THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 GIFT OF 
 JANE K. SATHER 
 
 
- 
 
 
 
THE 
 
 SLAVE: 
 
 OR 
 
 MEMOIRS OF ARCHY MOORE. 
 
 Leave wringing of your hands ; Peace ; sit you down $ 
 
 And let me wring your heart ; for so I shall, 
 If it be made of penetrable stuff; 
 If damned custom hath not brazed it so, 
 That it be proof and bulwark against sense. 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 SEVENTH EDITION. 
 TWO VOLUMES IN ONE 
 VOL. I. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 PUBLISHED BY BELA MARSH, 
 
 No. 25 CORNHILL. 
 
 1848. 
 
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1840, 
 
 BY RICHARD HILDRETH, 
 In the Clerk s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
P : 
 
 H^Ss- 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 IT is unnecessary to detain the reader, with a narrative of 
 the somewhat singular manner in which the MS. of the follow 
 ing Memoirs came into my possession. It is sufficient for me to 
 say, that I received it, with an injunction to make it public an 
 injunction which I have not felt myself at liberty to disobey. 
 
 I would not be understood, however, as implicitly adopting 
 all the writer s feelings and sentiments ; for it must be confessed 
 that he sometimes expresses himself with a force and freedom, 
 which by many will be thought extravagant. Yet, if I am not 
 greatly mistaken, he preserves throughout, a moderation, a 
 calmness, and a magnanimity, which have never yet been dis 
 played upon the other side of the question ; and laying entirely 
 out of account the writer s personal grievances, I do not know 
 how it is possible to be over zealous in a cause so just as that 
 in which he pleads. 
 
 As lo the conduct of the writer, as described by himself, there 
 are several occasions upon which it is impossible to approve it. 
 But he has written Memoirs, not an apology, nor a vindication. 
 No man who writes his own life, will gain much credit, by 
 painting himself as faultless ; and few can have stronger claims 
 to indulgence than Archy Moore. 
 
 THE EDITOR. 
 
MEMOIRS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 YE who would know what evils man can inflict upon 
 his fellcw without reluctance, hesitation, or regret ; ye who 
 would learn the limit of human endurance, and with what 
 bitter anguish and indignant hate, the heart may swell, and 
 yet not burst, peruse these Memoirs ! 
 
 Mine are no silken sorrows, nor sentimental sufferings ; 
 but that stern reality of actual woe, the story of which, 
 may perhaps touch even some of those, who are every 
 day themselves the authors of misery the same that I en 
 dured. For however the practice of tyranny may have 
 deadened every better emotion, and the prejudices of edu 
 cation and interest may have hardened the heart, humanity 
 will still extort an involuntary tribute ; and men will grow 
 uneasy at hearing of those deeds, of which the doing does 
 not cost them a moment s inquietude. 
 
 Should 1 accomplish no more than this ; should I be 
 able, through the triple steel with which the love of money 
 and the lust of domination has encircled it, to reach one 
 bosom, let the story of my wrongs summon up, in the 
 mind of a single oppressor, the dark and dreaded images 
 of his own misdeeds, and teach his conscience how to tor 
 ture him with the picture of himself, and I shall be content. 
 Next to the tears and the exultations of the emancipated, 
 the remorse of tyrants is the choicest offering upon the al 
 tar of liberty ! 
 
 1* 
 
6 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 But perhaps something more may be possible ; not 
 likely but to be imagined and it may be, even faintly 
 to be hoped. Perhaps within some youthful breast, in 
 which the evil spirits of avarice and tyranny have as yet 
 failed to gain unlimited control, I may be able to rekindle 
 the smothered and expiring embers of humanity. Spite of 
 habits and prejudices inculcated and fostered from his ear 
 liest childhood, spite of the enticements of wealth and 
 political distinction, and the still stronger enticements of 
 indolence and ease, spite of the pratings of hollow-hearted 
 priests, spite of the arguments of time-serving sophists, 
 spite of the hesitation and terrors of the weak-spirited and 
 wavering ; in spite of evil precept and evil example, he 
 dares that generous and heroic youth ! to cherish and 
 avow the feelings of a man. 
 
 Another Saul among the prophets, he prophesies terrible 
 things in the ear of insolent and luxurious tyranny ; in the 
 midst of tyrants he dares to preach the good tidings of 
 liberty ; in the very school of oppression, he stands boldly 
 forth the advocate of human rights ! 
 
 He breaks down the ramparts of prejudice ; he dissi 
 pates the illusions of avarice and pride; he repeals the 
 enactments, which though wanting every feature of justice, 
 have sacrilegiously usurped the sacred form of law ! He 
 snatches the whip from the hand of the master ; he breaks 
 forever the fetter of the slave ! 
 
 In place of r p l"cfant toil, drudging for another, he brings 
 in smiling industry to "labor for herself! All nature seems 
 1 to exult in the change ! The earth, no longer made barren 
 by the tears and the blood of her children, pours forth her 
 treasures with redoubled liberality. Existence ceases to 
 be torture ; and to live is no longer to millions, the certainty 
 of being miserable. 
 
 Chosen Instrument of Mercy ! Illustrious Deliverer ! 
 Come ! come quickly ! 
 
 Come ! lest, if thy coming be delayed, there come 
 in thy place, he who will be at once, DELIVERER and 
 AVENGER! 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE county in which I was born, was then, and for 
 aught I know, may still be one of the richest and most 
 populous in eastern Virginia. My father, colonel Charles 
 Moore, was the head of one of the most considerable and 
 influential families in that part of the country ; and family, 
 however little weight it may have in other parts of Ameri 
 ca, at the time I was born, was a thing of no slight conse 
 quence in lower Virginia. Nature and education had 
 combined to qualify colonel Moore to fill with credit, the 
 station in which his birth had placed him. He was a 
 finished aristocrat ; and such he showed himself in every 
 word, look and action. There was in his bearing, a con 
 scious superiority which few could resist, softened and ren 
 dered even agreeable by a gentleness and suavity, which 
 flattered, pleased and captivated. In fact, he was familiarly 
 spoken of among his friends and neighbors, as the faultless 
 pattern of a true Virginian gentleman an encomium by 
 which they supposed themselves to convey, in the most 
 emphatic manner, the highest possible praise. 
 
 When the war of the American Revolution broke out, 
 colonel Moore was a very young man. By birth and edu 
 cation, he belonged, as I have said, to the aristocratic party, 
 which being aristocratic, was of course, conservative. But, 
 the impulses of youth and patriotism were too strong to be 
 resisted. He espoused with zeal, the cause of liberty, and 
 by his political activity and influence, contributed not a 
 little to its success. 
 
 Of liberty indeed, he was always a warm and energetic 
 admirer. Among my earliest recollections of him, is the 
 earnestness with which, among his friends and guests, he 
 used to vindicate the cause of the Frencli revolution, then 
 going on. Of that revolution, throughout its whole prog 
 ress, he was a most eloquent advocate and apologist ; and 
 though I understood little or nothing of what he said, the 
 spirit and eloquence with which he spoke could not fail to 
 affect me. The rights of man, and the rights of human 
 
MEMOIRS OF 
 
 nature were phrases, which, although at that time, I was 
 quite unconscious of their meaning, I heard so often re 
 peated, that they made an indelible impression upon my 
 memory, and in after years, frequently recurred to my 
 recollection. 
 
 But colonel Moore was not a mere talker ; he had the 
 credit of acting up to his principles, and was universally 
 regarded as a man of the greatest good nature, honor and 
 uprightness. Several promising young men, who after 
 wards rose to eminence, were indebted for their first start 
 in life, to his patronage and assistance. He settled half 
 the differences in the county, and never seemed so well 
 pleased as when by preventing a lawsuit or a duel, he 
 hindered an accidental and perhaps trifling dispute from 
 degenerating into a bitter, if not a fatal quarrel. The 
 tenderness of his heart, his ready, active benevolence, and 
 his sympathy with misfortune, were traits in his character 
 spoken of by every body. 
 
 Had I been allowed to choose my own paternity, could 
 I possibly have selected a more desirable father ? But by 
 the laws and customs of Virginia, it is not the father but the 
 mother, whose rank and condition determine that of the 
 child ; and alas ! my mother was a concubine, and a 
 slave ! 
 
 Yet those who beheld her for the first time, would hardly 
 have imagined, or would willingly have forgotten, that she 
 was connected with an ignoble and degraded race. Humble 
 as her station might be, she could at least boast possession 
 of the most brilliant beauty. The trace of African blood, 
 by which her veins were contaminated, was distinctly visi 
 ble ; but the tint which it imparted to her complexion only 
 served to give a peculiar richness to the blush that mantled 
 over her cheek. Her long black hair, which she under 
 stood how to arrange with an artful simplicity, and the flash 
 ing of her dark eyes, which changed their expression with 
 every change of feeling, corresponded exactly to her com 
 plexion, and completed a picture which might perhaps be 
 matched in Spain or Italy, but for which, it would be in 
 vain to seek a rival among the pale-faced and languid beau 
 ties of eastern Virginia. 
 
AilCH X MOORE. 9 
 
 I describe her more like a lover than a son. But in 
 truth, her beauty was so uncommon, as to draw my atten 
 tion while I was yet a child ; and many an hour have I 
 watched her, almost with a lover s earnestness, while she 
 fondled me on her lap, and tears and smiles chased each 
 other alternately over a face, the expression of which was 
 ever changing, yet always beautiful. She was the most 
 affectionate of mothers ; the mixture of tenderness, grief 
 and pleasure, with which she always seemed to regard me. 
 gave a new vivacity to her beauty ; and it was probably 
 this, which so early and so strongly fixed my attention. 
 
 But I was very far from being her only admirer. Her 
 beauty was notorious through all that part of the country ; 
 and colonel Moore had been frequently tempted to sell her 
 by the offer of very high prices. All such offers however, 
 he had steadily rejected ; for he especially prided himself 
 upon owning the swiftest horse, the handsomest wench, and 
 the finest pack of hounds in the " Ancient Dominion." 
 
 Now it may seem odd to some people, in some parts of 
 the world, that colonel Moore being such a man as I have 
 described him, should keep a mistress and be the father 
 of illegitimate children. Such persons however, must be 
 totally ignorant of the state of things in the slave-holding 
 states of America. 
 
 Colonel Moore was married to an amiable woman, whom. 
 I dare say, he loved and respected ; and in the course of 
 time, she made him the happy father of two sons and as 
 many daughters. This circumstance however, did not 
 hinder him, any more than it does any other American 
 planter, from giving, in the mean time, a very free indul 
 gence to his amorous temperament among his numerous 
 slaves at Spring-Meadow, for so his estate was called. 
 Many of the young women occasionally boasted of his 
 attentions ; though generally, at any one time, he did not 
 have more than one or two acknowledged favorites. 
 
 My mother was for several years, distinguished by colone! 
 Moore s very particular regard ; and she brought him no 
 less than six children, all of whom, except myself, who was 
 the eldest, were lucky enough to die in infancy. 
 
 From my mother I inherited some imperceptible portion 
 
10 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of African blood, and with it, the base and cursed condition 
 of a slave. But though born a slave, I inherited all my 
 father s proud spirit, sensitive feelings and ardent tempera 
 ment; and as regards natural endowments, whether of 
 mind or body, I am bold to assert, that he had more reason 
 to be proud of me than of either of his legitimate and ac 
 knowledged sons. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THAT education is the most effectual, which commences 
 earliest a maxim well understood in that part of the 
 world in which it was my misfortune to be born. As it 
 sometimes happens there, that one half of a man s children 
 are born masters and the other half slaves, it has become 
 sufficiently obvious how necessary it is, to begin, by times, 
 the course of discipline proper to train them up for these 
 very different situations. It is, accordingly, the general 
 custom, that young master, almost from the hour of his birth, 
 has allotted to him, some little slave near his own age, upon 
 whom he begins, from the time he can go alone, to practise 
 his apprenticeship of tyranny. It so happened that within 
 less than a year after my birth, colonel Moore s wife pre 
 sented him with her second son, James ; and while we 
 both slept unconscious in our cradles,^ I was duly assigned 
 over and appointed to be the body-servant of my younger 
 brother. It is in this capacity, of master James s boy, that 
 following back the traces of memory, I first discover myself. 
 
 The natural and usual consequences of giving one child 
 absolute authority over another, may be easily imagined. 
 The love of domination is perhaps the strongest of our pas 
 sions, and it is surprising how soon the veriest child will 
 become perfect in the practice of tyranny. Of this, colonel 
 Moore s eldest son, William, or master William, as he was 
 called at Spring-Meadow, was a striking instance. He 
 was the terror and bugbear, not only of Joe, his own boy, 
 but of all the children on the place. That unthinking and 
 irrational delight in the exercise of cruelty, which is some- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 1 1 
 
 times displayed by a wayward child, seemed in him, almost 
 a passion ; and this passion, by perpetual indulgence, was 
 soon fostered into a habit. When any delinquent slave was 
 to be punished, he contrived if possible to find it out, and 
 to be present at the infliction ; so that he soon became an 
 adept in all the horrible practices and disgusting slang of an 
 overseer. He always went armed with a whip, twice as 
 long as himself, and upon the least opposition to his whims 
 and caprices, was ready to show his skill in the use of it. 
 All this he took some little pains to conceal from his father ; 
 who however, was pretty careful not to see what he could, 
 by no means, approve, but what, at the same time indul 
 gent father as he was he would have found it very difficult 
 to prevent or to cure. 
 
 Master James, to whose service, I was particularly ap 
 pointed, was a very different boy. Sickly and weak from 
 his birth, his temper was gentle and his mind effeminate. 
 He had an affectionate disposition, and soon conceived a 
 fondness for me, which I very thankfully returned. He 
 protected me from the tyranny of master William by his 
 entreaties, his tears, and what had much more weight with 
 that amiable youth, by threats of complaining to his father, 
 and making a complete exposure of his brutal and cruel 
 behavior. 
 
 I soon learned to put up with and to pardon, an occa 
 sional pettishness and ill humor, for which master James s 
 bad health furnished a ready excuse ; and by flattery and 
 apparent obsequiousness, for a child learns and practises 
 such arts as readily as a man, I presently came to have a 
 great influence over him. He was the master, and I the 
 slave ; but while we were both children, this artificial dis 
 tinction had less potency, and I found little difficulty in 
 maintaining that actual pre-eminence, to which my superior 
 vigor both of body and mind, so justly entitled me. 
 
 When master James had reached the age of five years, it 
 was judged expedient by his father, that he should be initia 
 ted into the rudiments of learning. To learn the letters was 
 a laborious undertaking enough, but for putting them into 
 words, my young master seemed to have no genius what 
 ever. He was not destitute of ambition ; he was indeed 
 
12 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 very desirous to learn ; it was the ability, not the incli 
 nation that was wanting. In this difficulty, he had 
 recourse to me, who was on all occasions, his chief coun 
 sellor. By putting our heads together, we soon hit upon a 
 plan. My memory was remarkably good, while that of 
 my poor little master was very miserable. We arranged 
 therefore, that the family tutor should first teach me the 
 letters and the abs, which my strong memory, we thought, 
 would enable me easily to retain, and which I was gradu 
 ally, and between plays, as opportunity served, to instill 
 into the mind of master James. This plan we found to an 
 swer admirably. Neither the tutor nor colonel Moore 
 made any objection to it ; for all that colonel Moore desired 
 was, that his son should learn to read ; and the tutor was 
 very willing to shift off the most laborious part of his task 
 upon my shoulders. 
 
 As yet, no one had dreamed of those barbarous and de 
 testable laws unparalleled in any other codes, and destined 
 to be the everlasting disgrace of America by which it has 
 been made a crime, punishable with fine and imprisonment, 
 to teach a slave to read. 
 
 It is not enough that custom and the proud scorn of 
 unfeeling tyranny unite to keep the slave in hopeless and 
 helpless ignorance, but the laws too have openly become a 
 party to this accursed conspiracy ! Yes, I believe they 
 would tear out our very eyes, and that too by virtue of a 
 regularly enacted statute had they ingenuity enough to 
 invent a way of enabling us to drudge and delve without 
 them ! 
 
 I soon learned to read, and before long, I made master 
 James almost as good a reader as my^cif. As he was sub 
 ject to frequent fits of illness, which confined him to the 
 house, and disabled him from indulging in those active 
 sports to which boys are chiefly devoted, his father obtained 
 for him a large collection of books adapted to his age, which 
 he and I used to read over together, and in which we took 
 great delight. 
 
 In the further progress of my young master s studies I 
 was still his associate ; for though the plan of teaching me 
 first, in order that I might afterwards teach him, was pur- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 13 
 
 sued no longer, yet as I bad a desire to learn, as well as a 
 quick apprehension, 1 found no difficulty in extracting every 
 day from master James, the substance of his lessons. In 
 deed, if there was any difficulty in them, he was in the 
 constant habit of appealing to me for assistance. In this 
 way, I acquired some elementary knowledge of arithmetic 
 and geography, and even a smattering of latin. 
 
 These acquisitions however, I took great pains to con 
 ceal, since even the fact that I could read, though it in 
 creased my consequence among the servants, exposed me 
 to a good deal of ridicule to which I was very sensitive. I 
 was not looked upon, as I suppose they now look upon a 
 slave, who knows how to read and who exhibits some 
 marks of sense and ability, as a dreadful monster breathing 
 war and rebellion, and plotting to cut the throats of all the 
 good people in America ; I was regarded rather as a sort 
 of prodigy like a three legged hen, or a sheep with four 
 eyes ; a thing to be produced and exhibited for the enter 
 tainment of strangers. Frequently at a dinner party, after 
 the Madeira had circulated pretty freely, I was set to read 
 paragraphs in the newspapers, to amuse my masters tipsy 
 guests, and was puzzled, perplexed and tormented, by all 
 sorts of absurd, ridiculous, and impertinent questions, which 
 1 was obliged to answer under penalty of having a wine 
 4 lass, a bottle, or a plate flung at my head. Master 
 William especially, as he was prevented from using his 
 whip upon me, as freely as he wished, strove to indemnify 
 himself by making me the butt of his wit. He took great 
 pride in the nick-name of the " learned nigger," which he 
 had invented and always applied to me; though God 
 knows, that my cheek was little less fair than his, and 1 
 cannot help hoping that at least, my soul was whiter. 
 
 These, it may be thought, were trifling vexations. In 
 truth they were so ; but it cost me many a struggle before 
 I could learn to endure them with any tolerable patience. 
 I was compensated in some measure, by the pleasure I took 
 in listening, as I stood behind my master s chair, to the con 
 versation of the company, I mean their conversation 
 before they set regularly in to drinking ; for every dinner 
 party was sure to wind up with a general frolic. 
 2 
 
14 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Colonel Moore kept an open house, and almost every 
 day, he had some of his friends, relatives, or neighbors, at 
 his table. He was himself an eloquent and most agreeable 
 talker ; his voice was soft and musical, and he always ex 
 pressed himself with a great deal of point and vivacity. 
 Many of his guests were well informed men ; and though 
 politics was always the leading topic of conversation, a great 
 variety of other subjects were occasionally discussed. Colo 
 nel Moore, as I have already observed, was himself a warm 
 democrat republican was then the phrase for democrat, 
 however fond the Americans have since become of the 
 name, was at that time regarded as an epithet of reproach. 
 The greater part of those who frequented colonel Moore s 
 house, entertained the same liberal opinions on political sub 
 jects. I listened to their conversation with eagerness and 
 pleasure ; and when I heard them talk of equal rights, and 
 declaim against tyranny and oppression, my heart would 
 swell with emotions of which I scarcely understood the 
 meaning. All this time, I made no personal application of 
 what I heard and felt. It was only the abstract beauty of 
 liberty and equality, of which I had learned to be enam 
 ored. It was the French republicans with whom I sympa 
 thized ; it was the Austrian and English tyrants against 
 whom my indignation was roused ; it was John Adams and 
 his atrocious gag law. I had not yet learned to think about 
 myself. What I saw around me I had always been accus 
 tomed to see, and it appeared as it were, the fixed order of 
 nature. Though born a slave, I had, as yet, experienced 
 scarcely any thing of the miseries of that wretched condi 
 tion. I was singularly fortunate in my young master, to 
 whom I was, in many respects, as much a companion as a 
 servant. By his favor, and through means of my mother. 
 who still continued a favorite with colonel Moore, I enjoyed 
 more indulgences than any other servant on the place. 
 Comparing my situation with that of the field hand?, I 
 might pronounce myself fortunate indeed ; and though ex 
 posed to occasional mortifications, enough to give me already 
 a foretaste of the bitter cup which every one who lives a 
 slave must swallow, my youth and the buoyant vivacity of 
 my temper as yet sustained me. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 15 
 
 At this time, I did not know that colonel Moore was my 
 father. That gentleman was indebted for no inconsider 
 able part of his high reputation, to a very strict attention to 
 those conventional observances which so often usurp the 
 place of morals. Some observances of this sort, which pre 
 vail in America, are sufficiently remarkable. It is consid 
 ered for instance, no crime whatever, for a master to be, if he 
 chooses, the father of every infant slave born upon his planta 
 tion. Yet it is esteemed a very grave breach of propriety, 
 indeed almost an unpardonable crime, for such a father 
 ever, in any way, to acknowledge or take any notice, of any 
 of his unfortunate children. Imperious custom demands 
 that he should treat them, in every respect, like his other 
 slaves. If he drive them into the field to labor, if he sell 
 them at auction to the highest bidder, it is all well. But 
 if he audaciously undertake to exhibit towards them, in any 
 way, the slightest indication of paternal tenderness, he may 
 be sure that his character will be assailed by the tongue of 
 universal slander ; that his every weak point and unjustifi 
 able action will be carefully sought out, malignantly magni 
 fied, and ostentatiously exposed ; that he will be compelled 
 to run a sort of moral gantlet, and will be represented 
 among all the better sort of people, as every thing that is 
 infamous, base and contemptible. 
 
 Colonel Moore was far too wise a man, to entertain the 
 slightest idea of exposing himself to any thing of that sort. 
 He had always kept the best society, and though he might 
 be a democrat in politics, he was certainly very much of an 
 aristocrat and an exclusive in his feelings. Of course, he 
 had the same sort .of indescribable horror, at the thought of 
 violating any of the settled proprieties of the society in 
 which he moved, that a modern belle has of cotton lace, or 
 a modern dandy of an iron fork. This being the case, 
 nobody will wonder so far at least as colonel Moore had 
 any control over the matter that I was still ignorant who 
 my father was. 
 
 But though a secret to me, it certainly was not so to 
 colonel Moore s friends and visitors. If nothing else had 
 betrayed it, the striking resemblance between us, would 
 
16 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 certainly have done so ; and although that same regard 10 
 propriety, which prevented colonel Moore from ever no 
 ticing the relationship, also tied up the tongues of his guests, 
 yet, after I had learned the secret, there immediately oc 
 curred to my mind the true explanation of certain sly jests 
 and distant allusions, which had sometimes been dropped 
 towards the end of a dinner, by some of those guests whom 
 deep potations had inspired at once with wit and veracity. 
 These brilliancies, of which I had never been able to under 
 stand the meaning, were always ill received by colonel 
 Moore, and by all the soberer part of the company, and 
 were frequently followed by a command to me and the 
 other servants to quit the room ; but why or wherefore, till 
 I became possessed of the key above mentioned, I was 
 always at a great loss to determine. 
 
 The secret which my father did not choose, and which 
 my mother did not dare to communicate, I might easily 
 have obtained from my fellow servants. But at this time, 
 like most of the lighter complexioned slaves, I felt a sort 
 of contempt for my duskier brothers in misfortune. I kept 
 myself as much as possible, at a distance from them, and 
 scorned to associate with men a little darker than myself. 
 So ready are slaves to imbibe all the ridiculous prejudices 
 of their oppressors, and themselves to add new links to the 
 chain, which deprives them of their liberty ! 
 
 But let me do my father justice ; for I do not believe 
 that he was totally destitute of a father s feelings. Though 
 he never made the slightest acknowledgment of the claims 
 which I had upon him, yet I am sure, in his own heart, he 
 did not totally deny their validity. There was a tone of 
 good natured indulgence whenever he spoke to me, an air 
 of kindness, which though he always had it, seemed toward 
 me, to have in it something peculiar. At any rate, he suc 
 ceeded in captivating my affections ; for though I regarded 
 him only as my master, I loved him very sincerely 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 17 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 I WAS about seventeen years old, when my mother was 
 attacked by a fever, which proved fatal to her. She early 
 had a presentiment of her fate ; and before the disorder had 
 made any great progress, she sent me word that she desired 
 to see me. I found her in bed. She begged the woman 
 who nursed her, to leave us together, and bade me sit down 
 by her bed-side. Having told me that she feared she was 
 going to die, she could not think it kind to me, she said, to 
 leave the world, without first telling me a secret, which 
 possibly, I might find hereafter of some consequence. I 
 begged her to go on, and waited with impatience for the 
 promised information. She began with a short account of 
 her own life. Her mother was a slave ; her father was a 
 certain colonel Randolph a scion of one of the great Vir 
 ginian families. She had been raised as a lady s maid, and 
 on the marriage of colonel Moore, had been purchased by 
 him and presented to his wife. She was then quite a girl. 
 As she grew older and her beauty became more noticeable, 
 she found much favor in the eyes of her master. She had 
 a neat little house, with a double set of rooms an arrange 
 ment, as much for colonel Moore s convenience as her own ; 
 and though some light tasks of needle-work were sometimes 
 required of her, yet as nobody chose to quarrel with mas 
 ter s favorite, she lived, henceforward, a very careless, 
 indolent, but as she told me, a very unhappy life. 
 
 For a part of this unhappiness she was indebted to her 
 self. The air of superiority she assumed in her intercourse 
 with the other servants, made them all hate her, and induced 
 them to improve eveiy opportunity of vexing and mortifying 
 her ; and to all sorts of feminine mortifications she w r as as 
 sensitive as any belle that ever existed. But though vain of 
 her beauty and her master s favor, she was not ill-tempered ; 
 and the foolish pride from which she suffered, sprung in her, 
 as a similar feeling did in me, from a groundless, though 
 common prejudice. Indeed our situation was so superior to 
 that of most of the other slaves, that we naturally imagined 
 2* 
 
18 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ourselves, in some sort, a superior race. It was doubtless 
 under the influence of this feeling, that my mother, having 
 told me who my father was, observed with a smile and a 
 self-complacent air, which even the tremors of her fever did 
 not prevent from being apparent, that both on the father s 
 and the mother s side, I had running in my veins, the best 
 blood of Virginia the blood, she added, of the Moores 
 and the Randolphs ! 
 
 Alas ! she did not seem to recollect that though I might 
 count all the nobles of Virginia among my ancestors, one 
 drop of blood imported from Africa though that too, might 
 be the blood of kings and chieftains, would be enough to 
 taint the whole pedigree, and to condemn me to perpetual 
 slavery, even in the house of my own father ! 
 
 The information which my mother communicated, made 
 little impression upon me at the* moment. My principal 
 anxiety was for her ; for she had always been the tenderest 
 and most affectionate of parents. The progress of her 
 disorder was rapid, and on the third day she ceased to live. 
 1 lamented her with the sincerest grief. The sharpness of 
 my sorrow was soon over ; but my spirits did not seem to 
 regain their former tone. The thoughtless gaiety, which 
 till now had shed a sort of sunshine over my life, seemed to 
 desert me. My thoughts began to recur very frequently, to 
 the information which my mother had communicated. I hard 
 ly know how to describe the effect which it seemed to have 
 upon me. Nor is it easy to tell what were its actual effects. 
 or what ought to be ascribed to other and more general causes. 
 Perhaps that revolution of feeling, which I now experienced, 
 should be attributed in a great measure, to the change from 
 boyhood to manhood, through which I was passing. Hither 
 to things had seemed to happen like the events of a dream, 
 without touching me deeply or affecting me permanently. 
 I was sometimes vexed and dissatisfied ; I had my occa 
 sional sorrows and complaints. But those sorrows were 
 soon over, and as after summer showers the sun shines out 
 the brighter, so my transient sadness was soon succeeded 
 by a more lively gaiety, which, as soon as immediate 
 g~ievanos were forgotten, burst forth, unsubdued either by 
 reflections on the past, or anxieties for the future. In that 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 19 
 
 gaiety there was indeed scarcely anything of substantial 
 pleasure; it originated rather in a careless insensibility. It 
 was like the glare of the moon-beams, bright, but cold. 
 Such as it was however, it was far more comfortable, than 
 the state of feeling by which it now began to be succeeded. 
 My rnind seemed to be filled with indefinite anxieties, of 
 which I could divine neither the causes nor the cure. 
 There was, as it were, a heavy weight upon my bosom, an 
 unsatisfied craving for something, I knew not what, a long 
 ing which I could do nothing to satisfy, because I could 
 not tell its object. I would be often lost in thought, but 
 my mind did not seem to fix itself to any certain aim, and 
 after hours of apparently the deepest meditation, I should 
 have been very much at a loss to tell about what I had 
 been thinking. 
 
 But sometimes my reflections would take a more definite 
 shape. I would begin to consider what I was and what I 
 had to anticipate. The son of a freeman, yet born a slave ! 
 Endowed by nature with abilities, which I should never 
 be permitted to exercise ; possessed of knowledge, which 
 already, I found it expedient to conceal ! The slave of my 
 own father, the servant of my own brother, a bounded, lim 
 ited, confined, and captive creature, who did not dare to go 
 out of sight of his master s house without a written permis 
 sion to do so ! Destined to be the sport, of I knew not 
 whose caprices ; forbidden in anything to act for myself, or 
 to consult my own happiness ; compelled to labor all my 
 life at another s bidding ; and liable every hour and instant, 
 to oppressions the most outrageous, and degradations the 
 most humiliating ! 
 
 These reflections soon grew so bitter that I struggled hard 
 to suppress them. But that was not always in my power. 
 Again and again, in spite of all my efforts, these hateful 
 ideas would start up and sting me into anguish. 
 
 My young master still continued kind as ever. I was 
 changing to a man, but he still remained a boy. His pro 
 tracted ill health, which had checked his growth, appeared 
 also to retard his mental maturity. He seemed every day 
 to fall more and more under my influence ; and every day 
 my attachment to him grew stronger. He was in fact, my 
 
20 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 sole hope. While I remained with him, I might reasonably 
 expect to escape the utter bitterness of slavery. In his 
 eyes, I was not a mere servant. He regarded me rather as 
 a loved and trusted companion. Indeed, though he had 
 the name and prerogatives of master, I was much less 
 under his control than he was under mine. There was 
 between us, something of a brotherly affection, at least of 
 that kind, which may exist between foster brothers, though 
 neither of us ever alluded to our actual relationship, and he 
 probably, was ignorant of it. 
 
 I loved master James as well as ever ; but towards colonel 
 Moore, my feelings underwent a rapid and a radical change. 
 While I considered myself merely as his slave, his apparent 
 kindness had gained my affections, and there was nothing I 
 would not have done or suffered, for so good naturcd and 
 condescending a master. But after I had learned to look 
 upon myself as his son, I began to feel that I might justly 
 claim as a right, what I had till now regarded as a pure 
 gratuity. I began to feel that I might claim much more, 
 even an equal birth-right with my brethren. Occasional 
 ly, I had read the bible ; and I now turned with new 
 interest to the story of Hagar, the bond-woman, and 
 Ishmael her son ; and as I read how an angel came to their 
 relief, when the hard-hearted Abraham had driven them 
 into the wilderness, there seemed to grow up within me, a 
 wild, strange, uncertain hope, that in some accident, I knew 
 not what, 1 too might find succor and relief. At the same 
 time, with this irrational hope, a new spirit of bitterness burst 
 in upon my soul. Unconsciously I clenched my hands, and 
 set my teeth, and fancied myself, as it were, another 
 Ishmael, wandering in the wilderness, every man s hand 
 against me, and my hand against eveiy man. The injus 
 tice of my unnatural parent, stung me deeper and deeper, 
 and all my love for him was turned into hate. The atrocity 
 of those laws which made me a slave a slave in the house 
 of my own father seemed to glare before my too prophetic 
 eyes in letters of blood. Young as I w ? as, and as yet un 
 touched, I trembled for the future, and cursed the country 
 and the hour that gave me birth ! 
 
 I endeavored as much as possible, to conceal these ne\v 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 
 
 feelings with which I was tormented ; and as deceit is one 
 of those defences against tyranny of which a slave early 
 learns to avail himself, I was not unsuccessful. My young 
 master would sometimes find me in tears ; and sometimes 
 when I would be lost in thought, he complained of my 
 inattention. But I put him olf with plausible excuses": 
 and though he suspected there was something which I did 
 not tell him, and would frequently say to me, " Come 
 Archy, boy, let me know what it is that troubles you," I 
 made light of the matter and laughed off his suspicions. 
 
 I was now about to lose this kind master, in whose 
 tenderness and affection I found the sole palliative that 
 could make slavery tolerable. His health which had always 
 been bad, grew rapidly worse, and confined him first to his 
 chamber and then to his bed. I nursed him during his 
 whole illness with a mother s tenderness and assiduity. 
 Never was master more faithfully served ; but it was the 
 friend, not the slave, who rendered these attentions. He 
 was not insensible to my services ; he did not seem to like 
 that any one but I should be about him, and it was only 
 from my hand that he would take his physic or his food. 
 But it was not in the power of physician or of nurse to 
 save him. He wasted daily, and grew weaker every hour. 
 The fatal crisis soon came. His weeping friends were col 
 lected about his bed, but the tears they shed were not as 
 bitter as mine. Almost with his last breath he recom 
 mended me to the good graces of his father ; but the man 
 who had closed his heart to the promptings of paternal 
 tenderness, was not likely to give much weight to the 
 requests of a dying son. He bade his friends farewell, 
 he pressed my hand in his ; and, with a gentle sigh, he 
 expired in my arms. 
 
 Would to God, I had died with him ! 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE family of colonel Moore knew well how truly I had 
 loved, and how faithfully I had served my young master. 
 
22 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 They respected the profound depth of my grief, and for a 
 week or two, I was suffered to weep on unmolested. My 
 feelings were no longer of that acute and piercing kind 
 which I have described in the preceding chapter. The 
 temperament of the mind is forever changing. That state 
 of preternatural sensibility, of which I have attempted to 
 give an idea, had disappeared when my attention became 
 wholly occupied in the care of my dying master. It was 
 succeeded by a dull and stupid sorrow. Apparently I now 
 had increased cause for agitation and alarm. That which 
 I then dreaded, had happened. My young master, upon 
 whom all my hopes were suspended, lived no longer, and I 
 knew not what was to become of me. But the fit of fear 
 and anxious anticipation was over ; and I now waited my 
 fate with a sort of stupid and careless indifference. 
 
 Though not called upon to do it, I continued as usual to 
 wait upon my master s table. For several days, I took my 
 place instinctively near where master James s chair ought 
 to have stood ; till the sight of the vacant place drove me 
 in tears to the opposite comer. In the mean time, nobody 
 called upon me to do anything, or seemed to notice that I 
 was present. Even master William made an effort to re 
 press his habitual insolence. 
 
 But this could not last long. Indeed it was a stretch of 
 indulgence, which no one but a favorite servant could have 
 expected ; since slaves, in general, are thought to have no 
 business to be sorry if it makes them unable to work. 
 
 One morning after breakfast, master William having dis 
 cussed his toast and coffee, began by telling his father, that 
 in his opinion, the servants at Spring-Meadow, were a great 
 deal too indulgently treated. He was by this time, a smart, 
 dashing, elegant young man, having returned upwards of a 
 year before, from college, and quite lately, from Charleston, 
 in South Carolina, whither he had been to spend a winter, 
 and as his father expressed it, to wear off the rusticity of 
 the school-room. It was there perhaps, that he had learned 
 the new precepts of humanity, which he was now preach 
 ing. He declared that any tenderness, towards a servant 
 only tended to make him insolent and discontented, and was 
 quite thrown away on the ungrateful rascals. Then, look 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 23 
 
 ing about, as if in search of some victim upon whom to 
 practise a doctrine so consonant to his own disposition, his 
 <ye lighted upon me. There s that hoy Archy I ll bet 
 ;i hundred to one I could make him one of the best ser 
 vants in the world. He s a bright fellow naturally, and 
 - Hiring has spoil d him, but poor James s over indulgence. 
 Come father, just be good enough to give him to me, I 
 \\ ant another servant most devilishly." 
 
 Without stopping for an answer, he hastened out of the 
 room, having, as he said, two jockey races to attend that 
 morning ; and what was more, a cock-fight into the bargain. 
 There was nobody else at table. Colonel Moore turned 
 towards me. He began with commending very highly, my 
 faithful attachment to his poor son James. As he men 
 tioned his son s name the tears stood in his eyes, and for a 
 moment or two he was unable to speak. He recovered 
 himself presently, and added "I hope now you will 
 transfer all this same zeal and affection to master William." 
 
 These words roused me in a moment. I knew master 
 William to be a tyrant from whose soul custom had long 
 since obliterated what little humanity nature had bestowed 
 upon him ; and to judge from what he had let drop that 
 morning, he had of late improved upon his natural inclina 
 tion for cruelty, and had proceeded to the final length of 
 reducing tyranny into a system and a science. I knew too 
 that from childhood, he had entertained a particular spite 
 against me; and 1 dreaded, lest he was already devising the 
 means of inflicting upon rne with interest, all those insults 
 and injuries from which the protection of his younger 
 brother had hitherto shielded me. 
 
 It was with horror and alarm, that I found myself in 
 danger of falling into such hands. I threw myself at my 
 master s feet and besought him, with all the eloquence of 
 ^rief and fear, not to give me to master William. The 
 terms in which I spoke of his son, though I chose the 
 mildest 1 could think of, and the horror I expressed at the 
 thoughts of becoming his servant, though I endeavored as 
 much as possible, to save the father s feelings, seemed to 
 make him angry. The smile left his lip, and his brow grew 
 dark and contracted. I began to despair of escaping the 
 
24 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 wretched fate that awaited me ; and my despair drove me 
 to a very rash and foolish action. For emboldened by the 
 danger of becoming the slave of master William, I dared 
 to hint though distantly and obscurely at the informa 
 tion which my mother had communicated on her death 
 bed ; and I even ventured something like a half appeal to 
 colonel Moore s paternal tenderness. At first he did not 
 .seem to understand me ; but the moment he began to com 
 prehend my meaning, his face grew black as a thunder 
 cloud, then became pale, and immediately was suffused 
 with a burning blush, in which shame and rage were 
 equally commingled. I now gave myself up for lost, and 
 expected an instant out-break of fury ; but after a mo 
 mentary struggle, colonel Moore seemed to regain his 
 composure; even the habitual smile returned to his lips; 
 and without taking any notice of my last appeal, or giving 
 any further signs of having understood it, he merely 
 remarked, that he did not know how to refuse master 
 William s request, nor could he comprehend the meaning of 
 my reluctance. It was mighty foolish ; still he was willing 
 to indulge me so far, as to allow me the choice of entering 
 into master William s service, or going into the field. This 
 alternative was proposed with an air and a manner, which 
 was intended to stop my mouth, and allow me nothing but 
 the bare liberty of choosing. It was indeed, no very 
 agreeable alternative. But any thing, even the hard labor, 
 scanty fare, and harsh treatment, to which I knew the field 
 hands were subjected, seemed preferable to becoming the 
 sport of master William s tyranny. I was piqued too, at 
 the cavalier manner in which my request had been treated, 
 and I d!d not hesitate. I thanked colonel Moore for his 
 great goodness, and at once, made choice of the field. He 
 seemed rather surprised at my selection, and with a smile 
 which bordered close upon a sneer, bade me report myself 
 to Mr Stubbs. 
 
 An overseer, is regarded in all those parts of slave-hold 
 ing America, with which I ever became acquainted, very 
 much in the same light in which people, in countries uncursed 
 with slavery, look upon a hangman ; and as this latter em 
 ployment, however useful and necessary, has never sue- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 26 
 
 needed in becoming respectable, so the business of an 
 overseer is likely from its nature, always to continue 
 contemptible and degraded. The young lady who dines 
 heartily on lamb, has a sentimental horror of the butcher 
 who killed it ; and the slave owner who lives luxuriously 
 on the forced labor of his slaves, has a like sentimental 
 abhorrence of the man who holds the whip and compels the 
 labor. He is like a receiver of stolen goods, who cannot 
 bear the thoughts of stealing himself, but who has no objec 
 tion to live upon the proceeds of stolen property. A thief 
 is but a thief; an overseer but an overseer. The slave 
 owner prides himself upon the honorable appellation of a 
 planter ; and the receiver of stolen goods assumes the 
 character of a respectable shop-keeper. By such con 
 temptible juggle do men deceive not themselves only, but 
 oft-times the world also. 
 
 Mr Thomas Stubbs was overseer at Spring-Meadow, a 
 person with whose name, appearance and character I was 
 perfectly familiar, though hitherto I had been so fortunate 
 as to have had very little communication with him. 
 
 He was a thick set, clumsy man, about fifty, with a little 
 bullet head, covered with short tangled hair, and stuck close 
 upon his shoulders. His face was curiously mottled and 
 spotted, for what with sunshine, what with whiskey, and 
 what with ague and fever, brown, red and sallow seemed 
 to have put in a joint claim to the possession of it, without 
 having yet been able to arrive at an amicable partition. He 
 was generally to be seen on horseback, leaning forward over 
 his saddle, and brandishing a long thick whip of twisted 
 cow-hide, which from time to time, he applied over the 
 head and shoulders of some unfortunate slave. If you were 
 within hearing, his conversation, or rather his commands 
 and observations, would have appeared a string of oaths, 
 from the midst of which it was not very easy to disentangle 
 his meaning. " You damned black rascal " was pretty 
 sure to begin every sentence, and " by God," to end it. It 
 was however, only when Mr Stubbs had sole possession of 
 the field, that he sprinkled his orders with this strong spice 
 of brutality ; for when colonel Moore or any other gentle 
 man happened to be riding by, he could assume quite an air 
 3 
 
26 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of gentleness and moderation, and what appears very sur 
 prising, was actually able to express himself, with not more 
 than one oath to every other sentence. 
 
 Mr Stubbs, in his management of the plantation did not 
 confine himself to hard words. He used his whip as freely 
 as his tongue. Colonel Moore had received a European 
 education ; and like every man educated any where except 
 on a slave estate he had a great dislike to all unnecessary 
 cruelty. He was usually made very angry, about once a 
 week, by some brutal act on the part of his overseer. But 
 "having satisfied his outraged feelings by declaring himself 
 very much offended, and Mr Stubbs s proceedings to be quite 
 intolerable, he ended with suffering things to go on just as 
 before. The truth was, Mr Stubbs understood making 
 crops ; and such a man was too valuable to be given up, 
 for the mere sentimental satisfaction of protecting the slaves 
 from his tyranny. 
 
 It was a great change to me, after having been accustomed 
 to the elegance and propriety of colonel Moore s house, and 
 the gentle rule and light service of master James, to pass 
 under the despotic control of a vulgar, ignorant and brutal 
 blackguard. Besides, I had never been accustomed to se 
 vere and regular labor ; and it was trying indeed to submit 
 at once to the hard work of the field. However, I resolved 
 to make the best of it. I was strong, and use would soon 
 make my tasks more tolerable. I knew well enough, that 
 Mr Stubbs was totally destitute of all humane feelings, but 
 I had no reason to suppose that he entertained towards me 
 any of that malignity which I had so much dreaded in mas 
 ter William. From what I had known of him, I did not 
 judge him to be a very bad tempered man ; and I took it 
 for granted that he cursed and whipped, not so much out 
 of spite and ill feeling, but as a mere matter of business. 
 He seemed to imagine, like every other overseer, that it 
 was impossible to manage a plantation in any other way. 
 My diligence, I hoped might enable me to escape the lash ; 
 and Mr Stubbs s vulgar abuse, however provoking the other 
 servants might esteem it, I thought 1 might easily despise. 
 
 Mr Stubbs listened to my account of myself very gra 
 ciously, all the time, rolling his tobacco from one cheek to 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 27 
 
 the other, and squinting at me with one of his little twink 
 ling grey eyes. Having cursed me to his satisfaction for 
 " a damned fool," he bade me follow him to the field. A 
 large clumsy hoe, with a handle six feet long, was put into 
 my hands, and I was kept hard at work all day. 
 
 At dark, I was suffered to quit the field, and the overseer 
 pointed out to me a miserable little hovel, about ten feet 
 square, and half as many high, with a leaky roof, and with 
 out either floor or window. This was to be my house, or 
 rather I was to share it with Billy, a young slave about my 
 own age. 
 
 To this wretched hut, I removed a chest, containing my 
 olothes and a few other things, such as a slave is permitted 
 to possess. By way of bed and bedding, I received a sin 
 gle blanket, about as big as a large pocket handkerchief; 
 and a basket of corn and a pound or two of damaged bacon, 
 were given me as my week s allowance of provisions. But 
 as I was totally destitute of pot, kettle, knife, plate, or dish 
 of any kind, for these are conveniences which slaves must 
 procure as they can, I was in some danger of being obliged 
 to make my supper on raw bacon. Billy saw my distress 
 and took pity on me. He helped me beat my corn into 
 hominy, and lent me his own little kettle to cook it in ; so 
 that about midnight I was able to break a fast of some six 
 teen or twenty hours. My chest being both broad and long, 
 served tolerably well for bed, chair and table. I sold a part 
 of my clothes, which were indeed much too fine for a field 
 hand ; and having bought myself a knife, a spoon and a 
 kettle, I was able to put my house-keeping into tolerable 
 order. 
 
 My accommodations were as good as a field hand had a 
 right to expect ; but they were not such as to make nit- 
 particularly happy ; especially as I had been used to some 
 thing better. My hands were blistered with the hoe, ana 
 coming in at night completely exhausted by a sort of labor 
 to which I was not accustomed, it was no very agreeable 
 ecreation to be obliged to beat hominy, and to be up till 
 after- midnight preparing food for the next day, with the 
 recollection too, that I was obliged to turn into the field 
 with the first dawn of the morning./ But this labor, severe 
 
28 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 is it was, had been in a manner, my own choice. In 
 choosing it, I had escaped a worse tyranny and a more 
 bitter servitude. I had avoided falling into the hands of 
 master William. 
 
 As I shall not have occasion to mention that amiable 
 youth again, I may as well finish his history here. Some 
 six or eight months after the death of his younger brother, 
 he became involved in a drunken quarrel, at a cock-fight. 
 This quarrel ended in a duel, and master William fell dead 
 at the first fire. His death was a great stroke to colonel 
 Moore, who seemed for a long time, almost inconsolable. I 
 did not lament him, either for his own sake or his father s. 
 [ knew well, that in his death, I had escaped a cruel and 
 vindictive master ; and I felt a stern and bitter pleasure in 
 seeing the bereavements of a man who had dared to trample 
 upon the sacred ties of nature. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 I HAD the same task with those who had been field 
 hands all their lives ; but I was too proud to flinch or com 
 plain. I exerted myself to the utmost, so that even Mr 
 Stubbs had no fault to find, but on the contrary, pronounced 
 me, more than once, a " right likely hand." 
 
 The cabin which I shared with Billy, had a very leaky 
 roof ; and as the weather was rainy, we found it by no 
 means comfortable. At length, we determined one day, to 
 repair it ; and to get time to do so, we exerted ourselves to 
 get through our tasks at an early hour. 
 
 We had finished about four o clock in the afternoon, and 
 were returning together to the town, for so we called the 
 collection of cabins, in which the servants lived. Mr 
 Stubbs met us, and having inquired if we had finished ouj 
 tasks, he muttered something about our not having half 
 enough to do, and ordered us to go and weed his garden. 
 Billy submitted in silence, for he had been too long under 
 Mr Stubbs s jurisdiction, to think of questioning his com- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 29 
 
 mands. But I ventured to say, in as respectful a manner 
 as I could, that as we had finished our regular tasks, it 
 seemed very hard to give us this additional work. This 
 put Mr Stubbs into a liirious passion, and he swore twenty 
 oaths, that I should both weed the garden and be whipped 
 into the bargain. He sprang from his horse, and catching 
 me by the collar of my shirt, the only dress I had on, he 
 began to lay upon me with his whip. It was the first time, 
 since I had ceased to be a child, that I had been exposed 
 to this degrading torture. The pain was great enough; the 
 idea of being whipped was sufficiently bitter; but these 
 were nothing in comparison with the sharp and burning 
 sense of the insolent injustice that was done me. It was 
 with the utmost difficulty, that i restrained myself from 
 springing upon my brutal tormentor, and dashing him to the 
 ground. But alas ! I was a slave. What in a freeman, 
 is a most justifiable act of self-defence, becomes in a slave, 
 unpardonable insolence and rebellion. I griped my hands, 
 set my teeth firmly together, and bore the injury the best I 
 could. I was then turned into the garden, and the moon 
 happening to be full, I was kept there weeding till near 
 midnight. 
 
 The next day was Sunday. The Sunday s rest is the 
 sole and single boon for which t^e American slave is in 
 debted to the religion of his master. That master, tramples 
 under foot every other precept of the Gospel without the 
 slightest hesitation, but so long as he does not compel his 
 slaves to work on Sundays, he thinks himself well entitled 
 to the name of a Christian. Perhaps he is so, but if he is, 
 a title so easily purchased can be worth but little. 
 
 I resolved to avail myself of the Sunday s leisure to 
 complain to my master of the barbarous treatment I had 
 experienced the day before, at the hands of Mr Stubbs. 
 Colonel Moore received me with a coolness and distance, 
 quite unusual in him, for generally he had a smile for 
 every body, especially for his slaves. However, he heard 
 my story, and even condescended to declare that nothing 
 gave him so much pain as to have his servants unnecessarily 
 or unreasonably punished, and that he never would suffer 
 such things to take place upon his plantation. He then 
 3* 
 
30 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 bade me go about my business, having first assured me, 
 that in the course of the day, he would see Mr Stubbs 
 and inquire into the matter. This was the last I heard 
 from colonel Moore. That same evening, Mr Stubbs sent 
 for me to his house, and having tied me to a tree before his 
 door, gave me forty lashes, and bade me complain at the 
 house again, if I dared. " It s a damned hard case," he 
 added, " if I can t lick a damned nigger s insolence out of 
 him, without being obliged to give an account of it ! " 
 Insolence ! the tyrant s ready plea ! 
 If a poor slave has been whipped and miserably abused, 
 and no other apology for it can be thought of, the rascal s 
 insolence can be always pleaded, and when pleaded, is 
 enough in every slave-holder s estimation, to excuse and 
 justify any brutality. The slightest word, or look, or 
 action, that seems to indicate the slave s sense of any injus 
 tice that is done him, is denounced as insolence, and is 
 punished with the most unrelenting severity. 
 
 This was the second time I had experienced the disci 
 pline of the lash ; but I did not find the second dose any 
 more agreeable than hie ftist. A blow is esteemed among 
 freemen, the very highest of indignities ; and low as their 
 oppressors have sunk them, it is esteemed an indignity 
 among slaves. Besides as strange as some people may 
 think it a twisted cowhide, laid on by the hand of a strong 
 man, does actually inflict a good deal of pain, especially if 
 every blow brings blood. 
 
