"Ranaway from the plantation of James Surgette, the following negroes,
Randal, _has one ear cropped_; Bob, _has lost one eye_, Kentucky Tom,
_has one jaw broken_."
Mr. Stephen M. Jackson, in the "Vicksburg Register", March 10, 1837.
"Ranaway, Anthony, _one of his ears cut off_, and his left hand cut
with an axe."
Philip Honerton, deputy sheriff of Halifax Co. Virginia, Jan. 1837.
"Was committed, a negro man, has a _scar_ on his right side by a burn,
one on his knee, and one on the calf of his leg _by the bite of a
dog_."
Stearns & Co. No. 28, New Levee, New Orleans, in the "Bee", March 22,
1837.
"Absconded, the mulatto boy Tom, his fingers _scarred_ on his right
hand, and has a _scar_ on his right cheek"
Mr. John W. Walton, Greensboro, Ala. in the "Alabama Beacon", Dec. 13,
1838.
"Ranaway my black boy Frazier, with a _scar_ below and one above his
right ear."
Mr. R. Furman, Charleston, S.C. in the "Charleston Mercury" Jan. 12,
1839.
"Ranaway, Dick, about 19, has lost the small toe of one foot."
Mr. John Tart, Sen. in the "Fayetteville [N.C.] Observer", Dec. 26,
1838
"Stolen a mulatto boy, _ten_ years old, he has a _scar_ over his eye
which was made by an axe."
Mr. Richard Overstreet, Brook Neal, Campbell Co. Virginia, in the
"Danville [Va.] Reporter", Dec. 21, 1838.
"Absconded my negro man Coleman, has a _very large scar_ on one of his
legs, also one on _each_ arm, by a burn, and his heels have been
frosted."
The editor of the New Orleans "Bee" in that paper, August 27, 1837.
"Fifty dollars reward, for the negro Jim Blake--has a _piece cut out
of each ear_, and the middle finger of the left hand _cut off_ to the
second joint."
Mr. Bryant Jonson, Port Valley, Houston county, Georgia, in the
Milledgeville "Union", Oct. 2, 1838.
"Ranaway, a negro woman named Maria--has a scar on one side of her
cheek, by a _cut_--some scars on her back."
Mr. Leonard Miles, Steen's Creek, Rankin county, Mi. in the "Southern
Sun", Sept. 22, 1838
"Ranaway, Gabriel--has _two or three scars across his neck_ made with
a knife."
Mr. Bezou, New Orleans, in the "Bee" May 23, 1838.
"Ranaway, the mulatto wench Mary--has a _cut on the left arm, a scar
on the shoulder, and two upper teeth missing_."
Mr. James Kimborough, Memphis, Tenn. in the "Memphis Enquirer" July
13, 1838.
"Ranaway, a negro boy, named Jerry--has a _scar_ on his right check
two inches long, from the cut of a knife."
Mr. Robert Beasley, Macon, Georgia, in the "Georgia Messenger", July
27, 1837.
"Ranaway, my man Fountain--has _holes in his ears, a scar_ on the
right side of his forehead--has been _shot in the hind parts of his
legs_--is marked on the back with the whip."
Mr. B.G. Barrer, St. Louis, Missouri, in the "Republican", Sept. 6,
1837.
"Ranaway, a negro man named Jarret--_has a scar_ on the under part of
one of his arms, occasioned by a wound from a knife."
Mr. John D. Turner, near Norfolk, Virginia, in the "Norfolk Herald",
June 27, 1838.
"Ranaway, a negro by the name of Joshua--he has a cut across one of
his ears, which he will conceal as much as possible--one of his
ankles is _enlarged by an ulcer_."
Mr. William Stansell, Picksville, Ala. in the "Huntsville Democrat",
August 29, 1837.
"Ranaway, negro boy Harper--has a scar on one of his hips in the form
of a G."
Hon. Ambrose H. Sevier Senator, in Congress, from Arkansas in the
"Vicksburg Register", of Oct. 18.
"Ranaway, Bob, a slave--has a _scar across his breast_, another on the
_right side of his head_--his back is _much scarred_ with the whip."
