"Mobile, April 22, 1837."
"Ran away, on the 15th of May, from me, a negro woman, named Fanny. Said woman is 20 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 $500 for her apprehension and delivery to me. She is very intelligent.
John Balch.
"Tuscaloosa, May 29, 1845."
From the "Newbern (N.C.) Spectator:"
"$50Rewardwill be given for the apprehension and delivery to me of the following slaves,—Samuel and Judy, his wife, with their four children, belonging to the estate of Sacker Dubberly, deceased.
"I will give $10 for the apprehension ofWilliam Dubberly, a slave belonging to the estate. William is about 19 years old,quite white, and would not readily be taken for a slave.
John J. Lane.
"March 13, 1837."
The next two advertisements we cut from the "New Orleans Picayune" of Sept. 2, 1846:
"$25Reward.—Ran away from the plantation of Madame Fergus Duplantier, on or about the 27th of June, 1846, a bright mulatto, named Ned, very stout built, about 5 feet 11 inches high,speaks English and French, about 35 years old, waddles in his walk.He may try to pass himself for a white man, as he is of a very clear color, and has sandy hair.The above reward will be paid to whoever will bring him to Madame Duplantier's plantation, Manchac, or lodge him in some jail where he can be conveniently obtained."
"$200Reward.—Ran away from the subscriber, last November,a white negroman, about 35 years old, height about 5 feet 8 or 10 inches,blue eyes, has a yellow woolly head, very fair skin,(particularly under his clothes).... Said negro man was raised in Columbia, S.C. and is well known by the name of Dick Frazier.... He was lately known to be working on the railroad in Alabama, near Moore's Turn Out,and passed as a white man, by the name of Jesse Teams. I will give the above reward for his delivery in any jail, so that I can get him; and I will give $500 for sufficient proof to convict, in open court, any man who carried him away.
J. D. Allen.
"Barnwell Court House, S.C.
"P.S. Said man has a good-shaped foot and leg, and his foot is very small and hollow."
In the "New Orleans Bee" of June 22, 1831, P. Bahi advertises as a runaway "Maria, with a clear, white complexion." Ellen Craft is as white as our own sisters. Wm. W. Brown ("Narrative," p. 34), describing a gang of slaves who were under his charge, and destined to supply the New Orleans market, thus speaks of one who attracted the attention of the passengers and the crew:—
"It was abeautiful girl, apparently about twenty yeas of age,perfectly white, with straight, light hair, and blue eyes. But it was not the whiteness of her skin that created such a sensation among those who gazed upon her: it was her almost unparalleled beauty. She had been on the boat but a short time before the attention of all the passengers, including the ladies, had been called to her; and the common topic of conversation was about the beautiful slave-girl."
A friend, a resident for some time in New Orleans, describes to us a very beautiful slave he saw there, who had light curling hair, blue eyes, and almost a blonde complexion. After having been kept as a mistress by her owner, he finally sold her to pay his debts! No isolated case is exhibited by Wm. W. Brown when he relates the history of poor Cynthia!
Is any sickly sentimentalist shocked at these recitals? Be of stout heart! Do not Christian bishops, and hundreds of other reverend fathers,—the messengers of God's everlasting truth to our souls,—assure us thatslavery, "AS IT EXISTS,"is right; and that, consequently, the fundamental maxim of slavery, "the child follows the condition of the mother," is right also! Why, then, should not the childrenof slave-women by white fathers be rightfully slaves? Of what consequence, then, is the pollution of the soul of the mother, compared with the fact of her increased value as a commodity? How utterly insignificant is the fact that a father holds his own children in slavery, compared with the advantages notoriously derived from such an improvement in the slave-stock? In sober, literal truth, the brother owns the body of his sister, and the sister that of her brother,—so sacred is the marriage-state of slaves! If the father wishes to repair the wrong he has done, the law forbids his teaching his own child to read or write! If he is poor, too poor to pay his debts, a creditor may seize his child in its very cradle, and sell it at auction to pay the debt! It ought not to be otherwise! Is it not agreeable to the order of Divine Providence, that a child should be sold to pay his father's debts? How fitting it is for Mr. Jones and Bishop Freeman to teach such a vendible commodity to say, "Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother"!
Does any reader still doubt whether an owner thus has uncontrolled authority over the body of his female slave? Let him read the following extract from an opinion of the Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina,—the Old North State, whence Bishop Ives has long since ceased to weep over the "imaginary sufferings" of the slaves! To avoid a chastisement, a female slave ran off, and, on her refusal to stop when called, was shot at and wounded. Judge Ruffin, in delivering the opinion of the court (Statevs.Mann, 2 Dev. Rep. 263), says:—
"The inquiry here is, whether a cruel and unreasonable battery on a slave by the hirer is indictable?... In criminal proceedings, and, indeed, in reference to all other persons but the general owner, the hirer and possessor of a slave, in relation to both rights and duties, is, for the time being, the owner....
"With slavery it is far otherwise. The end is the profit of the master, his security, and the public peace. The subject is one doomed in his own person, and in his posterity, to live without knowledge, and without capacity to make any thing his own, and to toil that others may reap the fruits.
"What moral considerations shall be addressed to such a being to convince him what it is impossible but that the most stupid must feel and know can never be true, that he is thus to labor upon a principle of natural duty, or for the sake of his own personal happiness? Such services can only be expected from one who has no will of his own, who surrenders his will in explicit obedience to that of another.Such obedience is the consequence only of uncontrolled authority over the body.There is nothing else which can operate to produce the effect. The power of the master must be absolute to render the submission of the slave perfect. I most freely confess my sense of the harshness of this proposition. I feel it as deeply as any man can. And, as a principle of moral right, every person in his retirement must repudiate it. But, in the actual condition of things, it must be so. There is no remedy. This discipline belongs to slavery."[O]
Judge Ruffin had not enjoyed the benefit of the instruction imparted some years later by Bishops Ives and Freeman. If he had, he would not thus have followed the dictate of a "desperately wicked" heart, and have repudiated the discipline of slavery as morally wrong!