 I will leave it to the reader s own feelings to imagine, 
 what no words can sufficiently describe, the bitterness of 
 that man s misery, who is every hour in danger of experi 
 encing this indignity and this torture. When he has wrought 
 up his fancy, and let him thank God, from the very bottom 
 of his heart, that in his case, it is only fancy, to a lively 
 idea of that misery, he will have taken the first step, tow 
 ards gaining some notion, however faint and inadequate, 
 of what it is, to be a slave ! 
 
 I had now learned a lesson, which every slave early 
 learns, I found that I did not enjoy even the privilege of 
 complaining ; and that the only way to escape a reiteration 
 of injustice, was to submit in silence to the first infliction 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 31 
 
 I did my best to swallow this bitter lesson, and to acquire a 
 portion of that hypocritical humility, so necessary to a per 
 son in my unhappy condition. Humility, and whether it be 
 real or pretended, they care but little, is esteemed by mas 
 ters, the great and crowning virtue of a slave ; for they 
 understand by it, a disposition to submit, without resistance 
 or complaint, to every possible wrong and indignity ; to 
 reply to the most opprobrious arid unjust accusations with a 
 soft voice and a smiling face ; to take kicks, cuffs and 
 blows as though they were favors ; to kiss the foot that 
 treads you to the dust ! 
 
 This sort of humility was a virtue, with which, I must 
 confess, nature had but scantily endowed me ; nor did I 
 find it so easy as 1 might have desired, to strip myself of all 
 the feelings of a man. It was like quitting the erect car 
 riage which I had received at God s hand, and learning to 
 crawl on the earth like a base reptile. This was indeed a 
 hard lesson. But an American overseer is a stern teacher, 
 and if I learned but slowly, it was not the fault of Mr 
 Stubbs. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 IT would be irksome to myself, and tedious to the reader, 
 to enter into a minute detail of all the miserable and monot 
 onous incidents that made up my life at this time. The 
 last chapter is a specimen, from which it may be judged, 
 what sort of pleasures I enjoyed. They may be summed 
 up in a few words ; and the single sentence which embraces 
 this part of my history, might suffice to describe the whole 
 lives of many thousand Americans. I was hard worked, ill 
 fed, and well whipped. Mr Stubbs having once begun 
 with me, did not suffer me to get over the effects of one 
 flogging before he inflicted another ; and I have some marks 
 of his about me, which I expect to carry to the grave. All 
 this time he assured me, that what he did was only for my 
 own good ; and he swore that he would never give over till 
 he had lashed my damned insolence out of me. 
 
MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The present began to grow intolerable ; and what hope 
 for the future has the slave ? I wished for death ; nor do 
 I know to what desperate counsels I might have been 
 driven, when one of those changes, to which a slave is ever 
 exposed, but over which he can exercise no control, afford 
 ed me some temporary relief from my distresses. 
 
 Colonel Moore, by the sudden death of a relation, be 
 came heir to a large property in South Carolina. But the 
 person deceased had left a will, about which there was 
 some dispute, which had every appearance of ending in a 
 lawsuit. The matter required colonel Moore s persona) 
 attention ; and he had lately set out for Charleston, and 
 had taken with him several of the servants. One or two 
 also had recently died ; and Mrs Moore, soon after her 
 husband s departure, sent for me to assist in filling up the 
 gap which had been made in her domestic establishment. 
 
 I was truly happy at the change. I knew Mrs Moore 
 to be a lady, who would never insult or trample on a ser 
 vant, even though he were a slave unless she happened 
 to be very much out of humor, an unfortunate occurrence, 
 which in her case, did not happen oftener than once or 
 twice a week except indeed in the very warm weather, 
 when the fit sometimes lasted the whole week through. 
 
 Besides, I hoped that the recollection of my fond and 
 faithful attachment to her younger son, who had always 
 been her favorite, would secure me some kindness at her 
 hands. Nor was I mistaken. The contrast of my new 
 situation, with the tyranny of Mr Stubbs, gave it almost the 
 color of happiness. I regained my cheerfulness, and my 
 buoyant spirits. I was too wise, or rather this new influx 
 of cheerfulness made me too thoughtless, to trouble myself 
 about the future ; and satisfied with the temporary relief I 
 experienced, I ceased to brood over the miseries of my con 
 dition. 
 
 Aoout this time, Miss Caroline, colonel Moore s eldest 
 daughter, returned from Baltimore, where she had been 
 living for several years with an aunt, who superintended her 
 education. She was but an ordinary girl, without much 
 grace or beauty ; but her maid Gassy,* who had formerly 
 
 * Cassandra. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 33 
 
 been my play-fellow, and who returned a woman, though 
 she had left us a child, possessed a high degree of both. 
 
 I learned from one of my fellow servants, that she was 
 the daughter of colonel Moore, by a female slave, who for 
 a year or two had shared her master s favor jointly with my 
 mother, but who had died many years since, leaving Gassy 
 an infant. Her mother was said to have been a great 
 beauty, and a very dangerous rival of mine. 
 
 So far as regarded personal charms, Cassy was not 
 unworthy of her parentage, either on the father s or the 
 mother s side. She was not tall, but the grace and elegance 
 of her figure could not be surpassed ; and the elastic vivacity 
 of all her movements afforded a model, which her indolent 
 and languid mistress, who did nothing but loll all day upon 
 a sofa, might have imitated with advantage. The clear 
 soft olive of her complexion, brightening in either cjjeek to 
 a rich red, was certainly more pleasing than the sickly, 
 sallow hue, so common or rather so universal, among the 
 patrician beauties of lower Virginia and she could boast a 
 pair of eyes, w f hich for brilliancy and expression, I have 
 never seen surpassed. 
 
 At this time, I prided myself upon my color, as much as 
 any Virginian of them all ; and although I had found by a 
 bitter experience, that a slave, whether white or black, is 
 still a slave, and that the master, heedless of his victim s 
 complexion, handles the whip, with perfect impartiality ; 
 still, like my poor mother, I thought myself of a superior 
 caste, and would have felt it a degradation, to put myself 
 on a level with those a few shades darker than myself. 
 This silly pride had kept me from forming intimacies with 
 the other servants, either male or female ; for I was deci 
 dedly whiter than any of them. It had too, justly enough, 
 exposed me to an ill will, of which I had more than once 
 felt the consequences, but which had not yet wholly cured 
 me of my folly. 
 
 Cassy had perhaps more African blood than I ; but this 
 was a point, however weighty and important I had at first 
 esteemed it, which, as I became more acquainted with her, 
 seemed continually of less consequence, and soon disap 
 peared entirely from my thoughts. We were much together ; 
 
34 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and her beauty, vivacity, and good humor, made eveiy day 
 a stronger impression upon me. I found myself in love 
 before I had thought of it ; and presently I discovered that 
 my affection was not unrequited. 
 
 Gassy was one of nature s children, and she had never 
 learned those arts of coquetry, often as skilfully practised by 
 the maid as the mistress, by which courtships are protracted. 
 We loved; and before long, we talked of marriage. Gassy 
 consulted her mistress ; and the answer was favorable. 
 Mrs Moore listened with equal readiness to me. Women 
 are never happier, than when they have an opportunity to 
 dabble in match-making ; nor does even the humble condi 
 tion of the parties quite deprive the business of its fasci 
 nation. 
 
 It was determined that our marriage, should be a little 
 festival among the servants. The coming Sunday was 
 fixed on as the day ; and a Methodist clergyman, who 
 happened to have wandered into the neighborhood, readily 
 undertook to perform the ceremony. This part of his 
 office, I suppose, he would have performed for any body ; 
 but he undertook it the more readily for us, because Gassy 
 while at Baltimore, had become a member of the Methodist 
 Society. 
 
 I was well pleased with all this ; for it seemed to give 
 to our union something of that solemnity, which properly 
 belonged to it. In general, marriage among American 
 slaves, is treated as a matter of very little moment. It is a 
 mere temporary union, contracted without ceremony, not 
 recognized by the laws, little or not at all regarded by the 
 masters, and of course, often but lightly esteemed by the 
 parties. The recollection that the husband may, any day, 
 be sold into Louisiana, and the wife into Georgia, holds out 
 but a slight inducement to draw tight the bonds of connubial 
 intercourse ; and the certainty that the fruits of their mar 
 riage, the children of their love, are to be born slaves, 
 and reared to all the privations and calamities of hopeless 
 servitude, is enough to strike a damp into the hearts of the 
 fondest couple. Slaves yield to the impulses of nature, 
 and propagate a race of slaves ; but save in a few rare 
 instances, servitude is as fatal to domestic love as to all the 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 35 
 
 other virtues. Some few choice spirits indeed, will still rise 
 superior to their condition, and when cut oft* from every 
 other support, will find within their own hearts, the means 
 of resisting the deadly and demoralizing influences of servi 
 tude. In the same manner, the baleful poison of the plague 
 or yellow fever innocent indeed and powerless in com 
 parison ! while it rages through an infected city, and 
 sweeps its thousands and tens of thousands to the grave, 
 finds, here and there, an iron constitution, which defies its 
 total malignity, and sustains itself by the sole aid of nature s 
 health-preserving power. 
 
 On the Friday before the Sunday which had been fixed 
 upon for our marriage, colonel Moore returned to Spring- 
 Meadow. His arrival was unexpected; and by me, at 
 least, very much unwished for. To the other servants who 
 hastened to welcome him home, he spoke with his usual 
 kindness and good nature ; but though I had come for 
 ward with the rest, all the notice he took of me, was a 
 single stare of dissatisfaction. He appeared to be surprised, 
 and that too not agreeably, to see me again in the House. 
 
 The next day, I was discharged from my duties of house 
 servant, and put again under the control of Mr Stubbs. 
 This touched me to the quick ; but it was nothing to what 
 I felt the day following, when I went to the House to claim 
 my bride. I was told that she was gone in the carriage 
 with colonel Moore and his daughter, who had ridden out 
 to call upon some of the neighbors ; and that I need not 
 take the trouble of coming again to see her, for Miss Caro 
 line did not choose that her maid should marry a field hand. 
 
 It is impossible for me to describe the paroxysm of grief 
 and passion, which I now experienced. Those of the same 
 ardent temperament with myself will easily conceive my 
 feelings ; and to persons of a cooler temper, no description 
 can convey an adequate idea. My promised wife snatched 
 from me, and myself again exposed to the hateful tyranny 
 of a brutal overseer ! and all so sudden too and with such 
 studied marks of insult and oppression ! 
 
 I now felt afresh the ill effects of my foolish pride in keeping 
 myself separate and aloof from my fellow servants. Instead 
 of sympathizing with me, many of them openly rejoiced at 
 
36 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 my misfortune ; and as I had never made a confidant or 
 associate among them, 1 had no friend whose advice to ask, 
 or whose sympathy to seek. At length, I bethought my 
 self of the Methodist minister, who was to come that even 
 ing to marry us, and who had appeared to take a good deal 
 of interest in the welfare of Gassy and myself. I was de 
 sirous not only of seeking such advice and consolation as 
 he could afford me, but I wished to save the good man from 
 a useless journey, and possibly from insult at Spring-Meadow ; 
 for colonel Moore looked on all sorts of preachers, and the 
 Methodists especially, with an eye of very little favor. 
 
 I knew that the clergyman in question, held a meeting, 
 about five miles off; and I resolved, if I could get leave, to 
 go and hear him. I applied to Mr Stubbs for a pass, 
 that is, a written permission, without which no slave can go 
 off the plantation to which he belongs, except at the risk 
 of being stopped by the first man he meets, horsewhipped, 
 and sent home again. But Mr Stubbs swore that he was 
 tired of such gadding, and he told me that he had made up 
 his mind to grant no more passes for the next fortnight. 
 
 To some sentimental persons, it may seem hard after the 
 slave has labored six days for his master, and the blessed 
 seventh at length gladdens him with its beams, that he can 
 not be allowed a little change of scene, but must still be 
 confined to the hated fields, the daily witnesses of his toils 
 and his sufferings. Yet many thrifty managers and good 
 disciplinarians are, like Mr Stubbs, very much opposed to 
 all gadding; and they pen up their slaves, when not at 
 work, as they pen up their cattle, to keep them, as they 
 say, out of mischief. 
 
 At another time, this new piece of petty tyranny, might 
 have provoked me ; but now, I scarcely regarded it, for my 
 whole heart was absorbed by a greater passion. I was 
 slowly returning towards the servants quarter, when a little 
 girl, one of the house servants, came running to me, almost 
 out of breath. I knew her to be one of Cassy s favorites, 
 and I caught her in my arms. As soon as she had recov 
 ered her breath, she said she had been looking for me all 
 the morning, for she had a message from Gassy ; that Gassy 
 had been obliged, much against her inclination, to go out 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 
 
 37 
 
 that morning with her mistress, but that I must not be 
 alarmed or down-hearted, for she loved me as well as ever. 
 
 I kissed the little messenger, and thanked her a thousand 
 times for her news. I then hastened to my house. It was 
 quite a comfortable little cottage, which Mrs Moore had 
 ordered to be built for Gassy and myself, but of which I 
 expected every moment to be deprived. The news I had 
 heard, excited new commotions in my bosom. I had no 
 sooner sat down, than I found it impossible to keep quiet. 
 My heart beat violently ; the fever in my blood grew high. 
 I left the house and walked about, within the limits of 
 my jail yard, for so I might justly esteem the plantation ; 
 I used the most violent exercise, and tried every means I 
 could think of to subdue the powerful emotions of mixed 
 hope and fear, with which I was agitated, and which I found 
 more oppressive than even the certainty of misery. 
 
 As evening drew on, I watched for the return of the 
 carriage ; and at length, its distant rumbling caught my ear. 
 I hastened towards the house, in the hope of seeing Gassy, 
 and perhaps, of speaking with her. The carriage stopped 
 at the door, and I was fast approaching it ; but at the in 
 stant, it occurred to me, that it would be better not to risk 
 being seen by colonel Moore, who, I was now well satis 
 fied, entertained a decided hostility towards me, and whom 
 I believed to be the author of the cruel repulse I had that 
 morning met with. This thought stopped me, and I drew 
 back and returned home, without catching a glimpse, or 
 exchanging a word. 
 
 I threw myself upon my bed ; but I turned continually 
 from side to side, and found it impossible to compose my 
 self to rest. Hour after hour dragged on ; but I could not 
 sleep. It was past midnight, when I heard a slight tap at 
 the door, and a soft whisper, which thrilled through every 
 nerve. I sprung up ; I opened the door ; I clasped her to 
 my bosom. It was Gassy ; it was my betrothed wife. 
 
 She told me, that since colonel Moore s return, even 1 
 thing seemed changed at the House. Miss Caroline had 
 told her, that colonel Moore had a very bad opinion of me, 
 and was very much displeased to find, that during his ab 
 sence I had been again employed as one of the house ser- 
 4 
 
38 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 vants. She added, that when he was told of our intended 
 marriage, he had declared that Cassy was too pretty a girl 
 to be thrown away upon such a scoundrel, and that he 
 would undertake to provide her with a much better hus 
 band. So her mistress had bidden her to think no more of 
 me ; but at the same time, had told her not to ciy, for 
 she would never leave off teasing her father, till he had ful 
 filled his promise ; " and if you get a husband," the young 
 lady added, "that you know is all that any of us want." 
 So thought the mistress ; the maid, I have reason to sup 
 pose, was rather more refined in her notions of matrimony. 
 
 I was not quite certain how to interpret this conduct of 
 colonel Moore s. I was strongly inclined to consider it, 
 only as a new out-break of that spite and hostility, which I 
 had been experiencing ever since my useless and foolish 
 appeal to his fatherly feelings. It occurred to me however 
 as possible, that his opposition to our marriage might spring 
 from other motives. Whatever I might imagine, I kept my 
 own counsel. One motive which occurred to me, I could 
 not think of myself, with the slightest patience ; and still 
 less could I bear to shock and distress poor Cassy, by the 
 mention of it. Another motive, which I thought might 
 possibly have influenced colonel Moore, was less discredita 
 ble to him, and would have been flattering to the pride of 
 both Cassy and myself. But this, I could not mention, with 
 out leading to disclosures, which I did not see fit to make. 
 
 Cassy knew herself to be colonel Moore s daughter ; but 
 early in our acquaintance, I had discovered that she had no 
 idea, that I was his son. I have every reason to believe, 
 that Mrs Moore was perfectly well informed as to both 
 these particulars ; for they were of that sort, which seldom 
 or never escape the eagerness of female curiosity, and more 
 especially, the curiosity of a wife. 
 
 Whatever she might know, she discovered in it no im 
 pediment to my marriage with Cassy. Nor did I ; for how 
 could that same regard for the decencies of life such is 
 the soft phrase which justifies the most unnatural cruelty 
 that refused to acknowledge our paternity, or to recognize 
 any relationship between us, pretend at the same time, and 
 on the sole ground of relationship, to forbid our union ? 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 39 
 
 But I knew that Gassy felt, rather than reasoned ; and 
 though bom and bred a slave, she possessed great delicacy 
 of feeling. Besides, she was a Methodist, and though as 
 cheerful and gay hearted a girl as I ever knew, she was 
 veiy devout in all the observances of her religion. I feared 
 to put our mutual happiness in jeopardy ; I was unwilling 
 to harass Gassy, with what I esteemed unnecessary scru 
 ples. I had never told her the stoiy of my parentage, and 
 every day I grew less inclined to tell it. Accordingly I 
 made no other answer to what she told me, except to say. 
 that however little colonel Moore might like me, his dislike 
 was not my fault. 
 
 A momentary pause followed ; I pressed Cassy s hand 
 in mine, and in a faltering voice, I asked, what she intended 
 to do. 
 
 I am your wife ; I will never be any body s but 
 yours," was the answer. I clasped the dear girl to my 
 heart. We knelt together, and with upraised hands invoked 
 the Deity to witness and confirm our union. It was the 
 only sanction in our power ; and if twenty priests had said 
 a benediction over us, would that have made our vows 
 more binding, or our marriage more complete ? I hope at 
 least, it would have rendered it more fortunate. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 IT was impossible for my wife to visit me except by 
 stealth. She slept every night upon the carpet in her 
 mistress s room, for a floor is esteemed in America, a good 
 enough bed for a slave, even for a favorite and a woman. 
 She was liable to be called upon in the night, at the caprice 
 of a mistress, who was in fact, a mere spoiled child ; and 
 she could only visit me at the risk of a discovery, which 
 might have been attended with very unpleasant conse 
 quences ; for if these clandestine visits had been detected, 
 1 fear that not all Cassy s charms whatever poets may 
 have fabled of the power of beauty could have saved her 
 from the lash. 
 
40 MEMOIRS UF 
 
 Yet short and uncertain as these visits were, they sufficed 
 to create and to sustain a new and singular state of feeling. 
 My wife was seldom with me, but her image was ever 
 hefore my eyes, and appeared to make me regardless of all 
 heside. Things seemed to pass as in a happy dream. 
 The labor of the field was nothing ; the lash of the over 
 seer was scarcely felt. My mind became so occupied and 
 as it were, filled up, with the pleasure which I found in our 
 mutual affection, and by the anticipated delights of each 
 successive interview, that it seemed to have no room for 
 disagreeable emotions. Strong as was my passion, there 
 was nothing in it, uneasy or unsatisfied. When I clasped 
 the dear girl to my bosom, I seemed to have reached the 
 height of human fruition. I was happy ; greater happi 
 ness I could not imagine, and did not desire. 
 
 The intoxication of passion is the same in the slave and 
 in the master ; it is exquisite ; and while it lasts, all-suffi 
 cient in itself. I found it so. With almost every thing to 
 make me miserable, still was I happy, for the excess of 
 my passion rendered me insensible to any thing save its 
 own indulgence. 
 
 But such ecstasies are unsuited to the human constitu 
 tion. They are soon over, and perhaps are ever purchased 
 at too dear a price ; for they are but too apt to be succeed 
 ed by all the anguish of disappointed hope, and all the 
 bitterness of deep despair. Still I look back with pleasure 
 to that time. It is one of the bright spots of my existence 
 which eager memory discovers in her retrospections, scat 
 tered and scarcely visible, tiny islets of delight, surrounded 
 on all sides, by a gloomy and tempestuous ocean. 
 
 We had been married about a fortnight. It was near 
 midnight, and I was sitting before my door, waiting for my 
 wife to come. The moon was full and bright ; the sky 
 was cloudless. I \vas still at the height and flood of my 
 intoxication ; and as I watched the planet, and admired 
 her brightness, I gave thanks to heaven that the base ten 
 dencies of a servile condition, had not yet totally extin 
 guished within me, all the higher and nobler emotions of 
 man s nature. 
 
 Presently I observed a figure approaching. I should 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 41 
 
 have known her at any distance, and I sprang forward and 
 caught my wife in my anus. But as I pressed her to my 
 heart, I felt her bosom to be strangely agitated ; and when 
 I brought her face to mine, my cheek was moistened with 
 her tears. 
 
 Alarmed at these unusual indications, I hurried her into 
 the house, and hastily inquired the cause of her agitation. 
 My inquiries appeared to increase it. She sunk her head 
 upon my breast ; burst into sobs ; and seemed wholly 
 incapable of spealdng. I knew not what to think, or what 
 to do. I exerted myself to compose her ; I kissed off the 
 tears that trickled fast down her cheeks ; I pressed my 
 hand against her beating heart, as if, in that way, I could 
 have checked its palpitations. At length she grew more 
 calm ; but it was by slow degrees, and in broken sen 
 tences, that I learned the origin of her terror. 
 
 It seemed that colonel Moore, ever since his return, had 
 distinguished her by particular kindness. He had made her 
 several little presents ; had sought frequent occasions to talk 
 with her, and was ever, half jocosely, complimenting her 
 beauty. He had even dropped certain hints, which Gassy 
 could not help understanding, but of which, she thought it 
 best to take no notice. He was not to be repelled in that 
 way ; but proceeded to words and actions, of which, it was 
 not possible for her to affect to misunderstand the meaning. 
 Her native modesty, her love for me, her religious feelings, 
 were all alarmed ; and the poor girl began to tremble at the 
 fate that seemed to await her. But as yet, she kept her 
 terrors to herself. She was reluctant to torture me with 
 the story of insults, which however they might pierce my 
 heart, I had no power to repel. 
 
 That day, Mrs Moore and her daughter had gone to visit 
 one of the neighbors, and Gassy was left at home. She 
 was employed on some needle-work in her mistress s room, 
 when colonel Moore entered. She rose up hastily and 
 would have gone away ; but he bade her stop and listen 
 to what he had to say to her. He did not seem to notice 
 her agitation, and appeared perfectly self-possessed himself. 
 He told her that he had promised her mistress to provide 
 her with a husband, in place of that scoundrel Archy ; that 
 4* 
 
lay body who was 
 
 i t/> 
 
 : -. : :- . ; 
 
 Tbk be satid winb a tone of tendenje^f. * r.ir:h DO doubt. 
 
 be ujeant to be im^titk-. To n&u;y * #{&*&. in Ca^y s 
 
 . : \- . ". - 
 
 ....... ^ 
 
 . - . 
 
 :.--. ;. , . .": . . - - 
 
 . -.-.- . . . . : 
 
 - ;< r l .V; ftfjUHdoeried her breaihing becaroe 
 
 .- -. - . - . - . g 
 
 : . - . 
 
 ; - - - C _ r-.r-v- ;J 
 
 C/okmel yiffjt*- *JP \jf^iPY<xL c^juld ^X have mkund^fi 
 JtDod die feesM^ with which dw: lideoed to hk ofe. But 
 
 :,.. - v . . 
 
 afl die adranacM d* would derive Wn tJ.l . v;:.:.<*:. sl, 
 
 him by y>bf aud Us3irfE ; winch sbt t/ove in vain t/> 
 Upon this, colonel Moore in a lone of ;x>f^ ; a/id ri 
 one, toM her " not to be a feol ;" atod catebiii^ one of her 
 bands in b, he threw hi* atrn about her wakt, %nd ^<J/. 
 her not provoke him by a u%ier$ r^ktwv:/;. Sbf; wiiei <-A 
 a fergara of wrpw/; and tenror 9 and sunk at \m fait. At 
 that moroent, the vjwivf of the cswnria^e %lv&k fclJ, %ne r^i/J, 
 Bb? hea verity rrfj*k; on f*er r rar. Her master b ^rd it t^x> ; 
 for 1 ie let go hk ^f-at^, a/id mistteiriri^ 3/jrr;^bm^ about 
 another tiri*fr ; k^tily l/ift tiw v/nn. She rewjasofcd stltofM 
 ifBidcgn oa th^; fvx/T; t! 3 t)e v//fyJ of her /ftjtife** Jootetei* 
 in tl<e pflttfi^e, iw:aLWl he; to nenelC T7;e re^t r>f the 
 atenooo and evening ^)M? liad pawwjd, irfie f^ardly knew 
 
 [je had haidly bw wtt&At: of 
 hot a painful f^ing of lan^y/r */. ! oppre^ ^yn. She 
 had dam^d to leave beV roktrm t / /*; and ha/) 
 
,: 
 
 rvar bespit m:i> de iraa? oi -ier 
 
 iXicCttX*. 
 
 r^nl prowrc^r 1 iJi^ 
 
 i^siu^ oc i 
 
 s SSXT ; izi fcrxz^e is k ZZLJ 
 
 AstrMugc. I belli ^.e pLz-_z^ 
 ii s inni^ I Ss 
 
 c^: 3. Li BKKSL I 
 
 w wvQ, sbu Cs?y > c^aifry ^i^ 
 
 *- . .;..!: _: - XLU 2 :c^ T^. 
 
 , 
 
 T 
 
 re JITT venue 
 rmit ;jf <: 
 bur c ciiik* conkrc- -*^c^c :t 
 
 ? of 
 
 itiBitf 
 
 ie 
 
 x> oe 33Lj itjajec. 1 
 : ie ^ass. cc aifi^^cesraxLi^: itrrt> 
 -i? of 4 
 
 ^ JstruxT **ifv i^ 
 4 TT ivsstf ^* 
 
 iDr. Ot" 
 
 at r** cifisiev si x 
 
 -.v . ;T V> Vi ;.:. .>,.-. - C. L 
 
 . :c 
 
44 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 by the offender s life. But beyond this, he did not dream 
 of prohibition or restraint. Hardened and emboldened by 
 certain impunity, provided the sufferer were a slave, he 
 regarded the most atrocious outrage that could be perpe 
 trated upon the person and feelings of a woman, rather as a 
 matter of jest, a thing to be laughed at over the fourth bottle, 
 than a subject of serious and sober reprehension. 
 
 Of all this, I was well aware. I had from the first 
 foreseen, that Cassy would be devoted by her master to the 
 same purposes which had been fulfilled by my mother and 
 her own. It was from these intentions, as I had all along 
 believed, that his opposition to our marriage had originated. 
 In imagining that it might spring from another cause, I had 
 done him an honor to which as was now too evident he 
 had not the slightest title. What I had just now heard, I 
 had daily expected to hear. I had expected it ; yet such 
 had been my intoxication, that even anticipations terrible as 
 this, had not been able to alarm or distress me ; and now 
 that anticipation was changed into reality, still I remained 
 unmoved. The ecstasy of passion still sustained me ; and 
 as I pressed my wretched, trembling wife to my bosom, I 
 still rose superior to the calamity that assailed me ; even 
 yet, I was happy. 
 
 This seems incredible ? 
 
 Love then as I did ; or if that suit your temperament 
 better, hate with the same intensity with which I loved. Be 
 absorbed in any passion, and while the fit continues, you will 
 find yourself endowed with a surprising and almost super 
 human energy. 
 
 My mind was already made up. The unhappy slave 
 has but one way of escaping any threatening infliction ; a 
 poor and wretched resource, to which he recurs always at the 
 imminent risk of redoubling his miseries. That remedy is 
 flight. 
 
 Our preparations were soon made. My wife returned 
 to the House, and gathered up a little buudle of clothing. 
 In the mean time, I employed myself in collecting such 
 provisions as I could readiest lay my hands on. A couple 
 of blankets, a hatchet, a little kettle, and a few other small 
 articles, completed my equipments ; and by the time my 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 46 
 
 wife returned, I was ready for a start. We set out, with no 
 other companion, but a faithful dog. I did not wish to take 
 him, for fear that some how or other, he might lead to our 
 detection ; but he would not be driven back, and I was 
 afraid to tie him, lest his bowlings might give an alarm, and 
 lead to an immediate pursuit. 
 
 Lower Virginia had already begun to feel the effects of 
 that blight, which has since lighted so heavily upon her, 
 and which in truth, she has so well deserved. Already her 
 fields were beginning to be deserted; already impenetrable 
 thickets had commenced to cover plantations, which, had 
 the soil been cultivated by freemen, might still have pro 
 duced a rich and abundant harvest. There was a deserted 
 plantation about ten miles from Spring-Meadow. I had 
 formerly visited it several times, in company with my young 
 master, James, who, when he was well enough to ride about, 
 had a strange taste for wandering into out-of-the-way places. 
 It was thither that, in the hurry of the moment, I resolved 
 to go. 
 
 The by-road which had formerly led to this estate, 
 and the fields on both sides, were grown over with small 
 scrubby pines, so close and tangled as to render the thicket 
 almost impenetrable. I contrived however, to keep on in the 
 right direction. But the difficulties of the way were so 
 great, that the morning had dawned before we reached the 
 plantation buildings. They were still standing ; but in a 
 most dilapidated condition. The great House had been a 
 structure of targe size, and considerable pretensions. But 
 the windows were gone, the doors had dropped from their 
 hinges, and the roof was partly fallen in. The court yarci 
 was completely grown up with young trees. Wild vines 
 were creeping over the house ; and all was silent, desolate 
 and deserted. The stables, and what had been the 
 servants quarter, were mere heaps of ruins, overgrown with 
 weeds and grass. 
 
 At some distance behind the house, there was a rapid 
 descent, which formed one side of a deep ravine ; and near 
 the bottom of this hollow, a fine bubbling spring burst from 
 under the hill. It was now half choked with leaves and 
 sand, but its waters were pure and cool as ever. Near the 
 
46 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 spring, was a little low building of brick, which perhaps had 
 been intended for a dairy, or some such purpose. The door 
 was gone, and half the roof had tumbled in. The other 
 half still kept its position, and the vacancy occasioned by 
 the part that had fallen, served well enough to admit the 
 light and air, and to supply the place of windows, which 
 had formed no part of the original construction. This 
 ruinous little building was shaded by several large and 
 ancient trees ; and w r as so completely hidden by a more 
 recent growth, as to be invisible at the distance of a few 
 paces. It was by mere accident that we stumbled upon it, 
 as we were searching for the spring, of which I had drank 
 upon my former visits, but the situation of which, I did not 
 exactly recollect. It struck us at once, that this was the 
 place for our temporary habitation ; and we resolved forth 
 with to clear it of the rubbish it contained, and to turn it 
 mto a dwelling. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 I KNEW that the place where we now were, was veiy 
 seldom visited by any body. The deserted house had the 
 reputation of being haunted ; and this, as well as its seclu 
 sion from the road, and the almost impenetrable thickets by 
 which it was surrounded, would serve to protect us against 
 intruders. There were several plantations about it ; for it 
 occupied the highest ground between two rivers, which 
 flowed at no great distance apart, and of which the low 
 grounds were still in cultivation. But there were no culti 
 vated fields nearer than four or five miles ; and no houses 
 nearer than Spring-Meadow, which, I have said, was some 
 ten or twelve miles distant. I judged that for the present, 
 we might remain secure in this retreat ; and it seemed our 
 best policy to suffer the search for us to be pretty well over, 
 before we attempted to continue our flight. 
 
 In the mean time, we exerted ourselves to make things 
 as comfortable as possible. It was the height of summer ; 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 47 
 
 and we anticipated but little inconvenience from the open 
 ness of our habitation. A heap of pine straw, in one corner 
 of our ruinous hovel, formed our bed ; and sweeter slumbers, 
 not down itself could have ensured. Out of such materials 
 as the wainscoting of the deserted house supplied, I made 
 two rude stools, and something that served for a table. 
 The spring furnished us with water ; our principal concern 
 \vas, to provide ourselves with food. The woods and thick 
 ets produced some wild fruits ; and the peach-orchard near 
 the house, though choked and shaded by a more recent 
 growth, still continued to bear. I was an adept in the art 
 of snaring rabbits, and such other small game as the woods 
 supplied. The spring which furnished us with water, was 
 one of the heads of a little branch or brook which dis- 
 r barged, at a short distance, into a larger stream. In that 
 stream there were fish. But our chief resource was in the 
 neighboring corn-fields, which already furnished roasting 
 ears, and from which I did not scruple to draw a plentiful 
 supply. 
 
 On the whole, though we were both quite unaccus 
 tomed to so wild a livelihood, we passed our time very 
 agreeably. Those who are always idle can never know 
 the true luxury of idleness, the real pleasure with which he 
 who has been pushed to work against his will, relaxes hi? 
 strained muscles, and delivers himself up to the delight of 
 doing nothing. I used to lie for hours, in a dreamy sort of 
 indolence, outstretched upon the shady slope, enjoying the 
 sweet consciousness of being my own master, and luxuria 
 ting in the idea that I need come or go at no one s bidding, 
 hut might work or be idle as suited my own good will. No 
 wonder that emancipated slaves are inclined to indolence. 
 It is to them a new pleasure. Labor, in their minds, is in- 
 dissolubly associated with servitude and the whip ; and not 
 to work, they have ever been taught to look upon as the 
 budge and peculiar distinction of freedom. 
 
 The present was passing pleasantly enough ; but it was 
 necessary to be thinking about the future. We had always 
 regarded our present place of refuge as temporary only ; 
 and it was now time to think of leaving it. I should have 
 esteemed it delightful indeed, to pass a whole life of solitude 
 and seclusion with Cassy, where, if we had lacked the 
 
43 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 pleasures of society, we might have escaped its ten-fold 
 greater ills. But this was not possible. The American 
 climate was never meant for hermits. Our present station 
 would answer well enough for a summer retreat ; but the 
 winter would render it untenable ; and before long, winter 
 would be approaching. Our hope was to escape into the 
 free states, for I knew that north of Virginia there was a 
 country where there were no slaves. If we could once get 
 away from the neighborhood of Spring-Meadow, where I 
 was well known, we should enjoy one great advantage du 
 ring the remainder of our flight. Our complexions w r ould 
 not betray our servile condition ; and we should find no 
 great difficulty, we thought, in passing ourselves as free 
 citizens of Virginia. Colonel Moore had, no doubt, filled 
 the country round, with advertisements, in which our per 
 sons were accurately described, and every peculiarity of 
 each of us carefully noted. It was therefore necessary to 
 use great caution ; and I considered it essential to our escape 
 that Gassy should adopt some disguise. What this should 
 be, or where we should get it, was now the question. 
 
 We finally determined to assume the character of persons 
 travelling to the north to seek our fortunes ; and we arranged 
 that Cassy should adopt a man s dress, and accompany me 
 in the character of a younger brother. The night on which 
 we had left Spring-Meadow, I had brought away my best 
 suit, one of the last gifts of poor master James, and such 
 as would well enough enable me to play the part of a trav 
 elling Virginian. But I had neither hat nor shoes ; nor 
 any clothes whatever, that could properly serve as a dis 
 guise for Cassy. 
 
 Luckily I had a small sum, the accumulated savings of 
 master James s liberality, which I had always kept in re 
 serve, in the hope and expectation that I should sometime 
 have a use for it. This money, I had been careful to take 
 with me ; and it was now our sole reliance not only for the 
 expenses of the road, but for procuring the means, without 
 which we could not start at all. 
 
 But though we had the money, how could we make any 
 use of it, without running a very serious risk of detection ? 
 
 There lived, about five or six miles from Spring-Meadow, 
 and near the same distance from us. one Mr James Gordon. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 49 
 
 He kept a little store; and bis principal customers were 
 the slaves of the neighboring plantations. Mr James Gor 
 don, or Jemmy Gordon, as he was familiarly called, was 
 one of those poor white men, of whom the number in lower 
 Virginia, is, or was very considerable, and who are spoken 
 of, even by the slaves themselves, with a sort of contempt. 
 Me had neither lands nor servants; for his father before 
 him, had been a poor white man. He had been educated 
 to no trade ; for where every planter has his own mechan 
 ics on his own plantation, a free workman can expect no 
 encouragement. The only resource for a man in Jemmy 
 Gordon s situation, is to find employment as an overseer for 
 some of his richer neighbors. But in Virginia, there are 
 more persons who desire to be overseers than there are 
 plantations to oversee. Besides, Mr Gordon was one of 
 those careless, easy, good natured, indolent sort of men, 
 who are generally pronounced good-for-nothing. He never 
 could bring himself to that ever watchful scrutiny and as 
 siduous oversight, which is so necessary among slaves, whose 
 maxim it is to work as little as possible, and to plunder all 
 they can. He was apt enough to get into a passion, and 
 cut and slash, right and left, without discrimination : but he 
 was incapable of that regular severity, and systematic cru 
 elty, by which other overseers gained the reputation of ex 
 cellent disciplinarians. Moreover, on a certain plantation 
 of which he had been the manager, some large vacancies 
 had occurred in the corn-crib, which were never very clear 
 ly accounted for. How far this was occasioned by negli 
 gence, or how far by dishonesty, was never, so far as I 
 know, satisfactorily determined. All I can say is, that Mr 
 Gordon was dismissed from his employment, and found it so 
 difficult to get a new situation, that he gave up the search in 
 despair, and resolved to turn trader. He had nothing to be 
 gin upon ; and of course, traded in a very small way. He 
 dealt principally in whiskey, but in addition, kept shoes, and 
 such articles of clothing as slaves are in the habit of purchas 
 ing to eke out the miserable and insufficient supply, which 
 they receive from their masters. He took money in pay 
 ment, but likewise corn and other produce without any 
 strict inquiry how his customers came into possession of it. 
 5 
 
50 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 It is this class of men against whom the legislators of Vir 
 ginia have exercised all their ingenuity in the construction 
 of penal statutes ; and against whom, they have exerted all 
 the severity which they have dared to use towards men. 
 who might still claim the title and demand the rights of 
 * free white citizens. But these penal enactments, have 
 failed, in a great measure, of their object. Though the 
 trade with slaves is dangerous and disgraceful, and the 
 traders, in consequence, are desperate and reckless, their 
 number is still so great as to furnish the planters with an 
 inexhaustible topic of declamation and complaint, and to 
 supply the slaves with numerous little comforts and luxuries 
 which they might in vain have expected from the indul 
 gence or humanity of their masters. 
 
 These traders are. no doubt, the receivers of plunder ; 
 and no small proportion of what they sell is paid for in that 
 way. It is in vain, that tyranny fences itself about with 
 the terrors of the law. It is in vain, that the slave-holder 
 flatters himself with the hope of appropriating to his own 
 sole use, the entire fruits of the forced labors of his fellow r 
 men. The slave cannot resist the compulsion, with which 
 the law has armed the hand of his master. The lash is an 
 ensign of authority and of torture, to which the stoutest 
 heart, and the most stubborn will, is soon compelled to yield. 
 But fraud is the natural counterpart to tyranny ; and cun 
 ning is ever the defence of the weak against the oppressions 
 of the strong. Can the unhappy slave, who has been com 
 pelled to plant in the day time for his master s benefit, be 
 blamed if he strives in the night to gather some gleaning 
 of the crop, for his own use ? 
 
 Blame him you who can ! Join, if you will, in the 
 clamor of the master against the cursed knavery of his 
 slaves ! That same master, who thinks it no wrong to rob 
 those slaves of their labor, their sole possession, their only 
 property ! He to talk about theft ! he the slave-holder 
 who has carried the art of pillage to a perfection of which 
 robbers and pirates never dreamed ! They are content to 
 snatch such casual spoils as chance may offer; but the 
 slave-holder whip in hand extorts from his victims, a 
 large, a regular, an annual plunder ! Nay more ; he sell? 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 51 
 
 for money, he has inherited from his lather, and he hopes 
 to transmit to his children, the privilege of continuing this 
 systematic pillage ! 
 
 I had once saved Mr Gordon s life, and for this piece of 
 service he had always expressed the greatest gratitude. 
 This had happened several years before. He was fishing 
 on the river not far from Spring-Meadow, when a sudden 
 squall upset his boat. It was no great distance from the 
 shore, but Mr Gordon was no swimmer, and was in the 
 greatest danger. Master James and myself happened to 
 be walking along the bank. We saw a man struggling in 
 the water, and I plunged in after him, and caught him as 
 he was sinking the third time. This service, Mr Gordon 
 was in the habit of acknowledging by occasional little pres 
 ents ; and I flattered myself with the hope that he would 
 not refuse his aid in my present circumstances. My plan 
 was, to get from Mr Gordon, a hat and shoes for myself, a 
 man s dress for Gassy, and such information as he could 
 give us about the route we ought to follow. A great man} 
 difficulties presented themselves to my mind in the prose 
 cution of the journey. I resolved however not to afflict 
 myself with borrowed trouble, but to leave the future to 
 take care of itself. 
 
 The first thing was, to see Mr Gordon and find out how 
 far he was disposed to assist me. His house and store 
 both under the same roof were in a lonely part of the 
 country, near the crossing of two roads, and out of sight of 
 any other buildings. I did not think it safe to trust myself 
 upon the high-way earlier than midnight ; and it was con 
 siderably past that hour before I approached Mr Gordon s 
 house. When I came within sight of it, I hesitated, and 
 more than once, came to a halt. I did not like to trust my 
 liberty and all my hopes of happiness, to the unsure guar 
 dianship of any man s gratitude, and least of all, such a man 
 as Mr Gordon. The risk seemed too great ; and my 
 heart sunk within me, when I called to mind how frail was 
 the prop on which depended, if not my life, every thing 
 certainly that made life desirable. 
 
 I was on the point of turning back ; but I recollected 
 that this was my only resource. Mr Gordon must help us 
 
52 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to escape, or our chance was worth nothing. This thought 
 pushed me on. I plucked up courage and approached the 
 door. Three or four dogs which kept watch about the 
 house, immediately opened in full chorus ; but though they 
 barked loud enough, they gave no signs of any intention to 
 attack me. I knocked again ; and pretty soon, Mr Gor 
 don thrust his head from the window, bade his dogs be 
 quiet, and inquired who I was, and what I wanted. I 
 begged him to open the door and let me in, for I had busi 
 ness with him. Expecting perhaps, to drive a profitable 
 trade with some midnight customer, he hastened to do as I 
 had requested. He opened the door ; the moon-light, as I 
 entered, fell upon my face, and he recognized me at once. 
 
 " My God ! Archy, is it you," and he spoke it with an 
 air of the greatest surprise "where, in the devil s name, 
 did you spring from ? I hoped you were clear out of the 
 neighborhood a month ago," and with these words he 
 drew me into the house and shut the door. 
 
 I told him, that I had a place of concealment near by, 
 and that I had come to get a little assistance from him in 
 making my escape. 
 
 " Any thing in reason, Archy ; but if I were caught 
 helping off a runaway, it would ruin me forever. There s 
 colonel Moore, your master, and major Pringle, and captain 
 Knight, and a half dozen more, were over here, it s only 
 yesterday, and they swore if I did not leave off trading with 
 the hands, they d pull my house down about my ears, and 
 ride me on a rail out of the county ; and now if I were 
 caught helping you, by God, Archy, twould do my busi 
 ness for me with a witness. I m not quite such a fool as 
 all that." 
 
 I used tears, and flatteries, and entreaties. I reminded 
 Mr Gordon how often he had wished for an opportunity to 
 serve me ; I told him that all I wanted was a few articles 
 of dress, and some directions about the road I ought to 
 follow. 
 
 " True, Archy, by God ; You saved my life, boy ; I 
 can t deny it ; and one good turn deserves another. But 
 this business of yours is a damned bad business, at the best. 
 What, the devil, must you and that wench be running away 
 
ARCH\ MOORE. 53 
 
 for ? I never knew any mischief in my life, that a woman 
 was nt at the bottom of it. It s that damned tattling widow 
 Hmkley, that brought colonel Moore and the rest of em 
 over here yesterday ; damn the envious old jade, she 
 wants to drive me out of the neighborhood, and get all the 
 custom for herself." 
 
 I knew that Mr Gordon had no turn for sentiment, and 
 that it would be casting pearls before swine s feet to waste 
 any upon him. So I told him it was too late to talk about 
 our reasons for running away, run away we had, and the 
 only thing now was, to avoid being taken. 
 
 " Ay, ay, boy, I understand you. It s a damned silly 
 business, and you begin to be ashamed of it already. You 
 had better make up your minds now to go in, take your 
 whippings, and make the best of it. It s the loss of the 
 wench that colonel Moore is most angry about ; and I dare 
 say, if you were to go in, Archy, and make a merit of tell 
 ing where he could find her, you might get off mighty easy, 
 and shift all the blame upon her shoulders." 
 
 I concealed the indignation which this base proposal 
 excited. Such treachery to one another is too common 
 among slaves, and is always promoted and rewarded by the 
 masters. I could not expect Mr Gordon to rise very far 
 above the level of current morals. So I passed by his 
 proposal in silence. I only said, that I had made up my 
 mind to undergo any thing rather than return to Spring- 
 Meadow. If he was resolved not to assist me, I would be 
 off, as soon as possible, trusting to his honor, to say nothing 
 about this visit. As a last resource, I hinted that I had the 
 money to pay for all I wanted, and that I should not dispute 
 about the price. 
 
 Whether it was this last hint, or some more generous 
 motive, or the combined effect of both, I shall not undertake 
 to determine ; but certain it is, that Mr Gordon began to 
 exhibit a more favorable disposition. 
 
 " As to money, Archy, between friends like us, there is 
 no need of speaking about that. And if you will have 
 your own way, considering what has happened between us, 
 twould be mighty unkind in me not to let you have the 
 things you re wanting. But you ll never get off mind 
 
54 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 now what I tell you you ll never get off. Why, boy, the 
 colonel swears he ll spend five thousand dollars but what 
 he ll catch you. He s got printed handbills stuck up all 
 through the country, with Five Hundred Dollars Reward, 
 at the head of em. Come into the store here, and I ll 
 show you one. Five hundred dollars ! somebody is tc 
 pocket that money, I reckon." 
 
 I did not like the tone in which this was spoken. The 
 emphasis with which Mr Gordon dwelt on the five hundred 
 dollars, was rather alarming. The idea of this reward was 
 evidently taking strong hold upon his imagination. 
 
 Mr Gordon s establishment consisted of but two rooms, of 
 which, one was his parlor, bed-room and kitchen, and the 
 other his store. All this time we had been in the bed-room, 
 with no light but that of the moon. I now followed him 
 into the store. He struck a light, kindled a piece of light 
 wood, and holding it up to a large handbill posted opposite 
 the door, I read, to the best of my recollection, pretty much 
 as follows ; 
 
 " FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD. 
 
 Ran away from the subscriber, at Spring-Meadow, on 
 Saturday evening last, two servants, Archy and Cassy, for 
 whose apprehension the above reward will be paid. 
 
 They are both very light colored. Of the two, Cassy is 
 a shade the darker. Archy is about twenty-one years of 
 age, five feet eleven inches high, and a stout muscular 
 frame. He has a firm erect walk, and is a very likely 
 fellow. Smiles when spoken to. His hair is a light brown, 
 and curls over his head ; he has blue eyes and a high fore 
 head. Said boy was raised in my family, and has always 
 been kindly treated. It is not known what clothes he 
 wore away. 
 
 Cassy is about eighteen, five feet three inches, or there 
 abouts, and a handsome face and figure. She has long 
 dark hair, and a bright black eye. When she smiles there 
 is a dimple in her left cheek. She has a good voice, and 
 can sing several songs. No other marks particularly recol 
 lected, except a mole on her right breast. She has been 
 raised a lady s maid, and she took a variety of good cloth- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 55 
 
 ing with her. Said slaves have gone off in company as is 
 supposed. 
 
 Whoever will return them to me, or lodge them in any 
 jail, so that I can get them, shall be paid the above 
 reward ; or one half for either separately. 
 
 CHARLES MOORE. 
 
 N. B. I suspect they have taken the road to Baltimore, 
 as Gassy formerly lived in that city. No doubt they will 
 attempt to pass for white people." 
 
 While I was reading this advertisement, Mr Gordon 
 looked over my shoulder, and added his comments upon 
 each sentence of it. Neither his remarks, nor the adver 
 tisement itself, were calculated to make me feel very com 
 fortably. Perhaps Mr Gordon observed it ; for he handed 
 me a glass of whiskey, and bade me keep up my spirits. 
 He swallowed one himself; and drank to my escape. This 
 reassured me a little, for to tell the truth, I was a good 
 deal startled at Mr Gordon s very evident hankering after 
 the five hundred dollars. The whiskey he drank, and he 
 was not content with a single glass, seemed to rekindle 
 his gratitude. He swore he would run any risk to serve 
 me, and told me to pick out such articles as I wanted. 
 
 I fitted myself with hat and shoes, and selected the same 
 for Gassy. But it was necessary to have a man s dress for 
 her. Mr Gordon did not deal in ready made clothing, but 
 he had some cloth, which I thought, would answer OUT 
 purpose ; and he undertook to get the suit made up for me. 
 I gave him the measure by guess, and was to return in 
 three days, by which time he promised to have the clothes 
 finished. I had much rather have completed the business 
 at once, and have started directly on our journey ; but 
 that was impossible. A disguise for Gassy was absolutely 
 necessary ; it would have been foolish to have attempted 
 an escape without it. I pressed him to be sure and have 
 the clothes finished, at the time appointed ; for a reward of 
 five hundred dollars, and the chance of making friends with 
 colonel Moore, and rising in the world by his assistance, 
 was a temptation to which I wished to keep Mr Gordon 
 exposed, for as short a time as possible. I now inquired 
 
56 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 what I had to pay for my various purchases. Mr Gordon 
 took his slate and began to figure it up. He proceeded 
 very diligently for a few minutes, and then suddenly came 
 to a full stop. He looked at the goods 1 had selected, 
 and then at the slate. For a moment he hesitated ; then 
 looking at me, " Archy," he said, " you saved my life, 
 you re welcome to them ere things, by God." 
 
 I knew well how to value this instance of generosity. 
 Whatever money Mr Gordon got, was pretty sure to go in 
 gambling and dissipation. Of course he was not only poor, 
 but often distressed and tormented to get the means of 
 indulging his propensities. Money was to him, what whis 
 key is to the lips of the drunkard. For such a person to 
 be generous, is hard indeed ; and I ceased at once, to 
 distrust a man, who gave so substantial a proof of his 
 inclination to assist me. I bade him good night, and set 
 out on my return home, with a heart much lightened. 
 
 Mr Gordon put me some questions about the place of 
 my retreat, to which however I thought it best to return a 
 somewhat equivocal reply. Though greatly reassured, I 
 still could see no good purpose to be answered by too great 
 confidence ; and at setting out from Mr Gordon s, I was 
 careful to take a direction quite wide of the true one. 
 Once or twice, I thought I was followed. The moon was 
 now setting, and her light was scanty and uncertain. My 
 path led through a scattered growth of stunted trees and 
 bushes. A pursuer might easily have concealed himself ; 
 but when I stopped to listen, all was silent ; and I soon 
 dismissed my fanciful fears. 
 
