The cattle of this part of the country are not often fat. This circumstance is, probably, owing to many causes; some of which are, their being much troubled by flies, not being salted, and the food which they eat being of rapid growth, and of course unsubstantial. The latter does not possess the consistency of the New-England grass. The flies and musquetoes on the Mississippi are so numerous and voracious, that nothing is more common here than to see horses tied in the fields to feed, and a small fire by them for the purpose of keeping at a distance these troublesome assailants.
The cattle in this part of the country are not worth, in the market, more than one fourth of the price of New-England cattle. The cows seldom calve more than once in two years, and they give very little milk. The milk of a Yankee cow will make more butter than that of ten of them.
In progressing towards the tropics, appearances peculiar to the various degrees of climate were continually presenting themselves. Many kinds of trees, flowers, and grasses, and many species of birds and quadrupeds, entirely new to me, made their appearance. The rains, winds, thunder and lightning too, of the country, towards the equator, are peculiar. The latter are here more sudden, loud, and vivid than those of the north. The rains near the Mississippi resemble, in a measure, those of the West-Indies. Here it frequently rains violently at a little [225] distance, whilst where one stands there is a clear sunshine. These showers sound quite loud, and present an interesting appearance.
I have repeatedly spoken of the slaves in the south and west. Some of them are treated kindly; but some suffer all the evils incident to this wretched condition. All the pride, all the ill-nature, all the petulance of man are frequently wreaked upon these friendless beings. I speak from experience. For a venial fault, I have witnessed cruel inflictions. Whilst passing a plantation on the lower part of the Mississippi, my ears were assailed by sounds novel and distressing. The shriek of anguish, and the sound of the hateful lash quickly brought me to the theatre of suffering. There I witnessed a madning sight. A poor negro, fastened to the ground, in vain implored for mercy; whilst an iron-hearted overseer, enraged by his own cruelty, was inflicting unlimited vengeance. I believe my presence unbound the victim.—Shame frequently achieves what conscience cannot accomplish. I could mention cruelties inflicted upon slaves, which would excite the tears of humanity, the blush of virtue, and the indignation of freedom. On the Mississippi there are large oak frames for whipping slaves,—without law, and without any rule, excepting that of self-will and uncontrolled power.
Man, when uncontrolled, is a tyrant; and no human being should, for a moment, be without the protection of natural, or municipal law.
There are prejudices against the race of blacks, and I pronounce them vulgar! Some even pretend that negroes are not human beings; but history and daily observation prove the contrary. Oh! how detestable are the prejudices of avarice and inhumanity. Our vanity teaches us to think better of our own colour than of theirs. They entertain the [226] same opinion of white, which we do of black. On the coast of Africa the Evil Spirit, which we call Devil, is there imagined under the hideous semblance of a white man.
Many too, speak against the disposition of Negroes. They no doubt possess strong passions; but their passions may all be enlisted on the side of virtue. The quickness and strength of their feelings, connected with their intelligence, prove their greatness. It is evident that negroes are capable of being rendered great philosophers, divines, physicians, legislators and warriors. They are likewise capable of being, in their principles and conduct, real gentlemen; and as to fidelity and affection, they are second to no people on the face of the earth. Some will sneer at these ideas; but I rejoice in defending this despised and oppressed race of men; and, would to heaven that my power was equal to my regard for them! In the course of the last war there was as much courage and patriotism evinced by a negro, as by any individual in the nation. During a naval engagement he was dreadfully mangled by a cannon ball; and just as his soul was departing, he exclaimed, “no haul a colour down!”
The slaves are accused of committing crimes; but are not white men sometimes criminal? and, I would ask, are they not as frequently so? Besides, what can be expected of slaves? Why do we not give them their liberty, and admit them to the privileges of citizenship? We are men of like passions; yet does God grind down and oppress us?—No, but has enabled us to preserve our liberty, and sends his Holy Spirit to regenerate and redeem us. Oh! what a requital of his goodness do we display in the thraldom of our brethren. Among slaves, nature, in her own defence sometimes lifts the arm of death. Can she bear every thing? Oppressed, and scourged, and [227] without refuge, self protection is her only law; and God, under such circumstances, justifies homicide. The brethren of Moses were enslaved; and seeing an Egyptian smite a Hebrew, he slew him. Has a slave a right to his liberty? Certainly. Then no one has a right to deprive him of it; and in attempting to do so, the assailant must abide by the consequences. Will the laws of this country condemn the slave to die in this case? If so my country sanctions murder as well as robbery. What should we think of a christian system which should warrant slavery, or even be silent respecting it? Stand forth ye ministers of our holy religion, ye vicegerents of a righteous God, and speak the truth in behalf of the slave. Why should our pulpits be silent upon this great subject? Why do not our Christian preachers constantly pray as David did, “break thou the arm of the oppressor.” Why do they not inquire with the voice of authority, and in the Almighty’s name, “what mean ye, that ye beat my people to pieces, saith the Lord God of Hosts.”
I am disposed to offer a few ideas upon the origin of the race of blacks. Their colour is generally supposed to arise from climate; but the idea is not well supported. Some too, imagine that their colour is a peculiar mark which the Creator put upon them for some special purpose; but these suggestions are chimerical. The speculations upon this topic have ever been very numerous: for my own part, however, I think there is no difficulty involved in the subject. Where an effect cannot be satisfactorily accounted for but upon one principle; and this principle is conclusive in point of analogy, we need not look any further.
Now, certain it is that Nature, in all her works, evinces a great fondness for variety, both in relation to colour and form. Man, as to his physical nature, [228] is an animal; and black and white in men, are as easily accounted for as black and white among beasts and birds, or any other part of animated nature. There is no species of animal, among which a greater variety of form and of simple colours exist, than among men. Here we see every shade of complexion, from jet black to the clearest white; here too, we find every variety of feature. Why should there not be the same variety among men as among mere animals? We see this variety in every particular, and yet as to black we doubt the universality of the principle. Why do we not inquire as to the cause of the colour of the black horse? Why do we not ask, whether his remote ancestors were not born in the Torrid Zone? Besides, the variety of which I speak exists in the vegetable world; and in order to remove the principle upon which the argument is predicated, the most conspicuous attribute of nature must be disproved.