CHAPTER XI._Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave. Second Edition

At last the time for action arrived. The boat landed at a point which

appeared to me the place of all others to start from. I found that it

would be impossible to carry anything with me but what was upon my

person. I had some provisions, and a single suit of clothes, about

half worn. When the boat was discharging her cargo, and the passengers

engaged carrying their baggage on and off shore, I improved the

opportunity to convey myself with my little effects on land. Taking up

a trunk, I went up the wharf, and was soon out of the crowd. I made

directly for the woods, where I remained until night, knowing well that

I could not travel, even in the state of Ohio, during the day, without

danger of being arrested.

I had long since made up my mind that I would not trust myself in the

hands of any man, white or colored. The slave is brought up to look

upon every white man as an enemy to him and his race; and twenty-one

years in slavery had taught me that there were traitors, even among

colored people. After dark, I emerged from the woods into a narrow

path, which led me into the main travelled road. But I knew not which

way to go. I did not know north from south, east from west. I looked in

vain for the North Star; a heavy cloud hid it from my view. I walked up

and down the road until near midnight, when the clouds disappeared, and

I welcomed the sight of my friend--truly the slave's friend--the North

Star!

As soon as I saw it, I knew my course, and before daylight I travelled

twenty or twenty-five miles. It being in the winter, I suffered

intensely from the cold; being without an overcoat, and my other

clothes rather thin for the season. I was provided with a tinder-box,

so that I could make up a fire when necessary. And but for this, I

should certainly have frozen to death; for I was determined not to go

to any house for shelter. I knew of a man belonging to Gen. Ashly, of

St. Louis, who had run away near Cincinnati, on the way to Washington,

but had been caught and carried back into slavery; and I felt that a

similar fate awaited me, should I be seen by any one. I travelled at

night, and lay by during the day.

On the fourth day my provisions gave out, and then what to do I could

not tell. Have something to eat I must; but how to get it was the

question! On the first night after my food was gone, I went to a barn

on the road-side and there found some ears of corn. I took ten or

twelve of them, and kept on my journey. During the next day, while in

the woods, I roasted my corn and feasted upon it, thanking God that I

was so well provided for.

My escape to a land of freedom now appeared certain, and the prospects

of the future occupied a great part of my thoughts. What should be my

occupation, was a subject of much anxiety to me; and the next thing

what should be my name? I have before stated that my old master, Dr.

Young, had no children of his own, but had with him a nephew, the son

of his brother, Benjamin Young. When this boy was brought to Dr. Young,

his name being William, the same as mine, my mother was ordered to

change mine to something else. This, at the time, I thought to be one

of the most cruel acts that could be committed upon my rights; and I

received several very severe whippings for telling people that my name

was William, after orders were given to change it. Though young, I was

old enough to place a high appreciation upon my name. It was decided,

however, to call me "Sandford," and this name I was known by, not only

upon my master's plantation, but up to the time that I made my escape.

I was sold under the name of Sandford.

But as soon as the subject came to my mind, I resolved on adopting my

old name of William, and let Sandford go by the board, for I always

hated it. Not because there was anything peculiar in the name; but

because it had been forced upon me. It is sometimes common, at the

south, for slaves to take the name of their masters. Some have a

legitimate right to do so. But I always detested the idea of being

called by the name of either of my masters. And as for my father, I

would rather have adopted the name of "Friday," and been known as the

servant of some Robinson Crusoe, than to have taken his name. So I was

not only hunting for my liberty, but also hunting for a name; though I

regarded the latter as of little consequence, if I could but gain the

former. Travelling along the road, I would sometimes speak to myself,

sounding my name over, by way of getting used to it, before I should

arrive among civilized human beings. On the fifth or six day, it rained

very fast, and froze about as fast as it fell, so that my clothes were

one glare of ice. I travelled on at night until I became so chilled and

benumbed--the wind blowing into my face--that I found it impossible to

go any further, and accordingly took shelter in a barn, where I was

obliged to walk about to keep from freezing.

I have ever looked upon that night as the most eventful part of my

escape from slavery. Nothing but the providence of God, and that old

barn, saved me from freezing to death. I received a very severe cold,

which settled upon my lungs, and from time to time my feet had been

frostbitten, so that it was with difficulty I could walk. In this

situation I travelled two days, when I found that I must seek shelter

somewhere, or die.

The thought of death was nothing frightful to me, compared with that

of being caught, and again carried back into slavery. Nothing but the

prospect of enjoying liberty could have induced me to undergo such

trials, for

"Behind I left the whips and chains,

Before me were sweet Freedom's plains!"

This, and this alone, cheered me onward. But I at last resolved to seek

protection from the inclemency of the weather, and therefore I secured

myself behind some logs and brush, intending to wait there until some

one should pass by; for I thought it probable that I might see some

colored person, or, if not, some one who was not a slaveholder; for I

had an idea that I should know a slaveholder as far as I could see him.

The first person that passed was a man in a buggy-wagon. He looked too

genteel for me to hail him. Very soon another passed by on horseback.

