Part 184 (1/2)

The Missouri Republican, April 30, 1838, gives the particulars of the deliberate murder of a negro man named Tom, a cook on board the steamboat p.a.w.nee, on her pa.s.sage up from New Orleans to St. Louis.

Some of the facts stated by the Republican are the following:

”On Friday night, about 10 o'clock, a deaf and dumb German girl was found in the storeroom with Tom. The door was locked, and at first Tom denied she was there. The girl's father came. Tom unlocked the door, and the girl was found secreted in the room behind a barrel. The next morning some four or five of the deck pa.s.sengers spoke to the captain about it. This was about breakfast time. Immediately after he left the deck, a number of the deck pa.s.sengers rushed upon the negro, bound his arms behind his back and carried him forward to the bow of the boat. A voice cried out 'throw him overboard,' and was responded to from every quarter of the deck--and in an instant he was plunged into the river.

The whole scene of tying him and throwing him overboard scarcely occupied _ten minutes_, and was so precipitate that the officers were unable to interfere in time to save him.

”There were between two hundred and fifty and three hundred pa.s.sengers on board.”

The whole process of seizing Tom, dragging him upon deck, binding his arms behind his back, forcing him to the bow of the boat, and throwing him overboard, occupied, the editor informs us, about TEN MINUTES, and of the two hundred and fifty or three hundred deck pa.s.sengers, with perhaps as many cabin pa.s.sengers, it does not appear that _a single individual raised a finger to prevent this deliberate murder_; and the cry ”throw him overboard,” was it seems, ”responded to from every quarter of the deck!”

Rev. JAMES A. THOME, of Augusta, Ky., son of Arthur Thome, Esq., till recently a slaveholder, published five years since the following description of a scene witnessed by him in New Orleans:

”In December of 1833, I landed at New Orleans, in the steamer W----.

It was after night, dark and rainy. The pa.s.sengers were called out of the cabin, from the enjoyment of a fire, which the cold, damp atmosphere rendered very comfortable, by a sudden shout of, 'catch him--catch him--catch the negro.' The cry was answered by a hundred voices--'Catch him--_kill_ him,' and a rush from every direction toward our boat, indicated that the object of pursuit was near. The next moment we heard a man plunge into the river, a few paces above us. A crowd gathered upon the sh.o.r.e, with lamps and stones, and clubs, still crying, 'catch him--kill him--catch him--shoot him.'

”I soon discovered the poor man. He had taken refuge under the prow of another boat, and was standing in the water up to his waist. The angry vociferation of his pursuers, did not intimidate him. He defied them all. 'Don't you _dare_ to come near me, or I will sink you in the river.' He was armed with despair. For a moment the mob was palsied by the energy of his threatenings. They were afraid to go to him with a skiff, but a number of them went on to the boat and tried to seize him. They threw a noose rope down repeatedly, _that they might pull him up by the neck_! but he planted his hand firmly against the boat and dashed the rope away with his arms. One of them took a long bar of wood, and leaning over the prow, endeavored to strike him on the head, The blow must have shattered the skull, but it did not reach low enough. The monster raised up the heavy club again and said, 'Come out now, you old rascal, or die.' 'Strike,' said the negro; 'strike--s.h.i.+ver my brains _now_; I want to die;' and down went the club again, without striking. This was repeated several times. The mob, seeing their efforts fruitless, became more enraged and threatened to stone him, if he did not surrender himself into their hands. He again defied them, and declared that he would drown himself in the river, before they should have him. They then resorted to persuasion, and promised they would not hurt him. 'I'll die first;'

was his only reply. Even the furious mob was awed, and for a while stood dumb.

”After standing in the cold water for an hour, the miserable being began to fail. We observed him gradually sinking--his voice grew weak and tremulous--yet he continued to _curse_! In the midst of his oaths he uttered broken sentences--'I did'nt steal the meat--I did'nt steal--my master lives--master--master lives up the river--(his voice began to gurgle in his throat, and he was so chilled that his teeth chattered audibly)--I did'nt--steal--I did'nt steal--my--my master--my--I want to see my master--I didn't--no--my mas--you want--you want to kill me--I didn't steal the'--His last words could just be heard as be sunk under the water.

”During this indescribable scene, _not one of the hundred that stood around made any effort to save the man until he was apparently drowned_. He was then dragged out and stretched on the bow of the boat, and soon sufficient means were used for his recovery. The brutal captain ordered him to be taken off his boat--declaring, with an oath, that he would throw him into the river again, if he was not immediately removed. I withdrew, sick and horrified with this appalling exhibition of wickedness.

