dragging it in front, was brought in and its head drawn down towards the
ring, when a man with a sledge-hammer felled it instantaneously to the
ground; and without a struggle it was turned over on its back by the
side of eight or ten of its predecessors who had just shared the same
fate, and were already undergoing the various processes to which they
had afterwards to be subjected. The first of these was to rip up and
remove the intestines of the poor beast, and it was then skinned and
cut lengthways into two parts, when the still reeking body was hung up
to cool. The immense room was hung with some hundreds of carcases of
these huge animals thus skinned and cleft in two. The process, from the
time the animal leaves the yard alive till the time it is split and hung
up in two pieces, occupied less than a quarter of an hour. At the end of
two days they are dismembered, salted, packed in casks, the best parts
to be shipped to England, and the inferior parts to be eaten by the free
and enlightened citizens of this great continent. The greater number of
these beasts come from Texas, and have splendid horns, sometimes three
feet long.
The next thing they saw was the somewhat similar treatment of the poor
pigs; but these are animals, of which for size there is nothing similar
to be seen in England, excepting, perhaps, at the cattle show. At least,
one which papa saw hanging up weighed 400 lbs., and looked like a young
elephant. In the yard below there was a vast herd of these, 1500 having
arrived by railway the night before; the number killed and cut up daily
averages about 500. It takes a very few minutes only from the time the
pig leaves the pen to its being hung up, preparatory to its being cut up
and salted. They first get a knock on the head like the more noble
beasts already mentioned; they are then stuck, in order to be thoroughly
bled; after this they are plunged headlong into a long trough of boiling
water, in which they lie side by side in a quiescent state, very
different to the one they were in a few minutes before, when they were
quarrelling in a most unmannerly manner in the yard below. From this
trough the one first put in is, by a most ingenious machine, taken up
from underneath, and tossed over into an empty trough, where in less
than a minute he is entirely denuded of his bristles, and passed over to
be cleft and hung up. The trough holds about eight or ten thus lying
side by side, and the moment one is taken out at one end, another is put
in at the other, and they thus all float through the length of the
trough, and are taken out in order; but so rapid is the process, that no
one pig is long in; in fact, the whole business occupies only a very few
minutes per pig. Every part is turned to account, the mass of bristles
being converted into tooth brushes, &c. In the huge larder, in the story
next above the oxen, there were about 1500 unhappy pigs hung up to cool,
before being cut up, salted, packed, and sent off. There are several
establishments of this nature in Chicago, but only one of equal extent
to the one papa saw. About 400,000 pigs are shipped every year from
Chicago. I do not know the total number of cattle, but this house alone
slaughters and sends away 10,000. There were places on an enormous scale
for preparing tallow and lard, and there were many other details equally
surprising, which I have not now time to describe; but papa says that
the smells were most offensive, and that it was altogether a very
horrible sight, and it was one I was well pleased to escape.
Among the other wonders of Chicago, I must do honour to its hotel, which
I should say was as good as any we have yet seen in America. These
American hotels are certainly marvellous "institutions," though we were
getting beyond the limits of the good ones when we reached Jefferson
City. That, however, at St. Louis is a very fair sample of a good one.
_Indianapolis, Nov. 11th._--We arrived here late this afternoon, and
have not been able as yet to see anything of the town, I shall therefore
defer a description of it to my next. The road from Chicago was not
without its interest, though we are becoming very tired of the prairies.
At first starting we went for many miles along the borders of Lake
Michigan, which we again came upon at a very remarkable spot, Michigan
city, about sixty miles from Chicago. Along the first part of the lake,
in the neighbourhood of Chicago, the shore consists of fine sand, in
strips of considerable width, and flat like an ordinary sea beach; but
at Michigan city the deep sand reached to a considerable distance
inland, and then rose into high dunes, precisely like those on the
French coast. As we had to wait an hour there, papa and I scrambled up
one of these, and although below there was deep loose sand, yet above it
was hard and solid, and bound together with little shrubs like the
French dunes. The view of the lake from the top was very pretty, and
boundless towards the north, we being at the southern extremity. I
picked up a few stones on the beach as a memorial of this splendid lake.