The Rev. Robert J. Breckenridge, of the Presbyterian Church, himself a slaveholder, was a delegate to the State Emancipation Convention recently held in Kentucky. In a speech made by him before the Convention, he is reported to have said ("Louisville Examiner"), that—
"The system of slavery denies to a whole class of human beings the sacredness of marriage and of home, compelling them to live in a state of concubinage; for, in the eye of the law,no colored slave-man is the husband of any wife in particular, nor any slave-woman the wife of any husband in particular; no slave-man is the father of any children in particular, and no slave-child is the child of any parent in particular."
Who will venture even to conceive, much less compute, the deep degradation caused by the denial of marriage to the slaves?
CHAPTER VII.
"SOUL-DRIVING."
"A negro speculator, or asoul-driveras they are generally called among slaves."—Wm. W. Brown's Narrative, p. 39.
If we would most effectually degrade a man, we need only trample on the highest and holiest of all his rights,—his right to himself; we have only to make him the subject of barter and sale, a thing for speculators to make money on, for jockeys to deceive about, and for buyers to depreciate. And yet how few act as if they admitted this truth, or even faintly realized the enormity of this wrong!
Slaves, as subjects of property, are continually spoken of and treated as horses and cows, and other live-stock! Tens of thousands of advertisements might be adduced to prove this. We have room only for a very few proofs. The Civil Code of Louisiana provides:—
"Art. 2500. The latent defects of slaves and animals are divided into two classes,—vices of body and vices of character.
"Art. 2501. The vices of body are distinguished into absolute and relative....
"Art. 2502. The absolute vices of slaves are leprosy, madness, and epilepsy.
"Art 2503. The absolute vices of horses and mules are short wind, glanders, and founder."
In the "National Intelligencer" of May 2, 1843, the administrators of Alexius Boarman advertise for sale "twelve or thirteen likely young negroes, among whom are two carpenters;four head of horses, two yoke of oxen, several head of cows, all the sheep and hogs belonging to said deceased." The same paper of December 2, 1843, contains the following:—
"Public Sale of very valuable Negroes and Stock.—The subscriber will offer at public sale at his residence, near Bladensburg, Prince George's County, Maryland, on Wednesday, the 20th of December next, if fair, if not, the next fair day thereafter,forty-five or fifty very valuable young negroes, consisting of men and women, boys, girls, and children.
"At the same time and place, he will offer his entire stock of blood horses, together with some farm stock.
"The terms of sale will be a credit of nine and eighteen months; the purchaser giving bond with approved security, bearing interest from the day of sale.
"Sale to commence at 10 o'clock,A. M.
Samuel Sprigg.
"The Marlborough Gazette will copy till day of sale."
In the same paper of January 25, 1843, directly under an advertisement for sale of "a girlabout 18 years of age, who is honest, industrious, and a good cook, fine washer and ironer, and a good seamstress," we find the notice of a "Blooded coltat auction.—A thorough bred colt, two years old the coming spring, got by Farmer, dam by Lafayette"! D. H. Candler, the sheriff of Montgomery County, Md. in an advertisement now before us, states that he has seized on execution, and will sell "for cash only" at the Court House door in Rockville, "one stallion, Red Buck, andone negro boy, John"![P]To bring the case nearer home:—in the "New England Weekly Journal" of August 27, 1733, printed inBoston, we find the following advertisement:—
"Several likely Young Negroes, best Barbadoes sugars, very good Bohea tea, bag Hollands, fine cambric muslins, and sundry other merchandise, to be sold by Hugh Hall, Esq."[Q]
In the "Boston Gazette" of October 21, 1734:—
"To be Sold by——, Several likely young negroes, lately imported,—as men, women, boys. Also choice raisins of the sun, gunpowder, Newcastle glass, in crates and boxes."
Not only are slaves thus placed on the same level with other property, but they are treated in the same manner. As our horse-jockeys not infrequently color their horses, or put on false tails, for the sake of enhancing their value, so similar arts are practised by the slave-jockeys of the South! Wm. W. Brown thus describes a part of his duties, whilst hired to the slave-trader Walker ("Narrative," pp. 42, 43):
"In the course of eight or nine weeks, Mr. Walker had his cargo of human flesh made up. There was in this lot a number of old men and women, some of them with gray locks. We left St. Louis in the steamboat Carlton, Captain Swan, bound for New Orleans. On our way down, and before we reached Rodney, the place where we made our first stop, I had to prepare the old slaves for market. I was ordered to have the old men's whiskers shaved off, and the gray hairs plucked out, where they were not too numerous, in which case he had a preparation of blacking to color it, and with a blacking-brush we would put it on. This was new business to me, and was performed in a room where the passengers could not see us. These slaves were also taught how old they were by Mr. Walker; and, after going through the blacking process, they looked ten or fifteen years younger; and I am sure that some of those who purchased slaves of Mr. Walker were dreadfully cheated, especially in the ages of the slaves which they bought."—Pp. 45, 46: "The next day we proceeded to New Orleans, and put the gang in the same negro-pen which we occupied before. In a short time the planters came flocking to the pen to purchase slaves. Before the slaves were exhibited for sale, they were dressed and driven out into the yard. Some were set to dancing, some to jumping, some to singing, and some to playing cards. This was done to make them appear cheerful and happy. My business was to see that they were placed in those situations before the arrival of the purchasers, and I have often set them to dancing when their cheeks were wet with tears."
