American Scenes, and Christian Slavery Part 7

"I knelt down," says he, "to receive the punishment, which was inflicted by Mr. Braughton, the city officer, with a HEAVY COW-SKIN.

When the infliction ceased, an involuntary thanksgiving to G.o.d, for the fort.i.tude with which I had been enabled to endure it, arose in my soul, to which I began aloud to give utterance. The death-like silence that prevailed for a moment was suddenly broken with loud exclamations, --'G--d d--n him! Stop his praying!' I was raised to my feet by Mr. Braughton, and conducted by him to my lodgings, where it was thought safe for me to remain but a few moments.

"Among my triers was a great portion of the respectability of Nashville; nearly half of the whole number professors of Christianity, the reputed stay of the Church, supporters of the cause of benevolence in the form of tract and missionary societies and Sabbath-schools; several members and _most_ of the elders of the Presbyterian Church, from whose hands but a few days before I had received the emblems of the broken body and shed blood of our blessed Saviour!"

In relating this shameful circ.u.mstance, the editor of the _Georgia Chronicle_, a professor of religion, said that Dresser "should have been hung up as high as Haman, to rot upon the gibbet until the wind whistled through his bones. The cry of the whole South should be death, _instant death_, to the Abolitionist, wherever he is caught." What a great and free country!

LETTER XV.

Voyage up the Ohio (continued)--Illinois--Evansville--Owensborough --Indiana--New Albany--Louisville, and its Cruel Histories--The Grave of President Harrison--Arrival in Cincinnati--First Impressions--The Congregational Minister--A Welsh Service.

The Ohio, the "beautiful river," is a magnificent stream formed by the confluence at Pittsburg of the Allegany and Monongahela Rivers, and is 1,008 miles long, const.i.tuting the boundary of six States: Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois on the north,--all free States; and Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee on the south,--all slave States. A trip on this river, therefore, affords a fine opportunity for observing the contrast between slavery and freedom.

The Ohio is the great artery through which the inland commerce of the Eastern States flows into the valley of the Mississippi. In ascending this river, we had first on our left the State of Illinois. This territory, which contains an area of 60,000 square miles, was settled by the French in 1720, and was admitted into the Union in 1818. Its population in 1810 was 12,300; in 1840, 476,180. It is now, probably, not far short of 1,000,000!

On the 19th of February, about noon, we arrived at Evansville, on the Indiana side of the river. This was the prettiest place we had yet seen; and its charms were enhanced by the a.s.surance that it was free from the taint of slavery. The rise of this little town has been rapid.

Its population is about 3,000. Three "churches," with their neat and graceful spires, rising above the other buildings, were conspicuous in the distance.

At 5 P.M. we pa.s.sed Owensborough, on the Kentucky side of the river.

This, too, is a neat little town, with a proportionate number of places of worship. Indeed, on every hand, places of worship appear to rise simultaneously with the young settlement. The free and efficient working of the voluntary principle is the glory of America. In reference to "church" accommodation, it everywhere appears to decided advantage compared to the most favoured parts of England. On this subject Dr. Baird's book on Religion in America is very truthful.

The fever left me on entering the Ohio, and returned no more,--a clear proof that this river is healthier than the Mississippi. The latter has much fog and malaria, which tell quickly upon a const.i.tution like mine, already predisposed by residence among the swamps of Guiana to fever and ague.

As I have already intimated, we had now Indiana, a free State, on our left. This State is rapidly advancing in wealth and population. It was settled by the French in 1730, and became an independent State in 1816.

It has an area of 36,840 square miles, being by two-fifths less than its neighbour Illinois. Its population at the beginning of this century was only 5,640; in 1840 it was 685,860. It is now above a million! In 1840 it produced upwards of four millions of bushels of wheat, and twenty-eight millions of corn!

