[”ggj: 3101‘» tire unhappy,

1

Though s, ‘ row may annoy” Q
mere s somethmg then for memory,
Hereafter Q; mey' '

‘9', MY.

 

       
 

‘ z?

 

 

 

 

 

 

«,RES’URRECTION OF HENRY BOX, BROWN, AT- PHILADELPHIA.

 

 

NARRATIVE
OF THE

LIFE OF HENRY BOX BROWN,

WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.

 

FIRST ENGLISH EDITION,

———F

Forget not the unhappy,
Though sorrow may annoy,
There’s something then for memory,
Hereafter to enjoy!
Oh! still from Fortune’s garland,
Some flowers for others strew ;
And forget not the unhappy,
For, ah! their fiiendsare few.

MANCHESTER:
PRINTED ‘ZBY LEE AND GLYNN, 8, CANNON STREET.-

 

1851.

ease
E:
as}.
News

est-'3
\4'»)

PREFACE:

50' neon has'alr'eady been written concerning the‘ evils of slavery,
and by men so much more able to portray its horrid form than’I
am, that I’might well'be excused if“ I~ were to remain altogether"
silent on the subject; but" however much has been Written;
however much has been said, and’ however much has been done,
I feel innpelled’ bv “ the voice of my "own conscience, from'the recent“
experience which I: have had of the alarming extent to’ which the
traffic in human‘b'eings is carried“ on, and the cruelti'es, both bodily-
antlg‘m'e'ntal, to which men in the c‘o’ndititin of slaves ' are continually
subjected; and“ also from the hardening and "blasting influences.
which this traffic” produces on the character of ' those who thus
treat as goods and chattels the bodies and s'oulsof- their fellows, -
to" add yet one other testimony of,” and” protest against, the foul
blot on the state! of morals, of religion, and of cultivation in the ‘
American republic. For I feel convinced that enough has not been
Written, enough has not been said, enough has not been done,
While nearly four millions of human beings, possessing immortal
souls, are, in chains, dragging out their existence in the southern
states. They are keenly alive to the heaven born voice of liberty, and
require the illumination of the grace of Almighty God. Having,
myself, been in that same position, but by the blessing of God:
having been enabled to snap my chains and escape to a land of
liberty—I owe it as a sacred duty to the causc of humanity, that
I should devote my life to the redemption of my fellow men. a
The tale of my ow'n sufferings is not one of great interest to
those who delight to read of hair-breadth adventures, of tragica
occurrences, and scenes of blood :——my life, even in slavery, has
been in many respects comparatively comfortable. I have expe-
rienced a continuance of such kindness, as slaveholders have to
bestow; but though my body has escaped the lash of the whip,

PREFACE

my mind has groaned under tortures which I believe will never
be related, because, language is inadequate to express them, but
those know them who. have them to endure. The whip, the
cowskin, the gallows, the stocks, the paddle, the prison, the per-
version of the stomach—although bloody and barbarous in their
natureéhave no comparison with those internal pangs which are
felt by the soul when the hand of the merciless tyrant plucks from
one’s bosom the object of one’s ripened affections, and the darlings
who in requiring parental care, confer the sweet sensations of
parental bliss. I freely admit I have enjoyed my full share of all
those blessings which fall to the lot of a slave’s existence. I have
felt the sweet influence of 'friendships’ power, and the still more
delightful glow of love ; and had‘ I never heard the name of liberty
' or seen the tyrant lift his cruel hand to smite my fellow and my
friend, I might perhaps have dragged my chains in quietude to the
. grave, and have found a tomb in a slavery-polluted land ; but thanks
be to God I heard the glorious sound and felt its inspiring influence
on my heart, and having satisfied myself of the value of freedom
I resolved to purchase it whatever should be its price.

lNTRODUCTIONQ‘

While America is boasting of her freedom and making the world
ring With her professions of equality, she holds millions of her in-
habitants in bondage. ' This surely must be a wonder to all who
seriously reflect on the subject of man holding property in man, in
_a land of republican institutions. That slavery, in all its phases,
‘is.demoralizing to every one concerned, none who may read the
following narrative, can for a moment doubt. In my opinion un-
less the Americans purge themselves of this :stain, the Will have
to undergo very severe, if not protracted sufl'er-ing. t is not at
all unlikely that the great unsettledness which of late has attached
to the prices of Cotton; the very unsatisfactory circumstance of
that slavcholding continent being the principal field employed in
'the production of that vegetable, by the dealing in, and the man-
ufacture of, which, such astonishing fortunes have been amaSsed—
will lead 'to arra ements being entered into, through the operation
of which the hon en will be made free. The popular mind is,
~ in every land becoming impatient of its chains; and soon the Amer-
ican captives will be made to taste of that freedom, which by
right, belongs to man. The manner in which this mighty change
will be accompished, may not be at present understood, but with
the Lord all things are possible. It may be, that the very means
which are being used by those who wish to perpetuate slavery,
and to recapture those who have by any plans not approved of by
those dealers in human flesh, become fi‘ee, will be amongst the in-
struments which God will employ to overturn the whole system.

Another means which, in addition to the above, we think,
will contribute to the accomplishment of this desirable object—the
destruction of slavery—is the simple, but natural narrations of
those who have been long under the yoke themselves. It is a
lamentable fact that some ministers of religion are contaminated
with the foulness of slavery. Those men, in the southern states,
' who ascend the pulpit to proclaim the world’s jubilee, are them-

selves, in fearful numbers, the holders of slaves! When we reflect
on the bar which slavery constituted to the advancement of the
. “objects at one timebontemplated by the almost defunct“Evan elical
i ance”, when we consider that Great Being who behe d the
:Isfrraehtes in their captivity, and beholding, came down to deliver

.0

11 INTRODU MON.

them is still the same 3 have we not reason to believe that he will
in his Providence raise up another Moses, to guide the now endured
sons of llam to the privileges which humanit , irrespective of
colour or clime, is always at liberty to demand. ile the British
mind retain its antipathy to slavery in all its kinds, and send forth
its waves of audibly expressed opinion on the subject, that inion,
meeting with one nearly allied in character to itself in the
Northern States; and while both unite in tending towards the
South the reiterated demand for an honest acting, one those turgid
profession of equality peculiar to all American proceedings—in
every thing but slavery—the Southern states must yield to‘ifie
pressure from without; even the slaves will feel themselvesmb
ing beyond the dimensions rwhioh theirvehainseean .enulmeamtl ,
hacked by the roar of :the Britishluiongand supportedibyfle
Americans in their just (demand: £or emancipation, file, long.dem~
trodden and despised 'hondmen willarisemudbya :de Mme
assert their title to freedom. It may be thatthe-subjeetnfthe
following narrative has emission from cGod-to the humanafamlw.
Certainly the deliverance of Moses, from destruction .on {the
Nile, was scarcely more marvellous than \was the {deliveranoeiof
Mr. Henry {Box Brownfmm :the horrors of slavery. gFor any
lengthy observations,:by which the treaderxwill be idetamedtfrqm
the subject of the following pagessthere-scan the mo tinecesmty
Whatever. _
«Mr. Brown-was conveyed irom Richmond. Virginia, to Maile-
delphia in a box, three ifeet long, and two-fleet. six inches d930-
V-For twenty-seven hours .heiwasaenclosed in thist . The following;
copy of a .letterwhichwwas written ihy thewgentlemanfio whom lit
was directed, Wfllvexplain this iapartof "the subject z»—

Copy of a Letter respecting 'Henry ‘Box Brown’s escapegltmm
Slavery—a verification of Patrick Henry’s "Speech in Virginia
Legislature, March, 1775, when he said, "‘ Give me Liberty or
give me Death.”

Philadelphia, March ‘26th, 1849.

DEAR '———-

Herc isa man who has been the hero of one of fhhe most
extraordinary achievements I ever heard of ;—-—he came to .me gen
Saturday Morning :last, in a box tightly hooped, emarked “ ms

, SIDE UP,” 'by-ocerlrmd express, from the , city of RiehmamlJ! Did

you ever hear of any thing in all your life to beat that? Nothing
that was-done onthe barricades of Paris .exoeededwthiseeol-iand
deliberate intrepidity. Totappr‘eciate fully the boldness «and $16]!
of :theachievement, you ought to see the (box and hear alltheieir-
scumstances. .The box is :-in :the slew three feet one aineh dong,
stem it‘eet fliX‘liMhGS. deep,- smd twoifeetzwide. It mesa regulamold
store box. with as sausage ringPiearl-Btmet built wasgroovedzfizt ithe

MRODUCI‘ION.

_'oints and braced at the ends, leaving but the very slightest cre-
iriee to admit the air. Nothing savéd him from suffocation but
the .free use of water—ea quantity of which .he took in with him in
a beef’s bladder, and with which he bathed his face—and the con-
.stant fanning of himself with his hat. He fanned himself unre-
mittingly'all the time. The “this side up” on the .box was not
regarded, and he was twice put withhis head downward, resting
with his back againstthe end of the box, his feet .braced against
the other,~—the first timehe succeeded in shifting his position;
but the second time was on board of the steamboat, where people
were sitting and standing about the box, and where any motions
inside would have been overheard and have led to discovery ; he
was therefore obligedto keep his position for twemty miles. This
nearly killed him. He says the veins in :his temples were as thick
as his finger. I had been expecting him for several days, and was
in mortal fear all the time lest his arrival should only .be a signal
for calling in the coroner. You can better imagine than I can
describe my sensations, when, in answer to my rap on the box
and question, “all right,” the prompt response came “all right,
sir.” The man weighs 200 pounds, and is about five feet eight
inches in height; and is, as you will see, a noble looking fellow.
'He will tell you the whole story. Please send him on to Mr.
McGleveland, Boston, with this letter, to save me the time it
would take to write another. He was boxed up in Richmond, at
five, "AM. on Friday shipped at eight, and I opened him up at
six (about daylight) next morning. He has a sister in New
Bedford..
Yours, truly,
_ . M. "McR‘OY.
The report of Mr. Brown’s escape spread far and wide. fig; that
he was introduced to the Anti-Slavery $09131; m ’Phila'delphia,

from the office of which, society 43.1%,.) of which the following is

a some was written.
Anti-Slavery Ofice,

Philadelphia, April 8th, 1850. -
II. Box BROWN, sf
MY DEAR SIR,—I was pleased to learn, by your letter, that
it was your purpose to publish a narrative of the circumstances of
your escape from slavery; such .a publication, .I should think,
would not only be highly interesting, but well adapted to help on
the cause of anti-slavery. "Facts of this kind illustrate, without
comment, the cruelty of the slave system, the fitness of its victims
for freedom, and, at the sameztime, the .guilt of the nation that

tolerates-its existence. .
"its one}; 'vyto many of "the -reircums’tances of‘your escape, I
consider it one ol-the‘most remarka‘ible .efloitsonmeor’fl. "Thata

iv ' INTRODUCTION. “

= man should come all the way from Richmond to Philadelphia by
. the overland route, packed up in a box three feet long: b
two and an half feet wide and deep, with scarcely a perceptible
crevice for the admission of fresh air, and subject, at that time to
the rough handling and frequent shiftings of other freight, hnd
that he should reach his destination alive, is a tale scarcely to be be.
lieved on the most irresistible testimony. I confess, if I had not
myself been present at the opening of the box on its arrival, and
had not witnessed with my own eyes, your resurrection from your
living tomb, I should have been strongly disposed to questiOn the
truth of the story. As it was, however, seeing was believing,
and believing was with me, at ,least, to be impressed with the
diabolical character of American Slavery, and the obligation that.
rests upon every one to labour for its overthrow.

Trusting that this may be the impression produced by your nar-
rative, wherever it is read, and that it may be read Wherever the
evils of slavery are felt, I remain,
- Your friend. truly,

, J. McKIM.

Were Mr. Brown in quest of an apolo for publishing the
following Narrative. the the letter of Mr. Me: im, would form that
apology. The Narrative was published in America, and an edition of
8,000 copies sold in about two months, such was the interest excited.
by the astounding revelations made by Mr. Brown as to the real
character of slavery, and the hypocrisy of those professors of
religion who have any connection with its infernal proceedings.

Several ministers of religion took a great interest in Mr. Brown,
and did what they could to bring the subject of his escape proper-
ly before the public. The Rev. Mr. Spauldin, of Dover, N. H.
Wag; at the trouble to write to two of his brethren in the ministry,
a letter, of wlilCl‘. the following is a copy. The testimonials sub-
joining Mr. Spauldins letter were given by persons 'Who had
witnessed the exhibition.

TO THE REV. MESSRS. PIKE AND BROOK-S.

Dover, 12th July, 1850‘
DEAR BRETHREN,

.- A coloured gentleman, Mr. H. B. Brown, purposes to visit
your village for the purpose of exhibiting his splendid Panoramas.
'or MIRROR 0F SLAVERY. I have had the pleasure of seeing it,
and am prepared to say, from what I have myself seen, and known
in times past, of slavery and of the slave trade, in my opinion, it is
almost, if not quite, a perfect fac simile of the workings of that
horrible aud fiendish system. The real lgfe-lz‘ke scenes presented
in this PANORAMA, are admirably calculated to make an unfading
impression upon the heart and memory, such as no lectures,
books, or-colloquial correspondencwcan produce, especially on the

INTRODUCTION.

minds of children and young people, who should every where he
brought before the altar of Hannibal, to swear eternal hate to
slavery, and love of rational freedom. If you can' spare the time
to witness the exhibition, I am quite certain you will feel your-
selves amply rewarded. I know very well, there are a great
many impostors and cheats going about through the country de-
ceiving aud picking up the people’s money, but thesis of another
class altogether.
Yours, very truly,
JUSTIN SPAULDING.

