American Scenes, and Christian Slavery - Ebenezer Davies
May not these "snags" serve to remind us of certain characters and
circumstances with which we meet on the voyage of life? Who cannot call
to mind many snags--men, rugged, stubborn, and contentious,--snags by
all means to be avoided? D'Israeli was the snag of Peel--Russia was the
snag of Napoleon--Slavery is the snag of the Evangelical Alliance.
On board our steamer was a fine black young man, who acted as barber,
waiter, and man-of-all-work. Curious to know whether he was a slave or
not, I requested my friend from Maine to sound him. "To whom do you
belong?" said the Baptist. "I belong to myself, sir," was the prompt
and dignified reply. "That's right," I involuntarily exclaimed; "he is
free!" In answer to further questions, he told us that he was from New
Orleans, and had bought himself about two years before for 600 dollars.
He could therefore truly say, "I belong to myself, sir!" Oh! that every
slave in America could say the same! But how monstrous, that a man
should have to pay to one of his fellow-men upwards of 120_l._ sterling
in order to "own himself!" Land of liberty, forsooth!
In the evening we reached Vicksburg. This place, like nearly all other
places in this region, is deeply stained with deeds of violence and
blood. A few years ago, a set of thieves and gamblers were here put to
death by Lynch law. "Gentlemen of property and standing laughed the law
(the constitutional law) to scorn, rushed to the gamblers' house, put
ropes round their necks, dragged them through the streets, hanged them
in the public square, and thus saved the sum they had not yet paid.
Thousands witnessed this wholesale murder; yet of the scores of legal
officers present, not a soul raised a finger to prevent it: the whole
city consented to it, and thus aided and abetted it. How many hundreds
of them helped to commit the murders with their own hands does not
appear; but not one of them has been indicted for it, and no one made
the least effort to bring them to trial. Thus, up to the present hour,
the blood of those murdered men rests on that whole city; and it will
continue to be a CITY OF MURDERERS so long as its citizens agree
together to shield those felons from punishment."
Darkness had covered the city of blood when we arrived, and therefore
we could not see it. One of the passengers, in stepping on a plank to
go ashore, fell into the water. It was a frightful sight to see the
dark figure of a fellow-man splattering and holloing in so perilous a
position. Seldom can a person be saved who falls into the Mississippi,
so rapid is the current; and, moreover, the banks are so steep that,
though he be a good swimmer, he cannot get up. The knowledge of these
facts generally destroys in the person who falls in all hope and
self-command. Fortunately, however, in the present instance a rope was
instantly thrown out, and the individual was saved. He assured us,
afterwards, that some one had designedly pushed him from the plank into
the water.
On the 13th of February we breasted a small settlement on our left,
called Providence, in Louisiana. We observed on the river's bank what a
man at my elbow (a professor of religion, who had discovered a great
propensity to talk about his religious experience before gamblers)
coolly designated "a drove of horses, mules, and niggers." Observe the
order of his enumeration! Of the "niggers" there were about 100, small
and great, young and old, and of both sexes. The whole "drove" were
waiting to be shipped for the New Orleans market, and were jealously
guarded by several large dogs. From individual instances like this, one
may form a clearer notion of the internal slave-trade of America.
Thousands every year are thus brought down the Mississippi to supply
the Natchez and New Orleans markets. "Those who are transported down
the Mississippi," says a manual of American slavery, "are stowed away
on the decks of steam-boats, males and females, old and young, usually
chained, subject to the jeers and taunts of the passengers and
navigators, and often by bribes or threats, or by the lash, made
subject to abominations not to be named." On the same deck, you may see
horses and human beings tenants of the same apartments, and going to
supply the same market. The _dumb_ beasts, being less manageable, are
allowed the first place; while the _human_ are forced into spare
corners and vacant places. My informant saw one trader who was taking
down to New Orleans 100 horses, some sheep, and between fifty and sixty
slaves. The sheep and the slaves occupied the same deck. Many
interesting and intelligent women were of the number. I could relate
facts concerning the brutal treatment of these defenceless females,
while on the downward passage, which would kindle the hot indignation
of every mother, and daughter, and sister in Old England. The slaves
are carried down in companies, varying in number from 20 to 500. Men of
considerable capital are engaged in the traffic. Go into the principal
towns on the Mississippi, and you will find these negro traders in the
bar-rooms boasting of their adroitness in driving human flesh, and
describing the process by which they succeed in "_taming down_ the
spirit of a _refractory_ negro." Here, then, were human beings,
children of our common Father, bone of our bone, and flesh of our
flesh, classed with the brutes that perish,--nay, degraded below them,
and placed under the surveillance of dogs. The horrors of such a system
it is impossible to exaggerate.