I attempted to speak to him, but fear made my voice fail me. As he

passed, I left my hiding-place, and was approaching the road, when I

observed an old man walking towards me, leading a white horse. He had

on a broad-brimmed hat and a very long coat, and was evidently walking

for exercise. As soon as I saw him, and observed his dress, I thought

to myself, "You are the man that I have been looking for!" Nor was I

mistaken. He was the very man!

On approaching me, he asked me, "if I was not a slave." I looked at him

some time, and then asked him "if he knew of any one who would help

me, as I was sick." He answered that he would; but again asked, if I

was not a slave. I told him I was. He then said that I was in a very

pro-slavery neighborhood, and if I would wait until he went home, he

would get a covered wagon for me. I promised to remain. He mounted his

horse, and was soon out of sight.

After he was gone, I meditated whether to wait or not; being

apprehensive that he had gone for some one to arrest me. But I finally

concluded to remain until he should return; removing some few rods to

watch his movements. After a suspense of an hour and a half or more, he

returned with a two-horse covered wagon, such as are usually seen under

the shed of a Quaker meeting-house on Sundays and Thursdays; for the

old man proved to be a Quaker of the George Fox stamp.

He took me to his house, but it was some time before I could be induced

to enter it; not until the old lady came out, did I venture into the

house. I thought I saw something in the old lady's cap that told me

I was not only safe, but welcome, in her house. I was not, however,

prepared to receive their hospitalities. The only fault I found with

them was their being too kind. I had never had a white man to treat me

as an equal, and the idea of a white lady waiting on me at the table

was still worse! Though the table was loaded with the good things of

this life, I could not eat. I thought if I could only be allowed the

privilege of eating in the kitchen I should be more than satisfied!

Finding that I could not eat, the old lady, who was a "Thompsonian,"

made me a cup of "composition," or "number six;" but it was so strong

and hot, that I called it "_number seven_!" However, I soon found

myself at home in this family. On different occasions, when telling

these facts, I have been asked how I felt upon finding myself regarded

as a man by a white family; especially just having run away from one. I

cannot say that I have ever answered the question yet.

The fact that I was in all probability a freeman, sounded in my ears

like a charm. I am satisfied that none but a slave could place such

an appreciation upon liberty as I did at that time. I wanted to see

mother and sister, that I might tell them "I was free!" I wanted to

see my fellow-slaves in St. Louis, and let them know that the chains

were no longer upon my limbs. I wanted to see Captain Price, and let

him learn from my own lips that I was no more a chattel, but a man! I

was anxious, too, thus to inform Mrs. Price that she must get another

coachman. And I wanted to see Eliza more than I did either Mr. or Mrs.

Price!

The fact that I was a freeman--could walk, talk, eat and sleep, as a

man, and no one to stand over me with the blood-clotted cow-hide--all

this made me feel that I was not myself.

The kind friend that had taken me in was named Wells Brown. He was a

devoted friend of the slave; but was very old, and not in the enjoyment

of good health. After being by the fire awhile, I found that my feet

had been very much frozen. I was seized with a fever, which threatened

to confine me to my bed. But my Thompsonian friends soon raised me,

treating me as kindly as if I had been one of their own children. I

remained with them twelve or fifteen days, during which time they made

me some clothing, and the old gentleman purchased me a pair of boots.

I found that I was about fifty or sixty miles from Dayton, in the State

of Ohio, and between one and two hundred miles from Cleaveland, on

Lake Erie, a place I was desirous of reaching on my way to Canada. This

I know will sound strangely to the ears of people in foreign lands,

but it is nevertheless true. An American citizen was fleeing from a

democratic, republican, Christian government, to receive protection

under the monarchy of Great Britain. While the people of the United

States boast of their freedom, they at the same time keep three

millions of their own citizens in chains; and while I am seated here in

sight of Bunker Hill Monument, writing this narrative, I am a slave,

and no law, not even in Massachusetts, can protect me from the hands of

the slaveholder!

Before leaving this good Quaker friend, he inquired what my name was

besides William. I told him that I had no other name. "Well," said he,

"thee must have another name. Since thee has got out of slavery, thee

has become a man, and men always have two names."

I told him that he was the first man to extend the hand of friendship

to me, and I would give him the privilege of naming me.

"If I name thee," said he, "I shall call thee Wells Brown, after

myself."

"But," said I, "I am not willing to lose my name of William. As it was

taken from me once against my will, I am not willing to part with it

again upon any terms."

"Then," said he, "I will call thee William Wells Brown."

"So be it," said I; and I have been known by that name ever since I

left the house of my first white friend, Wells Brown.

After giving me some little change, I again started for Canada. In four

days I reached a public house, and went in to warm myself. I there

learned that some fugitive slaves had just passed through the place.

The men in the bar-room were talking about it, and I thought that it

must have been myself they referred to, and I was therefore afraid to

start, fearing they would seize me; but I finally mustered courage

enough, and took my leave. As soon as I was out of sight, I went into

the woods, and remained there until night, when I again regained the

road, and travelled on until next day.