Can such treatment result in any thing but brutalizing every noble faculty? If advertisements of stallions and boys,blood-horses and men and women, blooded colts and young slave-girls, are considered so very similar as to be placed in the same paragraph, or alongside each other, how great a difference can there be in the treatment by the public of the two kinds of stock? Is the auction-block a scene for cultivating the affections of a poor slave-girl? Are the coarse and unfeeling jests there perpetrated calculated to increase her purity, or strengthen her moral sensibilities? Treat a man as you would have him to be, is a good maxim. Respect him, and he will respect himself. Continually disregard his holiest and best purposes, and in time he will do the same.
What but pecuniary profit does the speculator in horses look to? What other object has the speculator in men, women, and children, in view? Whatever mammon bids the slave-trader do, will be done. How much more than this, or will any thing more than this, be done? Will such a person consider as of any consequence the broken hearts of husbands and wives, of parents and children, who are torn by this terrible trade from all they hold dear in life, so long as their bodies are sound, strong, and healthy; so long as the investment retains its market-value? Of what consequence is deep, heart-felt agony to a speculator? Is he whose idol is gold to be turned from his purpose merely by the foolish wailing of a woman whose heart-strings are breaking? Do the cries of children made orphans, and of parents made childless, by his acts, move the heart of that man who makes his living by buying parents and children, husbands and wives, at the lowest prices, and by selling them, "singly or in lots to suit," to whomsoever will give the highest price?
The following is a well-known extract front an Address (p. 12) published by the Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky to the churches under their care, in 1835:—
"Brothers and sisters, parents and children, husbands and wives, are torn asunder, and permitted to see each other no more. These acts are daily occurring in the midst of us. The shrieks and the agony often witnessed on such occasions proclaim, with a trumpet-tongue, the iniquity of our system. There is not a neighborhoodwhere these heart-rending scenes are not displayed. There is not a village or road that does not behold the sad procession of manacled outcasts, whose mournful countenances tell that they are exiled by force from all that their hearts hold dear."
In the "New Orleans Bulletin," we find the following "Slavery as it is," p. 168):—
"Negroes for Sale.—A negro woman, 24 years of age, and has two children, one eight, and the other three years.Said negroes will be sold separately or together, as desired.The woman is a good seamstress. She will be sold low for cash, orexchanged for groceries. For terms apply to
Mayhew, Bliss, & Co.1, Front Levee."
A similar advertisement will be found in the "New England Weekly Journal" (Boston), April 9, 1733; printers, S. Kneeland and T. Green:—
"A very likely Negro Woman, that has a child ofabout six weeks old, to be sold, either with or without the child. Inquire of the printers hereof."
The following was a standing advertisement, a few years since, in the Charleston (S. C.) papers:—
"One hundred and twenty Negroes for Sale.—The subscriber has just arrived from Petersburg, Virginia, with one hundred and twenty likely young negroes, of both sexes and every description, which he offers for sale on the most reasonable terms.
"The lot now on hand consists of plough-boys; several likely and well-qualified house-servants, of both sexes; several women with children; small girls, suitable for nurses; andseveral small boys, without their mothers. Planters and traders are earnestly requested to give the subscriber a call previously to making purchases elsewhere, as he is enabled, and will sell as cheap or cheaper than can be sold by any other person in the trade.
Benjamin Davis.
"Hamburg, S.C. Sept. 28, 1838."
This is taken from the "Jackson (Tenn.) Telegraph," Sept. 14, 1838:—
"Committed to the Jail of Madison County, a negro woman, who calls her name Fanny, and says she belongs to Wm.Miller, of Mobile. She formerly belonged to John Givins, of this county, who now owns several of her children.
David Shropshire, Jailer."
How strong was that poor mother's love! She had toiled all the way from Mobile to the county where her children lived, and the laws of a Christian country consigned her to the jail! Perhaps, in her loneliness, she remembered some oral instruction like this (Jones's "Catechism," pp. 125,126):
"Q. Should mothers and fathers very tenderly love their children?—A. Yes.
Q. And, as they receive their children from the Lord, is it not their duty and privilege to present them unto the Lord in his own appointed ordinance, and to train them up for his church and service?—A. Yes....
Q. What should they teach them to do every night and morning?—A. Pray to God.
Q. What book should parents early make their children acquainted with, and out of which diligently instruct them?—A. The Holy Bible.
Q. Is it the duty of parents to pray with and for their children continually?—A. Yes.
· · · · · ·
Q. Is it their duty to warn their children of bad company, and keep them out of it?—A. Yes."
Poor slave-mother! very tenderly indeed did you love your children. But, in your agony, you forgot that it was wicked to run away,—even for the sake of teaching them to pray night and morning! How thankful, then, ought you to be to God, that, in his great mercy, he was willing to punish your transgression in this world, instead of the next!
We never so deeply feel the brutalizing effects of slavery as when we reflect upon its peculiarly degrading influences upon woman. On some accounts, we would gladly pass over this point in silence; but so atrocious a wrong should rest upon the heart of every one.
It is an established maxim of trade, that the supply eventually equals the demand. If the trade happens to be in men and women; in one way or another, men and womenwill be supplied to meet the demand. There is a great demand for slaves in the Southern and South-western States, because slave-labor is very profitable there. "The domestic cannot compete with the South-western demand for slaves," says a writer in the leading Democratic paper of Virginia ("Richmond Enquirer," Nov. 13, 1846). The slaves in the South and West do not increase fast enough to supply the demand. The foreign slave-trade is piracy. The only resource, therefore, which is left to those States is a domestic slave-trade with the Northern Slave States; where, to meet the demand, they resort to breeding slaves!Woman is degraded into a breeder!
