“I wouldn’t care for his doctrine, if I bought him; I don’t care how black he is; feed him right, and in a month he will be as orthodox as an archbishop.”
CHAPTER VIII.
MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA.
New Orleans.—The steamboat by which I made the passage along the north shore of the Mexican Gulf to New Orleans, was New York built, and owned by a New-Yorker; and the Northern usage of selling passage tickets, to be returned on leaving the boat, was retained upon it. I was sitting near a group of Texans and emigrating planters, when a waiter passed along, crying the usual request, that passengers who had not obtained tickets would call at the captain’s office for that purpose. “What’s that? What’s that?” they shouted; “What did he mean? What is it?” “Why, it’s a dun,” said one. “He is dunnin’ on us, sure,” continued one and another; and some started from the seats, as if they thought it insulting. “Well, it’s the first time I ever was dunned by a nigger, I’ll swar,” said one. This seemed to place it in a humorous aspect; and, after a hearty laugh, they resumed their discussion of the advantages offered to emigrants in different parts of Texas, and elsewhere.
There was a young man on the boat who had been a passenger with me on the boat from Montgomery. He was bound for Texas; and while on board the Fashion I had heard him saying that he had met with “a right smart bad streak of luck” on his way, having lost a valuable negro.
“I thought you were going on with those men to Texas, the other day,” said I.
“No,” he replied; “I left my sister in Mobile, when I went back after my nigger, and when I came down again, I found that she had found an old acquaintance there, and they had concluded to get married; so I stayed to see the wedding.”
“Rather quick work.”
“Well, I reckon they’d both thought about it when they knew each other before; but I didn’t know it, and it kind o’ took me by surprise. So my other sister, she concluded Ann had done so well stopping in Mobile, she’d stop and keep company with her a spell; and so I’ve got to go ’long alone. Makes me feel kind o’ lonesome—losing that nigger too.”
“Did you say that you went back after the nigger? I thought he died?”
“Well, you see I had brought him along as far as Mobile, and he got away from me there, and slipped aboard a steamboat going back, and hid himself. I found out that he was aboard of her pretty soon after she got off, and I sent telegraphic despatches to several places along up the river, to the captain, to put him in a jail, ashore, for me. I know he got one of them at Cahawba, but he didn’t mind it till he got to Montgomery. Well, the nigger didn’t have any attention paid to him. They just put him in irons; likely enough he didn’t get much to eat, or have anything to cover himself, and he took cold, and got sick—got pneumonia—and when they got to Montgomery, they made him walk up to the jail, and there wan’t no fire, and nothin’ to lie on, nor nothin’ for him in the jail, and it made quick work with him. Before I could get up there he was dead. I see an attorney here to Mobile, and he offered to take the case, and prosecute the captain; and he says if he don’t recover every red cent the man was worth, he won’t ask me for a fee. It comes kinder hard on me. I bought the nigger up, counting I should make a speculation on him; reckoned I’d take him to Texas if I couldn’t turn him to good advantage at Mobile. As niggers is goin’ here now, I expect ’twas a dead loss of eight hundred dollars, right out of pocket.”