I hereby certify that I have attended the exhibition of‘H. B.
Brown’s Panorama, in this village, with very deep interest; and
most cordially subscribe my name, as an expression of 'my
concurrence with the sentiment of the recommenckrtion above.

F

I agree cordially in the above testimonials.
' A. CAVERNO.

I am not an experienced judge in paintings of this kind, but
am only surprised that this is so well done and so much of it
true to the life. ‘

OLIVER AYER PORRER,
Of Franklin-street, Baptist Minister.
Dover, N. H. July 15th, 1850.

Although the following letter, as to date, should have occupied a
place before the others, as it was addressed to the public and not to
any particular person, its present position will answer every pur-

. pose. of its publication.

‘ . Syracuse, April 26th, 1850.
To THE PUBLIC,

There are few facts, connected with the terrible history of
American Slavery, that will be longer remembered, than that a.
man escaped from the house of bondage, by coming from Richmond,
Virginia, to Philadelphia, in a box three feet, one inch long, two
feet wide, and two feet six inches deep. Twenty-seven hours he
was closely packed within those small dimensions, and was
tumbled along on drays, railroad cars, steam-boat, and horse
carts, as any other box of merchandize would have been, seme-
times on his feet, sometimes on his side, and once, for an hour or
two, actually on his head. "

Such is the well attested fact, and this volume contains the

, biography of the remarkable man, Henry Box Brown, who thus
attained his freedom. Is there a man in our country, who better-
i deserves his liberty? And is there to be found in these northern
' states, an individual base 7.3.1.2551 to assist in returning him to

u' INTRODUCTION.

slavery! or to stand quietly by and consent to his recapture?
The narrative ofsuoh a man cannot fail to be interesting, 4de
medially commend itato‘all who love liberty andhate oppression.

SAMUEL J I lMfi'Y .

After Mr. Brownfs arrivalrin the Free :States and therecoveryuflf
hisihealth, in addition .to the publishing of 'his Narrative he began
to prepare the Panorama, which has been exhibited‘withasuchfiaun-
cess both in America-andiinflngland.

January. 1851.

“inf-the Teachers :of 'rSt..John’:s Sunday School, Blackburn,
having-seen ithe exhibition in our .Schoolqroom, called the “ Pano-
rrama of American Slavery,” feel :it our duty to call upon all our
christian ibrethr-en, who may have an opportunity, to go and wit-
ness this great mirror of slavery for themselves, feeling assured
ourselves that it is calculated to leave a lasting impression upon
the mind, and particularly that of the young.

We recommend it more especially on account of the exhibitor,
,Mr. Henry Box Brown, ”being himself a fugitive same, and there-
fore able to give a true account of all the horrors of American
Slavery,..tegether with his own miraculous escape.

Signed,

John Francis, John Alston,

John Parkinson, :George Fielding,
.Henry Ainsworth, Thomas Higham,
John Tomlinson, .Daniel Tomlinson,
Henry Wilkinson, Benjamin Cliff,
John Hartley, John Howcutt,
James Gneaves, James Holt,

John Roberts, Mark Shaw.
Francis Broughton, ,Christopher Highang,

, Mr, Brown continued to travel in the United States until the
Fugitive :Slave Bill—which passed into law last year—aren-
:dered it necessary for :him to seek an asylum on British ground.
Such was the vigilance with which the search (for victims was
veipursucd, that Mr. Brown had to travel .under an assumed name,
.and by the -most secret means shift his panorama to prevent
suspicion-and capture.
THOMAS G. LEE,

. Minifierof New Windsor Chapel,,Salford.
..®nlr8, 1.35.1. ,

‘N ARRATI’V’E
“OF THE

LIFE OF HENRY BOX BROWN.

—

CHAPTER .I.

I WAS born aboutjforty—five miles from the city of
,Richmond, in Louisa County, .in the ~year 1815.
Jentered the world a slave—~dn the midst of a country
,whose most honoured writings declare that all men
.‘have a light to liberty—but had imprinted .upon my
.bodyino mark which could be made, to signify that my
destiny was to be that of a bondman. Neither was
there any angel stood by, at the hour of ,my‘ birth, to
:hand my‘body ever, by the authority of heaven, to be
the property of a fellow-man ; no, but I was a slave
sbecause my countrymen. had made. it lawful, in utter
.contemgptof the declared will of heaven, for. the strong
to layhold of “the weak and to buy andto sell ,them as
.marketablegoods. Thus wasI born a slave ; tyrants——
xemorseless,, destitute of religion and every principle
ref :humanity—estood by the couch of my mother and as ’
1 entered into the world, before. Ihad done anything to

NARRATIVE OF THE

oifeit my right to liberty, and while my soul was yer
undefiled by the commission of actual sin, stretched
forth their bloody arms and branded me with the mark
of bondage, and by. such means I became their ownl
property. Yes, they robbed me of myself before I
could know the nature of their wicked arts, and ever
afterwards—until I forcibly wrenched myself from their
hands—did they retain their stolen property.

My father and mother Of course, were then slaves,
but both of them are now enjoying such a measure
of liberty, as the law affords to those who have made
recompense to the tyrant for the right of property he
holds in his fellow-man. It was not my fortune to be
long'under my mother’s care ; but I still possess a'vivid
recollectiOn of her affectionate oversight. Such
lessons as the following she would frequently give me;
She would take me upon her knee and, pointing to the
forest trees which were then being stripped of their:
foliage by the winds of autumn, would say to me, my
son, as yonder leaves are stripped from off the trees of
the forest, so are the children of the slaves swept away
from them by the hands of cruel tyrants; and her voice
would tremble and she would seem almost choked with:
her deep emotion, while the tears would find their way
down her saddened cheeks. On‘those- occasions she
fondly pressed me to her heaving bosom, as if to save
me from so dreaded a calamity, or to feast on the enjoy-
’ments of maternal feeling while she yet retained
i’posseSsion of her child. I waspthen young, but I well

.LIFE OF HENRY BOX BROWN. 3

recollect the sadness of her countenance, and the mournful
sacredness of her words as they impressed themselves
upon my youthful mind—en'ever to be forgotten.
Mothers of the North! as you gaze "upon the fair
forms of your idolis ed little ones, just pause for a
moment; how would you feel if you knew that at any
time the will of a tyrant—who neither could nor would
sympathise with your domestic feelings—might separate
them for ever from your embrace, not to be laid in the
silent grave “where the wicked cease from troubling
and where the weary are at rest,” but to live under the
dominion of tyrants and avaricious men, whose cold
hearts cannot sympathise with your feelings, but who '
will mock at any manifestation of tenderness, and
scourge them to satisfy the cruelty of their own
disposition; yet such is the condition of hundreds of
thousands of mothers in the southern states of America,
My mother used to instruct me in the principles of mo-
rality, according to her own notion of what was good and
.pure ; butIhad no means of acquiring proper conception of
religion in a state ofslavery, where all those who professed
to be followers of J esns Christ evinced more of the dispo-
sition of demons than of men ; and it is really a matter
of wonder to me now,‘ considering the character of my
position that Ididnot imbibe astrong and lasting hatred
of every thing pertaining to the religion of Christ. My
lessons in morality were 'of the most simple kind. I
was" told not to steal, not to tell lies, and to behave
myself in a becoming manner towards everybody. My

a Hamammm or:- me

mother; althoughe aazslavegs took great delight in? watching
the-a result. of ’ her moral training in-the“ character“ of my
zrother and myself, ‘ Whivlst~whether suo‘cesfu‘l or‘unv
successful in: the format-ion of superiorhabitsins us it is
not‘for mete say—there weresownfor her a blissfulre‘
membrance in the minds of her-children, which Will'be
cherished; both-by thetbond and: the free, as long; as
life shall last.

As a specimen of the'religiouslknowledge of the slave;
1'. may here state what! were my impression in regard to
my master; assuring-the reader that I am not joking
but stating'wh‘at were the opinions of all the sl‘aves’ chil‘
dren on my masters plantation;~ so that- some-
judgment may be formed of' the c‘are'W-hich was'taken
of our‘ religious instruction. I really'bel-i‘eved my old
master‘was Almighty God, and that the: young master
was Jesus Christ! The reason of ‘ this error seems to
have been: that- We were‘taught- to believe’thunder to be
the voice of‘God; and When- it Was aboutt’o-thunder my
old master would approach‘us, if“ We were'in; the yard,
and say, alliyou' childrenrun into«the’ housefnowr, for- it
is going tolthunder ; and after the-thunder storm was
over”'he would approach us smilingly and-5 say “ What a
fine shoWe’r'w‘e‘ h‘av‘eahad,” and bidding 'uslook at the HOW-
ers Weul-d observe how 'pret’tily- they appeared;- We children
seeing this s’o-fi'equen-tl'y; could not avoidtheidea that
it was" he thatthundered and made the rain to fall, in
order to makehis'fiowers look beautiful, andl was near
1'31 eight years of age before I got rid of this childish

LIFE 01‘ HENRY BOX}. BROWN. 5

sweesfition. , Oar mast-er was uncommonly kind, (for
even‘aslaveholdermay'bekind), and as he moved about in
his dignityhe seemed like a god to us, but notwithstand~
’ingvhis kindness although he knew-very well what super-
stitions notions‘1we formed: of him; henever made the least
attempt to correct: our erroneous-impression, but rather
seemed. pleased with the reverential feelings which we
entertained towards him. All the young slaves called
his son saviour, and the manner in‘ which I was unde-
ceiVed was astfollowsg—‘One Sabbath after preaching-time:-
my" mother toldimy father of a woman who wished. to join
the church; She; had told: the preacher" that she had
been baptised? by? one) of the slaves at night—~a practice:
which is quite common; After they went from, their
worktotheminister heasked her'if: shesbeliev'ed that:
our? Saviour came into the world and had died for the
sins.I off'men‘t? And: she- said “yes.” I was listening.
anxiously to the conversation, and when my mother
hadéfinished, I asked her if. my young master was not
the saviour whomthe woman said was dead? She said
he‘was- not, but it was our Saviour in heaven. I then
asked: her if'there was a‘ saviour there‘too; when she'
told met*that young master was not our Saviour ;—whioh -
astonished: me; very much. I: then» asked her if old
master‘was not he '?'to- which: she replied he was-not, and.
beganrtovinstruct me- moretfully in reférencetothe Gov-l
ofiheaven.‘ After this r I: believed there Was a-God' why
ruled thetworld,‘ but I: did: not previously entertain the
least idea of‘ any such Being ; and however dangerou

6 NARRATIVE OF THE

my former notions were, they were not at all out of
keeping with the blasphemous teachings of the hellish-
system of slavery. ’ ~
One of my sisters became anxious to have hersoul.
converted, and for this purpose had the hair cut from
her head, because it is anotion which prevails amongst
the slaves, that unless the hair be cut the soul cannot
be converted. My mother reproved her for this and
told her that she must pray to God who dwelled in'
heaven, and who only could convert her soul; andisaid
if she wished to renounce the sins of the world she
should recollect that it was not by outside show, such as.
the cutting of the hair, that God measured the worthi-
or unworthiness of his servants. “Only aSk. of God,"
she said, “with an humble heart, forsaking your sins
in obedience to his divine commandment, and what- ~.
ever mercy is most fitting for your condition he will
graciously bestow.” ,
While quite a lad my principal employment was
waiting upon my master and mistress, and at intervals»;
taking lessons in the various kinds of work which was
carried on on the plantation: and I have often, there-—
where the hot sun sent forth its scor ching rays upon my.
tender head—looked forward with dismay to the time
when I, like my fellow slaves, should be driven by the,
taskmaster’s cruel lash, to separate myself from ; my
parents and all my present associates, to toil without .
reward and to suffer cruelties, as yet unknown. The
slave has always the harrowing idea before him—however »

LIFE or HENRY BOX BROWN. ' ,7

kindly he may be treated for the time being—that the
auntibneer may soon-set him up for public sale and
knock himdownas the property of the person who,
whet-her man or demon, would pay his master the
s-‘greatestnumber of dollars for his body.

CHAPTER II.

My brother and-myself were in the habit of carrying
grain to the mill a few times in the year, which was
the emeans of furnishing us with some information
respecting other slaves, otherwise we would have known
nothing whatever of what was going on anywhere in
the world, excepting on our master’s plantation. The
mill was situated at a distance of about 20 miles from
our residence, and belonged to one Colonel Am-
bler, in Yansinville county. On these occasions we .
used to squire some little knowledge of what was going a
son around us, and we neglected no opportunity of ,
making ourselves acquainted with the condition of other
Slaves.