Mr. Gholson, of Virginia, in his speech in the legislature of that State, Jan. 18, 1832 (see "Richmond Whig"), says:—
"It has always (perhaps erroneously) been considered by steady and old-fashioned people, that the owner of land had a reasonable right to its annual profits; the owner of orchards, to their annual fruits; the owner ofbrood mares, to their product; and the owner offemale slaves, to their increase. We have not the fine-spun intelligence nor legal acumen to discover the technical distinctions drawn by gentlemen. The legal maxim of 'Partus sequitur ventrem' is coeval with the existence of the rights of property itself, and is founded in wisdom and justice. It is on the justice and inviolability of this maxim that the master foregoes the service of the female slave; has her nursed and attended during the period of her gestation, and raises the helpless and infant offspring. The value of the property justifies the expense; and I do not hesitate to say, that in its increase consists much of our wealth."
Hon. Thomas M. Randolph, of Virginia, formerly governor of that State, in his speech before the legislature in 1832, said:—
"It is a practice, and an increasing practice, in parts of Virginia, to rear slaves for market.How can an honorable mind, a patriot, and a lover of his country, bear to see this ancient dominion converted intoone grand menagerie, where men are to be reared for market, like oxen for the shambles!"
President Dew, of William and Mary's College, speaking of the annual exportation of slaves from Virginia, says:—
"A full equivalent being thus left in the place of the slave, this emigration becomes an advantage to the State, and does not check the black population as much as at first view we might imagine; because it furnishes every inducement to the master to attend to the negroes, toencourage breeding, and to cause the greatest number possible to be raised," &c.
"Virginia is, in fact, a negro-raising State for other States."
Henry Clay, in his speech before the Colonization Society in 1829, says:—
"It is believed that nowhere in the farming portion of the United States would slave-labor be generally employed, if the proprietor were not temptedto raise slaves by the high price of the Southern market, which keeps it up in his own."
"It is a melancholy fact," says the same writer in the "Richmond (Va.) Enquirer," Nov. 13, 1846, "that negroes have become the onlyreliable stapleof the tobacco-growing sections of Virginia, the only reliable means of liquidating debts foreign and domestic."
The following advertisement is taken from the "Charleston (S.C.) Mercury" ("Slavery as it is," p. 175):—
"Negroes for Sale.—A girl, about twenty years of age (raised in Virginia), and her two female children, one four and the other two years old; is remarkable strong and healthy, never having had a day's sickness, with the exception of the small-pox, in her life. The children are fine and healthy.She is very prolific in her generating qualities, and affords a rare opportunity to any person who wishes to raise a family of strong and healthy servants for their own use.
"Any person wishing to purchase will please leave their address at the Mercury office."
Does any reader exclaim there must be some mistake; it is impossible that such a notice could be inserted in theleading political paperof South Carolina? Will he feel any more convinced by reading this, taken from the "BostonEvening Post" of September 10, 1744?—
"To be Sold,—A likely negro wench, about 25 years of age, that can do all sorts of household work, especially cookery;is very hearty and strong; has proved her faculty at propagation, and is very fluent in the English language. Inquire of the printer."
Slavery is said to have existed in amildform in Massachusetts! And yet we find in our own history parallels to some of the most brutal atrocities which can be perpetrated on any human being. So essentially the same is the character and effect of slavery, wherever it exists! Does any one, and who does not, feel deep disgust at these recitals? Let us rather feel disgusted at the system which leads to such atrocities! Let not our indignation rest upon the story of the wrong, but upon the wrong itself and its perpetrators.
Does any one say these are solitary instances of atrocity? Doubtless such advertisements are rare, but not unique. Others of the same kind, and still more atrocious, might be adduced. But which constitutes the greater atrocity,—to use men and women as "stallions" and "brood mares," or to speak or print the damning deed? If the latter shows hardened feeling, what does the former prove? If these advertisements were the only ones of the kind which could be cited, still they tell a story of brutal outrage, which is happening in this Christian land, every day, hour, and minute, to tens of thousands of human beings! Other advertisements, showing the brutality of the examinations to which women are frequently subjected, might be cited. But for these we must refer the reader to other anti-slavery documents; for enough of the disgusting details has been exhibited to establish our position.
To obtain any thing like an adequate conception of the brutalizing influence upon the slaves of this trading in their bodies and the bodies of their children, we must first see to what an extent it is carried. We shall confine our attention chiefly to those who make a business of the matter, "to gentlemen dealing in slaves;" leaving almost wholly unnoticed the vast number of instances of buying and selling slaves between private individuals, chaffering between neighbors, for their private ends! Not that this latter kind of slave-trade is any less degrading in its effects, but only because proofs in relation to the other are more accessible, and are amply sufficient for our purpose.
CHAPTER VIII.
"DOMESTIC SLAVE-TRADE."
"The traffic in slaves is irreconcilable with the principles of justice and humanity."—Treaty of Ghent.
No description of ours can give any adequate idea of the extent of this terrible trade. It is as regular a branch of business as any other that can be named. The city of Washington licenses persons to "traffic in slaves for profit"! The trade is carried on between Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Kentucky,—or the slave-raising States,—and Alabama, Mississippi, and the other slave-consuming States. Depots, or private jails, are erected at convenient places.
In the "American Beacon" (published at Norfolk, Va.), Jan. 24, 1848, appear the two following advertisements:—
"Negro Repository.—The undersigned has, at a very considerable expense, erected, and fitted up in a style of comfort and convenience, a commodious two-story building on Union-street, second door east of Church-street, for the safe keeping and accommodation of negroes, both male and female (the apartments being entirely separate), which are brought to this market for sale. This building is admirably adapted to the object proposed, having airy and pleasant rooms, and every convenience which could be desired, besides large yards,walled in high, a capacious cistern, &c. which, whilst they secure the comfort of the negro, likewise guarantee the most ample security for his safe keeping.