 Taking a considerable circuit, I struck into the direction 
 of the deserted plantation, and arrived there about day 
 break. Gassy came out to meet me. It was the firsi 
 time we had been so long separated since our escape from 
 Spring-Meadow. I felt as overjoyed to see her, as if I had 
 returned after a year s absence ; and the eagerness with 
 which she flew into my arms, and pressed me again and 
 again to her bosom, satisfied me that I was not alone in the 
 feeling. We spent the three days in making preparations, 
 starting and answering difficulties, and sometimes in pleasing 
 ourselves with anticipations of future happiness. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 57 
 
 At the appointed time 1 set off for Mr Gordon s. I 
 approached the house, not trembling and hesitating as 
 before, but with the confident step with which one hastens 
 to the dwelling of a tried friend. I knocked. In a moment 
 Mr Gordon opened the door ; he caught me by the arm, 
 and would have drawn me into the house ; but the door 
 half opened enabled me to discover that there were others 
 there, beside himself. 
 
 I snatched myself from his grasp, and starting back, I 
 said in a whisper, " Good God ! Mr Gordon, who have you 
 in the house ? " 
 
 He returned me no answer ; but almost while I spoke, I 
 heard Stubbs s grum voice growling, " Seize him, seize him ;" 
 and that moment I knew I was betrayed. I ran ; bui 
 very soon I felt somebody grasping at my shoulder. Luckily 
 I had a thick stout stick in my hand, and turning short 
 about, with one blow I struck my pursuer to the ground. 
 It was the traitor Gordon. I was tempted to stop and 
 renew the blow, but that moment, a pistol ball whizzed by 
 my head, and looking round, I saw Stubbs and another man, 
 with pistols in their hands, close upon me. There was no 
 time to lose. I sprang forward, and ran for my life. Two 
 or three shots were fired in quick succession, but without 
 effect ; and presently I reached a thicket, where I felt 
 myself more safe. It was soon evident that I was much 
 the fleetest of the party ; for before long, I was out of sight 
 and hearing of my pursuers. I kept on for near half an 
 hour ; when, almost exhausted, I sunk upon the ground, and 
 strove to recover my breath and to collect my thoughts. 
 There was no moon ; the starlight was obscured by a thin 
 mist ; and I did not well know where I was. Having deter 
 mined, as well as I was able, the probable direction of the 
 deserted plantation, I again set forward. In the race, I had 
 sprained one of my ankles. This I had scarcely observed, 
 at the moment ; but it now became painful, and I moved 
 with difficulty. However, I kept on the best I could, and 
 flattered myself with the hope of getting back before day 
 light. I passed, for a considerable distance, through fields 
 and thickets, with which I was not acquainted ; but 
 presently, I reached a brook which I knew. I quenched 
 
58 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 my thirst, and pushed forward with greater alacrity. I was 
 still five or six miles from the deserted plantation, and was 
 obliged to take a very circuitous route. I kept on as fast 
 as I was ahle ; but the sun was up some hours, before I 
 arrived at the spring. Cassy was anxiously watching for 
 me. She had become exceedingly alarmed at my delay ; 
 nor did the disorder of my dress, and my appearance of 
 hurry and fatigue tend to reassure her. 
 
 I hastened towards the spring, and was stooping to drink, 
 when Cassy gave a loud shriek. I looked up, and saw two 
 or three men rushing down the side of the hollow. I 
 sprang upon my feet; but immediately felt myself seized 
 from behind. Two other men had rushed down the hollow, 
 upon the other side, and while I was preparing to give bat 
 tle to those I had first seen, before I was aware of my 
 danger, I found myself in the grasp of their confederates. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 I LEARNED afterwards, that when Mr Stubbs and his 
 companions, who were waiting for me at Gordon s, had 
 failed to bring me down with their pistols, discovering that 
 I ran too fast for them, they soon gave over the chase and 
 returned to the store. They sent off immediately for assist 
 ance; and were presently joined by two men, and what 
 was of more importance, by a dog, named Jowler, and 
 celebrated throughout the county for his skill in tracking out 
 runaways. 
 
 Jowler had no sooner arrived, than they tied a string 
 about his neck, the other end of which, one of the party 
 held in his hand. The dog was then put upon my trail, and 
 trotted slowly forward with his nose to the ground, followed 
 by Mr Stubbs and the rest of the party. All the latter 
 part of the way, I had walked quite slowly, and Jowler, 
 and his company had gained so fast upon me, that they 
 reached the spring almost as soon as I did. Having dis 
 covered my retreat, they resolved to make every thing 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 59 
 
 certain ; and dividing into two parties, they rushed down 
 both sides of the hollow at the same time, and secured me 
 in the manner I have related. 
 
 Poor Gassy was seized at the same instant ; and almost 
 before we knew what had happened, we found our hands 
 tied, and ourselves connected by a stout chain, the ends of 
 which were made fast about our necks. This was sad 
 business for Gassy ; and the poor girl, when she felt the 
 iron around her neck, wept bitterly. I do not believe the 
 chain was drawn much tighter than was necessary ; yet 
 when I saw the tears of my poor wife, I could not help 
 feeling a choking sensation about my throat. What aggra 
 vated my distress and my indignation, was the brutal jests 
 of our captors. It was well my hands were fast, for had 
 they been free, I verily believe I should have found the 
 means to finish one or another of the scoundrels. Mr Gor 
 don was one of the party. His head was bound up in a 
 bloody handkerchief; but instead of joining in the jests of 
 his companions, he tried to keep them from vexing and in 
 sulting us. 
 
 " I ll tell you what Stubbs, you damned infernal black 
 guard, let that gal Gassy be. Ain t it I who ve taken 
 them ? Ain t it I who am to have the reward ? Let them 
 be I say ; I tell you they are under my protection." 
 
 "A damned fine sort of protector they ve found in you," 
 answered Stubbs, with a loud laugh, in which he was 
 joined by his companions, " No question, they re mightily 
 obliged to you. The devil take your nonsense and your 
 self into the bargain ; I ll say what I please to the gal, and 
 do what I please too. Ain t I the overseer?" and here 
 he broke out with a fresh string of ribaldry, addressed to 
 poor Gassy. 
 
 It was only by a promise to treat his companions to a 
 quart of whiskey, that Mr Gordon could prevail on them to 
 let us alone. The word whiskey * worked like a charm, 
 and by the influence of it, he persuaded the others to drop 
 a little behind, and to give him a chance, as he expressed 
 it, to have some private conversation with me. He had no 
 objection to their hearing what he said to me, but he did 
 not want to be interrupted by their " damned clatter." 
 
60 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I was a good deal surprised at all this. Mr Gordon had 
 betrayed me ; and after doing me so base and irreparable 
 an injury, what could he mean by these little marks of good 
 will ? Mr Gordon was, as I have described him, a good 
 matured fellow. He had not been able to resist the tempta 
 tion of five hundred dollars, and all the other advantages, 
 which he expected to gain by betraying me ; but for all 
 that, he had not forgotten that I had saved his life. He 
 walked up beside me, and stammering and hesitating, he 
 attempted to enter into conversation. 
 
 " That was a damned hard blow you struck me, Archy," 
 he began. 
 
 " I am sorry it was not harder," was my answer. 
 
 " Come, come now, don t be in such a devilish savage 
 humor. Why, boy, I thought I might as well get the five 
 hundred dollars, as to let it slip through my fingers, and all 
 for nothing too. I knew right well, you were sure to be 
 taken, and for all you pout so about it, I ve made better 
 terms for you, than any body else would have done. Come, 
 boy, cheer up, and I ll tell you how it all was. You see, 
 when you left me t other night, I could not sleep a wink 
 for thinking. Says I to myself, that s a damned foolish 
 project of Archy s. He is sure to be caught ; and then it 
 will be coming out as how I helped him, and then there 
 will be the devil and all to pay. He ll be whipped, and 
 I ll be fined and sent to jail, and for any thing I know, 
 ridden on a rail out of the county, as colonel Moore and 
 them others threatened me ; and then, to make a bad 
 matter worse, somebody else will get the reward. Now 
 that boy Archy, said I, saved my life there s no denying 
 that, any how, and if I can save him a whipping, and at 
 the same time, put five hundred dollars into my pocket, it 
 will be a mighty pretty business for both of us. 
 
 " So the next morning, I got up early and started off for 
 colonel Moore s ; and a mighty fluster I found the colonel 
 in, to be sure, for he could hear no news of you nowhere. 
 So says I, colonel, says I, I hear as how you ve offered 
 five hundred dollars reward to any body that ll catch them 
 ere runaways of yours. Yes, says the colonel, cash down ; 
 and he looked me in the face, as though he thought I 
 knew where to find you. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 61 
 
 c< Just so, colonel, says I; and perhaps I might, if 
 you ll promise me something in the first place. 
 
 " Promise you something, said the colonel ; haven t I 
 promised five hundred dollars already! what is it you 
 mean ? 
 
 "Says I, colonel, it isn t the reward I was thinking 
 about, the reward is handsome a very pretty reward 
 surely. Pay me four hundred and fifty dollars, colonel, 
 and promise me not to whip Archy, when you get him, 
 and I ll not ask for the other fifty. 
 
 " Pshaw, nonsense, says the colonel. Pray Mr Gordon, 
 what is it to you how much I whip the scoundrel, provided 
 you get your money ? 
 
 " Says I, colonel, Jemmy Gordon isn t the chap to for 
 get a favor. That boy Archy, saved my life, it s three 
 years ago, this very month ; and if you ll promise me upon 
 your honor, not to punish him for running away, I will un 
 dertake to hunt him up for you ; and not otherwise. 
 
 " The colonel higgled and haggled a good deal ; but 
 when he found he couldn t get round me no how, he 
 promised all I had asked him. So I told him how you had 
 been at my house, and how you were coming again ; and 
 he sent Stubbs and them other fellows to help me take 
 you, and that s the long and the short of the whole mat 
 ter. So don t be sulky Archy, but cheer up and take it 
 kindly. You see, I meant to do what was best for us both." 
 
 " I wish you much joy, Mr Gordon of your part of the 
 bargain ; and may you lose your five hundred dollars, the 
 next time you play cards, and that will be before you are 
 twelve hours older." 
 
 " You re in a passion, Archy, or you wouldn t talk in 
 that way. Well, boy, to tell the truth, I don t much 
 wonder at it. But by and by, you ll think better of it. 
 I should think you might be content with having broken 
 my head ; by God, Archy, but it aches as though it would 
 split." So saying, Mr Gordon broke off the conversation 
 and joined his companions. 
 
 Little reason as I have to speak well of him, I am bold 
 to say there are a great many men in the world, not much 
 better than Jemmy Gordon. Five hundred dollars was a 
 6 
 
055 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 great temptation to him. Besides, he hoped to secure the 
 good graces of colonel Moore, and expected by his assist 
 ance, to get into the way of gaining a living respectably ; 
 at least, as respectably as any poor man can, in that 
 country. He not only quieted his conscience with the idea 
 that, if he did not betray me, somebody else would, but 
 he had made terms with colonel Moore, for my benefit ; 
 and actually seemed to have flattered himself into the no 
 tion, that he was doing me a favor by betraying me. 
 
 There is many a gentleman in slave-holding America,, 
 for anti-republican as it may seem, in no part of the 
 world is the distinction between gentlemen and the common 
 people, more distinctly marked, who would consider it an 
 insult to be compared with Jemmy Gordon, but whose 
 whole life is a continued practice of the very principles 
 upon which that man acted, when he made up his mind to 
 play the traitor. Many is the gentleman in slave-holding 
 America, who knows full well, and in the secret recesses 
 of his own soul, most unequivocally acknowledges, that 
 to keep his fellow men in bondage, is a gross, flagrant, high 
 handed violation of the first and clearest principles of jus 
 tice and equity, a practice, abstractly considered, fully 
 more criminal than piracy or highway robbery. Slavery, 
 in the abstract, he acknowledges to himself and to others, 
 to be totally indefensible. But then his slaves are his 
 estate, and he cannot live, like a gentleman, without 
 them. Besides, he treats his servants particularly well,: 
 so very well, that he does not hesitate to argue that they 
 are much happier as slaves, than freedom under any form, 
 could possibly make them ! 
 
 When men of sense and education, can satisfy them 
 selves with such wretched sophistry as this, let us learn to 
 have some charity for poor Jemmy Gordon. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 IT was past noon before we arrived at Spring-Meadow, 
 where colonel Moore had been, for some time, impatiently 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 63 
 
 expecting us. But as he happened to have a large party 
 to dine with him, he was too busy in entertaining his com 
 pany, to pay any immediate attention to us. Yet, no 
 sooner had he received notice of our arrival, than he sent 
 out Mr Gordon s five hundred dollars. It was a large roll 
 of bank notes ; the fellow s eye kindled up at the sight of 
 it, and he snatched it eagerly. I was looking steadily at 
 him, and his eyes met mine. The change was sudden. 
 He blushed and grew pale by turns ; shame, remorse and 
 self-contempt were painted in his face. He thrust the 
 money hastily into his pocket, and walked away without 
 speaking a word. 
 
 Gassy and myself were driven to the stables, and locked 
 up in a close, narrow, dark room, which served sometimes 
 as a corn-crib, and sometimes, as a sort of dungeon for 
 refractory slaves. We sat down upon the floor for there 
 was nothing else to sit upon and poor Gassy sunk into my 
 arms. Her grief and terror seemed to burst out afresh, and 
 she wept bitterly. I kissed away her tears, and tried to 
 console her. But she would not be comforted ; and little 
 indeed, was the comfort I had to offer. The more I said 
 to her, the more she wept; and she clung to me closer and 
 closer, till her embrace became almost convulsive. " He 
 will kill us He will separate us forever," she murmured, 
 in a low, inarticulate voice ; and it was the only reply she 
 made to all I could say to her. 
 
 Our situation was indeed pitiable. Had we fallen into 
 the hands of an ordinary pirate or robber, there might have 
 been some room for hope. The consciousness of his own 
 violence, might perhaps alarm him ; the fear of avenging 
 justice might stay his hand. At the worst, death, and that 
 too a speedy and an easy one, would be the farthest limit 
 of his malice. But we unhappy creatures could flatter 
 ourselves with no such prospect. We were runaway 
 slaves, who had fallen again into the hands of their master; 
 a master, whom the very recollection that he owned us, 
 inspired with rage at our insolence, in daring to run away 
 from him ; and who knew well, that both the law and 
 public opinion would amply justify him in the infliction of 
 any tortures not likely to result in immediate death. 
 
64 ML.MC RS OF 
 
 It is true that we had flet from the greatest outrage that 
 can be inflicted upon a wife ind a husband. But that was 
 no excuse, not even the /tightest palliation. Slaves are 
 not permitted to fly at al> It is their duty^ alas ! that 
 such a word should be so ] restituted ! to submit without a 
 murmur, to all the insults outrages and oppression of their 
 masters. 
 
 I clasped my wife to my bosom, with almost the same 
 trembling earnestness, with which she clung to me. I 
 felt, as she did, that it was the last time ; and this idea 
 sunk into my heart with a bitterness, which all my late 
 ecstasies served only to aggravate. I almost stifled her 
 with eager kisses ; but the fever that glowed in her cheek 
 was not the flush of pleasure ; and those deep sighs she 
 heaved, they could not be mistaken for the pantings of 
 delight. The speedy separation that threatened us, was 
 not only terrible in anticipation, but it seemed to destroy all 
 our capacity for present enjoyment. But for that, with 
 Cassy in my arms, what should I have cared for chains and 
 a dungeon ! Dreading that, her lips lost all their sweet 
 ness, her bosom was an uneasy pillow, and though I could 
 not leave her, every embrace seemed to increase both her 
 distress and mine. 
 
 We passed several hours in this way. without any inter 
 ruption. We had not tasted food that day, and nobody 
 brought us even a cup of cold water. The heat and close 
 ness of the room, into which the air had* no admission, 
 aggravated the fever in our blood, and made our thirst 
 almost intolerable. How I longed for the cool spring, the 
 balmy air, the freedom, we had lost ! 
 
 Toward evening, we heard somebody approaching ; and 
 I soon recognized the voices of colonel Moore and his 
 overseer. They opened the door, and bade us come out. 
 At first, the light dazzled my eyes so that I could scarcely 
 distinguish one object from another ; but in a little while I 
 was enabled to see that our visitors were accompanied by 
 Peter, a tall fellow, with a very suspicious smile, the spy 
 and tell-tale of the place, the detestation of all the servants, 
 but the especial favorite of Mr Stubbs, and his regular 
 assistant on all occasions. 
 
ARCHY MOORE 65 
 
 Colonel Moore s face was a good deal flushed, and I 
 judged that he had been drinking. This was a practice 
 very unusual with him. For though every dinner at his 
 house, was pretty sure to end by putting the greater part 
 of the guests upon the floor, colonel Moore generally passed 
 the bottle, under the plea that his physician had forbidden 
 its use, and commonly rose up the only sober man, from his 
 own table. It was too plain, that on the present occasion, 
 he had forgotten his accustomed sobriety. He spoke not a 
 word to me, and I found it impossible to catch his eye ; but 
 turning to his overseer, he said, in an under tone, and with 
 the air of being a good deal irritated " It was a damned 
 blunder, Mr Stubbs, to shut them up together. I thought 
 you understood my orders better." 
 
 The overseer mumbled out some unintelligible apology, 
 of which colonel Moore took no notice ; and without further 
 preface or explanation, he ordered Mr Stubbs to tie me up. 
 
 The padlock by which the chain was fastened about my 
 neck was undone. They stripped me almost naked. Mr 
 Stubbs produced a piece of rope with one end of which he 
 bound my hands, and the other end, he made fast, with 
 Peter s assistance, to a beam over my head ; not however, 
 till he had drawn it so tight as almost to lift me from the 
 floor. 
 
 Colonel Moore then ordered them to free Cassy from the 
 chain. He put a heavy whip into her hand, and pointing 
 to me, " Take care my girl," he said, " that you lay it on 
 to some purpose." 
 
 Poor Cassy looked about in utter amazement. She did 
 not understand him ; she had no idea of such refined cruel 
 ty, such ferocious revenge. 
 
 He repeated his commands, with a tone and a look that 
 were frightful. " If you wish to save your own carcass, 
 see that you bring blood at every blow. I ll teach you 
 both of you to trifle with me." 
 
 She now comprehended his brutal purpose ; and giving 
 one look of mingled horror and despair, sunk senseless to 
 the ground. Peter was sent for water. He dashed it in 
 her face, and she soon revived. They placed her on her 
 feet, and colonel Moore again put the whip into her hand 
 and repeated his orders. 
 
66 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 She threw it down, as if the touch had stung her ; and 
 looking him full in the face, the tears, all the while, streaming 
 from her eyes, she said in a tone firm, but full of entreaty, 
 " Master, he is my husband!" 
 
 That word husband, seemed to kindle colonel Moore into 
 a new fury, which totally destroyed his self-cornrnand. He 
 struck Gassy to the ground with his fists, trampled on her 
 with his feet, and snatching up the whip which she had 
 thrown down, he laid it upon me with such violence, that 
 the lash penetrated my flesh at every blow, and the blood 
 ran trickling down my legs and stood in little puddles at 
 my feet. The torture was too great for human endurance ; 
 I screamed with agony. " Pshaw," said my executioner, 
 " his noise will disturb the House ; " and drawing a hand 
 kerchief from his pocket, he thrust it into my mouth, and 
 rammed it down my throat with the butt-end of his whip- 
 handle. Having thus effectually gagged me, he renewed 
 his lashes. How long they were continued I do not know ; 
 a cloud began to swim before my eyes ; my head grew 
 dizzy and confused ; and a fortunate fainting-fit soon put 
 me beyond the reach of torture. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WHEN I recovered my senses, I found myself stretched 
 upon a wretched pallet, which lay upon the floor, in one 
 corner of a little, old, and ruinous hoveL I was very weak 
 and hardly able to move ; and I afterwards learned that I 
 had just passed through the paroxysm of a fever. A deaf 
 old woman, too much superannuated to be fit for any thing 
 but a nurse, was my only companion. I recognized the old 
 lady, and forgetting that she could not hear me, I put her a 
 thousand questions in a breath. I dreaded, yet I wished to 
 learn the fate of poor Gassy ; and it was to her that most 
 of my questions related. But to all my inquiries the old 
 woman returned no answer. I might scream myself deaf, 
 she said, and she could not hear a word. Besides, she told 
 me, I was too sick and weak to talk. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 67 
 
 T was not to be silenced in that way, and only bawled 
 the louder, and added signs and gestures, to enable the old 
 woman to understand me. But it was plain that aunt Judy 
 had no intention to gratify my curiosity ; for when she 
 found she could not quiet me, she went out and locking the 
 door after her, left me to my own meditations. These 
 were not very agreeable. As yet however, my thoughts 
 were so confused, and my head so dizzy, that I could 
 scarcely be said to reflect at all. 
 
 I learned afterwards, that it was more than a week, that 
 I had remained delirious, the effect of the violent fever into 
 which I had been thrown, and which threatened a speedy 
 termination to my miserable existence. But the crisis was 
 now past. My youth and the vigor of my constitution 
 had carried me through it, and had preserved me for new 
 sufferings. 
 
 I recovered rapidly, and was soon able to walk about. 
 Lest I should make an undue use of my returning strength, 
 and attempt another escape, I was presently accommodated 
 with fetters and handcuffs. My fetters were taken off once 
 a day, for about an hour, and under Peter s supervision, I 
 was allowed to breathe the fresh air, and to take a short 
 walk about the plantation. It was in vain that I attempted 
 to get from Peter any information concerning my wife. He 
 could not, or he would not tell me any thing about her. 
 
 I thought that perhaps he might sell the information 
 which he refused to give ; and I promised to make him a 
 present of some clothes, if he would allow me to visit my 
 former house. We went together. This house, 1 had 
 been enabled, in anticipation of my marriage, and through 
 the bounty of Mrs Moore and her daughter, to fit up quite 
 comfortably. It was furnished with a variety of things, 
 seldom seen in a slave s cabin. But I found it stripped 
 and plundered ; every article of furniture was gone, and 
 my chest was broken open and all my clothes taken away. 
 For this I was no doubt indebted to my fellow servants. 
 The strongest, or almost the strongest impulse of the human 
 mind, is the desire of acquisition. This passion, the slave 
 can only gratify by plunder. Besides, such is the baneful 
 effect of slavery, that it almost destroys the very germ of 
 
68 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 virtue. If oppression makes the wise man mad, it too often 
 makes the honest man a villain. It embitters the feelings, 
 and hardens and brutifies the heart. He who finds himself 
 plundered from his birth, of his liberty and his labor his 
 only inheritance becomes selfish, reckless, and regardless 
 of every thing save the immediate gratification of the 
 present moment. Plundered of every thing himself, he is 
 ready to plunder in his turn, even his brothers in mis 
 fortune. 
 
 Finding my house stripped, and my clothes stolen, it put 
 me in mind to feel in my pockets, for my money. That 
 was gone too. Indeed I soon recollected, that when sur 
 prised and seized by Mr Gordon and his assistants, Mr 
 Stubbs had searched my pockets, and transferred their con 
 tents to his own. This, of course, was the last that I 
 expected to see of my money. According to the Virginian 
 code of morals, Mr Stubbs was a very respectable man, 
 who did what was perfectly proper. Certainly, it was 
 highly dangerous to trust a rogue and a runaway with the 
 possession of a considerable sum of money. But according 
 to the same code, the servants who had stolen my clothes, 
 were a set of outrageous thieves, who richly deserved a 
 whipping. So Mr Stubbs declared, whom we happened to 
 meet, as we were returning, and to whom I complained that 
 my house had been plundered. That honest gentleman 
 worked himself quite into a passion, and swore roundly that 
 if he could catch the thieves he would make them smart for 
 it. Notwithstanding this outburst of virtuous indignation, 
 Mr Stubbs said nothing about returning my money, and I 
 judged it safest not to introduce the subject myself. 
 
 In two or three weeks I had nearly recovered my 
 strength, and the gashes with which my back had been 
 scored were quite healed over. I was beginning to wonder 
 what colonel Moore intended to do with me ; when, one 
 evening, I received a message from Mr Stubbs, to be up by 
 sunrise, the next morning, and ready for a journey. Where 
 we were going, or what was to be the object of our travels, 
 he did not condescend to inform me ; nor did I feel much 
 curiosity to know. I had now one great consolation. Do 
 what they pleased, it was impossible to render me any 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 69 
 
 more miserable. It was this idea which sustained me, and 
 enabled me to regard the future with a sort of careless and 
 stupid indifference, at which, when I reflect upon it, I am 
 myself surprised. 
 
 In the morning, Mr Stubbs came for me. He was on 
 horseback, whip in hand, as usual. He undid my fetters, 
 but allowed me to retain my handcuffs. He tied a piece 
 of rope about my neck, and fastened the other end of it to 
 his own waist. Thus guarded against escapes, he mounted 
 his horse, and bade me walk beside him. I was still rather 
 weak, and sometimes my pace flagged a little ; but a 
 stroke from Mr Stubbs s whip soon quickened me into 
 vigor. I inquired where we were going. " You ll know 
 when you get there," was the answer. 
 
 That night we lodged at a sort of tavern. We both 
 occupied one room, he the bed, and I the floor. He 
 took the cord from my neck and bound my legs with it. 
 It was drawn so tight, and caused me so much pain, that I 
 could not sleep. Several times I complained to Mr Stubbs ; 
 but he bade me hold my " damned tongue," and not be 
 troubling him with foolish complaints. The next morning 
 when he came to untie me, he found my ankles a good 
 deal swollen. He seemed sorry that he had paid no more 
 attention to my appeals, but excused himself by saying, 
 that we were all such a devilish pack of liars, there was no 
 telling when to believe us ; and he did not want to be at 
 the trouble of getting up for nothing. 
 
 The next day we continued our journey ; but I was so 
 broken down by the fatigues of the day previous, and by 
 the want of sleep, that nothing but the frequent application 
 of Mr Stubbs s whip could stimulate me into the necessary 
 exertion. My spirits and that stubbornness of soul, which 
 hitherto had sustained me, seemed to fail at the same time 
 with my strength, and I wept like a child. At last, we 
 reached our journey s end. Late that evening, we entered 
 the city of Richmond. I am not able to describe the town ; 
 for I was hurried off to jail, and there locked up for safe 
 keeping. 
 
 I was now told why we had come. Colonel Moore, 
 according to Mr Stubbs s account, was sick of such an 
 
70 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 unruly fellow, and had determined to sell me. I had not 
 seen him since the day I had fainted under the energy ol 
 his paternal discipline. Nor did I ever see him afterwards. 
 A strange parting that, between a son and a father ! 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE next day I was to be sold. There was to be 
 a public sale of slaves, and several besides myself, were to 
 be disposed of. I was fettered and handcuffed, and taken 
 to market. The rest of the merchandise was already col 
 lected ; but it was some time before the sale began, and I 
 occupied the interval in looking about me. Several of 
 the groups attracted my particular attention* 
 
 The first that caught my eye, was an old man whose head 
 was completely white, and a pretty little girl, his grand 
 daughter, as he told me, about ten or twelve years old. 
 Both the old man and the little girl had iron collars about 
 their necks, which were connected by a heavy chain. One 
 would have imagined, that the old age of the man, and the 
 youth of the girl, would have made such savage precautions 
 unnecessary. But their master, so far as I could learn, had 
 resolved to sell them in a fit of passion, and the chains 
 perhaps were intended more for punishment than security. 
 
 A man and his wife with an infant in her arms, stood 
 next to the old man and his daughter. The man and wife 
 were quite young, and apparently fond of each other; at 
 least, they seemed very much distressed at the idea of 
 falling into the hands of different purchasers. The woman 
 now and then would address some one or other of the 
 company, who seemed to indicate an intention of buying. 
 She would beg them to purchase herself and her hus 
 band ; and she ran over, with great volubility, the good 
 qualities of both. The man looked on the ground, and 
 preserved a moody and sullen silence. 
 
 There was another group of eight or ten men and women, 
 who seemed to regard the sale with as much unconcern, as 
 
ARCHT MOORE. 71 
 
 if they were merely spectators. They laughed, and talked, 
 and jested with one another with as much gaiety as any of 
 the company. An apologist for tyranny, would no doubt, 
 rejoice in such a spectacle, and would be emboldened to 
 argue, that after all being sold at public auction is not so 
 terrible a thing, as some weak people are apt to imagine. 
 The argument would be quite as sound as any that the 
 slave-holder ever uses ; and for ingenuity and conclusiveness, 
 deserves to be compared with that of the philosopher, who 
 having seen through the grates of a prison, a parcel of 
 condemned criminals laughing and jesting together, con 
 cluded that the expectation of being hung, must have some 
 thing in it very exhilarating. 
 
 The truth is, that the human mind, in its eager, though 
 too often unavailing struggle after happiness, will still make 
 the most of its means ; and even in the valley of despair, 
 or under the ribs of death itself, still strives to create some 
 matter of enjoyment. Even the slave will sing at his task ; 
 he can laugh too, though he find himself sold like an ox in 
 the market. The tyrant discovers that all his wrongs and 
 oppressions have not been able to extinguish in the soul of 
 his victim, the capability of enjoyment ; and he points you 
 to these outbursts of a nature not yet totally subdued, and 
 dares to boast of the happiness he causes ! 
 
 But to be sold, is not always a laughing matter. The 
 first bargain which the auctioneer offered to the company, 
 was a man apparently about thirty, with a fine, open, pre 
 possessing countenance. He had no expectation of being 
 5old, till the moment he was placed upon the table ; for it 
 appeared that his master who lived near the city, had lured 
 him to town under the delusive pretext of an intention to 
 hire him out to some one of the citizens. When the poor 
 fellow found that he was actually to be sold, he was seized 
 with such a trembling that he could scarcely support himself. 
 He shook from head to foot ; and his face indicated the 
 greatest terror and distress. The two principal bidders, 
 ind they seemed to enter into a pretty warm competition, 
 were a gentleman of the neighborhood, who appeared to 
 know the poor fellow on sale, and a dashing, buckish young 
 man, who, it was said, was a slave-trader from South 
 
72 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Carolina, who had come to purchase slaves for that 
 market. 
 
 As the sale proceeded, it was curious, but at the same 
 time most distressing, to observe the anxiety of the unhap 
 py slave. When the slave-trader took the lead, his jaw 
 fell, his eyes rolled wildly, and he seemed the very picture 
 of despair; but when the Virginian bid higher, a gleam of 
 pleasure shot across his face, the tears ran down his cheeks, 
 and his earnest "God bless you, master!" was enough to 
 touch the hardest heart. He interrupted the sale by his 
 cries and vociferations, and not even the whip could keep 
 him still. He called upon his favorite bidder by name, and 
 entreated him to persevere, by every motive he could think 
 of. He promised to serve him faithfully to the last minute 
 of his life, and work himself to death in his service, if he 
 would only buy him, only save him from being wholly 
 separated from his wife and children, and sent away he 
 knew not whither from the place where he was born and 
 raised, and where, as he said, he had always behaved well, 
 and borne a good character. Not that he had any particu 
 lar objections to the other gentleman either, for the poor 
 fellow began to see the danger of offending a man who was 
 likely to become his master ; no doubt he was a very fine 
 gentleman too ; but he was a stranger, and would take him 
 out of the country, and carry him far away from his wife 
 and children ; and as he mentioned them, his voice sunk, 
 choked and interrupted, to an inarticulate sobbing. 
 
 The bidders kept up the contest with much spirit. The 
 man was evidently a first-rate hand. Aside from this, the 
 Virginian seemed touched by the poor fellow s entreaties, 
 and dropped some hints about slave-traders, which put his 
 opponent into a violent passion, and came near ending in 
 a quarrel. The interposition of the by-standers, kept the 
 competitors apart; but the slave-trader, whose passions 
 were roused, swore that he would have the boy, cost what 
 he might, if it were only to teach him a little good man 
 ners. One or two of the company cried shame, and called 
 upon the slave-trader to leave off bidding, and suffer the 
 poor fellow to remain in the country. He replied with an 
 oath and a sneer, that he was not fool enough to be bam- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 73 
 
 boozk d by any such nonsense ; and immediately rose fifty 
 dollars on the last bid. This was more than the Virginian 
 could afford to sacrifice to a fit of good nature, and piqued 
 and chagrined, he yielded up the contest. The auctioneer 
 knocked off the purchase ; and the man, more dead than 
 alive, was delivered into the hands of the slave-trader s 
 attendants, who received orders to give him twenty lashes 
 on the spot, for his "damned ill-manneredly Virginian inso 
 lence." 
 
 The sneering emphasis, with which this was spoken, 
 created no little sensation among the by-standers ; but as 
 the slave-trader strutted about with his hand on his dirk 
 handle, and as two pistols might plainly be seen sticking 
 out of his pockets, nobody saw fit to question this provoking 
 exercise of his sacred right of property/ and the sale pro 
 ceeded as before. 
 
 At length came my turn. I was stripped half naked, 
 the better to show my joints and muscles, and placed upon 
 the table or platform, on which the subject of the sale was 
 exposed to the examination of the purchasers. I was 
 whirled about, my limbs were felt, and my capabilities dis 
 cussed, in a slang much like that of a company of horse- 
 jockeys. Various were the remarks that were made upon 
 me. One fellow declared that I had "a damned sullen 
 look;" another swore that my eye was "devilish mali 
 cious ; " a third remarked that these light-colored fellows 
 were all rascals ; to which the auctioneer replied, that he 
 never knew a slave of any smartness who was not a rogue. 
 
 Abundance of questions were put me, as to where I was 
 raised, why 1 was sold, and what I was fit for. To all 
 these inquiries I made the shortest and most indefinite 
 answers. I was not in a humor to gratify this curiosity ; 
 and I had none of that ambition to bring a high price, so 
 common among slaves, the last and lowest form in which is 
 displayed that love of superiority, which exercises so prin 
 cipal an influence over the feelings and the actions of men. 
 
 Mr Stubbs kept in the back ground, and said nothing. 
 
 He had his own reasons, I suppose, for this reserve. The 
 
 auctioneer did his best. According to his account, there was 
 
 not a stronger, more laborious, docile and obedient servant 
 
 7 
 
MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to be bought in all the States. Notwithstanding all these 
 praises, a suspicion seemed to spread itself that my master 
 had some reasons for selling me, which he did not think fit 
 to avow. One suggested that I must be consumptive ; 
 another thought it likely I was subject to fits ; while a third 
 expressed the opinion that I was an unruly fellow and 
 " mighty hard to manage." The scars on my back tended 
 to confirm these suspicions ; and I was knocked off, at last, 
 at a very low price, to a portly, smiling old gentleman, by 
 name, major Thornton. 
 
 No sooner had the auctioneer s hammer struck upon the 
 table, than my new master spoke kindly to me, and ordered 
 my irons to be taken off. Against this, Mr Stubbs and 
 the auctioneer remonstrated very earnestly ; and assured 
 the purchaser that if he unchained me, he did it at his own 
 risk. " I know it," replied my new master, " the risk is 
 mine, but I will never own a servant who wants to run 
 away from me," 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WHEN my new master learned that I had but just recov 
 ered from a fever, and that my strength was not yet entirely 
 restored, he procured a horse for me, and we set out 
 together for his plantation. He lived a considerable dis 
 tance west of Richmond, in that part of the State, known 
 as Middle Virginia. During the ride, he entered into 
 conversation with me, and I found him a very different 
 person from any one I had ever met with before. 
 
 He told me that I might consider myself lucky in falling 
 into his hands ; for he made it a point to treat his servants 
 better than anybody in the neighborhood. " If they are 
 discontented, or unruly, or apt to run away," he added, " 1 
 sell them at once, and so get rid of them. I don t want 
 any such fellows about me. But as my servants know 
 very well, that they stand no chance to better themselves 
 by changing their master, they are very cautious how they 
 
ARCUY MOORE. 75 
 
 offend me. Be obedient, my boy, and do your task, and 1 
 will ensure you plenty to eat, enough clothes, and more 
 indulgence than you will be likely to get from any other 
 master." \Such was the amount of major Thornton s lec 
 ture, which, it took him however, some five or six hours to 
 get through with. ] 
 
 It was late in the evening before we arrived at Oakland, 
 for that was the name of major Thornton s property. 
 The house was of brick, with wooden porticos. It was not 
 large, but neat and very handsome, and presented many more 
 appearances of substantial comfort than are to be found 
 about most of the houses of Virginia. The grounds around 
 it, were prettily laid out, and ornamented with flowers and 
 shrubbery, a thing quite uncommon, and which I had 
 seldom seen before. At a distance, on a fine swell, were 
 the servants cabins, built of brick, neat and substantial ; 
 not placed in a straight line, but clustered together in a 
 manner that had something picturesque about it. They 
 were shaded by fine large oaks ; no underbrush nor weeds 
 were suffered to grow about them, and altogether, they 
 presented an appearance of neatness and comfort, as new 
 and singular as it was pleasing. The servants cabins, on all 
 the plantations I had ever seen before, were a set of miser 
 able ruinous hovels, with leaky roofs and clay floors, almost 
 buried in a rank growth of weeds, and as dirty and ill-kept 
 as they were uncomfortable. 
 
 The children, who were playing about the cabins, fur 
 nished a new occasion of surprise. I had been accustomed 
 to see the children of a plantation, running about stark 
 naked, or dressed if dressed at all in a shirt of dirty 
 osnaburgs, hanging in tatters about their legs, and never 
 washed after it was once put on. But the children at 
 Oakland were neatly and comfortably clothed, and pre 
 sented nothing of that squalid, pinched, neglected and 
 half-starved appearance, to which my eye was so well 
 accustomed. Their merry faces, and boisterous sports, 
 called up no idea of juvenile wretchedness. I observed 
 too, that the hands, who were just coming in from their 
 work, were all well clothed. I saw none of those patched, 
 tattered, ragged and filthy garments so common on other 
 plantations. 
 
76 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Major Thornton was not a planter ; that is to say, he 
 did not make tobacco, and he chose to call himself a farmer. 
 His principal crop was wheat ; and he was a great advocate 
 for the clover system of cultivation, which he had adopted 
 and pursued with much success. He owned some thirty 
 or forty working hands ; the children and superannuated, 
 made his entire stock of slaves upwards of eighty. He 
 kept no overseer, but managed for himself. Indeed it was 
 a maxim with him, that an overseer was enough to ruin any 
 man. He was naturally stirring and industrious, and agri 
 culture was his hobby, a hobby which he rode to some 
 purpose. 
 
 In all these things, and many others, he was the perfect 
 contrast of all his neighbors ; and for that reason, very little 
 liked by any- of them. He carefully avoided horse-racing, 
 cock-fights/ political meetings, drinking, gambling, and frol 
 icking of every sort. His money, he used to say, cost him 
 too much to make it, to be thrown away upon a bet ; and 
 as to frolics, he had neither time nor taste for any such 
 nonsense. His neighbors revenged themselves for this 
 contempt of their favorite sports, by pronouncing him a 
 mean-spirited money-making fellow. They went further, 
 and accused him of being a bad citizen and a dangerous 
 neighbor. They complained most bitterly, that his exces 
 sive indulgence to his servants made all the slaves in the 
 neighborhood, uneasy and discontented ; and at one time, 
 some of them went so far as to talk about giving him warn 
 ing to move out of the county. 
 
 But major Thornton was a man of spirit. He under 
 stood his own rights ; he knew well the people among 
 whom he lived, and what sort of reasoning would influence 
 them most. He contrived to get hold of an offensive 
 remark of one of the busiest of his ill-disposed neighbors, 
 and sent him a challenge. It was accepted ; and his 
 antagonist was shot through the heart at the first fire. 
 Henceforward, though his neighbors liked him no better 
 than before, they took very good care how they talked 
 about him, and allowed him to go on in his own way, 
 without any interference. 
 
 Major Thornton had not been bred a planter, and this 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 
 
 perhaps was the reason, why he departed so much froi<v 
 the ordinary routine, and managed things so very differently 
 from all his neighbors. He was horn of a good family, as 
 they say in Virginia, hut his father died when he was a 
 mere hoy, and left hut a very scanty property. He began 
 life, in a small way. in a country store. His shrewdness, 
 economy, and attention to his business, enabled him, in the 
 course of a few years, to lay up a considerable sum of 
 money. In Virginia, trade is hardly looked upon as respec 
 table, at least, such was the case at the time of which I am 
 speaking, and every one who desires to be any body, aims 
 at becoming a landed proprietor. About the time that 
 major Thornton had made enough, to think of changing his 
 store for a plantation, the proprietor of Oakland, having 
 already wasted two good estates on dogs, horses, and wild 
 debauchery, became so pressed for money, as to be obliged 
 to bring his remaining property under the hammer. Major 
 Thornton became the purchaser; but the place he bought, 
 was very different from Oakland as I saw it. The build 
 ings which were old and ugly, were all out of repair and 
 just tumbling to the ground ; and the land was nearly 
 ruined by that miserable, thriftless system of cultivation, so 
 universal throughout the slave-holding states of America. 
 
 In a few years after the property had passed into the hands 
 of major Thornton, every thing was changed. The old 
 houses were torn down and new ones built. The grounds 
 about the house were enclosed and ornamented ; and the 
 land, under skilful management, was fast regaining its origin 
 al fertility. Those who had been born and bred planters, 
 and whose estates were very much in the same way in 
 which Oakland had been before it fell into the hands of 
 major Thornton, looked at what was going on there, with 
 astonishment and envy, and wondered how it could possibly 
 happen. Major Thornton was always ready to tell them ; 
 for he was extremely fond of talking, particularly about 
 himself and his system of farming. But though he hau 
 explained the whole matter at least ten times, to every on^, 
 of his neighbors, he never could make a single convert 
 He nad three favorite topics ; but he was equally 
 cessful upon all of them. He never could persuade 
 
78 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 one of his neighbors that a clover lay was the true cure 
 for sterile fields ; that the only way to have a plantation 
 well managed, was to manage it one s self; or that to give 
 servants enough to eat, was a sure method to prevent them 
 from plundering the corn-fields and stealing sheep. 
 
 But though major Thornton could gain no imitators, he 
 still persevered in farming according to his own notions. In 
 no respect was he more an innovator than in the manage 
 ment of his slaves. A merciful man, he used to say, is 
 merciful to his beast ; and not having been raised on a 
 plantation, he could not bear the idea of treating his servants 
 worse than his horses. " It may do very w r ell for you, 
 colonel," he said one day, to one of his neighbors, " to tie 
 a fellow up and give him forty lashes with your own hand ; 
 you were born and bred to it, and I dare say you find it 
 very easy. But as odd as you may think it, I had much 
 rather be flogged myself than to flog one of my servants ; 
 and though sometimes I am obliged to do it, it is a great 
 point with me to get along with as little whipping as possi 
 ble. That s a principal reason why I keep no overseer, 
 for a cow-hide and a pair of irons, are the only two things 
 those fellows have any notion of. They have no wish, and 
 if they had, they have not the sense, to get along in any 
 other way ; the devil take the whole generation of them. 
 Every body, you know 7 , has their oddities. For my part, I 
 hate to hear the crack of a w r hip on my plantation, even 
 though it be nothing more than a cart-whip." 
 
 The above speech of major Thornton s, contained a brief 
 summary of his system. He was, what every other slave 
 holder is, and from the very necessity of his condition must 
 be, a tyrant. He felt no scruple in compelling his fellow 
 men to labor, in order that he might appropriate the fruits 
 of that labor to his own benefit, and in this certainly, if in 
 any thing, the very essence of tyranny consists. But 
 though a tyrant, as every slave-holder is and must be, he 
 was a reasonable and, as far as possible, a humane one, 
 which very few slave-holders either are or can be. He had 
 no more thought of relinquishing what he and the laws, 
 called his property in his slaves, than he had of leaving his 
 land to be occupied by the first comer. He would have 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 79 
 
 oeen as ready as any of his neighbors, to have denounced 
 the idea of emancipation, or the notion of limiting his power 
 over his servants, as a ridiculous absurdity, and an imperti 
 nent interference with his most sacred rights. But though 
 in theory, he claimed all the authority and prerogatives of 
 the most unlimited despotism, he displayed in his practice, 
 a certain share of common sense and common humanity, 
 two things, which so far as relates to the management of 
 his slaves, it is extremely uncommon for a slave-holder to 
 have, or if he has them, very difficult for him to exercise. 
 
 These unusual gifts led him to a discovery, which at the 
 time was entirely new in his neighborhood ; though I hope 
 before now, it has become general. He discovered that 
 men cannot work without eating ; and that so far as the 
 capability of labor is concerned, there is the same policy in 
 attending to the food, shelter and comfort of one s slaves, as 
 in spending something on corn and stabling for one s horses. 
 Feed well and work hard, 5 was major Thornton s motto 
 and practice, a motto, and a practice, which in any other 
 country than America, would never have subjected him to 
 the charge of unreasonable and superfluous humanity. 
 
 As to whipping, major Thornton, to use his own phrase, 
 could not bear it. Whether he felt some qualms of con 
 science at the barefaced, open tyranny of the lash, which 
 I do not think very probable, for I once heard him tell a 
 Methodist parson, who ventured to say something to him 
 on that delicate subject, that he had as much right to flog 
 his slaves as to eat his dinner; or whether it was the influ 
 ence of that instinctive humanity which is wanting only in 
 brutal tempers, and which, till evil custom has worn it out, 
 will not permit us to inflict pain, without feeling ourselves a 
 sympathetic suffering ; or whatever might be the reason ; 
 unless major Thornton was put into a passion to which 
 he was but seldom liable he certainly had a great horror 
 at using the whip. 
 
 But this was not all. Another man might have detested 
 it as much as he did ; but the practice of a year or two in 
 planting, and the apparent impossibility of dispensing with 
 its use, would have taught him to get rid of so inconvenient 
 a squeamishness. There are very few men indeed and 
 
80 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of U men in the world, very few planters whose good 
 sense and knowledge of human nature, would enable them 
 to manage their slaves by any other means. Major Thorn 
 ton, however, contrived to get on wonderfully well ; and in 
 all the time that I lived with him, which was nearly two 
 years, there were not more than a half a dozen whippings 
 on the place. If one of his servants was guilty of any 
 thing, which in a slave, is esteemed especially enormous ; 
 such as running away, repeated theft, idleness, insolence 
 or insubordination, major Thornton sent him off to be sold. 
 By a strange, but common inconsistency, this man of feel 
 ing, who could not bear to whip a slave, or to see him 
 whipped, or even to have him whipped on his own planta 
 tion, felt no scruples at all, at tearing him from the arms of 
 his wife arid children, and setting him up at public sale, to 
 fall into the hands of any ferocious master, who might 
 chance to purchase him ! 
 
 This dread of being sold, was ever before our eyes ; and 
 was as efficacious as the lash is, on other plantations, in forcing 
 us to labor and submission. We knew very well, that 
 there were few masters like major Thornton; and the 
 thought of exchanging our nice, neat cottages, our plentiful 
 allowance, our regular supply of clothing, and the general 
 comfort and indulgence of Oakland, for the fare and the 
 treatment to be expected from the common run of masters, 
 was more terrible than a dozen whippings. Major Thorn 
 ton understood this well ; and he took care to keep up the 
 terrors of it, by making an example of some delinquent, 
 once in a year or two. 
 
 Then he had the art of exciting our emulation by little 
 prizes and presents ; he was very scrupulous never to exact 
 any thing beyond the appointed task ; and he kept us in 
 good humor, by allowing us, when not at work, to be very 
 much our own masters, and to go where, and do what we 
 pleased. We were rather cautious though, how we visitea 
 the neighboring plantations ; for with a magnanimity worthy 
 of sWe-holders, some of major Thornton s neighbors were 
 in the habit of gratifying their spite against him, by improv 
 ing every opportunity that offered, to abuse his servants. 
 And >iere I may as well relate an incident that happened 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 81 
 
 lo myself, which will serve, at once, as a curious illustration 
 of Virginian manners, and a proof of what I believe, will be 
 found to be true all the world over, that where the laws 
 aim at the oppression of one half the people of a country, 
 they are seldom treated with much respect by the other half. 
 
 Captain Robinson was one of major Thornton s nearest 
 neighbors, and a person with whom he had frequent alter 
 cations. I was passing along on the public road one Sun 
 day, at a little distance from Oakland, when I met captain 
 Robinson on horseback, followed by a servant. He bade me 
 stop, and inquired if I was the fellow whom that " damned 
 scoundrel Thornton" sent to his house yesterday with an 
 insolent message about his lower-field fences. I answered, 
 that I had been sent yesterday with a message about the 
 fence, which I had delivered to his overseer. 
 
 " A mighty pretty message it was, by God. I ll tell you 
 what, boy, if my overseer had known his business, he 
 would have tucked you up on the spot and given you 
 forty lashes." 
 
 I told him that I had only delivered the message which 
 my master had sent me with, and it seemed hard to blame 
 me for that. 
 
 " Don t talk to me, don t talk to me, you infernal scoun 
 drel I ll teach both you and your master what it is to 
 insult a gentleman. Lay hold of him Tom, while I dust 
 that new jacket of his a little." 
 
 Having received these orders from his master, captain 
 Robinson s man Tom, jumped off his horse and laid hold 
 of me ; but as I struggled hard and was the stronger of the 
 two, I should soon have got away, if the master had not 
 dismounted and come to the aid of his servant. Both to 
 gether, they were too strong for me ; and having succeeded 
 in getting me down, they stripped off my coat, and bound 
 my hands. Captain Robinson then mounted his horse, and 
 beat me with his whip, till it was quite worn out. Having 
 thus satisfied his rage, he rode off followed by Tom, with 
 out taking the trouble to loose my hands. They had no 
 sooner left me, than I began to look about for my hat and 
 coat. Both were missing ; and whether it was the cap 
 tain or his servant that carried them off, I never could dis- 
 
82 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 cover. I suppose though, it was the servant, for I recol 
 lect very well seeing Tom, a few Sundays after, strutting 
 about at a Methodist meeting, with a blue coat on, which I 
 could almost have sworn to be mine. 
 
 When I got home, and told my master what had hap 
 pened, he was in a towering passion. At first, he was for 
 riding at once to captain Robinson s and calling for an 
 explanation. But presently he recollected that the county 
 court was to meet the next day, at which he had business. 
 This would give him an opportunity to consult his lawyer ; 
 and after a little reflection, he thought it best not to move 
 in the affiiir till he had legal advice upon it. 
 
 The next day he took me with him. We called upon 
 the lawyer ; I told what had happened to me, and major 
 Thornton inquired what satisfaction the law wculd af 
 ford him. 
 
 The lawyer answered, that the law in this case was very 
 clear, and the remedy it provided, all-sufficient. "Some 
 people," he said, "who know nothing about the matter, 
 have asserted that the law in the slave-holding States, does 
 not protect the person of the slave against the violence of 
 the free, and that any white man may flog any slave, at his 
 own good pleasure. This is a very great mistake, ; if not a 
 wilful falsehood. The law permits no such thing. It ex 
 tends the mantle of its protection impartially over bond and 
 free. In this respect, the law knows no distinction/ If a 
 freeman is assaulted, he has his action for damages against 
 the assailant ; and if a slave is assaulted, the master of that 
 slave, who is his legal guardian and protector, can bring his 
 action for damages. Now in this case, major Thornton, it 
 is quite plain that you have good ground of action against 
 captain Robinson ; and the jury, I dare say, will give you 
 a swinging verdict. I suppose you are able to prove all 
 these facts?" 
 