The majority of our fellow-passengers did nothing but gamble, eat,
drink, smoke, and spit, from morning till night. In the afternoon a
dispute arose between two of them about ten dollars, which the one
maintained he had won from the other. One of the two quickly drew out
his Bowie knife, and would certainly have stabbed the other but for the
intervention of the boat's officers. When the whites have so little
hesitation in shedding each other's blood, we cannot be surprised at
the indifference with which negro life is put an end to. "A rencontre
took place last week," says the _New Orleans Delta_, "between the
overseer of Mr. A. Collins (a planter in our vicinity) and one of the
negroes. It seems the overseer wished to chastise the negro for some
offence, and the negro resisted and struck the overseer with a spade.
The overseer grappled with him, and called some of the negroes to his
assistance; but, perceiving that the negroes were not willing to assist
him, he drew his knife, and stabbed the negro to the heart. A coroner's
inquest has been held, and a verdict given in accordance with the
circumstances, declaring the overseer justifiable."
The 14th of February was Sunday. My Baptist friend, when engaging his
passage, had given the captain a hint that, when the Sabbath came, he
should like to have divine service on board. Nothing, however, was now
said about it. Not, I think, that the officers of the boat would have
disliked it; but, considering the general character of their
passengers, they perhaps thought it would have been only "casting
pearls before swine." One passenger indeed, who _said_ he was a
Congregationalist, expressed to my friend a wish to have worship; but
he was playing at cards every day, and was in other respects no great
credit to Congregationalism. The Baptist assured me that his countrymen
too generally, when they travel, leave their religion behind!
The Baptist related to me an awful story respecting a captain with whom
he had sailed from New England to Guadaloupe, and thence to New
Orleans. This man belonged to my friend's congregation, and professed
to have been "converted" under his ministry. His pastor had frequent
occasion to reprove him for his disregard of the Sabbath at sea. In New
Orleans he engaged to take a cargo of Government stores to Tampico, for
the supply of the army. He had to sign a bond to take in the cargo, and
sail before a certain day, or forfeit the sum of 500 dollars. The
Sabbath came. The pastor was at that time absent, on his visit to
"Elder Wright" before mentioned, on the Red River. An agent of the
"Bethel Union," who was going round to invite seamen to the "Bethel"
worship, invited the said captain and his men. He excused himself and
his crew on the plea that they had no time--were under contract--had
signed a bond--and might forfeit 500 dollars, &c. "What!" said the
agent, "not afford time to attend the worship of God" on his own day!
"No, I really cannot--very sorry--what I have never done before--should
like to go"--was the faltering reply. "Well," replied the agent with
great solemnity, "God will soon call you to account for this." "I know
He will," rejoined the captain with a downcast eye. The interview
ended. The agent proceeded on his pious mission, and the captain to
take in his cargo. The next morning, as he was looking over the side of
the vessel to see how deep she was in the water, he fell overboard. His
body was never found. His watch, which had been left in the cabin, and
a few other personal articles, the pastor was now taking with him to
the afflicted widow and family.
LETTER XIV.
Voyage up the Mississippi (continued)--The Arkansas--Treatment of the
Indians--M. de Tocqueville--"Napoleon" and Lynch Law--Memphis, and its
Advertisements--A Scene witnessed there--The Ohio--Nashville, and Amos
Dresser.
At 4 o'clock P.M. of February the 14th, we reached the mouth of the
Arkansas. This is a noble river, navigable for 2,000 miles! Not twenty
years ago, the remnants of the four great Indian nations of the
southern part of what is now the United States, amounting to about
75,000 souls, were urged to remove to the banks of this river, with an
assurance of an undisturbed and permanent home. These four nations were
the Choctaws, the Chickasaws, the Creeks, and the Cherokees. They were
established upon a territory, which they occupied before the settlement
of any Europeans in their vicinity, and which had been confirmed to
them by solemn treaties again and again. The Anglo-Americans of the
States of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi were however annoyed at
their proximity, because it was unfavourable to the "peculiar
institution" of America. Slaves occasionally made their escape to these
children of the forest, and found sympathy and succour. This would not
do. The Indians must be removed. But how was it to be accomplished?
