One of the first sketches3 presented to view is an account of the separation of a very old, decrepit4 negro woman from her young son, by a sheriff’s sale. The writer is sorry to say that not the slightest credit for invention is due to her in this incident. She found it, almost exactly as it stands, in the published journal of a young Southerner, related as a scene to which he was eye-witness. The only circumstance which she has omitted in the narrative5 was one of additional inhumanity and painfulness which he had delineated. He represents the boy as being bought by a planter, who fettered6 his hands, and tied a rope round his neck which he attached to the neck of his horse, thus compelling the child to trot7 by his side. This incident alone was suppressed by the author.
Another scene of fraud and cruelty, in the same chapter, is described as perpetrated by a Kentucky slave-master, who sells a woman to a trader, and induces her to go with him by the deceitful assertion that she is to be taken down the river a short distance, to work at the same hotel with her husband. This was an instance which occurred under the writer’s own observation, some years since, when she was going down the Ohio river. The woman was very respectable both in appearance and dress. The writer recalls her image now with distinctness, attired8 with great neatness in a white wrapper, her clothing and hair all arranged with evident care, and having with her a prettily-dressed boy about seven years of age. She had also a hair trunk of clothing, which showed that she had been carefully and respectably brought up. It will be seen, in perusing9 the account, that the incident is somewhat altered to suit the purpose of the story, the woman being there represented as carrying with her a young infant.
The custom of unceremoniously separating the infant from its mother, when the latter is about to be taken from a Northern to a Southern market, is a matter of every-day notoriety in the trade. It is not done occasionally and sometimes, but always, whenever there is occasion for it; and the mother’s agonies are no more regarded than those of a cow when her calf10 is separated from her.
The reason of this is, that the care and raising of children is no part of the intention or provision of a Southern plantation11. They are a trouble; they detract from the value of the mother as a field-hand, and it is more expensive to raise them than to buy them ready raised; they are therefore left behind in the making up of a coffle. Not longer ago than last summer, the writer was conversing12 with Thomas Strother, a slave minister of the gospel in St. Louis, for whose emancipation13 she was making some effort. He incidentally mentioned to her a scene which he had witnessed but a short time before, in which a young woman of his acquaintance came to him almost in a state of distraction14, telling him that she had been sold to go South with a trader, and leave behind her a nursing infant.
In Lewis Clark’s narrative he mentions that a master in his neighborhood sold a woman and child to a trader, with the charge that he should not sell the child from its mother. The man, however, traded off the child in the very next town, in payment of his tavern-bill.
The following testimony15 is from a gentleman who writes from New Orleans to the National Era.
This writer says:
While at Robinson, or Tyree Springs, twenty miles from Nashville, on the borders of Kentucky and Tennessee, my hostess said to me, one day, “Yonder comes a gang of slaves, chained.” I went to the road-side and viewed them. For the better answering my purpose of observation, I stopped the white man in front, who was at his ease in a one-horse wagon16, and asked him if those slaves were for sale. I counted them and observed their position. They were divided by three one-horse wagons17, each containing a man-merchant, so arranged as to command the whole gang. Some were unchained; sixty were chained in two companies, thirty in each, the right hand of one to the left hand of the other opposite one, making fifteen each side of a large ox-chain, to which every hand was fastened, and necessarily compelled to hold up,—men and women promiscuously18, and about in equal proportions,—all young people. No children here, except a few in a wagon behind, which were the only children in the four gangs. I said to a respectable mulatto woman in the house, “Is it true that the negro-traders take mothers from their babies?” “Massa, it is true; for here, last week, such a girl [naming her], who lives about a mile off, was taken after dinner,—knew nothing of it in the morning,—sold, put into the gang, and her baby given away to a neighbor. She was a stout19 young woman, and brought a good price.”
48Nor is the pitiful lie to be regarded which says that these unhappy mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, do not feel when the most sacred ties are thus severed20. Every day and hour bears living witness of the falsehood of this slander21, the more false because spoken of a race peculiarly affectionate, and strong, vivacious24 and vehement25, in the expression of their feelings.
The case which the writer supposed of the woman’s throwing herself overboard is not by any means a singular one. Witness the following recent fact, which appeared under the head of
ANOTHER INCIDENT FOR “UNCLE TOM’S CABIN.”