February 20.--The scenery was diversified. Hills covered with trees rose on either side. In the summer, when all is fresh and green, there must be here scenes of loveliness and grandeur unsurpa.s.sed. At present the country had a cold and winterly aspect. It rained, too, the whole day. At 3 P.M. we approached New Albany, on the Indiana side. It is a flourishing place, with from 5,000 to 6,000 inhabitants. Just above this town are some falls in the Ohio, that can seldom be ascended by steamers, which therefore pa.s.s through a side ca.n.a.l, with locks, formed (through the superior influence of the slave-power) on the Kentucky or slave bank of the river. We had to pa.s.s through three locks, which have been very foolishly made too small to receive steamers of the largest cla.s.s in the navigation of the Ohio. Ours fortunately, not being of that cla.s.s, could "go a-head."

At 5 P.M. we got to Louisville, a city of about 30,000 or 40,000 inhabitants, on the Kentucky side. This city is a great depot for slaves, whence they are shipped for the New Orleans market. By this means it has acquired a detestable notoriety.

"A trader was about to start from Louisville, Kentucky," says the _Anti-Slavery Record_, "with one hundred slaves for New Orleans. Among them were two women, with infants at the breast. Knowing that these infants would depreciate the value of the mothers, the trader sold them for _one dollar each_. Another mother was separated from her sick child about four or five years old. Her anguish was so great that she sickened and died before reaching her destination."

Take another instance, on the same authority:--

"Not very long ago, in Lincoln County, Kentucky, a female slave was sold to a Southern slaver under most afflicting circ.u.mstances. She had at her breast an infant boy three months old. The slaver did not want the child on any terms. The master sold the mother, and retained the child. She was hurried away immediately to the depot at Louisville, to be sent down the river to the Southern market. The last news my informant had of her was that she was lying _sick_, in the most miserable condition, her breast having risen, inflamed, and _burst_!"

Let another case, testified by the Rev. C.S. Renshaw, add to the fame of this _infamous_ city.

"Hughes and Neil traded in slaves down the river: they had bought up a part of their stock in the upper counties of Kentucky, and brought them down to Louisville, where the remainder of their drove was in jail waiting their arrival. Just before the steam-boat put off for the lower country, two negro women were offered for sale, each of them having a child at the breast. The traders bought them, took their babes from their arms, and offered them to the highest bidder; and they were sold for one dollar a piece, whilst the stricken parents were driven on board the boats, and in an hour were on their way to the New Orleans market. You are aware that a young babe diminishes the value of a field hand in the lower country, while it enhances her value in the breeding States."

February 21.--Another dreary Sabbath on board. The princ.i.p.al objects of interest pointed out to us on that day were the residence and the tomb of the late President Harrison. The latter is a plain brick erection, in the midst of a field on the top of a hill, about half a mile in the rear of the former. The recollection of that man, so highly elevated, and so quickly cut down, could hardly fail to suggest a train of not unprofitable reflections. He was, I suppose, a moral and well-meaning man, distinguished for qualities not often to be found in high places; but I was sorry to be obliged to infer that much of what I had heard respecting the _religiousness_ of his character wanted confirmation.

