unfounded," and that nothing of the sort — at least
nothing of any consequence — had been done. But this posi-
tion it was impossible to maintain against the array of facts
brought to bear upon it. Obliged to admit the fact, the
Managers of the Society — like their political sympathizers in
Congress — have been obliged to fall back upon the "Consti-
tutional" argument. Hear them : —
"Slavery may, for aught we know, be exactly what Wesley pro-
nounced it, 'the sum of all viilanies.' We must not be understood
as denying that, or as committing ourselves to the doctrine that
Slaveholding is an institution ordained by God, sanctioned by both
the Old and the New Testaments, and every way compatible with
Christian life and feeling. Some of us individually may lean to that
view; but we must not be at all understood as committing or pledge
ing ourselves, as a Committee, or the Society for which we act, to any
such declaration of sentiment. On the other hand, however great a
sin and wickedness we might regard Slavery to be, there is a Constitu-
tional lion in the path. The very Charter under which we act for-
bids us to say a single word about it."
The friends of truth, however, longed for some more
decided declaration on the subject than the milk-and-water
apology of the Executive Committee. Their longings took
the shape of emphatic demands for a Committee of Investi-
gation, to examine and see whether the Executives were
legally and constitutionally hindered from doing their duty
and speaking the whole truth, or whether they were afraid to
offend their masters, the Southern members of the Society.
On the 7th of May, 1856, the " leading Members" of the
Society met at the Rev. Dr. Spring's church, New York, for
the transaction of the " regular business," previous to meeting
at the Tabernacle for the celebration of the Anniversary.
Chief Justice Williams, of Connecticut, the President of the
Society, occupied the chair. The attendance on the occasion
was very large ; all the available space, either for sitting or
standing, both in the body of the Church and in the gallery,
THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 421
was occupied. Many " eminent Divines" from the Slave
States were present. The meeting was opened with prayer
by the Rev. Dr. Dewitt.
The Rev. Dr. Knox, in behalf of the Executive Com-
mittee, of which he is a Member, then read a communication
on the extremely happy condition of things in general. He
assured his audience that "the Executive Committee of the
American Tract Society had no secrets/' and that "the funds
gathered were not hoarded up or wasted." Also, that "he
knew of no peculation." He admitted, however, that " some
people" had assailed the Society, but " he knew of nothing
that would blight or circumscribe the influence of an institu-
tion so purely heavenly in its character."
The Managers of the Society endeavored to push the regu-
lar business through and adjourn, so as to avoid the dust
which these " insane sun-sweepers" would raise, should they
proceed with their investigation enterprise. Rut the wires,
though in the hands of experienced pullers, from some cause
or other, would not pull right on this "interesting occasion."
After a stormy time, Judge Jessup succeeded in offering the
following resolution : —
"Resolved, That a Special Committee of fifteen be appointed to
inquire into and review the proceedings of the Executive Committee,
and to Report to the next annual meeting, or at a Special meeting
duly convened, to be called by said Committee at their discretion."
Dr. Knox said that the Executives did not shrink from
any investigation, and spoke of the pleasure it would give
them to afford the investigators every facility in making
searches.
After a time of unhallowed confusion, during which "Great
is Diana of the Ephesians" was the prominent idea, the Pre-
sident "appeased the people," and, with violent voting, the
Resolution was put and carried, and the Chair ordered to
36
422 • THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY.
appoint a Committee of Investigation. The President then
appointed a Committee of fifteen of his own friends, and added
his congratulations to the Tract Society on their triumph
over their Enemies. A prayer and benediction "closed the
exercises" for the year 1856.
At the meeting of the Society on the 13th of May, 1857,
the "Committee of Investigation" above referred to, sub-
mitted their Report, which patched up the difficulty with a
" harmonious result," on this wise :—
"Resolved, That, in the judgment of your Committee, the political
aspects of Slavery lie entirely without the proper sphere of this Society,
and cannot be discussed in its publications ; but that those moral
duties which grow out of the existence of Slavery, as well as those
moral evils and vices which it is known to promote, and which are
condemned in Scripture, and so much deplored by evangelical Chris-
tians, undoubtedly do fall within the province of this Society, and
can and ought to be discussed in a fraternal and Christian spirit.