The editorial correspondent of the Oneida (N. Y.) Telegraph, writing from a steamer on the Mississippi river, gives the following sad story:
“At Louisville, a gentleman took passage, having with him a family of blacks,—husband, wife and children. The master was bound for Memphis, Tenn., at which place he intended to take all except the man ashore26. The latter was handcuffed, and although his master said nothing of his intention, the negro made up his mind, from appearances, as well as from the remarks of those around him, that he was destined27 for the Southern market. We reached Memphis during the night, and whilst within sight of the town, just before landing, the negro caused his wife to divide their things, as though resigned to the intended separation, and then, taking a moment when his master’s back was turned, ran forward and jumped into the river. Of course he sank, and his master was several hundred dollars poorer than a moment before. That was all; at least, scarcely any one mentioned it the next morning. I was obliged to get my information from the deck hands, and did not hear a remark concerning it in the cabin. In justice to the master, I should say, that after the occurrence he disclaimed28 any intention to separate them. Appearances, however, are quite against him, if I have been rightly informed. This sad affair needs no comment. It is an argument, however, that I might have used to-day, with some effect, whilst talking with a highly-intelligent Southerner of the evils of slavery. He had been reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and spoke22 of it as a novel, which, like other romances, was well calculated to excite the sympathies, by the recital29 of heart-touching incidents which never had an existence, except in the imagination of the writer.”
Instances have occurred where mothers, whose children were about to be sold from them, have, in their desperation, murdered their own offspring, to save them from this worst kind of orphanage30. A case of this kind has been recently tried in the United States, and was alluded31 to, a week or two ago, by Mr. Giddings, in his speech on the floor of Congress.
An American gentleman from Italy, complaining of the effect of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” on the Italian mind, states that images of fathers dragged from their families to be sold into slavery, and of babes torn from the breasts of weeping mothers, are constantly presented before the minds of the people as scenes of every-day life in America. The author can only say, sorrowfully, that it is only the truth which is thus presented.
These things are, every day, part and parcel of one of the most thriving trades that is carried on in America. The only difference between us and foreign nations is, that we have got used to it, and they have not. The thing has been done, and done again, day after day, and year after year, reported and lamented32 over in every variety of way; but it is going on this day with more briskness33 than ever before, and such scenes as we have described are enacted34 oftener, as the author will prove when she comes to the chapter on the internal slave-trade.
The incident in this same chapter which describes the scene where the wife of the unfortunate article, catalogued as “John aged35 30,” rushed on board the boat and threw her arms around him, with moans and lamentations, was a real incident. The gentleman who related it was so stirred in his spirit at the sight, that he addressed the trader in the exact words which the writer represents the young minister as having used in her narrative.
My friend, how can you, how dare you, carry on a trade like this? Look at those poor creatures! Here I am, rejoicing in my heart that I am going home to my wife and child; and the same bell which is the signal to carry me onward36 towards them will part this poor man and his wife forever. Depend upon it, God will bring you into judgment37 for this.
If that gentleman has read the work,—as perhaps he has before now,—he has probably recognized his own words. One affecting incident in the narrative, as it really occurred, ought to be mentioned. The wife was passionately38 bemoaning39 her husband’s fate, as about to be forever separated from all that he held dear, to be sold to the hard usage of a Southern plantation. The husband, in reply, used that very simple but sublime40 expression which the writer has placed in the mouth of Uncle Tom, in similar circumstances: “There’ll be the same God there that there is here.”
One other incident mentioned in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” may, perhaps, be as well verified in this place as in any other.
The case of old Prue was related by a 49brother and sister of the writer, as follows: She was the woman who supplied rusks and other articles of the kind at the house where they boarded. Her manners, appearance and character, were just as described. One day another servant came in her place, bringing the rusks. The sister of the writer inquired what had become of Prue. She seemed reluctant to answer for some time, but at last said that they had taken her into the cellar and beaten her, and that the flies had got at her, and she was dead!
It is well known that there are no cellars, properly so called, in New Orleans, the nature of the ground being such as to forbid digging. The slave who used the word had probably been imported from some state where cellars were in use, and applied41 the term to the place which was used for the ordinary purposes of a cellar. A cook who lived in the writer’s family, having lived most of her life on a plantation, always applied the descriptive terms of the plantation to the very limited enclosures and retinue42 of a very plain house and yard.
This same lady, while living in the same place, used frequently to have her compassion43 excited by hearing the wailings of a sickly baby in a house adjoining their own, as also the objurgations and tyrannical abuse of a ferocious44 virago45 upon its mother. She once got an opportunity to speak to its mother, who appeared heart-broken and dejected, and inquired what was the matter with her child. Her answer was that she had had a fever, and that her milk was all dried away; and that her mistress was set against her child, and would not buy milk for it. She had tried to feed it on her own coarse food, but it pined and cried continually; and in witness of this she brought the baby to her. It was emaciated46 to a skeleton. The lady took the little thing to a friend of hers in the house who had been recently confined, and who was suffering from a redundancy of milk, and begged her to nurse it. The miserable47 sight of the little, famished48, wasted thing affected49 the mother so as to overcome all other considerations, and she placed it to her breast, when it revived, and took food with an eagerness which showed how much it had suffered. But the child was so reduced that this proved only a transient alleviation50. It was after this almost impossible to get sight of the woman, and the violent temper of her mistress was such as to make it difficult to interfere51 in the case. The lady secretly afforded what aid she could, though, as she confessed, with a sort of misgiving52 that it was a cruelty to try to hold back the poor little sufferer from the refuge of the grave; and it was a relief to her when at last its wailings ceased, and it went where the weary are at rest. This is one of those cases which go to show that the interest of the owner will not always insure kind treatment of the slave.
