Sidebilder
PDF
ePub

ole to all his reasonings; and th poor black man and his family remain in bondage, living witnesses to what a pitch of obduracy, avarice and self-interest can harden the heart of man.

happiness of this family, under these circumstances, may be more easily conceived than described..

Their industry and sobriety, manifested whilst in bondage, now had its full effect; and all went on happily and comfortably, until the profligate son, before mentioned, who had by idleness and drunkenness reduced himself to extreme necessity, conceived the cruel plan of invalidating the indenture which his mother had executed, to give this worthy negro family their liberty; and actually sold the father, mother, and the three children, to a company of Georgia slave dealers, who were then in the neighbourhood. They being conscious that the young man had no right thus to sell the family, had determined to take them away in the dead of the night, to preclude the possibility of applying to any magistrate for protection. However, the negro had got some intimation of what was going forward, and, in consequence, kept loaded fire arms in his house, being determined to shoot any person who should attempt to break into his habitation. These precautions being known to the slave dealers, they, for some time, did not venture to molest him; but he and his wife being soon wearied with living in this state of anxious suspense, consulted a fellow negro, in whom they placed confidence, as to their best method of proceeding; and it was concluded that the whole family should leave that part of the country, and settle in Pennsyl

I supped and spent the evening at B. B.'s, at Merion, and observed in his yard a negro of an interesting countenance. On inquiring who he was, H. B. informed me, that a few days ago the poor man came up from Delaware State, and, at the recommendation of his brother, H. B. had taken him into his family for protection. At the same time he related to me the following narrative: -Some time since the master of this black slave died, leaving behind him a widow, and one son, a profligate young man. As the master lay on his death-bed, he called this faithful slave to him, and taking him by the hand, told him that he felt his end was fast approaching and that his mistress would have little to depend upon for he upport, except what she mig be able to make of his labour; and therefore he begged that he would continue to be faithful to her, after the master should be laid in the silent grave. In a very short time the master died, and the slave continued his services to his mistress, and much to her satisfaction; enabling her, for several years, to live comfortably, and also to administer to the wants of her profligate son; so that, under a grateful sense of his worth, she determined to make this black man free, and also his family, con-vania, as soon as possible; where sisting of a wife and three children. they would be out of the reach of A writing was accordingly drawn the slave dealers. up, and duly executed, whereby they were all liberated; and the VOL. LIV.

No sooner was this determination come to, than their perfidious 2 I friend,

their southern neighbours to relinquish the infamous and debasing system of personal slavery; and there can be scarcely a doubt, if they persevere in their honourable endeavours, that they will, in the end, be crowned with success.

from the same.

friend, for the sake of a trifling reward, went to the Georgia slave traders, to betray the whole family into their hands; and, in the middle of the night, they were seized, bound, and forcibly taken from their comfortable habitation, in order to be put on board a small sloop which lay in the river, near Settlers on the Banks of the Ohio, at hand. On coming near the river, the poor black man, who had been placed on horseback, behind one of these Georgia men, suddenly broke loose, and leaping from the horse, plunged headlong into the river, which he quickly swam across, and, getting into the woods, escaped from his inhuman pursuers. On this occasion, the agitation of the poor wife and children was beyond expression; and to silence the shrieks and cries of this miserable family, these unprincipled men beat them unmercifully; and the last which the poor negro man saw of this scene, as he fled into the woods, was their beating his wife upon the head, in the most brutal manner. To a person who has not been an eyewitness to such scenes, it may appear incredible that transactions of so atrocious nature, could occur under a form of government like that of the United States; but the slavery of the negroes having long since been introduced, the evil consequences resulting from it have not yet been rooted out of the Southern States, where a warm climate seems to have enervated both the bodies and the minds of the white inhabitants. It is, however, to the credit of the people of Pennsylvania, and the States to the eastward and northward of them, that almost every thing in their pówer has been done, to induce

This afternoon, at B. J.'s, one of our company was a young woman who was there on a visit. Her usual residence was in one of the new settlements, on the banks of the Ohio, about 500 miles from Philadelphia. She informed us that many families on the banks of this great river, are supplied with shop goods from vesels which navigate it, and are fitted up with counters, shelves, and drawers, in the same manner as are shops on land, and well stored with all kinds of goods. As they sail along the river, on coming near a plantation, they blow a horn or conch shell, to give notice of their arrival; when the planters, with their wives and daughters, repair to these floating shops, and select such things as they are in want of; and make payment in the produce of their plantations; such as grain, flour, cotton, tobacco, dried venison, the skins of wild animals, &c. &c. The shopkeeper having disposed of his goods in this way, returns home with the produce he has collected; and again renews his stock, and proceeds on another voyage. The young woman remarked, that four or five of these floating shops would pass by her father's house, in the course of a day.

She likewise informed us, such was the primitive simplicity in

which they lived, that it was a very unusual thing to have locks to their doors; and that when more strangers called upon them, than they had beds to accommodate them with, it was customary for the family to spread temporary beds upon the floor, on which they passed the night, leaving their own, to the strangers.

An Indian Village, from the

same.