"In addition to boarding negroes for sale, the undersigned proposes keeping on hand from time to time, for sale, such negroesas may be in demand in this market, embracing every description of house and field-hands, male and female, young and old, that may be called for, and upon terms entirely accommodating.
"Besides the boarding and the selling of negroes, he will also make exchanges, giving or receiving such boot as the difference in age, character, qualifications, and appearance may notify.
"The highest cash market prices paid for negroes of both sexes at all times.
Wm. W. Hall."
"Cash for Negroes.—I will pay the highest cash for likely young negroes of both sexes, from 10 to 30 years of age. All those that have such to dispose of would do well to give me a call before selling. I will also attend to shipping of negroes to any of the Southern ports, free of charge, when left with me;as I have a private jail for the safe keeping of servants. For further information, inquire at my office at Union Hotel, Union-street, or through the post-office.
G. W. Apperson."
The following is taken from a New Orleans paper:—
"Slave Depot.—J. Buddy.—Slave-yard and boarding-house, 159, Gravier-street, second door from Carondelet.
"House-servants and field-hands for sale at all times. Slaves will be received on board or sold on favorable terms. The building is a large three-story brick house, andvery commodious as a slave depot. Particular attention will be paid to the health and cleanliness of all slaves placed in this yard."
From the "Missouri Republican," St. Louis, July 13, 1849:—
"Removal.—Blakey & McAfee have removed to No. 93, Olive-street, six doors west of their old stand. They are prepared at all times to pay the highest prices for negroes.They have also a good secure yard, with a strong jail attached, and are prepared to board negroes sent to this market for sale. Persons having negroes for sale will please call and see us. Those wishing to purchase can find what they want at our yard.
Blakey & McAfee,No. 93, Olive-street."
Hon. Horace Mann has described to us the slave-pen in the city of Washington; and another member of Congress informs us, that the United States jail in the District of Columbia is frequently used for the purpose of storing humanbeings for sale! Thus, in the "National Intelligencer" (Dec. 19, 1844), we find the following notice:—
"For Sale,—A likely young negro, in the jail of Washington. He is a most excellent teamster, and well acquainted with the care of horses. Persons wishing to purchase will apply to Mr. Ball, at the jail, where the boy may be seen, and further information given."
The activity of this trade may be inferred from these advertisements, which constitute but a small portion of what might be produced.
In the "National Intelligencer," March 28, 1836, three slave-traders in the District of Columbia advertise fortwelve hundrednegroes, and a fourth offers to buy any number! Here is one of the advertisements:—
"Cash for Five Hundred Negroes, including both sexes, from ten to twenty-five years of age.—Persons having likely servants to dispose of will find it their interest to give us a call, as we will give higher prices in cash than any other purchaser who is now or may hereafter come into the market.
Franklin & Amfield, Alexandria."
In a later number of the same paper are the following:—
"Cash for Negroes.—I will give cash and liberal prices for any number of young and likely negroes, from eight to forty years of age. Persons having negroes to dispose of will find it to their advantage to give me a call at my residence, on the corner of Seventh-street and Maryland Avenue, and opposite Mr. Williams's private jail.
William H. Richards."
"Cash for Negroes.—The subscriber wishes to purchase a number of negroes for the Louisiana and Mississippi market. Himself or an agent at all times can be found at his jail, on Seventh-street.
Wm. H. Williams."
In a later number, June 24, 1843, Mr. Richards is not so eager:—
"Cash for Negroes.—The subscriber wishes to purchase twenty or thirty negroes, and will pay the highest market price. Persons having negroes to sell will find it to their interest to give him a call before they sell. I can be always found at my residence,corner of Seventh-street and Maryland Avenue. All communications through the post-office will be promptly attended to.
Wm. H. Richards."
In a still later number, July 22, 1843, appears this:—
"Cash! Cash!—The subscriber wishes to purchase any number of negroes for the Southern markets. The subscriber will at all times give the highest market price in cash for likely negroes, mechanics and house servants included. Himself or agent can at all times be seen at the corner of Seventh-street and Maryland Avenue. All communications will receive prompt attention.
Thomas Williams."
The following are samples of some of the advertisements of Maryland traders. The original of all of these advertisements will be found at the Anti-Slavery office, Boston. We begin with one of Hope H. Slatter:—
"Negroes Wanted.—Having returned from New Orleans, I will now pay the highest cash prices for all likely negroes that are slaves for life and good titles. All communications will be promptly attended to.
Hope H. Slatter, Pratt-street.
"N.B. On the 7th day of June, 1844, Jonathan M. Wilson (my former agent), by mutual consent, withdrew from my employment, and is no longer my agent.
Hope H. Slatter.
"Baltimore, July 29."
"Cash for Five Hundred Negroes, at the old establishment of Slatter's, No. 244, Pratt-street, Baltimore, between Sharp and Howard-streets, where the highest prices are paid,—which is well known.We have large accommodations for negroes, and always buying.Being regular shippers to New Orleans, persons should bring their property where no commissions are paid, as the owners lose it. All communications attended to promptly by addressing
H. F. Slatter."
"Negroes Wanted.—I have removed from my former residence, West Pratt-street, to my new establishment on Camden-street, immediately in the rear of the railroad depot, where I am permanently located. Persons bringing negroes by the cars will find it very convenient, as it is only a few yards from where the passengers get out. Those having negroes for sale will find it to their advantage to call and see me, as I am at all times paying the highest prices in cash.