There is one other incident, which the writer interwove into the history of the mulatto woman who was bought by Legree for his plantation. The reader will remember that, in telling her story to Emmeline, she says:
“My Mas’r was Mr. Ellis,—lived on Levee-street. P’raps you’ve seen the house.”
“Was he good to you?” said Emmeline.
“Mostly, till he tuk sick. He’s lain sick, off and on, more than six months, and been orful oneasy. ‘Pears like he warn’t willin’ to have nobody rest, day nor night; and got so cur’ous, there couldn’t nobody suit him. ‘Pears like he just grew crosser every day; kep me up nights till I got fairly beat out, and couldn’t keep awake no longer; and ‘cause I got to sleep one night, Lors! he talk so orful to me, and he tell me he’d sell me to just the hardest master he could find; and he’d promised me my freedom, too, when he died.”
An incident of this sort came under the author’s observation in the following manner: A quadroon slave family, liberated53 by the will of the master, settled on Walnut54 Hills, near her residence, and their children were received into her family school, taught in her house. In this family was a little quadroon boy, four or five years of age, with a sad, dejected appearance, who excited their interest.
The history of this child, as narrated55 by his friends, was simply this: His mother had been the indefatigable56 nurse of her master, during a lingering and painful sickness, which at last terminated his life. She had borne all the fatigue57 of the nursing, both by night and by day, sustained in it by his promise that she should be rewarded for it by her liberty, at his death. Overcome by exhaustion58 and fatigue, she one night fell asleep, and he was unable to rouse her. The next day, after violently upbraiding59 her, he altered the directions of his will, and sold her to a man who was noted60 in all the region round as a cruel master, which sale, immediately on his death, which was shortly after, took effect. The only mitigation of her sentence was that her child was not to be taken with her into this dreaded61 lot, but was given to this quadroon family to be brought into a free state.
The writer very well remembers hearing this story narrated among a group of liberated negroes, and their comments on it. A peculiar23 form of grave and solemn irony62 often characterizes the communications of this class of people. It is a habit engendered63 in slavery to comment upon proceedings64 of this kind in language apparently65 respectful to the perpetrators, and which is felt to be irony only by a certain peculiarity66 of manner, difficult to describe. After the relation of this story, when the writer expressed her indignation in no measured terms, one of the oldest of the sable67 circle remarked, gravely,
“The man was a mighty68 great Christian69, anyhow.”
The writer warmly expressed her dissent70 from this view, when another of the same circle added,
“Went to glory, anyhow.”
And another continued,
“Had the greatest kind of a time when he was a-dyin’; said he was goin’ straight into heaven.”
And when the writer remarked that many people thought so who never got there, a singular smile of grim approval passed round the circle, but no further comments were made. This incident has often recurred71 to the writer’s mind, as showing the danger to the welfare of the master’s soul from the possession of absolute power. A man of justice and humanity when in health, is often tempted72 to become unjust, exacting73 and exorbitant74, in sickness. If, in these circumstances, he is surrounded by inferiors, from whom law and public opinion have taken away the rights of common humanity, how is he tempted to the exercise of the most despotic passions, and, like this unfortunate man, to leave the world with the weight of these awful words upon his head: “If ye forgive not men their trespasses75, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
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1
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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authenticate
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| vt.证明…为真，鉴定 | |
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sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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decrepit
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| adj.衰老的，破旧的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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fettered
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| v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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perusing
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| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的现在分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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promiscuously
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| adv.杂乱地，混杂地 | |
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severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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slander
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| n./v.诽谤，污蔑 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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vivacious
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| adj.活泼的，快活的 | |
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vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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ashore
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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disclaimed
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| v.否认( disclaim的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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orphanage
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| n.孤儿院 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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briskness
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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bemoaning
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| v.为（某人或某事）抱怨( bemoan的现在分词 )；悲悼；为…恸哭；哀叹 | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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virago
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| n.悍妇 | |
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emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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50
alleviation
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| n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物 | |
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51
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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52
misgiving
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕 | |
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53
liberated
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| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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54
walnut
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| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
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55
narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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indefatigable
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| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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upbraiding
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| adj.& n.谴责（的）v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的现在分词 ) | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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70
dissent
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| n./v.不同意，持异议 | |
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71
recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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72
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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73
exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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74
exorbitant
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| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
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75
trespasses
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| 罪过( trespass的名词复数 )； 非法进入 | |
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