FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   352   353   354   355   356   357   358   359   360   361   362   363   364   365   366   367   368   369   370   371   372   373   374   375   376  
377   378   379   380   381   382   383   384   385   386   387   388   389   390   391   392   393   394   395   396   397   398   399   400   401   >>   >|  
, 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,
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   352   353   354   355   356   357   358   359   360   361   362   363   364   365   366   367   368   369   370   371   372   373   374   375   376  
377   378   379   380   381   382   383   384   385   386   387   388   389   390   391   392   393   394   395   396   397   398   399   400   401   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

persons

 

advertises

 
things
 

marvel

 

slaveholders

 

standing

 
community
 
public
 

officers

 

opinion


publish
 
minutely
 
Ranaway
 

results

 

examination

 

slaves

 
clothing
 

affect

 

position

 

society


impairing

 

length

 

inflictions

 

proclaim

 

abominations

 

wretches

 

shameless

 

runaways

 

examine

 

tolerate


matrons

 

captains

 

police

 

divest

 

Footnote

 
sample
 
proxies
 

property

 

appointed

 

sheriffs


jailors
 
bodily
 

inspect

 

requiring

 

communities

 

newspapers

 
solemn
 

commands

 
verily
 

description