Mr. R.A. Greene, Milledgeville, Georgia, in the "Macon Messenger" July
27, 1837.
"Two hundred and fifty dollars reward, for my negro man Jim--he is
much marked with _shot_ in his right thigh,--the shot entered on the
outside, half way between the hip and knee joints."
Benjamin Russel, deputy sheriff, Bibb county, Ga. in the "Macon
Telegraph", December 25, 1837.
"Brought to jail, John--_left ear cropt_."
Hon. H Hitchcock, Mobile, judge of the Supreme Court, in the
"Commercial Register", Oct. 27, 1837.
"Ranaway, the slave Ellis--he has _lost one of his ears_."
Mrs. Elizabeth L. Carter, near Groveton, Prince William county,
Virginia, in the "National Intelligencer", Washington, D.C. June 10,
1837.
"Ranaway, a negro man, Moses--he has _lost a part_ of one of his
ears."
Mr. William D. Buckels, Natchez, Mi. in the "Natchez Courier," July
28, 1838.
"Taken up, a negro man--is _very much scarred_ about the face and
body, and has the left _ear bit off_."
Mr. Walter R. English, Monroe county, Ala. in the "Mobile Chronicle,"
Sept. 2, 1837.
"Ranaway, my slave Lewis--he has lost a _piece of one ear_, and a
_part of one of his fingers_, a _part of one of his toes_ is also
lost."
Mr. James Saunders, Grany Spring, Hawkins county, Tenn. in the
"Knoxville Register," June 6, 1838.
"Ranaway, a black girl named Mary--has a _scar_ on her cheek, and the
end of one of her toes _cut off_."
Mr. John Jenkins, St Joseph's, Florida, captain of the steamboat
Ellen, "Apalachicola Gazette," June 7, 1838.
"Ranaway, the negro boy Caesar--he has _but one eye_."
Mr. Peter Hanson, Lafayette city, La., in the New Orleans "Bee," July
28, 1838.
"Ranaway, the negress Martha--she has _lost her right eye_."
Mr. Orren Ellis, Georgeville, Mi. in the "North Alabamian," Sept. 15,
1837.
"Ranaway, George--has had the lower part of _one of his ears bit
off_."
Mr. Zadock Sawyer, Cuthbert, Randolph county, Georgia, in the
"Milledgeville Union," Oct. 9, 1838.
"Ranaway, my negro Tom--has a piece _bit off the top of his right
ear_, and his little finger is _stiff_."
Mr. Abraham Gray, Mount Morino, Pike county, Ga. in the "Milledgeville
Union," Oct. 9, 1838.
"Ranaway, my mulatto woman Judy--she has had her _right arm broke_."
S.B. Tuston, jailer, Adams county, Mi. in the "Natchez Courier," June
15, 1838.
"Was committed to jail, a negro man named Bill--has had the _thumb of
his left hand split_."
Mr. Joshua Antrim, Nineveh, Warren county, Virginia, in the
"Winchester Virginian," July 11, 1837.
"Ranaway, a mulatto man named Joe--his fingers on the left hand are
_partly amputated_."
J.B. Randall, jailor, Marietta, Cobb county, Ga., in the "Southern
Recorder;" Nov. 6, 1838.
"Lodged in jail, a negro man named Jupiter--is very _lame in his left
hip_, so that he can hardly walk--has lost a joint of the middle
finger of his left hand."
Mr. John N. Dillahunty, Woodville, Mi., in the "N.O. Commercial
Bulletin," July 21, 1837.
"Ranaway, Bill--has a scar over one eye, also one on his leg, from
_the bite of a dog_--has a _burn on his buttock, from a piece of hot
iron in shape of a T_."
William K. Ratcliffe, sheriff, Franklin county, Mi. in the "Natchez
Free Trader," August 23, 1838.
"Committed to jail, a negro named Mike--_his left ear off_"
Mr. Preston Halley, Barnwell, South Carolina, in the "Augusta [Ga.]
Chronicle," July 27, 1838.
"Ranaway, my negro man Levi--his left hand has been _burnt_, and I
think the end of his fore finger _is off_."