In the evening I came to an Indian village, called Brothertown. Here I was comfortably accommodated at the house of an Indian, whose name was Obadiah Scipio. His wife Elizabeth is the daughter of an Indian chief of the name of Fowler. She was a personable woman and of an expressive countenance, and was very industrious. Her dairy produced excellent cheese and butter, notwithstanding a great part of her time was employed in spinning for the family apparel, which was very decent. It was mostly prepared for the weaver by her own household; and, whilst I was in the house, a female weaver of the village brought in a piece of cloth made from yarn spun in this family, which was such as would have done credit to any female in England. This reputable Indian couple had four fine healthy children, who sat by the fire; and, though of a copper colour, their countenances were far from unpleasing. Their names were Denis, Calvin, Cinthia, and Celinda.

The schoolmaster of this Indian village, who is paid by friends, introduced me to a chief of the name of Hendricks, with whom I had some conyersation; and we sat

about an hour by the fire-side of a pretty large family of Indians, where it was pleasant to see the spinning-wheel go briskly round. There were 16 or 18 Indians round the fire; the older part of the family sat on a bench in front, and the little Indians on the ground on each side. The fire was made at the end of the building, and the smoke found its way through the roof, without the aid of a chimney. The walls and roof were hung with ears of Indian corn, and other winter provisions. It is difficult to describe my feelings, on sitting down with an Indian family in this way.

I spent the remainder of this evening by Scipio's fire-side, and was accommodated with a good bed at night, on which I slept comfortably. Both the sides and ceiling of that part of the building in which I lodged, were covered with ears of Indian corn in the husk; which, to me, had a novel but not an unpleasant appearance.

From the Indian village of Brothertown, I came to another settlement of theirs, called the Orchard. Many of their habitations are formed principally of the bark of trees, attached to posts, which are fixed in the ground; the roofs being also of bark; but as it is taken off the trees in broad pieces, they contrive to make a pretty warm dwelling. A few chiefs, and others, have good houses of wood, well furnished; and some of the Indians, being very good workmen, and having complete sets of tools, I have seen houses of their building superior to many in England.

As the whole of this day's journey lay amongst the Indians, 212 whose

whose habitations are pretty numerous in this quarter, I had a fair opportunity of forming some judgment of the progress they have made in the useful arts of civilized life; and I confess it is my opinion, that many in these villages are further advanced in this respect, and enjoy more of the comforts of life, than many of the inhabitants of the remote parts of Great Britain and Ireland.

In passing by one of their habitations, I noticed the Indian manner of preparing deer skins for use. After taking off the hair, they sew up the skin like a bag; and one end being suspended by a support, the lower end is brought close over a vessel, containing a small fire, of green wood, at the bottom. The pyroligneus acid ascending with the smoke, so impregnates the skin, that it becomes a durable and elastic leather; very suitable for their shoes, or moccasons, and other useful purposes. This operation was going forward under the piazza of a very good framehouse; and, from the appearance of the inhabitants, I suppose the master was a chief of the first order. Upon his head he had a very grotesque kind of cap, much

resembling a lofty antique helmet. His daughter, who appeared to be a girl about 13 years old, had a very pleasing Indian countenance; and her arms were onamented with silver bracelets of consider. able breadth, both above and below the elbow. Though her dress was entirely in the Indian fashion, with moccasons, leggins, blanket, &c.; yet being neat, clean, and of finer materials than usual, she had not an inelegant appearance. These people understood a little English; but, at several of their habitations, where I called in the course of the day, they either could not or would not understand what I said. Some of the younger boys and girls laughed immoderately, on my inquiring of them the road, but without being able, seemingly, to give me any other answer. As I went along, I met with two cleverlooking Indian young men, carpenters, having their tools with them. And under the piazza of a commodious Indian dwelling, I saw, hung up in neat order, the harness and yokes of horses and oxen. There was also a good farm yard surrounded with barns and stables, the whole having every appearance of good management,

NATURAL

NATURAL HISTORY.

A NARRATIVE OF THE ERUPTION OF A VOLCANO IN THE SEA OFF THE ISLAND OF ST. MICHAEL. By S. Tillard, Esq. Captain in the Royal Navy. Philos. Trans.

A

PPROACHING the island of St. Michael's, on Sunday the 12th of June, 1811, in his majesty's sloop Sabrina, under my command, we occasionally observed, rising in the horizon, two or three columns of smoke, such as would have been occasioned by an action between two ships, to which cause we universally attributed its origin. This opinion was, however, in a very short time changed, from the smoke increasing and ascending in much larger bodies than could possibly have been produced by such an event; and having heard an account prior to our sailing from Lisbon, that in the preceding January or February a volcano had burst out within the sea near St. Michael's, we immediately concluded, that the smoke we saw proceeded from this cause, and on our anchoring the next morning in the road of Ponta del Gada, we found this conjecture correct a to the cause, but not to the time; the eruption of January having totally subsided, and the present

one having only burst forth two days prior to our approach, and about three miles distant from the one before alluded to.

Desirous of examining as minutely as possible a contention so extraordinary between two such powerful elements, I set off from the city of Ponta del Gada on the morning of the 14th, in company with Mr. Read, the consul general of the Azores, and two other gentlemen. After riding about twenty miles across the N. W. end of the island of St. Michael's, we came to the edge of a cliff, whence the volcano burst suddenly upon our view in the most terrific and awful grandeur. It was only a short mile from the base of the cliff, which was nearly perpendicular, and formed the margin of the sea; this cliff being as nearly as I could judge from three to four hundred feet high. To give you an ade quate idea of the scene by description is far beyond my powers; but for your satisfaction I shall attempt it.

Imagine an immense body of smoke rising from the sea, the surface of which was marked by the silvery ripling of the waves, occasioned by the light and steady breezes incidental to those climates

« ForrigeFortsett »