"Resolved, That whatever considerations in the past may have
seemed to recommend to the Publishing Committee the course
pursued in its revision of certain works, yet, in the future publication
of Books and Tracts, no alteration or omission of the sentiments of any
author should be made; but works not adapted to the design of the So-
ciety in their original form, or by a regular impartial abridgment, should
be wholly omitted."
This only muddled the matter more and more. The men
who used "great plainness of speech" went away from the
Pro-Slavery concern, and took measures for the revival of
another "American Tract Society," whose operations had been
merged for some years in this one, and which should not be
afraid to teach the truth concerning the "sum of all villanies."
The American Bible Society. — This Society dare not
give a Bible to any one in the Slave States who has a drop
of " colored" blood in his veins. They denounce — like their
brothers of the Tract House — the " Bulls" of the Pope of
Home, and the laws of the papal countries which limit or
prevent the circulation of the Protestant version of the Bible,
THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 423
while they are "dumb" — "as upright as a palm-tree, but
speak not" — iu regard to the laws of the Slaveholding States,
which do the same thing in a hundred-fold worse form !
The Slave-power is felt, dreaded, and obeyed in the Pulpit,
the Counting-house, the Office, the Workshop, the Political
caucus, in the " Boards" of the benevolent and religious so-
cieties. Its pressure, like that of the atmosphere, is uni-
versal and unremitting, although habit may often render the
people unconscious of its weight. For proof, see the "last
Report" of the New York City Female Auxiliary Bible So-
ciety. This document,, although containing not the most
distant allusiou to the American Moloch, was evidently written
under fear of the demon. Speaking of the need of a wider
diffusion of the Scriptures, the ladies assert, " of the 6,000,000
of families in the United States it is thought that one million
is without the Bible." Do the ladies, in proof of the accu-
racy of their estimate, refer us to the millions of native-born
" colored" Americans, who are by law prevented from reading
the Bible ? Ah, no ! They dare not thus call attention to the
abominations of Slavery ; and, as if in terror at having excited
a train of reflections which might possibly cause the Slaves
to be remembered, they seek with trembling hand to direct
the attention of the reader to a different class, for they add,
in the same sentence, " and of the millions of emigrants who
land on our shores, nearly all are destitute of the sacred volume."
Thus adroitly is the American reader's commiseration turned
from the millions of his own countrymen, deprived by law of
the means of reading the Bible, and excited for millions of
foreigners, who are at full liberty to read it if they please.
The ladies ask, " What lever but the powerful Word can
raise the prostrate masses of humanity V y The very question
is virtually a declaration that the Bible is the only " lever"
by which the "prostrate masses of humanity" can be raised.
Now, what masses of humanity, let us ask these ladies, are
424 THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY.
more "prostrate" than the 4,500,000 of their own country-
men, deprived of marriage, robbed of every personal, do-
mestic, and civil right, and sold in the Market, parents and
children, like and with the beasts of the field? Yet, for
these " prostrate masses," the ladies of the Bible Society
bestow not one thought, utter not one word of sympathy, but
they call the reader's attention to the " emigrants who land
on our shores I" Could " Christian women" have manifested
such heartlessness on such a subject, except through fear of
the Demon?
A few weeks only before the ladies of the Bible Society
assembled, a " sister/' Mrs. Douglas, had been discharged
from the gaol at Norfolk, Virginia, in which she had been for
a month, in pursuance of a judicial sentence,, for the "crime"
of having taught a few children of "free" colored parents to
read. Mrs. Douglas, speaking of the cruel: treatment she
received for teaching these poor children, all of them native-
born Americans, says : —
"I used no books but the Bible, and those which illustrated it."
And what "greeting" did the ladies of the New York
Auxiliary Bible Society send to their sister who had thus
suffered for applying " the only lever that can raise the pros-
trate masses of humanity "? Greeting ! why, the Demon forbid
the Christians of the " free States" to notice the case.