J. S. Donovan, Baltimore, Md."
"Negroes Wanted.—O. C. & S. Y. Harris, of Upper Marlboro', wish to purchase any number of negroes, for which they will give the highest market price in cash. They will be in Port Tobacco once in every week. Any communications left in their absence with Mr. Lyne Shackelford will be promptly attended to."
"Negroes Wanted.—The highest market prices will be given for negroes at all times. Persons having negroes for sale will please call at my office, No. 26, Conway-street, between Charles and Hanover. Communications promptly attended to.
"Also negroes will be received and kept at twenty-five cents per day.
B. M. Campbell.
"April 7, 1846."
"Negroes Wanted.—Persons wishing to sell their negroes will find it to their advantage to give me a call before selling elsewhere.I have all the facilities that the trade will admit of in the New Orleans and other markets.Such being the case, I can give as much as any one else, which I am determined to do. Any communication addressed to me, either in Baltimore or Port Tobacco, will be attended to immediately.
John G. Campbell,Agent for B. M. Campbell.
"Jan. 1, 1847."
"Take Notice.—Persons wishing to dispose of their servants would do well to give me a call before they sell to the traders. By paying a small commission to an agent, they can get from $75 to $100 more; asI receive monthly from New Orleans, Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, S.C. the full market prices for slaves.
"Scott'sIntelligence Office, No. 10, Exchange Place."
The following is taken from the "Wilmington (Va.) Journal" of Sept. 3, 1847:—
"Negroes Wanted.—I wish to purchase a large number of negroes, of both sexes, from the age of 14 to 30, for which I will pay the highest cash market price. As I intend making a long stay in Wilmington for that purpose, persons from the country would find it to their advantage to bring such slave-property to town as they have to dispose of. Also wanted some good carpenters, blacksmiths, coopers, and bricklayers.—Apply to me, at the Carolina Hotel.
Ansley Davis, of Petersburg, Va.
"Wilmington, May 7, 1847."
The following is extracted from an advertisement of Lewis A. Collier, a trader in Richmond, Va.:—
"Notice.—This is to inform my former acquaintances and the public generally, that I yet continue in the slave-trade, at Richmond, Virginia, and will at all times buy and give a fair market price for young negroes. Persons in this State, Maryland, or North Carolina, wishing to sell lots of negroes, are particularly requested to forward their wishes to me at this place. Persons wishing to purchase lots of negroes are requested to give me a call, as I keep constantly on hand at this place a great many for sale; and have at this time the use of one hundred young negroes, consisting of boys, young men, and girls. I will sell at all times at a small advance on cost, to suit purchasers.I have comfortable rooms, with a jail attached, for the reception of the negroes; and persons coming to this place to sell slaves can be accommodated, and every attention necessary will be given to have them well attended to; and, when it may be desired, the reception of the company ofgentlemen dealing in slaveswill conveniently and attentively be received. My situation is very healthy, and suitable for the business.
Lewis A. Collier."
The "St. Louis Daily Union" of August 26, 1847, contains the following:—
"One Hundred Negroes Wanted.—The subscriber wishes to purchase one hundred negroes, of both sexes, for which I will pay the highest price, in cash. I can be found at all times at No. 104, Locust-street, by Gerard's stable.
Wm. Johnson."
"Negroes Wanted.—For two hundred negroes, the highest prices will be paid by
B. W. Powell, City Hotel, or51, Front-street."
The "Daily Reveille" (St. Louis), of the same date, contains the following:—
"Wantedto purchase, thirty or forty young negroes, by
Curle & Goddin, 79, Olive-street."
The following is taken from the "St. Louis Republican:"
"Negroes Wanted and Boarded.—The highest cash price paid for young likely negroes, at 104, Locust-street, between Third and Fourth, adjoining Gerard's stables.
"N.B. Our house will be well secured, and afford theadvantages of a jail surrounded by walls, and a basement cell in it.
White & Tooly."
The following two are found in the "Evening Mercury" of Jan. 14, 1848, published in New Orleans:—
"Slaves Wanted.—Wanted to purchase, slaves of every description, at the New Orleans depot, No. 156, Common-street, for which liberal prices will be paid. Slaves will also be sold on commission, and purchasers are invited to call and see a well-selected lot of slaves offered at low prices.
Elihu Creswell."
"Slaves Wanted.—E. Creswell, No. 163, Gravier-street, will pay the most liberal price for slaves of all descriptions; and those who have slaves for sale will do well to give him a call before selling to others. He will also exchange slaves, sell slaves on commission; and those who wish to purchase will do well to give him a call before buying elsewhere,as he keeps on hand a good selection of slaves, sold under full guarantee, and good reference for titles given."
The foregoing advertisements give us some faint idea of the demand for slaves. Those which follow are of slaves for sale. We cannot commence more appropriately than with these, taken from the "New Orleans Picayune:"—
"Slaves for Sale.—Hope H. Slatter, who has retired from the trade, has sold to me his establishment in Baltimore, and leased for a number of years his old stand at the corner of Esplanade and Moreau-streets, at which placeI shall keep up a large and general assortment of slaves for sale, imported direct from Maryland and Virginia.
Walter L. Campbell,Successor to Hope H. Slatter."
"Negroes, Negroes.—Just received, and for sale at No. 7, Moreau-street, Third Municipality, a large and likely lot of negroes, consisting of field-hands, house-servants, and mechanics.Will be receiving new lots regularly from Virginia during the season.
Wm. F. Talbott."
The same paper of Oct. 18, 1846, contains the following two:—
"Slaves for Sale, No. 165, Gravier-street.—The subscriber has always on hand a number of slaves, consisting of house-servants, field-hands, and mechanics, which will be sold low, for cash ornegotiable paper. Persons desirous of purchasing will find it to their interest to call and examine. The subscriber will also receive and sell on consignment any negro that may be entrusted to his care.