 " Prove them to be sure," answered my master, " here 
 is Archy himself who has told you the whole story." 
 
 " Yes, my good sir, but you do not seem to remember 
 that a slave cannot be admitted to testify against a white 
 man." 
 
 " And pray tell me then," said major Thornton, " what 
 
ARCHT MOORE. S3 
 
 good the law you speak of is going to do me ? Did not 
 Robinson catch Archy alone, and abuse him as he has told 
 you ? You don t suppose he was fool enough to call in a 
 white man on purpose to be a witness against him. Why, 
 sir, notwithstanding the protection of the law, which you 
 commend so highly, every servant I have may be beaten 
 by this Robinson every day in the week, and I not be able 
 to get the slightest satisfaction. The devil take such law 
 I say." 
 
 "But my dear sir," answered the lawyer, "you must 
 consider the great danger and inconvenience of allowing 
 slaves to be witnesses." 
 
 " Why yes," said my master with a half smile, " I fancy 
 it would be rather dangerous for some of my acquaintances ; 
 quite inconvenient no doubt. Well sir, since you say 
 the law can t help me in this matter, I must take care of 
 myself. I cannot allow my servants to be abused in this 
 way. I ll horsewhip that scoundrel Robinson at sight." 
 
 With these words, my master left the office, and I fol 
 lowed behind him. We had gone but a little way down 
 the street, when he had an unexpected opportunity of carry 
 ing his threat into execution, for as it chanced, we met 
 captain Robinson, who had business, it seemed, at the coun 
 ty court, as well as major Thornton. My master did not 
 waste many words upon him, but began striking him over 
 the shoulders with his riding whip. Captain Robinson drew 
 a pistol ; my master threw down his whip and drew a 
 pistol also. The captain fired, but without effect ; major 
 Thornton then levelled his weapon, but Robinson called 
 out that he was unarmed and begged him not to fire. Ma 
 jor Thornton hesitated a moment, and then dropped his 
 hand. By this time, quite a crowd had collected about us, 
 and some friend of captain Robinson s handed him a loaded 
 pistol. The combatants renewed their aim, and fired to 
 gether. Captain Robinson fell desperately wounded. His 
 ball missed my master, but passed through the body of a 
 free colored man, who was the only person, of all the com 
 pany, who made any attempt to separate the parties. The 
 poor fellow fell dead ; and the people about declared that it 
 was good enough for him, for what right had " a damned 
 
84 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 free fellow" like him to be interfering between genth 
 
 men 
 
 Captain Robinson s friends lifted him up and carried him 
 1 iome. Major Thornton and myself walked off the field in 
 triumph, and so the affair ended. Such affrays are much 
 talked about ; but the grand jury very seldom hears any 
 thing of them ; and the conqueror is pretty sure to rise in 
 the public estimation. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SOME persons perhaps may think that having fallen into 
 the hands of such a master as major Thornton, I had now 
 nothing to do, but to eat, to work and to be happy. 
 
 Had I been a horse or an ox, there would be good ground 
 for this idea ; but unfortunately. I was a man ; and the 
 animal appetites are by no means, the only motive of hu 
 man action, nor the sole sources of human happiness or 
 misery. 
 
 It is certainly true that several of major Thornton s ser 
 vants, born perhaps with but little sensibility, and brutalized 
 by a life of servitude, seemed very well content with their 
 lot. This was the sort of servant, which major Thornton 
 especially admired. In this particular, he did not differ 
 much from his neighbors. The more stupid a field hand 
 is, the more he is esteemed ; and a slave who shows any 
 signs of capacity, is generally set down as certain to be a 
 rogue and a rascal. 
 
 I soon discovered my master s fondness for stupid fel 
 lows ; and I took care to play the fool to his entire satisfac 
 tion. In a short time, I made myself quite a favorite ; and 
 my master having taken a fancy to me, I was more indulged 
 perhaps, than any servant on the place. But this could 
 not make me happy. 
 
 Human happiness with some very limited exceptions 
 is never in fruition, but always in prospect and pursuit. It 
 is not this, that, or the other situation that can give happi- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 85 
 
 ness. Riches, power or glory, are nothing when possessed. 
 It is the pleasure of the pursuit and the struggle, it is the 
 very labor of their attainment, in which consists the happi 
 ness they bring. 
 
 Those moralists who have composed so many homilies 
 upon the duty of contentment, betray an extreme ignorance 
 of human nature. No situation, however splendid, in which 
 one is compelled to remain fixed and stationary, can long 
 afford pleasure ; and on the other hand, no condition, how- 
 over destitute or degraded, out of which one has a fair 
 propect, or any thing like a sufficient hope of rising, can 
 justly be considered as utterly miserable. This is the con 
 stitution of the human mind ; and in it, we find the ex 
 planation of a thousand things, which without this key to 
 their meaning, seem full of mystery and contradiction. 
 
 Though all men have not the same objects of pursuit, 
 all are impelled and sustained by the same hope of success. 
 Nothing can satisfy the lofty desires of one man, but influ 
 ence, fame, or power, the myrtle wreath or laurel crown ; 
 another aims no higher than to rise from abject poverty to a 
 little competency, or, if his ambition is of another sort, to 
 be the chief person in his native village, or the oracle of a 
 country neighborhood. How different are these aims ! 
 and yet, the impulse that prompts them, is the same. It is 
 the desire jpf social superiority. He whom circumstances 
 permit to yield to this impulse of his nature, and to pursue 
 successfully or not, it matters little but to pursue with 
 some tolerable prospect of success, the objects which have 
 captivated his fancy, may be regarded as having all the 
 chance for happiness, which the lot of humanity allows ; 
 while he, whom fate, or fortune, or whatever malignant cause, 
 compels to suppress and forego the instinctive impulses and 
 wishes of his heart whatever in other respects may be his 
 situation is a wretch condemned to sorrow, and deserving 
 pity. To the one, toil is itself a pleasure. He is a hunter 
 whom the sight of his game fills with delight, and makes 
 insensible to fatigue. Desire sustains him, and Hope cheers 
 him on. These are delights the other never knows ; for 
 him, life has lost its relish ; rest is irksome to him, and la 
 bor is intolerable. 
 8 
 
86 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 This is no digression. He who has taken the pains to 
 read the preceding paragraph, will be able to understand, 
 how it happened, that even with such a master as major 
 Thornton, I was neither happy nor content. 
 
 It is true I was well fed, well clothed, and not severely 
 worked ; and in these particulars, as my master was fond 
 of boasting, and as I have since found to be the case, my 
 situation was far superior to that of very many freemen. 
 But I lacked one tiling which every freeman has ; and that 
 one want was enough to make me miserable. I wanted 
 liberty ; the liberty of laboring for myself, not for a master ; 
 of pursuing my own happiness, instead of toiling at his 
 pleasure, and for his gain. This liberty can lighten the 
 hardest lot. He knows but little of human nature, who has 
 not discovered, that to all who rise one step above the 
 brutes, it is far pleasanter to starve and freeze after their 
 own fashion, than to be fed and clothed and worked upon 
 compulsion. 
 
 I was wretched, for I had no object of hope or rational 
 desire. I was a slave ; and the laws held out no prospect 
 of emancipation. All the efforts in the world could not 
 better my condition ; all the efforts in the world could not 
 prevent me from falling perhaps tomorrow into the hands 
 of another master, as cruel and unreasonable as evil pas 
 sions and hard-heartedness could make him. The future 
 offered only the chance of evils. I might starve with cold 
 and hunger as well as another ; I might perish by gun-shot 
 wounds, or the torture of the lash ; or be hung up, perhaps, 
 without judge or jury. But of bettering my condition, I 
 had neither chance, nor hopes. I was a prisoner for life ; 
 at the present moment, not suffering for food or clothing, 
 but without the slightest prospect of liberation ; and likely 
 enough at any moment, to change my keeper, and under 
 the discipline of a new jailer, to feel the pinchings of cold 
 and hunger, and to tremble daily beneath the whip. I was 
 cut off and excluded from all those hopes and wishes, which 
 are the chief impulses of human action. I could not aim 
 to become the master of a little cottage, which, howevei 
 ftumbie, I .might call my own ; to be the lord of one poor 
 acre, which however small or barren, might still be mine 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 87 
 
 I could not many alas, poor Gassy! and become the 
 father of a family, with the fond hope, that when age should 
 overtake me, I might still find pleasure and support, in the 
 kindness of children and the sympathy of a wife. My 
 children might be snatched from the arms of their mother, 
 and sold to the slave-trader ; the mother might be sent to 
 keep them company, and I be left old, desolate, uncom- 
 forted. Motives such as these, motives which strengthen 
 the freeman s arm and cheer his heart, were unfelt by me. 
 I labored ; but it was only because I feared the lash. 
 The want of willingness unnerved me, and every stroke 
 cost a new effort. 
 
 It is even true, that major Thornton s humanity, or to 
 speak more correctly, his sense of his own interest, while it 
 preserved his servants from the miseries of hunger and 
 nakedness, at the same time, exposed those among them, 
 whom slavery and ignorance had not completely brutalized, 
 to other and more excruciating miseries. Had we been but 
 half fed and half clothed, like the servants on several of the 
 neighboring plantations, we should, like them, have enjoyed 
 the excitement of plunder. We should have found some 
 exercise for our ingenuity, and some object about which to 
 interest ourselves, in plans and stratagems for eking out our 
 short allowance by the aid of theft. 
 
 As it was, stealing was but little practised at Oakland. 
 The inducement was too small, and the risk too great, 
 for detection was certain to result in being sold. Money 
 was no object to us ; we could only spend it on food and 
 clothes, and of these we had enough already. Whiskey 
 was the only luxury we wanted ; and we could make 
 enough to purchase that, without the necessity of theft. 
 Mr Thornton allowed each of us a little piece of ground. 
 That was customary ; but what was quite contrary to 
 custom, he allowed us time to cultivate it. He endeavored 
 to stimulate our industry by the promise of buying all we 
 could produce, not at a mere nominal price, as was the 
 fashion on other plantations, but at its full value. 
 
 I am sorry to say it, but it is not the less true, that major 
 Thornton s people, like all slaves who have the means and 
 the opportunity, were generally drunkards. Our master 
 
MEM IRS OP 
 
 took good care that whiskey did not interfere with our work. 
 To be drunk before the task was finished was a high mis 
 demeanor. But after the day s labor was over, we were at 
 liberty to drink as much as we pleased ; provided always, 
 that it did not prevent us from turning out at daylight the 
 next morning. Sunday was generally a grand Saturnalia. 
 
 Hitherto, I had scarcely been in the habit of drinking. 
 But now I began to be eager for anything which promised 
 to sustain my sinking spirits, and to excite my stagnant soul. 
 I soon found in whiskey, a something that seemed to answer 
 the purpose. In that elevation of heart which drunkenness 
 inspires, that forgetfulness of the past and the present, that 
 momentary halo with which it crowns the future, I found a 
 delight which I hastened to repeat, and knew not how to 
 forego. Reality was to me a blank, dark and dreary. 
 Action was forbidden ; desire was chained ; and hope shut 
 out. I was obliged to find relief in dreams and illusions. 
 Drunkenness, which degrades the freeman to a level with 
 the brutes, raises, or seems to raise the slave, to the dignity 
 of a man. It soon became my only pleasure, and I 
 indulged it to excess. Every day, as soon as my task was 
 finished, I hastened to shut myself up with my bottle. I 
 drank in solitude, for much as I loved the excitement of 
 drunkenness, I could not forget its beastliness and insanity, 
 and I hated to expose my folly to the sight of my fellow 
 servants. But my precautions were not always successful. 
 In the phrensy of excitement I sometimes forgot all my 
 sober precautions ; undid the bolts I had carefully fastened ; 
 and sought the company I most desired to shun. 
 
 One Sunday, I had been drinking, till I was no longer the 
 master of my own actions. I had left my house, and gone 
 to seek some boon-companions with whom to protract the 
 revel and increase its zest. But I was unable to distinguish 
 one object from another, and after straggling off for some 
 distance, I sunk down, almost insensible, upon the carnage 
 way, which led towards major Thornton s house. 
 
 I had grown a little more sober, and was endeavoring to 
 rally my thoughts and to recollect where 1 was, and what 
 had brought me there, when I saw my master riding up the 
 road, with two other gentlemen. They were all on horse- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 89 
 
 back ; and as drunk as I was, I saw at a glance, that my 
 master s two companions, were very much in the same 
 predicament. The manner in which they reeled backward 
 and forward in their saddles was truly laughable ; and I 
 expected every moment to see them fall. I made these 
 observations as I lay upon the road, without once thinking 
 where I was, or recollecting the danger I was in, of being 
 ridden over. They had come quite near before they 
 noticed me. By that time I was sitting up, and my master s 
 drunken companions took it into their heads, to jump their 
 horses over me. Major Thornton did his best to prevent 
 them ; one, he succeeded in stopping ; but the other evaded 
 his attempt to seize the bridle, swore that the sport was too 
 pretty to be lost, put spurs to his horse, and brought him up 
 to the leap. 
 
 But the horse had no fancy for this sort of sport. When 
 he saw me before him, he started back, and his drunken 
 rider came tumbling to the ground. The others dismounted 
 and went to his assistance. Before he was well upon his 
 feet, he begged major Thornton s attention, and forthwith 
 commenced a very grave lecture on the indecency of allow 
 ing servants to get drunk, and to lie about the plantation, 
 particularly across the roads, frightening gentlemen s 
 horses, and putting the necks of their riders into jeopardy. 
 " Especially you, major Thornton, who pretend to be a 
 pattern for all of us. By God, sir, if you did as you ought 
 to do, every time one of the damned fellows had the inso 
 lence to get drunk, you would tie him up and give him forty 
 lashes. That s the way I do, on my plantation." 
 
 My master was so very fond of setting forth his method 
 of farming, and his plan of plantation-discipline, that he did 
 not always stop to consider whether his auditors were drunk 
 or sober. The present opportunity was too good to be lost, 
 and rubbing his hands together, he answered, with a half- 
 smile, and a very sagacious look, " But, my dear sir, you 
 must know it is a part of my plan to let my servants drink 
 as much as they please, so that it does not interfere with 
 their tasks. Poor fellows ! it serves to keep them out of 
 mischief, and soon makes them so stupid they are the easiest 
 creakires in the world to manage." Here he paused a 
 8* 
 
90 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 minute, and assuming the look, which a man puts on, who 
 thinks he is going to urge an unanswerable argument 
 " Besides," he added, " if one of these drinking fellows 
 happens to take a huff and runs away, the very first thing 
 he does, is to get drunk, so that you seldom have any 
 difficulty in catching him." 
 
 Though I was still too much under the influence of 
 whiskey, to be capable of much muscular motion, I had so 
 far recovered my senses as to comprehend perfectly, all that 
 my master was saying ; and no sooner had he finished, than, 
 drunk as I was, I made a resolution to drink no more. I 
 was not yet so far lost, as to be able to endure the idea, of 
 being myself the instrument of my own degradation. My 
 resolution was well kept ; for I have seldom tasted spirits 
 since that day. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 IT is the lot of the slave, to be exposed, in common with 
 other men, to all the calamities of chance and all the 
 caprices of fortune. But unlike other men, he is denied 
 the consolation of struggling against them. He is bound 
 hand and foot ; and his sufferings are aggravated ten fold, 
 by the bitter idea that he is not allowed to help himself, or 
 to make any attempt to escape the blow, which he sees 
 impending over him. This idea of utter helplessness, is 
 one of the most distressing in nature : it is twin-sister to 
 Despair. 
 
 Major Thornton, by over exertion and imprudent ex 
 posure, brought on a fever, which in a short time, assumed 
 a very unfavorable aspect. It was the first time he had 
 been sick for many years. The alarm and even terror, 
 which the news of his danger excited at Oakland, was very 
 great. Every morning and evening, we collected about the 
 house to learn how our master did ; and mournful were the 
 faces, and sad the hearts, with which we heard the bitter 
 words, " no better." The women, at Oakland, had always 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 91 
 
 been treated with peculiar indulgence, such as their sex and 
 weakness demands, but demands so often without obtain 
 ing it. Major Thornton s illness gave an instance how full 
 of gratitude is the female heart, and at what a trifling ex 
 pense, one may purchase its most zealous affection. All 
 the women on the place, were anxious to be employed, in 
 some way, in ministering to the comfort of their suffering 
 master. The most disagreeable duties were eagerly per 
 formed ; and if ever man was tenderly and assiduously 
 nursed, it was major Thornton. But all this care, all our 
 sympathy, our sorrow and our terrors, were of no effect. 
 The fever raged with unabated fury, and seemed to find 
 new fuel in the strength of the patient s constitution. But 
 that fuel was soon exhausted ; and in ten days, our master 
 was no more. 
 
 When his decease became known, we looked upon each 
 other in silent consternation. A family of helpless orphans, 
 from whom death had just snatched their last surviving 
 parent, could not have felt a greater destitution. Tears 
 rolled down the cheeks of the men ; and the lamentations 
 of the women were violent and wild. His old nurse, in 
 particular, wept, and would not listen to any consolation. 
 She had good reason. At his father s death she had 
 been sold, with the other property, to satisfy the creditors. 
 But major Thornton had re-purchased her, out of his very 
 first earnings ; he had made her the head-servant of his 
 household, and had always treated her with great tender 
 ness. The old woman loved him like her own child, and 
 lamented her " dear son Charley," as she called him, with 
 all the pathetic energy of a widowed and childless mother. 
 
 We all attended the funeral, and followed our dead 
 master to the grave. The hollow sound of the earth as it 
 fell upon the coffin, was echoed back from every bosom ; 
 and when this last sad office was finished, we stood over 
 the spot, and wept together. Doubt not the sincerity 
 of our sorrow ! It was for ourselves we were lamenting. 
 
 Major Thornton was never married ; and he left no chil 
 dren whose rights the laws acknowledged. If he had in 
 tended to make a will, his sudden death prevented him ; 
 and his property passed to a troop of cousins for whom, 
 
92 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I suspect, he did not entertain any great affection. At all 
 events, I had never seen any of them at Oakland, nor could 
 I learn from the other servants, that either of them had 
 ever made a visit there. It was thus that we hecame the 
 property of strangers, who had never seen us, and whom 
 we had never seen. 
 
 These heirs-at-law were poor as well as numerous, and 
 seemed very eager to turn all the property into money, so 
 as to get their several shares with the least possible delay. 
 An order of court, or whatever the legal process might be 
 called, was soon obtained ; and the sale of the slaves was 
 advertized to take place at the county court-house. The 
 agent to whom the care of the estate was intrusted, made 
 the necessary preparations. Of course, it was not thought 
 expedient that we should know what was going on, or what 
 our new owners intended to do with us. The secret was 
 carefully kept lest some of us should run away. 
 
 The day before that which had been appointed for the 
 sale, we were collected together. The able bodied men 
 and women were handcuffed and chained in a string. A 
 few old grey headed people and the younger children were 
 carried in a cart. The rest of us were driven along like 
 cattle men, women and children together. Three fellows 
 on horseback, with the usual equipment of long whips, 
 served at once, as guards and drivers. 
 
 I shall not attempt to describe our affliction. It would 
 be but the repetition of an oft-told tale. Who has not read 
 of slave-traders on the coast of Africa ? Whose heart has 
 not ached at picturing the terrors and despair of the kid 
 napped victims ? Our case was much the same. Many 
 of us had been born and reared at Oakland, and all looked 
 upon it as a home, nay more, as a city of refuge, where 
 we had always been safe from gratuitous insults and aggres 
 sions. From this home, we were now snatched away, 
 without a moment s warning ; and were driven chained to 
 the slave-market to be sold to the highest bidder. 
 
 Is it strange that we were reluctant to go? Had we 
 been setting out, of our own accord, to seek our fortunes, 
 we could not have broken, all at once, all the ties that 
 bound us to Oakland, without some throbs of natural grief 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 93 
 
 What then, must have been our anguish to leave it as 
 we did ? 
 
 But the tears of the men, the sobs of the women, and 
 the cries and terrors of the poor children, availed us nothing. 
 Our conductors cracked their whips, and made a jest of our 
 lamentations. Our sorrowful procession moved slowly on ; 
 and many a sad lingering look, we cast behind us. We 
 said nothing; and our melancholy reflections were only 
 interrupted by the curses, shouts, and loud laughter of our 
 drivers. 
 
 We lodged, that night, by the road side ; our drivers 
 sleeping and keeping watch by turns. The next day, we 
 reached the county court-house, and at the appointed hour, 
 the sale began. The company was not very numerous, 
 and the bidders seemed extremely shy. Many of our late 
 master s neighbors we re present. One of them remarked 
 that several of us were fine stout fellows, but, for his part, 
 he should be afraid to buy any of the Thornton hands, for 
 we had been so spoiled by our late master s foolish indul 
 gence, that one of us would be enough to spread discontent 
 through a whole neighborhood. This speech was received 
 with evident applause, and it had its intended effect. The 
 auctioneer did his best, and harangued most eloquently upon 
 our healthy, sound and plump condition. " As to the over 
 indulgence, that gentleman speaks about," he added, " a 
 good cow-hide and strict discipline will soon bring them 
 into proper subordination ; and from what I have heard 
 of that gentleman s own management, he is the very person 
 who ought to buy them." A slight titter ran through the 
 company, at this sally of the auctioneer s, but it did not 
 seem to make the bidding much brisker. We went off at 
 very moderate prices. Most of the younger men and women, 
 and a large proportion of the children were bought by a 
 slave-trader, who had come on purpose to attend the sale. 
 It was very difficult to get a bid for several of the old people. 
 Mr Thornton s nurse, who, as I have mentioned, had been 
 his house-keeper, and a person of no little consequence at 
 Oakland, was knocked off for twenty dollars. She was 
 bought by an old fellow, well known in the neighborhood 
 for his cruelty to his servants. He shook his head as the 
 
94 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 auctioneer s hammer struck the table, grinned a significant 
 smile, and said he believed the girl was yet able to handle 
 a hoe ; any how, he would get one summer s work out of 
 her. The old lady had scarcely held up her head since 
 the death of her master; but she forgot all her sorrows, she 
 forgot even to deplore the lot that seemed to await her, in 
 her anger at being sold at so small a price. She turned to 
 her purchaser, and with an indignant air, told him that she 
 was both younger and stronger than folks thought for, and 
 assured him that he had made the best bargain of any of 
 the company. The old fellow chuckled, but said nothing. 
 It was easy to read his thoughts. He was evidently re 
 solving to hold the old woman to her word. 
 
 Some of the old and decrepit slaves could not be sold at 
 all. They were not worth purchasing, and nobody would 
 make an oiler. I do not know what became of them. 
 
 The slave-dealer who had purchased most of the children, 
 declined buying such of the mothers as were past the age 
 of child-bearing. The parting of these mothers from their 
 children, was a new scene of misery and lamentation. The 
 poor things, snatched a little while before, from the home 
 of their birth and their infancy, and now, torn from the 
 mothers that bore and nursed them, clasped their little hands, 
 and shrieked with all the unrestrained vehemence of infant 
 agony. The mothers wept too ; but their grief was more 
 subdued. There was one old woman, the mother, she said, 
 of fifteen children. One little girl, about ten or twelve 
 years old, was all that remained to her. The others had 
 been sold and scattered, she knew not whither. She was 
 now to part from her youngest and only remaining child. 
 The little girl clung to her mother s dress with all the terror 
 of one who was about to be kidnapped, and her screams 
 and cries might have touched a heart of stone. Her new 
 master snatched the child away, hit her a cut with his whip, 
 and bade her hold her " damned clatter." A slave-trader, 
 however he may have the exterior of a gentleman, is in fact, 
 the same ferocious barbarian, whether on the coast of Guinea, 
 or in the heart of the f Ancient Dominion. 
 
 When our new master had completed his purchases, he 
 prepared to set out with his drove. He was one of a 
 
ARC1IY MOORE. 95 
 
 ?lave-dealing firm, whose head quarters were at the city of 
 Washington, the seat of the federal government, and the 
 capital of the United States of America. It was to this 
 place that he intended to carry us. The whole purchase 
 was about forty head, consisting in nearly equal proportions 
 of men, women and children. We were joined in couples 
 hy iron collars about our necks, which were connected by 
 a link of iron. To these connecting links, a heavy chain 
 was fastened, extending from one end of the drove to the 
 other. Besides all this, the right and left hands of every 
 couple were fastened together by hand-cuffs, and another 
 chain passed along these fastenings. The collars about our 
 necks, with their connecting chain, might have been thought 
 perhaps, under ordinary circumstances, a sufficient security; 
 but as our new master had heard from major Thornton s 
 neighbors, who were present at the sale, that we were " a 
 set of very dangerous fellows," he thought it best, as he 
 said, to omit no reasonable means of security. 
 
 The drove was presently put in motion. Our purchas 
 ers, with two or three assistants, rode beside us on horseback, 
 armed with whips, as usual. The journey was slow, sad 
 and wearisome. We travelled without any good will ; the 
 poor children harassed with the weight of their chains, and 
 unaccustomed to fatigue ; and all of us, faint for want of 
 food ; for our new master was an economist, who spent as 
 little on the road, as possible. 
 
 I will not dwell upon the tedious monotony of our suffer 
 ings and our journey. Suffice it to say, that after travelling 
 for several days, we crossed the no})te and wide-spreading 
 Potomac, and late at night, began to enter the federal city. 
 Perhaps I ought to say, the place where the federal city 
 was to be, for Washington, at that time, seemed only a 
 .straggling village, scattered over a wide extent of ground, 
 and interspersed with deserted fields, overgrown with bush 
 es. There were some indications however, of the future 
 metropolis. The Capitol, though unfinished, was rearing 
 its spacious walls in the moonlight, and gave promise of a 
 magnificent edifice. Lights gleamed from the windows. 
 The Congress perhaps was in session. I gazed at the 
 building with no little emotion. " This," said I to myself, 
 
96 MEMOIRS or 
 
 " is the head quarters of a great nation, the spot in which 
 its concentrated wisdom is collected, to devise laws for the 
 benefit of the whole community, the just and equal Jaws 
 of a free people and a great democracy !" I was going on 
 with this mental soliloquy, when the iron collar about my 
 neck touched a place from which it had rubbed the skin; 
 and as I started with the pain, the rattling of chains remind 
 ed me, that c these just and equal laws of a free people and 
 a great democracy* did not avail to rescue a million* of 
 bondmen from hopeless servitude ; and the cracking of our 
 drivers whips told too plainly that within a stone s throw 
 of the Temple of Liberty nay, under its very porticos 
 the most brutal, odious and detestable tyranny found none 
 to rebuke, or to forbid it. What sort of liberty is it whose 
 chosen city is a slave-market ? and what that freedom, 
 which permits the bravado insolence of a slave-trading aris 
 tocracy to lord it in the very halls of her legislation ? 
 
 We passed up the street which led by the Capitol, and 
 presently arrived at the establishment of Savage, Brothers 
 & Co, our new masters. Half an acre of ground, more or 
 less, was enclosed with a wall some twelve feet high, well 
 armed at the top, with iron spikes and pieces of broken 
 bottles. In the centre of the enclosure, was a low brick 
 building of no great size, with a few narrow, grated win 
 dows, and a stout door, well secured with bars and pad 
 locks. This was the establishment used by Messrs Savage, 
 Brothers & Co as a ware-house, in which they stowed 
 away such slaves, as they purchased from time to time, in 
 the neighboring country, to be kept till they were ready to 
 send them off in droves, or to ship them to the South. In 
 common with all the slave-trading gentry, Messrs Savage, 
 
 * The slaves in the United States are now nearly two millions and 
 a half. It ought perhaps to be added, that by the federal constitution 
 the general government has no right to interfere with the question of 
 slavery in the States. The legislature of each State is the sole judge 
 of that question, within its own limits. Slavery however, is still 
 tolerated within the District of Columbia, which includes the city of 
 Washington, over which Congress has an exclusive right of legislation. 
 It is to be hoped that the people of the free States will not be deterred 
 by the insolent and ferocious spirit of the slave-holders, from doing 
 themselves the justice to abolish slavery wherever it is within their 
 power. EDITOR. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 97 
 
 Brothers & Co had the free use of the city prison ; but this 
 was not large enough for the scale on which they earned 
 on operations ; so they had built a prison of their own. It 
 was under the management of a regular jailer, and was very 
 much like any other jail. The slaves were allowed the 
 liberty of the yard during the day time; but at sunset, they 
 were all locked up promiscuously in the prison. This was 
 small and ill-ventilated ; and the number that was forced 
 into it, was sometimes very great. While I was confined 
 there, the heat and stench were often intolerable ; and 
 many a morning, I came out of it, with a burning thirst and 
 a high fever. 
 
 The states of Maryland and Virginia claim the honor of 
 having exerted themselves for the abolition of the African 
 slave-trade. It is true they were favorable to that measure, 
 and they had good reasons of their own for being so. 
 They gained the credit of humanity, by the same vote that 
 secured them the monopoly of a domestic trade in slaves, 
 which bids fair to rival any traffic ever prosecuted on the 
 coast of Africa. The African traffic, they have declared to 
 be piracy, while the domestic slave-trade flourishes in the 
 heart of their own territories, a just, legal and honorable 
 commerce ! 
 
 The District of Columbia, which includes the city of 
 Washington, and which is situated between the two states 
 above mentioned, has become, from the convenience of its 
 situation, and other circumstances, the centre of these slave- 
 trading operations, an honor which it shares however, with 
 Richmond and Baltimore, the chief towns of Virginia and 
 Maryland. The lands of these two states have been ex 
 hausted by a miserable and inefficient system of cultivation, 
 such as ever prevails where farms are large, and the laborers 
 enslaved. Their produce is the same with the productions 
 of several of the free states north and west of them ; and 
 they are every day, sinking faster and faster, under the 
 competition of free labor to which they are exposed. 
 
 Many a Virginian planter can only bring his revenue 
 
 even with his expenditures, by selling every year, a slave 
 
 or two. This practice, jocularly, but at the same time 
 
 significantly known, as eating a negro a phrase worthy 
 
 9 
 
98 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of slave-holding humanity is becoming every day, more 
 and more common. A very large number of planters have 
 ceased to raise crops with the expectation of profit. They 
 endeavor to make the produce of their lands pay their cur 
 rent expenses ; but all their hopes of gain are confined to 
 the business of raising slaves for the southern market ; and 
 that market is as regularly supplied with slaves from Vir 
 ginia, as with mules and horses from Kentucky. 
 
 But the slave-trade in America, as well as in Africa, 
 carries with it the curse of depopulation ; and, together 
 with the emigration which is constantly going on, has 
 already unpeopled great tracts of country in the lower part 
 of Virginia, and is fast restoring the first seats of Anglo- 
 American population to all their original wildness and 
 solitude. Whole counties almost, are grown up in useless 
 and impenetrable thickets, already retenanted by deer and 
 other wild game, their original inhabitants. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 WE were driven into the prison-yard, through a stout 
 gate well studded with iron nails. The heavy padlocks of 
 the prison-door were unfastened, and we were thrust in, 
 without further ceremony. A faint glimmer of moon-light 
 stole in at the narrow and grated windows of the prison ; 
 but it was some time before I was able to distinguish one 
 object from another. When at length, my eyes had ac 
 commodated themselves to the faintness of the light, I 
 found myself crowded into the midst of perhaps a hundred 
 human beings, most of them young men and women 
 between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, closely 
 packed on the bare floor. 
 
 A considerable number started up at our entrance, and 
 began to crowd about us, and to inquire who we were, 
 and whence we came. They seemed glad of anything to 
 break the monotony of their confinement. But wearied 
 and fatigued, we were in no humor for talking ; and sink- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 99 
 
 ing down upon the floor of our prison, notwithstanding the 
 poisonous stench, and the confined and impure atmosphere, 
 we were soon buried in profound slumbers. Sleep is the 
 dearest solace of the wretched ; and there is this sweet 
 touch of mercy in it, that it ever closes the eyes of the 
 oppressed, more willingly than those of the oppressor. I 
 hardly think that any member of the firm of Savage, Broth 
 ers &t Co slept so soundly that night, as did the most 
 unquiet of their newly purchased victims. 
 
 Day came the prison-door was unlocked, and we were 
 let out into the enclosure about it. The scanty allowance 
 of corn-bread which the penuriousness of our wealthy but 
 economical masters allowed us, was doled out to each. My 
 meal finished, I sat down upon the ground, and observed 
 the scene about me. With a few exceptions, the prisoners 
 were collected in groups, some containing two or three, and 
 others a much larger number. The men were more numer 
 ous than the women, though the females had received a 
 considerable addition from our party. The acquaintance 
 of these new comers was eagerly sought for, and they were 
 constantly receiving solicitations to enter into temporary 
 unions, to last while the parties remained together. Most 
 of the women whom we found in the prison, had already 
 formed connections of this sort. 
 
 These courtships, if so they should be called, were still 
 going on, when a tall young fellow, with a very quizical face, 
 produced a three-stringed fiddle, and after preluding for a 
 few moments, struck up a lively tune. The sound of the 
 music soon drew a large group about him, who provided 
 themselves with partners and began a dance. As the fid 
 dler warmed to his business, he played faster and faster; and 
 the dancers, amidst laughs and shouts and boisterous merri 
 ment, did their best to keep up with the tune. 
 
 It is thus that men, whenever their natural sources of 
 enjoyment fail them, betake themselves to artificial excite 
 ments. Too often, we sing and dance, not because we are 
 merry, but in the hope to become so ; and merriment itself 
 is seldomer the expression and the evidence of pleasure, 
 than the disguise of weariness and pain, the hollow echo 
 of an aching heart. 
 
100 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 But the entire company did not join the dancers. As it 
 happened, it was Sunday ; and a part of them seemed to 
 entertain conscientious scruples about dancing on that, and 
 for aught I know, upon any other day. The more sober 
 part of the company gradually collected together in the op 
 posite corner of the prison-yard ; and a sedate young man, 
 with a handsome and intelligent face, mounted upon the 
 head of an empty barrel which happened to be standing 
 there, and taking a hymn-book from his pocket, struck up 
 a Methodist psalm. His voice was sweet and clear, and 
 his singing far from disagreeable. He was soon joined by 
 several others ; and as the chorus swelled, the sound of the 
 psalmody almost drowned the scraping of the fiddle and the 
 laughter of the dancers. I observed too, that several of the 
 dancing party, cast their eyes, from time to time wistfully 
 towards the singers ; and before the psalm was half finished, 
 several of the females had stolen softly away, and mingled 
 in the group collected about the preacher. The singing 
 being ended, he began to pray. His hands were clasped, 
 and raised, and he spoke with a ready fluency, and a 
 natural earnestness and unction, not always heard from a 
 regular clergyman in a cushioned pulpit. Tears ran down 
 many a face ; and sighs and groans almost drowned the 
 voice of the speaker. These perhaps, were mere practised 
 responses, as artificial, and as little sincere, as the drawl of 
 the parish clerk in the English church service. And yet in 
 some cases, they had every appearance of being genuine 
 bursts of natural feeling, an involuntary tribute to the elo 
 quence and fervor of the speaker. 
 
 Next followed the exhortation. The text was from Job ; 
 and the preacher began upon the trite subject of patience. 
 But like all ignorant and illiterate speakers, he soon desert 
 ed his original topic, and ran on from one thing to another, 
 with very little of method or connection. Now and then, 
 some sparks of sense were struck out ; but they were speed 
 ily quenched in a flood of absurdity. It was a strange 
 farrago ; but it was delivered with a volubility, an earnest 
 ness and a force, which produced a strong effect upon the 
 hearers. It was not long before he had worked them up to 
 a pitch of excitement, which far surpassed that of the 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 101 
 
 dancers in the opposite comer. Indeed, the dancing group 
 grew thinner and thinner, and the squeak of the fiddle 
 sounded weaker and weaker, till at last the fiddler threw 
 down his instrument, and with his remaining adherents 
 hastened to swell the audience of a performer whose powers 
 so much out-matched his own. 
 
 As the sermon proceeded, the groans and cries of mercy 
 and amen, grew louder and more frequent; and several, 
 overcome by their feelings, or wishing, or affecting to be so, 
 fell flat upon the ground, and screamed and shouted as if 
 they were possessed by evil spiiits. So strong was the 
 contagion, and so powerful the sympathetic infectiousness 
 of this spiritual intoxication, that I, a mere looker on, felt a 
 strong impulse to rush among the crowd, and to shriek and 
 shout with the rest. The paroxysm was now at its height, 
 and the speaker was almost exhausted by his vehement 
 gesticulation, when stamping his foot, with more than com 
 mon energy he burst in the head of the barrel and tumbled 
 headlong among his auditors. 
 
 This unlucky accident instantly converted the cries and 
 groans of his hearers, into shouts of irrepressible laughter ; 
 and they seemed to pass all at once, from a state of the ut 
 most terror and solemnity, into outrageous and uncontrollable 
 merriment. The fiddler crept out from amidst the hurly 
 burly, caught up his fiddle, and struck up a lively air, I 
 forget the name of it, but I recollect very well that it con 
 tained some allusion to the disaster of his rival. The dance 
 was renewed ; while the preacher, with a few of his more 
 attached hearers, slunk away mortified and disheartened. 
 The dancers grew more boisterous, and the fiddler played 
 his best ; till at last the party had fairly tired themselves 
 out, and were too much exhausted to keep it up any 
 longer. 
 
 Men bom and bred in slavery, are not men but children. 
 Their faculties are never permitted to unfold themselves ; 
 and it is the aim of their masters, and the necessary effect 
 of their condition, to keep them in a state of perpetual im 
 becility. Tyranny is ever hostile to every species of men 
 tal developement ; for a state of ignorance involves of 
 necessity, a state of degradation, and of helplessness. 
 9* 
 
102 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I soon made myself acquainted with a number of my 
 fellow prisoners, and entered into conversation with them. 
 Some of them had been in the jail a fortnight, and others 
 longer. I presently discovered that they considered their 
 confinement as a sort of holy day. They had nothing to 
 do ; and not to be compelled to work seemed, for them, 
 the supreme idea of happiness. As to being confined within 
 the walls of a prison ; they had the liberty of the yard, and 
 it was just as agreeable being shut up within four brick 
 walls, as to be prisoner on a plantation, forbidden to go be 
 yond the line of its zig-zag fences. Then they had no 
 overseer to harass them, and nothing to do but to dance 
 and sleep. Nothing was wanted but a little whiskey, and 
 even that was not always wanting. They seemed anxious 
 to drown all memory of the past, and all dread of the fu 
 ture, and to bask without concern, in the sunshine of their 
 present felicity. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 I HAD been in the jail ten days or a fortnight, when 
 Messrs Savage, Brothers &, Co selected from among their 
 chattels a cargo of slaves for the Charleston market. I was 
 one of the number ; and with some fifty others, was loaded 
 on board a small vessel bound for that port. The captain s 
 name was Jonathan Osborne. He was a citizen of Boston, 
 and the vessel, the brig Two Sallys, belonged to that port, 
 and was the property of a rich and respectable merchant. 
 
 The people of the northern States of the American 
 Union, talk finely upon the subject of slavery, and express 
 a very proper indignation at its horrors. Yet while the 
 African slave-trade was permitted, their merchants carried 
 it on ; and these same merchants do not always refuse to 
 employ their vessels in the domestic slave-trade, a traffic not 
 one iota less base and detestable. 
 
 Northern statesmen have permitted slavery where no 
 constitutional objections prevented them from abolishing it ; 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 103 
 
 the courts and lawyers of the North scrupulously fulfil to 
 the utmost letter, the constitutional obligation to restore to 
 the Southern master, the victim who has escaped his grasp, 
 and fled to the * free States, in the vain hope of protection ; 
 whilst the whole North looks calmly on, and tamely suffers 
 the Southern slave-holders to violate all the provisions of 
 that same constitution, and to imprison, torture, and put to 
 death, the citizens of the North without judge or jury, 
 whenever they imagine that such severities can contribute, 
 in the slightest degree, to the security of their slave-holding 
 tyranny. Nay more ; many of the Northern aristocrats, in 
 the energy of their hatred of democratical equality, seem 
 almost ready to envy, while they affect to deplore, the con 
 dition of their Southern brethren. And yet the northern 
 States of the Union dare to assert that they are undefiled 
 by the stain of slavery. It is a vain, false boast. They 
 are partners in the wrong. The blood of the slave is on 
 their hands, and is dripping in red and gory drops, from the 
 skirts of their garments. 
 
 Before leaving the prison, we were supplied with hand 
 cuffs, those usual badges and emblems of servitude, and 
 having reached the wharf, we were crammed together, into 
 the hold of the vessel, so close that we had hardly room to 
 move, and not room enough either to lie or sit with comfort. 
 The vessel got under way soon after we came on board, 
 and proceeded down the river. Once or twice a day, we 
 were suffered to come on deck, and to breathe the fresh air 
 for a few minutes ; but we were soon remanded to our dun 
 geon in the hold. The mate of the vessel seemed to be a 
 good natured young man, and disposed to render our con 
 dition as comfortable as possible ; but the captain was a 
 savage tyrant, worthy of the business in which he was en 
 gaged. 
 
 We had been on our voyage a day or two, and had 
 already cleared the river, and were standing down the bay, 
 when I became excessively sick. A burning fever seemed 
 raging in my veins. It was after sunset ; the hatches were 
 closed down ; and the heat of the narrow hold in which 
 we were confined, and which was more than half filled up 
 with boxes and barrels, became intolerable. I knocked 
 
104 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 against the deck, and called aloud for air and water. It 
 was the mate s watch. He came forward to ascertain what 
 was the matter, and bade the men unfasten the hatches and 
 lift me upon deck. I snatched the basin of water which 
 he gave me, and though brackish and warm, it seemed to my 
 feverish taste the most delicious of drinks. I drained it to 
 the bottom and called for more ; but the mate, who feared 
 perhaps that excessive drinking might aggravate my disor 
 der, refused this request. I w r anted air as much as water. 
 This he did not refuse me ; and I was lying on the deck, 
 imbibing at every pore the cool breeze of the evening, when 
 the captain came up the companion-way. 
 
 He no sooner saw the hatches off, and me lying on the 
 deck, than he stepped up to his mate, with a clinched fist 
 and a face distorted with passion, and addressed him with 
 " How dare you, sir, take off the hatches after sundown, 
 without my orders ? " 
 
 The mate attempted an apology, and began with saying 
 that I was taken suddenly sick, and had called for assistance ; 
 but without waiting to hear him out, the brutal captain 
 rushed by, and hitting me a kick, precipitated me headlong, 
 into the hold, upon the heads of my companions. Without 
 stopping to inquire, whether or not my neck was broken, 
 he bade his men replace and secure the hatches. Luckily 
 I sustained but little injury ; though I came within an inch 
 of having my skull broken against one of the beams. The 
 water I had drank, and the cool air I had breathed, abated 
 my fever, and I soon began to grow better. 
 
 In the course of the next day, we passed the capes of the 
 Chesapeake, and entered the great Atlantic. We stood to 
 the southward and eastward, and were making rapid way, 
 when it came on to blow a furious gale. The tossing and 
 pitching of the ship was terrible indeed to us poor prisoners, 
 confined in the dark hold, and expecting, at every burst of 
 thunder, that the vessel was breaking in pieces. The storm 
 continued to increase. The noise and tumult on deck, the 
 creaking of the rigging, the cries of the seamen, and the 
 sound of cracking spars and splitting canvass, added to our 
 terror. Pretty soon, we found that the hold was filling with 
 water, and an alarm was given that the vessel had sprung 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 105 
 
 a-leak. The hatches were opened, and we were called on 
 deck. Our hand-cuffs were knocked off, and we were set 
 to work at the pumps. 
 
 I could not tell whether it were night or morning ; for 
 the gale had now lasted a good while, and since it began, 
 we had not been suffered to come on deck. However it 
 was not totally dark. A dim and horrid glimmer, just suf 
 ficient to betray our situation, and more terrible perhaps 
 than total darkness, was hovering over the ocean. At a 
 distance, the huge black waves, crested with pale blue foam, 
 seemed to move on like monsters of the deep ; nor when 
 nearer, did they lose any of their terrors. Now we sunk 
 into a horrid gulf, between two watery precipices, which 
 swelled on either side, black, and frowning, and ready to 
 devour us ; and now, lifted on the top of a lofty wave, we 
 viewed all around, a wild and fearful waste of dark and 
 stormy waters. It was a terrible sight for one who had 
 never seen the sea before ; and as I gazed upon it, half stu 
 pefied with terror, little did I think that this same fierce and 
 raging element, was to prove hereafter, my best and surest 
 friend ! 
 
 The brig was almost a total wreck. Her foremast was 
 gone by the board ; and she was lying to on the starboard 
 tack, under a close reefed main-top-sail. These are terms 
 which, at that time, I had never heard.. It was long after 
 wards that I learned to use them. But the whole scene 
 remains as distinct upon my memory as if it had been paint 
 ed there. 
 
 Notwithstanding all our efforts, the leak gained upon us ; 
 and the captain soon made up his mind that it would be im 
 possible to keep the vessel afloat. Accordingly he made 
 his preparations for quitting her. He and his mates were 
 armed with swords and pistols ; and cutlasses were put into 
 the hands of two or three of the crew. The long boat had 
 been washed overboard ; but they had succeeded in secur 
 ing the jolly boat, which they now lowered away and 
 dropped into the water under the vessel s lee. The crew 
 were already embarking, before we well understood what 
 they were about ; but as soon as we comprehended that 
 they were going to desert the ship, we rushed franticly for- 
 
106 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 ward, and demanded to be taken on board. This they had 
 expected, and they were prepared for it. Three or four 
 pistol shots were fired among us, and several of us were 
 severely wounded by the sailors cutlasses. At the same 
 time, they cried to us to stand back, and they would take 
 us on board as soon as all things were ready. Terrified 
 and confused, we stood a moment doubting what to do. 
 The sailors improved this interval to jump on board, 
 " Cast off" shouted the captain, the seamen bent to their 
 oars, and the boat was fast quitting the vessel, before we 
 had recovered from our momentary hesitation. 
 
 We raised a shout, or rather a scream of terror, at finding 
 ourselves thus deserted ; and three or four poor wretches, 
 on the impulse of the moment, sprang into the water, in the 
 hope of reaching the boat. All but one sunk instantly in 
 the boiling surge ; he, a man of herculean frame, springing 
 with all the effort of a death-struggle, was carried far beyond 
 the rest, and rising through the billows, found himself just 
 behind the boat. He ^stretched out his hand and caught 
 the rudder. The captain was steering. He drew a pistol 
 and fired it at the head of the swimmer. We heard a 
 scream above all the noise of the tempest. It was only for 
 a moment ; he sunk, and we saw him no more. 
 
 It is impossible to convey any adequate idea of the terror 
 and confusion which now prevailed on board. The women, 
 now screaming, now praying, were frantic with fear. Four 
 or five poor fellows lay about the deck bleeding and des 
 perately wounded. Death seemed to ride upon the storm, 
 and to summon his victims. The vessel still lay with her 
 head to windward ; but the spray dashed over her continu 
 ally, and every now and then, she shipped a sea which set 
 the decks a-float and drenched us in salt water. It occurred 
 to me, that unless the pumps were kept going, the vessel 
 would soon fill and carry us to the bottom. I called about 
 me, such of the men as seemed to be most in their senses, 
 and endeavored to explain to them our situation ; but they 
 were stupefied with terror, and would not, or could not, un 
 derstand me. As a last resource, I rushed forward, crying 
 " Pump my hearties, pump for your lives." This was 
 the phrase which the captain and his mates had continually 
 
AJICHY MOORE. 107 
 
 repeated, as they stood over us, and directed our labor. The 
 poor creatures seemed to obey as if instinctively, this voice 
 of command. They collected about me and began to work 
 the pumps. If it had no other good effect, at least it served 
 lo call off our attention from the horrors with which we 
 were surrounded. We plied our work till one of the pump? 
 was broken and the other choked and rendered useless. By 
 this time the storm had abated, and the vessel, notwithstand 
 ing all our fears to the contrary, still rode the waves. 
 
 It grew lighter by degrees. Presently the clouds began 
 to break away, and to drive in huge, misty masses along 
 the sky. Occasionally the sun broke out ; and after a con 
 siderable dispute, whether it were rising or setting, we con 
 cluded it must be some four or five hours past sunrise. 
 
 As soon as the women had recovered from the first par 
 oxysm of their terror, they gave such care as they could, to 
 the poor sufferers, who had been wounded. They had 
 bound up their wounds, and had collected them together on 
 the quarter deck. One poor fellow who had been shot 
 through the body with a pistol ball, was much worse hurt 
 than the others. His wife was supporting his head on her 
 lap, and was trying to prevent the pitching of the vessel 
 from aggravating his sufferings. She had been standing by 
 him, or rather clinging to him, at the moment he was 
 wounded. She had caught him in her arms as he fell, had 
 dragged him from the press, and from that moment seemed 
 to forget all the horrors of our situation, in her incessant 
 efforts lo soothe his pains. Her affectionate care had 
 proved of little avail. The struggle was now almost over, 
 [n a little while, he expired in her arms. When she found 
 that he was dead, her grief, which she had controlled and 
 suppressed so long, burst forth in all its energy. Her female 
 companions gathered about her, but the poor woman was 
 beyond the reach of consolation. 
 
 Some of us now ventured below, and took the liberty of 
 overhauling the steward s stores. Every thing was more or 
 less damaged with salt water ; but we lighted upon a cask 
 or two of bread, which was tolerably dry, and which suf 
 ficed to furnish us a sumptuous repast. 
 
 We had not finished it, before we discovered a vessel 
 
108 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 standing towards us. As she approached, we waved frag 
 ments of the tattered sails, and shouted for assistance. 
 Having run down pretty near us, she hove to, and sent a 
 boat on board. When the boat s crew had mounted over 
 the brig s side, they seemed utterly amazed at the scene 
 which her decks presented. I stepped forward, and ex 
 plained to the officer the nature of our situation ; that we 
 were a cargo of slaves bound from Washington to Charles 
 ton, and that the vessel and her lading had been deserted 
 by the crew ; that contrary to every expectation, we had 
 succeeded in keeping her afloat, but that the pumps were 
 out of order and she was again filling. 
 
 The mate hastened back to his own ship and soon re 
 turned with the captain and the carpenter. After examin 
 ing and consulting together, they determined to put a part 
 of their own crew on board the brig, and to navigate her 
 into Norfolk, to which port they were bound, and which 
 was the nearest harbor. The carpenter was put to work 
 stopping her leaks and repairing her pumps. Her new 
 crew set up a jury foremast, out of such materials as they 
 found on board. She was soon in sailing order, and they 
 shook the reefs out of her main-top-sail and put her before 
 the wind. 
 