The ladies of the New York Auxiliary Bible Society are
"free" to eulogize the Parent Society, and this they do "in
the fear of God." Hear them : —
''With a wide sweep, the American Bible Society passes over the
zvhole field of benevolence, allying itself with all forms of Christian
philanthrophy, and cooperating with all who ' look for the recom-
pense of the reward.' "
If the effort to "raise the prostrate masses of humanity"
in one-half of the States of the Union be indeed one form
THE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION. 425
of " Christian philanthropy/' it is to be regretted that the
ladies did not point out the mode in which the Society had
allied itself to that form.
The American Sunday-School Union. — This Asso-
ciation, when it once, by accident, happened to reprint an
English Anti-Slavery tract, called "Jacob and his Sons; or,
The Second Part of a Conversation between Mary and her
Mother/' which they had in their depot for twenty years, it
happened that a few copies of it were sent South, and it was
discovered by a Slaveholder, in Georgia, capable of scenting
danger afar off, that a certain passage in " Jacob and his
Sons" was discourteous toward the " peculiar Institution."
The whole South was instantly aroused. Newspaper editors
and leading men, in Church and State, were vociferous in their
denunciations of the Sunday-School Union, and demanded the
instant suppression of the obnoxious book. A Vice-President
of the Union, himself the owner of a large slave-plantation
in South Carolina, pointed out the objectionable passage to
the Committee of Publication, who, after an examination of
the "odious sentences," acknowledged the impropriety of their
maintaining a place in one of the books of the Union. The
Committee then discovered that " Jacob and his Sons" had
other defects, and obsequiously voted to have the book dis-
continued in the catalogue of the bftoks of the American
Sunday-School Union. And they printed a " Minute of the
Committee," explanatory of their action, and caused it to be
widely circulated in all the Slaveholding States, to propitiate
their Masters. In the " Minute" it is said : — ■
"It" (Jacob and his Sons) "purports to be a description of the
condition of Slaves, and though just and true when applied to some
countries, was regarded as neither just nor true when applied to ours ;
this was the only exception taken to the passage, namely: that it
was not true, in fact, if taken — as it naturally would be — to describe
the condition of Slaves in the United States, and must, of course,
make a wrong impression on the mind of the reader."
36*
426 THE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION.
Such was the apology offered by the American Sunday-
School Union to the traffickers in the bodies and souls of
4,500,000 of their fellow-men, all of them native-born Ameri-
cans ! The effect of this " Minute" was instantaneous. The
Slaveholders were " appeased/' and again took the Union
into favor. The South Carolina Auxiliary Society lost no
time in issuing a " Card/' in which they said, "The Parent
Society has given the most substantial evidence of its dispo-
sition to circulate and publish no work that is exceptionable
in its character and spirit to the people of the Southern
half of our glorious Republic."
The reader will doubtless have a curiosity to see the pass-
age which was so seriously objected to. Here it is in full: —
"What is a Slave, mother?" asked Mary; "Is it a Servant?"
"Yes," replied her mother, "Slaves are Servants, for they work for
their Masters, and wait on them; but they are not hired Servants,
but are bought and sold like beasts, and have nothing but what their
Masters choose to give them. They are obliged to work very hard,
and sometimes their Masters use them cruelly, beat them, and
starve them, and kill them; for they have nobody to help them.
Sometimes they are chained together and driven about like beasts."
"Poor things !" said Mary ; "but why do they not leave their Mas-
ters when they use them ill ? The other day Margaret left you,
mother, because she was tired of living here, though you never
treated her unkindly; I wonder that the Slaves stay with their
Masters, who are not kind to them." "They do not like to be
Slaves," answered her Mother; "but they are not permitted to
leave their Masters whenever they wish. Servants are paid for
working for their Masters and Mistresses; and, if they do not like
to stay, they may go and live somewhere else. But the poor, un-
happy Slaves are obliged to stay with their Master as long as he
chooses to keep them. And if the Master is tired of his Slaves,
then he may sell them to another if he wishes."
"This is a rebellious people, lying children, chil-
dren THAT WILL NOT HEAR THE LAW OF THE LORD;
which say to the seers, see not, and to the
prophets, Prophesy not unto us right
things, speak unto us smooth things,
PROPHESY DECEITS." Isa. XXX. 10.
ntwnyi, WU.