At half-past 4 P.M. we arrived at the long-wished-for Cincinnati--the "Queen of the West." Our voyage from New Orleans had thus occupied twelve days, during which time we had been boarded and lodged, as well as conveyed over a s.p.a.ce of 1,550 miles, for 12 dollars each, or one dollar per diem! It was the cheapest, and (apart from the companionships) the most pleasant mode of travelling we had ever experienced. As the boat stayed but a couple of hours at Cincinnati, we had to land without delay. Being a stranger in a strange land, I inquired for the Congregational minister, and was told that his name was Boynton. In perambulating the streets in search of his house, I was pleased to see but one shop open. It was a tailor's, and, as I afterwards learned, belonged to a Jew, who closed it on Sat.u.r.days, the law of the State compelling all to close their shops one day in the week. In every street, we were struck with the glorious liberty enjoyed by the pigs. On all hands, the swinish mult.i.tude were seen luxuriating in unrestricted freedom. Mr. Boynton, who received us kindly, did not know of any place where we could be accommodated with private board and lodging, but promised to make inquiry that evening. He was a man of about forty years of age, wearing on the Sabbath, and even in the pulpit (as most American ministers do), a black neckerchief, and shirt-collar turned down over it. That night we had to go to an hotel, and were recommended to the Denison House, which we found pretty cheap and comfortable. But the American hotels are not, in point of comfort, to be compared for a moment to those of Old England. My wife was too tired to go out in the evening; and unwilling for my own part to close the Sabbath without going to some place of public worship, I thought I would try to find the sanctuary of "my brethren--my kinsmen according to the flesh"--the Welsh. Following the directions I had received, I arrived at the top of a certain street, when I heard the sound of sacred song; but I could not tell whether it was Welsh or not, nor exactly whence it came. As I stood listening, an overgrown boy came by, of whom I inquired, "Where does that singing come from?"--"I _guess_ it comes from a church down below there." "Is it a Welsh Church?"--"I can't tell, but I _guess_ it is." "Well, then," I rejoined, "I _guess_ I will go and see." I turned, and the youth "guessed" he would follow me. I got to the door. The singing had not ceased. It _was_ Welsh--the language in which I had first heard "_Am Geidwad i'r Colledig!_"[1] How interesting in the "Far West" to hear sounds so sweet and so familiar to my childhood! None but those who have experienced can tell the charm of such an incident. The minister was in the pulpit. His dress and hair were very plain, and his complexion was extremely dark. He was evidently a Welshman: there was no mistake about it: his gravity, plainness, att.i.tude--all told the fact. I ventured forward, and walked along to the stove, which to me was an object of agreeable attraction.

Around the stove were two or three chairs. A big aristocratic-looking Welshman, a sort of a "Blaenor," who occupied one of these chairs, invited me to take another that was vacant. The eyes of all in the synagogue were upon me. My "guessing" informant had followed me even there, though he evidently understood not a word of Welsh. The building was about 40 feet by 35, without galleries, and was about two-thirds full. The pulpit was fitted up in the platform style--the "genuine"

American mode. The text was, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?" The sermon was good and faithful. The audience--the men on one side of the chapel, and the women on the other--did not excite much interest. The men, especially, were among the worst hearers I had ever seen. I felt ashamed of my countrymen. The spitting was incessant, and attended with certain unmentionable circ.u.mstances which render it most disgusting and offensive. What a contrast to my own clean and comely congregation of black and coloured people in New Amsterdam! In about twenty minutes after the preacher had begun his sermon, one-half of the men had their heads down, resting on both arms folded on the tops of the pews before them. Whether they were asleep or not, the att.i.tude was that of deep sleep. This behaviour was grossly rude,--to say nothing of the apathetic state of mind which it indicated. I wondered how the preacher could get on at all, with such hearers before him. I am sorry to say that the Welsh too frequently manifest a great want of decorum and devotion in their religious a.s.semblies. This is telling, and will tell, against dissent in the Princ.i.p.ality.

[Footnote 1: Literally, "Of a Saviour for the lost."]

LETTER XVI.

Stay at Cincinnati (continued)--Close of the Welsh Service--The Governor of Ohio and his Relatives--The "Black Laws"--Governor Bebb's Hostility to them--Dr. Weed and American Versatility--Private Lodgings--Introduction to Dr. Beecher and others--A Peep at a Democratic Meeting.

The Welsh service being ended, my big friend on the next chair asked me, in the same language, if I was a _llafarwr_ (preacher). I answered him in the usual Welsh phrase, "_Byddaf yn dweyd ychydig weithiau_,"

which means that I did a little in that way. On learning this, he desired my "_cyhoeddiad_" (publication--another Welsh phrase) to preach there some night during the coming week; and he wished it to be announced there and then, to which I would not consent. He introduced me to Mr. Jones, the minister. After most of the congregation were gone, a groupe, including my big friend and Mr. Jones, collected around me, and most earnestly pressed for my "publication." I told them I had never been a Welsh preacher, that it was nearly five-and-twenty years since I had left the Princ.i.p.ality, and that, moreover, _I could not_ preach at all to men who put down their heads in the sluggish and sleepy manner in which most of their men had done that night. "Oh! but they won't do so when you, a stranger, preach," was the reply. "Then,"

I said, "there must be a great want of true devotion among them, if that would make all the difference." However, being much pressed, I promised at last to give them, before I left the city, a little missionary information in Welsh.