On one occasion, while waiting for grain, we entered
a house in the, neighbourhood, and while resting our—
selves there, we saw a number of forlorn looking beings
pass thedoor, and as they passed we noticed they gazml
earnestly upon us ; afterwards about fifty did the very
sum-131111 we heard some of them remarking that we

8 NARRATIVE OF THE

had shoes, vests, and hats; We, felt a deSire to talk
with them, and, accordingly after receiving some bread
and meat from the mistress of the house we followed those
abject beings to their quarters, and such a sight We had
never witnessed before,'as we had always lived on our ma-
sters plantation, and this was the first of our journeys
to the mill. These Slaves were dressed in shirts made
of coarse bagging such as coffee sacks are made from,
and some kind of light substance for pantaloons, and
this was all their ”clothing ! They had no shoes, hats,
vests, or coats, and when my brother spoke of their
poor clothing they said they had never before seen colored
persons dressed as we were; they looked very hungry,
and we devided our breadand meat among them. They
said they never had any meat given them by their mas?
ter. My brother put various questic as to’the'm, such
as if they had wives? did they go to church .2 &c.,
they said they had wives, but were yobliged to marry
persons who worked on the same plantation, as the
master would not allow them to take ines from other
plantations, consequently they were all related to each
other, and the master obliged them to marry their rela-
tives or to remain single. My brother asked one of
them to show him his gamma—he “said he could-not
distinguish them from J the rest, - as they were all his sis-
ters. Although the slaves themselves entertain consid-i
erable respect for the law of marriage as a moral
principle, and are exceedingly well pleased When they
can obtain the services of a minister in the performance

LIFE OF HENRI BOX BROWN. 9

of the ceremony, yet the law recognizes no right in
slaves to marry at all. The relation of husband and
wife, parent and child, only exists by the toleration of
their master, who may insult the slave’s wife, or violate
her person at any moment, and there is no law to pun-
ish him for what he has done. Now this not only may
be as I have said, but it actualy is the case to an
alarming extent; and it is my candid opinion, that one
of the strongest motives which operate upon the slave-
holders in inducing them to mantain their iron grasp
upon the unfortunate slaves, is becausx. it gives them
such unlimited control over the person of their female
slaves. The greater part of slaveholders are licent-ious
men, and the most respectable and kind masters keep
some of these slaves as mistresses. I t is for thei1
pecuniary inerrest to do so, as their progeny is equal
to so many dollais and cents in their pockets, instead of
being a source of expense to them, as would be the
case, if their slaves were free. It is a horrible idea,
but it is no less true, that no slave husband has any
certainty whatever of being able to retain his wife a
vsingle hour ; neither has any wife any more certainty
of her husband: their fondest affection may be utterly
disregarded, and their devoted attachment cruelly
ignored at any moment a brutal slave-holder may
think fit. ‘

The slaves on Col. Ambler’s plantation were never
allowed to attend church, but were left to manage their
religious aflairs in their own way. An old slave whom

.1'0 .Jmamrun- or 5mm

theycalled Johmdecided .on their religious profession
gand s would. baptize the approved parties during aha
silent . watches .of the: night, while their master was
.,,a.ele.ep. 'We. might have got information on many
‘ things‘from these -. slaves of Col. Ambler, but,- while. we
were, thus engaged, we perceivedzthe overseer directing
.hissteps towards. us like. a bear ,for its prey : :we had
however, time, to ask one of them if they were ever
.Whipped ? .to ; which he replied that not a day passed
. over their headswithout somevofr themeeing ,hrutally
punished; “and”. said he “we shall have to. suffer for
this talk with you. It'was but this morning,” lie-eon-
..tinued, “thatvmany r-ofzus were severely whipped for
havingbeen baptized .theinight before!” After we left
themwe heard the screams of. these poor creatures while
they were suffering under the blows. ofthe hard treat»
meht received from the overseers, for, theorime, .as we
supposed, oftalking with. us. We. .felt thankful that we
were exempted from such treatment, ’but wehad .no
certainty that we .should not, ere long beplacedin a
similar position. __ .
On returning to the mill we met ayoung man, a re-
lation of the. owner of this plantation, who for some
time had been eyeing . us very attentively. .He‘ at
length asked us if we had ever been whipped? and
when I told him we had not, he replied, “well neither
,«Of you will ever. be of any value”. He expressed a good
,deal .of surprise that we-were allowed to wear hats and
shoes. sunnosing‘ that slaves had‘nobusiness to wear

LIFE OF HENR! "BOX? Baows. 11 -,

Such-lolothing'as their master wore.= We hadwcaiwried
ourfifi'shing'lines with us and requested the eprivilegarw
jgof fiéhing‘in his} stream; which he areuglilyri= denied pus; -
saying “we: do not allow- niggers‘ to fish”. Nothingz,
dammed,- he‘wever, by the rebuff, my brother twent. ta.
another place, where, .without asking permission ofany
"onefhe'sueceededr in : obtaining . a plentiful supply of
fishé’and on returning, the young='s1ave~holder seemed ,
to beadiSpleased at. our. success, but; knowing: that 4 we"
caught them in aistream which wasnot under» his, con~
trol, he said nothing. He knew thatour master was
a 1'ioh*slave‘vholder'and; prcbably, he guessed from our
appearance: that we were favourites of his, so perhaps
he was somewhat-induced, fromthat consideration, to.
let usalone, at any rate he did. not molest usanymore.
we afterwards carried. our: com, to a.=mi11 be-fi
longingto a 'Mr. Bullock, only about ten- miles dis.»
tent-from: our=plantation.z This man was very kind to ..
us ;- if we were late at-night he would take us intoshis.
housey‘ giveus beds to sleep, upon, and.» take charge of
our-‘herses. He: would: even, carry our grain himself
into the «mill ; andhe always furnished us in the morn-
ing with as goodibreakfast‘. We were rathersastonished,
for sometime, thatthis mauwas-so kind. to use—and, in.
thieeespect, so different from the other miller» -until we
learneidsthat' he was-.neti a-slave.~holder.- This miller
allewed usate catch . as many fishes as we chose, and
evemmnished us, with fishing implements when we had
hone._inr-only.very imperfecf ones, of our own

12 L . NARRATIVE or THE

While at this mill we became acquainted with aoo.’
loured man from a northern part of the country; and;
as our desire was strong to learn how our brethren fared,
in other places, we questioned him respecting his treat-
ment. He complained much of his hard fate; he said
he had a wife and one child, and begged forsome of our
fish to carry to his wife, which we gladly gave him.
He told us he had just sent a few hickory nuts to mar-
ket for which he had received 36 cents, and that he had
given the money to his wife, to furnish her with some
little articles of comfort.

On our return from their place, one time, we met
with a coloured man and woman, who were very cross
to each other We inquired as to the cause of their
diSagreemen-t and the man told us that the woman had
such a tongue, and that some. of them and taken a sheep
because they did not get enough to eat, and this woman,
after eating of it, went and told their master, and they
had all received a severe whipping. This man enjoined
upon his slaves never to steal from him again, but to
steal as much as they chose from any other person:
and if they took care to do it in such a manner, as the
owner could not catch them in the act, nor be able to
swear to the property after they had fetched it, he would
shield them from punishment provided they would give
him a share of the meat. Not long after this the slaves
availing themselves of their masters protection, stole a

pig from a neighbouring plantation, and, according to
“their agreement. furnished their master with his share.

LIFE OF HENRY BOX BROWN. 13

The owner of the missing animal, however, having
heard something to make him “suspect what had become
of his property, came rushing into the house of the man
who had just eaten of the stolen food, and in a very ex‘
cited manner demanded reparation from him for the
beast which his slaves had stolen; and the villain, rising
from the table where he had just been eating of the
stolen property, said, my servants know no more about
your stolen hog than I do, which indeed was perfectly
true, and the loser of the swine went away without say-
ing any more; but although the master of this slave
with whom we were talking, had told him that it was
no sin to steal from others, my brother took good care
to let him know, before we separated, that it was as
much a sin in the sight of God to steal from the one as
the other, “Oh”, said the master, “niggers has nothing to
do with God, ” and indeed the whole feature of slavery
is so utterly inconsistent with the principles of religion,
reason, and humanity, that it is no wonder that the
very mention of the‘word God grates upon the ear as
if it typefied the degeneracy of this hellish system.

Turn! great Ruler of ”the skies E

; Turn from their sins thy' searching eyes;
Nor let the offences of their hand,
Within thy book recorded stand.

There’s not a sparrow or a worm

Oierloolied in thy decrees,

1‘4 mas-am vE OF THE

Thou raisest : monarchs to :a , throne— »

They sink with equal ease.

May Christ’s. example, all divine,
To us a model prove !
Like his, O'God! 'our hearts incline,

Our enemies to love!

CHAPTER III.

My Master’s son Charles, at one time, beCame im-i
pressed with the evils of slavery, and put his notion
into practical effect by emancipating about forty of his'
slaves, and paying their expences to a free state. Gur
old master, about this time, being unable to attend to
all his affairs himself, employed an overseer whOSe dis
position was so cruel as to make many of the slaves run
away. I fancy the neighbours began to clamour about
Our masters mild treatment to his slaves, for which rea-
son he was induced to employ an overseer. The change
in our treatment was so great, and so much for the
worse, that we could not help lamenting that the master
had adopted such a change. There is no telling what
might have been the result of this new method amongst
slaves, so unused to the lash as we were, if in the midst
of the experiment our old master had not been called
upon to go the way of all the earth. As he was about
to expire he sent for my mother and me~ to come to his

um "or-Hmr Box BROWN. 15

bedside'é; we‘ ran "with heating hearts andrhighly elated. ,-
feelings;- not doubting, inrthe,‘ least; but that hewam
about to confei uponus the boon of freedom—for-wes
had both expected that we should be set free when .
masterr‘ died-——-but= imagine mm deep diSeppointment’
when the old man-called me to his side and said, Henry
you willma‘ke a good Plough-boy, or a goodsgardener, »
now youm’ust be an honest boy and never tell an untrnth.
lhave given you to my son William, and you must:
obey him; thus the old gentleman deceived us by his
former kind treatment and raised expectation in oun-
youthful ‘minds which were doomed'to be overthrown.-
He went to stand before the great Jehovah to give an
account of the deeds done in the body, and we, disap-
pointed in our expectations, were left to mourn, not so
much our masters death, as our: gelling bondage. If
there is any thing which tends to buoy up the spirit
of the slave, under the pressure of his severe toils, more '-
than another, it is the hope of future freedom : by this-
his heart is "cheered and his soul is lighted up in the
midst-of the fearful scenes of agony and suffering which
he has-etc endnre. Occasionally, as some event approach-
es from which he can calculate cn a relaxation ofs-‘his
sufferings, his hope burns with a bright blaze; but
'm‘ost generally the mind of the slave is filled with
gloomy apprehension of a still harder fate: l have ,
known many slaves to labour unusually hard with. the ~'
view of obtaining the price of their own redemption,
and, after they had paid for themselves over and over

16 NARRATIVE or THE

again, were—by the unprincipled tyranny and fiendish
mockery of moral principle in which their barbarous-
masters delighci to indulge—still refused what they had
so fully paid for, and what they so ardently desired.
Indeed a great many masters hold out to their slaves the
object of purchasing their own freedom—in‘order to
induce them to labonr more—without at the same time,
entertaining the slightest idea of ever fulfilling their
promise. I

On the death of my old master, his property was in-
herited by four sons, whose names were, Stronn, Charles,
John, and William Barret; so the human as well
as every other kind of property, came to be divided
«equally amongst these feur sons, which division——as it
separated me from my father and mother, my sister
and brother, with whom I had hitherto been allowed
10 live—was the most severe trial to my, feelings which
I had ever endured. I was then only 15 years of age,
’but it is as present in my mind asif but yesterday’s
sun had shone upon the dreadful exhibition. My
mother was separated from her youngest child, and it
was not till after she had begged most pitiously for its
restoration, that she was allowed to give it one farewell
embrace, before she had to let it go for ever. This
kind of torture is a thousand fold more cruel and
barbarous than the use of the lash which lacerates the
backfthe gashes which the whip, or the cow skin'
makes may heal, and the place which was marked, in
a little while. may cease to exhibit the signs of what

mm: or HENRY BOX BROWN. 17

it had endured, but the pangs which lacerate the soul
in consequence of the forcible disruption of parent and
the dearest- family ties,’ only grow deeper and more-
piercing, as memory fetches from a greater distance the
horrid acts by which they have been produced. And
there is uo doubt but they under the weighty infirmities
of declining life, and the increasing force and vividness
with which the mind retains the memoranda of the
agonies of former years-which form so great a part
of memory’s possessions .in the minds of most slaves
-—hurry thousands annually from off the stage, of life. «
Mother, my sister Jane, and myself, fell into the
hands of William Barret. My sister Mary and her
children went another way ; Edward, another, and John
and Lewis and my sister Robinnet another. William
Barret took my sister Martha for his. “keep Miss.”
It is a difficult thing to divide all the slaves on a plan-
tation ; for no person wishes for all children, or all Old
people; while both old, young, and middle aged have'to
he dividedz—but the tyrant slave-holder regards not
the social, or domestic feelings of the slave, and makes
his division according to the moneyed value they possess,
without giving the slightest consideratiOn to the domestic
or social ties by which the indlviduals are bound to
each other; indeed their common expression is, that
“niggers have no feelings.”
My father and mother were left on the plantation;
but I was taken to the city of Richmond, toworkina '
tobacco . manufactory, owned by my old master’s son

18: mammary: or; 2mm

William, who had? received-a special charge"from hit,
father to take-good care‘ ’of'meavandfiwhieh, charge-my:
new master‘endeavoured' to perform.- He told me if I
would behave well he would take good?“ care! . ofi ' me. and
give me moneyto spend; he talked so kindly" to me
that I determined I would exert myself tothe utmost.
to please him, and: do just" as he‘wished me in every
respect. He furnished; me with-a new suit of ‘ clothes,
and gave me .mOney to buy things to send to my mother:
One day I overheard him telling the overseer that his
father hadraz’scd nae—that I was a smart: boy and that
he must never whip me. I tried exceedingly hard to
perform what I- thought was my, duty, and escaped the
lash almosten‘tirely, although? I often thoughtthe over
seer would have liked to - have given me a, whipping,
but my- mast'er’s orders; which he dared not altogether
to set“ aside; were-my defence; so under these circum-
stances my lot was comparatively easy;

Our Overseer at that time was a coloured. man, whose
name was» Wilson Gregory; he» was generally cone
sidere‘d a shrewd and- sensibleman,‘ especially to bee
manioficolour; and; afte‘r'the orders'which . my master
gaves‘him” concerning me,» he used-rto-treatv me very
kindly indeed, and gave-me boardand lodgings in his
oWn house.» Gregory acted as book-keeper also to my
master, and was much in favour with the merchants
of the ciiv and all who knew him» ; he instructed me
howto . judge of the qualities of tobacco, and with the
View of making me a more proficient judge of that ar

LIFE OF 'fiEdRY BOX BROWN. 19

.ticle, he advised me ~ toa'learn' to chew and to smoke
Q Which I therefore did, '.