"He would also respectfully notify persons engaged in the slave-trade, that he is prepared to board them and their slaves on the most reasonable terms.
Wm. H. Merritt.
"Reference: J. Barelli, C. J. Mansoni."
"Negroes for Sale.—We, the subscribers, have for sale, at our establishment, No. 159, Gravier-street (block in the rear of St. Charles Exchange), a large lot of valuable slaves, suitable for plantation, house-servants, &c. &c. Persons desirous of purchasing will find it to their interest to call and examine.
"We will also receive and sell on consignment any negroes that may be entrusted to us. We would also respectfully notify owners of negroes,and persons engaged in the slave-trade, that we are prepared to board negroes, and furnish traders with rooms, &c.
"Our house is roomy, airy, and dry. Terms reasonable.
John Buddy.Wm. H. Merritt."
Mr. Wm. H. Bolton, whose name is appended to the next advertisement, is from Tennessee:—
"Negroes for Sale.—I have again returned to this market, with eighteen or twenty likely negroes. I have located on the corner of Main and Adams-streets. I have plough-boys, men, women, and girls,and some very fancy ones.I intend to keep a constant supply through the season, and will not be undersold by any in market.My motto is, 'the swift penny; the slow shilling' I never get.
"I will also pay the highest cash price for young negroes.
W. H. Bolton.
"November 21, 1846."
To what uses these "very fancy" girls are put may be inferred from the following advertisement,[R]taken from the "Norfolk Herald:"—
"Notice.—For sale, a colored girl, of very superior qualifications, who is now in Mr. Hall's jail in Norfolk. She is what speculators call a fancy girl; a bright mulatto, fine figure, straight, black hair, and very black eyes; remarkably neat and cleanly in her dress and person. I venture to say, that there is not a better seamstress, cutter and fitter of ladies' and children's dresses in Norfolk, or elsewhere, or a more fanciful netter of bead bags, money-purses, &c.
"Any lady or gentleman in Norfolk or Portsmouth, who may wish to purchase a girl of this description (whom I consider the most valuable in Virginia), may take her and try her a month or more at my risk, and, if she does not suit and answer the description here given, may return her to Mr. Hill.
"The cause of offence for which I intend, though reluctantly, to sell her, is, that she has been recently induced by the persuasions of some colored persons to make her escape with them to the North, in which she failed, and is now for sale.—Apply to the subscriber, in Suffolk, or to James Murdaugh, Esq. or to C. C. Robinson, of Portsmouth, for further information.
Joseph Holladay."
Tennessee can also claim the honor of having such careful traders as Mr. J. S. Curtis:—
"One Hundred "A No. 1" Negroes.—I have on hand one hundred negroes, men, women, boys, and girls, at my depot, in Gaine's brick building, immediately back of Howard's Row, between the Gayoso and Herron House. I have judicious men purchasing in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Middle Tennessee, and will keep constantly on hand a large number.
"Persons wishing to purchase will do well not to trade, without first calling to see my stock.
J. S. Curtis.
"Memphis, November 20, 1846."
The "Spirit of Liberty" contains the following:—
"Southern Planters, wishing to purchase negroes, would do well to give me a call before they make their purchases, as it would be greatly to their advantage. Negroes purchased and sold on reasonable commission. Apply at
Scott'sIntelligence Office, No. 10, Exchange Place."
In the "Daily Richmond Enquirer," Sept 1, 1847, we find this:—
"Negroes At Auction.—On Monday, the 6th of September (Albemarle Court day), at Charlottesville, there will be sold at public auction about sixty valuable negroes, of every description.
"August 31."
In the same paper, Jan. 25, 1848, we find this:—
"Twenty Negroes.—Will be sold Friday, 28th inst. at 10 o'clock, twenty likely young negroes, viz. ten able-bodied men, three boys, four women, and three girls.
"Will be added to the above sale, a negro-man, 40 years of age, who is a first-rate carpenter by trade, also a rough blacksmith.
"Benj. Davis, Auctioneer,No. 3, Wall-street."
The following is taken from the "Alabama Argus," published at Dayton, Ala.:—
"For Sale Sixty Negroes.—By order of the Hon. the Orphans' Court of Marengo County, the undersigned, administrator of the estate of Moses W. Alexander, deceased, will, on Monday, the 5th of February, 1849, at the plantation of said Moses W. Alexander, deceased, in the Cane Brake, one mile south of Col. Pickens's mills, offer at public sale, to the highest bidder, a lot, numbering sixty, of the likeliest and best negroes ever sold in the South. They are all family negroes,—not bought up by speculators from every State in the South, but raised by different men, in families from five to twenty each. Among this stock of negroes are some able-bodied, stout, and valuable negro-men, and several likely young boys, from 10 to 18 years of age; also some likely negro-women, girls, and children. Among the same, A No. 1 cotton-pickers; a good weaver; and also one negro, who is a very good carpenter and blacksmith.—Terms of sale, twelve months' credit, with approved security.
J. M. Alexander, Administrator.
"January 5."
The following advertisement is before us ("Spirit of Liberty"):—
"Valuable Slaves at Auction.—I will sell on Saturday, the 14th inst. in front of the Market-house, one woman and her child. The woman is about 24 years old; and the child, a girl, about 5 years of age. The woman accustomed to house-business, also to the farm. The negroes are very likely, and warrantedsound. They will be sold on a credit of sixty days for negotiable paper satisfactorily endorsed.
Charles Phelps, Auctioneer.
"Nov. 5."