The name of my big friend was Bebb, a near relative, as I subsequently learned, of His Excellency W. Bebb, the present Governor of the State of Ohio. The history of this Governor deserves a pa.s.sing notice. He is the nephew of the late Rev. John Roberts, of Llanbrynmair, a man of great worth and usefulness, whose praise is in all the Congregational Churches of North Wales. Mr. Roberts, when a young man, joined the Church at Llanbrynmair, began to preach under its sanction, became its pastor, sustained that office for thirty-six years, and is succeeded by his two excellent sons, Samuel and John, as co-pastors! Towards the close of last century, Mr. Roberts's sister, married to a Mr. Bebb, emigrated to America; as did also his brother George, who still survives, and of whom Dr. Matheson gives an interesting account in the seventh letter of the second volume of "Reed and Matheson's Narrative,"

calling him "_Judge_ Roberts, the _Pastor_ of the Congregational Church!" at Ebensburg, in Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Bebb was soon left a widow, with two sons, William and Evan. But "the Judge of the widow" and "the Father of the fatherless" did not forsake her. She is a woman of a strong mind and great piety, and a thorough hater of slavery and oppression in all their forms. Her own principles she endeavoured to instil into the minds of her sons, sparing no efforts to fit them for acting a useful and honourable part in society. William was brought up to the law, and Evan to commerce.

And now, in the evening of her days, the pious old Welsh-woman has the gratification of seeing Evan an enterprising and successful merchant in New York, while William enjoys the highest honour that his fellow-citizens of Ohio can confer upon him! He is the Governor of a territory of nearly 40,000 square miles, and a population of 2,000,000.

Mr. Jones, the minister, is intimately acquainted with Mrs. Bebb, who carefully instructed her distinguished son in the good old language of Wales, so that, at the time of his recent canva.s.s for office, he was able to address the Cambrian portion of his const.i.tuency in their mother tongue.

On entering into office, he declared his determined opposition to the "black laws" of Ohio. Those "black laws" are black indeed. They are the foul blot of this otherwise honoured State. One of them is intended to prevent the coloured citizens of other States from removing to Ohio. It was enacted in 1807, and is to this effect,--that within twenty days after the entrance of an emigrant into the State, he is to find two freehold sureties in the sum of 500 dollars for his _good behaviour_, and likewise for his _maintenance_, should he, at any future period, be unable to maintain himself. The Legislature well knew that it would be utterly impossible, generally speaking, for a _black_ or _coloured_ stranger to find such securities. In 1800 there were only 337 free blacks in the territory; but in 1830, notwithstanding the "black laws,"

there were 9,500. A large portion of them entered in entire ignorance of this iniquitous law, and some perhaps in bold defiance of it. But it has by no means remained a dead letter. In 1829 a very general effort was made to enforce it,--about 1,000 free blacks being driven from the State, to take refuge in the more free and Christian country of Canada.

Sir J. Colebrook, the Governor of Upper Canada, said to the coloured deputation that waited upon him, "Tell the _Republicans_ on your side of the line that we Royalists do not know men by their colour. Should you come to us, you will be ent.i.tled to all the privileges of the rest of His Majesty's subjects." A n.o.ble sentiment! and one calculated to make a "_Britisher_" proud of his country, particularly since the abolition of slavery in our other colonies. At the time these people were thus driven away, the State of Ohio contained but 23 inhabitants to one square mile!

In 1838 official notice was given to the inhabitants of the town of Fairfield, in Ohio, that all "black or mulatto persons" residing there were to comply with the requirements of the law of 1807 within twenty days, or it would be enforced against them. The proclamation addresses the _white_ inhabitants in the following remarkable terms: "Whites, look out! If any person or persons _employing_ any black or mulatto person, contrary to the 3rd section of this law, you may look out for the breakers!"

At the very time I was in Ohio an attempt was made, in Mercer County, to eject by force a number of inoffensive black people. Originally slaves in Virginia, they had been liberated by the will of their late master, and located on a suitable quant.i.ty of land which he had secured for them. But the magnanimous and liberty-boasting Americans would not allow them to enjoy their little settlement unmolested; and it was extremely doubtful whether the Governor would be able to protect them from outrage.

