The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1859-01-22
The Peculiar Institution--A Man
Sells his own Daughter.


down, but none can know the misery aud on
guish that attends these everyday oeeurren
ees' a moving Incident came % our knoWl
edge last ek, which We lay before our read
erH' We suppress nhutra for reasons ob,
Gus 10 every one.
Near Louisyile, Kentucky, lives a plante
Of wealth and standing. lle Was the pos
SCISSOR of O hundred ntgrnes and he waa no
ted Tor his thirty money'making disposition
lie had never been married, ARd waA an IN
eorrigible bachelor Of 80. Ills house wa
~ 'naged by young lady about twenty, hi
daughter Oy,a quRdroOn, whose complexion
was lighter by far than his ovn-and in whom
the negro blood WIS scarcely visible. IN,
mother died ten years ago, leaving hc
daughter with is fathers solemn prnins,
that she should be educated aud should iv,
hA d iTce woman, rather than slave, aud
that she should pasf as his daughter, as sh,
Was, The planter gave this promise bccaus,
( he had been really attached o. the dying wo
man. ana Naa greatly attached 10 her and hi'
beautiful child, And 10 sh' grew up, radi
anlly mountaineering a 5cnsonablr edo,
cation, all that her father could give her, aud
! In time took the management Of his house.
hold. She never knew that there vas any
negro btuut IN her vrius and nrvrr dreamed
that ahe was - slave.
Last fall series Of msfOrtunes overlook
the planter. Ills house burned down, and
In It the notes, books aud papers that com.
posed large portion OF his fuuunc Ills
eTupA failed 10 a great degree. aud some
heavy spceulntions in which he Wus engaged
resulted disnslrousl. Added to all this, hc
lost heavily ut play. the hvsctling sin oi South.
ern grntlcmeu aud had completely exhaust.
ed all his ready means, aud found himsclf In
terrible situation of haNingJ Jmore money To-
pay than he could possibly faise Ia a given
time.
lie applied 10 his attorney for counsel In
his extremity. The attorney after examining
the situation ofhis affairs, adj, ised him To- sell
Oft portion Of his negroes. The planter
objected suenuously, Grat obiueling 10 the
sale OF negroes, and secondly that his force
wDSd arely sufficient 10 work his pliatniion.
fut sBIcr full dclihcraton, he found thi, to
be the onlS alternative, aRd sarraN lAlll oniI.
aenied! list was made out, aud every
head that could he possibly spared was nut
down. Amer all VAS done, aud the most R-
y"rahlc prices for them, the aggregate f,ll
hNe thousand dollars short OF the sum.
The attorney remarked quietly that hc had
not included all that could hc spared
| have put down all can dispense WITH"
replied the planter.
| do not see Mary your huusrkccprrs
name, IN the list" replied the lawyer. "'Shc,
II offered 10 the right person, would make UP
the deficiency would give that for her
NUh unholy passion.
Al any other time the planter would have
taken the suggestion an insult, but necessity
Is n hard master, and he grnspcd nj the idea,
end before an hour the trars suclion was clos
ed. 1t troubled him not litilo to disclose
the matter TO her, but the fear Of bankruptcy
aud ruin drove him to II. The poor girlS
horror and distress may he imagined. She
had known nothing nut happiness. and now
was 10 bc plunged into the deepest aud most
huPrfrSS misery fiTyi tsFi sygtyi JsEyg. V
then the property soul aud body, of orc who
purchased her merely for the gloriRcatiun Of
his hcastly lusts. The idea was too horrible.
aud she swooned, remaining almost delilious
for several DAYS.
There was another uponNwhom the intcli- p
gcnce came with crushing weight. A junior
partner in produce house in Louisville. had !
frequently visited the planters house on bus- .
ness. and struck with the beauty aud intcl. .
gence OF the supposed daughter, had become .
after prosecuting his suit
proper time had declared his passion, and un- .
known To the father the two had ueirolhed ,
themselves. As soon as possible after her
athcr had told her fate, she dispatched u
messenger TO him, stating the facts, and inn
loring him TO save her from the doom that
waited her Though ihunderstruck at the
intelligence that hi' atlinnced bride was n
'lave, and had just been sold to a fate worse
han denth, like true man, he determined to
-cscue her. That uight he saw her, aud q
plan was formed for flight
The day she was transferred 10 the posses
sion Of her purchaser, they fed, and In due
ime arrived NJ Cincinnati, where they were
married. Our hero obtained an interview
,f f,f la. ft,I, I'D
Railroad, located in that city, who immedi-
lttb telcgraphed instructions to the diaor-
mt agents along the line To keep strict watch,
md IT MomanscaicherS we've on she watch, at
my point, Z" telegraph back, aud give The 1u-
yitiVes timely notice, that they might leave
he train. Accordingly they started, purchas-
ng tickets Cor Crestline.
In the mean time the LAWYER, as sooH as he
discovered his loss. had commenced active
measures to recover il. He had no difficulty
u trncing them To Cincinnati, and none what
'ver in ascertnining that theie destination was
'restline. But having arrived several hours
iter their departure, re was obliged 10 con-
ent himself With telrgraphing to Cristline to ;
he proper officers to arrest them at that place.
But unfortunately for his prospects, the in ,
errsed arrest got wind, and when the train :
cached Gallon, two citizens Of that place ,
teppedi into the car, and u conversation of a
ew moments ensued, in the lowest kind of ,
whispers, at the close of which, the four left :
he car. carriage was in waiting. and in
wo hours the fair fugitive ond her husband :
fere domiciled in the house of one of our !
fhnlc-soued farmers. near Bucyrus. who has :
nng taken pleasure in helping fugitives on !.
heir wav'to the Canadian Canaan.
When the train on which they embarked !
cached Crestline, the officials were unutter- !,
bly, chogrined, at not finding the fugitive, !,
ud more so when they learned that she had !,
cen within four miles of them.
After lqspse of two weeks they ventured (
move, and went to Detroit by the way of n
andusky CITY. and without accident reached n
nc Canadian shore where they can snap their r
ngers at that freedom which sells woman for a
price. They are now residing in Toronto. q
The inther is irretrievnbly broken up not e
IL. l. : l.. .,