The following is taken from a paper published at Opelousas (La.):—
"Auction Sale.—The undersigned will offer for sale, through the ministry of a public auctioneer, on her plantation, near Carancro, in the parish of St. Landry, on Monday the 5th day of February next, and the following days, one hundred choice slaves, of both sexes and different ages, among which is a good blacksmith and several other mechanics. These slaves will be sold separately, and under full and satisfactory guarantee of titles.—8 ox-carts, 69 work-oxen, 20 mules, 20 work-horses, 1,500 barrels of corn, 12,500 cypress pickets.
Conditions of Sale.—The slaves will be sold on a credit of one and two years from the day of sale; purchasers giving sufficient security to the satisfaction of the vendor, and the slaves remaining specially mortgaged until final payment of principal and the interest which may accrue thereon, at the rate of eight per cent per annum from time due until final payment. The conditions of the sale of the movable property will be made known on the day of sale.
Widow Hypolite Cretien.
"Opelousas, January 3d, 1849."
Literally speaking, tens of thousands of such advertisements as these might be adduced. You can hardly open a Southern paper without finding several.
Part of the trade is carried on by water. This part of the trade is regulated by Act of Congress (Act March 2, 1807, sect. 8-10), and slavers sail apparently with commendable regularity. The following notice is taken from the "National Intelligencer" a few years since:—
"Alexandria and New Orleans Packets.—Brig Tribune, Samuel C. Bush, master, will sail as above on the 1st January; brig Isaac Franklin, William Smith, master, on the 15th January; brig Uncas, Nathaniel Boush, master, on the 1st February. They will continue to leave this port on the 1st and 15th of each month, throughout the shipping season.Servants that are intended to be shipped will at any time be received for safe keeping at twenty-five cents a day.
John Amfield, Alexandria."
The two following advertisements are taken from the "American Beacon" of January 24, 1848, published at Norfolk, Virginia. They are advertisements of the same person, who, as we have just seen, offers to "attend to shipping of negroes to any of the Southern ports:"—
"For New Orleans.—Virginia and Louisiana Line Packets. The fast-sailing packet barque Bachelor, Page, master, will sail for the above port from the 20th to the 27th inst. For freight, cabin or steerage passage, for which she has good accommodations, apply to
G. W. Apperson."
"For New Orleans.—Virginia and Louisiana Line Packets will commence their regular trips to the above port the 20th September, and continue monthly throughout the season. They consist of the following vessels, to wit, barque Parthian, Capt. G. W. Allen; barque Bachelor, Capt. Hiram Horton; barque Phœnix, Capt. Nathaniel Boush.
"The above vessels are all of the first class, and commanded by long and experienced commanders.—For further information, apply to
G. W. Apperson."
This Capt. Nath. Boush is probably the same man who figures in Mr. Amfield's advertisement. ButSoutherntraders by no means have a monopoly of this coastwise slave-trade. The barque Parthenon, Mellish, master, cleared from the port of New York, October 10, 1846, for Richmond, Virginia,avowedly"to load with slaves for the port of New Orleans."
How business-like is the following letter from a North Carolina slave-trader to his consignee in New Orleans! ("A Reproof of the American Church," p. 22):—
"Halifax, N.C.November 16, 1839.
"Dear Sir,—I have shipped in the brig Addison, prices as below:—No. 1, Caroline Ennis, $650; 2, Silvy Holland, $625; 3, Silvy Booth, $487.50; 4, Maria Pollock, $475; 5, Emeline Pollock, $475; 6, Delia Averit, $475.
"The two girls that cost $650 and $625 were bought before I shipped my first. I have a great many negroes offered to me;but I will not pay the prices they ask, for I know they will come down. I have no opposition in market. I will wait until I hear from you before I buy, and then I can judge what I must pay. Goodwin will send you the bill of lading for my negroes, as he shipped them with his own.Write often, as the times are critical, and it depends on the prices you get to govern me in buying.
"Yours, &c.G. W. Barnes.
"Mr. Theophilus Freeman, New Orleans."
The number of slaves thus bought and sold can never be known with perfect accuracy. Hon. John G. Palfrey, in his excellent Papers on the Slave Power (p. 83), estimates the number annually sold from the more northerly Slave States at not less thanforty thousand! We think his estimate within the truth.
In the course of a single year, 1835-6, no less than forty thousand slaves are said to have been sold out of Virginia alone! ("Niles's Reg." Oct. 8, 1836.) The "New York Journal of Commerce" of Oct. 12, 1835, contained a letter from a Virginian, whom the editor calls "a very good and sensible man," asserting thattwenty thousandslaves had been driven to the South from Virginia during that year, of which nearly one fourth was then remaining. But 1835 and 1836 were years of great speculation. In 1837 the consequent severe pressure in the money market was attributed by a committee of the citizens of Mobile (Ala.) in part to over-trading in slaves. Their report states, that purchases by Alabama of that species of property from other States since 1833 have amounted to about ten million dollars annually.
The slaves increase in about the same ratio in all of the Slave States. If the warmer latitudes of the extreme South are more congenial to them, and favor their increase more than the climate of Virginia, this effect is, at least, fully balanced by the great amount and unhealthy character of much of the labor on the sugar, rice, and cotton plantations, and by the great extent to which slave-breeding is carried in the more northern States. The following table exhibits therates of increase of the slaves, every ten years, from 1790 to 1840:—
Accordingly, for the fifty years ending in 1840, the slaves increased on an average a little over twenty-eight per cent every ten years. We adopt this as a fair statement of what should be their decennial natural increase in all the States; and, by natural increase, we mean increase from births. The following tables explain themselves:—
SLAVE-EXPORTING STATES.
SLAVE-IMPORTING STATES.