In 1839 a number of coloured inhabitants of Ohio addressed a respectful pet.i.tion to the Legislature, praying for the removal of certain legal disabilities under which they were labouring. The answer was a denial, not merely of the _prayer_ of the pet.i.tion, but of the very _right_ of pet.i.tion! "Resolved, that the blacks and mulattoes who may be residents within this State have no const.i.tutional right to present their pet.i.tions to the General a.s.sembly for any purpose whatsoever; and that any reception of such pet.i.tions on the part of the General a.s.sembly is a mere act of privilege or policy, and not imposed by any expressed or implied power of the Const.i.tution!"

But the _blackest_ of these black laws is the following: "That no black or mulatto person or persons shall hereafter be permitted to be sworn, or give evidence in any court of record or elsewhere in this State, in any cause depending, or matter of controversy, when either party to the same is a _white_ person; or in any prosecution of the State against any _white_ person!"

Under such a law a white man may with perfect impunity defraud or abuse a negro to any extent, provided that he is careful to avoid the presence of any of his own caste at the execution of his contract, or the commission of his crime!

To these "black laws" Governor Bebb has avowed an uncompromising hostility; but the first session of the State Legislature after his election had just closed, and the black laws were still in force. Mr.

Bebb was not sufficiently supported in his just and humane intentions to enable him to carry those intentions out. I was a.s.sured, however, by those who knew him well, that he was only "biding his time," being as determined as ever to wipe away from the statute-book every remnant of these foul enactments. If he succeed, the poor old Welsh-woman, in her obscurity and widowhood, will have rendered an important service to the cause of humanity and justice. Let mothers think of this, and be encouraged!

The day after our arrival in Cincinnati, being the 22nd of February, we obtained, by the aid of Dr. Weed (one of Mr. Boynton's deacons), a suitable private lodging. Dr. Weed in early life studied for the medical profession, and graduated in physic. Afterwards he spent some years as a missionary among the Indians. Now he is a bookseller, publisher, and stationer in Cincinnati, affording an ill.u.s.tration of that versatility for which the Americans are distinguished. "Men are to be met with," says M. de Tocqueville, (and the present writer has himself seen many instances,) "who have successively been barristers, farmers, merchants, ministers of the Gospel, and physicians. If the American be less perfect in each craft than the European, at least there is scarcely any trade with which he is utterly unacquainted." I have heard of a man in New York, who, having tried the ministry and completely failed, wisely judged that that was not the way in which he could best serve G.o.d, and turned to commerce. He is now a substantial merchant, and supports five other men to preach the Gospel; each of whom, he is wont to say, does it much better than he could ever have done.

The lodging which Dr. Weed kindly found us was at the house of the Misses M'Pherson, five Quaker sisters, living together. It was clean and respectable,--the cheapest and most comfortable lodging we had hitherto met with. The table was bountifully supplied with excellent and well-cooked provisions; for which the charge was only 4 dollars each per week, and half-a-dollar for fuel, making altogether only 9 dollars for us both. Of the kindness and hospitality of these ladies we shall always retain a grateful remembrance.

In the afternoon I had the honour of being introduced to Dr. Beecher, Dr. Stowe, Professor Allen, and several other Presbyterian ministers of the New School. They were a.s.sembled for fraternal intercourse in the vestry of one of the "churches." I was struck with the sallowness of their complexions, and the want of polish in their manners. Dr. Beecher invited me to go up some day to see Lane Seminary, about two miles off.

To this invitation I readily acceded. I was greatly interested in this veteran, of whose fame I had so often heard.

February 23rd.--In the evening, I went to a meeting of the Democratic party in the town-hall, thinking it would afford me a good opportunity for observing American manners. The place was full; and when I arrived, a gentleman was addressing the meeting with great vehemence of tone and gesture. His speech consisted of innumerable changes rung on the sentiment--"There must be a vigorous prosecution of the war against Mexico." But I must reserve any further account of this meeting for my next letter.