Mr. Welcome H. Robbins, St. Charles county, Mo. in the "St. Louis
Republican," June 30, 1838.
"Ranaway, a negro named Washington--has _lost a part of his middle
finger and the end of his little finger_."
G. Gourdon & Co. druggists, corner of Rampart and Hospital streets,
New Orleans, in the "Commercial Bulletin," Sept. 18, 1838.
"Ranaway, a negro named David Drier--has _two toes cut_."
Mr. William Brown, in the "Grand Gulf Advertiser," August 29, 1838.
"Ranaway, Edmund--has a _scar_ on his right temple, and under his
right eye, and _holes in both ears_."
Mr. James McDonnell, Talbot county, Georgia, in the "Columbus
Enquirer," Jan. 18, 1838.
"Runaway, a negro boy _twelve or thirteen_ years old--has a scar on
his left cheek _from the bite of a dog_."
Mr. John W. Cherry, Marengo county, Ala. in the "Mobile Register,"
June 15, 1838.
"Fifty dollars reward, for my negro man John--he has a considerable
scar on his _throat_, done with a _knife_."
Mr. Thos. Brown, Roane co. Tenn. in the "Knoxville Register," Sept 12,
1838.
"Twenty-five dollars reward, for my man John--the _tip_ of his nose is
_bit off_."
Messrs. Taylor, Lawton & Co., Charleston, South Carolina, in the
"Mercury," Nov. 1838.
"Ranaway, a negro fellow called Hover--has a _cut_ above the right
eye."
Mr. Louis Schmidt, Faubourg, Sivaudais, La. in the New Orleans "Bee,"
Sept. 5, 1837.
"Ranaway, the negro man Hardy--has a _scar_ on the upper lip, and
another made with a _knife_ on his neck."
W.M. Whitehead, Natchez, in the "New Orleans Bulletin," July 21,
1837.
"Ranaway, Henry--has half of one _ear bit off_."
Mr. Conrad Salvo, Charleston, South Carolina, in the "Mercury," August
10, 1837.
"Ranaway, my negro man Jacob--he has but _one eye_."
William Baker, jailer, Shelby county, Ala., in the "Montgomery (Ala.)
Advertiser," Oct. 5, 1838.
"Committed to jail, Ben--his _left thumb off_ at the first joint."
Mr. S.N. Hite, Camp street, New Orleans, in the "Bee," Feb. 19, 1838.
"Twenty-five dollars reward for the negro slave Sally--walks as though
_crippled_ in the back."
Mr. Stephen M. Richards, Whitesburg, Madison county, Alabama, in the
"Huntsville Democrat," Sept 8, 1838.
"Ranaway, a negro man named Dick--has a _little finger off_ the right
hand."
Mr. A. Brose, parish of St. Charles, La. in the "New Orleans Bee,"
Feb. 19, 1838.
"Ranaway, the negro Patrick--has his little finger of the right hand
_cut close to the hand_."
Mr. Needham Whitefield, Aberdeen, Mi. in the "Memphis (Tenn.)
Enquirer," June 15, 1838.
"Ranaway, Joe Dennis--has a small _notch_ in one of his ears."
Col. M.J. Keith, Charleston, South Carolina, in the "Mercury," Nov.
27, 1837.
"Ranaway, Dick--has _lost the little toe_ of one of his feet."
Mr. R. Faucette, Haywood, North Carolina, in the "Raleigh Register,"
April 30, 1838.
"Escaped, my negro man Eaton--his _little finger_ of the right hand
has been _broke_."
Mr. G.C. Richardson, Owen Station, Mo., in the St. Louis "Republican,"
May 5, 1838.
"Ranaway, my negro man named Top--has had one of his _legs broken_."
Mr. E. Han, La Grange, Fayette county, Tenn. in the Gallatin "Union,"
June 23, 1837.
"Ranaway, negro boy Jack--has a small _crop out of his left ear_."
D. Herring, warden of Baltimore city jail, in the "Marylander," Oct 6,
1837.
"Was committed to jail, a negro man--has _two scars_ on his forehead,
and the _top of his left ear cut off_."