We were very much tempted, when at Chicago, to see more of it, and to go
to Milwaukee and Madison, but we were strongly advised by Mr. Wilkins
not to go further north at this season. The wreaths of snow which during
the night have fallen in patches along the road, and greeted our eyes
this morning, confirmed us in the wisdom of this advice, and we are now
bending our steps once more towards the south. We are still here in the
midst of prairie, but more wooded than in our journey of Tuesday. We
crossed to-day, at Lafayette, the Wabash, which we had crossed
previously at Vincennes, and here, as there, it is a very noble river.
This must end my journal for the present.
LETTER XII.
INDIANAPOLIS.--LOUISVILLE.--LOUISVILLE AND PORTLAND
CANAL.--PORTLAND.--THE PACIFIC STEAMER.--JOURNEY TO
LEXINGTON.--ASHLAND.--SLAVE PENS AT LEXINGTON.--RETURN TO
CINCINNATI.--PENNSYLVANIA CENTRAL RAILWAY.--RETURN TO NEW YORK.
Lexington, Kentucky, Nov. 13th, 1858.
My last letter was closed at Indianapolis, but despatched from
Louisville. On the morning after I wrote we had time, before starting
for Louisville, to take a walk through the principal streets of
Indianapolis. The Capitol or state-house is the only remarkable
building; and here, as in most other towns in America, we were struck by
the breadth of the streets. In the centre of Indianapolis there is a
large square, from which the four principal streets diverge, and from
the centre of this, down these streets, there are views of the distant
country which on all sides bounds the prospect. This has a fine effect,
but all these capital cities of states have an unfinished appearance:
great cities have been planned, but the plans have never been
adequately carried out. The fact is, they have all a political, and not
a commercial origin, and they want the stimulus of commercial enterprise
to render them flourishing towns, or to give them the finished
appearance of cities of much more recent date, such as Chicago and
others.
We left Indianapolis at about half-past ten, and reached Jeffersonville,
on the north side of the Ohio at four. The country at first was entirely
prairie, but became a good deal wooded as we journeyed south. It is much
more peopled than the wide tracts which we have been lately traversing,
for neat towns with white wooden houses and white wooden churches here
succeeded each other at very short distances; we crossed several large
rivers, tributaries of the Wabash; one, the White river, was of
considerable size, and the banks were very prettily wooded. At
Jeffersonville we got into a grand omnibus with four splendid white
horses, and drove rapidly down a steepish hill, straight on board the
steamboat which was to carry us across the Ohio. The horses went as
quietly as on dry land, and had to make a circuit on the deck, as we
were immediately followed by another similar equipage, four in hand, for
which ours had to make room. This was followed by two large baggage
waggons and a private vehicle; and all these carriages were on one side
of the engine-room. At the other end there was space for as many more,
had there been any need for it; and all this on a tiny little steamboat
compared with the Leviathans that were lying in the river.
On reaching Louisville we were comfortably established in a large
handsome hotel. As there was still daylight, we took a walk through the
principal streets, and found ourselves, as usual, in a bookseller's
shop; for not only are these favourite lounges of papa's, but we
generally find the booksellers intelligent and civil people, from whom
we can learn what is best worth seeing in the town. The one at
Louisville lauded very much the pork packing establishments in this
town, and said those at Chicago, and even those of Cincinnati, are not
to be compared with them; but without better statistics we must leave
this question undecided, for papa saw quite enough at Chicago to deter
him from wishing to go through the same sight at Louisville; we,
however, availed ourselves of the address he gave us of the largest
slave-dealer, and went to-day to see a slave-pen.
We have lately been reading a most harrowing work, called the
"Autobiography of a Female Slave," whose experience was entirely
confined to Kentucky--indeed, to Louisville and the adjoining country
within a few miles of the Ohio. She describes Kentucky as offering the
worst specimen of a slave's life, and gives a horrid account of the
barbarity of the masters, and of the almost diabolical character of the
slave-dealers, and of those who hold subordinate situations under them.