Annoy them; harass them; wrong them in every possible way, so that they
may be sickened with the place. Georgia, accordingly, first attempted
to establish a division line for the purpose of limiting the boundaries
of the Cherokees. Then, in 1829, the State of Alabama divided the Creek
territory into counties, and subjected the Indian population to the
power of white magistrates. And, in 1830, the State of Mississippi
assimilated the Chocktaws and Chickasaws to the white population, and
declared that any one who should take the title of Chief should be
punished with a fine of 1,000 dollars and a year's imprisonment. Under
these accumulated annoyances, the Cherokees, on the 18th of December,
1829, addressed to Congress the following powerful and touching
appeal:--
"By the will of our Father in heaven, the Governor of the whole world,
the red man of America has become small, and the white man great and
renowned. When the ancestors of the people of the United States first
came to the shores of America, they found the red man strong, though he
was ignorant and savage; yet he received them kindly, and gave them dry
land to rest their weary feet. They met in peace, and shook hands in
token of friendship. Whatever the white man wanted and asked of the
Indian, the latter willingly gave. At that time the Indian was the
lord, and the white man the suppliant. But now the scene has changed.
The strength of the red man has become weakness. As his neighbours
increased in numbers, his power became less and less; and now, of the
many and powerful tribes who once covered the United States, only a few
are to be seen,--a few whom a sweeping pestilence has left. The
northern tribes, who were once so numerous and powerful, are now nearly
extinct. Thus it has happened to the red man of America. Shall we, who
are remnants, share the same fate?"
"Oh, no!" was the response. "Beyond the great river Mississippi," said
the President to them in 1829, "where a part of your nation has gone,
your Father has provided a country large enough for all of you; and he
advises you to remove to it. There your white brothers will not trouble
you: they will have no claim to the land, and you can live upon it, you
and your children, as long as the grass grows or the water runs, in
peace and plenty. _It will be yours for ever_."
With this assurance, many left the land of their birth and the homes of
their childhood, travelled hundreds of miles, crossed the Mississippi,
and settled on the banks of the Arkansas. M. de Tocqueville was
"assured, towards the end of the year 1831, that 10,000 Indians had
already gone to the shores of the Arkansas, and fresh detachments were
constantly following them." Many, however, were unwilling to be thus
expatriated. "The Indians readily discover," says M. de Tocqueville,
"that the settlement which is proposed to them is merely a temporary
expedient. Who can assure them that they will at length be allowed to
dwell in peace in their new retreat? The United States pledge
themselves to the observance of the obligation; but the territory which
they at present occupy was formerly secured to them by the most solemn
oaths of Anglo-American faith. The American Government does not,
indeed, rob them of their land, but it allows perpetual incursions to
be made upon them. In a few years the same white population which now
flocks around them, will track them to the solitudes of the Arkansas:
they will then be exposed to the same evils, without the same remedies;
and as the limits of the earth will at last fail them, their only
refuge is the grave."
The views of this keen French philosopher were prophetic. In vain did I
strain my eyes, as we passed along, to discover any trace of these
Indians. Not one representative of those noble aborigines was to be
seen. In 1836 Arkansas was constituted a State, and admitted into the
Union; and, if you look at a recent map of the United States, you will
see the "location" of these Indians marked, not in the State of
Arkansas at all, but far--far beyond, towards the setting sun, in what
is called the "Western Territory," where, indeed, the river Arkansas
has its source. Nor will ten years pass away before they will be again
disturbed, and pushed further back.
At the mouth of the Arkansas is a village called Napoleon, of which I
received, on authority not to be disputed, the following horrible
account. A few years ago it was the head quarters of lawless and bloody
men. They fabricated base coin, gambled, robbed, murdered. To such a
pitch of wickedness had they arrived, and such a terror were they to
the whole country, that a party of men from Memphis (a city on the
eastern side of the Mississippi, 180 miles up) took the law into their
own hands, armed themselves with deadly weapons, came down, scoured the
country around, caught about fifty of the ringleaders, and put them to
death. Some they shot,--some they hanged,--and some they threw, tied
hand and foot, into the river. Of this dreadful tragedy no judicial
notice was ever taken!
February 15.--I had an attack of intermittent fever, and consequently
saw nothing of the scenery around. At night the fog was so dense that
the officers deemed it prudent to "lie to."
