American Scenes, and Christian Slavery Part 5

The number of steam-boats which puff, and groan, and paddle up and down the Mississippi, is amazing,--probably not fewer than 1,200. Only in the year 1812 was the _first_ seen on these western waters! The view of a long range of these splendid vessels lying against the landing-place is magnificent. Though not very substantial, they are extremely showy.

Lightness of construction and elegance of accommodation are chiefly studied. The "Anglo-Saxon" is not by any means one of the largest cla.s.s. These vessels are doubtless well adapted for their purpose as _river_ boats; in the sea, they could do nothing but capsize and sink.

In no portion of the globe should the invention of steam-boats be more highly appreciated than in the valley of the Mississippi; for nowhere else has the triumph of art over the obstacles of nature been more complete. But for this gigantic application of the power of steam, thousands of boatmen would have been slowly and laboriously _warping_, and rowing, and _poling_, and _cordelling_ their boats, in a three months' trip up this mighty stream, which (thanks to Watt) is now ascended in ten days. This "go-a-head" country advances more in five years with steam-boats, than it could have done in fifty without them.

The princ.i.p.al points in the Ohio and the Mississippi, which nature had separated by distances and other obstacles more formidable than attend the crossing of the Atlantic, art has brought into practical juxtaposition.

On embarking on the "Anglo-Saxon," we found that we could not get off that night, and therefore made ourselves comfortable on board till morning.

February 9.--This morning, while the boat was being got ready, hawkers of light literature flocked on board. Baskets full of trashy novels were continually offered to us. Why should not the same facilities be afforded for obtaining better publications? Truly, "the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light."

This reproach is not peculiar to Americans. Why should there not be in England the same facilities for obtaining publications of real value and utility, as for obtaining works of mere amus.e.m.e.nt, if not something worse?

At noon our engine began to puff, and our paddles to move. The "crescent city" soon vanished in the distance, not, however, till we had enjoyed a striking view of it, and especially of the harbour. An area of many acres, covered with a grotesque variety of flat boats, keel boats, and water craft of every description, that had floated down from the valley above, lined the upper part of the sh.o.r.e. Steam-boats, rounding to, or (like our own) sweeping away, cast long horizontal streams of smoke behind them; while barques and brigs, schooners and sloops, ranged below each other in order of size, and showing a forest of masts, occupied the wharfs. These and a thousand other objects, seen as they were under a brilliant sun, presented a picture of surpa.s.sing splendour; but the curse and blight of slavery were upon it!

Being now fairly under weigh, let me glance at a New Orleans paper of this morning, which I bought from one of the hawkers. How consoling the following paragraph!

"STEAM-BOAT EXPLOSION.--Captain Duncan, of the 'Swan,' reports that the tow-boat, 'Daniel Webster,' burst her larboard boiler on the 6th instant, while towing in a vessel over the South-west Bar. Mr. William Taylor, one of the Balize pilots, and one of the firemen were instantly killed. The rest of the crew of the 'Daniel Webster' were slightly scalded."

These explosions are of daily occurrence; and though we had a fresh boat, and good steady men to manage it, our feeling of security was very small.

The six following advertis.e.m.e.nts I found in succession in the same paper, besides many more of a like character interspersed throughout the sheet. How _manly_ and how _mysterious_ is the first!

"To PLANTERS--For Sale, a splendid Virginia woman-servant, thirty years old, who has been in this country twenty-four years; speaks French and English; good cook, washer, and ironer, and has kept store. She is of a strong const.i.tution; has never been sick, and never had a child. She is for sale for no fault, but on account of domestic trouble. _She is not for sale for any one in this city. No one but a planter need apply_. For particulars apply at No. 189, Common-street.

"F 9--t."

"MECHANICS AT PRIVATE SALE.--We have for sale 3 good Carpenters, 1 good Plasterer, 1 Plantation Blacksmith, 1 excellent Tailor, 1 superior Cabinetmaker. The above slaves are well recommended, and can be sent on trial at their respective trades.

"BEARD, CALHOUN & CO.,

"8, Bank's Arcade."

"F 3--10t."

"NEGROES FOR SALE.--A young Negro man, first-rate field hand, 19 or 20 years old; also a very likely girl, good house-servant and tolerable seamstress. Apply to

"McMAHON & PEARSALL,

"29, Natchez-street."