About eighteen = months after I came" to: :the city "of
Richmond, an extraordinary occursnce took place which
caused great excitement all over theatown: I" did not then
know precisely what was the cause of this excitement,
"for I could get , no satisfactory «information from my
master, only heesaid thatlsome of the slaves hadrplotted
to kill their owners. I have since learned'that it was
the famous Mat. Turner’s insurrection. "Many slaves
were whipped; hung, and cut downxwith the swords:sin
the streets; and some that were found away. fromtheir
quarters after dark, were shot; the-whole city was in
“the utmost excitement, and, the whitesseemed terrified
beyond measure, so true it is that the “wicked fleewhsn
” Great numbers of slaves were‘load-
ed with irons; some were half hung as it was'termed
----that is they were susPende'd from some tree with» a
rope about , their necks, so adjusted as not quite to
smuggle them—end then they were pelted by men and
boys with rotten eggs. This halfbanging is a refined
species of pnnishment peculiar to slaves! "This insur-
~-rection took place some distance from the city,- and- was
the occasion of the enacting of that law by which more
than five slaves were forbidden to meet togethervunless
they were at work; and also of that,.for the silencing
all coloured-preachers. One of that class in our city,
irefused‘to =.obey the impious mandate, and in conse-
' 111191199 of 1 his refusal, was severely whipped. "His

no man pursuet ' .

20 NARRATIVE or ran

religion was, however, found to be too deeply—directed for.
‘him to be silenced by any mere power of man, and;

consequently, no efiorts could avail to extort from hisE
lips, a promise thathe would cease to proclaim the glad-
tidings of the gospel to his enslaved and perishing

fellow~men. .

I had now been about two ,years in Richmond city,
and not having, during that time, seen, and very seldom
heard from, my mother, my feelings were very much tried
by the separation which I had thus to endure. I missed
severely her welcome smile when I returned from my
daily task; no one seemed at that time to sympathise
with me, and Ibegan to feel, indeed, that I really was
alone in the world; and worse than all, I could console
myself with no hope, not even the most distant, that I
should ever see my beloved parents again.

' About this time Wilson Gregory, who was our over.-
seer, died, and his place was snpplied by a man named
Stephen Bennett, who had a wooden leg; and who used
to creep up behind the slaves to hear what they had to
talk about in his absence; but. his wooden leg generally
betrayed himby coming into contact With something
which would make a noise, and that would call the
attention of the slaves to what he was about. He
was a very mean man in all his ways, and was very
much disliked by the slaves. He used to whip them,
often, in a shameful manner. On one occasion I saw
him take a siave, whose name was. Pinkney, and make
him take him off his shirt ; he then tied his hands and

LIFE or HENRY "130:: BROWN. 21

gave him one hundred lashes on his bareback ; and an
this, because he lacked three pounds of his, task, which
was valued at six cents. I saw him do many other
things which were equally cruel, but it would be useless
to multiply instances here, as no rational being doubts
that slavery, even in its mildest forms is a hard and cruel
fate. Yet with all his barbarities and cruelties this man
~was generally reckoned a very sensible man on religious
subjects, and he used to be frequently talking "about
things of that sort, but sometimes he spoke with very
great levity indeed. He used to say that‘if ' he died and
went to hell, he had enough of sense to fool the devil,
and get out. He did take his departure at last, to that
bower, whence borne, no traveller returns, and whether
well or ill prepared for the change, Iwill not” say.
Bonnet was followed as overseer, by one Henry
Bedman, and he was the best that we had. He neither
used the whip nor cheated the hands of "what little they
had to receive, and I am confident that he had more
work done by equal numbers of hands, than had been
done under any overseer either- before or since his ap-
pointment to office. -He possessed a much greater in-
fluence by his kindness than any overseer did by his
lash. He was altogether a very good man; wasver-y
fond of sacred music, and used to ask me and some of
the other slaves, who were working inthe same room
to sing for him—something ,“smart” as he used to say,
which we were generally as well pleased to do, as he
was to ask us: it was not our fate however to enjoy his -

22 NARRATIVE OF THE.-

kindness long, she, too very soon died,land his death was
looked upon as a. misfortune byzallvwhohadbeenslava
under'him.

 

CHAPTER IV.

After the death of our lamented overseer we'vwere
placed under the care of one of the meanest and cruel-
.est men that I ever knew; but before alluding parti-
cularly to. his conduct, it may be interesting to describe
the circumstances andvcondition of the slaves he had to
superintend. The building in which I worked was about
three hundred feet in length, and three stories high;
affording room for two hundred people to work, but only
one hundred and fifty were kept. One hundred and
twenty of the persons employed were slaves, and the re-
mainder free coloured people. We were. obliged to
work fourteen hours. a day in, the summer, and sixteen
in the winter. One week. consisted in separating the
stems from the leaves of Tobacco ; the leaves were then
moistened with a fluid made from Liquorice and Sugar.
which renders it not perfectly abhorentto the taste of
those who work it. These operationswere performed
bythe .women and boys, and after being thus moiSten-
ed the leaves were then taken by the men_'and with the
hands pressed into lumps and then twisted; it was then
sent to what 18 called the machine house, and preeSed
:into boxes and casks, whence it went to the sweat house

LIFE or HENRY BOX BROWN; 23‘ '

and after lying about thirty days there, are taken out
and shipped for the market.

The name of our overseer 'was John F. Allen, he was
a thorough-going villain 1n all his modes of doing busj
viness; he was a savage looking sort of a-man ; always ;
apparently ready for any work of barbarity or
cruelty to which the most depraved despot might call
him. He understood how to, turn a penny for his own
advantage as well as any man. No person could match
him in making a bargain ; but whether he had acquired
his low cunning from associating with'that clan, or ‘
had it originally as one of the inherent properties of
his diabolical disposition, I could not discover, but he '
excelled all I had ever seen in low mean triCkery and ‘
artifice. He used to boast that by his shrewdnéSs in
managing the slaves, he made enough to support him-
self and family—and he had a very large family which 1 ’
am sure consumed not less than one hundred dollars
per annum—without touching one farthing .of' his own
salary, which was fifteen hundred dollars per annum. V

Mr.‘ Allen used to rise very early in the morning,
not that he might enjoy sweet communion with his own'
thoughts, or with his God; nor that he might further
the legitimate interest of his master, but in order to
look after matters which principally concerned himself;
that was to rob his master and the poor slaves that were
under his controul, by every means in his power. His
early rising was looked upon by ourrmas'ter as a token
of great devotedness to his business} and as he was with:

24s. , NARATIVE OF. THE

all. very pious. and, a member of the Episcopalian Church,
my master seemed to place greatconfidence in him. , It
was. therefore no use foranyof the workmen. to com-
plain to the master of anything the overseer. did, for he
wouldnot listen to a. word they said, but gave his sanc-
tion to his barbarous conduct in the fullest extent, no,
matter how tyranical or unjust that conduct, or how cruel,
the punishments which he inflicted; so that thatdemon
of an overseer was in reality our master.

As. a specimen of Allen’s crueltyI will mention the
revolting case of acoloured man, who was frequently. in,
the habit of singing, ' This man was taken sick, and
although he had not made his appearanceat the factory
for two or three days, no notice was taken of him; no,
medicinewas provided nor was there any physician em-
ployed to heal him. At the end of that timeAllenor-
dered three men to go to the house of the invalid and
fetch. him to the factory ; and of course, in alittle while
the sick man appeared; so feeble was he however from
disease, that he was scarcely able to stand. Allen,not-
withstanding, desired him to be stripped and his hands
tied behind him ; he was then tied to a large post and
questioned about his singing; Allen told him that his
\singing consumed too much time, and that it hurt'him
very much, but that he was .going.to give him some he.
_‘ dicine that would curehim; the poor trembling man
made ‘no reply and immediately the pious overseer Allen,
forno other crime than sickness, inflicted two-hundred
lashes upon his bareback; and "even this might proba—

me*“*or HENRY = BOX“ BROWN. 25

lily have been‘2bat-~a~sma11' part of ‘his punishment; had
not the poor manfainted away : and it- was only then
the bloodethirsty‘fiend ceased to-apply*tlie-‘lash-! I W1t-.
nessed this transaction myself, but I ‘dur-st‘ not venture
to say that the tyrant was doing wrong; because I Was
a slave and any interferance on my part; would have
led to a simila’rpunishment upon mySetlf.‘ This poor
man was' sick fOr- 'four' weeks afterwards, during which
time the weekly"allowance, of seventy cents, for the
hands to board 'themsel-Ves with, was ‘witheld, and the
poor man’s wife‘had :to support him in- the-best way
'She could, which in- a land»‘of*slavery‘»is nOIeasy'mfaté
ter.
‘ The advocates of slavery 'will' sometimes-tell u‘s,.that
the slave is in better‘circumstances than'he wouldbev‘in
a state of ’freedom'; because he hasamasterto provide
”for him when he is sick; but even if“ this doctrine-were
true it would afi‘ord “no argument whatever in favormof
Slavery; for no amount of ~kindness can'- he madethe
lawful price of "any man’s‘-— liberty, toinfringe-whiohds
contrary to the laws of humanity and the decreesoffiod;
But what is thereal fact ? In: 'many instances "the-see
vere toils and exposures -~ the slave- has to -..-endure' ~': at
the will of his master‘,‘brings’on~ his disease; ' and even
then he isliable to :‘the lash for medicine; an’d-‘todise;
or die by starvationas he may; without any support
from his owner; for there is 'no law by which: the
master may he punished for his cruelty—by which he
may be ‘comp'elled to support his sufl'é‘ringeslaven

26 NARRATIVE OF THE

My master knew all the circumstances of the case
which I have just related, but he never interfered, nor
even reproved the cruel overseer for what he had done;
his motto was, Mr. Allen is always right, and so, right
or wrong, whatever he did was law, and from his will
there was no appeal.

I have before stated, that Mr. Allen was a very pious
man—he was also a church member, but was much
addicted to the habit of profane swearing—a vice which
is, in slave countries, not at all uncommon in church
members. He used particularly to expend h1s swearing
breath in denunciation of the whole race of negroes—
using more bad terms than I could here employ, with-
out polluting the pen with which I write. Amongst
the best epithets, were; “hogs,” “dogs, ” “pigs ”.,&c &c.

At one time he was busily engaged in reading the
bible, when a slave came in who had been about 11
minutes behind his time~precious time! Allen de-
depended upon the punctuallity of his slaves, for the
support of his family, in the manner previously neticedi
his anxiety to provide for his household, led him to
indulge in a boisterous outbreak of anger ; so that when
the slave came in, he said, what are you so late for you
black scamp ? The poor man endeavoured to apologize
for his lateness, but it was to no purpose. This profess-
ing christian proceeded to try the effects of the Bible 011
the slave’s body, and actually dealt him a heavy blow
in the face with the sacred book! But that not answer-
ing his purpose, and the man standing silent, he caught

LIFE or HENRY BOX snows. 27

up a stick, and beat him with that. The slave after-
wards complained to the master of the overseer’s
conduct, but was told that Mr. Allen would not do any:
thing wrong. ‘

Amongst Mr. Allen’s Other religious offices, he held
that of superintendent of the sunday school, where he
used to give frequent exhortations to the slaves’ children,
in reference to their duty to their master. He told
them they must never disobey their master, nor lie, nor
steal, for if they did anyof these, they would be sure to
go to hell. But notwithstanding the deceitfulness of
his character, and the fiendishness of his disposition,
he was not, himself, perfectly proof against the influence
of fear. One day it came on a heavy thunder storm;
the clouds lowered heavily, and darkness usurped the
dominion of day—it was so dark that the hands could
not see to work, and I then began to converse with Mr.
Allen about the storm. I asked him if it was not
dangerous for the hands .to work while the lightning
flashed so terribly? He replied, he thought so, but
he was placed there to keep them at their work, and he
could not do otherwise. Just as we were'speaking, a
flash of lightning appeared to pass so close to us, that
Mr. Allen jumped up from where he was sitting, and
ran and locked himself up in a small room, where he
supposed the lightning would not harm him. Some 'of
the slaves said, they heard him praying that God would
spare his life. That was a very severe storm, and a
little while afterwards, we heard that a woman had been

28 - NARRATIVE on THE

killed by the lightning. Althoughin the.dh1mder slam
alluded to, ,Mr. ' Allen seemed: to :be .. alarmed .; at other
times he did not'appear to think aseriously-iabout such
things, for I have heard him say, that hedidmot think
God had anything to : do with thunderaand's lightning,
:This same official had much apparent-g zeal .in2 the cause
ofthe sundayv'sohool ; he used topray withsand fortbe
wnhildren, land was indefatigable -in._:teaohin,g, them the
«catechism: after him; he "was very: particular, :._however’
“in not allowing them'vto hold the bookain their own
hands. His ‘zeal did-not appear, to have any higher
«object than that .of' ' making: :the: children . more willing
~slarves; for‘hevused'frequently to tell...his,visitors that
~ coloured people wereaneverlconvmted—wlthatfley had no
“”801118, and" couldrnot go to heaven, but. it; was his duty
to talk to*'rthem-. as he did! , His liberalityatothe white
«people, was coextensive with his denunciation of the
"eoloured'raoe ;. he said . a white mammay do what. be
pleased, and he could :not be lost ;;_he might, lie, and
rob the slaves, and do anything else, provided heread
the bible: and joined: the church !