Not having had any food for nearly two days, I was faint with hunger,

and was in a dilemma what to do, as the little cash supplied me by my

adopted father, and which had contributed to my comfort, was now all

gone. I however concluded to go to a farm-house, and, ask for something

to eat. On approaching the door of the first one presenting itself, I

knocked, and was soon met by a man who asked me what I wanted. I told

him that I would like something to eat. He asked me where I was from,

and where I was going. I replied that I had come some way, and was

going to Cleaveland.

After hesitating a moment or two, he told me that he could give me

nothing to eat, adding, "that if I would work, I could get something to

eat."

I felt bad, being thus refused something to sustain nature, but did not

dare tell him that I was a slave.

Just as I was leaving the door, with a heavy heart, a woman, who

proved to be the wife of this gentleman, came to the door, and asked

her husband what I wanted. He did not seem inclined to inform her. She

therefore asked me herself. I told her that I had asked for something

to eat. After a few other questions, she told me to come in, and that

she would give me something to eat.

I walked up to the door, but the husband remained in the passage, as if

unwilling to let me enter.

She asked him two or three times to get out of the way, and let me in.

But as he did not move, she pushed him on one side, bidding me walk in!

I was never before so glad to see a woman push a man aside! Ever since

that act; I have been in favor of "woman's rights!"

After giving me as much food as I could eat, she presented me with ten

cents, all the money then at her disposal, accompanied with a note

to a friend, a few miles further on the road. Thanking this angel of

mercy from an overflowing heart, I pushed on my way, and in three days

arrived at Cleaveland, Ohio.

Being an entire stranger in this place, it was difficult for me to find

where to stop. I had no money, and the lake being frozen, I saw that

I must remain until the opening of the navigation, or go to Canada by

way of Buffalo. But believing myself to be somewhat out of danger,

I secured an engagement at the Mansion House, as a table waiter, in

payment for my board. The proprietor, however, whose name was E. M.

Segur, in a short time, hired me for twelve dollars a month; on which

terms I remained until spring, when I found good employment on board a

lake steamboat.

I purchased some books, and at leisure moments perused them with

considerable advantage to myself. While at Cleaveland, I saw, for the

first time, an anti-slavery newspaper. It was the "_Genius of Universal

Emancipation_," published by Benjamin Lundy; and though I had no home,

I subscribed for the paper. It was my great desire, being out of

slavery myself, to do what I could for the emancipation of my brethren

yet in chains, and while on Lake Erie, I found many opportunities of

"helping their cause along."

It is well known that a great number of fugitives make their escape to

Canada, by way of Cleaveland; and while on the lakes, I always made

arrangement to carry them on the boat to Buffalo or Detroit, and thus

effect their escape to the "promised land." The friends of the slave,

knowing that I would transport them without charge, never failed to

have a delegation when the boat arrived at Cleaveland. I have sometimes

had four or five on board at one time.

In the year 1842, I conveyed, from the first of May to the first of

December, sixty-nine fugitives over Lake Erie to Canada. In 1843,

I visited Malden, in Upper Canada, and counted seventeen in that

small village, whom I had assisted in reaching Canada. Soon after

coming north I subscribed for the Liberator, edited by that champion

of freedom, William Lloyd Garrison. I had heard nothing of the

anti-slavery movement while in slavery, and as soon as I found that my

enslaved countrymen had friends who were laboring for their liberation,

I felt anxious to join them, and give what aid I could to the cause.

I early embraced the temperance cause, and found that a temperance

reformation was needed among my colored brethren. In company with a

few friends, I commenced a temperance reformation among the colored

people in the city of Buffalo, and labored three years, in which time a

society was built up, numbering over five hundred out of a population

of less than seven hundred.

In the autumn, 1843, impressed with the importance of spreading

anti-slavery truth, as a means to bring about the abolition of slavery,

I commenced lecturing as an agent of the western New York Anti-Slavery

Society, and have ever since devoted my time to the cause of my

enslaved countrymen.

From the Liberty Bell of 1848.

THE AMERICAN SLAVE-TRADE.

BY WILLIAM WELLS BROWN.

Of the many features which American slavery presents, the most cruel

is that of the slave-trade. A traffic in the bodies and souls of

native-born Americans is carried on in the slave-holding states to

an extent little dreamed of by the great mass of the people in the

non-slave-holding states. The precise number of slaves carried from

the slave-raising to the slave-consuming states we have no means of

knowing. But it must be very great, as forty thousand were sold and

carried out of the State of Virginia in one single year!

This heart-rending and cruel traffic is not confined to any particular

class of persons. No person forfeits his or her character or standing

in society by being engaged in raising and selling slaves to supply

the cotton, sugar, and rice plantations of the south. Few persons who

have visited the slave states have not, on their return, told of the

gangs of slaves they had seen on their way to the southern market. This

trade presents some of the most revolting and atrocious scenes which

can be imagined. Slave-prisons, slave-auctions, hand-cuffs, whips,

chains, bloodhounds, and other instruments of cruelty, are part of the

furniture which belongs to the American slave-trade. It is enough to

make humanity bleed at every pore, to see these implements of torture.