"F4--6t."

"TEN DOLLARS REWARD.--Left the steam-boat 'Little Rock,' on Monday morning, the 1st instant, a Mulatto _boy_, named Bob Malane, _about_ 40 _years of age_, 5 feet 4 or 5 inches high. Any information respecting _said boy_ will be thankfully received at the office of Williams, Phillips & Co., No. 62, Gravier-street.

"WILLIAM ARNOLD."

"F7--3t."

"FIFTY DOLLARS REWARD.--Ran away from Mrs. Shall's, in Ca.n.a.l-street, on the 6th instant, at 3 o'clock, P.M., the Negro-girl Eliza, aged 16 years, rather small size, very black, with a handsome face. Had on when she left a dark-coloured calico dress, low quartered shoes, and stockings; took no other clothing. It is believed she was decoyed away by a free coloured man, well known on several steam-boats, now in the city. Captains of vessels going to St. Louis are cautioned not to receive the girl on board. The above reward will be given for the apprehension of said slave, if found in the possession of any white or free coloured person, under circ.u.mstances that would lead to a conviction at law; or 30 dollars if delivered at 28, Ca.n.a.l-street, New Orleans, with any reasonable expenses incurred in so doing.

"RICHARD KING."

"F 7--2t."

"ONE DOLLAR REWARD.--Will be given for the apprehension of the Negro-woman Sarah, aged 31 years, 5 feet 2 inches high, stout built; has good teeth; no scars or blemishes about her face, or marks upon her person. Speaks French, English, and Spanish.

"JOSE ANTONIO LANONDO,

"Corner St. Thomas and Basins Streets."

"F2--6t."

Against the powerful current of the "father of waters" we advanced at the rate of more than 200 miles a day! It was consequently dark when we pa.s.sed Baton Rouge, 140 miles from New Orleans. Baton Rouge, now the capital of Louisiana, is situated on the first "bluff," or elevation, to be met with in ascending the river. The United States' Barracks there are built, I am told, in a very fine style.

February 10.--We began to feel the cold very keenly: the thermometer was down at 46. In the middle of the day, we had to stop at an estate to take in a large quant.i.ty of sugar and mola.s.ses. The upper parts of the valley send down flour and provisions, getting from the lower sugar and mola.s.ses in return. This stoppage affording an opportunity of going ash.o.r.e, I went to see the estate buildings; and though such buildings as existing in Guiana were quite familiar to me, I was interested in observing the difference. Those of Guiana are incomparably superior; but _these_ are the result of a better policy. Ours are too large and too expensive; these are rude, simple, and cheap, and yet answer the purpose. Seeing slaves at work, I addressed several questions to one of them relative to the cultivation and manufacture of sugar, and received very sensible and even _polite_ answers.

By this time we had received an impression of the character of our fellow-pa.s.sengers. The ma.s.s of the "gentlemen" were rude and filthy beyond expression. The promenade or gallery outside, which might be very pleasant, was bespattered all over with vile expectoration. No lady could venture there with safety. The men will persist in spitting on the floor, when it would be quite as convenient to spit into the water. Many of the names of places on the route ending in _ville_,--as Donaldsonville, Francisville, Iberville, Nashville, &c.,--I could not help asking if we had not many pa.s.sengers from _Spitville_. But this was not the worst feature in the character of our fellow-travellers, who comprised gamblers, fighters, swearers, drunkards, "soul drivers,"

and everything base and bad. Of these, we had about fifty as cabin pa.s.sengers; but there were upwards of a hundred deck pa.s.sengers below--not above,--and they were ten times worse. Among men so much resembling demons I had never before been. However, my wife being with me, I had the _entree_ of the ladies' cabin. This was the abode of quiet and decency, there being but three other ladies besides. Of these, one had her husband with her, a respectable farmer from Pennsylvania, who shipped all his last year's produce in a flat boat, came down in it with his wife, sold his cargo in New Orleans, bought there what he might want during the year, and was now on his way home again by steam. Another lady, who was from Philadelphia, had come all the way to New Orleans in the hope of having a last glance of her husband before he was ordered off to Mexico,--was just too late,--and was returning home alone, with a heavy heart and an anxious mind. The third lady was a German girl from Baden, who had lived in New Orleans for three years, and was now on her way to Cincinnati to see her brother. We had also the boat's washer-woman, an old lady from New England, who sat in the ladies' cabin with as much composure as if she thought herself quite as good as any of the rest. Such is American society! So terribly afraid are they of anything that looks like aristocracy, except towards the coloured people!