CHAPTER ..v,

4 It may “now' be'proper to say a'little about the state
ef'tho churches in’slave countries. "Thereiwas abapti‘st
minister in the-City -'of ‘Binhmond, whose name was

”John Cave, I have heard‘thisman declare in public,
"that” he had preached six years" before he week-converted

LIFE or HENRY «BOX BROWN. H " - 29

v and themon of his :conversion was nsf'fbllows. He
was in; the habit of taking his glass of mint julep’di-
rectlyuafter prayers, or after preaching, which he thought
wonderfullyrefreshedhis soul and body; he would re-
peat the-dram three or four times during. the day. But
an 'oldaslaveaof his,‘who‘- hadlobserved his practice hinted
to him something about alternately drinking and preach-
ing to the people; and, after thinking seriously on
what the slave told: him, "he begau? to repent, and'was
converted. And now,rhe~says he is truly (converted,
because his conscience r reproved him for having made
human beings articles of ' traffic; but I believe his
second conversion is just about". as complete as his first,
for although he cited ' the second change to one of
his own‘slaves, and ever confessed that the first effect
of his conversion, was; to open up to his conscience the
evil of the traffic'iin human beings, instead of letting
those at liberty which he had under his control—and
which might bave‘been at once expected, as anatural
consequence of his conviction—mhe endeavoured .7 to
apologize for the want=of conscience, by finding, what
he called, a good master for them,=and selling them all
to him.

But' the religion or the. slave-holder is everywhere
a system-of mere delusion, got up expressly for the
"purpose of deceiving the poor slaves, for everywhere
the leading doctrine in the slaveuholders' ' religion - is,
"that it is the duty of the-slave to obey his: master» as»: all
gunngs.

80 » NARRATIVE on THE

. When Mr Carr left the city he was succeeded by;
Mr. Teter, who remained for many years; but attho
time when he commenced his ministerial duties, man;
of the slaves were running away to free states; on the
learning of which Mr. J eter’s firstobject was to devise
some plan by which the masters could more effectively;
prevent their negroesfrom escaping; and the result of
his ingenuity was as follows; He got the deaccnsand
many more of the good christians of his church, whether,
to believe or not 1 do not know, but’to hold out that the
place of meeting which they then occupyed was not large
enough for them; and he seemed not relish beiijg in the
same church with the negroes, but, however that was,
he managed, with the assistance of his church members,
to get the negroes all round the district to believe that
out of love for them, and, from pure regard to their
spiritual interests, it had been agreed that the old meet-
, iug house was to be given to the negroes for their own
use, on their paying a small portion of the price at
which it was estimated. The church was valued at
13,000 dollars, but they would only be required to pay
3,000 dollars in order to have it for themselves. The
negroes were pleaSed with the idea of having apiece
ofi meeting for themselves, and so were induced to save
every cent- they could to buy the chapel. The}
were thus provided with a stronghmotive for remaining
where they were. and also by means of this pious fraud,
which it afterwards proved itself to be, they wererdeprived
of such little sums of money as might occasionally drop.

LIFE oF'HnNBY BOX BROWN. 31'

into their hands, and with which they might have been”
assisted . in effecting their escape. These resolutions
were piinctually carried into effect; a splendid new
church was built for the whites ; and it was made a rule
of that church, that if any coloured person entered it,
without special business, he was liable to be taken to the
watch-heuse and to receive 39 lashes! The ‘negroes
phid what was at first demanded of them for the old
building, but when they wished to get it placed entirely
in their hands, they were charged with a still further
isiim ; and'after they had paid that, they had still more
to pay, and never, so long asI was there, get possession
of thevchurch‘, and probably never will. A minister-
’was', however, appointed to preach for them beside the
one that preached for the white people. '
A man named Knopp who came from the north
preached once in the church of the negroes. He took
for his text, “ 0! Jerusalem, Jerusalem which hillest
the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee,
how often would I have‘gathered thee asahen gathe-reth
her chidhens under her wings, and ye would " not.”
Mr. J eter and the members of the whites" church were
so offended at this man’s sermon, that they went in'a.
body to‘his lodgings and Were about to mob him, if he
had not been defended by a number of his own friends ;
but I believe if he had been left to the tender mercies
of this professed servant of the Most ‘High, and his
christian associates, he would never have escaped with
his life. ' ' ' '

.32 NARRATIVE OF THE

1 TheRev. R Ryland,‘who preached for the coloured
people, was professor at the Bastist seminary :nearthe
city of Richmond, and the coloured people had to pay
him .asalary of 700 dollars per annum, although they
neither chose him: nor had the least controul over him.
Headid'vnot consider himself bound to preach regularly,
but only when he‘was not otherwise engaged, sci-he
preached about .40 sermons a year and was a zeahm
supporter of the slave-holders? cause ; and, so. far all
could judge, he had no notion whatever of the pure
-~religlon-of Jesus Christ. He-used to preach from such
textsas that .inthe epistle to the Ephesians, :where St.
"Paul says, “ servants be obedient to them that are your
mastersand mistresses according to the flesh, and sub-
mit to them with fear and trembling” ;'he wasmot
ashamed to invoke the authority of heaven in! support
0f the 'slave degrading laws under which masters couid
with impunity abuse“ their fellow-creatures.

' CHAPTER VI.

I now began to think of entering the matrimonial
_ state; and with that View I had formed: an acquaintance
‘ with a young woman named Nancy, who wasa slave be-
..longing to aMr. Leigh. aclerk in the Bank, and, likemaiiy
ijI'B slave-holders, professing to be .arverypious man.
We had made, it up to get married, but it was necessary

LIFE OF HENRY ’BOXa-LBBOWN. 33

in theiiirst place, to obtain ounzmastersflpermission, as
awe‘eould do 'nothingwwithout. their con-sent. .»,I therefore
'went t07:'Mr.-3.Leigh,sandmadeikn own to him my Wishes,
‘when he told me {he nearer-meantszto; eell r-Nancy, andif
my master would. agneemever toisell :~me,: Lmight marry
her. He promised ,faithfully‘that .he,'..would not sell. her,
and pretended to entertainan: extreme horror of sepa-
rating families. He gave .me avn'otevtmmy'master, and
after they had discussed the matter over, I 'wasallowed
to marry the object of my choice. “Whenlshecbecame
my wife 'she was living: withea Mr.i Reeve, ~ arminister‘of
then-gospel, “who had ' not3 long ' .vcome rfirnm tithe: north,
where he had the chara’oterwf zbeinggan .t'Anitig-slavery
man; but he=had not been- long in: the ‘somthvwhen all
his -anti»'siavery notions vanished :and 2 he became .a.
stem ch- advocate .- of ~ slave-holding doctrines, :and even
wrote articles in: favourrof slavery whichwwere published
in the’Richm‘ond' Republican.

“My 'Wife was: still the property of er, Leigh and, from
the apparentvsin-ceri-ty of his promises tones-“we erlt
confident that {hewould*notzseparatexus. . ~Wethad‘ not,
however,‘been married"- above twelve months, Zza-When :his
conscientious samples vanished; and he SO‘ldfiTfi'y‘ Wife. to
‘a‘Mrf-Ueeeph -‘H.?”‘C‘o‘lquitt;‘a saddler, living in the city
"6FRinlrmond,-=-and a {member'Of ~ Dr. Plummer’sv‘chumh
"there. "This “Mr; Celquitt was/an-iexeeedingly vernal
" man, and he had-awwi’fe Who-was; ‘if a possible, stillvmore
‘cru'el. ilShe‘was‘very-‘contraryeand hardvto’ bezpleased': '
*ehe we to ebusegmyiwnfe'mvi muehametibecameé bhe

34 f NARRATIVE or THE

did not do her duty, but because, it was said, hefiinanners
were too refined for a slave. At this time my Wifeh'alla
child and this vexed Mrs, Colquitt very much 3. she
could not bear to see her nursing her baby and usedto
wish some great calamity to happen to my wife; Event
ually she was so much displeased with my wife that she
induced Mr. Colqnitt to sell her to one Philip M; Tabb,
J unr. for the sum of 450 dollars; but coming to see the?
value of her more clearly after she-tried to do without.
her, she could not rest till she got Mr. Colquitt to re'
purchase her from Mr. Tabb, which he did in about four
months after he had sold her, for 500 dollars, being 50
more than he had sold her for.

Shortly after this Mr. Golquitt was taken sick, and
his minister, the Rev. Dr. Plummer, was sent for to
visit him; the doctor came and prayed for him and so
did other members of the church; but he did not get any
better so that they all thought he must soon die; the
doctors had given up all hopes of him, and his wife and
children, and friends, stood round his bedside in tears,
expecting every minute he would breathe his last. All
the servants were in readiness lest they should be called
to go on some message. I had just then got homefrom
labouring for my master; my wife was waiting for me,
but she ' said she expected, every minute, that some
person 'would be calling to tell her that master was gone,
when, to my surprise, Joseph Colquitt sent to my wife
to tell me to come and speak with him. I immediately
left my room and went to his bed-side; and as soon as

LIFE OF HENRY BOX BROWN. 35

“hasaw me, he caught hold of my hand and said ;-.-.-.
~;_“IIenry will you pray for me and ask the Lord tospare
mylife, and restore me to health 2” I' felt it my duty
itodo the best I could in asking the Lord to have mercy
upon him, because, although he was a slaveholder,
and a very cruel man, and had used my wife very badly,
yetI had no right to judge between him and his God,
soIknelt down by his bed-side and prayed for him.
'After I got up he‘caught hold of my arm again and said,
v',“ one more favour I have to ask of you—go and tell all
my. slaves that belong to the church. to come and
pray for me.” I went, according to his request, and we
prayed three nights with him, after our work was done,
and although'we needed rest ourselves, yet at the earnest
desire of the apparently dying man we were induced to
forego our rest, and to spend our time in comforting
him. At the end of this time he began to get a little
better, and-in a few weeks he was able to sit at table, ‘
and to take his meals with the family. I happened
to be at his house one day, at our breakfast hour,
after he got quite well, and his wife appeared as if she
wished to joke her husband about the coloured people
praying for him when he was sick. Mrs. Colquitt had
Ybeenexpelled from the baptist church, and since that
time she had disliked religion. She pretended that she
did, not believe either in God or Devil, and went on at
such arate, plaguing Mr. - Colquitt, about the negroes
praying for him, that he'grew angry at last and ex;
' alaimedwith an oath that: it was all lies about the negroes

'5 6 NARRATIVE? 'OF THE

praying for shims ; he denied asking-any persénétoapraj
for him, and'he said if he did ask the negroes to pray
for ’him he must have been out of his senses, and dil
not; at. the time- he spoke, remember anything about
it; but. his Wife still. persisting in Whattshevsaid, He
went tofthee back door and calling his slaves we ate
time, askedthemwhoit :was that prayed for him, until
he got: the nameswof all those who hadzbeen cencemgl
inéthe: affair, and: whenth'e hadzsdcne‘so, (he-whippyl
every one of them which: said 'he had prayed? as Ms.
Colquittt had stated, He seemeduwishful to~whip me
alsogbnt, as I did not belong: to him, he was deprived
of the pleasure of payingcrme for my" services in" the
manner, in which othersshad been rewarded. Mr.
Colquitt, however; determin‘edwthate I should suffer toe,
and for. that purposehew proceeded'to sell my wifete
one Samuel Cottrell, who: wished to purchase her:
Cottrell was a saddler.- and had a shop i117Ri‘chrrmml.l
This man came-tome one day and told me that Mr:
Colquittwasgoing to sell my wifehand Stated thathe
wanted a woman to await :upon his wife, and. he thought.
my wife would; precisely= suit her; but'he saidher
master :asked‘ 660' dollars'éfor her» and» her children, and:
he" haduonly "600' that» he could conveniently spare
but. if: I would}. let :himhave fifty,- tomake’uprthe price;
he would-prevent her~ from. being sold away'from-mer
I was, however; alittle suspicious about being fooled"
out of: my money, and. I asked him: if. I did advance the
money“. what» security. :1 couldhavc that he would not"

LIFE or. HENRY Box. BMW-N. 37

sell: my wifexas-the others had done; but be said to me
“-‘do you think if you. allow me to have that money,
that I could: have the heart to sell your wife to any other
person but. yourself, and particularly knowing thatyour’
wife is my sister and your my brother. in: the Lord .;
while all of us are members of the church? Oh! no,-
I never could have the heart :to do such a deed as that."
After he had shown off his religion in this manner,
and lavished it upon me, I thought I would let ' him.
have the money, notthat Ihad implicit faith inhispromise,
but that I knew he could purchase her if he wished.
whether I were to assist ‘him or : not, and ,I thought by,
thus bringing him under an obligation to meit might.
at least be somewhat to the advantage of myawifevand‘
tome; so I gave him the 50 dollars and he went off
and bought my wife and children :——and thatverysame
day he came to me and told me, thatrmy wife: and
children were now his property, and that .I must: hire a
house for them and he would allow-themtoulive there
if I would furnish them . with everything» they wanted,
and pay him 50dollars, a year; “ if you dont. do this,’,’
he said, “I will" sell her as soon as. I. can get abuyer
for her.” I a was. struck with astonishment to: think
thatthis man, in one'day, could exhibit himself in‘ttwo
such different characters. A few hours ago=filled with
expressions 7 of: love and kindness, and. now a .monster
tyrant, making. light of the mostusocial ties-land im»
pOsing suehaxterms as he chose ontthoseéwhom, ,buta
littlebefore, he had begged to conformtwhis-willr. New;