Known to God only is the amount of human agony and suffering which

sends its cry from these slave-prisons, unheard or unheeded by man,

up to His ear; mothers weeping for their children--breaking the

night-silence with the shrieks of their breaking hearts. We wish no

human being to experience emotions of needless pain, but we do wish

that every man, woman, and child in New England, could visit a southern

slave-prison and auction-stand.

I shall never forget a scene which took place in the city of St. Louis,

while I was in slavery. A man and his wife, both slaves, were brought

from the country to the city, for sale. They were taken to the rooms of

AUSTIN & SAVAGE, auctioneers. Several slave-speculators, who

are always to be found at auctions where slaves are to be sold, were

present. The man was first put up, and sold to the highest bidder. The

wife was next ordered to ascend the platform. I was present. She slowly

obeyed the order. The auctioneer commenced, and soon several hundred

dollars were bid. My eyes were intensely fixed on the face of the

woman, whose cheeks were wet with tears. But a conversation between the

slave and his new master attracted my attention. I drew near them to

listen. The slave was begging his new master to purchase his wife. Said

he, "Master, if you will only buy Fanny, I know you will get the worth

of your money. She is a good cook, a good washer, and her last mistress

liked her very much. If you will only buy her how happy I shall be."

The new master replied that he did not want her, but if she sold cheap

he would purchase her. I watched the countenance of the man while the

different persons were bidding on his wife. When his new master bid on

his wife you could see the smile upon his countenance, and the tears

stop; but as soon as another would bid, you could see the countenance

change and the tears start afresh. From this change of countenance one

could see the workings of the inmost soul. But this suspense did not

last long; the wife was struck off to the highest bidder, who proved

not to be the owner of her husband. As soon as they became aware that

they were to be separated, they both burst into tears; and as she

descended from the auction-stand, the husband, walking up to her and

taking her by the hand, said, "Well, Fanny, we are to part forever, on

earth; you have been a good wife to me. I did all that I could to get

my new master to buy you; but he did not want you, and all I have to

say is, I hope you will try to meet me in heaven. I shall try to meet

you there." The wife made no reply, but her sobs and cries told, too

well, her own feelings. I saw the countenances of a number of whites

who were present, and whose eyes were dim with tears at hearing the man

bid his wife farewell.

Such are but common occurrences in the slave states. At these

auction-stands, bones, muscles, sinews, blood and nerves, of human

beings, are sold with as much indifference as a farmer in the north

sells a horse or sheep. And this great American nation is, at the

present time, engaged in the slave-trade. I have before me now the

Washington "UNION," the organ of the government, in which I

find an advertisement of several slaves to be sold for the benefit of

the government. They will, in all human probability, find homes among

the rice-swamps of Georgia, or the cane-brakes of Mississippi.

With every disposition on the part of those who are engaged in it to

veil the truth, certain facts have, from time to time, transpired,

sufficient to show, if not the full amount of the evil, at least that

it is one of prodigious magnitude. And what is more to be wondered

at, is the fact that the greatest slave-market is to be found at the

capital of the country! The American slave-trader marches by the

capitol with his "coffle-gang,"--the stars and stripes waving over

their heads, and the constitution of the United States in his pocket!

The Alexandria Gazette, speaking of the slave-trade at the capital,

says, "Here you may behold fathers and brothers leaving behind them

the dearest objects of affection, and moving slowly along in the mute

agony of despair; there, the young mother, sobbing over the infant

whose innocent smile seems but to increase her misery. From some you

will hear the burst of bitter lamentation, while from others, the loud

hysteric laugh breaks forth, denoting still deeper agony. Such is but a

faint picture of the American slave-trade."

_Boston, Massachusetts._

THE BLIND SLAVE BOY.

BY MRS. BAILEY.

Come back to me mother! why linger away

From thy poor little blind boy the long weary day!

I mark every footstep, I list to each tone,

And wonder my mother should leave me alone!

There are voices of sorrow, and voices of glee,

But there's no one to joy or to sorrow with me;

For each hath of pleasure and trouble his share,

And none for the poor little blind boy will care.

My mother, come back to me! close to thy breast

Once more let thy poor little blind boy be pressed;

Once more let me feel thy warm breath on my cheek,

And hear thee in accents of tenderness speak.

O mother! I've no one to love me--no heart

Can bear like thine own in my sorrows a part,

No hand is so gentle, no voice is so kind,

Oh! none like a mother can cherish the blind!

Poor blind one! No mother thy wailing can hear,

No mother can hasten to banish thy fear;

For the slave-owner drives her o'er mountain and wild,

And for one paltry dollar hath sold thee, poor child;

Ah, who can in language of mortals reveal

The anguish that none but a mother can feel.