 The vessel which had rescued us, was the Arethusa, of 
 New York, Charles Parker, master ; and lest we might 
 need assistance, she slackened sail and kept us company. 
 Before night we made the land, and a pilot came on board. 
 The next morning we entered the harbor of Norfolk. The 
 vessel had scarcely touched the wharf, before we were hur 
 ried away, and locked up in the city jail for safe keeping. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 WE remained in jail some three weeks, before anybody 
 condescended to inform us why we were kept there, or what 
 was to become of us. We now learned that captain Par 
 ker and his crew, had libelled the Two Sallys and her cargo 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 109 
 
 for salvage ; and that the Court had ordered the libelled 
 property to be sold at auction, for the joint benefit of the 
 owners and salvors. This was all Greek to us. I had not 
 the most distant idea what was meant by libelling for 
 salvage, and I hardly think that any of the others under 
 stood it better than I. Nobody took the trouble to explain 
 it to us ; it was enough for us to understand, that we were 
 to be sold ; the why and the wherefore, it was thought of 
 no consequence for slaves to know. 
 
 As I had already been twice sold at public auction, the 
 thing had lost its interest and its novelty. I was tired of 
 the confinement of the prison ; and as I knew that I must 
 be sold at last, I was as ready to take my chance now 
 as ever. 
 
 The sale was much like other sales of slaves. There 
 was only one circumstance about it, that seemed worthy of 
 particular notice. The wounded men, though they were 
 not yet cured, indeed two of the four were hardly thought 
 out of danger, were to be sold among the rest. "Damaged 
 articles," the auctioneer observed, "which he was willing to 
 dispose of at a great discount." The four were offered in 
 one lot, " Like so many broken frying pans," said one of 
 the. spectators, " but for my part, I have no fancy for specu 
 lating either in broken frying pans, wounded slaves, or sick 
 horses." A physician who was present, was advised to 
 purchase. " If they should happen to die," said his adviser, 
 " they would be quite useless to any body else, but you 
 might find some use for their dead bodies." Various other 
 jests equally brilliant and pointed, were thrown out by others 
 of the company, and were received with shouts of laughter 
 that contrasted a little harshly, with the sad, woe-begono 
 faces, and low moans of the wounded men, who were 
 brought to the place of sale on little pallets, and who lay 
 upon the ground, the very pictures of sickness and distress. 
 
 This jocular humor had reached a high pitch, when it 
 was rather suddenly checked, by a tall fine looking man, 
 who had more the air and manners of a gentleman than the 
 greater part of the company. He observed, with a tone 
 and a look of some severity, that in his opinion, selling men 
 upon their death-beds was no laughing matter. He imme- 
 10 
 
1 10 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 diately made a bid quite beyond any thing that had been 
 offered, and the auctioneer pronounced him to be the pur 
 chaser. I hoped this same gentleman might have purchased 
 me also ; but as soon as he had given some directions about 
 the removal of the wounded men, he left the place of sale, 
 Perhaps I had no reason to regret it. This gentleman, for 
 aught I could tell, had acted, as a hundred other slave- 
 buyers might have done, from a momentary impulse of 
 humanity, which disgusted him, it is true, with the brutality 
 of the rest of the company, but which in all likelihood, was 
 neither strong nor steady enough to render his treatment of 
 his servants much different from that of his neighbors. 
 Such temporary fits of humanity and good nai.ure, are occa 
 sionally felt by every body ; but they are no guarantee 
 whatever, against an habitual disregard of the rights and 
 feelings of those, who are not allowed to protect themselves, 
 and who are protected neither by the laws nor by public 
 opinion. 
 
 I was purchased by an agent of Mr James Carleton, of 
 Carleton-Hall, in one of the northern counties of North Car 
 olina ; and \vas presently sent off with two or three of my 
 companions, for the plantation of our new master. 
 
 After a journey of four or five days, we arrived at Carle 
 ton-Hall. It was like the residences of so many other 
 American planters, a mean house, with no great signs about 
 it, either of ornament or comfort. At a short distance from 
 the House, was the servants quarter, a miserable collection 
 of ruinous cabins, crowded together without any order, and 
 almost concealed in the vigorous growth of weeds, that 
 sprung up around and among them. 
 
 Soon after our arrival, we were carried into the presence 
 of our new master, who examined us one by one, and in 
 quired into our several capabilities. Having learned that I 
 had been raised a house-servant, and being pleased, as he 
 said, with my manners and appearance, he told me he 
 would take me into the house to supply the place of his 
 man John, who had become so confirmed a drunkard, that 
 he had been obliged to turn him into the field. 
 
 I was well enough pleased with this arrangement ; for in 
 general, those slaves who are house servants, are infinitely 
 
ARCHY MOORE. Ill 
 
 better off than those who are employed in field labor. 
 They are better fed, and better clothed, and their work is 
 much lighter. They are sure of the crumbs that fall from 
 their master s table ; and as the master s eyes and those of 
 his guests, would be offended by a display of dirt and rags 
 in the dining room, house servants are comfortably clothed, 
 not so much, it is true, on their own account, as for the 
 gratification of their owner s vanity. As it is a matter of 
 ostentation to have a house full of servants, the labor be 
 comes light when divided among so many. Sufficient food, 
 comfortable clothing, and light work are not to be despised ; 
 hut the circumstance which principally contributes to make 
 i lie condition of the house servant more tolerable than that 
 of the field hand, is of a different description. Men, and 
 especially women and children, cannot have any thing 
 much about them, be it a dog, a cat, or even a slave, 
 without insensibly contracting some interest in it and regard 
 for it ; and it thus happens that a family servant often 
 becomes quite a favorite, and is at length regarded with 
 a feeling that bears some faint and distant resemblance to 
 family affection. 
 
 This is the most tolerable in fact, the only tolerable 
 point of view in which slavery can be made to present 
 itself; and it has been, by steadily fixing their eyes on a 
 few cases of this sort, and as steadily closing them to all its 
 intrinsic horrors and enormities, that some bold sophists 
 have mustered. courage to make the eulogium of slavery. 
 
 Yet this best condition of a slave, that I mean of a 
 household servant, is often, almost too miserable for en 
 durance. If there are kind masters and good natured 
 mistresses, it happens too frequently, that the master is a 
 capricious tyrant, and the mistress a fretful scold. The 
 poor servant is exposed, every hour of his life, to a course 
 of harsh rebukes, and peevish chidings, which are always 
 threatening to end in the torture of the lash, and which to a 
 person of any spirit or sensibility, are more annoying than 
 even the lash itself. And all this is without hope or chance 
 of remedy. The master and the mistress indulge their bad 
 humor without restraint. No fear of warning puts any 
 curb upon them. The slave is theirs ; and they can treat 
 
112 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 him as they please. He cannot help himself; and there is 
 no one to help him. 
 
 Mr Carleton, while he entertained most of the notions of 
 his brother planters, differed from the greater part of them 
 in one striking particular. He was a zealous presbyterian. 
 and very warm and earnest, in the cause of religion. Had 
 any one told him, that to hold men in slavery was a high 
 handed offence against religion and morality, what would 
 have been his answer ? Would his heart have responded 
 to the truth of a sentiment so congenial to every more 
 generous emotion and better feeling ? I am much afraid it 
 would not. I fear he would have answered much like 
 those of his brother slave-holders, who made no pretensions 
 whatever to peculiar piety. With a secret consciousness of 
 his criminality, but with a fixed determination never to ad 
 mit it, he would have worked himself into a violent passion ; 
 talked of the i sacred rights of property, more sacred in a 
 slave-holder s estimation than either liberty or justice ; and 
 declaimed against impertinent interference in the affairs of 
 other people, a topic, by the way, which is very seldom 
 much insisted upon, except by those whose affairs will 
 hardly bear examination. 
 
 Mr Carleton, though a zealous presbyterian, had, as I 
 have said, most of the feelings and notions of his brother 
 planters. It thus happened, that his character, his conver 
 sation and his conduct were full of strange contrasts, and 
 were forever presenting an odd, incongruous mixture of the 
 bully and the puritan. I use the word bully for want of 
 a better, not exactly in its most vulgar sense, but intending 
 to signify by it, a certain spirit of bravado and violence, 
 a disposition to settle every disputed point by the pistol, so 
 common, I might almost say universal, in the southern States 
 of America. Mr Carleton with all his piety, talked as fa 
 miliarly of shooting people, as if he had been a professed 
 assassin. 
 
 As I had the honor of waiting upon Mr Carleton s table, 
 and the pleasure and advantage of listening every day to 
 his conversation, I soon came to understand his character 
 perfectly, as perfectly at least as it was possible for any 
 body to understand so very inconsistent a character. He had 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 113 
 
 family prayers, night and morning, with the most punctilious 
 regularity. He prayed long and fervently, and on his 
 bended knees. He was particularly earnest in his petitions 
 for the universal spread of the gospel ; he asked most 
 devoutly, that as all men were creatures of the same God, 
 they might speedily hecome children of the same faith. 
 Yet not only the plantation slaves were never invited to 
 join in this family worship, but even the house-servant^ were 
 excluded. The door was shut ; and at the very moment 
 when the devout Mr Carleton professed to prostrate himself 
 in the dust before his Creator, he felt too strongly the sense 
 of his own superiority, to permit even his household servants 
 to participate in his devotions ! 
 
 But for all this, Mr Carleton evidently had the cause of 
 religion very much at heart, and seemed ready to spend 
 and be spent in the service. There were very few clergy 
 men in the part of the country in which he resided, and his 
 zeal frequently led him to supply the gap, by acting as an 
 exhorter. Indeed there was scarcely a Sunday that he did 
 not hold forth somewhere in the neighborhood. Within ten 
 miles of Carleton-Hall, in different directions, there were as 
 many as three churches, wretched, ruinous, little buildings, 
 that looked more like deserted barns than places of public 
 worship. All of these Mr Carleton had caused to be re 
 paired, principally at his own expense, and in each of them 
 he preached occasionally. But he did not consider a 
 church as indispensable to an exhortation. During the 
 summer, he frequently held meetings in some shady grove, 
 or by the side of some cool spring ; and in the winter, 
 sometimes in his own house, and sometimes in the houses 
 of his neighbors. He was generally pretty sure of a con 
 siderable audience. That part of the country was thinly 
 inhabited, and the people had but few amusements. They 
 were glad of any occasion of assembling together, and 
 seemed to care very little whether it were a preaching or 
 a frolic. Besides, Mr Carleton was really an agreeable 
 speaker ; and the earnestness and vehemence of his man 
 ner, were well calculated to attract an audience. 
 
 A very considerable proportion of his hearers were slaves ; 
 for though he did not judge it expedient to allow them to 
 
114 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 become partakers in his private devotions, be had no objec 
 tion to their swelling his audience, and giving a sort of 
 eclat to his public performances. Indeed, towards the end 
 of his discourses, he would often condescend to introduce a 
 few sentences for their particular benefit. The change 
 which took place in his manner, when he came to that part 
 of his sermon, was sufficiently obvious. The phrase, * dear 
 brethren, which in the earlier part of it, he was forever 
 repeating, was now suddenly dropped. The preacher as 
 sumed a condescending, patronizing air, and briefly and dryly 
 informed those of his hearers, whom God had appointed 
 to be servants, that their only hope of salvation was in pa 
 tience, obedience, submission, diligence and subordination. 
 He warned them earnestly, against thieving and lying, their 
 easily besetting sins; and enforced at some length, the 
 great wickedness and folly of being discontented with their 
 condition. All this was applauded by the masters as very 
 orthodox doctrine, and very proper to be preached to ser 
 vants. The servants themselves received it with an outward 
 submission, to which their hearts gave the lie. Nor is it 
 very strange, considering the doctrines which he preached 
 to them, that the greater part of Mr Carleton s converts 
 among the slaves, were hypocritical fellows, who made 
 their religion a cloak for their roguery. There was in fact, 
 much truth in the observation of one of Mr Carleton s 
 neighbors, that most of the slaves, in that part of the coun 
 try, had no religion at all, and that those who pretended to 
 have any were worse than the others. And how could it 
 be otherwise, when in the venerable name of religion, they 
 had preached to them a doctrine of double-distilled tyranny, 
 a doctrine which not content with now and then a human 
 victim, demanded the perpetual sacrifice of one half the 
 entire community ? 
 
 Alas Christianity ! What does it avail, thy concern for 
 the poor, thy tenderness for the oppressed, thy system 
 of fraternal love and affection ! The serpent knows how 
 to suck poison from the harmless nature of the dove. The 
 tyrants of every age and country, have succeeded in prosti 
 tuting Christianity into an instrument of their crimes, a terroi 
 to their victims, and an apology for their oppressions ! Noi 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 115 
 
 have they ever wanted time-serving priests and lying proph 
 ets, to applaud, encourage, and sustain them ! 
 
 However little the slaves might relish Mr Carleton s 
 doctrines, of which indeed their own hearts instinctively 
 made the refutation, they were very fond of attending 
 upon his performances. It was some relief to the eternal 
 monotony of their lives ; and it gave them an opportunity 
 of getting together after the meeting was over, and having a 
 frolic among themselves. This recreation, which it afforded 
 to the servants, was in my opinion, the best effect of Mr 
 Carleton s labors ; though certain gentlemen, who dreaded 
 every assembly of slaves, as a source of discontent and 
 conspiracy, were very earnest in the condemnation of his 
 meetings, under the hypocritical pretence of being shocked 
 at the violations of the Sabbath, of which they furnished 
 the occasion ! 
 
 Mr Carleton was president of a Bible society, and was 
 very anxious and earnest about the universal diffusion of 
 the Bible. I soon found out however, that besides myself, 
 there was not a single slave on his plantation, nor indeed in 
 all the neighborhood, who knew how to read : and what 
 was more, I learned that Mr Carleton was extremely un 
 willing to have any of them taught. 
 
 There is connected with this subject, a point of view, in 
 which the system of domestic slavery that prevails in Amer 
 ica, exhibits itself as out-braving all other tyrannies, and 
 betraying a demoniac spirit almost too horrid to be thought 
 of. Mr Carleton believed, and the immense majority of 
 his fellow countrymen believe also, that the Bible contains 
 a revelation from God, of things essential to man s eternal 
 welfare. In this belief, and animated by a lofty spirit of 
 philanthropy, they have formed societies and of one of 
 these Mr Carleton was president ; and contribute their 
 money as Mr Carleton did very liberally to disseminate 
 the Bible through the world, and to put this divine and 
 unerring guide into the possession of every family. But 
 while they are so zealous to confer this inestimable treasure 
 upon all the world beside, they sternly withhold it from those, 
 o f whom the law has made them the sole guardians. They 
 withhold it from their slaves, of whom, to use their own 
 
116 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 hypocritical cant, God has appointed them the natural pro 
 tectors ; and in so doing, by their own confession, they 
 voluntarily and knowingly expose those slaves, to the dan 
 ger of eternal punishment ! To this awful danger, they 
 voluntarily and knowingly expose them, lest, should they 
 learn to read, they might learn at the same time, their own 
 rights, and the means of enforcing them. 
 
 What outrage upon humanity was ever equal to this ? 
 Other tyrannies have proceeded all lengths against man s 
 temporal happiness ; and in support of their evil dominion, 
 have hazarded every extreme of temporary cruelty ; hut 
 what other tyrants are recorded in all the world s history, 
 who have openly and publicly confessed, that they prefer 
 to expose their victims to the imminent danger of eternal 
 misery, rather than impart a degree of instruction, which 
 might, by possibility, endanger their own unjust and usurped 
 authority ? Can any one calmly consider the cool diabolism 
 of this avowal, and believe it is men who make it ? Men 
 too, who seem in other matters, not destitute of the common 
 feelings of good will ; men who talk about liberty, virtue, 
 and religion, and who speak even of justice and humanity ! 
 
 Were I inclined to superstition, 1 should believe they 
 were not men, but rather demons incarnate ; evil spirits 
 who had assumed the human shape, and who falsely put 
 on a semblance of human feelings, in order the more secretly 
 and securely to prosecute their grand conspiracy against 
 mankind. I should believe so, did I not know that the 
 love of social superiority, that very impulse of the human 
 heart, which is the main-spring of civilization and the chief 
 source of all human improvement, is able, when suffered to 
 \vork on, uncontrolled by other more generous emotions, to 
 corrupt man s whole nature, and to drive him to acts the 
 most horrid and detestable. When to the corruptest form 
 of this fierce passion, is joined a base fear, at once cowardly 
 and cruel, what wonder that man becomes a creature to be 
 scorned and hated ? To be pitied rather ; the maniac can 
 hardly be held accountable for the enormities to which his 
 madness prompts him, even though that madness be self- 
 created. 
 
 However diabolical the tyranny may be esteemed, which 
 
ARC II Y MOORE. 117 
 
 to secure its usurped authority, is ready to sacrifice both the 
 temporal and eternal happiness of its victims, it is no doubt 
 well adapted to accomplish the end at which it aims ; 
 namely, its own perpetuation. But it is necessary to go 
 one step further. The slave-holders ought to recollect, 
 that all knowledge is dangerous ; and that it is impossible 
 to give the slaves any instruction in Christianity, without 
 imparting to them some dangerous ideas. It matters not 
 that the law prohibits the teaching them to read. Oral 
 instruction is as dangerous as written ; and the catechism is 
 nothing but a Bible in disguise. Let them go on then, 
 and bring their work to a glorious completion. Let them 
 prohibit at once, all religious instruction. They must come 
 to this at last. Let me tell them, that the time is past, in 
 which Mr Carleton s doctrine of passive obedience is all 
 that a religious teacher has to utter. There is another 
 spirit abroad ; and that spirit will penetrate, wherever reli 
 gious instruction opens the way for it. Now-a-day it is 
 impossible to hail the slave as a Christian brother, without 
 first acknowledging his rights as a fellow man. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 1 HAD not been long in Mr Carleton s service, before I 
 discovered, that a pretty sure way of getting into his good 
 graces, was to be a great admirer of his religious perform 
 ances, and a devout attendant upon such of them as his 
 servants might attend. There never was a person less 
 inclined by nature to hypocrisy than myself. But craft 
 and cunning are the sole resource of a slave ; and I had 
 long ago learned to practise a thousand arts, which, at the 
 same time that I despised them, I often found extremely 
 useful. 
 
 For these arts, I now had occasion ; and I plied my 
 flattery to such purpose, that I soon gained the good will 
 of my master, and before long, was duly established in the 
 situation of confidential servant. This was a station of very 
 
118 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 considerable respectability; anil next to the overseer, I was 
 decidedly the most consequential person on the place. It 
 was my duty to attend specially upon my master, to ride 
 about with him to meetings, cany his cloak and Bible, anil 
 take care of his horse ; for among other matters Mr Carle- 
 ton was a connoisseur in horses, and he did not like to trust 
 his, to the usual blundering negligence of his neighbor." 
 grooms. 
 
 Pretty soon, my master found out my accomplishments 
 of reading and writing, for I inadvertently betrayed a secret, 
 which I had determined to keep to myself. At first he did 
 not seem to like it ; but as he could not unlearn me, he 
 soon determined to turn these acquirements of mine to some 
 account. He had a good deal of writing, of one sort and 
 another ; and lie set me to work as copier. In my charac 
 ter of secretary, I was often called upon, when my master 
 was busy, to write passes for the people. This raised 
 my consequence extremely ; and my fellow servants soon 
 began to look upon me, as second only to master 
 himself. 
 
 Mr Carlcton was naturally humane and kind-hearted ; 
 and though his sudden out-breaks of impatience and fret- 
 fulness were often vexatious enough, still if one humored 
 him, they were generally soon over; and as if he reproached 
 himself for not keeping a better guard upon his temper, 
 they were often followed by an affability and indulgence 
 greater than usual. I soon learned the art of managing 
 him to the best advantage, and every day I rose in his 
 favor. 
 
 I had a good deal of leisure ; and I found means to em 
 ploy it both innocently and agreeably. Mr Carlcton had a 
 collection of books very unusual for a North Carolina 
 planter. This library must have contained between two 
 and three hundred volumes. It was the admiration of all 
 the country round ; and contributed not a little, to give its 
 owner the character of a great scholar, and a very learned 
 man. My situation of confidential servant, gave me free 
 access to it. The greater part of the volumes treated of 
 divinity, but there were some of a more attractive descrip 
 tion ; and I was able to gratify occasionally and by stealth 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 119 
 
 for I did not like to be seen reading any thing but the 
 Bible tbat taste for knowledge which 1 bad imbibed 
 \vhen a child, and which all the degradations of servitude, 
 had not utterly extinguished. All things considered, 1 found 
 myself much more agreeably situated, than I bad been at 
 any time since the death of my first master. 
 
 I wish, both for their sakes and his own, that all the rest 
 of Mr Carleton s slaves had been as well off and as kindly 
 treated as myself. The house servants, it is true, had noth 
 ing to complain of; except indeed, those grievous evils, 
 which are inseparable from a state of servitude, and which 
 no tenderness or indulgence on the part of the master, can 
 ever do away. But the plantation hands some fifty in 
 number were very differently situated. Mr Carleton, like 
 a large proportion of American planters, had no knowledge 
 of agriculture, and not the slightest taste for it. He had 
 never given any attention to the business of bis plantation ; 
 bis youth had been spent in a course of boisterous dissipa 
 tion ; and since his conversion, he had been entirely devoted 
 to the cause of religion. Of course his planting affairs and 
 all that related to them, were wholly in the hands of his 
 overseer, who was shrewd, plausible, intelligent and well 
 acquainted with his business ; but a severe task-master, bad 
 tempered, and if all reports were true, not very much over 
 burdened with honesty. Mr Warner, for this was the 
 overseer s name, was engaged on terms which however 
 ruinous to the planter and his plantation, were very common 
 in Virginia and the Carolinas. Instead of receiving a reg 
 ular salary in money, he took a certain proportion of the 
 crop. Of course, it was his interest to make the largest 
 crop possible, without any regard whatever to the means 
 used to make it. What was it to him though the lands 
 were exhausted, and the slaves worn out with heavy tasks 
 and unreasonable labors? He owned neither the lands nor 
 tbe slaves, and if in ten or twelve years, and for some 
 thing like that time he had been established at Carleton- 
 Hall, he could scourge all their value out of them, the 
 gain was his, and the loss would be his employer s. This 
 desirable consummation, he seemed pretty nearly arrived 
 at. The lands at Carleton-IIall, were never cultivated, it 
 
120 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 is likely, with any tolerable skill ; but Mr Warner had car 
 ried the process of exhaustion to its last extremity. Field 
 after field had been turned out as they call it that is, left 
 uncultivated and unfenced, to grow up with broom-sedge 
 and persimmon bushes, and be grazed by all the cattle of 
 the neighborhood. Year after year, new land had been 
 opened, and exposed to the same exhausting process, which 
 had worn out the fields that had been already abandoned : 
 till at last, there was no new land left upon the plantation. 
 
 Mr Warner now began to talk about throwing up his em 
 ployment ; and it was only by urgent solicitations, and a 
 greater proportion of the diminished produce, that Mr Carle- 
 ton had prevailed upon him to remain another year. 
 
 But it was not the land only, that suffered. The slaves 
 were subjected to a like process of exhaustion ; and what 
 with hard work, insufficient food, and an irregular and ca 
 pricious severity, they had become discontented, sickly and 
 inefficient. There never was a time that two or three of 
 them, and sometimes many more, were not runaways, wan 
 dering in the woods ; and hence originated further troubles, 
 and fresh severity. 
 
 Mr Carleton had expressly directed, that his servants 
 should receive an allowance of corn, and especially of meat, 
 which in that part of the world was thought extremely 
 liberal ; and I believe, if the allowance had been faithfully 
 distributed, the heartiest man upon the place would have 
 received about half as much meat as was consumed by Mr 
 Carleton s youngest daughter, a little girl some ten or twelve 
 years old. But if the slaves were worthy of belief, neither 
 Mr Warner s scales nor his measure were very authentic ; 
 and according to their story, so much as he could plunder 
 out of their weekly allowance, went to increase his share in 
 the yearly produce of the plantation. 
 
 Once or twice, complaints of this sort had been carried 
 to Mr Carleton ; but without deigning to examine into 
 them, he had dismissed them as unworthy of notice. Mr 
 Warner, he said, was an honest man and a Christian, in 
 deed it was his Christian character that had first recom 
 mended him to his employer ; and these scandalous stories 
 were only invented out of that spite which slaves always 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 121 
 
 feel against an overseer, who compels them to do their duty. 
 It might be so ; I cannot undertake positively to contradict 
 it. Yet I know that these imputations upon Mr Warner s 
 honesty were not confined to the plantation, but circulated 
 pretty freely through the neighborhood ; and if he was not 
 a rogue, Mr Carleton, by an unlimited, unsuspicious and 
 unwise confidence, did his best to make him so. 
 
 Whether the slaves were cheated or not, of their allow 
 ance, there is no dispute that they were worked hard, and 
 harshly treated. Mr Carleton always took sides with his 
 overseer, and was in the habit of maintaining that it was 
 impossible to get along on a plantation without frequent 
 whipping and a good deal of severity ; and yet, as he was 
 naturally good natured, it gave him pain to hear of any 
 very flagrant instance of it. But he was much from home ; 
 and that kept him ignorant, to a great degree, of what was 
 going on there ; and for the rest, the overseer was anxious 
 to save his feelings, and had issued very strict orders, which 
 he enforced with merciless severity, that nobody should run 
 to the House with tales of what was done upon the planta 
 tion. By this ingenious device, though a very common 
 one, Mr Warner had every thing in his own way. In fact, 
 Mr Carleton had as little control over his plantation as over 
 any other in the county ; and he knew just as little 
 about it. 
 
 When my master was a young man, he had betted at 
 horse-races and gambling-tables, and spent money very 
 freely in a thousand foolish ways. Since he had grown 
 religious he had dropped these expenses, but he had fallen 
 into others. It was no small sum that he spent every 
 year, upon Bibles, church repairs, and other pious objects. 
 For several years his income had been diminishing ; but 
 without any corresponding diminution of his expenses. As 
 a natural consequence, he had become deeply involved in 
 debt. His overseer had grown rich, while he had been 
 growing poor. His lands and slaves were mortgaged, and 
 he began to be plagued by the sheriff s officer. But these 
 perplexities did not cause him to forego his spiritual la 
 bors, which he prosecuted, if possible, more diligently 
 than before. 
 
 11 
 
122 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I had now been living with him some six or seven 
 months, and was completely established in his favor, when 
 one Sunday morning, we set off together for a place about 
 eight miles distant, where he had not preached before, since 
 I had been in his service. The place appointed for the 
 meeting, was in the open air. It was a pretty place though, 
 and well adapted to the purpose, being a gentle swell of 
 ground over which were thinly scattered a number of 
 ancient, and wide-spreading oaks. Their outstretched limbs 
 formed a thick shade, under which there were neither weeds 
 nor undergrowth, but something more like a grassy lawn, 
 than is often to be seen in that country. Near the top of 
 the swell, somebody had fixed up some rude benches ; and 
 partly supported against one of the largest trees, was a 
 misshapen little platform, with a chair or two upon it. 
 which seemed intended for the pulpit. 
 
 Quite a troop of horses, and as many as ten or twelve 
 carriages, were collected at the foot of the swell ; and the 
 benches were already occupied by a considerable number 
 of people. The white hearers however, were far outnum 
 bered by the slaves, who were scattered about in groups, 
 most of them in their Sunday dresses, and many of them 
 very decent looking people. A few however, were miser 
 ably ragged and dirty ; and there was quite a number of 
 half-grown children from the adjoining plantations, with 
 out a rag to hide their nakedness. 
 
 My master seemed well pleased with the prospect of so 
 large an audience. He dismounted at the foot of the hill, 
 if a rise so gentle deserved the name, and delivered his 
 horse into my charge. I sought out a convenient place 
 in which to tie the horses ; and as I knew the services 
 would not begin immediately, I sauntered about, looking at 
 the equipages and the company. While I was occupied in 
 this way, a smart carriage drove up. It stopped. A ser 
 vant jumped from behind, opened the door and let down 
 the steps. An elderly lady, and another about eighteen or 
 twenty, occupied the back seat. On the front seat, was a 
 woman whom I took to be their maid, though I could not 
 see her distinctly. Something called off my attention and 
 il turned another wav. When I looked again, the two 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 123 
 
 ladies were walking up the hill and the maid was on the 
 ground, with her back towards me, taking something from 
 the carriage. A moment after, she turned round, and I 
 knew her. It was Gassy, it was my wife. 
 
 I sprang forward and caught her in my arms. She 
 recognized me at the same moment ; and uttering a cry of 
 surprise and pleasure, she would have fallen had I not 
 supported her. She recovered herself directly, and bade 
 me let her go, for she had been sent back for her mistress s 
 fan, and she must make haste and carry it to her. She 
 told me to wait though, for if she could get leave, she 
 would come back again immediately. She tripped up the 
 hill, and overtook her mistress. I could see by her ges 
 tures, the eagerness with which she urged her request. It 
 was granted ; and in a moment she was again at my side. 
 Again I pressed her to my bosom, and again she returned 
 my embrace. Once more I felt what it was to be happy. 
 1 took her by the hand and led her to a little wood, on the 
 opposite side of the road. Here was a thick young growth 
 where we could sit, screened from observation. We sat 
 down upon a fallen tree ; and while I held her hands fast 
 locked in mine, we asked and answered a thousand ques 
 tions. My history, since our separation, has been told 
 already. Here follows a summary of hers. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
THE 
 
 SLAVE: 
 
 OR 
 
 MEMOIRS OF ARCHY MOORE. 
 
 Leave wringing of your hands ; Peace ; sit you down; 
 
 And let me wring your heart ; for so I shall, 
 If it be made of penetrable stuff; 
 If damned custom hath not brazed it so, 
 That it be proof and bulwark against sense. 
 
 HAMLET 
 
 SEVENTH EDITION. 
 
 TWO VOLUMES IN ONE, 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 PUBLISHED BY BELA MARSH, 
 
 No. 25 CORNHILL. 
 
 1848. 
 
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1840, 
 
 BY RICHARD HILDRETH, 
 In the Clerk s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
MEMOIRS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IT seemed to be with the greatest reluctance, that the 
 poor girl carried back her recollection to that terrible day 
 which had separated us, as we then thought, forever. She 
 hesitated, and seemed half ashamed, and almost unwilling 
 to speak of what had followed after that separation. I 
 pitied her ; and great as was my curiosity if my feelings 
 on that occasion deserve so trifling a name I could almost 
 have wished her to pass over the interval in silence. Dis 
 tressing doubts and dreadful apprehensions crowded upon 
 me, and I almost dreaded to hear her speak. But she hid 
 her face in my bosom, and murmuring in a voice half 
 Choked with sobs, " My husband must know it," she 
 began her story. 
 
 She was already, she told me, more than half dead with 
 fright and horror, and the first blow that colonel Moore 
 struck, beat her senseless to the ground. When she came 
 to her senses, she found herself lying on a bed, in a room 
 which she did not recollect ever to have seen before. She 
 rose from the bed as well as her bruises would allow her; 
 for she did not move without difficulty. The room was 
 prettily furnished ; the bed was hung with curtains, neat 
 and comfortable ; a dressing table stood in one corner ; and 
 there was all the usual furniture of a lady s bed-chamber, 
 but it was not like any room in the house at Spring- 
 Meadow. 
 
4 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 She tried to open the doors, of which there were two, but 
 both were fastened. She endeavored to get a peep from 
 the windows, in the hope that she might know some part 
 of the prospect. But she could only discover that the 
 house seemed to be surrounded by trees ; for the windows 
 were guarded on the outside by close blinds, which were 
 fastened in some way she did not understand, so that she 
 could not open them. This fastening of the doors and 
 windows, satisfied her that she was held a prisoner, and 
 confirmed all her worst suspicions. 
 
 As she passed by the dressing table, she caught a look 
 at the glass. Her face was deadly pale ; her hair fell in 
 loose disorder over her shoulders, and looking down, she 
 saw stains of blood upon her dress, but whether her own 
 or her husband s she could not tell. She sat down on the 
 bedside ; her head was dizzy and confused, and she scarce 
 ly knew whether she were awake or dreaming. 
 
 Presently one of the doors opened, and a woman entered. 
 It was Miss Ritty,* as she was called among the servants 
 at Spring-Meadow, a pretty, dark-complexioned damsel, 
 who enjoyed at that time, the station and dignity of colonel 
 Moore s favorite. Cassy s heart beat hard, while she heard 
 some one fumbling at the lock. When the door opened 
 she was glad to see that it was only a woman, and one 
 whom she knew. She ran towards her, caught her by the 
 hand, and begged her protection. The girl laughed, and 
 asked what she was afraid of. Gassy hardly knew what 
 answer to make. After hesitating a moment, she begged 
 Miss Ritty to tell her where she was, and what they intend 
 ed to do with her. 
 
 " It is a fine place you re in," was the answer, " and 
 when master comes, you can ask him what is to be done 
 with you." This was said with a significant titter, which 
 Cassy knew too well how to interpret. 
 
 Though Miss Ritty had evaded a direct answer to her 
 inquiry, it now occurred to her where she must be. This 
 woman, she recollected, occupied a small house the 
 same that once had been inhabited by Cassy s mother and 
 by mine, at a considerable distance from any other on 
 
 * Henrietta. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 5 
 
 the plantation. It was surrounded by a little grove which 
 almost hid it from view, and was very seldom visited by 
 uny of the servants. Miss Ritty looked upon herself, and 
 was in fact regarded by the rest of us, as a person of no 
 little consequence ; and though she sometimes condescend 
 ed to make visits, she was not often anxious to have them 
 returned. Gassy, however, had been once or twice at her 
 house. There were two little rooms in front, into which she 
 was freely admitted ; but the apartment behind was locked ; 
 and it was whispered among the servants, that colonel Moore 
 kept the key, so that even Miss Ritty herself did not enter 
 it except in his company. This perhaps was mere scan 
 dal ; but Gassy recollected to have noticed that the windows 
 of this room were protected against impertinent curiosity, 
 by close blinds on the outside ; and she no longer doubted 
 where she was. 
 
 She told Miss Ritty as much, and inquired, if her mis 
 tress knew of her return. 
 
 Miss Ritty could not tell. 
 
 She asked if her mistress had got another maid in her 
 place. 
 
 Miss Ritty did not know. 
 
 She begged for permission to go and see her mistress ; 
 but that, Miss Ritty said, was impossible. 
 
 She requested that her mistress might be told where she 
 was ; and that she wished very much to see her. 
 
 Miss Ritty said that she would be glad to oblige her, but 
 she was not much in the habit of going to the House, and 
 the last time she was there, Mrs Moore had spoken to her 
 so spitefully, that she was determined never to go again, 
 unless she were absolutely obliged to. 
 
 Having thus exhausted every resource, poor Gassy threw 
 herself upon the bed, hid her face in the bedclothes, and 
 sought relief in tears. 
 
 It was now Miss Ritty s turn. She patted the poor girl 
 on the shoulder, bade her not be down-hearted, and un 
 locking a bureau which stood in the room, she took out a 
 dress which she pronounced to be "mighty handsome." 
 She bade Gassy get up and put it on, for her master would 
 be coming presently. This was what Gassy feared ; but 
 1 * 
 
D MEMOIRS OF 
 
 she hoped, if she could not escape the visit, at least to defer 
 it. So she told Miss Ritty that she was too sick to see any 
 body ; she absolutely refused to look at her dresses, and 
 begged to be allowed to die in peace. Miss Ritty laughed 
 when she spoke of dying ; yet she seemed a little alarmed 
 at the idea of it, and inquired what was the matter. 
 
 Cassy told her that she had seen and suffered enough 
 that day, to kill any body ; that her head was sick and her 
 heart was broken, and the sooner death came to her relief 
 the better. She then mustered courage to mention my 
 name, and endeavored to discover what had become of me. 
 Miss Ritty again shook her head and declared that she 
 could give no information. 
 
 At that moment the door opened, and colonel Moore 
 came in. He had a haggard and guilty look. The flush 
 which overspread his face, when she had last seen him. 
 was wholly gone ; his countenance was pale and ghastly. 
 She had never seen him look so before, and she trembled at 
 the sight of him. He bade Ritty begone ; but told her to 
 wait in the front room as perhaps he might need her assist 
 ance. He bolted the door, and sat down on the bed by 
 Cassy s side. She started up in terror, and retired to the 
 farthest corner of the room. He smiled scornfully, and 
 bade her come back, and sit down beside him. She obey 
 ed ; for however reluctant, she could do no better. He 
 took her hand, and threw one arm about her waist. Again 
 she shrank from him, and would have fled ; but he stamped 
 his foot impatiently, and in a harsh tone, bade her be quiet. 
 
 For a moment he was silent-; then changing his manner, 
 he summoned up his habitual smile, and began in that mild, 
 gentle, insinuating tone, in which he was quite unsurpassed. 
 He plied her with flattery, soft words and generous prom 
 ises. He reproached her, but without any harshness, for 
 her attempts to evade the kindness he intended her. 
 He then spoke of me ; but no sooner had he entered on 
 that subject, than his voice rose, his face became flushed 
 again, and he seemed in manifest danger of losing his 
 temper. 
 
 She interrupted him, and besought him to tell her how I 
 did and what had become of me. He answered that I was 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 7 
 
 well enough ; much better than I deserved to be ; but she 
 need give herself no further thought or trouble on that score, 
 for he intended to send me out of the country as soon as I 
 was able to travel ; and she need not hope nor expect ever 
 to see me again. 
 
 She most earnestly besought and begged that she might 
 be sent off and sold with me. He affected to be greatly 
 surprised at this request, and inquired why she made it. 
 She told him, that after all that had happened, it were 
 better that she should not live any longer in his family ; 
 beside, if she were sold at the same time, the same person 
 might buy her that bought her husband. That word, hus 
 band, put him into a violent passion. He told her that she 
 had no husband, and wanted none ; for he would be better 
 than a husband to her. He said that he was tired of her 
 folly, and with a significant look, he bade her not be a 
 fool, but to leave off whining and crying, be a good girl, 
 and do as her master desired ; was it not a servant s duty 
 to obey her master ? 
 
 She told him that she was sick and wretched, and begged 
 him to leave her. Instead of doing so, he threw his arms 
 about her neck, and declared that her being sick was all 
 imagination, for he had never seen her look half so hand 
 some. 
 
 She started up ; but he caught her in his arms, and 
 dragged her towards the bed. Even at that terrible mo 
 ment, her presence of mind did not forsake her. She ex 
 erted her strength, and succeeded in breaking away from 
 his hateful embraces. Then summoning up all her ener 
 gies, she looked him in the face, as well as her tears would 
 allow her, and striving to command her voice, " Master, 
 Father!" she cried, "what is it you would have of your 
 own daughter ? " 
 
 Colonel Moore staggered as if a bullet had struck him. 
 A burning blush overspread his face ; he would have spoken, 
 but the words seemed to stick in his throat. This confu 
 sion was only for a moment. In an instant, he recovered 
 his self-possession, and without taking any notice of her last 
 appeal, he merely said, that if she were really siclc, he did 
 not wish to trouble her. With these words he unbolted the 
 door, and walked out of the room. 
 
8 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 She heard him talking with Miss Ritty ; and he had 
 been gone but a few moments, before she entered. She 
 began with a long string of questions about what colonel 
 Moore had said and done ; but when Gassy did not seem 
 inclined to give her any answer, she laughed, and thanked 
 her, and told her she need not trouble herself, for she had 
 been peeping and listening at the key-hole, the whole time. 
 She said, she could not imagine, why Cassy made such a 
 fuss. In a very young girl it might be excusable ; but in 
 one as old as she was, and a married woman too, she could 
 not understand it. Such is the morality, and such the 
 modesty to be expected in a slave ! 
 
 The poor girl was in no humor for controversy ; so she 
 listened to this ribaldry without making any answer to it. 
 Yet even at that moment, a faint ray of hope began to dis 
 play itself. It occurred to her, that if Miss Ritty could be 
 made sensible of the risk she ran in aiding to create herself 
 a rival, she would not be pleased at the prospect of being 
 perhaps supplanted in a situation, which she seemed to find 
 so very agreeable. This idea appeared to offer some chance 
 of gaining over Miss Ritty to aid her in escaping from 
 Spring-Meadow ; and at once, she resolved to act upon it. 
 It was necessary to be cautious and to feel her way, lest by 
 piquing the girl s pride, she might deprive herself of all the 
 advantage to be gained from working upon her fears. 
 
 She approached the subject gradually, and soon placed 
 it in a light, in which, it was plain, her companion had 
 never viewed it. When it was first suggested to her, she 
 expressed a deal of confidence in her own beauty, and af 
 fected to have no fears ; yet it soon became obvious, that 
 notwithstanding all her boasting, she was a good deal 
 alarmed. Indeed it was quite impossible for her, to look 
 her anticipated rival in the face, and not to perceive the 
 danger. Cassy was well pleased to see the effect of her 
 suggestions ; and began to entertain some serious hopes of 
 once more making her escape. 
 
 It was, to be sure, a miserable, and most probably ar; 
 ineffectual resource, this running away. But what else 
 could she do ? What other hope was there of escaping a 
 fate which all her womanly and all her religious feelings 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 9 
 
 taught her to regard with the utmost horror and detestation ? 
 This was her only chance ; she would try it, and trust in 
 God s aid to give her endeavors a happy issue. 
 
 She now told Miss Ritty distinctly, how she felt, what 
 she intended, and what assistance she wanted. Her new 
 confederate applauded her resolution. " Certainly, if colonel 
 Moore was really her father, that did make a difference ; 
 and her being a Methodist might help to account for her 
 feelings, for she knew that sort of folks were mighty strict 
 in all their notions." 
 
 But though Miss Ritty was ready enough to encourage 
 and applaud, she seemed very reluctant to take any active 
 part in aiding and abetting an escape, which though ap 
 parently it tended to promote her interests, might end, if 
 her agency in it were discovered, in bringing her into danger 
 and disgrace. 
 
 Several plans were talked over, but Miss Ritty had some 
 objection to all of them. She preferred any thing to the risk 
 of being suspected by her master, of plotting to defeat his 
 wishes. As they found great difficulty in fixing upon any 
 feasible plan, it was agreed at last, in order to gain time, to 
 give out that Gassy was extremely sick. This indeed was 
 hardly a fiction ; for nothing but the very critical nature 
 of her situation had enabled the poor girl to sustain herself 
 against the shocks and miseries of the last four and twenty 
 hours. Ritty undertook to persuade her master, that the 
 best thing he could do, was to let her alone till she got 
 better. She would promise to take her into training in the 
 mean time, and was to assure colonel Moore, that she did 
 not doubt of being soon able to convince her, that it was 
 both her interest and her duty, to comply with her master s 
 wishes. 
 
 So far things went extremely well. They had hardly 
 arranged their plan, before they heard colonel Moore s step 
 in the outer room. Ritty ran to him, and succeeded in 
 persuading him to go away without any attempt to see 
 Gassy. He commended her zeal, and promised to be 
 governed by her advice. The next day a circumstance 
 happened which neither Gassy nor Ritty had anticipated, 
 but which proved very favorable to their design. Colonel 
 
10 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Moore was obliged to set off for Baltimore, without delay. 
 Some pressing call of business, made his immediate depart 
 ure indispensable. Before setting out, however, he found 
 time to visit Ritty. and to enjoin upon her to keep a watch 
 ful eye upon Gassy, and to take care and bring her to her 
 senses, before his return. 
 
 If Gassy was to escape at all, now was the time. She 
 soon hit upon a scheme. Her object was, to screen Ritty 
 from suspicion as much as to favor her own flight. Luckily 
 the same arrangement might be made to accomplish both 
 purposes. Gassy could only escape through the door, or 
 out of the windows. Escaping through the door was out 
 of the question, because Ritty had the key of it, and was 
 supposed to be sleeping, or watching, or both together, in 
 the front room. The escape then must be by the windows. 
 These did not lift up as is commonly the case, but opened 
 upon hinges on the inside. The blinds by which they 
 were guarded on the outside were slats nailed across the 
 window-frames and not intended to be opened. These 
 must be cut or broken ; and as they were of pine, this was 
 a task of no great difficulty. Ritty brought a couple of 
 table knives, and assisted in cutting them away, though 
 according to the story she was to tell her master, she was 
 sleeping all the time, most soundly and unsuspiciously, and 
 Gassy must have secretly cut away the slats with a pocket- 
 knife. 
 
 Early in the evening of colonel Moore s departure, every 
 thing was ready, and Gassy was to sally forth as soon as 
 she dared to venture. Ritty agreed not to give any notice 
 of her escape till late the next day. This delay she could 
 account for by the plea of not being able to find the over 
 seer, and by a pretended uncertainty as to whether it would 
 be colonel Moore s wish, that the overseer should be in 
 formed at all about the matter. At all events, they hoped 
 that no very vigorous pursuit would be made until colonel 
 Moore s return. 
 
 Gassy now made ready for her departure. She felt a 
 pang at the idea of leaving me ; but as Ritty could not or 
 would not tell her what had become of me, and as she 
 knew, that separated and helpless as we were, it was im- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 11 
 
 possible for us to render each other any assistance, she rightly 
 judged, that she would best serve me, and best comply with 
 my wishes, by adopting the only plan, that, seemed to carry 
 with it any likelihood of preserving herself from the violence 
 she dreaded. 
 
 Gassy had supplied herself from Kitty s allowance, with 
 food enough to last for several days. It was now quite 
 dark, and time for her to go. She kissed her hostess and 
 confederate, who seemed much affected at dismissing her 
 on so lonely and hopeless an adventure, and who freely 
 gave her what little money she had. Gassy was a good 
 deal touched at this unexpected generosity. She let her 
 self down from the window, bade Ritty farewell, and sum 
 moning up all her resolution and self-command, she took the 
 nearest way across the fields, towards the high-road. This 
 road was little travelled except by the people of Spring- 
 Meadow and one or two other neighboring plantations, and 
 at this hour of the evening, there was little danger of meet 
 ing any body, except perhaps a night-walking slave, who 
 would be as anxious as herself to avoid being seen. There 
 was no moon, but the glimmer of the star-light served to 
 guide her steps. She felt no apprehension of losing her 
 way, for she had frequently been in the carriage with her 
 mistress, as far as the little village at the court-house of the 
 county ; and it was hither, that in the first instance, she de 
 termined to go. 
 
 She arrived there, without having met a single soul. As 
 yret there were no signs of morning. All was still, save the 
 monotonous chirpings of the summer insects, interrupted 
 now and then by the crowing of a cock, or the barking of a 
 watch dog. The village consisted of a dilapidated court 
 house, a black-smith s shop, a tavern, two or three stores, 
 ^nd half a dozen scattered houses. It was situated at the 
 meeting of two roads. One of these she knew, led into the 
 road that ran towards Baltimore. She had flattered herself 
 with the idea of reaching that city, where she had many 
 acquaintances, and where she hoped she might find protec 
 tion and employment. Her chance of ever getting there 
 was very small. Baltimore was some two or three hundred 
 miles distant; and she did not even know which of the 
 
12 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 roads that met at the court-house she ought to take. She 
 could not inquire the way, beg a cup of cold water, or even 
 be seen upon the road, without the risk of being taken up 
 as a runaway, and carried back to the master from whom 
 she was flying. 
 
 After hesitating for some time, she took one of the roads 
 that offered themselves to her choice, and walked on with 
 vigor. The excitement of the last day or two seemed to 
 give her an unnatural strength ; for after a walk of some 
 twenty miles, she felt fresher than at first. But the light 
 of the morning dawn, which began to show itself, reminded 
 her that it was no longer safe to pursue her journey. Close 
 by the road side was a friendly thicket, the shrubs and weeds 
 all dripping with the dew. She had gone but a little way 
 among them, when she found them so high and close as to 
 furnish a sufficient hiding-place. She knelt down, and 
 destitute as she was of human assistance, she besought the 
 aid and guardian care of Heaven. After eating a scanty 
 meal, for it was necessary to husband her provisions, she 
 scraped the leaves together into a rude bed, and composed 
 herself to sleep. The three preceding nights she had scarcely 
 slept at all, but she made it up now, for she did not wake 
 till late in the afternoon. 
 
 As soon as evening closed in, she started again, and 
 walked as vigorously as before. The road forked frequently ; 
 but she had no means of determining which of the various 
 courses she ought to follow. She took one or the other, as 
 her judgment, or rather as her fancy decided ; and she com 
 forted herself with the notion, that whether right or wrong 
 in her selections, at all events, she was getting further -from 
 Spri ng-Meadow. 
 
 In the course of the night she met several travellers. 
 Some of them passed without seeming to notice her. She 
 discovered some at a distance, and concealed herself in the 
 bushes till they had gone by. But she did not always es 
 cape so easily. More than once, she was stopped and 
 questioned ; but luckily she succeeded in giving satisfactory 
 answers. Indeed there was nothing in her complexion, 
 especially in the uncertain light of the evening, that would 
 clearly indicate her to be a slave ; and in answering the 
 
ARCHY MOORE 13 
 
 questions that were put to her, she took care to say nothing 
 that would betray her condition. One of the men who 
 questioned her, shook his head, and did not seem satisfied; 
 another, sat on his horse and watched her till she was fairly 
 out of sigkt ; a third told her, that she was a very suspicious 
 character ; but all three suffered her to pass. She was the 
 less liable to interruption, because in Virginia, the houses 
 of the inhabitants are not generally situated along the public 
 roads. The planters usually prefer to build at some dis 
 tance from the high way, and the roads, passing along the 
 highest and most barren tracts, wind their weary length 
 through a desolate, and what seems almost an uninhabited 
 country. When morning approached again, she concealed 
 herself as before, and waited for the return of night to pur 
 sue her journey. 
 
 She proceeded in this way for four days, or rather nights, 
 at the end of which time her provisions were entirely ex 
 hausted. She had wandered she knew not whither, and 
 the hope of reaching Baltimore, which at first had lightened 
 her fatigue, was now quite gone. She knew not what to 
 do. To go much further without assistance was scarcely 
 possible. Yet should she ask any where for food or guid 
 ance, though she stood some chance perhaps of passing for 
 a free white woman, still her complexion, and the circum 
 stance of her travelling alone, might cause her to be sus 
 pected as a runaway, and very probably, she would be 
 stopped, put into some jail, and detained there, till suspicion 
 was changed into certainty. 
 
 She was travelling slowly along, the fifth night, exhausted 
 with hunger and fatigue, and reflecting upon her unhappy 
 situation, when descending a hill, the road came suddenly 
 upon the banks of a broad river. There was no bridge ; 
 but a ferry boat was fastened to the shore, and close by was 
 the ferry house, which seemed also to be a tavern. Here 
 was a new perplexity. She could not cross the river with 
 out calling up the ferry people or waiting till they made 
 their appearance, and this would be exposing hersell at once 
 to that risk of detection which she had resolved to defer to 
 the very last moment. Yet to turn back and seek another 
 road seemed to be an expedient equally desperate. Any 
 
 VOL. II. 2 
 
14 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 other road, which did not lead in a direction opposite to that 
 which she wished to follow, would be likely to bring her 
 again upon the banks of the same river ; and as she could 
 not live without food, she would be soon compelled to ap 
 ply somewhere for assistance, and to face the detection she 
 was so anxious to avoid. 
 
 She sat down by the roadside, resolved to wait for the 
 morning, and to take her chance. There was a field of corn 
 near the house, and the stalks were covered with roasting 
 ears. She had no fire, nor the means of kindling one ; but 
 the sweet milky taste of the unripe kernels served to satisfy 
 the cravings of hunger. 
 