February 16.--At 9 A.M. we were abreast of the city of Memphis, on the
Tennessee side of the river. Higher up there is Cairo. These
slave-holders, who retain their fellow-men in worse than Egyptian
bondage, seem to have a great partiality for Egyptian names. Memphis is
pleasantly situated on high "bluffs," and is a great point for the
shipping of cotton. It does not, however, thrive by _honest_ industry.
I obtained a copy of the _Daily Inquirer_ of that day, where--among
advertisements of pianos, music, bonnets, shawls, &c., for the
ladies--I found the following:--
"ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD.--Ran away from the subscriber, on the 20th
of October last, two Negro Fellows of the following description.--To
wit,--Evan, 25 years of age, about 5 feet 11 inches high, complexion
black, thick bristly beard, low soft voice, and apt to look down when
spoken to; has a large scar on the calf of one of his legs, caused by
the bite of a dog when he was 8 or 10 years old; some of his jaw-teeth
missing or decayed. Ellis, 22 years of age, about 5 feet 11 inches
high; complexion dark mulatto, tinged with Indian blood; beard thin and
light. From information derived from a brother of these boys, who was
caught in Washington County, Miss., it appears they intended to apply
for employment as wood-choppers in the upper part of this State, until
they could raise money enough to dress fine, then set off for the State
of Illinois. It is highly probable they will resort to fictitious
names, for the purpose of baffling pursuit.
"The above reward will be paid to any person confining them in any
jail, so that I can get them again; or fifty dollars for either of
them.
"DUNCAN M'ALPIN."
"SLAVE MARKET.--The subscribers have now, and will continue to keep on
hand throughout the season, a large supply of choice Negroes, suited to
every capacity, which they offer at the lowest market rates. They have
agents abroad engaged in purchasing for them, which enables them to bid
defiance to competition.
"Depot on Adams-street, between Main and Second Streets.
"BOLTON & DICKINS."
"JAILOR'S NOTICE.--Was committed to the jail of Shelby County, on 25th
January, a Negro Boy named Silas. He says he belongs to William Wise,
of Fayette, County Tenne. He is about 30 years old, black complexion,
about 5 feet 11 inches high; weighs about 165 lbs. The owner of said
Negro is requested to come and prove property, and pay charges, or he
will be dealt with according to law.
"E. W. HARREL,
"_Jailor_."
"Feb. 13.--3tW."
In connection with Memphis, M. de Tocqueville narrates the following
touching incident, relative to the expatriation of the Indians, to
which I have already referred. "At the end of the year 1831, while I
was on the left bank of the Mississippi, at a place named by Europeans
Memphis, there arrived a numerous band of Choctaws. These _savages_ [so
his American translator renders it] had left their country, and were
endeavouring to gain the right bank of the Mississippi, where they
hoped to find an asylum which had been promised them by the American
Government. It was the middle of winter, and the cold was unusually
severe: the snow had frozen hard upon the ground, and the river was
drifting huge masses of ice. The Indians had their families with them;
and they brought in their train the wounded and the sick, with children
newly born, and old men upon the verge of death. They possessed neither
tents nor waggons, but only their arms and some provisions. I saw them
embark to pass the mighty river, and never will that solemn spectacle
fade from my remembrance! No cry, no sob was heard among the assembled
crowd: all were silent. Their calamities were of ancient date, and they
knew them to be irremediable. The Indians had all stepped into the bark
that was to carry them across, but their dogs remained upon the bank.
As soon as these animals perceived that their masters were finally
leaving the shore, they set up a dismal howl, and, plunging all
together into the icy waters of the Mississippi, they swam after the
boat." So much for Memphis and its associations!
February 18th, at 5 A.M., we entered the Ohio River, and at 1 P.M. the
mouth of the Tennessee; coming shortly afterwards to Smithland, at the
mouth of the Cumberland River, which runs parallel with the Tennessee,
and communicates directly with Nashville, the capital of that State.
This city also has its association of ideas. I cannot think of it
without at the same time thinking of Amos Dresser. He was a student at
Lane Seminary (Dr. Beecher's), and subsequently a missionary to
Jamaica. In the vacation of 1835 he undertook to sell Bibles in the
State of Tennessee, with a view to raise the means of continuing his
studies for the ministry. Under suspicion of being an Abolitionist, he
was arrested by the "Vigilance Committee" (a Lynch-law institution),
while attending a religious meeting in the neighbourhood of Nashville.
