"SOUL-DRIVING."
"A negro speculator, or a _soul-driver_ as they are generally called
among slaves."--_Wm. W. Brown's Narrative_, p. 39.
If we would most effectually degrade a man, we need only trample on the
highest and holiest of all his rights,--his right to himself; we have
only to make him the subject of barter and sale, a thing for speculators
to make money on, for jockeys to deceive about, and for buyers to
depreciate. And yet how few act as if they admitted this truth, or even
faintly realized the enormity of this wrong!
Slaves, as subjects of property, are continually spoken of and treated
as horses and cows, and other live-stock! Tens of thousands of
advertisements might be adduced to prove this. We have room only for a
very few proofs. The Civil Code of Louisiana provides:--
"Art. 2500. The latent defects of slaves and animals are divided
into two classes,--vices of body and vices of character.
"Art. 2501. The vices of body are distinguished into absolute and
relative....
"Art. 2502. The absolute vices of slaves are leprosy, madness, and
epilepsy.
"Art 2503. The absolute vices of horses and mules are short wind,
glanders, and founder."
In the "National Intelligencer" of May 2, 1843, the administrators of
Alexius Boarman advertise for sale "twelve or thirteen likely young
negroes, among whom are two carpenters; four head of horses, two yoke
of oxen, several head of cows, all the sheep and hogs belonging to said
deceased." The same paper of December 2, 1843, contains the following:--
"PUBLIC SALE OF VERY VALUABLE NEGROES AND STOCK.--The subscriber
will offer at public sale at his residence, near Bladensburg, Prince
George's County, Maryland, on Wednesday, the 20th of December next,
if fair, if not, the next fair day thereafter, _forty-five or fifty
very valuable young negroes, consisting of men and women, boys,
girls, and children_.
"_At the same time and place, he will offer his entire stock of
blood horses, together with some farm stock._
"The terms of sale will be a credit of nine and eighteen months; the
purchaser giving bond with approved security, bearing interest from
the day of sale.
"Sale to commence at 10 o'clock, A. M. SAMUEL SPRIGG.
"The Marlborough Gazette will copy till day of sale."
In the same paper of January 25, 1843, directly under an advertisement
for sale of "_a girl_ about 18 years of age, who is honest, industrious,
and a good cook, fine washer and ironer, and a good seamstress," we find
the notice of a "_Blooded colt_ at auction.--A thorough bred colt, two
years old the coming spring, got by Farmer, dam by Lafayette"! D. H.
Candler, the sheriff of Montgomery County, Md. in an advertisement now
before us, states that he has seized on execution, and will sell "for
cash only" at the Court House door in Rockville, "_one stallion, Red
Buck_, and _one negro boy, John_"![P] To bring the case nearer home:--in
the "New England Weekly Journal" of August 27, 1733, printed in
_Boston_, we find the following advertisement:--
"SEVERAL LIKELY YOUNG NEGROES, best Barbadoes sugars, very good
Bohea tea, bag Hollands, fine cambric muslins, and sundry other
merchandise, to be sold by Hugh Hall, Esq."[Q]
In the "Boston Gazette" of October 21, 1734:--
"TO BE SOLD BY ----, Several likely young negroes, lately
imported,--as men, women, boys. Also choice raisins of the sun,
gunpowder, Newcastle glass, in crates and boxes."