38 NARRATIVE on THE

being a slave, I had no power to hire a house,_and what

this might have resulted in I do not know, if I had not

met with a friend in the time of need, in the person of

James C. A. Smith, Jr. He was a free man andI went

to him. and told him my tale and asked him to go andhire

ahouse for me, to put my wife and children into; which

he immediately did. He hired one at 72 dollars per
annum, and stood master of it for me ; and, notwith~'
standing the fearful liabilities under which I'lay, Inow
began to feel a little easier, and might, perhaps, have
managed to 'live in a kind of a way if we had been let
alone here. But Mr. S. Cottrell had not yet done with
robbing us ; he no sooner saw that we Were thus com-
fortably situated, than he said my wife must do some of
his washing. 1 still had to pay the house hire, and the
hire of my wife; to find her and the children with
everything they required, and she had to do his wash.
iug beside. Still we felt ourselves more comfortable
than we had ever been before. In this way, we went
on for some time : I paid him the hire of my wife reg4
ularly, whenever he. called for it—whethe'r it was due
or not—but he seemed still bent on robbing me more
thoroughly than he had. the previous day ; for one
pleasant morning, in the month of August, 1848, when
my wife and children, and myself, were sitting at table,
about to eat our breakfast, Mr. Cottrel called, and said,
he wanted some money to day, has he had a demand for
a large amount. ' I said to him, you know I have no
meney to spare, because it takes nearly all that I make

LIFE on HENRY BOX BROWN. 39

for myself, to pay my wife’s hire, the rent of my house,
my own ties to,» my master, and to keep ourselves in
meatand clothea; and if at any time, I have maderany"
thingrmore than that“, I have paid it to’you in advance,
mdiwl'iat more can I do ? Mr. Gottrell, however said,
“I. want money, and money I, will have”, I: could,
make'him no answer; heathen wentiaway. I. then said
to my wife “I wonder what Mr Cottrell means. by say»-
ing I want money and money I will. have," my poon
wife burst into tears and said perhaps he will sellone Of
our little children, and our hearts weresofull-that nei-
ther of us could eat any breakfast, and after- mutually,
embracing each other, as it might be our: last meeting,
and fondly pressing our little darlings to our bosomsh
I left the the house and Went off to my, daily labour;
followed by my little children who called after meto:
come back soon. I felt thatlife had joys, worth living;
for if I could only be allowed, to enjoy them, but 'my,
heart was filled withvdeep anguish from the awful. cala-
mity, which I was thus obliged to. contemplate, as- not
only a possible but a highly-probable occurrence. I
new went hWay, to my Work and I could as I went. see »
many other slaves hastening in the same direction. I
began to consider their. lot and. mine, and although my»
, heart was filled with sorrow I felt still. disposedtollook
upon the bright. side of. the future. I, could stillisee;
some alleviatioute- my case of sorrow; it wanteuethat.
the. greater portion . of my. earnings-i were-stolenfmmmer.
by the-unscmpuleus:hand;,of my. master ;. that. 1 war:

40‘ . '- ' NARRATIVE on: THE

1 entirely at his mercy, and might. at any :momentibe
snatched from those enjoyments as well as those Ithought'
were open to me; that if he chose he might still furthergrat;
ify his robbing propensities and demand a largerportion of;
my— earnings ; so that the pleasures of intellect would-be;
completely closed to my mind, but I could enjoy myself
with my family about me while I listened to the pleas.
ing prattle of my children, and experience the kindness
of 'a wife, which were privileges that every slave could
not enjoy. . '

I had not been many hours at my work when I was
informed that, my wife and children were taken from.-.
theirhbme, Sent'to the auction mart, and sold, and then
lay in prison ready to start away the next day for
'NOrth Carolina with the man who had purchased them

I cannot express, in language, what were my feelings

_ on this occasion, My master treated me kindly but he

still retained me in a state of slavery. j His kindness
however did not keep me from feeling the smart of this

awful deprivation. 1 had left my wife and children at
home in: the morning as well situated as slaves couldzbe;

I’was not anticipating their loss,‘ not on account of-‘the
feigned piety 'of their owner, for I had long ago learned
to look through suCh hollow pretences in those who
held] slaves, but because of the obligation tome for nio-

‘ney I' had advanced to him, on the expressed condition

that he should not sell her to any person but myself; a

such, however was the case, and as soon as Iécould get

away, 1 went and purchased Some things to take totle

LIFE OF- HENRY 301:; snows. 41

jail to them I so. much loved ; andto have one farewell.
embrace before parting for ever. I had not preceeded"
far however when I met with a' gentleman who perceiv-
ing my anguish of heart,» as depicted in my countenance,
inquired what was the matter with me. I had no sooner
hinted at my circumstances, however, than heknew all.
about it, having heard it, before. He advised me not. to
go to the jail, “for” said he “the man that bought your
wife and family has told your; master some falsehoods
and has ordered the jailor to seize you and put you in“
.prison if you should i. make year appearance there ;.
when you would most -, likely be sold separately from,
them, because the Methodist Minister that bought.
your wife, does not want any men,” so being, thus advi-,~
sed I thought it better not to go to the jail myself, but.
Igrocured a friend to go in my stead, and take some.
money and the things which I had purchased foamy:
,wife, and tell'her how it was that 1 could not come {my—
self. Andit turned out in the end to be much better that
Idid not go, for as soon as the young man arrived at
the jail he was seized and put in prison, _ the jailor' mis;
'taking him for me : but when he discovered his mistake
he was veryr angry and vented his rage upon the innog
cent youth by kicking him out of the prison. He din
covered his mistake by asking my wife if that were not.
her husband, she said he was not; but he was not, satisy
:Sfied with her answer for he asked the children‘alsoifhey '
were not their father, and as they too said no he was}

42 NARRATIVE on THE-

cenvinced, and.“ then proceeded to abuse the-young man
in the manner before mentioned. '
'A’fter I had head of these things,.I went foamy
christian master and informed him how- I was served.
but he shoved me away from himtas. if I wasnot human
I could: not rest with this howeyer, 1» went to hima
second time and implored him to bekind enough to buy
my wife and to save me from- so much trouble of mind;
still he was inexorable and only answered me by telling
me to go to my work and not bother him any more. I
went to him a third time, which would be: about ten
o’clock and told him how Cottrell had robbed me, as
this scoundrel was not satisfied with selling my wife
and children, but he had no sooner got them out ofthe
town than he took everything which he could find in
my house and carried it off to be sold; the things which
he then took had cost me nearly three hundred dollars.
I begged master to write Cottrell and make him give me
up my things, but'his answer was Mr. Cottrell is a gen-
tleman I am afraid to meddle with his business. So
having'satisfied myself that the master would do nothing
for me, I left him and went to two- young gentlemen
with whom I was acquainted to try if I could induce
them to buy'my wife ; but when I'hadistated my case
to'them they gave me to-understandthat they did not
deal in slaves so they could not do. that, but they ex-
pressed their willingness to- do anything -else<that.1
might desire of ' them ;' so finding myself unsuccessful
here, I went sorrowfully back to myown deserted home,

LIFE «oar JHENRY BOX BROWN. 4.3

and faund that what I had heard was quite true ;.not
:only' had my --wi-fe and children been taken away, but
every article «of furniture .had also been removed to the
sanction mart tetbe sold. 21 then made inquiry as to
where my things had been put ; and shavingfound this
rout went .torthe sherriff’s officeand informed him, that
the things Mr, .Cottrellshad brought ...to besold did not
.belong to .him,.but-.that'they weremine, and I hoped he
would return them tome. I was then told by the
sherriff that Mr. .‘Cottrell had .leftthe things to be.
sold in order to pay himself a debt of seventeen dollars
and twenty-one cents, which he said if .I wOuld “pay he
would let tmetake away thethings. I then went to my
good, friend ...Doctor.Smith who was always ready and
willingato do what he could for me, and havinggot the
money, ,.:I paid it to the sherriff and.took away the things
which .I was obliged .:.to.do that night, as far as 1 Was
able, and what were .left .I ...remoyed in the morning.
When I wasdtaking home the last of my things I met
Mr. Cottrelluand two ..of .his Christian brethren, in the
retreat. .a-He stopped me .and saidhehad heard I had
sheen ta the ~sherrifi‘7s officeand gotawa my things. Yes
I said I have been and got away my things but? I
would not» get away my wife and children Whom you
shave.putbeyondmyjpmvervto redeem. He then began
do give .me a '=1:ound..of abuse, whilehis two Christian
.iriends :stoad .hy .and heard him, but they did not
:seem rte-maths least .sof‘iended .at the terrible .harbarity
which was theregplaeed before .them. i i 7

4'4 NARRATIVE on THE

I now left Mr Cottrell and his friends, and going home,
endeavoured to court a little rest by lying down in .3
poéition so as to induce sleep. I had borne too heavy
a load of grief on my mind to admit of me even closing
‘my eyes for an hour during the whole night‘ Many
schemes for effectin g the redemption of my family passed
through my mind, but when the mornings sun arosel
found myself on my way towards my masters house, to
make another attempt to induce him to purchase my
wife. But although I besought him, with tears in my
eyes, I did not succeed in making the least impression
on his obdu'rate heart, and he utterly refused to advance
the smallest portion cf the 5000 dollars I had paid him
in order to relieve my sufferings, and yet he was a
church member of considerable standing in Richmond.
He even told me that I could get anotherwife and so
I need not trouble myself about that one; but I told him
those that God had joined together let no man put assuné
der, and that I did not want another wife, but myown
whom I had loved so long. The mentioning of the piss-
sape of scripture Seemed to give him much offence for
he instantly drove me from his house saying he did not
wish to hear that l . _

My agony was now complete, she with whom I had
travelled thejourney of life in chains, for, the space of '
twelve years, andthe dear little pledges GOd had given us
I could see plainly‘must’ now be separated from me for.
ever, andImust continue, desolateland alone, ’to‘d-r-ag niy
chains through the world. . . 0‘ dear, I thought shall my

LIFE or? HENRY BOX snows. 4'6

wife and children no more greet my sight ' with their
cheerful looks and happy smiles! for far away in the
North Carolina swamps are they henceforth to-toil beneath
the scorching rays of a hot sun deprived‘of a husband’s
and a father’s care 2 Can I endure such agony—shall I
stay behind while they are thus driven with the tyrantfs
rod? I must stay, I am a slave, the law of men gives
me no power to ameliorate my condition; it shuts up
every avenue of'hope; but, thanks be to God,'there is a
law of heaven which senates’ laws cannot controul !,
While I was thus musing I received a message, that
if I wished to see my wife and childre n,- and bid
them the last farewell, I could do so, by taking my
stand on the street where they were all to pass on their way
for North Carolina. I quickly availed myself ' of this
information, and placed myself by the side of a street,
and soon had the melancholy satisfaction of witnessing
the approach of a gang of slaves, amounting. to three
hundred and fifty in number, marChing under the
direction of a methodist minister, by whom they were
purchased, and amongst lwhich slaves were my wife and-
children. 1 stobd in the midst of many who,likeimyself,
iwere mourning the loss of friends and relations and had
'come there to obtain one parting look at those whose
‘eompany they but a short time before had imagined they
should always enjoy, but Who were, without any regard
to their own wills, now driven by the tyrant’ 8 voice and
the smart of the Whip on their way to another scene; of
toil, and, to them, anether land of sorrow in a far cl!

4.5 ,nannarrvn QF .TEE

southern country These beings were marched with
ropes about their necks,yand staples on their arms, and,
althoughin thatrespect the scene was no very noi'el
oneto me, ,yet the peculiarity of my own circumstances
made it assume the appearance of unusual horror.
‘ Thistrain of beings was accompanied by a number of
waggons loaded with little children of many different
families, which as they appeared rent the air with their
shrieks andfcries and vain endeavours to resist the
separation which was thus forced upon them, and the
cords with which they were thus bound; but what should
I now see in the very foremost waggon but a little
child lookingtowards me and pitifully calling, father!
father! This was my eldest _ child, and I was obliged
to look upon it forthelast time .that I should, perhaps,
ever see; it again in life ; if it had been ‘going to the
graveand this gloomy procession had been about to
_ret_urnsits :body to the dust from whence it sprang,
whence its soul had taken its departure for the land
of spirits, my grief would have been nothing in
eomparisonlto what Ithen felt ; for then I could have
reflected that its sufferings were over and that it would
never again require nor look for a father’s care;
but now it ,goes with all those tender feelings riven,by
whichit wsas endearedto .a father’s love ; it must still live
subjectto the deprivation of paternal care and to the
chainssand wrongs of slavery, and yet .be dead to the
pleasure of .a ' father from whose heart the impression
of its early innocence and love' will never be efiaoed

LIFE 01:: HENRI .Box amowx. 47

illfhusipassed my child'from my yresence—eit .wasmy own
fabild—I loved it with all the .-fondness of aifather ; but
lithings were so ordered that I could only say, : farewell,
and leave it tospass in its chains while I looked ,for the
approach of another gang in which my wife was also
Edeeded with chains. My eye soon caught her precious
ilface, but, gracious heavens ! uthat glance-of agony may
God spare me from ever again enduring! My wife,
amder the influence of her feelings, jumped aside; :I
aeized hold of her hand while my mind felt unutterable
things, and my tongue was only able to say, we shall
meet in heaven! I went with her forgabout four miles
hand in hand, but both our hearts wereso overpowered
with feeling that we could say :nothing,.and when at
last we were obliged ‘to part, the look of mutual love
~which we exchanged was all the 'to'ken which twecould
give each other that «.we should yet meet in heaven.

CHAPTER VII.