We were hardly prepared, therefore, on reaching this pen to be received,
in the absence of the master, by a good-looking coloured housekeeper,
with a face as full of kindness and benevolence as one could wish to
see, but "the pen" had yesterday been cleared out, with the exception of
one woman with her six little children, the youngest only a year old,
and two young brothers, neither of whom the dealer had sold, as he had
been unable to find a purchaser who would take them without separating
them, and he was determined not to sell them till he could. In the case
both of the woman and of the two boys, their sale to the dealer had been
caused by the bankruptcy of the owner. The woman had a husband, but
having a different master, he retained his place, and his master
promised that when his wife got a new home he would send him to join
her.
No doubt this separation of families is a crying evil, and perhaps the
greatest practical one, as respects hardship, to which the system is
necessarily subject; but certainly, from what we have seen and heard
to-day, it does not seem to be harshly done, and pains are taken to
avoid it: the woman said she had been always kindly treated, and there
was not the slightest difficulty made by the dark duenna to our
conversing with the slaves as freely as we liked, and she left us with
the whole group. The woman took us to see her baby, and we found it in a
large and well ventilated room, and she said they had always as much and
as good food as they could wish. She said she was forty-five years old,
and had ten children living, but the four eldest were grown up. The
eldest of those she had with her was a little girl of about thirteen;
she said, in answer to a question from papa, that the children had made
a great piece of work at parting with their father, but the woman
herself seemed quite cheerful and satisfied with her prospects.
On our journey here there were a great many slaves in the car with us,
coming to pass their Sunday at Lexington. They seemed exceedingly merry,
and one, whom papa sat next, said he had accumulated $950, and that when
he got $1900, he would be able to purchase his freedom. He said his
master was a rich man, having $300,000, and that he was very well
treated; but that some masters did behave very badly to their slaves,
and often beat them whether they deserved it or not. From the specimen
we had of those in the cars, they seemed well-conditioned men, and all
paid the same fare that we did, and were treated with quite as much
attention. They seem to get some sort of extra wages from their masters
besides their food and raiment, out of which they can lay by if they are
provident, so as to be able to purchase their freedom in time; but they
do not seem always to care about this, as one man here has $4000, which
would much more than suffice to buy his freedom; but he prefers
remaining a slave. We shall probably see a good deal more of the
condition of the slaves within the next few days, so I shall say no more
upon the subject at present, excepting that all this does not alter the
view which we cannot help taking of the vileness of the institution,
though it certainly does not appear so very cruel in practice as it is
often represented to be by the anti-slavery party.
There are only two great sights to be seen at Louisville. One, the
famous artesian well, 2086 feet deep, bored to reach a horrid sulphur
spring, which is, however, a very strong one as there are upwards of 200
grains of sulphates of soda and magnesia in each gallon of water, and
upwards of 700 grains of chlorides of sulphur and magnesia. There is a
fountain over the well, in which the water rises 200 feet, but whether
by external pressure or by the natural force of the water, the deponent
sayeth not. It comes out in all sorts of forms, sometimes imitating
flowers, and sometimes a shower of snow, on which the negro who showed
it to us expatiated with great delight. When I said there were only two
sights to see, I alluded to this well, and to the magnificent steam
vessel, the "Pacific," which was lying at Portland, about three miles
down the Ohio, below the Falls; but I forgot altogether the Falls
themselves, and the splendid canal described in papa's book, through
which vessels are obliged to pass to get round them, which I ought not
to pass without some notice. The river here is upwards of a mile wide,
but the falls are most insignificant; and though the Guide Book
describes them as "picturesque in appearance," and that the islands give
the Ohio here "the appearance of a great many broken rivers of foam,
making their way over the falls, while the fine islands add greatly to
the beauty of the scene;" neither papa with his spectacles, nor I with
my keen optics, could see more than a ripple on the surface of the
water. These falls, however, are sufficient to prevent vessels of any
great burden ascending or descending beyond this point of the river, and
hence the necessity of the canal: but this splendid work, about which
papa's interest was very great, in consequence of what he had written
about it, proved as great a disappointment as the falls themselves. It
must, however, have been a work of great difficulty, as it is cut
through a solid bed of rock.[13] The locks are sufficiently capacious
to allow of the passage of steamers 180 feet long by 40 feet in breadth,
one of which we saw in the lock, and there were three others waiting to
pass through.