Not only are slaves thus placed on the same level with other property,
but they are treated in the same manner. As our horse-jockeys not
infrequently color their horses, or put on false tails, for the sake of
enhancing their value, so similar arts are practised by the
slave-jockeys of the South! Wm. W. Brown thus describes a part of his
duties, whilst hired to the slave-trader Walker ("Narrative," pp. 42,
43):
"In the course of eight or nine weeks, Mr. Walker had his cargo of
human flesh made up. There was in this lot a number of old men and
women, some of them with gray locks. We left St. Louis in the
steamboat Carlton, Captain Swan, bound for New Orleans. On our way
down, and before we reached Rodney, the place where we made our
first stop, I had to prepare the old slaves for market. I was
ordered to have the old men's whiskers shaved off, and the gray
hairs plucked out, where they were not too numerous, in which case
he had a preparation of blacking to color it, and with a
blacking-brush we would put it on. This was new business to me, and
was performed in a room where the passengers could not see us. These
slaves were also taught how old they were by Mr. Walker; and, after
going through the blacking process, they looked ten or fifteen years
younger; and I am sure that some of those who purchased slaves of
Mr. Walker were dreadfully cheated, especially in the ages of the
slaves which they bought."--Pp. 45, 46: "The next day we proceeded
to New Orleans, and put the gang in the same negro-pen which we
occupied before. In a short time the planters came flocking to the
pen to purchase slaves. Before the slaves were exhibited for sale,
they were dressed and driven out into the yard. Some were set to
dancing, some to jumping, some to singing, and some to playing
cards. This was done to make them appear cheerful and happy. My
business was to see that they were placed in those situations before
the arrival of the purchasers, and I have often set them to dancing
when their cheeks were wet with tears."
Can such treatment result in any thing but brutalizing every noble
faculty? If advertisements of stallions and boys, blood-horses and men
and women, blooded colts and young slave-girls, are considered so very
similar as to be placed in the same paragraph, or alongside each other,
how great a difference can there be in the treatment by the public of
the two kinds of stock? Is the auction-block a scene for cultivating the
affections of a poor slave-girl? Are the coarse and unfeeling jests
there perpetrated calculated to increase her purity, or strengthen her
moral sensibilities? Treat a man as you would have him to be, is a good
maxim. Respect him, and he will respect himself. Continually disregard
his holiest and best purposes, and in time he will do the same.
What but pecuniary profit does the speculator in horses look to? What
other object has the speculator in men, women, and children, in view?
Whatever mammon bids the slave-trader do, will be done. How much more
than this, or will any thing more than this, be done? Will such a person
consider as of any consequence the broken hearts of husbands and wives,
of parents and children, who are torn by this terrible trade from all
they hold dear in life, so long as their bodies are sound, strong, and
healthy; so long as the investment retains its market-value? Of what
consequence is deep, heart-felt agony to a speculator? Is he whose idol
is gold to be turned from his purpose merely by the foolish wailing of a
woman whose heart-strings are breaking? Do the cries of children made
orphans, and of parents made childless, by his acts, move the heart of
that man who makes his living by buying parents and children, husbands
and wives, at the lowest prices, and by selling them, "singly or in lots
to suit," to whomsoever will give the highest price?
The following is a well-known extract front an Address (p. 12) published
by the Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky to the churches under their care,
in 1835:--
"Brothers and sisters, parents and children, husbands and wives, are
torn asunder, and permitted to see each other no more. These acts
are daily occurring in the midst of us. The shrieks and the agony
often witnessed on such occasions proclaim, with a trumpet-tongue,
the iniquity of our system. There is not a neighborhood where these
heart-rending scenes are not displayed. There is not a village or
road that does not behold the sad procession of manacled outcasts,
whose mournful countenances tell that they are exiled by force from
all that their hearts hold dear."
In the "New Orleans Bulletin," we find the following "Slavery as it is,"
p. 168):--
"NEGROES FOR SALE.--A negro woman, 24 years of age, and has two
children, one eight, and the other three years. _Said negroes will
be sold separately or together, as desired._ The woman is a good
seamstress. She will be sold low for cash, or _exchanged for
groceries_. For terms apply to MAYHEW, BLISS, & CO.
1, Front Levee."
A similar advertisement will be found in the "New England Weekly
Journal" (Boston), April 9, 1733; printers, S. Kneeland and T. Green:--
"A VERY LIKELY NEGRO WOMAN, that has a child of _about six weeks
old, to be sold, either with or without the child_. Inquire of the
printers hereof."
The following was a standing advertisement, a few years since, in the
Charleston (S. C.) papers:--
"ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY NEGROES FOR SALE.--The subscriber has just
arrived from Petersburg, Virginia, with one hundred and twenty
likely young negroes, of both sexes and every description, which he
offers for sale on the most reasonable terms.