When man in his vile lust of mammon hath trod

On her child, who is stricken or smitten of God!

Blind, helpless, forsaken, with strangers alone,

She hears in her anguish his piteous moan;

As he eagerly listens--but listens in vain--

To catch the loved tones of his mother again!

The curse of the broken in spirit shall fall

On the wretch who hath mingled this wormwood and gall,

And his gain like a mildew shall blight and destroy,

Who hath torn from his mother the little blind boy!

APPENDIX.

In giving a history of my own sufferings in slavery, as well as the

sufferings of others with which I was acquainted, or which came under

my immediate observation, I have spoken harshly of slaveholders, in

church and state.

Nor am I inclined to apologize for anything which I have said. There

are exceptions among slaveholders, as well as among other sinners;

and the fact that a slaveholder feeds his slaves better, clothes them

better, than another, does not alter the case; he is a slaveholder.

I do not ask the slaveholder to feed, clothe, or to treat his victim

better as a slave. I am not waging a warfare against the collateral

evils, or what are sometimes called the abuses, of slavery. I wage a

war against slavery itself, because it takes man down from the lofty

position which God intended he should occupy, and places him upon a

level with the beasts of the field. It decrees that the slave shall

not worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience; it

denies him the word of God; it makes him a chattel, and sells him in

the market to the highest bidder; it decrees that he shall not protect

the wife of his bosom; it takes from him every right which God gave

him. Clothing and food are as nothing compared with liberty. What

care I for clothing or food, while I am the slave of another? You may

take me and put cloth upon my back, boots upon my feet, a hat upon my

head, and cram a beef-steak down my throat, and all of this will not

satisfy me as long as I know that you have the power to tear me from

my dearest relatives. All I ask of the slaveholder is to give the

slave his liberty. It is freedom I ask for the _slave_. And that the

American slave will eventually get his freedom, no one can doubt. You

cannot keep the human mind forever locked up in darkness. A ray of

light, a spark from freedom's altar, the idea of inherent right, each,

all, will become fixed in the soul; and that moment his "limbs swell

beyond the measure of his chains," that moment he is free; then it is

that the slave dies to become a freeman; then it is felt that one hour

of virtuous liberty is worth an eternity of bondage; then it is, in the

madness and fury of his blood, that the excited soul exclaims,

"From life without freedom, oh! who would not fly;

For one day of freedom, oh! who would not die?"

The rising of the slaves in Southampton, Virginia, in 1831, has not

been forgotten by the American people. Nat Turner, a slave for life,--a

Baptist minister,--entertained the idea that he was another Moses,

whose duty it was to lead his people out of bondage. His soul was fired

with the love of liberty, and he declared to his fellow-slaves that the

time had arrived, and that "They who would be free, themselves must

strike the blow." He knew that it would be "liberty or death" with

his little band of patriots, numbering less than three hundred. He

commenced the struggle for liberty; he knew his cause was just, and he

loved liberty more than he feared death. He did not wish to take the

lives of the whites; he only demanded that himself and brethren might

be free. The slaveholders found that men whose souls were burning for

liberty, however small their numbers, could not be put down at their

pleasure; that something more than water was wanted to extinguish the

flame. They trembled at the idea of meeting men in open combat, whose

backs they had lacerated, whose wives and daughters they had torn from

their bosoms, whose hearts were bleeding from the wounds inflicted by

them. They appealed to the United States government for assistance. A

company of United States troops was sent into Virginia to put down men

whose only offence was, that they wanted to be free. Yes! northern men,

men born and brought up in the free states, at the demand of slavery,

marched to its rescue. They succeeded in reducing the poor slave again

to his chains; but they did not succeed in crushing his spirit.

Not the combined powers of the American Union, not the slaveholders,

with all their northern allies, can extinguish that burning desire

of freedom in the slave's soul! Northern men may stand by as the

body-guard of slaveholders. They may succeed for the time being in

keeping the slave in his chains; but unless the slaveholders liberate

their victims, and that, too, speedily, some modern Hannibal will

make his appearance in the southern states, who will trouble the

slaveholders as the noble Carthaginian did the Romans. Abolitionists

deprecate the shedding of blood; they have warned the slaveholders

again and again. Yet they will not give heed, but still persist in

robbing the slave of liberty.

"But for the fear of northern bayonets, pledged for the master's

protection, the slaves would long since have wrung a peaceful

emancipation from the fears of their oppressors, or sealed their

own redemption in blood." To the shame of the northern people, the

slaveholders confess that to them they are "indebted for a permanent

safe-guard against insurrection;" that "a million of their slaves stand

ready to strike for liberty at the first tap of the drum;" and but

for the aid of the north they would be too weak to keep them in their

chains. I ask in the language of the slave's poet,

"What! shall ye guard your neighbor still,

While woman shrieks beneath his rod,

And while he tramples down at will

The image of a common God?

Shall watch and ward be 'round him set,

Of northern nerve and bayonet?"