These, to our eyes, seemed large and beautiful vessels; but they were
altogether eclipsed and their beauty forgotten, when we found ourselves
on board the "Pacific." This vessel was to sail in the evening, and is
one of the most splendid steamers on the river; certainly nothing could
exceed her comfort, infinitely beyond that of the Newport boat, as the
saloon was one long room, unbroken by steam-engine or anything else, to
obstruct the view from one end to the other. Brilliant fires were
burning in two large open stoves, at equal distances from either end,
and little tables were set all down the middle of the room, at which
parties of six each could sit and dine comfortably. The vessel was
upwards of 300 feet long, the cabin alone being about that length. On
each side of the cabin were large, comfortable sleeping berths, and on
the deck below, adjoining the servants' room, was a sweet little
nursery, containing, besides the beds and usual washing apparatus, four
or five pretty little rocking-chairs, for the children. We were shown
over the kitchen, and everything looked so complete and comfortable that
we longed to go down in her to New Orleans, whither she is bound, and
which she will reach in six days. Everything was exquisitely clean, the
roof and sides of the cabin being of that beautiful white varnish paint
which I have before described, which always looks so pure and lovely.
There was not much ornament, but all was in good taste.
On leaving the "Pacific," we drove to the inn at Portland. The
Kentuckians are a fine tall race of men; but, tall as they are in
general, the landlord, Mr. Jim Porter, surpassed them all in height,
standing 7 feet 9 inches without his shoes. This is the same individual
of whom Dickens gave an amusing account in his American notes fifteen
years ago.
We left Louisville at two o'clock, and came on to Lexington this
afternoon. The country is much more like England than anything we have
yet seen, being chiefly pasture land. The grass is that known here, and
very celebrated as the "blue grass" of Kentucky; though why or wherefore
it is so called we cannot discover. It is of prodigiously strong growth,
sometimes attaining two feet in height; but it is generally kept low,
either by cropping or cutting, and is cut sometimes five times a year.
The stock raised upon it is said to be very fine, and the animals are
very large and fine looking; but either from the meat not being kept
long enough, or from some cause which we cannot assign, the beef, when
brought to table, is very inferior to the good roast beef of Old
England.
The road from Louisville to this place is pretty throughout, and seemed
quite lovely as we approached Frankfort, though it was getting too dark
as we passed that town to appreciate its beauties thoroughly. For some
miles before reaching it, the road passes through a hilly country, with
beautiful rounded knolls at a very short distance. The town is situated
on the Kentucky river, the most beautiful, perhaps, in America. In
crossing the long bridge, we had a fine view down its steep banks, with
the lights of the town close on its margin. The state Capitol which we
passed, is close to the railway, and is a marble building, with a
handsome portico. We were very sorry not to have stopped to pass
to-morrow, Sunday, at this place, but we were anxious to reach
Lexington, in order to get our letters. We have no great prospects here,
as the hotel, excepting the one at Jefferson City, is the worst we have
found in America. We had hardly set foot in it, when General Leslie
Combe called upon us, having been on the look-out for our arrival. He
claimed cousin-ship, having married a Miss T----, but we must leave it
to Uncle Harry to determine to which branch of the T---- family she can
claim kindred.