"The lot now on hand consists of plough-boys; several likely and
well-qualified house-servants, of both sexes; several women with
children; small girls, suitable for nurses; and _several small boys,
without their mothers_. Planters and traders are earnestly requested
to give the subscriber a call previously to making purchases
elsewhere, as he is enabled, and will sell as cheap or cheaper than
can be sold by any other person in the trade.
"Hamburg, S.C. Sept. 28, 1838. BENJAMIN DAVIS."
This is taken from the "Jackson (Tenn.) Telegraph," Sept. 14, 1838:--
"COMMITTED TO THE JAIL OF MADISON COUNTY, a negro woman, who calls
her name Fanny, and says she belongs to Wm. Miller, of Mobile. She
formerly belonged to John Givins, of this county, who now owns
several of her children. DAVID SHROPSHIRE, Jailer."
How strong was that poor mother's love! She had toiled all the way from
Mobile to the county where her children lived, and the laws of a
Christian country consigned her to the jail! Perhaps, in her loneliness,
she remembered some oral instruction like this (Jones's "Catechism," pp.
125,126):
"Q. Should mothers and fathers very tenderly love their
children?--A. Yes.
Q. And, as they receive their children from the Lord, is it not
their duty and privilege to present them unto the Lord in his own
appointed ordinance, and to train them up for his church and
service?--A. Yes....
Q. What should they teach them to do every night and morning?--A.
Pray to God.
Q. What book should parents early make their children acquainted
with, and out of which diligently instruct them?--A. The Holy Bible.
Q. Is it the duty of parents to pray with and for their children
continually?--A. Yes.
* * * * *
Q. Is it their duty to warn their children of bad company, and keep
them out of it?--A. Yes."
Poor slave-mother! very tenderly indeed did you love your children. But,
in your agony, you forgot that it was wicked to run away,--even for the
sake of teaching them to pray night and morning! How thankful, then,
ought you to be to God, that, in his great mercy, he was willing to
punish your transgression in this world, instead of the next!
We never so deeply feel the brutalizing effects of slavery as when we
reflect upon its peculiarly degrading influences upon woman. On some
accounts, we would gladly pass over this point in silence; but so
atrocious a wrong should rest upon the heart of every one.
It is an established maxim of trade, that the supply eventually equals
the demand. If the trade happens to be in men and women; in one way or
another, men and women will be supplied to meet the demand. There is a
great demand for slaves in the Southern and South-western States,
because slave-labor is very profitable there. "The domestic cannot
compete with the South-western demand for slaves," says a writer in the
leading Democratic paper of Virginia ("Richmond Enquirer," Nov. 13,
1846). The slaves in the South and West do not increase fast enough to
supply the demand. The foreign slave-trade is piracy. The only resource,
therefore, which is left to those States is a domestic slave-trade with
the Northern Slave States; where, to meet the demand, they resort to
breeding slaves! _Woman is degraded into a breeder!_
Mr. Gholson, of Virginia, in his speech in the legislature of that
State, Jan. 18, 1832 (see "Richmond Whig"), says:--
"It has always (perhaps erroneously) been considered by steady and
old-fashioned people, that the owner of land had a reasonable right
to its annual profits; the owner of orchards, to their annual
fruits; the owner of _brood mares_, to their product; and the owner
of _female slaves, to their increase_. We have not the fine-spun
intelligence nor legal acumen to discover the technical distinctions
drawn by gentlemen. The legal maxim of '_Partus sequitur ventrem_'
is coeval with the existence of the rights of property itself, and
is founded in wisdom and justice. It is on the justice and
inviolability of this maxim that the master foregoes the service of
the female slave; has her nursed and attended during the period of
her gestation, and raises the helpless and infant offspring. The
value of the property justifies the expense; and I do not hesitate
to say, that in its increase consists much of our wealth."