And now, in the eighteen hundred and sixty-fourth year
of the Christ who came from heaven to die for the oppressed
and, the slave, and to redeem mankind with an universal re-
demption, into a common brotherhood of light and liberty,
— the Slave power has done great things. Not contented
with occupying its original bounds, it clamored for greater
extension of territory. It shook its fist in the face of the
nation, crying, " Give us all we a»k for, or we will dissolve
the Union!" It tried to get the nation into the same posi-
tion that it got the negro into, — namely, trampled under foot.
It howled about its wrongs, and clamored for its imaginary
rights. Its wrongs were that it could not have its own way;
its rights, to be soundly flogged into obedient submission to
the law of the land, which for three-quarters of a century
k had insulted and defied.
And so it rebelled. It waged war on the power which
had nursed, and hugged, and protected it. It took the
responsibility of trying to destroy the nation. The nation
took the responsibility of defending itself, even at the risk of
offending, and perchance destroying, its old pet and master.
And the black man "marches on!" No longer is his
equality with his fairer-skinned brother only in the jail and
upon the gallows. He is a soldier! The nation which for
generations put its foot upon his neck and trampled him
427
i 2 8 • POSTSCRIPT, 1864.
in the dust ; which bound him with chains and scourged
him with bloody thongs ; which robbed him of his man-
hood, and pursued him with bloodhounds when, a fugitive,
he tried to regain it ; which set upon him fiends to whose
savage nature the bloodhounds were angels of light ; — that
nation now comes to the poor, bleeding slave, and says,
"We are in trouble. Come and fight our battles for us.
Perhaps we will give you your liberty, — perhap not. At
worst, your bondage will be no harder tlian it was before."
The contest rages ! Not a family in the land but is
mourning son, brother, father, or friends, sacrificed on the
bloody altar of the "Slave power. Streams of blood have
flowed in defence of liberty. More will yet be shed!
Thousands of-millions of dollars have been spent in the
bloody business. Thousands of millions may yet be called
for, and will freely come. Is it to stop ? Is smiling peace
to revisit this blood-stained land, and to crown it with pros-
perous happiness? Not" till this matter is settled. The
terrible work has gone too far to stop now. Slavery is
not dead yet. It is pretending to be dead, only that it
may be let alone -and rise again to do mischief. It has
had hard knocks, and is half dead. It would be madness
not to kill the surviving half. We want peace, but not
peace that will last only till our children shall grow up to
partake of a legacy of blood and an inheritance of curses. *
Slavery has throttled the Union! Let Slavery die ! Slavery
has made the Rebellion, and filled myriads of graves. Let it
be put where it can never more rebel. Let it be placed be-
yond the Dower of ever filling another grave except its own!
%tX Sixers Bit
PARTICULAR INDEX.
Abolitionists, to be lynched, 32.
to be thrashed, 368.
Abraham's 318 armed " niggers," 55.
Accomplished " Lady's Maid" for
sale, 126.
Adams, Rev. Nehemiah, D.D., 68,
212, 323.
Advance of Slavery, 89.
Aiken, William, his "property," 262.
Amalgamation, 251.
America not "civilized," 220.
American Bible Society, 422.
American Sunday-School Union,425.
American Tract Society, 417.
Arrest of Free-men, 296.
Assassination, 231.
• Astonishing ingratitude of Slaves,
277.
"Auburn -haired" runaway, 317.
Auction sales of slaves, 143, 186.
Barbarians, 243.
Barnes, Rev. Albert, 9, 117.
Baptist Association, Charleston, 81.
Beaten to death, 191.
" Beautiful nigaer," 281.
Beecher, Rev. H. W., 97, 133, 384.
Bible, only for white people, 255.
Bigamy compulsory, 83.
Black lambs, 258.
Blacksmiths, coopers, and carpenters
at auction, 180.
• Black soldiers, 12.
Bleaching black people, 252, 280, 296,
300.
Bloodhounds, 293, 311, 320, 326,
339, 343, 349.
Blood-stained cow-hide, 297.
Bloodthirsty Christianity, 72.
Booksellers banished from Mobile,
249.
Border ruffians, 360.
Border-ruffian laws, 362.
Boy, ten years old, hung, 227.
Bottomless pit, 86.
Brady, schoolmaster, lynched, 186,
242.