The countenance of the people at the north has quieted the fears of

the slaveholders, especially the countenance which they receive from

northern churches. "But for the countenance of the northern church, the

southern conscience would have long since awakened to its guilt: and

the impious sight of a church made up of slaveholders, and called the

church of Christ, been scouted from the world." So says a distinguished

writer.

Slaveholders hide themselves behind the church. A more praying,

preaching, psalm-singing people cannot be found than the slaveholders

at the south. The religion of the south is referred to every day,

to prove that slaveholders are good, pious men. But with all their

pretensions, and all the aid which they get from the northern church,

they cannot succeed in deceiving the Christian portion of the world.

Their child-robbing, man-stealing, woman-whipping, chain-forging,

marriage-destroying, slave-manufacturing, man-slaying religion,

will not be received as genuine; and the people of the free states

cannot expect to live in union with slaveholders, without becoming

contaminated with slavery. They are looked upon as one people; they

_are_ one people; the people in the free and slave states form the

"American Union." Slavery is a national institution. The nation

licenses men to traffic in the bodies and souls of men; it supplies

them with public buildings at the capital of the country to keep their

victims in. For a paltry sum it gives the auctioneer a license to sell

American men, women, and children, upon the auction-stand. The American

slave-trader, with the constitution in his hat and his license in

his pocket, marches his gang of chained men and women under the very

eaves of the nation's capitol. And this, too, in a country professing

to be the freest nation in the world. They profess to be democrats,

republicans, and to believe in the natural equality of men; that they

are "all created with certain inalienable rights, among which are

life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." They call themselves a

Christian nation; they rob three millions of their countrymen of their

liberties, and then talk of their piety, their democracy, and their

love of liberty; and, in the language of Shakspeare, say,

"And thus I clothe my naked villany,

And seem a saint when most I play the devil."

The people of the United States, with all their high professions, are

forging chains for unborn millions, in their wars for slavery. With

all their democracy, there is not a foot of land over which the "stars

and stripes" fly, upon which the American slave can stand and claim

protection. Wherever the United States constitution has jurisdiction,

and the American flag is seen flying, they point out the slave as a

chattel, a thing, a piece of property. But I thank God there is one

spot in America upon which the slave can stand and be a man. No matter

whether the claimant be a United States president, or a doctor of

divinity; no matter with what solemnities some American court may have

pronounced him a slave; the moment he makes his escape from under the

"stars and stripes," and sets foot upon the soil of CANADA,

"the altar and the god sink together in the dust; his soul walks abroad

in her own majesty; his body swells beyond the measure of his chains,

that burst from around him; and he stands redeemed, regenerated, and

disenthralled, by the irresistible genius of universal emancipation."

But slavery must and will be banished from the United States soil:

"Let tyrants scorn, while tyrants dare,

The shrieks and writhings of despair;

The end will come, it will not wait,

Bonds, yokes, and scourges have their date;

Slavery itself must pass away,

And be a tale of yesterday."

But I will now stop, and let the slaveholders speak for themselves. I

shall here present some evidences of the treatment which slaves receive

from their masters; after which I will present a few of the slave-laws.

And it has been said, and I believe truly, that no people were ever

found to be better than their laws. And, as an American slave,--as one

who is identified with the slaves of the south by the scars which I

carry on my back,--as one identified with them by the tenderest ties

of nature,--as one whose highest aspirations are to serve the cause

of truth and freedom,--I beg of the reader not to lay this book down

until he or she has read every page it contains. I ask it not for my

own sake, but for the sake of three millions who cannot speak for

themselves.

From the Livingston County (Alabama) Whig of Nov. 16, 1845.

"NEGRO DOGS.--The undersigned having bought the entire pack of

Negro Dogs, (of the Hays & Allen stock,) he now proposesto catch

runaway Negroes. His charge will be three dollars per day for

hunting, and fifteen dollars for catching a runaway. He resides

three and a half miles north of Livingston, near the lower Jones'

Bluff road.

"WILLIAM GAMBREL.

"Nov. 6, 1845."

The Wilmington [North Carolina] Advertiser of July 13, 1838, contains

the following advertisement:

"Ranaway, my Negro man Richard. A reward of $25 will be paid for

his apprehension, DEAD or ALIVE. Satisfactory proof will only be

required of his being killed. He has with him, in all probability,

his wife Eliza, who ran away from Col. Thompson, now a resident of

Alabama, about the time he commenced his journey to that state.

"D. H. RHODES."

The St. Louis Gazette says--

"A wealthy man here had a boy named Reuben, almost white, whom he

caused to be branded in the face with the words 'A slave for life.'"

From the N. C. Standard, July 28, 1838.

"TWENTY DOLLARS REWARD.--Ranaway from the subscriber, a

negro woman and two children; the woman is tall and black, and _a

few days before she went off_ I BURNT HER ON THE LEFT SIDE OF HER

FACE: I TRIED TO MAKE THE LETTER M, _and she kept a cloth over her

head and face, and a fly bonnet over her head, so as to cover the

burn_; her children are both boys, the oldest is in his seventh

year; he is a _mulatto_ and has blue eyes; the youngest is a black,

and is in his fifth year.