’1 had forxa long While ‘been a member-of “the choir
in the Afi’eviarlchurchiinRichmond, butafter-the severe
family affliction to which 1:1 have just alluded in the
«hat chapterrandlthe knowledge that these -~cruelties=were
perpetrated by ministersfand church members, ‘I‘began
strongly to suspect the ‘ehristianity'of the*slave~*hdldixfg
church members andnhes‘itated much about maintaining

NARRATIVE or THE . 48

my connection with them. The suspicion of these
slave-dealing christians was the means of keeping me
absent from all their churches from the time that my
wife and children were torn from me, until Christmas
day in the year 1848 ; and I would not have gone then
but being a leading member of the choir, I yielded to
the entreaties of my associates to assist at a concert of
sacred music which was to be got up for the benefit of .-
the' church. My friend Dr. Smith, who was the ‘
conductor of the under-ground railway, was also a. '
member of the choir, and when I {had consented to
rattend he assisted me in selecting twenty four pieces to
be sung on the occasion.
" . On the day appointed for our concert I went alOng
with Dr. Smith, and the singing commenced at half-past
three o’clock, pm. When we had sung about ten pieces
and were engaged in singing the following verse-é"
Again the day returns of holy rest,
’Whi-ch, when he made the world, Jehovah blest;
‘When, like his own, he‘badc our labours cease,
And all be piety, and all be peace, I
the mEmbers were rather astonished at Dr, Smith, who
'stood on my right hand, suddenly closing his book, and
sinking down upon his seat, his eyes being at the same
time filledwith tears. Several of them began to'inquiro
that was the matter with him, but he did not tell them.
I guessed what .it was and afterwards found out that I
had judged of the circumstances correctly. Dr. Smith ’s
feelings were overcome 'with a sense of doing wrongly

LIFE or HENRY BOX BROWN. 49

in singing for the purpose of obtaining money to assist
those who Were buying and selling their fellow-men.
He thought at that moment he felt reproved by Almighty
God for lending his aid to the cause of slave-holding
religion; and it was under this impression he closed
his book and formed the resolution which he still acts
upon, of never singing again or taking part in the
services of a pro-slavery church. He is now in New '
England publicly advocating the cause cf emancipation .
‘ After we had sung several other pieces we commenced
the anthem, which run thus—

Vital spark of heavenly flame,

Quit, O ! quit the mortal frame,-—-
these words awakened in me feelings in which the
sting of former sufferings was still sticking fast, and
stimulated by the example of Dr. Smith, whose feelings
I read so correctly, I too made up my mind thatI would.
be no longer guilty of assisting those bloody dealers in
the bodies and souls of men ; and ever since that time
Ihave steadfastly kept my resolution. ,

I now began to get weary of my bonds ; and earnestly
panted after liberty, I felt convinced that I should be
acting in accordance with the will of God, if I could
snap in sunder these bonds by which I was held body
and soul as the property of a fellow man. I looked
forward to the good time which every day I more and
more firmly believed would yet come, when I _should
walk the face of the earth in full possession of all that
’reedom which the finger of God hadso clearly written .

bO ' NARRATIVE on .THE

on the constitutions .of .man,.and which was Common to
the human race; but of which, .by the cruel handaof
tyranny, I, andmillions -of my fellow-men, had been
robbed. _
.I was well acquainted awithla store-keeper in the city
of Richmond, from whom I used to purchase my pro-
,\visions ; and havingformed a favourable opinion of his
integrity, one day in the courseof a little conversation
with him, I said to him if I were .free I would be able
to do business such as- he was doing; he then told me
that my occupation (a tobacconist) wasa money-making
A one, and if I were .free I had no need to change for
another. I then told him my circumstances in regard
to mymaster, having to pay him 25 dollars ,per month,
and yet that he refused .to assist me in saving my wife
from beingsold and taken away to the South, wherel
should never see .her again ; and even refused to allow
-me to go and see her until my hours of labour were
over. .I told him this took;p1ac.e about five months ago,
and I had been meditating myescape from slavery since,
andasked him, as no ,person was near us, if he could
give me any information about how Ishould proceed.
I told him I had a little money and if he would assist
me I would pay him .for:so doing. Theman asked me
if '1 was not afraid to. speak that way to him ; Isaidno,
iforl imaginedhebelieved that every man .hadamight
to liberty. Hesaid I was quite right, Landaskedane
.how «much money -I would give him if he .would assist
. me to getaway. I toldrhim that .I had 166. dollarsand

LIFE OF“ Hanan Box; BROWN; - 61

that I would give him-the. half ;‘ so we'ultimatel y agreed
that I should- have- hisservi'ee in the attempt for. 86..
NewI only Wanted to fixupon; a plan. He told me of
several plans by which: others, had managed to, effect.
their escape, butnone; of them exactly suited my taste.
Ithen left him to think over what'would' be. best to be
done, and, in the meantime, wenttoeonsnlt, my friend
Dr. Smith, on the subject. I. mentioned the plans which
thestor-ekeeper had. suggested, and as he did not ap-
prove either of them very- much, Istill looked for some
plan which would be more certain and more safe, but;
I Was determined that come whatmay, I shouldthave
my freedom or die in- the. attempt. .

One day, while. I- was at work, and-my thoughts were
eagerly feasting upon the: idea. of freedom, _I‘ feltmy-
soul called out to heaven: to breathe a» prayer toxAlr
mighty God- I prayed fervently that he who seet~h=inz
secret and knew. the. inmost desires .. of my heart, would:
lend me his aid in burstingrmy: fetters asunder; and in:
restoring me to. theposession- of those rights, of which:
men had robbed meg. when; the. idea suddenly flashed
across my mind? of shutting-‘ myself up in are how; and
; getting myself- conveyed. as. dry.~ goods to a--fnee«state;,

Being now, satisfied that this» was, the: plan: for me,- I
i went to my friend Dr; Smith. anch, havingaquaintedhim
. with it, we agreed to base: it put at once into execution
not. however without calculating-{they oha-ncesmf danger
with which it was attended ;: but buoyed-up b‘y thezpros—
pact of. freedom and. incweasedxhatred;terslavery. I was

52 NARRATIVE on THE

Willin g to dare even death itself rather than endure
any longer the clanking of those galling , chains It
being still necessary to have the assistance; of the store-
keeper, to see that the box was kept in its right posi-
_ tion on its passage, I then went to let him know my
intention, but he said although he was willing to serve
me in any way he could, he did not think I could live
in a box for so long a time as would be necessary to
convey me to Philadelphia, but as I had already made
up my mind, he consented to acompany me and keep
the box right all the way. ,
.My next object was to procure a box,‘and with the as.
sistance of a carpenter that was very soon accomplished,
and taken to the place where the packing was to be
performed. In the mean time the storekeeper had
written to a friend in Philidelphia, but as no answer
had arrived, we resolved to carry out our purpose as best
we could. It was deemed necessary that I should get
permission to be absent from my work for a few days,
in Order to keep down suspicion until I had once fairly
started on the road to liberty ; and as I had then a ga-
thered finger I thought that would form a very
good excuse for obtaining leave of absence; but whenl
showed it to one. everseer, Mr. Allen, he told me it was
not so bad as to prevent me from working, so with a
view of making it bad enough, I got Dr. Smith to pro-
cure for me some oil of vitriol in order to drop a little
or ,. this on it, but in my hurry I dropped rather much
and made it wdrse than there was any occasion for, iii

LIFE or HENRY Box snows. b3

fact it was very soon eaten in to the bone, and on pre-
seating it again to Mr. Allen I obtained the permission
required, with the advice that I should go home and get?
a poultice of flax-meal to it, and keep it well poulticedf
until it got better. I took him instantly at his word,
and went off directly to the store~keeper who had by
this time received an answer from his friend in Phiiw
adelphia, and had obtained permission to address the
box to him, this friend in that city, arranging to call for
it as soon as it should arrive. There being no time to
be lost, the store-keeper, Dr. Smith, and myself, agreed '
to meet next morning at four o’clock, in order to get
the box ready for the express train. The box which 1
had procured was three feet one inch wide, two feet six.
inches high, and two feet wide : and on the morning of
the 29th. day of March, 1849, I went into the box— -
having previously bored three gimlet holes opposite my ,
face, for air, and provided myself with a bladder of
water, both for the purpose of quenching my thirst and
for wetting my face, should I feel getting faint. ' Itook
the gimlet also with me, in order that I might here
more holes if I found I had not sufficient air. Being
thus equipped for the battle of liberty, my friends
nailed down the lid and had me conveyed to the Express
Office, which was about a mile distant from the .plaCe
where I was packed. I had no sooner arrived at the
office than I was turned heels up, while some person
nailed something on the end of the box. I was then.
put upon a waggon and driven off to the depot with my

5'4 NARRATIVE on" THE“

headdown, and? I had: nosoon'er arrived at the depét‘,
than the man who-drove the waggon tumbled me roughly
into; the baggage car, where, however, I happened tofall
on my right side. .

The next place we arrived at was Potomac Creek,
where the baggage had to be removed from the carato
be put on board the-steamer; where I was again placed
with my h‘eaddown,~ and: in this dreadful position had
toremain nearly an hour- and a‘ half, which, from the
sufferings» I had; thus to- endure, seemed like an age to
me, but I was forgetting the battle of liberty, and I
was resolved to~conquer or die. .. I felt my eyes swelling
as if they would burst» from' their sockets ;’ and the veins
enemy." temples were dreadfully distended with pressure
of blood uponzmy head. ‘In this position I attempted
to lift my hand to my face but I had no power to move
it; ‘I felt a: cold sweat coming over me which seemed to
be a warning that death was about to terminate my
earthly miseries, but as Ifeared even that, less than
slavery, I. resolved to submit to the will of God, and,
under the influence of that impression, I lifted up my
soul in prayer to God, who" alone, was able to deliver
me. My cry was soon heard, for I could hear a man
saying; to another, that he had travelled‘a long way and
hadgbeen standing? there two hours, and he would like
toget somewhat to sit' down; so perceiving my box,

standing on end,he threw it down and then two sat upon
it; Ewes thus relieved» from. a state of" agony which
may. be more-easily imagined then" assessed. I could?

LIFE OF HENRY 130): BROWN. 55

now listen to the men talking, and heard one of them
asking the other what be supposed the box contained ;‘
his companion replied he guessed it was “an, MAIL.”
Itoo thought it- was amail but not such a mail as he
supposed it to be. I ’
The next place at which we arrived was thepcitf,r of
Washington, where I was taken from the steam-boat,
and again placed upon'a waggon and carried to the
depot right side up with care; but when the driver
arrived at the depot I heard him call for some person
to help to take the box off the waggon, and some one
answered him to the effect that he might "throw it off ;
.but, says the driver, it is marked “ this side up with;
.oare;” so if I throw it ofl‘ I might break something;
the other answered him that it did not matter i)
he broke all that was in it, the railway company were ,_
able enough to pay for it, No sconer were these Words
spoken than I began to tumble from the waggo‘n, and
falling. on the end where my head was, 1 could hear my.
neck give acrack, as if it had been snapped asunder, .1
.andI was knocked completely insensible. The first.
thingIheard; after that, was some person saying, “there
is no room for the box, it will have to remain and be
sent through to-morrow with the luggage train; but”
the Lord had not quite forsaken me, for in answer to ‘7
my earnest prayer He so ordered affairs that I should
not be left behind; andI now heard a man say that the
box had come with the express, and it must be sent.
on. I was then tumbled into the car with my head i

55 NARRATIVE on THE

downwards again, but the car had not proceeded for
before, more luggage having to be taken in, 'my box got '
shifted about and so happened to turnupon its right,
side; and in this position I remained till I got to
Philadelphia, of our arrival in which place I was
informed by hearing some person say, “We are in port
and at Philadelphia.” My heart then leaped for joy,
and I wondered if any person knew that such a box
was there.

Here it may be proper to observe that the man who
had promised to accompany my box failed to do what
he promised 5 but, to prevent: it remaining long at
the station after its arrival, he sent a telegraphic mes-
sage to his friend, and I was only twenty seven hours
in the box, though travelling a distance of three hun-
dred arid fifty miles.

I was new placed inthe depot amongst the other
luggage, where I lay till seven o’clock, P.M., at which
time a waggon drove up, and I heard a person inquire
for such a box as that in which I was. I was then
placed on a waggon: and: conveyed to the house where
my friend" in Richmond had arranged I should be
received. A number of persons soon collected round
the box after it was taken into the house, but as I did
not know what was going on I kept myself quiet. I
heard a man say “let us rap upon the box and see if
he is alive ;” and immediately a rap ensued and a voice
said, tremblingly, “Is all right within?” to whichI
replied-#51111 right.” The icy of the friends.- was very

LIFE OF HENRY‘ non snows. 57

great; when they heard that I was alive they soon
managed to break Open the box, and then came my
resurrection from the grave of, slavery. ”I rose a 'free-
man, but I was too weak, by reason ofl'ong confinement
in that boir, to be able to stand,- so Iiimmedia't‘el'y swoonei’
away. After my'recovery fromt‘he swoon thefirst thing,
Which arrested my attention, was the presence. of‘ a
number of friends, every one seeming more anxious than
another, to have an Opportunity‘oi' rendering me their
‘ assistance, and of bidding me a hearty welcome to the
possession of my natural rights, Thad risen as it were
f1om the dead; lfelt much more than I could readily
express; but as the kindness of Almighty God had
been so conspicuously shown 1n my deliverance, I burst
forth into the following him of thanksgiving,

I Waited patiently, I atait‘ed patiently? for the Lord,
for the Lord; ' _

And he inclined unto me, and heard‘my‘calii-ng :‘

I waited patiently, 1 waited-'patienayrorahe-Lara,

And he inclined unto me, and heard nay-calling:

And he hath put a new song in my month

Even a thanksgiving, even a thanksglvlng, even a

, thanksgiving unto our God. ’

Blessed, Blessed, Blessed, Blessed 18 the man, Blessed
is the man,

B essed' 18 the man that hath set his hope, his hapa m
the Lord;

'- O Lo1d my God, Great, Great. Great.

