Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-10-13
[CorresDSndsnes Of the Journal Of Commerce
q slave Pen I'm sachusctts-As is ' q
Trading Professorship in Harvard.

MEseRs EDITORS. a year or Two sicee your
columns contained certain historical documents
showing the completely Of men in the New Eng
land States, and Massachusetts, in particular. in
slavery and the slave trade IN the olden times
tits much TO be desired that those pa pers should /
be collected and given to the public in a volume,
they serve to throw so much light upon the his /
tory Of "a question Of the grsndest interest, both |
10 & moral and national point OF view, and which. |
thanks 10 Heaven. j. now forever disposed of |
Now that this terrible evil and wrong has ceased |
to exist let mutual elimination aud denunciation
and all i'll feeling cease, and all parties. seeing
and acknowledging their particip- ton In the guilt.
shake hands with q common confession OF blame,
aud. cherishing only sentiments Of sorrow for
the past, and Of brotherhood for the present,
move onward to a happy aud glorious future
Spending some weeks in the venerable aud
staid town Of Medford Mass, a half dozen miles
out of Boston, | Unexpectedly met with some
ancient documents relating TO the early history
Of the town, from which il appeared that slavery
aud the slave trade existed even in this quiet,
moral and Intelligent town, from about the time
of its settlement. in 1860. down to the COM
mencement Of the Revolutionary war. though
now failed 10 see a solitary negro IN the streets
even the barber being "full 6loOded' Cauca-
sian. Slaves were brought here and sold as early
as the year 1898, only eighteen years after the
arrival of the Pilgrims at plymouth. and eight
years after the settlement Of the town bY a colony
from Spain. 10 1891 Captain William Pierce
was employed to carry captive Pequod Indians
aud there sell them for slaves Slavery in these
days was not limited by complexion, for the
Puritans would as readily reduce to bondage the
red men on this continent, who fought simply for
their hresdes aud liberty, "a the black race on
another continent, who did not fight ct all, but
were simply stolen. Cargoes OF slaves, however,
were not brought to this town, though cele-
| brated slave trader had his almost princey house
and home here. while bis slaves were carried into
Boston and Bristol, K, l., or more directly into
| Virginia aud South Carolina.
Not long since, some time the last winter, |
believe, 40 individual, whose travels had OK.
tended far a Charleston S. c., discovered in
that city an auctioneer's old block, from which
negroes were sold He procured it, whether by
purchase or in the way some Massachusetts,
ehaplains are charged with coming into posses
sion of libraries and pianos. which they send
home to their families, is not stated; and amazed
at his discovery aud possession himself, he re
solved to amaze others. Meetings were an
nounced to be held in the great public places in
Boston, distinguished scholars aud eloquent
speakers were procured, and the rushed to
get a sight of the horrible auction block Little
did these speakers, and exhibitors, and crowds
imagine that the labor of travelling all the long
way to Charleston, South Carolina, might have
Oeeu tdFCu III lue bthICu Oh some relic OF par
barity, by simply passing through Charlest0wn
Massachusetts,. to its northern limits; that all
most within sight OF Faneuil Hall, and fairly in
| sight from Bunker Hill Monument il not the
slave block, at least the slave pen, still exists !!
Into whats Quaker meeting could these excited
and noisy meetings have been turned, had some
one suddenly held up a piece OF the old slave
pen. built on Massachusetts soil, and still stand
ing entire, a monument of Massachusetts, and
| n. a,I =. i
| strongest motive to mOdesty and humiliation in
them, and to charity and forgiveness to Others
guilty of the same sin, when they lament over il
| and forsake it !
An irresistible curiosity impelled me to search
out and with my own eyes this strange relic
| and humiliaiing as strange, and setting off with
out guide, found It in the outskirts OF the
| large central village. There stands an ancient
spacious, and well preserved house, sc. far back
from the street, IN the centre of half dozen
| acres of land, with inside grayeled walks leading
| 10 il, aud elegant trees embo erng il aud scat
| tered around the grounds, handsome garden
and summer house. the works of the first owner
| lying back OF it, while in the rear Of the almost
princely mansion, and near one corner, stands
house for the domestcs of the successive owners,
who were gentlemen of wealth and position
| The slave-peu, which was just back of the
| house of the domestics. has been united with IT,
and both now make Que building, while the
| slave pen remains unimpaired and entire. The
odousness and horror of the institution" are
sbated by the consolidation of the two edifces
but still, in the ear of the thoughtful and imagi-
native beholder, the chains still rattle, and be-
| fore his eyes stand human beings, with down.
cast looks, fresh from the coast of Africa while
mansced hands are marching down to the ship
under the whip of Pilgrim driver which is to
| take them to Southern market Ii is painful
TO stand, aud gaze. and remember but one can
not help lingering, and was obliged to 90 a
second time and spend another hour
The Pilgrims had their virtues: all honor to
their memories But they also had their defects
marked and painful as this relic testl6es: and
while il remains, and as long as it is remembered
their descendants should not be too boastful
When any one Of them gets upon the "highfalu-
tin" ia self Qualification, on some anniversary
occasion, or public gathering. let some raise
before his eyes a fragment of the old slave pen
Barnum might not only make "a good thing of
it, but "a big thing" and even "a fat thing,
by adding il to his collection of rarites and won
ders; or a less enterprsing genius. by cartng il
through the country as show. Aud wonder |
never cease. Col Isaac Royal was the owner
of this estate, with which an extensive farm was
once connected His father came from the
island OF Antigua, where the son was born who |
with his father. emigrated to this country in |
1888, and settled in Medfor1, where the father !
died, VINO was also colonel, ana rich planter /
and stakeholder in his own island, and Tory
when he came here. Tho son was simply a
coward. and upon the outbreak of tho Revolu-
ton, fled TO Halifax and thence 10 England |
where no died in ISL. He was "A slave trader
on the coast of Africa and in the South ill the |
time he fed the country la l776 he wrote
from Halifax TO his agent in Medford as fol- |
lows:
Please sell the following negroes: Stephen
and George each cost EGO sterling, and would |
take $50 apiece for them. Hsgar cost EDS
sterling. but will take ESQ for her. gave for !
Mira EDS but will take Eos. Ii Mr. Benz amin
Hale will give 500 for her. which be oifered. he
may have her. It being good pacs AS to Bet
sey and her daughter Nancy. the former may
tarry, or take her freedom, as she may choose, !
and Nancy you may put out TO any good family
by the year"
Again he wrote:
shall leave North America with great re-
luc,ance, but my health and business require it.
and hope. through the goodness Of God, if my
lileis spared. 10 be able 10 return again soon"
Col Royal did not forget the country he had |
made his home. even after he bad deserted il and
found another in England By his will. he be-
qusated 1000 acres of land to lay foundation |
for professorship of law in Harvard University,
while the rest of his estate was confscated |
The proceeds of the land were left to acelmu-
late I'll they were sufficient for the support of