 She had chosen a place where she could observe the first 
 movements about the ferry house. The morning had but 
 just dawned, when she saw a man open the door and come 
 out of it. He was black, and she walked boldly up to him, 
 and told him that she was in great haste and wished to be 
 taken across the ferry immediately. The fellow seemed 
 rather surprised at seeing a woman, a traveller, alone, and 
 at that hour of the morning ; but after staring at her a 
 minute or two, he appeared to recollect that here was an 
 opportunity of turning an honest penny, and muttering 
 something about the earliness of the hour, and the ferry boat 
 not starting till after sunrise, he offered to take her across 
 in a canoe, for half a dollar. This price she did not hesi 
 tate to pay ; and the fellow no doubt, put it into his own 
 pocket, without ever recollecting to hand it over to his 
 master, or to mention a word to him about this early pas 
 senger. 
 
 They entered the boat, and he paddled her across. She 
 did not dare to ask any questions, lest she should betray 
 herself; and she did her best to quiet the curiosity of the 
 boatman, who however, was very civil and easily satisfied. 
 Having landed on the opposite shore, she travelled on a 
 mile or two further. By this time it was broad day-light, 
 and she concealed herself as usual. 
 
 At night, she set out again. But she was faint with 
 hunger, her shoes were almost worn out, her feet were 
 swollen and very painful, and altogether, her situation was 
 any thing but comfortable. She seemed to have got off the 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 15 
 
 high-way, and to be travelling some cross-road, which wound 
 along through dreary and deserted fields, and appeared to 
 he very little frequented. All that night, she did not meet 
 a single person, or pass a single house. Painful as was the 
 effort, she still struggled to drag along her weary steps ; hut 
 her spirits were broken, her heart was sinking, and her 
 strength was almost gone. At length the morning dawned ; 
 but the wretched Gassy did not seek her customary hiding- 
 place. She still kept on in hopes of reaching some house. 
 She was now quite subdued; and chose to risk her liberty, 
 and even to hazard being carried back to Spring-Meadow, 
 and subjected to the fearful fate from which she was flying, 
 rather than perish with hunger and fatigue. Sad indeed it 
 is, that the noblest resolution and the loftiest stubbornness 
 of soul is compelled so often to yield to the base necessities 
 of animal nature, and from a paltry and irrational fear of 
 death, of which tyrants have ever known so well to take 
 advantage, to sink clown from the lofty height of heroic 
 virtue, to the dastard submissiveness of a craven and obedi 
 ent slave ! 
 
 She had not gone far before she saw a low mean looking 
 house by the road side. It was a small building of logs, 
 blackened with age, and not a little dilapidated. Half the 
 panes or more, were wanting in the two or three little win 
 dows with which it was provided, and their places were 
 supplied by old hats, old coats, and pieces of plank. The 
 door seemed dropping from its hinges ; and there was no 
 enclosure of any kind about the house, unless that name 
 might properly be given to the tall weeds with which it was 
 surrounded. Altogether, it showed most manifest signs of 
 thriftless and comfortless indolence. 
 
 She knocked softly at the door ; and a female voice, but 
 a rough and harsh one, bade her come in. There was no 
 hall or entry ; the out-door opened directly into the only 
 room; and on entering, she found it occupied by a middle 
 aged woman, barefooted, and in a slovenly dress, with her 
 uncombed hair hanging about a haggard and sun-burnt face. 
 She was setting a rickety table, and seemed to be making 
 preparations for breakfast. One side of the room was al 
 most wholly taken up by an enormous fire place. A fire 
 
16 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was burning in it, and the corn-cakes were baking in the 
 ashes. In the opposite corner was a low bed, on which a 
 man, the master of the family most likely, lay still a-sleep, 
 undisturbed by the cries and clamors of half-a-dozen brats, 
 who had been tumbling and bawling about the house, un 
 washed, uncombed, and half naked, but who were seized 
 with sudden silence, and slunk behind their mother, at the 
 sight of a stranger. 
 
 The woman pointed to a rude sort of stool or bench, 
 which seemed the only piece of furniture in the nature of a 
 chair, which the house contained, and asked Cassy to sit 
 down. She did so ; and her hostess eyed her sharply, and 
 seemed to wait with a good deal of curiosity to hear who 
 she was, and what she wanted. As soon as Cassy could 
 collect her thoughts, she told her hostess that she was trav 
 elling from Richmond to Baltimore to see a sick sister. 
 She was poor and friendless, and was obliged to go on foot. 
 She had lost her way, and had wandered about all night, 
 without knowing where she was, or whither she was going. 
 She was half dead, she added, with hunger and fatigue, and 
 wanted food and rest, and such directions about the road, 
 as might enable her to pursue her journey. At the same 
 time she took out her purse, in order to show that she was 
 able to pay for what she wanted. 
 
 Her hostess, notwithstanding her rude and poverty-strick 
 en appearance, seemed touched with this pitiful story. 
 She told her to put up her money ; she said she did not keep 
 a tavern, and that she was able to give a poor woman a 
 breakfast, without being paid for it. 
 
 Cassy was too faint and weak to be much in a humor 
 for talking; besides, she trembled at every word, lest she 
 might drop some unguarded expression that would serve to 
 betray her. But now that the ice was broken, the curiosity 
 of her hostess could not be kept under. She overwhelmed 
 her with a torrent of questions, and every time Cassy hesi 
 tated, or gave any sign of confusion, she turned her keen 
 grey eyes upon her, with a sharp and penetrating expres 
 sion that increased her disorder. 
 
 Pretty soon the ash-cakes were baked, and the other 
 preparations for breakfast were finished, when the woman 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 17 
 
 shook her good man roughly by the shoulder, and bade him 
 bestir himself. This connubial salutation roused the sleeper. 
 He sat up on the bed, and stared about the room with a 
 varan t gaze ; but the redness of his eyes, and the sallow 
 paleness of his face, seemed to show that he had not quite 
 slept off the effects of the last night s frolic. The wife ap 
 peared to know what was wanting ; for she forthwith pro 
 duced the whiskey-jug, and poured out a large dose of the 
 raw spirit. Her husband drank it off with a relish, and with 
 a trembling hand, returned the broken glass to his wife, 
 who filled it half full, and emptied it herself. Then turning 
 to Gassy, and remarking, that, " a body was fit for nothing 
 till they had got their morning bitters," she offered her a 
 dram, and seemed not a little astonished at its being de 
 clined. 
 
 The good man then began leisurely to dress himself; and 
 had half finished his toilet before he seemed to notice that 
 there was company in the house. He now came forward, 
 and bade the stranger good morning. His wife immediate 
 ly drew him aside, and they began an earnest whispering. 
 Now and then they would both look Gassy in the face, and 
 as she was conscious that she must be the subject of their 
 conversation, she began to feel a good deal of embarrass 
 ment, which she was too little practised in deceit to be able to 
 conceal. This matrimonial conference over, the good woman 
 bade Gassy draw up her stool and sit down at the break 
 fast table. The breakfast consisted of hot corn-cakes and 
 cold bacon, a palatable meal enough in any case, but which 
 Cassy s long starvation made her look upon as the most de 
 licious she had ever eaten. Sweet indeed, ought to be 
 that mess of pottage, for which one sells the birthright of 
 freedom ! 
 
 She ate with an appetite which she could not restrain : 
 and her hostess seemai a good deal surprised and a little 
 alarmed, at the rapidity with which the table was cleared. 
 Breakfast being finished, the man of the house began to 
 question her. He asked her about Richmond, and whether 
 she knew such and such persons, who, as he said, were 
 living there. Gassy had never been in Richmond, and 
 knew the town only by name. Of course, her answers 
 2* 
 
18 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 were very little to the purpose. She blushed and stam 
 mered and held down her head, and the man completed 
 her confusion by telling her, that it was very plain she had 
 not come from Richmond, as she pretended ; for he was 
 well acquainted with the place, and it was clear enough, 
 from her answers, that she knew nothing about it. He 
 told her that it was no use to deny it ; her face betrayed 
 her ; and he " reckoned," if the truth was told, she was 
 no better than a runaway. At the sound of this word, the 
 blood rushed into her face, and her heart sunk within her. 
 It was in vain, that she denied, protested, and entreated. 
 Her terror, confusion and alarm only served to give new 
 assurance to her captors, who seemed to chuckle over their 
 prize, and to amuse themselves with her fright and misery, 
 very much as a cat plays with the mouse it has caught. 
 
 He told her that if she were in fact a free woman, there 
 was not the slightest ground for alarm. If she had no free 
 papers with her, she would only have to lie in jail till she 
 could send to Richmond and get them. That was all ! 
 
 But that was more than enough for poor Cassy. No 
 proofs of freedom could she produce ; and her going to jail 
 would be almost certain to end in her being restored to 
 colonel Moore, and becoming the wretched victim of his rage 
 and lust. That fate, must be deferred as long as possible, 
 and there seemed but one way of escaping it. 
 
 She confessed that she was a slave, and a runaway ; 
 but she positively refused to tell the name of her master. 
 He lived, she said, a great way off; and she had run away 
 from him not out of any spirit of discontent or disobedience, 
 but because his cruelty and injustice were too great to be 
 endured. There was nothing she would not choose rather 
 than fall into his hands again ; if they would only save 
 her from that, if they would only let her live with them, 
 she would be their faithful and obatlient servant as long as 
 she lived. 
 
 The man and his wife looked at each other and seemed 
 pleased with the idea. They walked aside and talked it 
 over. Nothing appeared to deter them from accepting her 
 proposal, at once, but the fear of being detected in harbor 
 ing and detaining a runaway. Cassy did her best to quiet 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 19 
 
 these apprehensions ; and after a short struggle, avarice 
 and the dear delight of power triumphed over their fears, 
 and Gassy became the property of Mr Proctor for so the 
 man was named. His property, as he might speciously 
 argue, by her own consent ; a ten times better title, than 
 the vast majority of his countrymen could boast. 
 
 To prevent suspicions among the neighbors, it was 
 agreed that Gassy should pass for a free woman, whom 
 Mr Proctor had hired ; and as that gentleman had been so 
 fortunate as to have been initiated into the art and mystery 
 of penmanship an accomplishment somewhat rare among 
 the poor white folks of Virginia in order that Gassy 
 might be prepared to answer impertinent questions, he gave 
 her free-papers, which he forged for the occasion. 
 
 It was a great thing to have escaped returning to Spring- 
 Meadow. But for all that, Gassy soon discovered, that 
 her present situation would not prove very agreeable. Mr 
 Proctor was the descendant and representative of what, at 
 no distant period, had been a rich and very respectable 
 family. The frequent division of a large estate, which no 
 body took any pains to increase, while all diminished it by 
 idleness, dissipation and bad management, had left Mr 
 Proctor s father in possession of a few slaves and a consid 
 erable tract of worn-out land. At his death, the slaves 
 had been sold to pay his debts, and the land, being divided 
 among his numerous children, had made Mr Proctor the 
 possessor of only a few barren acres. But though left with 
 this miserable pittance, he had been brought up, in the dis 
 sipated and indolent habits of a Virginian gentleman ; the 
 land he o\vned, which was so poor and worthless that none 
 of his numerous creditors thought it worth their while to 
 disturb him in the possession of it, still entitled him to the 
 dignity of a freeholder and a voter ; and he felt himself as 
 much above, what is esteemed in that country, the base 
 and degraded condition of a laborer, as the richest aristo 
 crat in the whole state. He was as proud, as lazy, and as 
 dissipated as any of the nabobs, his neighbors ; and like 
 them, he devoted the principal part of his time to gam 
 bling, politics and drink. 
 
 Luckily for Mr Proctor, his wife was a very notable 
 
20 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 woman. She boasted no patrician blood ; and when her 
 husband began to talk, as he often did, about the antiquity 
 and respectability of his family, she would cut him short by 
 observing, that she thought herself full as good as he was, 
 but for all that, her ancestors had been poor folks as far 
 back as any body knew any thing about them. If the 
 question between aristocracy and democracy were to be 
 settled by the experience of the Proctors, the plebeians, 
 most undoubtedly, would carry the day ; for while her hus 
 band did little or nothing but frolic, drink, and ride about 
 the country, Mrs Proctor ploughed, planted and gathered in 
 the crop. But for her energy and industry, it is much 
 to be feared that Mr Proctor s aristocratic habits would 
 have soon made himself and his family a burden upon the 
 county. 
 
 Cassy s services were a great accession to this estab 
 lishment. Her new mistress seemed resolved to make the 
 most of them ; and the poor girl before long, was almost 
 completely broken down, by a degree and a kind of labor 
 to which she was totally unaccustomed. Two or three times 
 a week, at least, Mr Proctor came home drunk ; and on 
 these occasions, he blustered about, threatened his wife, and 
 beat and abused his children without any sort of mercy. 
 Gassy could hardly expect to com/3 off better than they 
 did ; indeed his drunken abuse would have become quite 
 intolerable, if the energetic Mrs Proctor had not known how 
 to quell it. At first, she used mild measures, and coaxed 
 and flattered him into quiet ; but when these means failed, 
 she would tumble him into bed by main strength, and 
 compel him to lie still by the terror of the broom-stick. 
 
 It was nothing but the wholesome authority, which Mrs 
 Proctor exercised over her husband, that protected Gassy 
 against what she dreaded even more than Mr Proctor s 
 drunken rudeness. Whenever he could find her alone, he 
 tormented her with solicitations of a most distressing kind ; 
 and nothing could rid her of his importunities, except the 
 threat of complaining to Mrs Proctor. But her troubles 
 did not end even here. Mrs Proctor listened to her com 
 plaints, thanked her for the information, and said she would 
 speak to Mr Proctor about it. But she could not imagine 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 21 
 
 that a slave could possibly be endowed with the slightest 
 particle of that virtue, of which the free women of Virginia 
 boast the exclusive possession. Full of this notion, she 
 judged it highly improbable, whatever merit Gassy might 
 pretend to claim, that she had actually resisted the impor 
 tunities and solicitations of so very seducing a fellow as 
 Mr Proctor ; and filled with all the spite and fury of 
 female jealousy, she delighted herself with tormenting the 
 object of her suspicions. Mrs Proctor, with all her merit, 
 had one little foible which, most likely, she had adopted 
 out of compliment to her husband. She thought a daily 
 dram of whiskey necessary to keep off the fever and ague ; 
 and when through inadvertence, as sometimes would happen, 
 she doubled the dose, it seemed to give a new edge to the 
 natural keenness of her temper. On these occasions, she 
 plied both words and blows with a fearful energy ; and 
 though perhaps it were difficult to say which of the two 
 was most to be dreaded, both together they were enough to 
 exhaust the patience of a saint. 
 
 Poor Gassy could discover no means of delivering her 
 self from this complication of miseries, under which she 
 was ready to sink, when she was most unexpectedly re 
 lieved, by the unsolicited interference of a couple of Mr 
 Proctor s neighbors. They were men of leisure like him ; 
 like him too, they were of good families, and one of them 
 had received an excellent education, and was more or less 
 distantly connected with several of the most distinguished 
 people in the state. But a course of reckless dissipation 
 had long ago stripped them of such property as they had 
 inherited, and reduced them to live by their wits ; which 
 they exercised in a sort of partnership, principally on the 
 race-course and at the gaming-table. 
 
 These two speculating gentlemen were on terms of inti 
 macy with Mr Proctor, and they knew that he had a free 
 woman, for such they supposed Gassy to be, living at his 
 house. In common with most Virginians, they considered 
 the existence of a class of freed people as a great social 
 annoyance, and likely enough in the end, seriously to 
 endanger those c sacred rights of property, in defence of 
 which there is nothing, which a true-born son of liberty 
 
22 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ought not to be proud to undertake. Instigated doubtless, 
 by such patriotic notions, these public-spirited persons 
 judged that they would be rendering the state a service, 
 to say nothing of the money they might put into their own 
 pockets, by applying to this great political evil, so far at 
 least as Gassy was a party to 4t, a remedy, which the 
 doctrines of more than one of the Virginian statesmen, and 
 the spirit of more than one of the Virginian statutes, would 
 seem fully to sanction. In plain English, they resolved to 
 seize Gassy, and sell her for a slave ! 
 
 The business of kidnapping is one of the natural fruits 
 of the American system of slavery ; and is as common, 
 and as well organized in several parts of the United States, 
 as the business of horse-stealing is, in many other countries. 
 When they take to stealing slaves, the operations of these 
 adventurers become very hazardous; but while they confine 
 themselves to stealing only free people, they can pursue 
 their vocation with comparatively little danger. They may 
 perhaps inflict some trifling personal wrong ; but accord 
 ing to the doctrines of some of the most popular among 
 the American politicians, they are doing the public no incon 
 siderable service ; since, in their opinion, nothing seems to 
 be wanting to render the slave-holding states of America a 
 perfect paradise, except the extermination of the emanci 
 pated class. It was no doubt, by some such lofty notions 
 of the public good, that Cassy s friends were actuated. At 
 all events, those sophistries which tyranny has invented to 
 justify oppression, are as much an apology for them as for 
 any one else. 
 
 As far as Gassy could learn, their scheme was pretty 
 much as follows. They invited Mr Proctor to a drinking 
 frolic, and as soon as the whiskey had reduced him to a 
 state of insensibility, a message was sent to his wife that 
 her husband was taken dangerously ill, and that she must 
 instantly come to his assistance. Notwithstanding a few 
 domestic jars, Mr and Mrs Proctor were a most loving 
 couple ; and the good woman, greatly alarmed at this un 
 expected news, immediately set out to visit her husband. 
 The conspirators haO followed their own messenger, and 
 were concealed in a thicket close to the house watching for 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 23 
 
 her departure. She was hardly out of sight, before they 
 rushed into the field where Gassy was at work, bound her, 
 hand and foot, put her into a sort of covered wagon or 
 carry-all, which they had provided for the occasion, and 
 drove oft as fast as possible. They travelled all that day, 
 and the following night. Early the next morning, they 
 reached a small village where they met a slave-trader with 
 a gang of slaves, on his way to Richmond. The gentle 
 men-thieves soon struck up a bargain with the gentleman 
 slave-trader ; and having received their money, they de 
 livered Gassy into his possession. 
 
 He seemed touched with her beauty and her distress, and 
 treated her with a kindness which she hardly expected 
 from one of his profession. Her shoes and clothes were 
 nearly worn out. He bought her new ones ; and as she 
 was half dead with fatigue, terror and want of sleep, he 
 even went so far as to wait a day at the village, in order 
 that she might recover a little before setting out on the 
 journey to Richmond. 
 
 But she soon found that she was expected to make a 
 return for these favors. When they stopped for the night, 
 at the end of the first day s journey, she received an inti 
 mation that she was to share the bed of her master ; and 
 directions were given to her how and when to come there. 
 These directions she saw fit to disregard. In the morn 
 ing her master called her to account. He laughed in her 
 face, when she spoke of the wickedness of what he had 
 commanded, and told her he did not want her to be preach 
 ing any of her sermons to him. He would excuse her dis 
 obedience this time ; but she must take very good care not 
 to repeat it. 
 
 The next evening she received directions similar to those 
 which had been given the day before ; and again she dis 
 obeyed them. Her master, who had been drinking and 
 gambling half the night, with some boon companions whom 
 he found at the tavern, enraged at not finding her in his 
 room as he had expected, sallied forth in pursuit of her. 
 Luckily he was too drunk to know very well where he was 
 going. He had gone but a few steps from the tavern door, 
 before he stumbled over a pile of wood, and injured him- 
 
24 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 self very seriously. His cries soon brought some of the 
 tavern s people to his assistance. They carried him to his 
 room, bound up his bruises, and put him to bed. 
 
 It was late the next morning before he was able to rise ; 
 but he was no sooner up than he resolved to take ample 
 vengeance for his disappointment and his bruises. He came 
 hobbling to the tavern door, with a crutch in one hand and 
 a whip in the other. He had all his slaves paraded before 
 the house ; and made two of the stoutest fellows among 
 them hold Cassy by the arms, while he plied the whip. 
 Her cries soon collected the idlers and loungers, who seem 
 to constitute the principal population of a Virginian vil 
 lage. Some inquired the cause of the whipping, but 
 without seeming to think the question of consequence 
 enough to wait for an answer. It seemed to be the general 
 opinion that the master was tipsy, and had chosen this way 
 to vent his drunken humors ; but whether drunk or sober, 
 nobody thought of interfering with his sacred and unques 
 tionable rights. On the contrary, all looked on with 
 unconcern, if not with approbation; and the greater number 
 seemed as much pleased with the sport, as so many boys 
 would have been, with the baiting of an unlucky cat. 
 
 Just in the midst of this proceeding, a handsome travel 
 ling carriage drove up to the door. There were two ladies 
 in it ; and they no sooner saw what was going on, than 
 with that humanity, so natural to the female heart that not 
 even the horrid customs and detestable usages of slave- 
 holding tyranny can totally extinguish it, they begged the 
 brutal savage to leave beating the poor girl, and tell them 
 what was the matter. 
 
 The fellow reluctantly dropped the lash, and answered 
 in a surly tone, that she was an insolent disobedient bag 
 gage, not fit to be noticed by two such ladies, and that he 
 was only giving her a little wholesome correction. 
 
 However, this did not seem to satisfy them ; and in the 
 mean time the carriage steps were let down and they got 
 out. Poor Cassy was sobbing and crying and scarcely 
 able to utter a word ; her hair had fallen down over her 
 face and shoulders ; and her cheeks were all stained with 
 tears. Yet even in this situation, the two ladies seemed 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 25 
 
 struck with her appearance. They entered into conversa 
 tion with her, and soon found that she had been bred a 
 ladies maid, and that her present master was a slave-trader. 
 These ladies, it seemed, had been travelling at the north ; 
 and while on their journey, had lost a female servant by a 
 sudden and violent attack of fever. They were now on 
 their return to Carolina ; and the younger of the two, sug 
 gested to her mother for such their relation proved to be 
 to buy Gassy to supply the place of the maid they had 
 lost. The mother started some objections to purchasing a 
 stranger, about whom they knew nothing, and who had 
 been sold by her former owner, they knew not for what 
 reasons. But when Cassy s tears, prayers and supplica 
 tions, were added to the entreaties of her daughter, she 
 found herself quite unable to resist; and she sent to ask the 
 man his price. He named it. It was a high one. But 
 Mrs Montgomery for that was the lady s name was one 
 of those people, who when they have made up their minds 
 to do a generous action, are not easily to be shaken from 
 their purpose. She took Gassy into the house with her, 
 ordered the trunks to be brought in, and told the man to 
 make out his bill of sale. The purchase was no sooner 
 completed, than her new mistress took Gassy up stairs, and 
 soon fitted her with a dress better becoming her new situa 
 tion, than did the coarse gown and heavy shoes for which 
 she was indebted to the disinterested generosity of her late 
 master. 
 
 Gassy was dressed, the bill of sale was delivered, and 
 the money paid, when Mrs Montgomery s brother and trav 
 elling companion rode up. He rallied his sister not a little, 
 on what he called her foolish propensity to interfere between 
 other people and their servants ; he took her to task rather 
 severely, for the imprudence of her purchase, and the high 
 price she had paid; and he told her with a smile and a 
 shake of the head, that one time or other, her foolish confi 
 dence and generosity would be her ruin. Mrs Montgomery 
 took her brother s raillery all in good part; the carriage was 
 ordered, and they proceeded together on their journey. 
 
 The ladies with whom Gassy had come to the meeting, 
 were Mrs Montgomery and her daughter. They lived 
 
 VOL. II. 3 
 
26 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 some ten miles from Carleton-Hall. So near had Cassy 
 and myself been to each other for six long months or more, 
 without knowing it. Cassy spoke of her mistress with the 
 greatest affection. Her gratitude was unbounded ; and she 
 seemed to find a real pleasure and enjoyment in serving a 
 benefactress who treated her with a gentle and uniform 
 kindness, not often exerted even by those who are capable 
 of momentary acts of the greatest generosity. 
 
 As Cassy finished her story, she threw her arms about 
 my neck, leaned her head upon my bosom, and looking me 
 in the face, while the tears were streaming from her eyes, 
 she heaved a sigh, and whispered, that she was too, too 
 happy ! With such a mistress, and restored so unexpect 
 edly to the arms of a husband, whom, fondly as she loved 
 him, she feared to have lost forever, \vhat more could she 
 desire ! 
 
 Alas poor girl ! she forgot that we were slaves ; and 
 that the very next day might again separate us, subject us 
 to other masters, and renew her sufferings, and my miseries! 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 BEFORE we had half finished what we had to say to 
 each other, the movement of the people on the hill-side 
 informed us that the morning s religious services were over. 
 Never before had one of my master s sermons seemed so 
 short to me. We hastened towards the spot ; I to receive 
 my master s orders, and Cassy to attend upon her mistress. 
 As we came near the rural pulpit, I observed Mr Carleton 
 in conversation with two ladies, who proved to be Mrs 
 Montgomery and her daughter. We stopped at a little 
 distance from them. Miss Montgomery looked around, 
 and seeing us standing together, she beckoned to Cassy, 
 and pointing to me, she inquired if that was the husband, 
 who had put her into such a flutter that morning ? This 
 question drew the notice of the other two ; and my master 
 seemed a little surprised at seeing me in this new character. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 27 
 
 u What s this, Archy," he said, "what is the meaning of all 
 this ? It is the first I ever heard of your being married. 
 You don t pretend to claim that pretty girl there for your 
 wife?" 
 
 I replied that she was indeed, my wife, though it was 
 now some two years or more, since we had seen or known 
 any thing of each other. I added, that I had never men 
 tioned my marriage to him, because I had despaired of ever 
 seeing my wife again ; and now, it was nothing but the 
 merest accident that had brought us together. 
 
 " Well, Archy, if she is your wife, I don t know how I 
 can help it, though I suppose I shall have you spending 
 half your time at Poplar-Grove ; is not that what your 
 place is called, Mrs Montgomery?" 
 
 She said it was ; and after a moment s pause, observed, 
 that too little respect, she feared, was often paid to the 
 matrimonial connexions of servants. For her part, she 
 could not but regard them as sacred ; and if Gassy and 
 myself were really married, and I was a decent, civil fellow, 
 she had no objection to my visiting Poplar-Grove, as often 
 as Mr Carleton would permit. 
 
 My master undertook to answer for my good behavior ; 
 and turning to me, he bade me bring up the horses. I 
 made all the haste I could; but before I returned, Mrs 
 Montgomery was gone, and Gassy with her. We mount 
 ed, and had already taken the road to Carleton-Hall, when 
 my master seemed to recollect that I had just found a wife 
 from whom I had been long separated ; and it began to 
 occur to him, that possibly we might take some pleasure in 
 being indulged with a little of one another s company. He 
 gave me joy of my discovery, with an air half serious, half 
 jocose, as if in doubt whether a slave were properly enti 
 tled to a master s serious sympathy, and remarked, in a 
 careless tone, that perhaps I would like to spend the 
 remainder of the day at Poplar-Grove. 
 
 As I knew that Mr Carleton had much real goodness of 
 heart, I had long since learned to put up with his cavalier 
 manner ; and however little 1 might be pleased with the 
 style in which he made the offer, the matter of his 
 present proposal was so much to my fancy, that I eagerly 
 
28 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 caught at it. He took his pencil from his pocket, and 
 wrote me a pass ; I asked and received such directions as 
 he could give me about the way ; and putting spurs to my 
 horse, I soon overtook Mrs Montgomery s carriage, which I 
 followed to Poplar-Grove. 
 
 This was one of those pretty, and even elegant country 
 seats, which are sometimes seen, though very seldom, in 
 Virginia and the Carolinas ; and which may serve to prove 
 that the inhabitants of those states, notwithstanding their 
 almost universal negligence of such matters, are not totally 
 destitute of all ideas of architectural beauty and domestic 
 comfort. The approach to the house was through a broad 
 avenue of old and venerable oaks. The buildings had the 
 appearance of considerable antiquity ; but they were in 
 perfect repair, and the grounds and fences were neat and 
 well kept. 
 
 As the ladies left the carriage, I came up. I told Mrs 
 Montgomery that my master had given me leave to visit 
 my wife, and I hoped she would have no objection to my 
 spending the afternoon there. 
 
 Mrs Slontgomery answered, that Cassy was too good a 
 girl to be denied any reasonable indulgence ; and as long 
 as I behaved well, she would never make any objection to 
 my coming to see her. She put me several questions about 
 our marriage and separation ; and the softness of her voice 
 and the unassuming gentleness of her manner, satisfied me 
 that she was an amiable and kind-hearted woman. 
 
 No doubt, through the broad extent of slave-holding 
 America, there are many amiable women and kind-hearted 
 mistresses. Yet how little does their kindness avail ! It 
 reaches only here and there. It has no power to alleviate 
 the wretchedness, or to diminish the sufferings of myriads 
 of wretches, who never hear a voice softer than the over 
 seer s, and who know no discipline milder than the lash. 
 
 The house servants at Poplar-Grove, were treated with 
 kindness and even with indulgence, and were much at 
 tached to the family ; but as happens in so many other 
 cases, the situation of the field hands was extremely differ 
 ent. Some three years before, Mrs Montgomery, by her hus 
 band s death, and the will which he left, became the owner 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 29 
 
 
 
 and sole mistress of the estate. Upon this occasion, her 
 good nature, and her sense of justice, prompted her to 
 extend the same humane system to the management of the 
 plantation, which she had always acted upon, in the gov 
 ernment of her own household. During her husband s life, 
 the servants quarter had been three miles or more from the 
 House ; and as the slaves were never allowed to come 
 there, unless they were sent for, Mrs Montgomery saw 
 scarcely any thing of them, and knew very little of their 
 wants and grievances, and next to nothing of the general 
 management of the estate. Indeed she spent the greater 
 portion of every year, in visiting her relations in Virginia, or 
 in trips to the northern cities ; and when at home, her 
 husband s manifest disinclination to her having any thing to 
 do with those matters, had always prevented her from med 
 dling in any way, with the plantation affairs. 
 
 But when her husband was dead, and the plantation and 
 slaves had become her own property, she could not recon 
 cile herself to the idea of taking no thought, concern or care 
 for the welfare and well-being of more than a hundred 
 human creatures, who toiled from morning to night for her 
 sole benefit. She resolved upon a total change of system ; 
 and ordered the servants quarter to be removed near the 
 house, so that she might be able to go there daily, and have 
 an opportunity of inspecting and relieving the wants and 
 grievances of her servants. 
 
 She was shocked at the miserable pittance of food and 
 clothing which her husband had allowed them, and at the 
 amount of labor which he had exacted. She ordered their 
 allowances to be increased, and their tasks to be diminished. 
 Several instances of outrageous severity having reached her 
 ears, she dismissed her overseer and procured a new one. 
 The servants no sooner discovered that their mistress had 
 interested herself in their welfare, than she was overwhelm 
 ed with petitions, appeals and complaints. One wanted a 
 blanket, another a kettle, and a third, a pair of shoes. 
 Each asked for some trifling gift, which it seemed very 
 hard to refuse ; and every request that was granted was 
 followed by half-a-dozen others, equally trifling and equally 
 reasonable. But before the end of the year, these 
 3* 
 
30 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 items amounted to a sum sufficient to swallow up half the 
 usual profits of the plantation. Scarcely a day passed, that 
 Mrs Montgomery was not pestered with complaints about 
 the severity of her new overseer ; and the servants were 
 constantly coming to her to beg off from some threatened 
 punishment. Two or three instances in which the overseer 
 was checked for the tyrannical manner in which he exer 
 cised his authority, only served to increase this annoyance. 
 She was perplexed with continual appeals, as to which she 
 found it next to impossible to get at the truth ; since the 
 overseer always told one story, and the servants another. 
 The second overseer was dismissed; a third threw up his 
 place in disgust ; and a fourth, who resolved to humor the 
 indulgent disposition of his employer, suffered the hands to 
 lake their own course and to do pretty much as they 
 pleased. Of course they did not care to work, while they 
 had the choice of being idle. Every season, since Mrs 
 Montgomery had commenced her experiments, the crop had 
 fallen lamentably short ; but that year, there was scarcely 
 any crop at all. 
 
 Her friends now thought it time to interfere. Her 
 brother, whom she loved, and for whose opinion and advice 
 she entertained a high regard, had all along, remonstrated 
 against the course she was pursuing. He now spoke in a 
 more decided tone. He told her, that the silly notions she 
 had taken up about the happiness of her slaves, would cer 
 tainly ruin her. Where was the need of being more hu 
 mane than her neighbors ? and what folly could be greater 
 than to reduce herself and her children to beggary, in the 
 vain pursuit of a sentimental and impracticable scheme ? 
 
 Mrs Montgomery defended herself and her conduct with 
 great earnestness. She pleaded her duty towards those 
 unhappy beings whom God had placed in her power and 
 under her protection. She even went so far as to hint at 
 the injustice of living in luxury upon the fruits of forced 
 labor; and she spoke with much feeling of the savage bru 
 tality of overseers, and the torture of the lash. Her brother 
 replied, that such talk was very pretty, and generous, and 
 philanthropic, and all that ; and while it went no further 
 than talk, he had not the least objection to it. But pretty 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 31 
 
 and philanthropic as it was, it would not make cither corn 
 or tobacco. She might talk as she pleased ; but if she ex 
 pected to live by her plantation, she must manage it like 
 other people. Every body who knew any thing about the 
 matter would tell her, that if she wished to make a crop she 
 must keep a smart overseer, put a whip into his hands, and 
 give him unlimited authority to use it. If she would do 
 this, she might justly call herself the mistress of the planta 
 tion ; but as long as she followed her present plan, she 
 would be no better than the slave of her own servants ; and 
 her philanthropy would end in their being sold for debt, and 
 in her being left a beggar. 
 
 These warm remonstrances made a deep impression 
 upon Mrs Montgomery. She could not deny that the 
 plantation had produced scarcely any thing since she had 
 come into possession of it ; and she was conscious that after 
 all her labors in their behalf, her servants were discontent 
 ed, idle and insubordinate. However, she did not feel 
 inclined to yield the point. She still maintained that her 
 ideas on the mutual relation of master and servant, were 
 the obvious dictates of justice and humanity, which no one 
 could despise or overlook, who made any pretensions to 
 v irtue or to conscience. She argued that the system, which 
 she was attempting to introduce, was a good one ; and that 
 nothing was wanting except an overseer who had sense 
 enough to carry it into judicious operation. Possibly there 
 was something of truth in this. If she could have found a 
 man like major Thornton, and made an overseer of him, 
 she might perhaps have succeeded. But such men are 
 seldom found any where, and in slave-holding America, 
 very seldom indeed. Take the American overseers to 
 gether, and they are the most ignorant, intractable, stupid, 
 obstinate, and self-willed race that ever existed. What 
 could a woman do, who could only act through assistance 
 of this sort, and who had the prejudices of the whole neigh 
 borhood actively excited against her ? Things went on from 
 bad to worse. The ready money which her husband had 
 left was all spent, and her affairs soon became so entangled 
 and embarrassed, that she was obliged to call upon her 
 brother for assistance. He refused in the most positive 
 
32 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 manner, to have any thing to do with the business, unless 
 she would surrender to him the sole and exclusive manage 
 ment of her affairs. To these hard terms, after a short and 
 ineffectual struggle, she was obliged to consent. 
 
 He immediately took the plantation into his own hands. 
 He removed the cabins to their former situation ; revived 
 the old rule that no servant should ever go to the House 
 unless specially sent for ; reduced them to their former al 
 lowance of food and clothing ; and engaged an overseer on 
 the express condition that Mrs Montgomery should never 
 listen to any complaints against him, or intermeddle, in any 
 way, with his management of the plantation. 
 
 Within the first month after this return to the old system ; 
 near one third of the working hands were runaways. Mrs 
 Montgomery s brother told her, that this was no more than 
 might be expected ; for the rascals had been so spoiled and 
 indulged as to render them quite impatient of the necessary 
 and wholesome severity of plantation discipline. After 
 long searching, and a good deal of trouble and expense, the 
 runaways, except one or two, were finally recovered ; and 
 Poplar-Grove, under its new administration, passed by de 
 grees to its ancient routine of whipping and hard labor. 
 Once in a while, notwithstanding all the pains that were 
 taken to prevent it, some instance of severity would reach 
 the ear of Mrs Montgomery ; and in the first burst of in- 
 (dignant feeling, she would sometimes declare, that the- 
 /narrowest poverty would be far better, than the wealth and 
 luxury for which she was indebted to the whip of the slave- 
 driver. But these exclamations of generous passion were 
 scarcely uttered, before she acknowledged to herself, that 
 to think of giving up the luxury to which she had been 
 ) accustomed from her infancy, was out of the question. She 
 strove to escape from the knowledge, and to banish the 
 recollection of injustice and cruelty, which her heart con 
 demned, but which she lacked the power, or rather the 
 spirit, to remedy. She fled from a home, where she was 
 forever haunted by the spectre of that delegated tyranny, 
 for which, however she might attempt to deny or disguise 
 it, she could not but feel herself responsible ; and while her 
 slaves toiled beneath the burning sun of a Carolina summer. 
 
ARCH* MOORE. 33 
 
 and smarted under the lash of a stern and relentless over 
 seer, she attempted to drown the remembrance of their 
 wrongs, in the dissipations and gaieties of Saratoga or 
 New York. 
 
 But she was obliged to spend a part of the year at Pop 
 lar-Grove ; and with all her care, she could not always 
 save her feelings from some rude brushes. Of this I had 
 a striking instance on my first visit. One of her plantation 
 hands had been so far indulged by the overseer, who, by 
 the way, was a very rigid presbyterian, as to receive a pass 
 to attend Mr Carleton s meeting. After the meeting was 
 over, his mistress happened to see him there ; and as she 
 wished to send a message to one of her neighbors, she called 
 him to her, and sent him with it. It so happened that 
 Mrs Montgomery s overseer, was at this neighbor s, when 
 the servant arrived there with his mistress s message. The 
 overseer no sooner saw him, than he inquired what business 
 he had to come there, when his pass only allowed him to 
 go to the meeting and back again. It was in vain that he 
 pleaded his mistress s orders. The overseer said that made 
 no difference whatever ; for Mrs Montgomery had nothing at 
 all to do with the plantation hands ; and to impress this fact 
 upon his memory, he gave him a dozen lashes on the spot. 
 
 The poor fellow was bold enough to come to the House, 
 and make his complaint to Mrs Montgomery. Nothing 
 could exceed her anger and vexation. But her agreement 
 with her brother left her without a remedy. She made the 
 servant a handsome present ; told him that he had been 
 very unjustly punished ; and begged him to go home and 
 say nothing about it to any body. She submitted to the 
 mortification of making this request, in hopes of saving the 
 poor fellow from a second punishment. But by some 
 means or other, as I learned afterwards, the overseer found 
 out what had been going on ; and to vindicate his supreme 
 authority, and keep up the discipline of the plantation, he 
 inflicted a second whipping more severe than the first. 
 
 Such is the malignant nature and disastrous operation of 
 the slave-holding system, that in too many instances, the 
 sheerest good will, and best intended efforts in the slave s 
 behalf, end only in plunging him into deeper miseries. It 
 
34 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 is impossible to build any edifice of good upon so evil a 
 foundation. The whole system is totally and radically 
 wrong. The benevolence, the good nature, the humanity 
 of a slave-holder, avail as little as the benevolence of the 
 bandit, who generously clothes the stripped and naked trav 
 eller in a garment plundered from his own portmanteau. 
 What grosser absurdity than the attempt to be humanely 
 cruel, and generously unjust ! The very first act in the 
 slave s behalf, without which, all else is useless and worse 
 than useless, is to make him free ! 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 I HAVE before observed that Sunday is the slave s holi 
 day. Where intermarriages are allowed between the slaves 
 of different plantations, this is generally the only occasion 
 on which the scattered branches of the same family are in 
 dulged with an opportunity of visiting each other. Many 
 planters, (who pride themselves upon the excellence of their 
 discipline, forbid these intermarriages altogether/ ; and if they 
 happen to have a superabundance of men-servants, they 
 prefer that one woman should have a half-a-dozen husbands 
 rather than suffer their slaves to be corrupted, by gadding 
 about among other people s plantations. 
 
 Other managers, just as good disciplinarians, and a little 
 more . shrewd than their neighbors, forbid the men only to 
 marry away from home. They are very willing to let their 
 women get husbands where they can. They reason in this 
 way. When a husband goes to see his wife, who lives 
 upon another plantation, he will not be apt to go empty- 
 handed. He will carry something with him, probably 
 something eatable, plundered from his master s fields, that 
 may serve to make him welcome, and render his coming a 
 sort of festival. Now every thing that is brought upon a 
 plantation in this way, is so much clear gain ; and so far as 
 it goes, it amounts to feeding one s people at the expense 
 of one s neighbors ! 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 35 
 
 Sunday, as I have said, is the day upon which are paid 
 the matrimonial visits of the slave. But Sunday was no 
 holiday to me ; for I was generally obliged, on that day, to 
 attend my master upon his ecclesiastical excursions. To 
 make up for this, Mr Carleton allowed me Thursday after 
 noons, so that I was able to visit Gassy at least once a 
 week. 
 
 The year that followed, was the happiest of my life ; and 
 with all the inevitable mortifications and miseries, which 
 slavery, even under its least repulsive form, ever carries 
 with it, I still look back to that year with pleasure, a 
 pleasure that yet has power to warm a heart, saddened and 
 embittered by a thousand painful recollections. 
 
 Before the end of the year, Gassy made me a father. 
 The infant boy had all his mother s beauty ; and only he 
 who is a father, and as fond a husband too as I was, can 
 know the feelings with which I pressed the little darling to 
 my heart. 
 
 No ! no one can know my feelings, no one, alas, but 
 he, who is, as I was, the father of a slave. The father of 
 a slave ! And is it true then, that this child of my hopes 
 and wishes, this pledge of mutual love, this dear, dear infant 
 of whom I am the father, is it true he is not mine ? 
 
 Is it not my duty and my right, a right and duty dearer 
 than life, to watch over his helpless infancy, and to rear 
 him with all a father s tenderness and love, to a manhood, 
 that will perhaps repay my care, and in turn, sustain and 
 cherish me, a tottering weak old man ? 
 
 My duty it may be ; but it is not my right. A slave 
 can have no rights. His wife, his child, his toil, his blood, 
 his life, and every thing that gives his life a value, they are 
 not his ; he holds them all but at his master s pleasure. 
 He can possess nothing ; and if there is any thing he seems 
 to have, it is only by a sufferance which exists but in his 
 owner s will. 
 
 This very child, this very tender babe, may be torn from 
 my anus, and sold to-morrow into the hands of a stranger, 
 and I shall have no right to interfere. Or if not so ; if 
 some compassion be yielded to his infancy, and if he be 
 not snatched from his father s embraces and his mother s 
 
36 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 bosom while he is yet all unconscious of his misery, yet 
 what a sad, wretched, desolate fate awaits him ! Shut out 
 from every chance or hope of any thing which it is worth 
 one s while to live for ; bred up a slave ! 
 
 A slave ! That single word, what volumes it does speak ! 
 It speaks of chains, of whips and tortures, compulsive labor, 
 hunger and fatigues, and all the miseries our wretched 
 bodies suffer. It speaks of haughty power, and insolent 
 commands ; of insatiate avarice ; of pampered pride and 
 purse-proud luxury ; and of the cold indifference and scorn 
 ful unconcern with which the oppressor looks down upon 
 his victims. It speaks of crouching fear, and base servility ; 
 of low, mean cunning, and treacherous revenge. It speaks 
 of humanity outraged ; manhood degraded ; the social 
 charities of life, the sacred ties of father, wife and child 
 trampled under foot ; of aspirations crushed ; of hope ex 
 tinguished ; and the light of knowledge sacrilegiously put 
 out. It speaks of man deprived of all that makes him 
 amiable or makes him noble ; stripped of his soul, and 
 sunk into a beast. 
 
 And thou, my child, to this fate thou art born ! May 
 heaven have mercy on thee, for man has none ! 
 
 The first burst of instinctive and thoughtless pleasure, 
 with which I had looked upon my infant boy, was dissipa 
 ted forever, the moment I had recovered myself enough to 
 recollect what he was born to. Various and ever changing, 
 but always wretched and distressing were the feelings with 
 which I gazed at him, as he slept upon his mother s bosom. 
 or waking, smiled at her caresses. He was indeed a pretty 
 baby ; a dear, dear child ; and for his mother s sake I 
 loved him, how I loved him ! Yet struggle as I might, I 
 could not, for a moment, escape the bitter thought of what 
 his fate must be. Full well I knew that did he live to be 
 a man, he would repay my love , and justly, with curses, 
 curses on the father who had bestowed upon him nothing 
 but a life incumbered and made worse than worthless, by 
 the inheritance of slavery. 
 
 I found no longer the same pleasure in Cassy s society, 
 which it used to afford me ; or rather the pleasure which 1 
 could not but take in it, was intermingled with much new 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 37 
 
 misery. I did not love her less ; but the birth of that boy 
 had infused fresh bitterness into the cup of servitude. 
 Whenever I looked upon him, my mind was filled with 
 horrid images. The whole future seemed to come visibly 
 before me. I saw him naked, chained, and bleeding under 
 the lash ; I saw him a wretched, trembling creature, cringing 
 to escape it ; I saw him utterly debased, and the spirit of 
 manhood extinguished within him; already he appeared 
 that worthless thing, a slave contented with his fate ! 
 
 I could not bear it. I started up in a phrensy of pas 
 sion ; I snatched the child from the arms of his mother, and 
 while I loaded him with caresses, t looked about for the 
 means of extinguishing a life, which, as it was an emana 
 tion from my existence, seemed destined to be only a pro 
 longation of my misery. 
 
 My eyes rolled wildly, I doubt not ; and the stern spirit 
 of my determination must have been visibly marked upon 
 my face ; for gentle and unsuspicious as she was, and 
 wholly incapable of that wild passion which tore my heart, 
 my wife, with a mother s instinctive watchfulness, seemed 
 to catch some glimpse of my intention. She rose up hasti 
 ly, and without speaking a word, she caught the baby from 
 my feeble and trembling grasp ; and as she pressed it to 
 her bosom, she gave a look that told me all that she feared ; 
 and told me too, that the mother s life was bound up in that 
 of the child. 
 
 That look subdued me. My arms dropped powerless, 
 and I sunk down in a sort of sullen stupor. I had been 
 prevented from accomplishing my purpose, but I was not 
 satisfied that in foregoing it, I did a father s duty to the 
 child. The more I thought upon it and it so engrossed 
 me that I could scarcely draw my thoughts away, the 
 more was I convinced that it were better for the boy to 
 die. And if the deed did peril my own soul, I loved the 
 child so well I did not shrink, even at that ! 
 
 But then his mother ? 
 
 I would have reasoned with her ; but I knew how vain 
 would be the labor to array a woman s judgment against a 
 mother s feelings ; and I felt, that one tear stealing down 
 her cheek, one look of hers, like that she gave me when 
 
 VOL. II. 4 
 
38 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 she snatched the child away, would, even in my own mind, 
 far outbalance the weightiest of my arguments. 
 
 The idea of rescuing the boy, by one bold act, from all 
 the bitter miseries that impended over him, had shot upon 
 my mind, like some faint struggling star across the darkness 
 of a midnight storm. But that glimmer of comfort was 
 now extinguished. The child must live. The life I gave 
 him, I must not take away. No ! not though every day 
 of it would draw new curses on my devoted head, and 
 those too, the curses of my child. This, this alas ! is the 
 barbed arrow that still is sticking in my heart ; the fatal, 
 fatal wound, that nought can heal. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ONE Sunday morning when the boy was about three 
 months old, two strangers unexpectedly arrived at Carle- 
 ton-Hall. In consequence of their coming, some urgent 
 business occupied my master s attention, so that he found 
 himself obliged to give up the meeting which he had 
 appointed for that day. I was not sorry for it ; for it left 
 me at liberty to visit my wife and child. 
 
 It was the autumn. The heat of summer had abated, 
 and the morning was bright and balmy. There was a 
 soothing softness in the air ; and the woods were clothed in 
 a gay variety of colors, that almost outvied the foliage of the 
 spring. As I rode along towards Poplar-Grove, the seren 
 ity of the sky, and the beauty of the prospect, seemed to 
 breathe a jfeaceful pleasure to my heart. It was the more 
 needed ; for I had been a good deal irritated by some 
 occurrences during the week ; and every new indignity to 
 which my situation exposed me, I now seemed to suffer 
 twice over, once in my own person, and a second time, in 
 anticipation for my child. I had set out in no very agree 
 able frame of mind ; but the ride, the prospect, and the 
 fine autumnal air, had soothed me into a cheerful alacrity 
 of spirit, such as I had hardly felt for some weeks before. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 39 
 
 Cassy welcomed me with a ready smile, and those ca 
 resses which a fond wife bestows so freely on the husband 
 whom she loves. Her mistress, the day before, had given 
 her some new clothes for the child, and she had just been 
 dressing him out, to make the little fellow fit, she said, to 
 see his father. She brought the boy and placed him on 
 my knee. She praised his beauty ; and with her arm 
 about my neck, she tried to trace his father s features in the 
 baby s face. In the full flow of a mother s fond affection 
 she seemed unconscious and forgetful of the future ; and by 
 a thousand tender caresses, and all the little artifices of a 
 woman s love, she sought to make me forget it too. She 
 had but little success. The sight of that poor, smiling, 
 helpless and unconscious child, brought back all my melan 
 choly feelings. Yet I could not bear to disappoint my 
 wife s hopes and efforts ; and to make her think herself 
 successful, I strove to affect a cheerfulness I did not feel. 
 
 The beauty of the day tempted us abroad. We walked 
 among the fields and woods, carrying the child by turns. 
 Cassy had a hundred little things to tell me of the first 
 slight indications of intelligence which the boy was giving. 
 She spoke with all a mother s fluency and fervor. I said 
 but little ; indeed I hardly dared to speak at all. Had I 
 once begun, I could not have restrained myself from going 
 on ; and I did not wish to poison her pleasure, by an out 
 pouring of that bitterness which I felt bubbling up, at the 
 bottom of my heart. 
 
 The hours stole away insensibly, and the svm was already 
 declining. I had my master s orders to be back that night ; 
 und it was time for me to go. I clasped the infant to my 
 heart. I kissed Cassy s cheek and pressed her hand. She 
 seemed not satisfied with so cold a parting ; for site threw 
 her arms about my neck and loaded me with embraces. 
 This was so different from her usual coy and timid manner, 
 that I was at a loss to understand it. Is it possible that she 
 felt some instinctive presentiment of what was going to hap 
 pen ? Did the thought dart across her mind, that this might 
 be our last, our final parting ? 
 
40 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WHEN I got back to Carleton-Hall, I found every thing 
 in the greatest confusion. It was not long before I was 
 made acquainted with the cause. It seemed that some 
 twelve months previous, Mr Carleton had found himself 
 very much pressed for money. This had obliged him to 
 look a little into his affairs. He found himself burdened 
 with a load of debt of which before, he had no definite 
 idea ; and as his numerous creditors, who had been too 
 long put off with promises, were beginning to be very clam 
 orous, he saw that some vigorous remedy was necessary. 
 To borrow, seemed the most certain means of relief from 
 the immediate pressure of his debts ; and he succeeded in 
 obtaining a large loan from some Baltimore money-lenders, 
 of which he secured the repayment by a mortgage upon his 
 slaves, including even the house servants, and myself among 
 the number. This money he expended in satisfying seve 
 ral executions, which had already issued against him ; and 
 in stopping the mouths of the most clamorous of his credit 
 ors. The money was borrowed for a year ; not with any 
 expectation on Mr Carleton s part, of being able to repay it 
 in that time, out of any funds of his own ; but in the hope 
 that before the year s end, he might succeed in obtaining a 
 permanent loan, and so be enabled to cancel the mortgage. 
 