"MICAJAH RICKS, Nash County."

"One of my neighbors sold to a speculator a negro boy, about 14

years old. It was more than his poor mother could bear. Her reason

fled, and she became a perfect _maniac_, and had to be kept in

close confinement. She would occasionally get out and run off to

the neighbors. On one of these occasions she came to my house.

With tears rolling down her cheeks, and her frame shaking with

agony, she would cry out, '_Don't you hear him--they are whipping

him now, and he is calling for me!_' This neighbor of mine, who

tore the boy away from his poor mother, and thus broke her heart,

was a _member of the Presbyterian church_."--_Rev. Francis Hawley,

Baptist minister, Colebrook, Ct._

A colored man in the city of St. Louis was taken by a mob, and burnt

alive at the stake. A bystander gives the following account of the

scene:--

"After the flames had surrounded their prey, and when his clothes

were in a blaze all over him, his eyes burnt out of his head, and

his mouth seemingly parched to a cinder, some one in the _crowd_,

more compassionate than the rest, proposed to put an end to his

misery by shooting him, when it was replied, that it would be

of no use, since he was already out of his pain. 'No,' said the

wretch, 'I am not, I am suffering as much as ever,--shoot me,

shoot me.' 'No, no,' said one of the fiends, who was standing

about the sacrifice they were roasting, 'he shall not be shot; I

would sooner slacken the fire, if that would increase his misery;'

and the man who said this was, we understand, an _officer of

justice_."--_Alton Telegraph._

"We have been informed that the slave William, who murdered his

master (Huskey) some weeks since, was taken by a party a few days

since _from the sheriff_ of Hot Spring, and _burned alive_! yes,

tied up to the limb of a tree and a fire built under him, and

consumed in a slow lingering torture."--_Arkansas Gazette, Oct.

29, 1836._

_The Natchez Free Trader_, 16th June, 1842, gives a horrible account of

the execution of the negro Joseph on the 5th of that month for murder.

"The body," says that paper, "was taken and chained to a tree

immediately on the bank of the Mississippi, on what is called

Union Point. The torches were lighted and placed in the pile.

He watched unmoved the curling flame as it grew, until it began

to entwine itself around and feed upon his body; then he sent

forth cries of agony painful to the ear, begging some one to blow

his brains out; at the same time surging with almost superhuman

strength, until the staple with which the chain was fastened to

the tree, not being well secured, drew out, and he leaped from the

burning pile. At that moment the sharp ring of several rifles was

heard, and the body of the negro fell a corpse to the ground. He

was picked up by two or three, and again thrown into the fire and

consumed."

"ANOTHER NEGRO BURNED.--We learn from the clerk of the Highlander,

that, while wooding a short distance below the mouth of Red river,

they were _invited to stop a short time and see another negro

burned_."--_New Orleans Bulletin._

"We can assure the Bostonians, one and all, who have embarked in

the nefarious scheme of abolishing slavery at the south, that

lashes will hereafter be spared the backs of their emissaries.

Let them send out their men to Louisiana; they will never return

to tell their sufferings, but they shall expiate the crime of

interfering in our domestic institutions by being BURNED AT THE

STAKE."--_New Orleans True American._

"The cry of the whole south should be death, instant death, to the

abolitionist, wherever he is caught."--_Augusta (Geo.) Chronicle._

"Let us declare through the public journals of our country,

that the question of slavery is not and shall not be open for

discussion: that the system is too deep-rooted among us, and

must remain forever; that the very moment any private individual

attempts to lecture us upon its evils and immorality, and the

necessity of putting means in operation to secure us from them,

in the same moment his tongue shall be cut out and cast upon the

dunghill."--_Columbia (S. C.) Telescope._

From the St. Louis Republican.

"On Friday last the coroner held an inquest at the house of Judge

Dunica, a few miles south of the city, over the body of a negro

girl, about 8 years of age, belonging to Mr. Cordell. The body

exhibited evidence of the most cruel whipping and beating we have

ever heard of. The flesh on the back and limbs was beaten to a

jelly--one shoulder-bone was laid bare--there were several cuts,

apparently from a club, on the head--and around the neck was

the indentation of a cord, by which it is supposed she had been

confined to a tree. She had been hired by a man by the name of

Tanner, residing in the neighborhood, and was sent home in this

condition. After coming home, her constant request, until her

death, was for bread, by which it would seem that she had been

starved as well as unmercifully whipped. The jury returned a

verdict that she came to her death by the blows inflicted by some

persons unknown whilst she was in the employ of Mr. Tanner. Mrs.

Tanner has been tried and acquitted."

A correspondent of the N. Y. Herald writes from St. Louis, Oct. 19:

"I yesterday visited the cell of Cornelia, the slave charged with

being the accomplice of Mrs. Ann Tanner (recently acquitted) in

the murder of a little negro girl, by whipping and starvation. She

admits her participancy, but says she was compelled to take the

part she did in the affair. On one occasion she says the child was

tied to a tree from Monday morning till Friday night, exposed by

day to the scorching rays of the sun, and by night to the stinging

of myriads of musquitoes; and that during all this time the child

had nothing to eat, but was whipped daily. The child told the same

story to Dr. McDowell."

