We found that Jerry and his lady slept at our hotel, and I sent for them next morning to speak to us. She was smartly dressed in a dark silk, with a richly embroidered collar and pocket handkerchief, which she carefully displayed, and a large brooch. He wore a turn-down collar to his shirt, of the most fashionable cut; the shirt itself had a pale blue pattern on it, and a diamond (?) shirt pin, the shirt having a frill en jabot. His face was shining and glistening with cleanliness and happiness, and she looked up to him as if she were very proud of her young husband. He said he was very happy, and I complimented her on her dress, and asked her if she had bought much for the occasion, and she admitted that she had. I asked her where they went to church (all niggers are great worshippers somewhere, and generally are Methodists); and he said he went to the "Methodist Church," that his wife was a member, and I encouraged him to continue going regularly. He said he had married her for the purpose of doing so, and evidently looked up to her as a teacher in these matters. They said they could both read printed characters, but not writing, and that they read their Bibles. I asked him if there were any other cars on the line like Mr. Tyson's, and he said, "Yes, several, miss." "Are they handsomer than his?" "Some are, they are all different in their fancy principle." He told us, of his own accord, that they had both been slaves. He bought his freedom for five hundred dollars. They both had been kindly treated as slaves, but he said, not only the hickory stick, but the "raw hide," was frequently used by unkind masters and mistresses; and, on my asking him whether slaves had any redress in such cases, he said their free friends may try to get some redress for them, but it does no good. This was his testimony on the subject, and I shall give you the testimony of every one as I gather it for you to put together, that you may be able to form your own deductions. Mr. Tyson had told us they had redress, though he is an enemy to the "institution" of slavery, as it is here called, but still maintains, what is no doubt the case, that they are oftener much happier in America than the free negro. Indeed he told us a well-treated slave will look down on a freeman, and say, "Ah! yes, he's only some poor free trash. He's a poor white free trash." It was curious to notice Jerry's sayings, only some of which I can remember. Mr. Tyson looked down the line from the balcony yesterday, and said, to Jerry, who had got out of a passenger car for a minute, "Jerry, do you see the train coming?" "Yes, sir; it blowed right up there;" meaning it had whistled. I will write to you more at large ere long about slavery, when I have not topics pressing on time and pen.
We left our hotel this morning at eight o'clock, and even in the omnibus noticed the improved and very intelligent appearance of the men. They answered us quickly, cheerfully, and to the purpose; many wore large picturesque felt hats of various forms. It is true that, on starting, we were still in Virginia, of which Wheeling is one of the largest towns; but the bulk of our fellow-passengers were evidently from the West; they are chiefly descendants of the New Englanders, and partake of their character, with the exception of the nasal twang, which is worse in New England than anywhere else in America, and we are now losing the sound of it. The omnibus made a grand circuit of the town to pick up passengers, and thus gave us the only opportunity we had of seeing something of it. It rained in torrents, and this probably made it look more dismal than usual, but it certainly is much less picturesque and more English-looking than any town we have yet seen. The coal and iron, which constitute its chief trade, give it a very dirty appearance; but its natural situation, stretching along the banks of the Ohio, which are here very high on both sides, is very beautiful. The omnibus at last crossed the river by a very fine suspension bridge, and, having left the slave states behind us, we found ourselves in the free State of Ohio.
On the opposite side of the river we entered the cars of the Ohio Central Railroad, but alas! we had no Mr. Tyson, and no sofas or tables or balconies, and were again simple members of the public, destined to enjoy all the tortures of the common cars. These however were in first-rate style, with velvet seats, and prettily painted, with brilliant white panelled ceilings; and we here fell in again, to my no small comfort, with the venders of fruit and literature, or "pedlaring," as it is called, which forms a pleasant break in the tedium of a long journey. I have been often told the reverse, but the literature sold in this way is, as far as we have seen, rather creditable than otherwise to the country, being generally of an instructive and useful character. Many works published quite recently in England, could be bought either in the cars or at the stores; and some of the better class of English novels are reprinted in America, and sold at the rate of two or three shillings a volume. The daily newspapers, sold on the railways, are numerous; but these, with very few exceptions, are quite unworthy of the country. In general there are no articles worth reading, for they are filled with foolish and trashy anecdotes, written, apparently, by penny-a-liners of the lowest order of ability. The magazines, and some of the weekly illustrated papers, are a degree better, but a great deal of the wit in these is reproduced from "Punch."
The first eighty-two miles to Zanesville were through a pretty and hilly country. The hills were as usual covered with woods of every hue, so that though the scenery was inferior to what we had been passing through for the last few days, it was still very beautiful. Zanesville, which is a considerable town, is situated on the Muskingham river. This fine broad stream must add considerably to the waters of the Ohio, into which it falls soon after leaving Zanesville.
At Zanesville, after partaking of an excellent dinner, we were joined by an intelligent woman, returning home, with her little baby of ten weeks old, from a visit she had just been making to her mother. Her own home is in Missouri, and her husband being the owner of a farm of 500 acres, she was able to give us a good deal of information about the state of agriculture in the Far West. I learnt much from her on various subjects, and was much surprised at the quick sharp answers she gave to all my questions. She was well dressed, something in the style of the English lady's maid, was evidently well to do, and was travelling night and day with her merry little baby. She possesses one slave of fourteen, for whom she gave four hundred dollars, whom she has had from infancy; she brings her up as her own, and this black girl is now taking care of her other children in her absence. I asked, "What do the slaves eat?" "Everything: corn-bread, that's the most." Papa said, "It is a great shame making Missouri a slave state."
Woman. "Ah yes; keeps it back."
Self. "Have you good health?"—many parts being said to be unhealthy.
Woman. A quick nod. "First-rate."
Self. "Did your mother give you the hickory stick?"
Woman. "No: the switch:—raised me on the rod of correction."