Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1846-11-06
A TALE OF SLAVERY.

~ piiof ny dNtOhilt, ElNNl ny u COlltS-
pondent Of the 'Christian Advocate and
Journal" is evidently drawn from life, and is
such a scene as must often occur under the
system of Slavery in this land. There is no
law to prevent its occurring as often as a mas
ter shall find it for his convenience to part
with any portion of his slaves. The occur
reEc, took place at Wilmington, North Caro-
lima
"Thcre are at Washington city, at Nor
folk, at Charleston, and perhaps at some 9TH
or in the old States Of the South, slave mar
kets, where slave dealers purchase upon
speculation such slaves as they can obtain,
for the purpose of resale at a profit in the
extreme South.
As | went on board the steamboat, | notic-
ed eight colored men, hand-culled and chain
ed together in pairs, four women, and eight
or ten children, at the apparent ages Of from
four TO ten years, all standing together in
the bow Of the boat in charge of a man STAN
ding near them.
Of the men, one was sixty, one flly-two,
three Of them about thirty, two of them about
twenty-five, and one about twenty years of
age, as ] subsequently learned from them.-
The two first had children, the next three
had wives and children, and the other three
were single, but had parents living from
them. Coming near them | perceived they
were all greatly agitated and, on inquiring,
| found they were all slaves, who had been
born and raised in North Carolina, and had
just been sold to a speculator who was now
taking them TO the Charleston market. Up
on the shore there was a number of colored
persons, women and children, waiting the
departure of the boat; and my attention was
particularly attracted by two colored females
of uncommonly respectable appearance, neat
" attired, who stood together, a little dis
lance from the crowd, and upon whose coun-
t%enances was depicted the keenest sorrow.-
AS the last bell was tolling, | saw the tears
gushing from their eyes, and they raised
their cotton aprons and wiped their faces un-
der the cutting anguish Of severed affection.
They were the wives Of two of the men in
chains! There, too, Were mothers and sis
tiers, weeping at the departure of their sons
and brothers and there, too, were fathers
taking the last look of their wives and chill
dren. My whole attention was directed to
those on the shore, as they seemed 10 stand
in solemn, submissive silence, occasionally
giving utterance to the intensity of their feel
ings by a sigh or a stiiied grosn. As the
boat was loosed from her mornings, they cast
a distressed, lingering look towards those on
board, and turned away in silence. My eye
now turned to those in the boat and although
| tried to control my feelings amidst my sym
pathies for those on shore, | could conceal
them no longer, and found myself literally
''weeping with those that weep" | stood
near them, and when one of the husbands
saw his wife upon the shore wave her hand
for the last time, in token of her affection,
his manly efforts to restrain his feelings gave
way, and fixing his watery eyes upon her, he
exclaimed, ''this is the most distressing
,l;n.. IS Ill NJ lo,r ,pi(o o,J obillran
farewell !" The husband of the other wife
stood weeping in silence, and with his man
acled hands raised to his face, he looked up
on her for the last time. Of the poor wo-
men on board, three of them had husbands
whom they left behind. One of them had
three children, another had two, and the
third had none. These husbands and faith
ers were among the throng upon the shore,
witnessing the departure of their wives and
children, and as they took leave of them they
were sitting together upon the floor Of the
beat, sobbing in silence, but giving utter
ance to no complaint.
But the distressing scene was not yet end.
ed. Sailing Down Cape Fear river 25 miles,
we touched at the little village of Smith
port, on the south side of tn river. 1t wa:
at this place that one of these slaves lived
and here was his wife and five children anC
while at work on Monday last, his purchas'
er took him away from his family, carried
him in chains to Wilmington, where he hac
= since remained in Jail. AS we approached
: the wharf a flood Of tears gushed from hi
eyes, and anguish seemed to have piercet
: his heart. The boat stopped but a moment
and as she left, he bid farewell to some o
f his acquaintances whom he saw upon tn,
: shore, exclaiming, ''boys, | wish you well
v tell Molly (meaning his wife) and the chill
| dren | wish them well, and hope God vii
bless them" At that moment he espied hi
, wife on the stoop of a house some rod. froI
the shore, and with one hand which was NJ
o in the cuffs, he pulled of his old hat, an
S waving it towards her, exclaimed farewell!
Is he saw by the waving of her apron thu
If she recognized him, he leaned back upo
the railing, and with faltering voice repeated
farewell, forever" After a moments S
lence, conflicting passions seemed to tea
open his heart, and he exclaimed, "whi
c have | done, that | should suffer this doom
n Oh, my wife and children. | want to liv
no longer! ~ and the big tears rolled down hi
1t cheek, which he wiped away with the palr
y of his unclaimed hand, looked once at tn
mother of his five children, and the turnin
of the boat hid her face from him forever.
As / looked around, | saw that mine wa
not the only heart that was affected by III
scene, but that tho tears standing in the eye
l. of many Of my fellow passengers bore test
mony to the influence of human sympathy
re and | could, as an American citizen, standin
within the limits of one of the old thrice
u. States, but repeat the language of jefferson
ID in relation to the general subject, g. trembl
at for my country when remember that God
ct JUST After we left SmiLhport, / converse
" freely with all these persons and in INTEL
Id gencG and responsibility of appearance, III
he three men who have thus been torn froi
e, their families would compare favorably vii
e. the respectable portion OF our colored men
the North. This is a specimen of what a