58 ' -‘ NARRATIVE ‘01: man

Great are the wondrous works which thou hast done. ‘

Great are the wond1ous works which thou hast done,
which thou hast done:

If I should declare them and speak of them, they would
be more, more, more than I am able to express.

I have not kept back thy loving kindness and truth from '
the great congregation. I

I have notkept back thy loving kindness and truth from
the great congregation. '

Withdraw not thou thy mercy from me,

'Withdraw not thou thy mercy from me, O Lord;

Let thy loving kindness and thy truth always preserve me,

Let all those that seek thee be joyful and glad, ,

Let all those that seek thee be joyful and glad, be joyful,
and glad, be joyful and glad, be joyful, be joyful,
be joyful, be joyful, be joyful and glad—be glad
in thee.

And let such as leve thy salvaiion,

And let Such as love thy salvation, say, always,

' The Lord be praised, I

The Lord be praised.

Let all those that seek thee be joyful aud glad,

And let such as love thy salvation, say always,

The Lord be praised,

The Lord be praised,

The Lord be praised.

LIFE 0F HENRY BOX BROWN. - 59

I was then taken by the hand and welcomed to the
houses of the following friends :-'--Mr. J. Miller, Mr.
M‘Kim, Mr. and Mrs. Motte, Mr. and 'Mrs. Davis, and
many others, by all of whom I was treated in the kindest
manner possible, But it was thought proper that I
should not remain long in Philadelphia, so arrangements
were made for me to proceed to Massachusetts, where,
by the assistance of a few Anti-slavery friends, I was
enabled fishortly after to arrive. I went to New York,
where I became acquainted with Mr. ~H. Long, and
Mr.-Eli Smith, who, were very kind to me the whole
time I remained there. My next journey was to New
Bedford, where I remained some weeks under the care
of Mr. H. Ricketson, my finger being still had from
the effects of the oil of vitriol with which I dressed it
before I left Richmond. While I was here I heard of
a great Anti—slavery meeting which was to take place in
.Boston, and being anXious to identify myself with that
public movement, I proceeded there and had the pleasure
of meeting the hearty sympathy of thOusands to whom
Irelated the story of my escape. I have since attended
large meetings in different towns in the states of Maine,
New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island,
Pennsylvania, and New York, in all of which places I .
have found many friends and have endeavoured, accord- "
ling to the best of my abilities, to advocate the cause of
the emancipation? of the slave ; with what success I
will not pretend to say—but with a- daily increasing
'gct‘nfiggtwe in the humanity and justice of my cause,

60 NARRATIVE OF THE

and in the assurance of the approbation of Almighty

God.
I have composed the following song in commemora-

tion of my fete in the box :—

Air :—“ UNCLE NED.”

 

I.

Here you see aman by the name of ' Henry Brown,
Ran away from the South to the North;

Which. he would not have done but they stole allhis rights,
But they’ll never do the like again.

Chorustrown laid down the shovel and the hoe,
Down in the box he did go ;
No more Slave work for Henry BoxBa own,
In the box by Express he did go,
II.

Then the orders they were given, and the cars did start
away,
Roll along—roll along—roll along,
Down to the landing, where the steambeat lay,
To hear the baggage off to the north.
CHORUS.
II'I,
When they packed the baggage on, theyturnadlhfin on
his head,
There poor Brown liked'to have died;
”There were passengers on board Who-wishedfto'sit down,
' And they turned the'box ‘down'orl iitsSide.
‘ Cuoaus I

LIFE OF- HENRY BOX BROWN. 61

IV.

When they got to the cars they threwthe box 06",

And down upon his head he did fall, _
Then he heard his neck crack, and he thought it was broke,

But they never threw him off any more.
CHORUS.
. V.

When they got to Philadelphia they said he was in port,

And Brown then began to feel glad, ,
He was taken on the waggon to his final destination, ’

And left, “this side up with care.”

CHORUS

VI,

The friends gathered round and asked if all was right».
As down on the box they did rap,
Brown answered them, saying, “ yes all, is, right!”
He was then set free from his pain.‘

CHORUS.

APPENDIX.

 

17w allusion in my song to the shovel and the hoe, is females on the
following story, which forms the slave-holder’s version of the creation
of the human race.

The slave-holders say that originally, there were four '
persons created (instead of only two) and, perhaps, it is
owing to the christian account of the origin of man, in
in which account two persons only are mentioned, that
it is one of the doctrines of slave-holders that slaves
have no souls: however these four persons were two
whites and two blacks; and the blacks were made to
wait upon the whites. But in man’s original state1
when he neither required to manufacture clothes to cov-
er his nakedness, or to shelter him from, storm; when
he did net require to till the earth or to sow or to reap.
its fruits, for his support ! but when everything sprung
up Spontaneously ; when the ‘ shady bowers invited
him to rest, and the loaded trees dropped their lucious
burdens. into his hands; in this state of things the
white pair were plagued with the incessant attendance
of the two colored persons, and they prayed that God
would find them something else to do ;- and immediately
while they stood, a black cloud seemed to gather over
their heads and to descend to the earth before them!
While they gazed on these clouds, they saw them open.

ii. APPENDIX.

and two bags of different size drop from them. They
immediately ran to lay hold of the bags, and unfor~
tunately for the black man—he being the strongest and
swifte st—he arrived first at them, and laid hold of the
bags, and the white man, coming up afterwards, got the
smaller one. They then .proceedeed to untie their
bags, when lo! in the large one, there was a shovel and
a hoe; and in the small one, a pen, ink, and paper; to
write the declaration of the intention of the Almighty;
they each proceeded to employ the Instruments which
God had sent them, and ever since the colored race have
had to labor with the shovel and the hoe, while the rich
man works with the pen and ink!
I have no apology whatever to make for what I have
said, in regard to the pretended christianty under which
;I was trained, While alslave. I have felt it my duty to
speak of it harshly, because I have felt its blasting'ino
fluence, and seen it used as a cloak under which to
conceal the most foul and wicked deeds. Indeed the
only thing I think itfinecessary to say in this place is
what seems to me, and What may really be matter of
serious doubt to persons who have the privilege of living
in a free country, under the influence of liberal institu-
‘ tions ; that there actually does exist in that land where
men, women, and children are bought and sold, a church,
calling itself the church of Christ; yes, my friends, it
is true that the buyer and seller of the bodies and souls:
of his fellows; he who today, can separate the husband}
frmn the wife, the parent from the child, or cut asund‘éi‘

APPENDIX. iii

the strongest 'ties of friendship,in order to gain a few
dollars, to avert a triflingdoss, or to please a whim of
fancy, can ascend a pulpit to-morrow and preach, what
he calls, the gospel of Christ! Yes, and in many
cases, the house, which he calls the house of God, has
been erected from the price of human beings; the very
stones of which it is composed, have actually been
dragged to their places by men with chains at their
heels, and ropes about their neck! It is not for me to
judge between those men and the God whom they
pretend to serve, if their own consciences donot condemn
them. I pray that God may give them light to see the
error of their ways, and if they know t‘hat'they are
doing wrongly, that he may give-them grace to renovate
their hearts! ‘

A few specimens of the laws of a slave-holding people
may notbe out of place here ; not that by such means,
We can hope to convey a true idea of the actual condition
of the people of these places, because those matters on
which the happiness or misery of a people principally
depend, and in general such matters as are entirely
beyond the reach of law. Beside—~the various circum
stances, which, independent of the law, in civilised and
free countries, constitute the principal sources of
happiness or misery—in the slave-holding states ‘af
America, there is a strong current of public‘apinion
which the law is altogether incompetent to control.
In many cases there are ideas of “criminality, which are
not. by statute law attached t-‘o-the commission ofcertain,

iv APPENDIX.

acts'but which are frequently found to. exist under the
title of “"Lynch law” either augmenting the punishment
which the law requires, or awarding punishment to
what the law does-not recognizeas crime—easathe follow»—
'ing will be sufficient to show

“The letter of the law would have been suficient for
the protection of the kiss of the miserable gamblers, in
Vicksburg, and other places in Mississippi, from the
rage-of those Whose money they had won ; but gentlemen
of pmperty and standing, laughed the law to scorn.
rushed to the gambler’shouses, put ropes round their
necks, dragged them through the streets, hanged them
in the public square, and thus saved the money they had
not yet paid. Thousands witnessed this Wholesale
murder, yet of the scores of legal officers present, not
one raised a finger to prevent it. How many hundreds
of them helped to commit the murder with their 0an
hands, does not appear, but many of them. has been
indicted for it, and no one has made the least effort to
bring them to trial. Now thfel'aws of Mississippi were
not in fault, When those men were murdered, nor were
they-in fault, that the murderers werenot punished ; the
law demanded it, 'but the people of ' Mississippi, the
legal oflicers, the grand juries, and legislature of the
state, with one consent determine that the laws-hall be
a dead letter, and thus, the whole State assumes the
guilt of “these'murders, and, in bravado, flourish their
reekingharrds in the face of'the world; forthe people of
Vicksburg have actually erected a monument. in. honor

APPENDIX. v

of 'Dr. H. S. Bodley, who was the ring-leader of the
Lynchers in this case.”—Amerwan Slavery as it is.
It may be also worthy of remark, that in all cases in
which we have strong manifestation of public opinion,
in Opposition to the law, it is always exhibited in the
direction of cruelty; indeed, that such should be the
case, {no person intimately acquainted with the nature
of the human mind, need be in the least surprised.
Who can consider the influence which the relationship
of master and slave—so extensively subsisting between
the members of slave states—in ”stimulating the passion
and in degrading the moral feelings, without being
prepared to credit all that is said of slavery? The
most perfect abstract of the laws which regulate the
duties of slaves and slave owners, must doubtless fail to
convey any proper idea of the actual state of the slave;
and the few laws Which .we here cite, are not given for
that purpose, but as a sample of trash, which is called
justice by slave-holderseand quasi legal authorities.
“All negroes, mulattoes, or mertizoes, who now are,
or shall hereafter, be in this province, and all their off-
spring, are hereby declared to be, and shall remain for
ever hereafter, absolute slaves, and shall follow the.
condition -of the mother.”—Law of South Caroliina. ~
‘The criminal offence of assault and battery, cannot,
at common law, be committed upon” the person of a
slave, for, notwithstanding for some purposes, a slave is
regarded in law, as a person, yet generally he is a mere
chattel personal, and his right of personal protebtion

vi APPENDIX

belongs to his master, who can maintain an action of
trespass, for the battery of his slave. There can be,
therefore, no offence against the state for a mere beating
of a slave, unaccompanied by any circumstances .of
cruelly, or an attempt to kill and murder. The peace
of the state, is not thereby broken, for a. slave is not
generally regarded as legally capable of being within
the pale of the State,——HE Is NOT A CITIZEN, AND Is
NOT IN THAT CHARACTER ENTITLED TO HER PROTECTION.”

“Any person may lawfully kill a slave who has been
outlawed for running away and lurking in swamps, &c,”
~—-Law of North Carolina.

7 “A slave endeavouring to entice another slave to run
away, if provision be prepared forxthe purpose of aiding
in, such running aWay, shall be punished with death ; ,
and a slave who shall aid the slave so endeavouring to
run away, shall also suffer death.”—Law of South
Carolina.

“If a slave, when absent from his plantation, refuse .
to he examined by any white person, no matter what
the moral character of such white person, or for what
purpose he Wishes to make the examination, such white
person may chastise him, and if, in resisting his chas:
tisement, he should strike the white person, by whom
.he is being chastised, he may be IiILLED.7’——La'zv of
death Carolina. ‘ l

‘“ If any slave shall presume to strike any white person
provided such striking be not done by the command and
in defence of the property of the owner, such slave

APPENDIX ' . Vi!

shall,,upon; trial and conviction, before. the justices
j~ust.ices,,-sufi'er such punishment, for the first oflence,
as they shall think fit, not extending to life or limb, and
for the second. offence, death.’ ’-—Law of Georgia.

“ If any person cut any chain or collar, which any
master of slaves has put upon his slave, to prevent such
slave from running away, such person will be liable to a
penalty not exceeding one thousand dollars, and impri-
sonme-nt not exceeding two years.’ ’—-—Law of Louisiana.

“ If any person out out the tongue, put out the eye,
cruelly burn, or deprive any slave of a limb, he shall be
liable to a penalty not exceeding five hundred dollars.”

“If a slave be attacked by any person not having
sufficient cause for so doing, and be maimed or disabled
SO that THE OWNER SUFFERS A Loss FROM HIS ma»
BILI-TY TO LABOUR, the person so doing, shall pay the
master of such disabled slave, for the time such slave
shall be off work, and for the medical attendance on the
slave.”-—La~w of South Carolina. .

MISCELLANEOUS.

If more than seven slaves be found together in any
road without a white person, they shall, be liable to
twenty lashes each.

If any slave visit a plantation, other than that of his
master, without a written pass, he shall be liable to ten
lashes.

If a. slave let loose a boat from where it has been
made fast, he shall for» the first Offence be liable to a
penalty of thirty-nine lashes, and for the second, ta

'Viii APPENDIX.

haveone ear out from his head ,—‘for being} on horse-‘3
back, Without a written permission from his master-—
twenty-five lashes ; for riding or going abroad at night,
Without a written permission, a. slave may be cropped
or branded in the cheek, with the letter E, or otherwise
punished, not extending to life, or so as to render him
unfit for labour.

HENRY'BOX BROWN.

FINIS.

RARE
E
450
.B76
1851

University of Missouri- Columbia

010- 101164437