Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1837-05-10

| is quite common TO See COlOred lady IN
the streets, splendidly dressed-followed
! by slave carrying her child, Iconvers-
ed with a coIored lady who owned seven
slaves. She spoke Of the stupidity of the
slave, his incidence and inability to take
care of himself, and Of having her slaves
| f1ogged, all with the nonchalance and con-
temptuous superiority of an American
mistress.
NEGRO DEGRADATION.
The fruit of slavery is seen in the bru-
tai degradation of the mass both Of the
free and slave population, and of women
especially. Vast numbers throng the
Streets sauntering about half naked, or
their little stocks of fruits or cakes for
sale. Crowds of these poor females gath
err daily, almost hourly, before my win
dow, jabbering in vulgar French with all
their lungs, and gestIcuIating most turi-
ously. Sometimes they appeared to- Sbe
in good humor, but not unfrequently they
quarrelIed 6ercely, disputing and black
guarding, and everything but absolutely
fighting. They certainly verified the
maxim, "Woman's weapon is the tongue"
! Their vociferations were almost deafen-
ing. Yet it was remarkable that pasSers-
by took no notice Of these riotous assem-
blies, and in not a single instance was
there any interference to disperse them.
! | supposed, at first, that the spot before my
window was the common rendezvous
place for these feminine affrays, but in
walking out found the same scenes en-
acting in all the most public parts of the
town. The lower classes of the colord
population might almost be said to lice on
the streets. Their shrill voices are the
first sounds heard in the morning and the
last that startles the sIumberng ear at
night. Go where you will, and you meet
colored women, with their small trays on
their head, and their hands busy with the
art of gesticulation. The motto upon
which they practice is the head for SER
vice, and the hands for gestures. They
make their heads literally beasts Of bur-
den. Every description of articles, from
a bundle Of sticks to China pitcher fill
ed with wine, they carry on their heads
balancing them with the greatest accura,
., cy. There is one article, and but one
which they DO not carry on their heads
| mean, picllaninnies, or their infants.-
These women are occasionally very crue
with their children. l have seen one
woman chase her daug liter, girl of ten
; through the streets with a cowhide in her
hand, catch her, drag her. home and beat
her until her screams might be heard
above the noise of the jabbering street
women along a whole square. This
scene was repeated for three successive
days. | am far from supposing that such
cases are frequent; but if they were, the
fact would not reflect in the least upon
the natural disposition of the colored peo-
pie; for where slavery reigns, the whlI
is the sceptre of the realm.
Another illustration of the degraded,
semi brutal condition of portion of the
negro population of St. Thomas, is the
unblushing exposure of their young chill
dren. Their mothers carry them about
the Streets or have them sitting by their
sides. on the pavement entirely naked
With infants this is generally the case.
Occasionally saw boys five or six years
old in state of nudity, running through
the streets. 1t is so common a thing here
that it is not so much as noticed by the
citizens.
! SLAVERY IN ST. THOMAS.
Testimony of a Shareholder & a SlaUe contrasted
l had quite opposite views ofthe slavery
of St. Thomas given by different indl-
viduals. first inquired of slavehoiding
lad y.
She thought that the slaves led a very
happy life. They were not worked hard,
they were not fogged much, and they
were certainly far better off than the free
negroes, who were so stupid and lazy that
they did not take care of themselves
She said, moreover, that the master could
not sell the slave unless the slave wished
to be sold, and as for separating families
as the Americans were said to do, they
never dared to do such thing in ST..
Thomas. A day or two after the above
statements were made, | talked with the
same lady's slave, a man OF shreWoneSs
anc intelligence. ,
He said he had been a slave IN several
other Islands, but he had never seen such
hard times as he had experienced IN st.
i Thomas
He said if a master wished to sell his
slave. and the slave would not consent,
the master had him put into the Fort, (the
main military post which guards the
harbor and town. and kept him there IN
til he was ooiUlmg to be sold. Then he
brought him out and sold him "aolth his
own CONSENT"
would just state that l visited the Fort,
alluded to by the slave, and saw the ex-
terror Of the dungeons, in which unruIy
slaves, l. e. such as are not willing to be
sold, are confined. Massive bolts of iron
secure the doors, and high wall, sur
rounded with rows of broken G lass bot