Mr. James Marks, near Natchitoches, La. in the "Natchitoches Herald,"
July 21, 1838.
"Stolen, a negro man named Winter--has a _notch_ cut out of the left
ear, and the mark of _four or five buck shot_ on his legs."
Mr. James Barr, Amelia Court House, Virginia, in the "Norfolk Herald,"
Sept. 12, 1838.
"Ranaway, a negro man--_scar back of his left eye_, as if from the
_cut_ of a knife."
Mr. Isaac Michell, Wilkinson county, Georgia, in the "Augusta
Chronicle," Sept 21, 1837.
"Ranaway, negro man Buck--has a very _plain mark_ under his ear on his
jaw, about the size of a dollar, having been _inflicted by a knife._"
Mr. P. Bayhi, captain of the police, Suburb Washington, third
municipality, New Orleans, in the "Bee," Oct. 13, 1837.
"Detained at the jail, the negro boy Hermon--has a scar below his left
ear, from the _wound of a knife_."
Mr. Willie Paterson, Clinton, Jones county, Ga. in the "Darien
Telegraph," Dec. 5, 1837.
"Ranaway, a negro man by the name of John--he has a _scar_ across his
cheek, and one on his right arm, apparently done with a _knife_."
Mr. Samuel Ragland, Triana, Madison county, Alabama, in the
"Huntsville Advocate," Dec. 23, 1837.
"Ranaway, Isham--has a _scar_ upon the breast and upon the under lip,
from the _bite of a dog_."
Mr. Moses E. Bush, near Clayton, Ala. in the "Columbus (Ga.)
Enquirer," July 5, 1838.
"Ranaway, a negro man--has a _scar_ on his hip and on his breast, and
_two front teeth out_."
C.W. Wilkins, sheriff Baldwin Co, Ala, is the "Mobile Advertiser;"
Sept. 24, 1837.
"Committed to jail, a negro man, he is _crippled_ in the right leg."
Mr. James H. Taylor, Charleston South Carolina, in the "Courier,"
August 7, 1837.
"Absconded, a colored boy, named Peter, _lame_ in the right leg."
N.M.C. Robinson, jailer, Columbus, Georgia, in the "Columbus (Ga.)
Enquirer," August 2, 1838.
"Brought to jail, a negro man, his left ankle has been _broke_."
Mr. Littlejohn Rynes, Hinds Co. Mi. in the "Natchez Courier," August,
17, 1838.
"Ranaway, a negro man named Jerry, has a small piece _cut out of the
top of each ear_."
The Heirs of J.A. Alston, near Georgetown, South Carolina, in the
"Georgetown [S.C.] Union," June 17, 1837.
"Absconded a negro named Cuffee, has _lost one finger_; has an
_enlarged leg_."
A.S. Ballinger, Sheriff, Johnston Co, North Carolina, In the "Raleigh
Standard," Oct. 18, 1838.
"Committed to jail, a negro man; has a _very sore leg_."
Mr. Thomas Crutchfield, Atkins, Ten. in the "Tennessee Journal," Oct.
17, 1838.
"Ranaway, my mulatto boy Cy, has but _one hand_, all the fingers of
his right hand were _burnt off_ when young."
J.A. Brown, jailer, Orangeburg, South Carolina, in the "Charleston
Mercury," July 18, 1838.
"Was committed to jail, a negro named Bob, appears to be _crippled_ in
the right leg."
S.B. Turton, jailer, Adams Co. Miss. in the "Natchez Courier," Sept.
29, 1838.
"Was committed to jail, a negro man, has his _left thigh broke_."
Mr. John H. King, High street, Georgetown, in the "National
Intelligencer," August 1, 1837.
"Ranaway, my negro man, he has the _end of one_ of his fingers
_broken_."
Mr. John B. Fox, Vicksburg, Miss. in the "Register," March 29, 1837.
"Ranaway, a yellowish negro boy named Tom, has a _notch_ in the back
of one of his ears."
Messrs. Fernandez and Whiting, auctioneers, New Orleans, in the "Bee,"
April 8, 1837.
