Volume III Part 34 (1/2)

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 advertis.e.m.e.nts. 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 const.i.tution; but more probably to their diet, habits, and mode of life.

As an ill.u.s.tration 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.

Ranaway, NELSON, 27 years old,--”ALL HIS TEETH ARE MISSING.”

This advertis.e.m.e.nt is signed by ”S. ELFER,” Faubourg Marigny.

We now call the attention of the reader to a ma.s.s of testimony in support of our general proposition.

GEORGE B. RIPLEY, Esq. of Norwich, Connecticut, has furnished the following statement, in a letter dated Dec. 12, 1838.

”GURDON CHAPMAN, Esq., a respectable merchant of our city, one of our county commissioners,--last spring a member of our state legislature,--and whose character for veracity is above suspicion, about a year since visited the county of Nansemond, Virginia, for the purpose of buying a cargo of corn. He purchased a large quant.i.ty of Mr. ----, with whose family he spent a week or ten days; after he returned, he related to me and several other citizens the following facts. In order to prepare the corn for market by the time agreed upon, the slaves were worked as hard as they would bear, from daybreak until 9 or 10 o'clock at night. They were called directly from their bunks in the morning to their work, without a morsel of food until noon, when they took their breakfast and dinner, consisting of bacon and corn bread. The quant.i.ty of meat was not one tenth of what the same number of northern laborers usually have at a meal. They were allowed but fifteen minutes to take this meal, at the expiration of this time the horn was blown. The rigor with which they enforce punctuality to its call, may be imagined from the fact, that a little boy only nine years old was whipped so severely by the driver, that in many places the whip cut through his clothes (which were of cotton,) for tardiness of not over three minutes. They then worked without intermission until 9 or 10 at night; after which they prepared and ate their second meal, as scanty as the first. An aged slave, who was remarkable for his industry and fidelity, was working with all his might on the thres.h.i.+ng floor; amidst the clatter of the sh.e.l.ling and winnowing machines the master spoke to him, but he did not hear; he presently gave him several severe cuts with the raw hide, saying, at the same time, 'd.a.m.n you, if you cannot hear I'll see if you can feel.' One morning the master rose from breakfast and whipped most cruelly, with a raw hide, a nice girl who was waiting on the table, for not opening a _west_ window when he had told her to open an east one. The number of slaves was only forty, and yet the lash was in constant use. The bodies of all of them were literally covered with old scars.

”Not one of the slaves attended church on the Sabbath. The social relations were scarcely recognised among them, and they lived in a state of promiscuous concubinage. The master said he took pains to breed from his best stock--the whiter the progeny the higher they would sell for house servants. When asked by Mr. C. if he did not fear his slaves would run away if he whipped them so much, he replied, they know too well what they must suffer if they are taken--and then said, 'I'll tell you how I treat my runaway n.i.g.g.e.rs. I had a big n.i.g.g.e.r that ran away the second time; as soon as I got track of him I took three good fellows and went in pursuit, and found him in the night, some miles distant, in a corn-house; we took him and ironed him hand and foot, and carted him home. The next morning we tied him to a tree, and whipped him until there was not a sound place on his back. I then tied his ankles and hoisted him up to a _limb_--feet up and head down--we then whipped him, until the d.a.m.ned n.i.g.g.e.r smoked so that I thought he would take fire and burn up. We then took him down; and to make sure that he should not run away the third time, I run my knife in back of the ankles, and _cut off the large cords_,--and then I ought to have put some lead into the wounds, but I forgot it'

”The truth of the above is from unquestionable authority; and you may publish or suppress it, as shall best subserve the cause of G.o.d and humanity.”