I found on board a Baptist minister from the State of Maine, in New England, a thorough anti-slavery man. His testimony against the South on this subject was strong. He had lately been on a visit to a brother minister of his own denomination in North Carolina. At first, whenever the New Englander desired to go into the yard, it was necessary for his reverend brother to accompany him, and introduce him to a number of large dogs; otherwise they would have worried him.

These animals were kept to prevent his reverence's slaves from running away, and to hunt them if they did. And yet, as my travelling companion a.s.sured me, this reverend slave-holder gravely and pathetically complained of the reluctance of the slaves to attend family worship!

LETTER XII.

Voyage up the Mississippi (continued)--"Patriarchal" Establishments--The Red River--Elder Wright--Lynch-Law administered by a Preacher--Natchez --Story of Mary Brown--The Flat Boats of the Mississippi.

On the 10th of February we pa.s.sed a great many sugar estates on both sides of the river, which would be agreeable objects but for the curse of slavery. For who can look with pleasure upon the foul abodes of l.u.s.t, oppression, and cruelty? At the outer gate, in front of one of these "patriarchal" establishments, was a small octagonal building about 6 or 8 feet in mean diameter. The bas.e.m.e.nt was of brick, pierced by small air holes, barred with iron, at the height of about 8 feet from the ground; and the upper part was of wood, terminating in a pigeon-house. Making a short stay there to take in fire-wood, we inquired into the use of the building; but all the answer we could get was, that it was a "pigeon-house." The Baptist minister from Maine asked a negro, who was helping to bring wood on board; and from him he learned the real truth,--that it was a place of punishment and torture for the oppressed slave. We have since ascertained that such buildings are very common, and generally pa.s.s under the euphemistic name of "pigeon-houses."

On the 11th of February--a fine frosty day--we came to Red River, branching on our left in the direction of Texas, with which country it forms an important means of communication. This river, even where it pours its waters into the Mississippi, is not more than from 300 to 500 feet wide, and yet is navigable by steamers for about 1,200 miles. My Baptist friend had recently been on a visit to Elder Wright, a planter and a slave-holder on that river. This Wright was a New-England man, had graduated at Yale College, and boasted that he was "a Northern man with Southern feelings." He was called Elder Wright because he was a preacher,--the Baptists here calling all preachers "elders." Now, this Elder Wright told my friend that a few years ago there was great fear in his district of the slaves rising up against their masters. To this they were supposed to be instigated by the presence and influence of some strangers. Under this apprehension, a secret committee was formed to seize and try every suspected stranger, and, if he could not clear himself to their satisfaction, to "hang him up quietly." Of this secret and murderous committee Elder Wright--an _alumnus_ of Yale College, a professor of religion, and a preacher of the gospel--was chosen chairman; and the statement I have just made came in the way described from his own lips! It is notorious that in the South they think nothing of taking away a man's life, if he be even suspected of sympathy with the slave; and a country so thinly inhabited affords abundant opportunities of doing it as "quietly" as can be desired. America is indeed a land of "liberty!"

At night we came to Natchez, a town beautifully situated on the top of a hill, about 300 feet above the level of the river, and for this reason called "Natchez-on-the-Hill." Its population is about 5,000; and it is the largest town in the State of Mississippi. Its distance from New Orleans is 300 miles. Darkness had set in when we approached it; yet the numerous lights on sh.o.r.e, rising row above row to a great elevation, gave it a lively and interesting appearance. But, alas!

Natchez also is a great slave market; and I can never think of it without remembering the sufferings of poor Mary Brown. Let me narrate her painful story. It may waken in some breast a feeling of sympathy for the American slave.

Mary Brown, a coloured girl, was the daughter of _free_ parents in Washington city--the capital of the freest nation under heaven! She lived with her parents till the death of her mother. One day, when she was near the Potomac Bridge, the sheriff overtook her, and told her that she must go with him. She inquired what for? He made no reply, but told her to come along, and took her immediately to a slave-auction.