"Will be sold Martha, aged nineteen, _has one eye out_."
Mr. Marshall Jett, Farrowsville, Fauquier Co. Virginia, in the
"National Intelligencer," May 30, 1837.
"Ranaway, negro man Ephraim, has a _mark_ over one of his eyes,
occasioned by a _blow_."
S.B. Turton, jailer Adams Co. Miss. in the "Natches Courier," Oct. 12,
1838.
"Was committed a negro, calls himself Jacob, has been _crippled_ in
his right leg."
John Ford, sheriff of Mobile County, in the "Mississippian," Jackson
Mi. Dec. 28, 1838.
"Committed to jail, a negro man Cary, a _large scar on his forehead_."
E.W. Morris, sheriff of Warren County, in the "Vicksburg [Mi.]
Register," March 28, 1838.
"Committed as a runaway, a negro man Jack, he has _several scars_ on
his face."
Mr. John P. Holcombe, In the "Charleston Mercury," April 17, 1828.
"Absented himself, his negro man Ben, _has scars_ on his throat,
occasioned by the _cut of a knife_."
Mr. Geo. Kinlock, in the "Charleston, S.C. Courier," May 1, 1839.
"Ranaway, negro boy Kitt, 15 or 16 years old, _has a piece taken out
of one of his ears_."
Wm. Magee, sheriff, Mobile Co. in the "Mobile Register," Dec. 27, 1837.
"Committed to jail, a runaway slave, Alexander, a _scar_ on his left
check."
Mr. Henry M. McGregor, Prince George County, Maryland, in the
"Alexandria [D.C.] Gazette," Feb. 6, 1838.
"Ranaway, negro Phil, _scar through the right eye brow_ part of the
_middle toe_ right foot _cut off_."
Green B Jourdan, Baldwin County Ga. in the "Georgia Journal," April
18, 1837.
"Ranaway, John, has a _scar_ on one of his hands extending from the
wrist joint to the little finger, also a _scar_ on one of his legs."
Messrs. Daniel and Goodman, New Orleans, in the "N.O. Bee," Feb. 2,
1838.
"Absconded, mulatto slave Alick, has a _large scar over_ one of his
cheeks."
Jeremiah Woodward, Gonchland, Co. Va. in the "Richmond Va. Whig," Jan.
30, 1838.
"200 DOLLARS REWARD for Nelson, has a _scar_ on his forehead
occasioned by a _burn_, and one on his lower lip and one about the
knee."
Samuel Rawlins, Gwinet Co. Ga. in the "Columbus Sentinel," Nov. 29,
1838.
"Ranaway, a negro man and his wife, named Nat and Priscilla, he has a
small _scar_ on his left cheek, _two stiff fingers_ on his right hand
with a _running sore_ on them; his wife has a _scar_ on her left arm,
and one _upper tooth out_."
The reader perceives that we have under this head, as under previous
ones, given to the testimony of the slaveholders themselves, under
their own names, a precedence over that of all other witnesses. We now
ask the reader's attention to the testimonies which follow. They are
endorsed by responsible names--men who 'speak what they know, and
testify what they have seen'--testimonies which show, that the
slaveholders who wrote the preceding advertisements, describing the
work of their own hands, in branding with hot irons, maiming,
mutilating, cropping, shooting, knocking out the teeth and eyes of
their slaves, breaking their bones, &c., have manifested, _as far as
they have gone_ in the description, a commendable fidelity to truth.
It is probable that some of the scars and maimings in the preceding
advertisements were the result of accidents; and some _may be_ the
result of violence inflicted by the slaves upon each other. Without
arguing that point, we say, these are the _facts_; whoever reads and
ponders them, will need no argument to convince him, that the
proposition which they have been employed to sustain, _cannot be
shaken_. That any considerable portion of them were _accidental_, is
totally improbable, from the nature of the case; and is in most
instances disproved by the advertisements themselves. That they have
not been produced by assaults of the slaves upon each other, is
manifest from the fact, that injuries of that character inflicted by
the slaves upon each other, are, as all who are familiar with the
habits and condition of slaves well know, exceedingly rare; and of
necessity must be so, from the constant action upon them of the
strongest dissuasives from such acts that can operate on human nature.