Branded forehead, 342.
Brantley, Rev. W. T., 85.
Brownlow, "Parson," 330.
Brooks, "Bully," 3G7.
Buchanan, J., 91, 109, 241.
Buford's men — Kansas, 359.
Bull, John, D.I)., not "nervous," 76.
Burning alive, 216.
Burns, Anthony, excommunicated,
298.
Bushnell's letter on Slave-Trade, 413.
Byberry kidnapping case, 286.
"Call" for a "runaway preacher,"
346.
Capheart, the torturer, 193, 220.
"Capital must own labor," 33.
Captain James Smith, slave-trader,
407.
Carnal weapons, 369. ,
Carpenter for sale, 27.
Carpet Tads, to keep the "cursed
sons of Ham" quiet, 409.
Character of society South, 186.
Cheating a "nigger," 147.
Cheever, Rev. G. B., D.D., 91, 96,
101, 270, 312, 350.
Chicago Fugitive Case, 322.
Children "in lots to suit purchasers,"
121.
Children killed by their mother, 309.
Chopped to bits and burned, 199.
Christiana Fugitive Case, 283.
Christian thrown into a slave-pen, 80.
Church property in slaves, 79.
Cincinnati Platform, 112.
Clay, Cassius M., 240.
Cleveland lecture committee, 71.
Coffle-gang, 159.
Cold-blooded selfishness, 219.
Compromise, 128.
Missouri, 132.
Corporation fines on free negroes,
296.
Correction, deserved or not, 253.
Cowhiding on the Sabbath, 211.
Crispus Attucks, 13.
Crummel, Alexander, 383.
Cuba, 103, 353.
Cursed be Canaan ! 60.
Cushing, Caleb, his letter, 95.
429
430
INDEX.
Dahomey, King of, 114
Dancing, a sin, 261.
"Dead nigger" sold, 177.
Death to Abolitionists, 27, 360.
Decrepit niggers, $15 and $30, 150.
Degradation of female slaves, 149.
Delaware, Ohio, Fugitive Case, 307.
Democratic Postmaster Circular, 39.
Dickey, Rev. J. H., 161.
Dickinson, Warren, Hill & Co., 156.
Dissolution of the Uuion threatened,
108.
Dog testimony, 225.
Domestic and foreign slave-trade,
407.
Double game of Franklin Pierce, 356.
Dough-face, 393.
Dough-face religion, 417.
Douglas, Mrs., put in jail, 255.
Downs, S. W., outrageous propo-
sition, 43.
Editorial prospects, 213.
Empty*negro stomachs, 190, 213.
Evangelical kidnappers. 69.
Exaggeration, not at all, 144.
Excommunication of Anthony Burns
for running away, 298.
Faulkxer, C. J., speech, 37.
Fears of slave insurrections, 299.
Field parturition, 227.
Fillmore, Millard, 94, 241.
Five " niggers" = three freemen, 22.
"Foreign heathen," 269, 275.
Foreign slave-trade, 407.
Four hundred stripes on the back,
198.
Free negroes, 53, 244.
Freeman, Bishop, on "the sun behind
a cloud," 255.
Fremont, J. C, candidate, 107.
"Fried Dog," 218.
Frozen to death, 189.
Fugitive funeral, 304.
Fugitives in Canada, 294.
Fugitive Slave Law, 68, 91, 128.
Furman, Bev. Dr., his estate, 82.
Garrison, William Lloyd, 374.
Gentlemen, work marked out for, 368.
Germans enslaved, 207, 347.
Getting rid of the minister, 33.
Giddings, Hon. J. R„ 126, 131, 136.
Girl sold "for want of use," 127.
Government promises violated, 10.
" Grand nigger hunt," 290.
Graniteville ignorance, 26.
"Gratifying condition" of slave-
market, 176.
Ham and his family, 60.
Hand-saw flogging, 217.
"Handsome piece of furniture," 153.
Hard masters, 200.
Harrisburg kidnapping case, 2S7.
Haxall & Brother, Richmond, Va.,
192.
Henry, Patrick, 92.
Herbert kills his " German nigger,"
207.
Hill's auction-rooms, 142.
Hopkins, Bishop, his book, 65.