From the Carroll County Mississippian, May 4th, 1844.

"Committed to jail in this place, on the 29th of April last,

a runaway slave named Creesy, and says she belongs to William

Barrow, of Carroll county, Mississippi. Said woman is stout built,

five feet four inches high, and appears to be about twenty years

of age; she has a band of iron on each ankle, and a trace chain

around her neck, fastened with a common padlock.

"J. N. SPENCER, Jailer.

"May 15, 1844."

The Savannah, Ga., Republican of the 13th of March, 1845, contains an

advertisement, one item of which is as follows:--

"Also, at the same time and place, the following negro slaves, to

wit: Charles, Peggy, Antonnett, Davy, September, Maria, Jenny,

and Isaac--levied on as the property of Henry T. Hall, to satisfy

a mortgage fi. fia. issued out of McIntosh Superior Court, in

favor of the board of directors of the _Theological Seminary of

the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia_, vs. said Henry T. Hall.

Conditions, cash.

"C. O'NEAL, Deputy Sheriff, M. C."

In the "Macon (Georgia) Telegraph," May 28, is the following:

"About the first of March last, the negro man RANSOM

left me, without the least provocation whatever. I will give a

reward of $20 dollars for said negro, if taken DEAD or

ALIVE,--and if killed in any attempt an advance of $5

will be paid.

"BRYANT JOHNSON.

"Crawford Co., Ga."

From the Apalachicola Gazette, May 9.

"ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS REWARD.--Ranaway from

my plantation on the 6th inst., three negro men, all of dark

complexion.

"BILL is about five feet four inches high, aged about

twenty-six, _a scar on his upper lip_, also _one on his shoulder_,

and has been _badly cut on his arm_; speaks quick and broken, and

a venomous look.

"DANIEL is about the same height, chunky and well set,

broad, flat mouth, with a pleasing countenance, rather inclined to

show his teeth when talking, no particular marks recollected, aged

about twenty-three.

"NOAH is about six feet three or four inches high,

twenty-eight years old, with rather a down, impudent look,

insolent in his discourse, with a large mark on his breast, _a

good many large scars_, caused by the whip, on his back--_has

been shot in the back of his arm_ with small shot. The above

reward will be paid to any one who will KILL the three,

or fifty for either one, or twenty dollars apiece for them

delivered to me at my plantation alive, on Chattahoochie, Early

county.

"J. MCDONALD."

From the Alabama Beacon, June 11, 1845.

"Ranaway, on the 15th of May, from me, a negro woman named Fanny.

Said woman is twenty years old; is rather tall, can read and

write, and so forge passes for herself. Carried away with her a

pair of ear-rings, a Bible with a red cover, is very pious. She

prays a great deal, and was, as supposed, contented and happy. She

is as white as most white women, with straight light hair, and

blue eyes, and can pass herself for a white woman. I will give

five hundred dollars for her apprehension and delivery to me. She

is very intelligent.

"JOHN BALCH.

"Tuscaloosa, May, 29, 1845."

From the N. O. Commercial Bulletin, Sept. 30.

"TEN DOLLARS REWARD.--Ranaway from the subscribers, on

the 15th of last month, the negro man Charles, about 45 years of

age, 5 feet 6 inches high; red complexion, has had the _upper

lid of his right eye torn_, and _a scar on his forehead_; speaks

English only, and stutters when spoken to; he had on when he

left, _an iron collar, the prongs of which he broke off before

absconding_. The above reward will be paid for the arrest of said

slave.

W. E. & R. MURPHY,

"132 Old Raisin."

From the N. O. Bee, Oct. 5.

"Ranaway from the residence of Messrs. F. Duncom & Co., the negro

Francois, aged from 25 to 30 years, about 5 feet 1 inch in height;

the _upper front teeth are missing_; he had _chains on both of

his legs_, dressed with a kind of blouse made of sackcloth. A

proportionate reward will be given to whoever will bring him back

to the bakery, No. 74, Bourbon street."

From the N. O. Picayune of Sunday, Dec. 17.

"COCK-PIT.--_Benefit of Fire Company No. 1,

Lafayette._--A cock-fight will take place on Sunday, the 17th

inst., at the well-known house of the subscriber. As the entire

proceeds are for the benefit of the fire company, a full

attendance is respectfully solicited.

ADAM ISRANG.

"_Corner of Josephine and Tchoupitolas streets, Lafayette._"

From the N. O. Picayune.

"TURKEY SHOOTING.--This day, Dec. 17, from 10 o'clock, A. M., until

6 o'clock, P. M., and the following Sundays, at M'Donoughville,

opposite the Second Municipality Ferry."

The next is an advertisement from the New Orleans Bee, an equally