The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1866-05-18

| NoN""u' DoFSupoIt diso ocSiEcbu
one, TO wit: a small one, that hath three
marks upon her stomach. (fIere the
good Puritan captain gives a drawing he
had taken Of the marks.) He desreth
her, if it will stand with your liking
Sosoman, the Indian, desreth young lit
tie squaw, which know not"
The repatriation of the Indians led to
the commencement of tho slave trade. A
vessel, the Desire, of 120 tons, one of tn e
first built in the colony (1636,) was used
for that purpose. The thing was not done
in secret or indirectly, but by the authori,
ties. Thus we find in letter to tho Gov
ernor: "Mr. Endicott and myself salute
you in the Lord Jesus. We have heard
OF division of women and children in the
Bay, and would therefore be glad of a
share, viz: young woman or girl, and a
boy if you think good. I write to you for
some boys for Bermuda"
The Salem slave.ship Desire brought
negroes in exchange for Indians, from the
West Indies. Downing, in letter to his
brother-in-law, Gov. Winthrop (1645),
writes: ga war with the Narragansetts
is very considerable to this population, for
| doubt whether it be not sin in us, hav-
ing power in our hands, to suffer them to
maintain the worship of the Devil, which
their pow-wows often do. Scconay-If,
upon just war the Lord should deliver
them into our hands, we might easily have
men, women and children enough to ex-
change for Moors, which will be more
gainful pillage to us than we conceive, for
l do not see how we can thrive until we
get stock of slaves sufficient to do all our
business, for our ohildren's children will
hardly see this great continent filed with
people, SO that our servants will still de-
sire freedom to plant for themselves, and
not stay but for very great wages. Aud
| suppose you know very we'll how we
shall maintain twenty Moors cheaper than
one English servant. The ships that
shall bring Moors may come home laden
with salt, which may bear most of the
charge, if not all of it.
But the colonists were not content with
transportation, they tried their hands at
slave breeding. Mr.. Moore gives (page
81 an amusing but unsuccessful instance
Of the kind in the case of Mr.. Mavericks
negroes. We must refer the reader who
is inquisitive on this interesting topic to
the book for particulars.
BY the laws of Massachusetts, slaves
were not permitted to be abroad after nine
O'Clock at night; they were prohibited
from improper intercourse or contracting
marriage with whites. Their increase
having been found Improbable, was look
ed upon with disfavor 1t did not reim-
burse the incidental loss of service. Lit
tie negroes "when weaned were given
away like puppies" The master might
deny baptism to his slaves. They were
continually advertised in the Boston
newspapers for sale. "Just arrived and
for sale, primo lot of negro boys and girls"
1t was quite recommendation if one
had had the smallpox; the fact was duly
put in the advertisement. Boston some-
times did things about which she has had
a good deal to say in the way of denuncia-
ton of those who more recently have cop
led her example, by separating negro
families at the auction block. ga likely
negro woman about nineteen years of age,
and a child of about six months, to be
sold together or apart" All ! Boston,
Boston !-''or aparf'-and the mother
only nineteen years old. These advertise
ments continued to appear in the newspa-
pears until after the Declaration of indie
pendence. "Reminiscences against such
atrocities then began to arise, in view of
the fact that the colonists were at that mo-
ment contending with the mother country
for their own freedom.
The same arguments were used in be-
half of negro slavery in the seventeenth
century that we have been familiar with
in the middle of the nineteenth. Judge
Sewell, writing in 100, enumerates them
as the four following:
Frst-Blackamoors are tho posterity
of Cham, and therefore are under the
curse of slavery.
Second-The niggers are brought out
of Pagan country into places where the
Gospel is preached.
Thrd-The Africans have wars with
one another, and our ships bring lawful
capives taken in those wars.
Fourth-Abraham had servants bought
with his own money, and born in his
house.
Thus sustained, the slave trade long
continued in Massachusetts,. Mr.. Moore
gives (page 66) a copy of the instructions
of mercantile firm to the captain of one
of their slave ships, in 1885, directing him
to make the best of his way to the coast
of Africa, and invest his cargo in slaves.
They show him how to proceed in criti-
cal inspection of the negroes before paying
for them and what he must do for the
preservation Of the health of his cargo,
since on that the profits of the voyage will
depend. They sagaciously observe, that
all other risks, but the death OF the slaves,
the underwriters are accountable for. OF
the factors on the coast he must beware,