House of Bishops, 259.
How, Rev. S. B.; funny exposition
of tenth commandment, 75.
Human flesh at auction, 125, 130.
Humbugging poor "niggers," 253.
Hypocrisy, 60, 119, 253, 270.
Ignorance a political necessity, 233,
235.
Illinois, negro laws of, 389.
Imprisonment of black sailors, 16.
"Incendiary" literature burnt, 249.
"Infidel love of freedom," 299.
"Infidels," 267.
Ingraham, E. D., 283.
Irenseus Prime, 332.
Isabella the Spaniard, 353.
Jackson, Andrew, on negro soldiers,
17.
Jefferson's prediction, 19.
"infidelity," 72, 123.
opinion of slavery, 265.
Jeremiah the prophet, 101, 120, 306.
Joe Shieaway's "warm jacket," 192.
"Jobbing" negroes out, 79.
Johnson and wife, escaped, 281.
Journal of Commerce apologizes for
Brooks and Keitt, 370.
Judicious Trimmer, Rev., D.D., 397.
Junkin, Rev. George, D.D., 70.
Kansas affairs, 358-366.
Kerr, Rev. Leander; ruffian speech,
75. \
Kidnappers, 286, 311.
King of Dahomey, 114.
Knowledge is gunpowder, 234.
Lame negro runaway, 330.
Latter-Day Saints, 112.
Laws of Ohio trampled on, 309.
Lecompton, 365.
INDEX.
431
Lord, Reverend Nathan,D.D., LL.D.,
59.
Madison, James, 92.
Marks of the lash, 194.
Marriage denied to slaves, 57, 195.
Marrying "by the blanket," 215.
Marshall, Hon. Thomas, on slavery,
51.
Maryland slave markets, 124.
McDowell, J., speech, 87.
Meade, Bishop, on "servants," 252.
Men and women reared for market,
156.
Merciful Safety-valve, 48.
Methodist missionary work, 246.
Minister ducked in Kentucky, 316.
Mobile book-burning, 249.
Morrill, Senator, speech, 10.
Mormons, 111.
Moses a radical Abolitionist, 67.
"Mules, hogs, and niggers," 180.
Munificent bequests, 190.
Murder of " Caroline," 198.
of a slave mother, 222.
Muscogee Herald, sick, 31.
Mutilation and murder, 219.
Nakedness and hunger, 190, 212,
221.
Negro burial in Boston and New
Haven, 382.
Negroes must be contented, 254.
Negro habitations, 213.
Negro religion, 233.
Negro slavery not Bible slavery, 56,
74.
Negro soldiers' bones, 14.
Nelson, Rev. C. K., 78, 257.
New England rum, 178.
New Orleans morals, 230.
New York slave-trade, 408-411.
Nicaragua "mission," 115.
"Nigger Dave;" his execution, 216.
"Nijrger in the river!" 336.
Northern submission, 372.
Not allowed to " mind the baby," 223.
Observing the Sabbath, 221.
Officious Missourians, 328.
One hundred lashes, 218.
Oncsimus, 65.
Ostend Correspondence, 354.
Paddling a "niscger," 191.
Park Street Church, Boston, 381.
Passports not granted to free negroes,
390.
Pastor wanted, 7-6.
Patterson, his fingers and teeth,
308.
Paulding, Hon. J. K. 159.
Penalty for teaching negroes, 246.
Phillips, Wendell, letter, 400.
Pickens, his speech, 34.
Pierce, Franklin, 91, 208, 241, 297,
353.
Pinckney, Charles, testimony, 15.
Plumer, Rev. W. S., D.D., 72.
Plymouth Church, 133.
Polk. Right Reverend Leonidas, 56,
277.
his crop of black babes, 258.
Pontius Pilate, 103.
Poor white folks, 239.
Possum-fat for "black lambs," 258.
Predestinated piracy, 60.
Prejudice and persecution, 9.
Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky,
54, 58, 163, 204.
Pro-slavery piety, 66.
Publicans and sinners, 267.
Pullam's blood, 317.
" Putrid carcass," 264.
Quakers, 1C0.
Qualifications of slaveholding legis-
lator, 21.
Queer-colored "niggers," 55.