 In this expectation, he had hitherto been disappointed ; 
 and he was yet negotiating with the persons from whom he 
 expected to borrow, when the time of repayment, mentioned 
 in the mortgage, expired. This happened about a month 
 previous ; and when I got back to Carleton-Hall, I found 
 that the strangers who had arrived that morning, were the 
 agents of the Baltimore money-lenders, who had been sent 
 to take possession of the mortgaged property. They had 
 already caught as many of the slaves as they could find ; 
 and I no sooner entered the house, than I was seized, and 
 put under a guard. These precautions were thought neces 
 sary to prevent the slaves from running away, or concealing 
 themselves from the agents of their new owners. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 41 
 
 My poor master was in the greatest distress and embar 
 rassment that could be imagined. It was in vain that he 
 begged for delay, and proposed various terms of accommo 
 dation. The agents declared that they had no discretion 
 in the matter; they were instructed to get either the money 
 or the slaves ; and in case the money was not forthcoming, 
 to proceed with the slaves to Charleston, in South Carolina, 
 which, at that time, was esteemed the best market for dis 
 posing of that commodity. 
 
 As to paying the money at once, that was out of the 
 question ; but Mr Carleton hoped that he might be able in 
 the course of a few days, if not to obtain the loan for which 
 he was negotiating, at least to get such temporary assistance 
 as would enable him to discharge the mortgage. The 
 agents agreed to give him twenty-four hours, but refused to 
 wait any longer. Mr Carleton despaired of doing any 
 thing in so short a time ; and did not think it worth his 
 while to attempt it. The plantation hands must go ; there 
 did not seem to be any remedy for that ; but he was very 
 desirous to save his house servants from the slave-market, 
 and he begged the agents not to leave him without a ser 
 vant to make his bed or cook his dinner. 
 
 The agents replied that they were truly sorry for the 
 disagreeable situation in which he found himself; but that, 
 since the mortgage was made, several of the slaves included 
 in the schedule were dead ; that some of the others seemed 
 hardly worth the sum at which they had been valued ; that 
 the price of slaves had fallen considerably since the mort 
 gage was made, and seemed likely to fall more ; and that 
 every thing considered, they thought it more than doubtful 
 whether the mortgaged property would be sufficient to sat 
 isfy the debt. However, they were desirous to indulge 
 him as far as their duty to their principals would allow ; and 
 if he would pay the value of such of the slaves as he wished 
 to retain, they had no objections to receive the money 
 instead of the servants. 
 
 Mr Carleton had not fifty dollars in the house ; but he 
 
 immediately started off to see what he could borrow in the 
 
 neighborhood. Wherever he went, he found that the news 
 
 of what had happened, had preceded him. Besides this 
 
 4* 
 
42 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Baltimore mortgage, he was known to owe many other 
 debts ; and his neighbors generally looked upon him as a 
 ruined man. Of course, the greater part of them felt no 
 inclination to lend him their money ; and in fact, very 
 many of them were not so much better ofT than Mr Carle- 
 ton as to have much money to lend. After riding about 
 the greater part of the day, he succeeded in borrowing a 
 few hundred dollars, on condition however, that he should 
 secure the repayment by a mortgage of such slaves as he 
 should redeem. He had returned to the house a little 
 before I did, and was already considering with himself 
 which of his slaves he should retain. He told me that I 
 had been a good and trust-worthy servant; and that he was 
 very unwilling to part with me. But he had not money 
 enough to redeem us all ; and his old nurse and her family 
 were entitled to be retained in preference to any of the rest 
 of us. Not only were their services the most essential to 
 him, but the mother had long been a favorite servant, her 
 children were born and bred in his family, and he consid 
 ered it a matter of conscience to keep them, at all events. 
 The agents released those of the servants whom he selected. 
 The rest of us were kept confined, and received notice to 
 be ready for a start, early the next morning. 
 
 I had yet one hope. I thought if Mrs Montgomery 
 could be informed of my situation she would certainly buy 
 me. I mentioned it to my master. He told me not to 
 flatter myself too much with that idea ; for Mrs Mont 
 gomery already had more servants about her house than she 
 had any kind of use for. However, he readily undertook 
 to write her a note explaining my situation. It was de 
 spatched by a servant, and I waited with impatient hope for 
 the answer. 
 
 At last the messenger returned. Mrs Montgomery and 
 her daughter had gone that morning to visit her brother, 
 who lived some ten miles from Poplar-Grove, and they 
 were expected to be absent three or four days. 1 believe I 
 had heard something of this in the morning ; but in my 
 hurry, confusion and excitement, it had escaped my 
 memory. 
 
 My last hope was now gone ; and as it went, the shock 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 43 
 
 I felt was dreadful. Till that moment, I had concealed 
 from myself, the misery of my situation. I had been 
 familiar with calamity, hut this exceeded any thing I had 
 ever suffered. It is true, I had once before been separated 
 from my wife ; but my bodily pains, my delirium and fever 
 had helped to blunt the agony of that separation. Now, I 
 was torn from both wife and child ! and that too, without 
 any thing to call off my attention, or to deaden the torture 
 of conscious agony. My heart swelled with impotent pas 
 sion, and beat as though it would leap from my bosom. 
 My forehead glowed with a burning heat. I would have 
 wept ; but even that relief was denied me. The tears 
 refused to flow ; the fever in my brain had parched them 
 up. 
 
 My first impulse was, to attempt making my escape. 
 But my new masters were too well acquainted with the 
 business of legal kidnapping, to give me an opportunity. 
 We were all collected in one of the out-houses, and care 
 fully secured. With many of the plantation hands, this 
 was quite an unnecessary precaution. A large proportion 
 of them were so sick and weary of the tyranny of Mr 
 Carleton s overseer, that they were glad of any change ; 
 and when their master made them a farewell visit, and 
 began to condole with them upon their misfortune, several 
 of them were bold enough to tell him that they thought it no 
 misfortune at all ; for whatever might happen, they could 
 not be worse treated than they had been by his overseer. 
 Mr Carleton seemed not well pleased at this bold disclo 
 sure, and took his leave of us rather abruptly ; and certainly 
 this piece of information could not have been very soothing 
 to his feelings. 
 
 At early dawn we were put into travelling order. A 
 wagon earned the provisions and the younger children. 
 The rest of us were chained together, and proceeded in the 
 usual fashion. 
 
 It was a long journey, and we were two or three weeks 
 upon the road. Considering that we were slaves driven to 
 market, we were treated on the whole, with unexpected 
 humanity. At the end of the third or fourth day s journey, 
 the women and children were released from their chains ; 
 
44 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and two or three days later, a part of the men received the 
 same indulgence. Those of us, of whom they were more 
 suspicious, were still kept in irons. Our drivers seemed 
 desirous to enhance our value by putting us into good con 
 dition. Our daily journey was quite moderate ; we were 
 all furnished with shoes, and were allowed plenty to eat. 
 At night we encamped by the road-side ; kindled a large 
 fire, cooked our hominy, and made a hut of branches to 
 sleep under. Several of the company declared that they 
 were never so well treated in all their lives ; and they went 
 along laughing and singing more like men travelling for 
 pleasure, than like slaves going to be sold. So little accus 
 tomed is the slave to kindness or indulgence of any sort, 
 that the merest trifle is enough to put him into ecstasy. 
 The gift of a single extra meal is sufficient to make him 
 fall in love even with a slave-driver. 
 
 The songs and laughter of my companions only served 
 to aggravate my melancholy. They observed it, and did 
 their best to cheer me. There never was a kinder-hearted 
 company, and I found some relief even in their rude efforts 
 at consolation ; for there is more power in the sympathy of 
 the humblest human creature than the haughty children of 
 luxury are apt to believe. I was a favorite among the 
 servants at Carleton-Hall, because I had taken some little 
 pains to be so ; for I had long since renounced that silly 
 prejudice and foolish pride, which at an earlier period, had 
 kept me aloof from my fellow servants, and had justly 
 earned me their hatred and dislike. Experience had made 
 me wiser ; and I no longer took sides with our oppressors 
 by joining them in the false notion of their own natural 
 superiority ; a notion founded only in the arrogant preju 
 dice of conceited ignorance, and long since discarded by 
 the liberal and enlightened ; but a notion which is still the 
 orthodox creed of all America, and the principal, I might 
 almost say the sole foundation, which sustains the iniqui 
 tous superstructure of American slavery. I had made it a 
 point to gain the good will and affection of my fellow ser 
 vants, by mixing among them ; taking an interest in all 
 their concerns ; and rendering them such little services as 
 my favor with Mr Carleton put in my power. Once or 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 45 
 
 twice indeed, I had overstepped the mark, and got myself 
 into very serious trouble by letting my master know what 
 severities his overseer inflicted. But though my attempts 
 at serving them were not always successful, their gratitude 
 was not the less on that account. 
 
 When my companions observed my melancholy they 
 stopped their songs, and having run through their few topics 
 of condolence, they continued their conversation in a sub 
 dued and moderated tone, as if unwilling to irritate my 
 feeling by what might seem to me, unseasonable merriment. 
 I saw, and in my heart acknowledged the kindness of their 
 intention ; but I did not wish that my sadness should cast 
 a shade over what they enjoyed as a holiday, the only 
 holiday perhaps which their miserable fate would ever allow 
 them. I told them that nothing would be so likely to cheer 
 me, as to see them merry ; and though my heart was aching 
 and ready almost to burst, I forced a laugh, and started a 
 song. The rest joined in it ; the chorus rose again loud as 
 ever ; the laugh went round ; and the turbulence of their mer 
 riment soon allowed me to sink again into a moody silence. 
 
 I had the natural feelings of a man ; I loved my wife and 
 child. Had they been snatched from me by death, or had I 
 been separated from them, by some fixed, inevitable, natural 
 necessity, I should have wept, no doubt, but my feelings 
 would have been those of simple grief, unmixed with any 
 more bitter emotion. But that the dear ties of husband 
 and father, ties so twined about my inmost heart, should be 
 thus violently severed, without a moment s warning, and at 
 a creditor s caprice ; and he too the creditor of another ; 
 to be thus chained up, torn from my home, and driven to 
 market, there to be sold to pay the debts of a man who 
 called himself my master ; the thoughts of this stirred up 
 within my soul a bitter hatred and a burning indignation 
 against the laws and the people that tolerate such things ; 
 fierce and deadly passions which tore my heart, distracted 
 and tormented me, even more than my grief at the sudden 
 separation. 
 
 But the more violent emotions ever tend to cure them 
 selves. If the patient survive the first paroxysm, his mind 
 speedily begins to verge towards its natural equilibrium. 1 
 
4t> MEMOIRS OF 
 
 found it so. The torture of furious but impotent emotions 
 at first almost overpowered me. But my feelings softened 
 by degrees ; till, at length, they subsided into a dull, but 
 fixed and settled misery ; a misery which the impulse of 
 temporary excitement may sometimes make me forget, but 
 which, like the guilty man s remorse, is too deeply rooted 
 to be ever eradicated. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AT length we arrived at Charleston, the capital of South 
 Carolina. We spent several days in recruiting ourselves 
 after our long journey. As soon as we had recovered from 
 our lameness and fatigues, we were dressed up in new 
 clothes, and fitted out to show off to the best advantage. 
 We were then exposed for the inspection of purchasers. 
 The women and children, pleased with their new finery, 
 seemed to enjoy the novelty of their situation, and appeared 
 as anxious to find a master and to bring a high price, as 
 though the bargain were actually for their own benefit. 
 The greater part of our company were bought up by a 
 single purchaser, and I among the rest. We were pur 
 chased by general Carter, a man of princely fortune, indeed 
 one of the richest planters in South Carolina ; and were 
 immediately sent off to one of his plantations, at some 
 distance from the city. 
 
 The lower country of South Carolina, from the Atlantic 
 for eighty or a hundred miles inward, including more than 
 half the state, is, with the exception I shall presently men 
 tion, one of the most barren, miserable, uninviting countries 
 in the universe. In general, the soil is nothing but a 
 thirsty sand, covered for miles and miles, with forests of 
 the long-leaved pine. These tracts are called, in the ex 
 pressive phrase of the country, Pine Barrens. For a 
 great distance inland, these Barrens preserve almost a 
 perfect level, raised but a few feet above the surface of the 
 sea. The tall, straight, branchless trunks of the scattered 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 47 
 
 pines, rise like slender columns, and are crowned with a 
 tuft of knarly limbs and long, bristly leaves, through which 
 the breezes murmur with a monotonous sound, much like 
 that of falling waters, or waves breaking on a beach. 
 There is rarely any undergrowth, and the surface is either 
 matted with the saw-palmetto, a low ever-green, or covered 
 with a coarse and scattered grass, on which herds of half- 
 wild cattle feed in summer, and starve in winter. The 
 trunks of the pines scarcely interrupt a prospect, whose 
 tedious sameness is only varied by tracts, here and there, 
 of almost impenetrable swamp, thickly grown up with bays, 
 water oaks, cypresses and other large trees, adown whose 
 spreading branches and whitened trunks, a long dusky moss 
 hangs in melancholy festoons, drooping to the ground, the 
 very drapery of disease and death. The rivers, which are 
 wide and shallow, swollen with the heavy rains of spring 
 and winter, frequently overflow their low and marshy banks, 
 and help to increase the extent of swampy ground, the 
 copious source of poisonous vapors and febrile exhalations. 
 Even where the country begins to rise into hills, it pre 
 serves, for a long distance, its sterile character. It is a col 
 lection of sandy hillocks thrown together in the strangest 
 confusion. In several places, not even the pine will grow ; 
 and the barren and thirsty soil, is clothed only with stunted 
 bushes of the black jack, or dwarf oak. In some spots 
 even these are wanting ; and the bare sand is drifted by 
 the winds. 
 
 Throughout this extent of country, of which, with all its 
 barrenness, a great part might be, and by the enterprising 
 spirit of free labor doubtless would be, brought into profit 
 able cultivation, there are only some small tracts, principally 
 along the water courses, which the costly and thriftless 
 system of slave labor has found capable of improvement. 
 All the rest still remains a primitive wilderness, with scarcely 
 any thing to interrupt its desolate and dreary monotony. 
 
 This description does not include the tract stretching 
 along the sea-shore, from the mouth of the San tee to that 
 of the Savannah, and extending in some places, twenty or 
 thirty miles up the country. The coast between these 
 rivers, is a series of islands ; the famous sea-islands of the 
 
48 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 cotton markets; and the main land, which is separated from 
 these islands by innumerable narrow and winding channels, 
 is penetrated, for some distance inland, by a vast number of 
 creeks and inlets. The islands present a bluff shore and a 
 fine beach towards the ocean, but the opposite sides are often 
 low and marshy. They were originally covered with a 
 magnificent growth of the live, or ever-green oak, one of the 
 finest trees anywhere to be seen. The soil is light ; but it 
 possesses a fertility never yet attained in the dead and bar 
 ren sands of the interior. These lands are protected by 
 embankments from the tides and floods, and the fields are. 
 divided and drained by frequent dikes and ditches. Such 
 of them as can be most conveniently irrigated with fresh 
 water, are cultivated as rice-fields ; the remainder are em 
 ployed in the production of the long staple, or sea-island 
 cotton, a species of vegetable wool, which excels every 
 other in the length of its fibre, and almost rivals silk in 
 strength and softness. 
 
 These beautiful districts present a strong contrast to the 
 rest of the lower country of South Carolina. As far as the 
 eye can stretch, nothing is to be seen but a smooth, level, 
 nighly-cultivated country, penetrated in every direction by 
 creeks and rivers. The residences of the planters are often 
 handsome buildings, placed on some fine swell, and shaded 
 by a choice variety of trees and shrubbery. These houses 
 are inhabited by their owners only in the winter. They 
 are driven from home in the summer, partly by the tire 
 someness of a listless and monotonous indolence, and partly, 
 by the unhealthiness of the climate, which is much aggra 
 vated by the rice cultivation. This absentee aristocracy 
 congregates in Charleston, or dazzles and astonishes the 
 cities and watering places of the North, by its profuse ex 
 travagance and reckless dissipation. The plantations are 
 left to the sole management of overseers, who, with their 
 families, form almost the only permanent free population of 
 these districts. The slaves are ten times as numerous as 
 the free. The whole of this rich and beautiful country is 
 devoted* to the support of a few hundred families in a lordly, 
 luxurious, dissipated indolence, which renders them useless 
 to the world and a burden to themselves ; and to contribute 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 49 
 
 towards this same great end, more than a hundred thousand 
 human beings are sunk into the very lowest depths of deg 
 radation and misery. 
 
 General Carter, our new master, was one of the richest 
 of these American grandees. The plantation to which we 
 \vere sent, was called Loosahachee ; and though very ex 
 tensive, was but one out of several, which he owned. 
 Coming as I did from Virginia, there were many things in 
 the appearance of the country, and in the way in which 
 tilings were managed, that were entirely new to me. 
 
 I and my companions who had always been accustomed 
 to some small quantity of meat as a relish to our corn diet, 
 found our mere unseasoned hominy neither so palatable nor 
 so nourishing as we could wish. Being strangers and new 
 comers, we had not yet learned the customs of the country ; 
 and were quite unacquainted with many of the arts by which 
 the Carolina slaves are enabled to eke out their scanty and 
 insufficient allowance. Our only resource was an appeal to 
 our master s generosity ; and it happened, that about a fort 
 night after we were put upon the plantation, general Carter,, 
 with several of his friends, made a flying visit from Charles 
 ton to Loosahachee, to see how the crops were coming on. 
 This we thought to be a good opportunity to get some im 
 provement of our fare. We did not like to ask too much, 
 lest our request should be rejected without ceremony. In 
 deed, we determined to be as moderate as possible ; and 
 after due consultation, it was resolved to petition our master 
 for a little salt to season our hominy, a luxury to which 
 we had always been accustomed, but which was not 
 included in the Loosahachee allowance, which consisted 
 simply of corn, a peck a week to each working hand. My 
 companions requested me to act as spokesman, and I read 
 ily undertook to do so. 
 
 When general Carter and his friends came near my task. 
 I walked towards him. He asked me what I meant by 
 leaving rny work in that fashion, and inquired what I want 
 ed ? I told him that I was one of the servants whom he 
 had lately purchased ; that some of us were born and raised 
 in Virginia and the rest in North Carolina ; that we 
 were not used to living upon bare hominy without any 
 
 VOL. II. 5 
 
50 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 thing to give it a relish ; and that we should take it as a 
 very great favor if he would be kind enough to allow us a 
 little salt. 
 
 He seemed to be rather surprised at the boldness of this 
 request, and inquired my name. 
 
 " Archy Moore," I answered. 
 
 " Archy Moore ! " he cried with a sneer, " and pray 
 tell me how long it has been the fashion among you fellows 
 to have double names ? You are the first fellow I ever 
 owned, who was guilty of such a piece of impertinence ; 
 and a damned impertinent fellow you are. I see it in your 
 eye. Let me beg leave to request of you, Mr Archy Moore, 
 to be satisfied with calling yourself Archy, the next time 1 
 inquire your name." 
 
 I had taken the name of Moore, since leaving Spring- 
 Meadow ; an assumption not uncommon in Virginia, and 
 which is there thought harmless enough. But the South 
 Carolinians, who of all the Americans, seem to have carried 
 the theory and practice of tyranny to the highest perfec 
 tion, are jealous of every thing that may seem in any 
 respect, to raise their slaves above the level of their dogs 
 and horses. 
 
 The words and manner of my master were sufficiently 
 irritating, but I was not to be shuffled off in that way. I 
 passed over his rebuke in silence, but ventured again, in the 
 most respectful terms I could command, to renew the re 
 quest, that he would be pleased to allow us a little salt to 
 season our hominy. 
 
 " You are a damned, unreasonable, dissatisfied set ol 
 fellows as ever I met with ! " was the answer. " Why 
 boy, you eat me out of house and home already. It is as 
 much as I can do to buy com for you. If you want salt, 
 isn t there plenty of sea-water within five miles ? If you 
 want it, you have nothing to do but to make it ! " 
 
 So he said ; and as they wheeled their horses and rode 
 away, he and his companions joined in a loud laugh at 
 the wit and point of his answer, 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 51 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AMONG Mr Carleton s servants, or rather the servants 
 that had been Mr Carleton s, but who had now become the 
 property of general Carter, was one named Thomas. 
 While we had lived together at Carleton-Hall, I had con 
 tracted an intimacy with him, which we still kept up. 
 He was of unmixed African blood, with good features, a 
 stout muscular frame, and on several accounts, a very re 
 markable man. 
 
 His bodily strength, and his capacity for enduring priva 
 tion and fatigue, were very uncommon ; but the character 
 of his mind was still more so. His passions were strong 
 and even violent ; but what is very rare among slaves, he 
 had them completely under his control ; and in all his words 
 and actions he was as gentle as a lamb. The truth was, 
 that when quite young, he had been taken in hand by cer 
 tain Methodists, who lived and labored in his neighborhood ; 
 and so strong and lasting were the impressions which their 
 teaching made upon him, and so completely had he imbibed 
 their doctrines, that it seemed as if several of the most 
 powerful principles of human nature had been eradicated 
 from his bosom. 
 
 His religious teachers had thoroughly inculcated into a 
 soul, naturally proud and high-spirited, that creed of passive 
 obedience and patient long-suffering, which under the sacred 
 name of religion, has been often found more potent than 
 whips or fetters, in upholding tyranny, and subduing the 
 resistance of the superstitious and trembling slave. They 
 had taught him, and he believed, that God had made him a 
 servant ; and that it was his duty to obey his master, and be 
 contented with his lot. Whatever cruelties or indignities 
 the unprovoked insolence of unlimited authority might in 
 flict upon him, it was his duty to submit in humble silence ; 
 and if his master smote him on one cheek, he was to 
 turn to him the other also. This, with Thomas, was not 
 a mere form of words run through with, and then forgot 
 ten. In all my experience, I have never known a man 
 
52 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 over whom his creed appeared to hold so powerful u 
 control. 
 
 Nature had intended him for one of those lofty spirits 
 who are the terror of tyrants, and the bold assertors of lib 
 erty. But under the influence of his religion, he had 
 become a passive, humble and obedient slave. He made 
 it a point of duty to be faithful to his master in all things. 
 He never tasted whiskey ; he would sooner starve than 
 steal ; and he preferred being whipped to telling a lie. 
 These qualities, so very uncommon in a slave, as well as 
 his cheerful obedience, and laborious industry, had gained 
 him the good will even of Mr Carleton s overseer. He was 
 treated as a sort of confidential servant ; was often trusted 
 to keep the keys, and give out the allowance ; and so 
 scrupulously did he fulfil all that was required of him, that 
 even the fretful caprice of an overseer had no fault to find. 
 He had lived at Carleton-Hall more than ten years, and in 
 all that time, had never once been whipped. What was 
 most remarkable and uncommon of all, at the same time 
 that he obtained the confidence of the overseer, Thomas 
 had succeeded in gaining the good will of his fellow ser 
 vants. There never lived a kinder-hearted, better tempered 
 man. There was nothing he was not ready to do for a 
 fellow creature in distress ; he was ever willing to share his 
 provisions with the hungry, and to help the weak and tired 
 to finish their tasks. Besides, he was the spiritual guide of 
 the plantation, and could preach and pray almost as well 
 as his master. I had no sympathy for his religious enthu 
 siasm, but I loved and admired the man ; and we had long 
 been on terms of close intimacy. 
 
 Thomas had a wife, Ann, by name, a pretty, sprightly, 
 good natured girl, whom he loved exceedingly. It was a 
 great comfort to him, indeed he regarded it as a special 
 interposition of Providence in his behalf, that when carried 
 away from Carleton-Hall they had not been separated. 
 Never was a man more grateful, or more delighted than 
 Thomas was, when he found that both he and Ann had 
 been purchased by general Carter. That they should fall 
 into the hands of the same owner was all he desired ; and 
 he readily transferred to the service of his purchaser, all 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 53 
 
 that zeal and devotion, which, as he had been taught to 
 believe, a slave owes to his master. While all the rest of 
 us, upon our first arrival at Loosahachee, had been com 
 plaining and lamenting over the hardness of our tasks, and 
 the poor and insufficient food which our new master allowed 
 us, Thomas said not a word ; but had worked away with 
 such zeal and vigor, that he soon gained the reputation of 
 being one of the best hands on the place. 
 
 Thomas s wife had an infant child but a few weeks old, 
 who, according to the Carolina fashion, was brought to her 
 in the field to be nursed ; for the Carolina planters, spend 
 thrifts in every thing else, in all that regards their servants, 
 are wonderful economists. One hot afternoon, Ann sat 
 down beneath a tree, and took the infant from the hands of 
 the little child herself scarcely able to walk, who had the 
 care of it during the day. She had finished the maternal 
 office, and was returning slowly, and perhaps rather unwill 
 ingly to her task, when the overseer rode into that part of 
 the field. The name of our overseer was Mr Martin. He 
 was one of those who are denominated smart fellows and 
 good disciplinarians. He had established a rule that there 
 was to be no loitering at Loosahachee. Walking was too 
 lazy a pace for him ; if there was any occasion to go from 
 one part of the field to another, it was to be in a run. Ann 
 had perhaps forgotten, at all events, she was not complying 
 with this ridiculous piece of plantation discipline. This 
 was no sooner observed by the overseer, than he rode up to 
 her ; cursed her for a lazy vagabond ; and commenced 
 beating her over the head with his whip. Thomas happened 
 to be working close by. He felt every stroke ten times as 
 keenly as though it had lighted upon his own shoulders. 
 Here was a trial too strong for the artificial principles of 
 any creed. He moved forward as though he would go to 
 his wife s assistance. We who were by, begged him to 
 stop ; and told him he would only get himself into trouble. 
 But the cries and shrieks of his wife made him deaf to our 
 entreaties ; he rushed forward ; and before the overseer was 
 aware, he seized his whip, snatched it from his hand ; and 
 demanded what he meant by beating a woman in that way, 
 for no offence whatever? 
 5* 
 
54 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 To judge from Mr Martin s looks, this was a display of 
 spirit, or as he would call it, of insolence and insubordina 
 tion, for which he was not at all prepared. He reined back 
 his horse for a rod or two ; when, seeming to recollect 
 himself, he put his hand into his coat-pocket and drew out 
 a pistol. He cocked it and pointed it at Thomas, who 
 dropped the whip and turned to run. Mr Martin fired ; 
 but his hand shook too much to enable him to take a very 
 effectual aim ; and Thomas continued his flight ; leaped the 
 fence ; and disappeared in the thicket by which it was 
 bordered. 
 
 Having put the husband to flight, the overseer turned to 
 the wife who stood by trembling and crying. He was boil 
 ing over with rage and passion, and seemed determined to 
 spend his fury on this helpless and unhappy woman. He 
 called the driver of the gang, and two or three other men to 
 his assistance, and bade them strip off her clothes. 
 
 The preparations being complete, Mr Martin commenced 
 the torture. The lash buried itself in her flesh at every 
 blow ; and as the poor wretch threw up her gashed and gory 
 arms, the blood ran down in streams. Her cries were 
 dreadful. Used as I had been to similar scenes, my heart 
 sickened, and my head grew dizzy. I longed to seize the 
 monster by the throat and dash him to the ground. How I 
 restrained myself I do not know. Most sure I am, that 
 nothing but the base and dastard spirit of a slave could 
 have endured that scene of female torture and distress, and 
 not have interfered. 
 
 Before Mr Martin had finished, poor Ann sunk to the 
 ground in a state of total insensibility. He ordered us to 
 make a litter, of sticks and hoe-handles, and to cany her to 
 his house. We laid her down in the passage. The over 
 seer brought a heavy chain, one end of which he put 
 around her neck, and the other he fastened to one of the 
 beams. He said her fainting was all pretence ; and that if 
 he did not chain her, she would be running away and join 
 ing her husband. 
 
 We were now all ordered into the woods to hunt for 
 Thomas. We separated and pretended to examine every 
 place that seemed likely to conceal him ; but with the ex- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 55 
 
 ception of the drivers, and one or two base fellows who 
 sought to curry favor with the overseer, I do not believe 
 that any of us felt any great anxiety, or took much pains to 
 find him. Not far from the fence was a low swampy place, 
 thickly grown up with cane and gum-trees. As I was 
 making my way through it, I came suddenly upon Thomas, 
 who was leaning against the trunk of a large tree. He laid 
 his hand upon my shoulder, and asked what the overseer 
 had done to his wife. I concealed from him, as well as I 
 could, the miserable torture which had been inflicted upon 
 her ; but I told him that Mr Martin was all fire and fury, 
 and that it would be best for him to keep out of the way 
 till his passion could subside a little. I promised to return 
 in the evening and to bring him food. In the mean time, 
 if he would lie close, there would be little danger that any 
 one would find him. 
 
 We were presently called back from our ineffectual 
 search, and ordered to resume our tasks. I finished mine 
 as quickly as I could ; hastened home, got some food 
 ready, and went to see poor Ann. I found her lying in the 
 passage chained as we had left her. Her low moans showed 
 that she had so far recovered herself as to be once more 
 sensitive to pain. She complained that the chain about her 
 neck hurt her and made it difficult to breathe. I stooped 
 down and was attempting to loosen it, when Mrs Martin 
 made her appearance at the door ; she asked what right I 
 had to meddle with the girl ; and bade me go about my 
 business. I would have left the food I had brought ; but 
 Mrs Martin told me to take it away again ; it would learn 
 the wench better manners, she said, to starve her for a day 
 or two. 
 
 I took up my little basket, and went away with a heavy 
 heart. As soon as it grew dark, I set off to meet Thomas : 
 but lest my steps might be dogged by the overseer or some of 
 his spies, I took a very round-about course. I found him 
 near the place where I had met him before. His earnest 
 entreaties to know the whole, drew from me the story of his 
 poor wife s sufferings and her present situation. It moved 
 him deeply. At intervals he wept like a child ; then he 
 strove to restrain himself, repeating half aloud, some texts 
 
56 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of scripture, and what seemed a sort of prayer. But all 
 would not do ; and carried away at last, by a sudden gust 
 of passion, forgetful of his religious scruples, he cursed 
 the brutal overseer with all the energy of a husband s 
 vengeance. Presently he recovered his self-command, and 
 began to take fault to himself, ascribing all the blame to his 
 o\vn foolish interference. The thought that what his affec 
 tion for his wife had prompted him to do, had only served 
 to aggravate her sufferings, seemed to agitate him almost to 
 distraction. Again, the tide of passion swept all before it. 
 His countenance grew convulsed ; his bosom heaved ; and 
 he only found relief in half-uttered threats and muttered 
 execrations. 
 
 He consulted with me as to what he had better do. 1 
 knew that the overseer was terribly incensed against him. 
 I had heard him say, that if such a daring act of insolence 
 was not most signally punished, it would be enough to 
 corrupt and disorder the whole neighborhood. I was aware 
 that Mr Martin would not dare absolutely to put him to 
 death. But this prohibition to commit murder is the sole and 
 single limit to an overseer s authority ; and I knew that he 
 had both the right and the will to inflict a torture compared 
 to which the agonies of an ordinary death-struggle w r ould 
 be but trifling. I therefore advised Thomas to fly ; since 
 even if he were caught at last, no severer punishment could 
 be inflicted upon him than he would be certain of, upon a 
 voluntary surrender. 
 
 For a moment, this advice seemed to please him ; and 
 an expression of daring determination appeared in his face^ 
 such as I had never seen there before. But it disappeared 
 in an instant. " There is Ann," he said, " I cannot leave 
 her, and she, poor timid thing, even if she were well, I 
 could never persuade her to fly with me. It will not do, 
 Archy ; I cannot leave my wife ! " 
 
 What could I answer? 
 
 I understood him well, and knew how to sympathize 
 with him. I could not but admit the force of his objection. 
 Such feelings I knew it would be in vain to combat with 
 arguments ; indeed I could not make up my mind to 
 attempt it ; and as I had no other advice to give, I remained 
 silent. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 57 
 
 Thomas seemed lost in thought, and continued for some 
 minutes with his eyes fixed upon the ground. Presently 
 he told me that he had made up his mind. He was de 
 termined, he said, to go to Charleston and appeal to his 
 master. 
 
 The little I had known of general Carter, did not incline 
 me to put much dependence on his justice or generosity ; 
 but as Thomas seemed pleased with this plan, and as it was 
 his only chance, I applauded it. He ate the food I had 
 brought, and determined to set off immediately. He had 
 only been once to Charleston, during all the time we had 
 been at Loosahachee ; but as he was one of those people, 
 who, if they have been once to a place, find little difficulty 
 in going a second time, I had no doubt of his finding his 
 way to town. 
 
 I returned to my cabin ; but I was so anxious and un 
 certain about the success of Thomas, in the scheme he had 
 adopted, that I could not sleep. At daylight I went to my 
 task. My anxiety acted as a stimulus upon me, and I had 
 finished long before any of my companions. As I was 
 passing from the field to my cabin, I saw general Carter s 
 carriage driving up the road ; and as it passed me I ob 
 served poor Thomas behind, chained to the footman s 
 stand. 
 
 The carriage drove up to the house. General Carter got 
 out of it, and sent off in great haste for Mr Martin, who 
 had taken his gun and dog early that morning, and had 
 been beating about the woods all day, in search of Thomas. 
 In the mean time, general Carter ordered all the hands on 
 the plantation to be collected. 
 
 At last Mr Martin arrived. The moment general 
 Carter saw him, he cried out " Well, sir, here is a runaway, 
 I have brought back for you. Would you believe it ? the 
 fellow had the impertinence to come to Charleston with the 
 story of his grievances ! Even from his own account of the 
 matter, he was guilty of the greatest insolence I ever heard 
 of. Snatching the whip from the hand of an overseer ! 
 Things are coming to a pretty pass indeed, when these 
 fellows undertake to justify such insubordination. The next 
 tiling we shall hear of, they will be cutting our throats. 
 
58 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 However, I stopped the scoundrel s mouth before he had 
 said five words. I told him, I would pardon any thing 
 sooner than insolence to my overseer. I would much sooner 
 excuse impertinence towards myself. And to let him know 
 what I thought of his conduct, here you see I have brought 
 him back to you ; and I have done it, even at the risk of 
 being obliged to sleep here to-night, and catching the coun 
 try fever. Whip the rascal well, Mr Martin ! w r hip him 
 well! I have had all the hands collected, that they may 
 see the punishment, and take warning by it." 
 
 Mr Martin thus invited, sprung upon his prey with a 
 tiger s ferocity. But I have no inclination to disgust my 
 self with another description of the horrid torment of which 
 in America, the whip is the active and continual instrument. 
 He who is curious in these matters, will do well to spend 
 six months upon an American plantation. He will soon 
 discover that the rack was a superfluous invention ; and that 
 the whip, by those well skilled in the use of it, can be made 
 to answer any purposes of torture. 
 
 Though Thomas was quite cut up with the lash, and 
 whipped by two drivers till he fainted from pain and loss 
 of blood, such was the nerve and vigor of his constitution, 
 and the noble firmness of his mind, that he stood it like a 
 hero, and disdained to utter any of those piercing screams 
 and piteous cries for mercy, which are commonly heard up 
 on the like occasions. He soon got over the effects of 
 this discipline ; and in a few days was at work again as 
 usual. 
 
 Not so with his wife. She was naturally of a slender 
 constitution, and perhaps had not entirely recovered from 
 the weakness incident upon child-birth. Either the whip 
 ping she had suffered, or her chains and starvation after 
 wards, or both together, had brought on a violent disorder, 
 of which at first, she seemed to get better, but which left 
 her suffering under a dull nervous fever, without strength or 
 appetite, or even the desire of recovery. Her poor baby 
 seemed to sympathize with its mother, and pined from day 
 to day. At length it died. The mother did not long sur 
 vive it. She lingered for a week or two. Sick as she was, 
 she had no attendant except a superannuated old woman 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 59 
 
 who could neither see nor hear. Thomas of course was 
 obliged to go to his tasks as usual. He returned one night, 
 and found her dead. 
 
 One of the drivers, a mean spirited fellow, and Mr Mar 
 tin s principal spy and informer, was the only person al 
 lowed to preach at Loosahachee, and to act as the leader 
 in those mummeries to which the ignorant and superstitious 
 slaves give the name of religion. He paid a visit to the 
 afflicted husband, and offered his services for the funeral. 
 Thomas had so much natural good sense, that he was not, 
 like many persons of his way of thinking, imposed upon and 
 taken in, by every one who chose to make use of the cant 
 of sanctity. He had long ago seen through this hypocritical 
 fellow, and learned to despise him. He therefore declined 
 his assistance ; and pointing to me, " Himself and his friend," 
 he said, " would be sufficient to bury the poor girl." He 
 seemed about to add something more ; but the mention of 
 his wife had overpowered him ; his voice choked, his eyes 
 filled with tears, and he was constrained to be silent. 
 
 It was a Sunday. The preacher soon left us ; and poor 
 Thomas sat the whole day watching his wife s body. I re 
 mained with him ; but I knew how useless any attempt at 
 consolation would be, and I said but little. 
 
 Towards sun-set, several of our fellow servants came in ; 
 and they were presently followed by most of the plantation 
 people. We took up the body and carried it to the place 
 of burial. This was a fine smooth slope covered with tall 
 trees. It seemed to have been long used for its present 
 purpose. Numerous little ridges, some of them new, and 
 others just discernible, indicated the places of the graves. 
 
 The husband leaned over the body, while we busied 
 ourselves in the sad office of digging its last resting place. 
 The shallow grave was soon finished. We all remained 
 silent, in expectation of a prayer, a hymn, or some similar 
 ceremony. Thomas attempted once or twice to begin ; but 
 his voice rattled in his throat, and died away in an inarticu 
 late murmur. He shook his head, and bade us place the 
 body in the grave. We did so ; and the earth was soon 
 heaped upon it. 
 
 It was already growing dark ; and the burial being fin- 
 
60 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ished, those who had attended at it, hastened homeward. 
 The husband still remained standing by the side of the 
 grave. I took his arm, and with a gentle force, would have 
 drawn him away. He shook me off, and raising his hand 
 and head, he muttered in a low whisper, " Murdered, mur 
 dered ! As he spoke these words, he turned his eyes on 
 me. There gleamed in them, a spirit of passionate and in 
 dignant grief. It was plain that natural feeling was fast 
 gaining the mastery over that system of artificial constraint 
 in which he had been educated. I sympathized with him ; 
 and I pressed his hand to let him know I did so. He re 
 turned the pressure ; and after a short pause, he added, 
 " Blood for blood ; is it not so, Archy ? " There was some 
 thing terrible in the slow, but firm and steady tone in which 
 he spoke. I knew not what to answer; nor did he appear 
 to expect a reply. Though he addressed me, the question 
 seemed intended only for himself. I took his arm, and we 
 walked off in silence. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 IT is customary in South Carolina, to allow the slaves 
 the week from Christmas to the new year, as a sort of holi 
 day. This indulgence is extended so far, that during that 
 week, they are, for the most part, allowed to leave the plan 
 tations, the scenes of their daily labors and sufferings, and 
 to wander about in the neighborhood, pretty much at their 
 own will and pleasure. The high-ways present at that 
 season, a singular appearance. The slaves of every age 
 and sex, collected from the populous plantations of the tide 
 waters, and dressed in the best attire they have been able 
 to muster, assemble in great numbers, swarming along the 
 road, and clustering about the little whiskey-shops, produ 
 cing a scene of bustle and confusion, witnessed only at the 
 Christmas holidays. 
 
 Those shops are principally supported by a traffic with 
 the slaves for stolen rice and cotton, a traffic which all the 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 61 
 
 vindictive fury of the planters, backed by an abundant legis 
 lation, has not been able to eradicate. They are the chief 
 support, in fact, the only means of livelihood, open to a con 
 siderable portion of the lower order of the white aristocracy 
 of the country. It is the same in Carolina as in Lower Vir 
 ginia. The poor whites are extremely rude and ignorant, 
 and acquainted with but few of the comforts of civilized 
 life. They are idle, dissipated, and vicious ; with all that 
 vulgar brutality of vice, which poverty and ignorance ren 
 der so conspicuous and disgusting. Without land, or at 
 best, possessing some little tract of barren and exhausted 
 soil, which they have neither skill nor industry to render 
 productive ; without any trade or handicraft art ; and look 
 ing upon all manual labor as degrading to freemen, and fit 
 only for a state of servitude, these poor white men have 
 become the jest of the slaves, and are at once, feared and 
 hated by the select aristocracy of rich planters. It is only 
 the right of suffrage which they possess, that preserves them 
 the show of consideration and respect with which they are 
 yet treated. This right of suffrage, of which the select 
 aristocracy are extremely anxious to deprive them, is the 
 only safeguard of the poor whites. But for this, they would 
 be trampled under foot without mercy ; and by force of law 
 and legislation, would soon be reduced to a condition little 
 superior to that of the very slaves themselves. 
 
 On the Christmas holidays which succeeded my becoming 
 an inhabitant of Loosahachee, a great number of slaves, of 
 whom, I was one, were assembled about a little store on 
 the neighboring high road, laughing, talking, drinking whis 
 key, and making merry after our several fashions. While 
 we were thus employed, I observed riding along the road, 
 a mean looking fellow, shabbily dressed, with a face of that 
 disagreeable cadaverous hue that makes the inferior order 
 of whites in Lower Carolina look so much like walking 
 corpses. He was mounted on a lean scraggy horse, w host- 
 hips seemed just bursting through the skin, and he carried 
 in his hand an enormous whip, which he handled with a 
 familiar grace, seldom acquired except by an American 
 slave-driver. As he passed us, I noticed that all the slaves 
 who had hats, pulled them off to him ; but as I did not see 
 
 VOL. II. 6 
 
MEMOIRS OF 
 
 any thing in the fellow s appearance that demanded any 
 particular respect, and as I was ignorant of the Carolina 
 etiquette, which requires from every slave an obsequious 
 bearing towards every freeman, seldom expected in Vir 
 ginia, I let my hat remain upon my head. The fellow 
 noticed it ; reined up his jaded beast, and eyed me sharply. 
 My complexion made him doubt whether I might not be 
 a freeman ; my dress and the company I was in, gave him 
 equal grounds for supposing me a slave. He inquired who 
 I was ; and being told that 1 was one of general Carter s 
 people, he rode towards me with his upraised whip, de 
 manding why I did not take off my hat to him ; and without 
 waiting for an answer, he began to lay the lash over my 
 shoulders. The fellow was evidently drunk, and my first 
 impulse was to take the whip away from him. Luckily I 
 did not yield to this impulse ; for any attempt to resist even 
 a drunken white man, though that resistance was only in 
 repelling the most unprovoked attack, according to the just 
 and equal laws of Carolina, might have cost me my life. 
 
 I learned upon inquiry that this fellow had been an over 
 seer ; but some time previous had been discharged by his 
 employer for suspected dishonesty. Not long after, he had 
 set up a whiskey shop about half a mile distant. From 
 what he said to the owner of the store where we were as 
 sembled, it would seem that his shop had not been so much 
 frequented during the holidays as he had expected ; and in 
 beating me, he had vented his drunken spite and ill humor 
 on the first object that gave him any thing like a pretence 
 to exercise it. I learned too, that this fellow whose name 
 was Christie, was a cousin of Mr Martin, our overseer. 
 They had been close friends ; but had lately had a violent 
 quarrel. Christie had stabbed Martin ; and Martin had 
 shot at Christie with his double-barrelled gun. He had 
 taken a still more effectual revenge by doing his best to 
 stop the trade from Loosahachee to Christie s shop, which 
 he had formerly winked at, and which had been carried on. 
 much to Christie s benefit, by the exchange of well watered 
 whiskey for general Carter s rice and cotton. 
 
 I no sooner heard this account of Mr Christie, lhan it oc 
 curred to me that I had him in my power ; and at once, 1 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 
 
 resolved to make him smart in his turn, for the lashes he 
 had inflicted upon me. It is true, I was obliged to play the 
 part of a spy and an informer ; but such low means are the 
 only resource which the condition of servitude allows. As 
 soon as I got home, I hastened to the overseer, and with an 
 abundance of hypocritical pretences and professions of zeal 
 for my master s service, I communicated to him as a great 
 secret, the fact that Mr Christie was in the habit of trading 
 with the hands, and buying whatever they brought him, 
 without asking any questions. 
 
 Mr Martin said that he was well aware of it ; and he 
 would give me five dollars, if I would help him to detect 
 Christie in the fact. 
 
 We quickly struck up a bargain. The overseer furnished 
 me with a quantity of cotton ; and I set off, one moon-light 
 night, to pay a visit to Mr Christie s shop. 
 
 He recognized me at once, and jested a good deal, about 
 the whipping he had given me. He thought it an excel 
 lent joke ; and it best answered my purpose to appear very 
 much of the same opinion. I found him not at all disin 
 clined to trade, provided I would exchange my cotton for 
 his whiskey, at the nominal price of a dollar a quart. It 
 was not long before I paid him a second visit. That time, 
 Mr Martin and one of his friends were posted outside the 
 shop, at a place where they could peep between the logs 
 and see and overhear the whole transaction. 
 
 To buy rice, cotton, or in fact any thing else of a slave, 
 unless he produces a written permit from his master to sell 
 it, according to the Carolina statute-book, is one of the most 
 enormous crimes a man can commit. Mr Christie was in 
 dicted at the next court. He was found guilty on the 
 express testimony of Mr Martin and his companion ; and 
 was fined a thousand dollars, and sentenced to a year s im 
 prisonment. The fine swept away what little property he 
 had ; and how his imprisonment ended I never heard. 
 More than one of the jurymen who convicted him, were 
 grievously suspected of the very same practices ; but the 
 dread of incurring fresh suspicion, or perhaps the jealous 
 rivalry of trade, made those very fellows the most clamorous 
 for his condemnation. 
 
64 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Mr Martin was so well pleased with my services in this 
 affair, in which he fancied I had put myself forward mere 
 ly to be used as his cat s paw, that he took me quite into 
 favor, and began to employ me as one of his regular spies 
 and informers. Tyranny, whether on the great scale or the 
 little, can only be sustained through a system of espionage 
 and betrayal, in which the most mean-spirited of the op 
 pressed are turned into the tools and instruments of oppres 
 sion. There are many alleviations of the wretchedness of 
 servitude to be expected from the favor and indulgence of, 
 an overseer. Let it be remembered also, that so strong arc 
 the allurements which power holds out, that even among 
 freemen, there are hundreds of thousands always to be found, 
 who are ready to assist in sacrificing the dearest rights of 
 their neighbors, by volunteering to be the instruments of 
 superior tyrants. What then can be reasonably expected 
 from those who have been studiously and systematically 
 degraded? What wonder, if among the oppressed, are 
 found the readiest and most relentless instruments of op 
 pression ? 
 
 As I knew I could turn Mr Martin s favor to good ac 
 count, I took care not to let him suspect, with what scorn 
 and loathing I regarded the office in which he sought to 
 employ me. But while he imagined that I was engaged 
 heart and hand in his service, I counter-worked him more 
 than once, by communicating his plans and stratagems to 
 those whom he sought to entrap. This same Mr Martin, 
 though he was absolute viceroy over more than three hun 
 dred people, was a very ignorant and a very stupid fellow. 
 Several circumstances occurred, which with a shrewd per 
 son would have betrayed me ; but I succeeded so complete 
 ly in blinding Mr Martin s eyes, that he still continued to 
 place an unlimited confidence in my fidelity. Of this, he 
 soon gave me a new proof; for riding one day, into the 
 field, where I w r as at work, and not finding matters going 
 on just to suit him, he called out the driver of the gang, and 
 took from him the whip, which he carried as the badge and 
 principal instrument of his office. He then called for me ; 
 and having given me t\venty or thirty lashes, according to 
 the custom in such cases, he put the whip into my hand ; 
 
ARC II Y MOORE. 65 
 
 appointed me driver of the gang, and bade me do the first 
 duty of my new office upon the fellow to whose place I had 
 succeeded. 
 
 It is under the inspection of drivers, who are appoint 
 ed from among the slaves, at the will of the overseer, that 
 the culture of a Carolina plantation is carried on. The 
 overseers have learned too much of the airs and the luxu 
 rious indolence of their employers, to be willing to be 
 riding about all day, in the hot sun, looking after the la 
 borers. The slaves are divided into gangs, and each gang 
 is put under the charge of a driver, who is generally select 
 ed for his cowardly and mean-spirited subserviency, and his 
 readiness to tyrannize over and to betray his companions. 
 The driver is entrusted with all the unlimited and absolute 
 authority of the master himself. He receives a double al 
 lowance ; he has no task ; his sole business is to look after 
 his gang and see that they perform the work assigned them ; 
 and for this purpose he takes his station in the midst of 
 them, whip in hand. When the overseer makes his ap 
 pearance in the field, all the drivers collect about him to 
 receive his orders. For the performance of the work as 
 signed to his gang, each driver is himself responsible ; and 
 that he may perfectly understand by what means he is to 
 enforce its performance, the overseer usually inducts him 
 into office by giving him a severe castigation with the very 
 whip which he afterwards puts into his hand to be used 
 upon his companions. 
 
 The absolute power of an overseer, is often, I ought 
 rather to say, always shockingly abused ; but the absolute 
 power of drivers is yet one step higher towards the perfec 
 tion of tyranny. The driver faithfully copies all the arro 
 gance and insolence of the overseer from whom he receives 
 his commission ; and as he is always among his gang, the 
 aggravating weight of his authority is so much the heavier. 
 He is but one of themselves ; and the slaves are naturally 
 more impatient of his rule, than they would be of the same 
 dominion, exercised by one belonging to what they have 
 been taught to regard as a superior race ; and whom, 
 being a freeman, they are ready to acknowledge as actually 
 their superior. Besides, the drivers are far from limiting 
 6* 
 
66 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 their demands, as the overseer himself generally would do, 
 to the performance of the field labor. They have a thou 
 sand little spites to gratify ; a thousand purposes of their 
 own to accomplish. They are in fact, the absolute masters 
 of every thing which any of their gang may happen to 
 possess; and the persons of the women are as much at their 
 disposal as at that of the overseer, or the master. Even, if 
 by chance, a driver should happen not to be disposed to 
 abuse his authority, the dread of losing his situation, and 
 the knowledge that all the deficiencies of any of his subor 
 dinates will be visited upon his head, makes him of neces 
 sity, hasty, harsh, and cruel. 
 
 Heaven is my witness that while I held the office of 
 driver, my great object was, to use the authority which it 
 gave me, to alleviate as far as I could, the misery of my 
 companions. My gang consisted of the Carleton hands, 
 with whom I had long been connected, and whom I looked 
 upon as friends and fellow sufferers. Many is the time, 
 when I have seen one and another fainting under his task, 
 and unable to finish it, that I have dropped the whip, 
 seized the hoe, and instead of the stimulus of the lash, have 
 used the encouragement of aid and assistance. This I did 
 repeatedly ; though Mr Martin, more than once, when he 
 found me so employed, expressed his disapprobation, and 
 told me it was no way, and would only bring the station of 
 driver into contempt. 
 