Hon. Thomas M. Randolph, of Virginia, formerly governor of that State,
in his speech before the legislature in 1832, said:--
"_It is a practice, and an increasing practice, in parts of
Virginia, to rear slaves for market._ How can an honorable mind, a
patriot, and a lover of his country, bear to see this ancient
dominion converted into _one grand menagerie, where men are to be
reared for market, like oxen for the shambles_!"
President Dew, of William and Mary's College, speaking of the annual
exportation of slaves from Virginia, says:--
"A full equivalent being thus left in the place of the slave, this
emigration becomes an advantage to the State, and does not check the
black population as much as at first view we might imagine; because
it furnishes every inducement to the master to attend to the
negroes, to _encourage breeding_, and to cause the greatest number
possible to be raised," &c.
"_Virginia is, in fact, a negro-raising State for other States._"
Henry Clay, in his speech before the Colonization Society in 1829,
says:--
"It is believed that nowhere in the farming portion of the United
States would slave-labor be generally employed, if the proprietor
were not tempted _to raise slaves by the high price of the Southern
market, which keeps it up in his own_."
"It is a melancholy fact," says the same writer in the "Richmond (Va.)
Enquirer," Nov. 13, 1846, "that negroes have become the only _reliable
staple_ of the tobacco-growing sections of Virginia, the only reliable
means of liquidating debts foreign and domestic."
The following advertisement is taken from the "Charleston (S.C.)
Mercury" ("Slavery as it is," p. 175):--
"NEGROES FOR SALE.--A girl, about twenty years of age (raised in
Virginia), and her two female children, one four and the other two
years old; is remarkable strong and healthy, never having had a
day's sickness, with the exception of the small-pox, in her life.
The children are fine and healthy. _She is very prolific in her
generating qualities, and affords a rare opportunity to any person
who wishes to raise a family of strong and healthy servants for
their own use._
"Any person wishing to purchase will please leave their address at
the Mercury office."
Does any reader exclaim there must be some mistake; it is impossible
that such a notice could be inserted in the _leading political paper_ of
South Carolina? Will he feel any more convinced by reading this, taken
from the "_Boston_ Evening Post" of September 10, 1744?--
"TO BE SOLD,--A likely negro wench, about 25 years of age, that can
do all sorts of household work, especially cookery; _is very hearty
and strong; has proved her faculty at propagation_, and is very
fluent in the English language. Inquire of the printer."
Slavery is said to have existed in a _mild_ form in Massachusetts! And
yet we find in our own history parallels to some of the most brutal
atrocities which can be perpetrated on any human being. So essentially
the same is the character and effect of slavery, wherever it exists!
Does any one, and who does not, feel deep disgust at these recitals? Let
us rather feel disgusted at the system which leads to such atrocities!
Let not our indignation rest upon the story of the wrong, but upon the
wrong itself and its perpetrators.
Does any one say these are solitary instances of atrocity? Doubtless
such advertisements are rare, but not unique. Others of the same kind,
and still more atrocious, might be adduced. But which constitutes the
greater atrocity,--to use men and women as "stallions" and "brood
mares," or to speak or print the damning deed? If the latter shows
hardened feeling, what does the former prove? If these advertisements
were the only ones of the kind which could be cited, still they tell a
story of brutal outrage, which is happening in this Christian land,
every day, hour, and minute, to tens of thousands of human beings! Other
advertisements, showing the brutality of the examinations to which women
are frequently subjected, might be cited. But for these we must refer
the reader to other anti-slavery documents; for enough of the disgusting
details has been exhibited to establish our position.
To obtain any thing like an adequate conception of the brutalizing
influence upon the slaves of this trading in their bodies and the bodies
of their children, we must first see to what an extent it is carried. We
shall confine our attention chiefly to those who make a business of the
matter, "to gentlemen dealing in slaves;" leaving almost wholly
unnoticed the vast number of instances of buying and selling slaves
between private individuals, chaffering between neighbors, for their
private ends! Not that this latter kind of slave-trade is any less
degrading in its effects, but only because proofs in relation to the
other are more accessible, and are amply sufficient for our purpose.