After an afternoon and evening's inquisition, he was condemned to
receive twenty lashes with the cow-hide on his naked body. Between 11
and 12 on Saturday night the sentence was executed upon him, in the
presence of most of the committee, and of an infuriated and blaspheming
mob. The Vigilance Committee consisted of sixty persons. Of these,
twenty-seven were members of churches: one was a religious teacher, and
others were _elders_ of the Presbyterian Church,--one of whom had a few
days before offered Mr. Dresser the bread and wine at the Lord's
Supper. But let Amos Dresser himself describe the scene and the
circumstances.
"I knelt down," says he, "to receive the punishment, which was
inflicted by Mr. Braughton, the city officer, with a HEAVY COW-SKIN.
When the infliction ceased, an involuntary thanksgiving to God, for the
fortitude with which I had been enabled to endure it, arose in my soul,
to which I began aloud to give utterance. The death-like silence that
prevailed for a moment was suddenly broken with loud exclamations,
--'G--d d--n him! Stop his praying!' I was raised to my
feet by Mr. Braughton, and conducted by him to my lodgings, where it
was thought safe for me to remain but a few moments.
"Among my triers was a great portion of the respectability of
Nashville; nearly half of the whole number professors of Christianity,
the reputed stay of the Church, supporters of the cause of benevolence
in the form of tract and missionary societies and Sabbath-schools;
several members and _most_ of the elders of the Presbyterian Church,
from whose hands but a few days before I had received the emblems of
the broken body and shed blood of our blessed Saviour!"
In relating this shameful circumstance, the editor of the _Georgia
Chronicle_, a professor of religion, said that Dresser "should have
been hung up as high as Haman, to rot upon the gibbet until the wind
whistled through his bones. The cry of the whole South should be death,
_instant death_, to the Abolitionist, wherever he is caught." What a
great and free country!
LETTER XV.
Voyage up the Ohio (continued)--Illinois--Evansville--Owensborough
--Indiana--New Albany--Louisville, and its Cruel Histories--The Grave
of President Harrison--Arrival in Cincinnati--First Impressions--The
Congregational Minister--A Welsh Service.
The Ohio, the "beautiful river," is a magnificent stream formed by the
confluence at Pittsburg of the Allegany and Monongahela Rivers, and is
1,008 miles long, constituting the boundary of six States: Ohio,
Indiana, and Illinois on the north,--all free States; and Virginia,
Kentucky, and Tennessee on the south,--all slave States. A trip on this
river, therefore, affords a fine opportunity for observing the contrast
between slavery and freedom.
The Ohio is the great artery through which the inland commerce of the
Eastern States flows into the valley of the Mississippi. In ascending
this river, we had first on our left the State of Illinois. This
territory, which contains an area of 60,000 square miles, was settled
by the French in 1720, and was admitted into the Union in 1818. Its
population in 1810 was 12,300; in 1840, 476,180. It is now, probably,
not far short of 1,000,000!
On the 19th of February, about noon, we arrived at Evansville, on the
Indiana side of the river. This was the prettiest place we had yet
seen; and its charms were enhanced by the assurance that it was free
from the taint of slavery. The rise of this little town has been rapid.
Its population is about 3,000. Three "churches," with their neat and
graceful spires, rising above the other buildings, were conspicuous in
the distance.
At 5 P.M. we passed Owensborough, on the Kentucky side of the river.
This, too, is a neat little town, with a proportionate number of places
of worship. Indeed, on every hand, places of worship appear to rise
simultaneously with the young settlement. The free and efficient
working of the voluntary principle is the glory of America. In
reference to "church" accommodation, it everywhere appears to decided
advantage compared to the most favoured parts of England. On this
subject Dr. Baird's book on Religion in America is very truthful.
The fever left me on entering the Ohio, and returned no more,--a clear
proof that this river is healthier than the Mississippi. The latter has
much fog and malaria, which tell quickly upon a constitution like mine,
already predisposed by residence among the swamps of Guiana to fever
and ague.
As I have already intimated, we had now Indiana, a free State, on our
left. This State is rapidly advancing in wealth and population. It was
settled by the French in 1730, and became an independent State in 1816.
It has an area of 36,840 square miles, being by two-fifths less than
its neighbour Illinois. Its population at the beginning of this century
was only 5,640; in 1840 it was 685,860. It is now above a million! In
1840 it produced upwards of four millions of bushels of wheat, and
twenty-eight millions of corn!