The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1888-10-01
SLAVERY.
SENSATIONAL CASE.


existed in all the thirteen Colonies
At the time of the declaration of in
dependence, July 4th, 1776, not
withstanding the assertion in that
immortal instrument, that "all men
are created equal, and are endowed |
by their Creator, with certain mn
rights, and that amongst
these are life, liberty, and the pur-
suit of happiness.
The slave had very few rights that
any person, especially his master,
was bound to respect.
The master had the power, and
the law gave him the right to punish
his slave, which was sometimes,
though seldom, done to a very cruel
extent.
Generally, the slave was not al
lowed TO leave his masters planta-
tion or premises without written
permission from his master, and if
he was caught abroad, especially in
the night time without such permis
sion, he was liable 10 be moderately
whipped. The slave was not allowed
to give evidence, or make affidavit
under any circumstances, where
white person was concerned; not
even in regard to an outrage upon
his or her person, by white per-
son. The slave could not sue nor
be sued.
A person even suspected of hav-
ing the millionth part of drop of
negro blood in his or her veins was
not admitted into any genteel So
ciety. Even the suspicion of drop
of negro blood amounted to social
ostracism of the person so suspect
ed; and it was slanderous and
libellous and actionable and punish
able as such, to say, of person
that he or she had negro blood or
was akin to negro.
There was ''slave pen" in
Washington city, part of the walls
of which stand there now in plain
view of the capitol, and not far from
it, as monument Of injustice and
cruelty to race now numbering
four millions in the United States.
There were "slave pens" in
Richmond, Virginia, and one of
these was used as prison for union
prisoners, during the war which re-
suited in the extinction of slavery
in the United States.
These pens were surrounded by
high brick or stone walls, and the
slaves for sale in them were securely
locked up every night in houses
within these walls and in day time,
when a person called to buy slave,
these slaves promptly marched out
into the yard at given signal, and
formed in line, as regularly as drill
ed soldiers, all clean and suitably
dressed, all seemingly cheerful and
anxious to be sCld, as they had been
taught to do, in furtherance of the
nefarious traffic. If one of them
failed TO act as SO instructed, or to
put the best foot forward in the
direction of a sale he was punished
afterwards. If the would-be buyer
saw one of the slaves who, and
whose answers seemed to suit him,
the slave, male or female, was forth
with taken into an adjacent room
kept for the purpose, and stripped
naked, from head to foot, and thor
oughly examined before any sale
was made.
Slaves were orren handcuffed,
and chained together, and driven in
that condition on foot, all the way
from Washington city and Bati-
more and Richmond, Va, to Louis
siana and Missippi, distance OF
more than thousand miles. Slaves
sometimes ran away and hid them
selves in woods and swamps, and
were harbored, and then they were
some times pursued and overtaken
by blood hounds, kept mainly fol
that purpose.
Several years before slavery went
down IN fire and blood, sensationa
case occurred in Washington city
between McBlair and Dove, two
wealthy and respectable citizens
who were very inimical to eacl
other. McBlair was a man of very
fair complexion, and Dove was ,
man of black curly hair, and hi
tout en- semJle was very suggestive
of the negro. McBlair said thai
Dove had "a dark stripe on his
back, extending from his cerebellun
to his nethermost positions" mean
ing thereby, that negro blood wa
coursing through Doves veins
Dove brought an action against Nc
Blair for damage of defaming hi
character, by the utterance of sal,
words. McBlair admitted the speak
ing the words, that he used them il
the sense attributed to him, an,
averred that the words true, an(
that he could prove them. UpoI
the trial he put some expert
upon the witness stand, to prov
that Africans and persons of Afri
can decent, emitted an odor Su
generiS, and offensive to common oil
faclory nerves, and that Dov
emitted just such an odor, and tina
| ounb nHnp xyou mot an,iffa1 h., ,Na,