”Upon inquiry, I learned that the colored man lived some fifty miles up the Mississippi; that he had been charged with stealing some article from the wharf; was fired upon with a pistol, and pursued by the mob.

”In reflecting upon this unmingled cruelty--this insensibility to suffering and disregard of life--I exclaimed,

'Is there no flesh in man's obdurate heart?'

”One poor man, chased like a wolf by a hundred blood hounds, yelling, howling, and gnas.h.i.+ng their teeth upon him--plunges into the cold river to seek protection! A crowd of spectators witness the scene, with all the composure with which a Roman populace would look upon a gladiatorial show. Not a voice heard in the sufferer's behalf. At length the powers of nature give way; the blood flows back to the heart--the teeth chatter--the voice trembles and dies, while the victim drops down into his grave.

”What an atrocious system is that which leaves two millions of souls, friendless and powerless--hunted and chased--afflicted and tortured and driven to death, without the means of redress.--Yet such is the system of slavery.”

The 'public opinion' of slaveholders is ill.u.s.trated by scores of announcements in southern papers, like the following, from the Raleigh, (N.C.) Register, August 20, 1838. Joseph Gale and Son, editors and proprietors--the father and brother of the editor of the National Intelligence, Was.h.i.+ngton city, D.C.

”On Sat.u.r.day night, Mr. George Holmes, of this county, and some of his friends, were in pursuit of a runaway slave (the property of Mr.

Holmes) and fell in with him in attempting to make his escape. Mr. H.

discharged a gun at his legs, for the purpose of disabling him; but unfortunately, the slave stumbled, and the shot struck him near the small of the back, of which wound he died in a short time. The slave continued to run some distance after he was shot, until overtaken by one of the party. We are satisfied, from all that we can learn, that Mr. H. had no intention of inflicting a mortal wound.”

Oh! the _gentleman_, it seems, only shot at his legs, merely to 'disable'--and it must be expected that every _gentleman_ will amuse himself in shooting at his own property whenever the notion takes him, and if he should happen to hit a little higher and go through the small of the back instead of the legs, why every body says it is 'unfortunate,' and the whole of the editorial corps, instead of branding him as a barbarous wretch for shooting at his slave, whatever part be aimed at, join with the oldest editor in North Carolina, in complacently exonerating Mr. Holmes by saying, ”We are satisfied that Mr. H. had no intention of inflicting a mortal wound.” And so 'public opinion' wraps it up!

The Franklin (La.) Republican, August 19, 1837, has the following:

”NEGROES TAKEN.--Four gentlemen of this vicinity, went out yesterday for the purpose of finding the camp of some noted runaways, supposed to be near this place; the camp was discovered about 11 o'clock, the negroes four in number, three men and one woman, finding they were discovered, tried to make their escape through the cane; two of them were fired on, one of which made his escape; the other one fell after running a short distance, his wounds are not supposed to be dangerous; the other man was taken without any hurt; the woman also made her escape.”

Thus terminated the mornings amus.e.m.e.nt of the '_four gentlemen_,'

whose exploits are so complacently chronicled by the editor of the Franklin Republican. The three men and one woman were all fired upon, it seems, though only one of them was shot down. The half famished runaways made not the least resistance, they merely rushed in panic among the canes, at the sight of their pursuers, and the bullets whistled after them and brought to the ground one poor fellow, who was carried back by his captors as a trophy of the 'public opinion' among slaveholders.

In the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph, Nov. 27, 1838, we find the following account of a runaway's den, and of the good luck of a 'Mr. Adams,' in running down one of them 'with his excellent dogs:'

”A runaway's den was discovered on Sunday near the Was.h.i.+ngton Spring, in a little patch of woods, where it had been for several months, so artfully concealed under ground, that it was detected only by accident, though in sight of two or three houses, and near the road and fields where there has been constant daily pa.s.sing. The entrance was concealed by a pile of pine straw, representing a hog bed--which being removed, discovered a trap door and steps that led to a room about six feet square, comfortably ceiled with plank, containing a small fire-place the flue of which was ingeniously conducted above ground and concealed by the straw. The inmates took the alarm and made their escape; but Mr. Adams and his excellent dogs being put upon the trail, soon run down and secured one of them, which proved to be a negro fellow who had been out about a year. He stated that the other occupant was a woman, who had been a runaway a still longer time. In the den was found a quant.i.ty of meal, bacon, corn, potatoes, &c., and various cooking utensils and wearing apparel.”