Advertisements similar to the preceding may at any time be gathered by
scores from the daily and weekly newspapers of the slave states.
Before presenting the reader with further testimony in proof of the
proposition at the head of this part of our subject, we remark, that
some of the tortures enumerated under this and the preceding heads,
are not in all cases inflicted by slaveholders as _punishments_, but
sometimes merely as preventives of escape, for the greater security of
their 'property'. Iron collars, chains, &c. are put upon slaves when
they are driven or transported from one part of the country to
another, in order to keep them from running away. Similar measures are
often resorted to upon plantations. When the master or owner suspects
a slave of plotting an escape, an iron collar with long 'horns,' or a
bar of iron, or a ball and chain, are often fastened upon him, for the
double purpose of retarding his flight, should he attempt it, and of
serving as an easy means of detection.
Another inhuman method of _marking_ slaves, so that they may be easily
described and detected when they escape, is called _cropping_. In the
preceding advertisements, the reader will perceive a number of cases,
in which the runaway is described as '_cropt_,' or a '_notch cut_ in
the ear, or a part or the whole of the ear _cut off_,' &c.
Two years and a half since, the writer of this saw a letter, then just
received by Mr. Lewis Tappan, of New York, containing a negro's ear
cut off close to the head. The writer of the letter, who signed
himself Thomas Oglethorpe, Montgomery, Alabama, sent it to Mr. Tappan
as 'a specimen of a negro's ears,' and desired him to add it to his
'collection.'
Another method of _marking_ slaves, is by drawing out or breaking off
one or two _front teeth_--commonly the upper ones, as the mark would
in that case be the more obvious. An instance of this kind the reader
will recall in the testimony of Sarah M. Grimké, page 30, and of which
she had _personal_ knowledge; being well acquainted both with the
inhuman master, (a distinguished citizen of South Carolina,) by whose
order the brutal deed was done, and with the poor young girl whose
mouth was thus barbarously mutilated, to furnish a convenient mark by
which to describe her in case of her elopement, as she had frequently
run away.
The case stated by Miss G. serves to unravel what, to one uninitiated,
seems quite a mystery: i.e. the frequency with which, in the
advertisements of runaway slaves published in southern papers, they
are described as having _one or two front teeth out_. Scores of such
advertisements are in southern papers now on our table. We will
furnish the reader with a dozen or two.
Jesse Debruhl, sheriff, Richland District, "Columbia (S.C.)
Telescope," Feb. 24, 1839.
"Committed to jail, Ned, about 25 years of age, has lost his _two
upper front teeth_."
Mr. John Hunt, Black Water Bay, "Pensacola (Ga.) Gazette," October 14,
1837.
"100 DOLLARS REWARD, for Perry, _one under front tooth_ missing, aged
23 years."
Mr. John Frederick, Branchville, Orangeburgh District, S.C.
"Charleston (S.C.) Courier," June 12, 1837.
"10 DOLLARS REWARD, for Mary, _one or two upper teeth_ out, about 25
years old."
Mr. Egbert A. Raworth, eight miles west of Nashville on the Charlotte
road "Daily Republican Banner," Nashville, Tennessee, April 30, 1938.
"Ranaway, Myal, 23 years old, one of his _fore teeth out_."
Benjamin Russel, Deputy sheriff Bibb Co. Ga. "Macon (Ga.) Telegraph,"
Dec. 25, 1837.
"Brought to jail John, 23 years old, _one fore tooth out_."
F. Wisner, Master of the Work House, "Charleston (S.C.) Courier." Oct.
17, 1837.
"Committed to the Charleston Work House Tom, _two of his upper front
teeth out_, about 30 years of age."
Mr. S. Neyle, "Savannah (Ga.) Republican," July 3, 1837.
"Ranaway Peter, has lost _two front teeth_ in the upper jaw."
Mr. John McMurrain, near Columbus, "Georgia Messenger," Aug. 2, 1838.
"Ranaway, a boy named Moses, some of his _front teeth out_."