Randolph, John, 103, 200.
Raced to death, 189.
Railroad "niggers," 209.
Reverend cowhider, 210.
Religious liberty (so called), 333.
Returning from "church, 210.
Revolutionary soldier thrashed to
death, 229.
Richmond Examiner, 104, 369.
Richmond "nigger" auctions, 140.
"Right of property," 350.
Right Reverend slave-breeders, 259.
Rights in jail and on the gallows, 10,
382.
Robbing a minister, 302.
Runaway "niggers," 277, 295, 297.
Sabbath slave-hunt, 301.
"Sale of land and other property,"
149.
Sale of "niggers" at St. Louis Hotel,
New Orleans, 182.
Sarah, in Mr. Beecher's church, 133.
"Save the Union," 63, 261.
Scarred bodies, 145.
432
INDEX.
"Scribes and Pharisees," 122.
Seminole outrages, 341.
Setting a "nigger" on fire, 204.
Shadrach, keeping an eating-house,
346.
Shannon, Governor, big supper, '208.
Sheriff's sale of men, women, and
children, 176.
"Show your teeth," 144, 153.
Sims Fugitive Case, 381.
Slave auctions, none in Palestine,
74.
after church,Lexington, 167.
Slaveholder "sold" by a runaway,
314.
Slave meetings, 234.
Slave mother hung, 179.
Slave revenge, 222.
Slave suicide, 162, 188, 343.
Slave-trade, domestic and foreign,
407.
Slave trafficking churches, 84.
Slavery better than liberty, 28.
pushing Freedom towards Ca-
nada, 89.
the basis of Democracy, 31.
Sleeping "accommodations" for the
children of Ham, 216.
Smylie, Rev. J., defends ignorance,
77.
Soul bondage, 233.
Soule, Pierre, 355-358.
South Carolina, action of Synod, 263.
brag and bluster, 378.
don't like missionaries, 246.
ignorance, 24, 245.
military disposition, 375.
representation, 22.
slave insurrection in, 314.
weakness in the Revolution,
377.
"South-side" sophistry, 323.
Southern customers, 63, 108.
Southern disgust for "free society,"
29.
"Southern Presbyterian" logic, 245.
Spurious Christianity, 270.
Stole the money, 238.
Stop thief! 59.
" Stow-aways," 282.
Stray "darkies" in Illinois, 329.
Strickland & Go's, book-shop, 248.
Stringfellow, Rev. Thornton, D.D.,
73.
Stroud, Judge, 287.
Stuart, Rev. Moses, D.D., 65.
Stubborn runaway, 337.
Subterranean den, 316.
Sumner, Charles, 97, 157, 367.
Sunday-School Convention, 237.
Swindling the poor Indian, 341.
Sylvia in Canada, 325.
Sympathy for Mrs. Douglas, not
much, 256.
Tampering with the mails, 235, 241.
Taney, Roger, 20.
Texas, annexation, 104.
The "mild" soi*t of slavery 1 , 191.
Theological Seminary "niggers,"
264.
Throat-cutting, 221.
Too white for a "nigger," 327.
Trimmer, Rev. Judicious, D.D., 397.
Tyranny and torture, 188, 291, 297.
Unborn slave infants, valued at
$150,000, 341.
Underground railroad, 282, 290, 307,
320. fc
United States officers, 286.
Vengeance on a poor "nigger,"
206.
Violence and theft, 350.
Virginia now past help from guano,
45.
Virginia, originally fertile, 49.
dilapidated military system, 300.
" leprosy," 44.
slave population, 1 54.
Virginius and his daughter, 279.
Washington an abolitionist, 106.
"Washington's nephew, 12.
Webb, James Watson, 371.
Whipped to death, 204, 219.
White boy turned out of school for
being a "nigger." 388.
"White niggers" advertised and sold,
42, 150.
White runaways, 327, 332, 335, 348.
White slave children, 280.
White trash, 25.
Wilkesbarre Fugitive Case, 284.
Winthrop, Hon.^R. C, 16.
Wise, Henry A.," stump-tailed steer,"
52.
Wives and slaves equal, 66, 226.
Women "thrown upon the market,"
186.
Worked out in six years, 211, 227.
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