, advertises in
the 'Bulletin,' January 22, 1839, as follows.
"$50 REWARD.--Ranaway a negro girl named Caroline about 18 years of
age, is _far advanced in child-bearing_. The above reward will be paid
for her delivery at either of the _jails_ of the city."
Mr. JOHN DUGGAN, thus advertises a woman in the New Orleans Bee, of
Sept. 7.
"Ranaway from the subscriber a mulatto woman, named Esther, about
thirty years of age, _large stomach_, wants her upper front teeth, and
walks pigeon-toed--supposed to be about the lower fauxbourg."
Mr. FRANCIS FOSTER, of Troop co. Georgia, advertises in the Columbus
(Ga.) Enquirer of June 22, 1837--"My negro woman Patsey, has a stoop
in her walking, occasioned by a _severe burn on her abdomen_."
The above are a few specimens of the gross details, in describing the
persons of females, of all ages, and the marks upon all parts of their
bodies; proving incontestably, that slaveholders are in the habit not
only of stripping their female slaves of their clothing, and
inflicting punishment upon their 'shrinking flesh,' but of subjecting
their naked persons to the most minute and revolting inspection, and
then of publishing to the world the results of their examination, as
well as the scars left by their own inflictions upon them, their
length, size, and exact position on the body; and all this without
impairing in the least, the standing in the community of the shameless
wretches who thus proclaim their own abominations. That such things
should not at all affect the standing of such persons in society, is
certainly no marvel: how could they affect it, when the same
communities enact laws _requiring_ their own legal officers to inspect
minutely the persons and bodily marks of all slaves taken up as
runaways, and to publish in the newspapers a particular description of
all such marks and peculiarities of their persons, their size,
appearance position on the body, &c. Yea, verily, when the 'public
opinion' of the community, in the solemn form of law, commands
jailors, sheriffs, captains of police, &c. to divest of their clothing
aged matrons and young girls, minutely examine their naked persons,
and publish the results of their examination--who can marvel, that the
same 'public opinion' should tolerate the slaveholders themselves, in
doing the same things to their own property, which they have appointed
legal officers to do as their proxies.[37]
[Footnote 37: 'As a sample of these laws,
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