Mr. John Kennedy, Stewart Co. La. "New Orleans Bee," April 7, 1837.
"Ranaway, Sally, her _fore teeth out_."
Mr. A.J. Hutchings, near Florence, Ala. "North Alabamian," August 25,
1838
"Ranaway, George Winston, two of his _upper fore teeth out_
immediately in front."
Mr. James Purdon, 33 Commons street, N.O. "New Orleans Bee," Feb. 13,
1838.
"Ranaway, Jackson, has lost _one of his front teeth_."
Mr. Robert Calvert, in the "Arkansas State Gazette," August 22, 1838.
"Ranaway, Jack, 25 years old, has lost _one of his fore teeth_."
Mr. A.G.A. Beazley, in the Memphis Gazette, March 18, 1838.
"Ranaway, Abraham, 20 or 22 years of age, _his front teeth out_."
Mr. Samuel Townsend, in the "Huntsville [Ala.] Democrat," May 24,
1837.
"Ranaway, Dick, 18 or 20 years of age, _has one front tooth out_."
Mr. Philip A. Dew, in the "Virginia Herald," of May 24, 1837.
"Ranaway, Washington, about 25 years of age, has _an upper front tooth
out_."
J.G. Dunlap, "Georgia Constitutionalist," April 24, 1838.
"Ranaway, negro woman Abbe, _upper front teeth out_."
John Thomas, "Southern Argus," August 7, 1838.
"Ranaway, Lewis, 25 or 26 years old, _one or two of his front teeth
out_."
M.E.W. Gilbert, in the "Columbus [Ga.] Enquirer," Oct. 5. 1837.
"50 DOLLARS REWARD, for Prince, 25 or 26 years old, _one or two teeth
out_ in front on the upper jaw."
Publisher of the "Charleston Mercury," Aug. 31, 1838.
"Ranaway, Seller Saunders, _one fore tooth out_, about 22 years of
age."
Mr. Byrd M. Grace, in the "Macon [Ga.] Telegraph," Oct. 16, 1383.
"Ranaway, Warren, about 25 or 26 years old, has lost _some of his
front teeth_."
Mr. George W. Barnes, in the "Milledgeville [Ga.] Journal," May 22,
1837.
"Ranaway, Henry, about 23 years old, has one of his _upper front teeth
out_."
D. Herring, Warden of Baltimore Jail, in "Baltimore Chronicle," Oct.
6, 1837.
"Committed to jail Elizabeth Steward, 17 or 18 years old, has _one of
her front teeth out_."
Mr. J.L. Colborn, in the "Huntsville [Ala.] Democrat," July 4, 1837.
"Ranaway Liley, 26 years of age, _one fore tooth gone_."
Samuel Harman Jr. in the "New Orleans Bee," Oct. 12, 1838.
"50 DOLLARS REWARD, for Adolphe, 28 years old, _two of his front
teeth_ are missing."
Were it necessary, we might easily add to the preceding list,
_hundreds_. The reader will remark that all the slaves, whose ages are
given, are _young_--not one has arrived at middle age; consequently it
can hardly be supposed that they have lost their teeth either from age
or decay. The probability that their teeth were taken out by force, is
increased by the fact of their being _front teeth_ in almost every
case, and from the fact that the loss of no _other_ is mentioned in
the advertisements. It is well known that the front teeth are not
generally the first to fail. Further, it is notorious that the teeth
of the slaves are remarkably sound and serviceable, that they decay
far less, and at a much later period of life than the teeth of the
whites: owing partly, no doubt, to original constitution; but more
probably to their diet, habits, and mode of life.
As an illustration of the horrible mutilations _sometimes_ suffered by
them in the breaking and tearing out of their teeth, we insert the
following, from the New Orleans Bee of May 31, 1837.
$10 REWARD.--Ranaway, Friday, May 12, JULIA, a negress, EIGHTEEN OR
TWENTY YEARS OLD. SHE HAS LOST HER UPPER TEETH, and the under ones ARE
ALL BROKEN. Said reward will be paid to whoever will bring her to her
master, No. 172 Barracks-street, or lodge her in the jail.
The following is contained in the same paper.