Mary told him she was free; but he contradicted her, and the sale proceeded. The auctioneer soon sold her for 350 dollars to a Mississippi trader. She was first taken to jail; and after a few hours was handcuffed, chained to a _man-slave_, and started in a drove of about forty for New Orleans. Her handcuffs made her wrists swell so much that at night they were obliged to take them off, and put fetters round her ankles. In the morning the handcuffs were again put on. Thus they travelled for two weeks, wading rivers, whipped up all day, and beaten at night if they had not performed the prescribed distance. She frequently waded rivers in her chains, with water up to her waist. The month was October, and the air cold and frosty. After she had travelled thus twelve or fifteen days, her arms and ankles had become so swollen that she felt as if she could go no further. They had no beds, usually sleeping in barns, sometimes out on the naked ground; and such were her misery and pain that she could only lie and cry all night. Still she was driven on for another week; and every time the trader caught her crying he beat her, uttering fearful curses. If he caught her praying, he said, he would "give her _h.e.l.l_." Mary was a member of the Methodist Church in Washington. There were several pious people in the company; and at night, when the driver found them melancholy and disposed to pray, he had a fiddle brought, and made them dance in their chains, whipping them till they complied. Mary at length became so weak that she really could travel on foot no further. Her feeble frame was exhausted, and sank beneath acc.u.mulated sufferings. She was seized with a burning fever; and the diabolical trader--not moved with pity, but only fearing he should lose her--placed her for the remainder of the way in a waggon. Arriving at Natchez, they were all offered for sale.

Mary, being still sick, begged she might be sold to a kind master.

Sometimes she made this request in the hearing of purchasers, but was always insulted for it, and afterwards punished by her cruel master for her presumption. On one occasion he tied her up by the hands so that she could barely touch the floor with her toes. He kept her thus suspended a whole day, whipping her at intervals. In any other country this inhuman beast would have been tried for the greatest crime, short of murder, that man can commit against woman, and transported for life.

Poor Mary Brown was at length sold, at 450 dollars, as a house-servant to a wealthy man of Vicksburgh, who compelled her to cohabit with him, and had children by her,--most probably filling up the measure of his iniquity by selling his own flesh. Wrongs like these must have inspired our poet when he exclaimed,--

"To think that man--them just and gentle G.o.d--Should stand before Thee with a tyrant's rod O'er creatures like himself, with souls from Thee, Yet dare to boast of perfect liberty! Away! away! I 'd rather hold my neck In doubtful tenure from a sultan's beck, In climes where Liberty has scarce been named, Nor any right but that of ruling claimed, Than thus to live where b.a.s.t.a.r.d Freedom waves Her fustian flag in mockery over slaves!"

As we advanced, we continually met with flat boats, laden with produce, and floating sluggishly down. In the vernacular phrase, these boats are called "Kentucky flats," or "broad-horns." They are curiously constructed. At a distance, they appear like large chests or trunks afloat. They are from 50 to 100 feet long, and generally about 15 or 20 feet wide. The timbers of the bottom are ma.s.sive beams. The sides are boarded up square to the height of 6 feet above the water; the roof being slightly curved, like a trunk lid, to throw off rain. They are adapted to carry from 200 to 400 barrels. Great numbers of cattle, hogs, and horses are conveyed to market in them. Coals, too, are thus brought down from the upper parts of the valley. Some of these barges have apartments fitted up for the accommodation of a family, with a stove, beds, tables, &c. You may sometimes see in them ladies, servants, cows, horses, sheep, dogs, and poultry,--all floating on the same bottom. It was precisely in this fashion that the Pennsylvanian farmer and his wife had reached New Orleans. Indeed, most of our fellow-pa.s.sengers had come as captains or crews of flat boats. Of course, no attempt is made to get these unwieldy boats back against the current. It would be impracticable. The flat boat makes but one trip during its individual existence. Arrived at New Orleans, it is sold for "lumber," and taken to pieces. In short, by this arrangement timber and produce are brought to market at the same time, the "stuff" of which the float is composed being but little injured. One cannot look at these temporary structures without being impressed with the vast importance of those water-powers which the Americans, with a wonderful tact, bring to bear in the way of saw-mills on the exhaustless resources of the forest. The very first thing looked for in settling a new district is water-power.