_November 15th._--The weather has been unpropitious, and instead of
starting to explore the Upper Kentucky, which we had meant to do, we are
returning this afternoon to Cincinnati. We have, however, been able to
see all the sights here that are worth seeing, besides having been
edified yesterday by a nigger sermon, remarkable, even among nigger
sermons, for the wonderful stentorian powers of the preacher. The great
object of interest here is Ashland, so called from the ash timber with
which the place abounds. This was the residence of Henry Clay, the great
American statesman. General Combe gave us a letter of introduction to
Mr. James B. Clay, his eldest son, who is the present proprietor of the
"location." The house is very prettily "fixed up," to use another
American phrase; but we were disappointed with the 200 acres of park,
which Lord Morpeth, who passed a week at Ashland, is said to extol as
being like an English one. We saw nothing, either of the "locust
cypress, cedar, and other rare trees, with the rose, the jasmine, and
the ivy, clambering about them," which the handbook beautifully
describes. The fact is, the Americans, as I have before observed, have
not the slightest idea of a garden; and on papa's venturing to insinuate
this to Mr. Clay, he admitted it, and ascribed it to its undoubted
cause, the expense of labour in this country.
From Ashland we went to what is really a Kentucky sight, the Fair
Ground. On an eminence at about a mile from the town, surrounded by
beautiful green pastures, there stands a large amphitheatre, capable of
holding conveniently 12,000 spectators. In the centre is a large grass
area, where the annual cattle show is held, and when filled it must be a
remarkable sight. From this we went to the Cemetery, which, like all
others in this country, is neatly laid out, and kept in very good order.
The grave-stones and monuments are invariably of beautiful white marble,
with the single exception of a very lofty monument which is being raised
to the memory of Mr. Clay. It is not yet finished, but to judge either
from what has been accomplished, or from a drawing papa saw of it on a
large scale, in a shop window, it is not likely to prove pretty, and
the yellowish stone of which it is being built, contrasts badly with the
white marble about it.
We went next to see a very large pen, in which there were about forty
negroes for sale; they had within the last few days, sold about 100, who
had travelled by railway chained together. Those we saw, were divided
into groups, and we went through a variety of rooms in which they were
domiciled, and were allowed to converse freely with them all. This is
one of the largest slave markets in the United States, and is the great
place from which the South is supplied. There are, in this place, five
of these pens where slaves are kept on sale, and, judging from this one,
they are very clean and comfortable. But these pens give one a much more
revolting idea of the institution than seeing the slaves in regular
service. There was one family of a man and his wife and four little
children, the price of "the lot" being _$_3500, or 700_l._ sterling, but
neither the man nor the woman seemed to care much whether they were sold
together or not. There was one poor girl of eighteen, with a little
child of nine weeks old, who was sold, and she was to set off to-night
with her baby, for a place in the State. The slave-dealer himself was a
civil, well-spoken man, at least to us, and spoke quite freely of his
calling, but we thought he spoke harshly to the poor negroes, especially
to the man with the wife and four children. It appears he had bought the
man separately from the woman and children, in order to bring them
together, but the man had attempted to run away, and told us in excuse
he did not like leaving his clothes behind him; whereupon papa asked him
if he cared more for his clothes than his wife, and gave him a lecture
on his domestic duties. The dealer said they sometimes are much
distressed when separated from their wives, or husband and children, but
that it was an exception when this was so. One can hardly credit this,
but so far as it is true it is one of the worst features of slavery that
it can thus deaden all natural feelings of affection. We have spoken a
good deal to the slaves here, and they seem anxious to obtain their
freedom. The brother of one of the waiters at our hotel had twice been
swindled by his master of the money he had saved to purchase his
freedom. I spoke to the housemaid at our hotel, also a slave, who
shuddered with horror when she described the miseries occasioned by the
separation of relations. She had been sold several times, and was
separated from her husband by being sold away from him. She said the
poor negroes are generally taken out of their beds in the middle of the
night, when sold to the slave-dealers, as there is a sense of shame
about transacting this trade in the day-time. From what the slaves told
us, they are, no doubt, frequently treated with great severity by the
masters, though not always, as they sometimes fall into the hands of
kind people; but though they may have been many years in one family,
they never know from hour to hour what may be their fate, as the usual
cause for parting with slaves is, the master falling into difficulties,
when he sells them to raise money, or to pay his debts. The waiter told
us, he would rather starve as a freeman than remain a slave, and said
this with much feeling and energy.