 But it is no part of my purpose to write an eulogium on 
 myself ; and I shall not hesitate to confess the whole truth. 
 There were times that I abused my office ; and I verily 
 believe that no man ever exercised an unlimited authority 
 who did not abuse it. The consciousness of my power, 
 made me insolent and impatient ; and with all my hatred, 
 my hearty, experimental hatred of tyranny, the whip had 
 not long been placed in my hands, before I caught myself 
 m the act of playing the tyrant. 
 
 Power is ever dangerous and intoxicating. Human 
 nature cannot bear it. It must be constantly checked, 
 controlled and limited, or it declines inevitably into tyran 
 ny. Even all the endearments of the family connection ; 
 the tenderness of connubial love, and the heart-binding ties 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 67 
 
 of paternity, seconded as they always are by the strong 
 influence of habit and opinion, have not made it safe to 
 entrust the head of a family with absolute power even over 
 his own household. What terms then are strong enough in 
 which to denounce the vain, ridiculous, and wanton folly 
 of expecting any thing but abuse where power is totally 
 unchecked, by either moral, or legal control ? 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SINCE the death of his wife, a remarkable change had 
 taken place in my friend Thomas. He had lost his former 
 air of contentment and good nature, and had grown morose 
 and sullen. Instead of being the most willing and industri 
 ous laborer in the field, as he used to be, he seemed to have 
 imbibed a strong distaste for work, and he slighted and 
 neglected his task as much as possible. Had he been 
 under any other driver than myself, his idleness and neglect 
 would have frequently brought him into trouble. But I 
 loved and pitied him ; and I screened him all I could. 
 
 The wrongs and injuries that had been inflicted upon 
 him since his arrival at Loosahachee, seemed to have sub 
 verted all the principles upon which he had so long acted. 
 It was a subject on which he did not seem inclined to con 
 verse, and upon which I was unwilling to press him ; but I 
 had abundant reason to suspect that he had totally re 
 nounced the religion in which he had been so carefully 
 instructed ; and which, for so long a time, had exercised so 
 powerful an influence over him. He had secretly returned 
 to the practice of certain wild rites, which in his early 
 youth, he had learned from his mother, who had herself 
 been kidnapped from the coast of Africa, and who had 
 been, as he had often told me, zealously devoted to her 
 country s superstitions. He would sometimes talk wildly 
 and incoherently about having seen the spirit of his depart 
 ed wife, and of some promise he had made to the apparition ; 
 and I was led to believe that he suffered under occasional 
 fit B ? f partial insanity. 
 
68 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 At all events, he was in most respects, an altered man. 
 He had ceased to be the humble and obedient slave, con 
 tented with his lot, and zealously devoted to his master s 
 service. Instead of promoting his master s interest, it 
 seemed now to be his study and his aim to do as much 
 mischief as possible. There were two or three artful, 
 daring, unquiet spirits on the plantation, from whom till 
 lately, he had kept aloof, but whose acquaintance he now 
 sought, and whose confidence he soon obtained. They 
 found him bold and prudent, and what was more, trusty 
 and magnanimous ; and they soon gave place to his superi 
 ority of intellect, and acknowledged him as their leader. 
 They were joined by some others, whose only motive was 
 the desire of plunder, and they extended their depredations 
 to every part of the plantation. 
 
 In this new character, Thomas still gave evidence that 
 he was no ordinary man. He conducted his enterprises 
 with singular address ; and when all other stratagems by 
 which to save his companions from detection proved un 
 availing, he had still one resource that showed the native 
 nobleness of his soul. Such was the steady firmness of his 
 mind, and the masculine vigor of his constitution, that he 
 was enabled to do what few men could. He could brave 
 even the torture of the lash a torture, as I have said 
 already, not less terrible than that of the rack itself. When 
 every other resource failed him, he was ready to shield his 
 companions by a voluntary confession ; and to concentrate 
 upon himself a punishment, which he knew that some among 
 them were too feeble and faint-hearted to endure. Mag 
 nanimity such as this, is esteemed even in a freeman the 
 highest pitch of virtue ; how then shall we sufficiently 
 admire it in a slave ? 
 
 Thank God, tyranny is not omnipotent ! 
 
 Though it crush its victims to the earth ; and tread them 
 into the dust ; and brutify them by every possible inven 
 tion ; it cannot totally extinguish the spirit of manhood 
 within them. Here it glimmers ; and there it secretly 
 burns ; sooner or later, to burst forth in a flame, that will 
 not be quenched, arid cannot be kept under ! 
 
 So long as I was in the confidence of Mr Martin, I was 
 
ARCHT MOORE. 69 
 
 able to render Thomas essential service, by informing him 
 of the suspicions, plans, and stratagems of the overseer. It 
 was not long however, before I forfeited that confidence ; 
 not because Mr Martin entertained any suspicions of my 
 playing him false, for it was very easy to throw dust into 
 the eyes of so stupid a fellow, but because I did not come 
 up to his notions of the spirit and the duty of a driver. 
 The season was sickly ; and as the hands who composed 
 my gang were from a more northern climate, and not yet 
 seasoned to the pestiferous atmosphere of a rice plantation, 
 they suffered a good deal from sickness, and several of them 
 were often unable to work. I had explained this to Mr 
 Martin, and he seemed to be satisfied with my explanation ; 
 but riding into the field one day, in a particularly bad hu 
 mor, and I believe, a little excited with liquor, he got into 
 a towering rage at finding not half my gang in the field, and 
 more than half the tasks untouched. 
 
 He demanded the reason. 
 
 I told him that the hands were sick. 
 
 He swore they had no business to be sick ; he was tired, 
 
 he said, of this talk about cloknocc ; IIQ knpw vxwy wall it 
 
 was all sham ; and he was determined to be imposed upon 
 no longer. " If any more complaints are made of sickness, 
 Archy, you have nothing to do but whip the scoundrels 
 and set them to work." 
 
 " What," said I, " if they are really sick?" 
 
 " Sick or not sick, I tell you. If they are not sick a 
 whipping is no more than they deserve ; and if they are, 
 why nothing is so likely to do them good as a little blood 
 letting." 
 
 " In that case," said I, " you had better appoint another 
 driver ; I should make but a poor hand at whipping sick 
 people." 
 
 " Hold your tongue, you damned insolent blackguard. 
 Who gave you leave to advise me, or dispute my orders ? 
 Hand me your whip, you rascal." 
 
 I did so ; and Mr Martin thereupon administered upon 
 rne a fresh infliction of that same discipline he had bestowed 
 when he first put the whip into my hand. So ended my 
 drivership ; and though I now lost my double allowance, 
 
70 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and was obliged to turn into the field again, and perform 
 my task like the other hands, I cannot say that I much 
 regretted it. It was a pitiful and sorry office, which no 
 one but a scoundrel ever ought to undertake. 
 
 I now united myself more closely to the party of Thom 
 as, and joined heart and hand in all their enterprises. Our 
 depredations became at last so considerable, that Mr Martin 
 was obliged to establish a regular watch, consisting of his 
 drivers and a few of their subordinates, who kept prowling 
 about the plantation all night, and made it unsafe to venture 
 into the fields. This arrangement was hastened by a cir 
 cumstance that happened upon the plantation, about which 
 a very strict inquiry was instituted, but which led to no 
 definite result. On one and the same night, general Car 
 ter s splendid plantation-seat, and his expensive rice mills 
 were discovered to be on fire ; and notwithstanding all 
 efforts to save them, both were totally consumed. Several 
 of the slaves, and Thomas among the rest, were put to a 
 sort of torture to make them acknowledge some participa 
 tion in this house-burning. That cruelty availed nothing. 
 They all stoutly denied knowing any thing about it. I 
 was, as I have said, very much in Thomas s confidence ; 
 yet he never spoke to me about that fire. As he was one 
 of those men who know how to keep their own secrets, I 
 always suspected that he knew much more about the matter 
 than he chose to divulge. 
 
 At all events, it was evidently a much more potent feel 
 ing, than the mere love of plunder by which Thomas was 
 actuated. Since his wife s death, he sometimes drank to 
 excess ; but this was seldom, and there never was a man 
 more temperate in his meats and drinks, or less fastidious 
 than Thomas generally was. He had formerly dressed 
 with much neatness ; now he neglected his dress altogether. 
 He did not love society ; he had little intercourse with 
 any body except with me ; and it was not always that he 
 seemed to wish even for my company. Thomas had little 
 use for his share of the plunder ; and in fact, he generally 
 distributed it among his companions. 
 
 When the thing was first proposed, he seemed to have 
 little inclination to extend our depredations beyond the 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 71 
 
 limits of Loosahachee. But as it was no longer safe to 
 continue them there ; and as his companions had rioted 
 too long in plunder to be willing to relinquish it, Thomas 
 yielded at last to their urgent solicitations, and led us, 
 night after night, to the neighboring plantations. We soon 
 pushed our proceedings so far, as to attract the notice of 
 the overseers, whose domains we had invaded. At first, 
 they supposed that the thieves were to be looked for at 
 home ; and numberless were the severities they exercised 
 upon those whom they suspected. But in spite of all their 
 cruelties, the depredations were still continued ; and such 
 was the singular art and cunning which Thomas displayed, 
 in varying the scene and manner of our visits, that for a 
 long time, we escaped all the traps and ambushes that were 
 planned against us. 
 
 We were one night, in a rice field, and had almost filled 
 our bags, when the watchful ear of Thomas detected a 
 sound, as if of some one cautiously approaching. He sup 
 posed it might be the patrol, which, of late, instead of 
 whiling away their time by the help of a fiddle and a bottle 
 of whiskey, had grown more active, and actually performed 
 some of the duties of a night watch. Under this impres 
 sion, he gave a signal for us to steal off quietly, in a certain 
 order which he had arranged before hand. The field was 
 bordered on one side, by a deep and wide river, from which 
 it was protected by a high embankment. We had come 
 by water ; and our canoe lay in the river, under the shade 
 of a clump of bushes and small trees which grew upon the 
 dike. One by one, we cautiously stole over the bank, 
 carefully keeping in the shade of the bushes, and all but 
 Thomas were already in the boat. We were waiting for 
 our leader, who, as usual, was the last man in the retreat, 
 when we heard several shouts and cries, which seemed to 
 indicate that he was discovered, if not taken. The sound 
 of two musket shots fired in rapid succession, increased our 
 terror. We hastily shoved the boat from the shore ; and 
 pushing her into the current of the flood-tide, which was 
 setting up the river, we were carried rapidly and silently 
 out of sight of our landing place. The shouts were still 
 continued ; but they grew fainter and fainter, and seemed 
 
72 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to take a direction from the river. We now put out our 
 paddles, and plying with all our strength, we pretty soon 
 reached a small cove or creek, the place where we kept our 
 boat, and at which we were accustomed to embark. We 
 drew the canoe on shore, and carefully concealed it among 
 the high grass. Then, without taking out our rice-bags, 
 and leaving our shoes in the boat, we ran towards Loosa- 
 hachee, which we reached without any further adventure. 
 
 I was very anxious about Thomas ; but I had scarcely 
 thrown myself upon my bed, before I heard a light tap at 
 the door of my cabin, which I knew to be his. I sprang 
 up and let him in. He was panting for breath and covered 
 with mud. Thomas said, that just as he was going to 
 climb the embankment, he looked behind him, and saw two 
 men rapidly approaching. They seemed to observe him 
 just at the same moment, and called to him to stop. If he 
 had attempted to reach the boat, it would have drawn them 
 that way, and perhaps led to the detection of the whole 
 company. The moment they called to him, he dropped 
 his rice-bag, and stooping as low as he could, he pushed 
 rapidly through the rice in a direction from the river. His 
 pursuers raised a loud shout, and fired their muskets at him, 
 but without effect. He jumped several cross ditches, 
 made for the high ground, at a distance from the river, and 
 drew off the patrol in that direction. They pursued him 
 closely ; but as he was very strong and active, and well 
 acquainted with the place, he succeeded in escaping from 
 among the ditches and embankments of the rice-field, gained 
 the high grounds, and took a direction towards Loosahachee. 
 But though he had distanced his pursuers, they had still 
 kept upon his track ; and he expected that they would fol 
 low him up, and would shortly be arriving. 
 
 While Thomas was telling his adventures, he had stripped 
 off his wet clothes, and washed off the mud with which he 
 was covered. I furnished him with a dry suit, which he 
 took with him to his own cabin which was close by mine. 
 I hastened round to the cabins of our companions and told 
 them what visitors to expect. The barking of all the plan 
 tation dogs pretty soon informed us that the patrol was 
 coming. They had roused up the overseer, and with 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 
 
 73 
 
 torches in their hands, they entered and searched every 
 cabin in the quarter. But we were prepared for their visit ; 
 we were roused with difficulty out of a deep sleep ; and 
 seemed to be very much astonished at this unseasonable 
 disturbance. 
 
 The search proved to be a very useless one ; but as the 
 patrol were certain that they had traced the fugitive to 
 Loosahachee, the overseer of the plantation upon which 
 we had been depredating, came over the next morning to 
 search out and punish the culprit. He was accompanied 
 by several other men, who it seems were freeholders of 
 the district, selected with such forms, or rather such neglect 
 of all form, as the laws of Carolina prescribe in such cases. 
 Five Carolina freeholders, selected at hap-hazard, constitute 
 such a court as in most other countries, would hardly be 
 trusted with the final adjudication of any matter above the 
 value of forty shillings at the utmost. But in that part oi 
 the world, they not only have the power of judging all 
 charges against slaves, and sentencing the accused to death ; 
 but what the Carolinians, doubtless consider a much graver 
 matter the right of saddling the state treasury with the 
 estimated value of the culprit. This law for refunding to 
 the masters, nominally a part, but what by over- valuation, 
 usually amounts to the entire value, of condemned slaves,, 
 deprives the poor wretches of that protection against an 
 unjust sentence, which otherwise they might find in the 
 pecuniary interest of their masters ; and leaves them with 
 out any sort of shield against the prejudice, carelessness, or 
 stupidity of their judges. But why should we expect any 
 thing like equity or fairness in the execution of laws which 
 themselves are founded upon the grossest wrong ? It must 
 be confessed, that in this matter the Americans preserve 
 throughout, an admirable consistency. 
 
 A table was set out in the passage of the overseer s 
 house ; some glasses and a bottle of whiskey were placed 
 upon it ; and the court proceeded to business. We were 
 all brought up and examined, one after the other. The 
 only witnesses were the patrol who had pursued Thomas ; 
 and they were ordered by the court to pick out the culprits. 
 That was rather a difficult matter. There were between 
 
 VOL. II. 7 
 
74 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 sixty and seventy men of us ; the night had been cloudy 
 and without a moon ; and the patrol had only caught some 
 hasty and uncertain glimpses of the person whom they had 
 followed. The court seemed rather vexed at their hesita 
 tion. Yet perhaps it was not very unreasonable ; since 
 they were quite unable to agree together as to what sort of a 
 man it was. One thought him short ; the other was certain 
 that he was quite tall. The first, pronounced him a stout, 
 well-set fellow ; the other had taken him to be very 
 slender. 
 
 By this time, the first bottle of whiskey was emptied. 
 and a second was put upon the table. The court now told 
 the witnesses that it would not do ; they did not come up 
 to the mark at all ; and if they went on at that rate, the 
 fellow would escape altogether. Just at this moment, the 
 overseer of the plantation which had been plundered, rode 
 up ; and as soon as he had dismounted, he stepped forward 
 to the relief of the witnesses. He said, that while the court 
 was organizing, he had taken the opportunity, to ride over 
 and examine the rice-field, in which the rogue had been 
 started up. It was much trampled in places, and there 
 were a great many foot-prints ; but they w r ere all just alike, 
 and seemed to have been made by the same person. He 
 took a little stick from his pocket, on which, he said, he had 
 carefully marked their exact length and breadth. 
 
 Now this was a trick for detecting people* which Thomas 
 understood very well ; and he had taken good care to be 
 prepared for it. Our whole company were provided with 
 shoes of the largest size we could get, and all exactly of 
 the same pattern ; so that our tracks had the appearance of 
 being made by a single person, and he a fellow with a very 
 large foot. 
 
 This speech of the overseer seemed to revive the droop 
 ing hopes of the judges ; and they made us all sit down 
 upon the ground and have our feet measured. There was 
 a man on the plantation named Billy, a harmless, stupid 
 fellow, wholly unconnected with us ; but unluckily for 
 him, the only one of all the slaves whose foot corresponded 
 at all with the measure. The length of this poor fellow s 
 foot was fatal to him. The judges shouted with one voice. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 7& 
 
 and in the style of condemnation to be expected from such 
 a court, that " they would be damned if he was not the 
 thief." It was in vain that the poor fellow denied the charge 
 and pleaded for mercy. His terror, confusion, and surprise, 
 only served to confirm the opinion of his guilt ; and the 
 more he denied, and the louder he pleaded, the more 
 positively his judges were determined against him. Without 
 further ceremony they pronounced him guilty, and sentenced 
 him to be hung ! 
 
 The sentence was no sooner pronounced than prepara 
 tions were made for its execution. An empty barrel was 
 brought out, and placed under a tree that stood before the 
 door. The poor fellow was mounted upon it ; the halter 
 was put about his neck, and fastened to a limb over his 
 head. The judges had already become so drunk as to 
 have lost all sense of judicial decorum. One of them 
 kicked away the barrel, and the unhappy victim of Carolina 
 justice dropped struggling into eternity. 
 
 The execution over, the slaves were sent into the field ; 
 while Mr Martin, with the judges and witnesses, and several 
 others whom the fame of the trial had drawn to Loosaha- 
 chee, commenced a regular drunken debauch, which they 
 kept up all that day, and the night following. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE authority of masters over their slaves is in general 
 a continual reign of terror. A base and dastard fear is the 
 sole principle of human nature to which the slave-holder 
 appeals. When it was determined to hang the poor fellow, 
 whose fate I have described in the last chapter, his judges 
 could not know, nor do I suppose, they much cared, 
 whether he were innocent or guilty. Their great object 
 was to terrify the survivors ; and by an example of what 
 they would denominate wholesome and necessary severity, 
 to deter from any further trespasses upon the neighboring 
 plantations. In this they succeeded ; for though Thomas 
 
76 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 endeavored to keep up our spirits, we were thoroughly 
 scared, and felt little inclination to second his boldness, 
 which seemed to grow more determined, the more obsta 
 cles it encountered. 
 
 One of our confederates in particular, was so alarmed at 
 the fate of poor Billy, that he seemed to have lost all self- 
 control ; and we \vere in constant fear lest he should betray 
 us. When the first paroxysm of his terror was at its height, 
 the evening after he had witnessed the execution, I believe 
 he would gladly have confessed the whole, if he could have 
 found a white man sober enough to listen to him. After a 
 while, he grew more calm ; but in the course of the day he 
 had dropped some hints, which \vere carefully treasured up 
 by one of the drivers. He reported them, as I discovered, 
 to the overseer ; but Mr Martin had not yet recovered from 
 the effects of the frolic ; and he was too drunk and stupid 
 to understand a word that the driver said to him. 
 
 We had begun to get the better of our fears, when a new 
 incident happened, which determined us to seek our safety 
 in flight. Some persons, in passing along the river bank, 
 had discovered our canoe, which in the hurry of our retreat, 
 we had taken too little care to conceal. It contained not 
 only our bags full of rice, for we had not yet recovered 
 courage enough to go after them, but our shoes also, all 
 exactly of the same size, and corresponding with the meas 
 ure which had been produced upon the trial. Here was 
 ample proof that quite a number had been engaged in the 
 scheme <3f depredation ; and as one of the company had 
 been traced to Loosahachee, it would be reasonable to look 
 for the others upon the same plantation. Luckily I ob 
 tained an early intimation of this discovery, by means of 
 one of the overseer s house-servants, with whom I had the 
 policy to keep up a pretty intimate connection. A man 
 had arrived at the overseer s house, his horse dripping with 
 foam, and with an appearance of great haste and impa 
 tience, he had asked to see the overseer. The moment he 
 came in, the stranger requested to speak with him alone ; 
 and Mr Martin took his guest into another room and locked 
 the door. The girl, who was my spy and informant, under 
 an appearance of the greatest simplicity, was artful and 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 77 
 
 intelligent ; and she was prompted to overhear this secret 
 conversation, as much by her own curiosity, as by the sus 
 picion that it might possibly be something, in which I would 
 take an interest. She contrived to conceal herself in a 
 closet, which was separated from the room in which the 
 overseer and his visitor were conversing, only by a thin 
 partition ; and having overheard his story, the substance of 
 which I have already mentioned, and learned besides, that 
 the court would hold a new session at Loosahachee, the day 
 following, she hastened to inform me of what she had 
 heard. She knew nothing in particular, of our affairs ; but 
 she had reason to believe that this piece of news would not 
 be entirely uninteresting to me. 
 
 I informed Thomas of what she had told me. We agreed 
 at once, that our best chance of safety was in flight ; and 
 we immediately communicated our intention, and the cause 
 of it, to the rest of our confederates. They were anxious 
 to accompany us ; and we all resolved to be off that very 
 night. 
 
 As soon as evening came on, we stole away from the 
 plantation and gained the woods in company. As we an 
 ticipated that a very diligent search would be made for us, 
 we thought it best to separate. Thomas and myself resolved 
 to keep together ; the others scattered and took various di 
 rections. As long as the darkness lasted, we travelled on 
 as rapidly as we could. When the morning began to 
 appear, we plunged into a thick swampy piece of w r oods, 
 and having broken down some branches and young trees, 
 we made as dry a bed as we were able, and lay down to 
 sleep. We were much fatigued with our long and rapid 
 journey, and slept soundly. It was past noon when we 
 waked. Our appetites were sharp, but we had no provis 
 ions. Just as we were beginning to consider what course 
 it would be best for us to pursue, we heard the distant bay 
 ing of a hound. Thomas listened for a moment, and then 
 exclaimed that he knew that cry. It was a famous dog, a 
 cross of the blood-hound, which Mr Martin had long had in 
 training, and upon whose performances in tracking out run 
 aways he very much prided himself. The place where we 
 were, was a thick swamp, in which it was difficult to move, 
 7* 
 
78 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and not easy to stand. To cross it would be impossible; 
 and we resolved to get into the edge of it, where the ground 
 was harder, and the undergrowth thinner, and to continue 
 our flight. We did so; but the hound gained rapidly upon 
 us, and his baying sounded louder and louder. Thomas 
 drew a stout sharp knife, which he carried in his pocket. 
 We were now just at the border where the dry ground 
 came down upon the swamp, and looking behind us, across 
 the level and open woods, we could see the hound coming 
 on with his nose to the ground, and uttering at intervals a 
 deep and savage cry. Farther behind, but still in full view, 
 we saw a man on horseback, whom we took to be Mr 
 Martin himself. 
 
 The dog was evidently upon our track ; and following it 
 to the place where we had first plunged into the swamp, he 
 disappeared from our view. But we could still hear his 
 clamor, which grew louder and almost constant ; and we 
 soon perceived by the rustling and cracking of the under 
 wood that he was close upon us. At this moment we 
 faced about, and stood at bay ; Thomas in front, with his 
 knife in hand, and I just behind, with a sharp and heavy 
 lightwood knot, the best, indeed the only weapon, of which 
 I could avail myself. Presently the dog emerged from the 
 swamp. The moment he saw us, he redoubled his cry, 
 and dashed forward foaming and open-mouthed. He made 
 a great leap directly at Thomas s throat, but only succeed 
 ed in seizing his left arm, which Thomas raised as a shield 
 against the dog s attack. At the same instant he dealt a 
 stroke with his knife, which penetrated to the hilt, and dog 
 and man came struggling to the ground. How the contest 
 would have ended had Thomas been alone, is very doubt 
 ful; for though the hound soon received several wounds, 
 they only seemed to increase his ferocity, and he still strug 
 gled to get at the throat of his antagonist. My lightwood 
 knot now did good service. Two or three heavy blows 
 upon the dog s head laid him senseless and sprawling on 
 the ground. 
 
 While we had been awaiting the dog s attack, and during 
 the contest, we had scarcely thought of his master ; but 
 looking up, after it was over, we discovered that Mr Martin 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 79 
 
 was already very near us. When the dog took to the 
 swamp, his master had followed along upon its edge, and 
 came suddenly upon us before we had expected him. He 
 pointed his gun and called upon us to surrender. Thomas 
 no sooner saw the overseer, than he seemed to lose all his 
 self-control, and grasping his knife, he rushed directly upon 
 him. Mr Martin fired ; but the buck-shot rattled harm 
 lessly among the trees, and as he was attempting to wheel 
 his horse, Thomas dashed upon him, seized him by the 
 arm, and dragged him to the ground. The horse ran 
 frightened through the woods ; and it was in vain that I 
 attempted to stop him. We looked round in expectation 
 of seeing some others of the huntsmen coming up. None 
 were in sight ; and we seized the opportunity to retreat, 
 and to carry our prisoner into the covert of the swamp. 
 
 We learned from him, that by the time the court and 
 their attendants arrived at Loosahachee, our flight had been 
 discovered, and that it was immediately resolved to raise 
 the neighborhood, and to commence a general search for 
 the runaways. All the horses, dogs and men that could 
 be come at, were put into requisition. They were divided 
 into parties, and immediately commenced beating through 
 the woods and swamps in the neighborhood. 
 
 A party of five or six men, with Mr Martin and his 
 blood-hound, had traced three of our companions into a 
 thick swamp, just on the bank of a river. The pursuers 
 dismounted, and with their guns in their hands, they fol 
 lowed the dog into the thicket. Our poor fellows were so 
 overcome with fatigue, that they slept till the very moment 
 that the hound sprang in upon them. He seized one of 
 them by the throat, and held him to the ground. The 
 others ran ; and as they ran, the pursuers fired. One of 
 the fugitives fell dead, horribly mangled and cut to pieces 
 with buck-shot ; the other still continued his flight. As 
 soon as the dog could be compelled to quit his hold of the 
 man he had seized, which, was not without difficulty and 
 delay, he was put upon the track of the surviving fugitive. 
 He followed it to the river, where he stood at fault. The 
 man had probably plunged in, and swum to the other side ; 
 but as the dog could not be made to take the water, and as 
 
SO MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the swamp on the opposite bank was reputed to be very 
 soft and dangerous, no further pursuit was made ; the chase 
 in that direction was given up, and the poor fellow was 
 suffered to escape for the present. 
 
 The pursuers now separated. Two of them undertook 
 to carry back to Loosahachee the captive they had taken, 
 and the other three, with Mr Martin and his hound, were 
 to continue the hunt in search of the rest of us. They 
 learned from their captive the place at which we had part 
 ed company, and the direction which the several parties 
 had taken. After beating about for some time, the hound 
 struck upon our trail, and opened in full cry ; but the 
 horses of Mr Martin s companions were so broken down, 
 that when he began to spur on, to keep up with the hound, 
 he soon left them far behind. Mr Martin ended his story 
 by advising us to go in and surrender ourselves ; giving us 
 his word and honor as a gentleman and an overseer, that if 
 we would offer him no further violence or injury, he would 
 protect us from punishment, and reward us most handsomely. 
 
 The sun was now setting. The short twilight which 
 follows a Carolina sunset would soon be succeeded by the 
 darkness of a cloudy and moonless night ; and we felt but 
 little apprehension of being immediately troubled by our 
 pursuers. I looked at Thomas, as if to inquire what we 
 had better do. He drew me aside, having first examined 
 the fastenings of our prisoner, whom we had bound to a 
 tree, by some cords found in his own pocket, and which 
 were doubtless intended for a very different purpose. 
 
 Thomas paused for a moment, as if to collect his thoughts; 
 then pointing to Mr Martin, "Archy," he said, "that man 
 dies to-night." 
 
 There was a wild energy, and at the same time, a steady 
 coolness, in the tone in which he spoke. It startled me ; 
 at first I made no answer ; and as meanwhile I looked 
 Thomas in the face, I saw there an expression of stern ex 
 ultation, and a fixedness of purpose not to be shaken. His 
 eyes flashed fire, as he repeated, but in a low and quiet 
 tone that contrasted strangely with the matter of his speech, 
 " I tell you, Archy, that man dies to-night. She com 
 mands it ; I have promised it ; and now the time is come. 5 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 81 
 
 " Who commands it ?" I hastily inquired. 
 
 " Do you ask who ? Archy, that man was the murderer 
 of my wife." 
 
 Though Thomas and I had lived in great intimacy, this 
 was almost the first time, since the death of his wife, that he 
 had mentioned her to me in such plain terms. He had, it 
 is true, now and then made some distant allusions to her ; 
 and I recollected that on several occasions before, he had 
 dropped some strange and incoherent hints about an inter 
 course which he still kept up with her. 
 
 The mention of his wife, brought tears into his eyes ; >- 
 but with his hand, he wiped them hastily away, and soon 
 recovering his former air of calm and steady determina 
 tion, he again repeated, in the same low but resolute tone, 
 "Archy, I tell you that man dies to-night." 
 
 When I called to mind all the circumstances that had 
 attended the death of Thomas s wife, I could not but 
 acknowledge that Mr Martin had been her murderer. I 
 had sympathized with Thomas then, and I sympathized 
 with him now. The murderer was in his power ; he 
 believed himself called upon to execute justice upon him ; 
 and 1 could not but acknowledge that his death would be 
 an act of righteous retribution. 
 
 Still, I felt a sort of instinctive horror at the idea of shed 
 ding blood ; and perhaps too, there still crept about my 
 heart some remains of that slavish fear and servile timidity, 
 which the bolder spirit of Thomas had wholly shaken off. 
 I acknowledged that the life of the overseer was justly 
 forfeit ; but at the same time, I reminded Thomas that 
 Mr Martin had promised, if we would carry him home in 
 safety, to procure our pardon and protect us from punish 
 ment. 
 
 A scornful smile played about the lip of my comrade 
 while I was speaking* "Yes, Archy," he answered, "par 
 don and protection ! and a hundred lashes, and a hanging 
 the next day perhaps. No ! boy, I want no such pardon ; 
 I want no pardon such as they will give. I have been a 
 slave too long, already. I am now free ; and when they 
 take me, they are welcome to take my life. Besides, we 
 cannot trust him ; if we wished it, we cannot trust him. 
 
82 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 You know we cannot. They do not think themselves 
 obliged to keep any promises they make us. They will 
 promise any thing to get us in their power ; and then, their 
 promises are worthless as rotten straw. My promises are 
 not like theirs ; and have I not told you that I have prom 
 ised it ? Yes, I have sworn it ; and I now say, once for 
 all, that man must die to-night." 
 
 There was a strength and a determination, in his tone 
 and manner, which overpowered me. I could resist it no 
 longer, and I bade him do his pleasure. He loaded the 
 gun, which he had taken from Mr Martin, and which he 
 had held in his hand all the time we had been talking. 
 This done, we returned to the overseer, who was sitting at 
 the foot of the tree to which we had bound him. He 
 looked up anxiously at us as we approached, and inquired 
 if we had determined to go in ? 
 
 " We have determined," answered Thomas. " We 
 allow you half an hour to prepare for death. Make the 
 most of it. You have many sins to repent of, and the time 
 is short." 
 
 It is impossible to describe the look of mingled terror, 
 amazement and incredulity, with which the overseer heard 
 these words. One moment, with a voice of authority, he 
 bade us untie him; the next, he forced a laugh, and affected 
 to treat what Thomas had said, as a mere jest; then, yield 
 ing to his fears, he wept like a child, and cried and begged 
 for mercy. 
 
 " Have you shown it ? " answered Thomas. " Did you 
 show it to my poor wife? You murdered her; and for hei 
 life you must answer with your own." 
 
 Mr Martin called God to witness, that he was not guilty 
 of this charge. He had punished Thomas s wife, he con 
 fessed ; but he did only what his duty as an overseer 
 demanded ; and it was impossible, he said, that the few 
 cuts he gave her, could have caused her death. 
 
 "The few cuts!" cried Thomas. - Thank God, Mr 
 Martin, that we do not torture you as you tortured her! 
 Speak no more, or you will but aggravate your sufferings. 
 Confess your crimes ! Say your prayers ! Do not spend 
 your last moments in adding falsehood to murder ! " 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 83 
 
 The overseer cowered beneath this energetic reproof. 
 He covered his face with his hands, bent down his head, 
 and passed a few moments in a silence which was only 
 interrupted by an inarticulate sobbing. Perhaps, he was 
 trying to prepare himself to die. But life was too sweet 
 to be surrendered without another effort to save it. He 
 saw that it was useless to appeal to Thomas ; but rousing 
 himself once more, he turned to me. He begged me to 
 remember the confidence, he had once placed in me, and 
 the favors, which as he said, he had shown me. He prom 
 ised to purchase us both, and give us our liberty, any thing, 
 every thing, if we would only spare his life ! 
 
 His tears and piteous lamentations moved me. My head 
 grew dizzy, and I felt such a faintness and heart-sinking, 
 that I was obliged to support myself against a tree. Thom 
 as stood by, with his arms folded and resting on the gun. 
 He made no answer to the reiterated prayers and promises 
 of the overseer. Indeed lie did not appear to notice them. 
 His eyes were fixed, and he seemed lost in thought. 
 
 After a considerable interval, during which the unhappy 
 overseer continued to repeat his prayers and lamentations, 
 Thomas roused himself. He stepped back a few paces, 
 and raised the gun. " The half hour is out," he said ; 
 " Mr Martin, are you ready ? " 
 
 " No ! oh no ! Spare me, oh spare me ! one half hour 
 longer I have much " 
 
 He did not live to finish the sentence. The gun flashed ; 
 the ball penetrated his brain, and he fell dead without a 
 struggle. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 WE scraped a shallow grave, in which we placed the 
 body of the overseer. We dragged the dead hound to the 
 same spot, and laid him with his master. They were fit 
 companions. 
 
 We now resumed our flight, not as some may perhaps 
 suppose, with the frightened and conscience-stricken haste 
 
84 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of murderers, but with that lofty feeling of manhood vindi 
 cated, and tyranny visited with a just retribution, which 
 animated the soul of the Israelitish hero whilst he fled for 
 refuge into the country of the Midianites ; and which burned 
 in the bosoms of Wallace and of Tell, as they pursued their 
 midnight flight among the friendly cliffs and freedom-breath 
 ing summits of their native mountains. 
 
 There were no mountains to receive and shelter us. But 
 still we fled through the swamps and barrens of Carolina, 
 resolved to put, as soon as possible, some good miles be 
 tween us and the neighborhood of Loosahachee. It was 
 more than twenty-four hours since we had tasted food ; yet 
 such was the excitement of our minds that we did not faint, 
 and were hardly sensible of weakness or fatigue. 
 
 We kept a northwesterly direction, steering our course 
 by the stars, and we must have made a good distance ; for 
 we did not once stop to rest, but pushed forward at a very 
 rapid pace all night. Our way lay through the open " piney 
 woods," through which we could travel almost as fast as on 
 a road. Sometimes a swamp or the appearances of a plan 
 tation, would compel us to deviate from our track, but as 
 soon as we could, we resumed our original direction. 
 
 The darkness of the night, which for the last hour or two 
 that it lasted, had been increased by a foggy mist, was just 
 beginning to yield to the first indistinct grey dawn of the 
 morning. We were passing along a little depression in the 
 level of the pine barrens, now dry, but in the wet season, 
 probably the bed of a temporary stream, looking for a 
 place in which to conceal ourselves, when we suddenly 
 came upon a man, lying, as it seemed, asleep in the midst 
 of a clump of bushes, with his head resting on a bag of 
 corn. We recognized him at once. He was a slave 
 belonging to a plantation next adjoining Loosahachee, with 
 whom we had had some slight acquaintance, but who, as 
 we were informed, had been a runaway, for some two or 
 three months past. Thomas shook him by the shoulder, 
 and he wakened in a terrible fright. We told him not to 
 be alarmed, for we were runaways like himself, and very 
 much in need of his assistance, being half dead with bun 
 ger, and in a country with which we were totally unac- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 85 
 
 quainted. At first the man appeared very reserved and 
 suspicious. He feared it seemed, lest we might be decoys, 
 sent out on purpose to entrap him. At last however, we 
 succeeded in dissipating his doubts ; and no sooner was he 
 satisfied with the account we gave of ourselves, than he 
 bade us follow him, and we should presently have food. 
 
 With his bag of corn upon his shoulder he pursued the 
 shallow ravine in which we had found him, for a mile or 
 more, till at length it widened into what seemed a large 
 swamp, or rather a pond grown up with trees. We now 
 left the ravine, and followed along on the edge of the pond 
 for some distance, when presently our guide began wading 
 in the water, and called to us to follow him. We plunged 
 in ; but before going far, he laid down his bag of corn upon 
 a fallen tree, and going back, he carefully effaced the marks 
 which our footsteps had made upon the muddy edge of the 
 pond. He now led us forward through mud and water up 
 to our waists, for near half a mile. The gigantic trees 
 among which we were wading, sprung up like columns,, 
 from the surface of the water, with round, straight, whitish- 
 colored, branchless trunks, their leafy tops forming a thick 
 canopy over head. There was scarcely any undergrowth, 
 except a species of enormous vines, which ran twining like 
 great cables about the bodies of the trees, and reaching 
 to the very tops, helped with their foliage to thicken 
 the canopy above us. So effectually was the light ex 
 cluded, and so close did the trunks of the trees stand to 
 gether, that one could see but a very little way into this 
 watery forest. 
 
 The water began to grow deeper, and the wood more 
 gloomy, and we were wondering whither our guide was 
 leading us, when presently we came to a little island which 
 rose a few feet from the surface of the water, so regular and 
 mound-like, that it had quite the appearance of an artificial 
 structure. Perhaps it was the work of the ancient inhab 
 itants of the country, and the site of one of their forts or 
 fastnesses. It was about an acre in extent, and was covered 
 with a thick growth of trees, quite different however, from 
 those of the lake by which it was surrounded, and much in 
 ferior in size and majesty. Its edges were bordered by low 
 
 VOL. II. 8 
 
86 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 shrubs and bushes, whose abundant foliage gave the islet 
 the appearance of a mass of green. Our guide pointed out 
 to us a little opening in the bushes, through which we 
 ascended ; and after having gained the dry land, he led us 
 through the thicket along a narrow and winding path, till 
 presently we came to a rude cabin built of bark and 
 branches. He now gave a peculiar whistle, which was 
 immediately answered ; and two or three men presently 
 made their appearance. 
 
 They seemed a good deal surprised at seeing us, and me 
 especially, whom apparently they took for a freeman. But 
 our guide assured them that we were friends and fellow- 
 sufferers, and led the way into the cabin. Our new hosts 
 received us kindly ; and having heard how long we had 
 been without food, before asking us any further questions, 
 they hastened to satisfy our hunger. They produced beef 
 and hominy in abundance, on which we feasted to oui 
 hearts content. 
 
 We were then called upon to give an account of our 
 selves. Accordingly we made a relation of our adventures, 
 omitting however, any mention of the fate of the over 
 seer ; and as our guide, who knew us, could confirm a part 
 of our story, our account was pronounced satisfactory, and 
 we were presently admitted to the privilege of joining their 
 fraternity. 
 
 There were six of them, besides ourselves ; all brave- 
 fellows, who weary of daily task-work and the tyranny of 
 overseers, had taken to the woods, and had succeeded in 
 regaining a savage and stealthy freedom, which, with all 
 its hardships and dangers, was a thousand times to be pre 
 ferred to the forced labor and wretched servitude from 
 which they had escaped. Our guide was the only one of 
 them whom we had ever seen till now. The leader of the 
 band had fled from his master s plantation in the neighbor 
 hood, with a single companion, some two or three years 
 oefore. They did not then know of the existence of this 
 retreat ; but being sharply pursued, they had attempted to 
 cross the pond or swamp, by which it was surrounded, a 
 thing, I suppose, which had never been tried before. In 
 this attempt they were fortunate enough to light upon the 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 87 
 
 islet, which being unknown to any one else, had ever since 
 served them as a secure retreat. They soon picked up a 
 recruit or two ; and had afterwards been joined by their 
 other companions. 
 
 Our guide, it seems, had been to a neighboring planta 
 tion to trade for corn ; a traffic, which our friends carried 
 on with the slaves of several of the nearest plantations. 
 After the business was concluded, the men with whom he 
 had been dealing, had produced a bottle of whiskey of 
 which our guide had drank so freely, that he had not gone 
 far on his way home, before his legs failed him. He sunk 
 down in the place where we had found him, and fell fast 
 asleep. 
 
 Drinking whiskey away from home, according to the 
 prudent laws of this swamp-encircled commonwealth, was 
 a high misdemeanor, punishable with thirty-nine lashes, 
 which were forthwith inflicted upon our guide with a good 
 deal of emphasis. He took it in good part though, as being 
 the execution of a law to which he had himself assented, 
 and which he knew was enacted as much for his own 
 benefit, as for the benefit of those who had just now carried 
 it into execution. 
 
 The life upon which we now entered had at least, the 
 charm of novelty. In the day time we eat, slept, told 
 stories and recounted our escapes ; or employed ourselves 
 in dressing skins, making clothes, and curing provisions. 
 But the night was our season of adventure and enterprise. 
 As the autumn was coming on, we made frequent visits to 
 the neighboring corn fields and potato patches, which we 
 felt no scruples whatever in laying under severe contribu 
 tion. This however was only for a month or two. Our 
 regular and certain supply was in the herds of half wild 
 cattle, w 7 hich wander through the " piney woods " and feed 
 upon the coarse grass which they furnish. * We killed as 
 many of ttiese cattle as we needed, and their flesh cut into 
 long strips, we dried in the sun. Thus cured, it is a pal 
 atable food ; and we not only kept a stock on hand for our 
 own consumption, but it furnished the principal article of a 
 constant but cautious traffic which, as I have already men 
 tioned, we carried on with the slaves of several neighboring 
 plantations. 
 
88 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 This wild life of the woods has its privations and its 
 sufferings ; but it has too, its charms and its pleasures ; and 
 in its very worst aspect, it is a thousand and ten thousand 
 times to be preferred to that miscalled civilization which 
 degrades the noble savage into a cringing and broken-spir 
 ited slave ; a civilization, which purchases the indolence 
 and luxury of a single master, with the sighs and tears, the 
 forced and unwilling labor, the degradation, misery and 
 despair of a hundred of his fellow men ! Yes there is 
 more of true manhood in the bold bosom of a single outlaw 
 than in a whole nation of cowardly tyrants and crouching 
 slaves ! 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 BY the end of the winter, the herds of cattle which were 
 accustomed to frequent our neighborhood, were a good deal 
 thinned ; and the pasturage had now become so bare and 
 withered, that what remained of them were little better 
 than walking skeletons, and in fact, scarcely worth the 
 trouble of killing. 
 
 Moreover, the overseers of the neighboring plantations, 
 were beginning to be very well aware that they were ex 
 posed to some pretty regular and diligent depredators. We 
 learned from the slaves with whom we trafficked, that there 
 was a good deal of talk about the rapid disappearance of 
 the cattle ; and that preparations were making for a grand 
 hunt in search of the plunderers. 
 
 With the double object of disappointing these prepara 
 tions, and of getting among some fresh herds of cattle, it 
 was resolved that five of us should make an excursion to a 
 considerable distance, while the other two remained at home 
 and kept close. 
 
 One of our number undertook to lead us into the neigh 
 borhood of a plantation beyond the Santee, on which he 
 had been raised. He knew all the country about it per 
 fectly well. There were several good hiding places, he 
 said, in which we could conceal ourselves in the day time ; 
 
ARCH* MOORE. 89 
 
 and the extensive woods and wastes furnished a good range, 
 and abundance of cattle. 
 
 We set off under his guidance, and kept on for several 
 days, or nights rather, in a northwardly direction. On the 
 fifth or sixth evening of our journey, we started soon after 
 sun-set, and having travelled till a little past midnight, 
 through a country of abrupt and barren sand hills, our guide 
 told us that we were now in the neighborhood into which 
 he intended to carry us. But as the moon had gone down, 
 and it was cloudy and quite dark, he was rather uncertain 
 as to the precise place we were at ; and we should do best, 
 he said, to camp where we were, till day-light, when he 
 would lead us to some better place of concealment. 
 
 This advice was very acceptable ; for by this time, we 
 were way-worn, tired, and sleepy. We kindled a fire, 
 cooked the last of the provisions we had brought with us, 
 and having appointed one of our number to keep watch, 
 the rest of us lay down and were soon fast asleep. 
 
 I, at least, was sleeping soundly, and dreaming of poor 
 Gassy and our infant child, when my dream was interrupted, 
 and I was roused from my slumbers, by what seemed a dis 
 charge of fire-arms and a galloping of horses. I sprang 
 upon my feet, hardly knowing whether I was awake. At 
 the same moment, my eye fell upon Thomas, who had been 
 sleeping beside me, and I perceived that his clothes were 
 all stained with blood. He had already gained his feet ; 
 and without stopping to hear or see any thing further, we 
 sprung together into the nearest thicket, and fled for some 
 time, we scarcely knew where or why. At last, Thomas 
 cried out that he could go no further. The bleeding of 
 his wounds had weakened him much, and they were now 
 growing stiff and painful. The morning was just beginning 
 to dawn. We sat down upon the ground, and endeavored 
 to bind up his wounds the best we were able. A ball or 
 buck-shot had passed through the fleshy part of his left 
 arm, between the shoulder and elbow. Another shot had 
 struck him in the side, but as far as we could judge, had 
 glanced on one of his ribs, and so passed off without doing 
 any mortal injury. These wounds had bled profusely, and 
 were now very painful. We bound them up as well as we 
 8* 
 
90 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 could ; and looking round we found a little stream of water 
 with which to wash away the blood, and quench our thirst. 
 
 Thus recruited and refreshed, we began to consider 
 which way we should turn, and what we were to do. We 
 did not dare to go back to the camp where we had slept ; 
 indeed we were very doubtful whether we were able to do 
 so ; for the morning had been dark, and we had fled with 
 heedless haste, taking very little note of our direction. Our 
 island retreat was at the distance of some seven or eight 
 days journey ; and as we had travelled in the night, and 
 not always in precisely the same direction, it would be no 
 very easy matter to find our way back again. However. 
 Thomas prided himself upon his woodrnanship, and though 
 he had not observed the course of our journey quite so 
 closely as he could have wished, he still thought that he 
 might succeed in finding the way back. 
 
 But his wounds were too recent, and he felt too weak, 
 to think of starting off immediately. Besides it was already 
 broad day-light ; and we had the best of reasons for travel 
 ling only by night. So we sought out a thicket in which 
 we concealed ourselves till night-fall. 
 
 As the evening came on, Thomas declared that he felt 
 much better and stronger ; and we resolved to set out at 
 once, on our return. In the first place however, we deter 
 mined to make an attempt to find the camp of the preceding 
 night, in hopes that some of our companions might have 
 escaped as well as ourselves, and that by some good luck, 
 we might chance to fall in with them. 
 
 After wandering about for some time, at length we found 
 the camp. Two dead bodies, stiff and bloody, lay by the 
 extinguished embers of the fire. They seemed to have 
 been shot dead as they slept, and scarcely to have moved 
 a limb. The bushes about were stained and spattered with 
 blood ; and by the moon light, we tracked the bloody flight 
 of one of our luckless companions for a considerable dis 
 tance. This must have been our sentinel, who had proba 
 bly dropped asleep, and thus exposed us to be surprised. 
 
 Perhaps he might be lurking somewhere in the bushes, 
 wounded and helpless. This thought emboldened us. We 
 Shouted and called aloud. But our voices echoed through 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 91 
 
 the woods, and died away unanswered. We returned 
 again to the camp, and gazed once more upon the distorted 
 faces of our dead companions. We could not bear to leave 
 them unburied. I hastily scraped a shallow trench, and 
 there we placed them. We dropped a tear upon their 
 grave, and sad, dismayed, dejected, we set out upon our 
 long, weary and uncertain journey. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WE travelled slowly all that night, and soon after the 
 morning dawn, we concealed ourselves again, and lay down 
 to sleep. Thomas s wounds were much better, and seemed 
 disposed to heal. The hurt in his side was far less danger 
 ous than we had at first supposed, and as the pain had 
 subsided, he was now able to sleep. 
 
 We slept well enough, but awoke weak and faint for 
 want of food ; for it was now some twenty-four hours since 
 we had tasted any. The sun was not yet down ; yet we 
 resolved to set out immediately, in hopes that day-light 
 might point out to us something with which to satisfy our 
 hunger. 
 
 After travelling a considerable distance through the 
 woods, just as the sun was setting, we struck into a road. 
 This road we determined to follow, in hopes that it might 
 presently lead us into the neighborhood of some farm-house 
 near which we might light upon something eatable. It 
 was an unlucky resolve ; for we had not gone above half a 
 mile, when just upon the crest of a short hill, we suddenly 
 came upon three travellers on horseback, whom the undu 
 lations of the road had concealed from us, till we were 
 within a few yards of each other. 
 
 Both parties were mutually surprised. The travellers 
 reined up their horses and eyed us sharply. Our appear 
 ance might well attract attention. Our clothes, such as 
 we had, were torn and ragged. Instead of shoes, we 
 wore a kind of high moccasins, made of untanned ox-hide ; 
 
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94 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 It appeared in the course of the conversation between 
 the landlady and her guests, that the murderous kind of at 
 tack to which our companions had fallen victims, hut which 
 had been intended for another party of runaways, is an 
 operation occasionally practised in Lower Carolina, when a 
 party of slave-hunters falls in with a gang of fugitive slaves? 
 too large to be easily arrested. 
 
 The dispersion of the attacking party, and each one 
 shooting and returning by himself, is only the effect of 
 an ancient and traditionary prejudice. By the law of Car 
 olina, the killing a slave is regarded as murder ; and though 
 probably, this law was never enforced, and would doubtless 
 be treated by a jury of modern slave-holders, as an old- 
 fashioned and fanatical absurdity, there still linger, in the 
 breasts of the people, some remains of horror at the idea of 
 deliberate bloodshed, and a sort of superstitious apprehen 
 sion of the possible enforcement of this antiquated law. To 
 blindfold their own consciences, and to avoid the possibility 
 of a judicial investigation, each man of an attacking party 
 takes care to see none of the others when they fire ; and no 
 one goes to the place to ascertain how many have been 
 killed or disabled. The poor wretches who are not so for 
 tunate as to be shot dead upon the spot, are left to the lin 
 gering torments of thirst, fever, starvation and festering 
 wounds ; and when at length they die, their skeletons lie 
 bleaching in the Carolina sun, proud proofs of slave-holding 
 civilization and humanity. 
 
 While our captors were at supper, the little girl, the 
 landlady s daughter, came to look at us, as we lay in the 
 passage. She was a pretty child, and her soft blue eyes 
 filled with tears as she looked upon us. I asked her for 
 water. She ran to get it for us ; and inquired if we did not 
 want something to eat. I told her that we were half dead 
 with hunger ; and she no sooner heard it, than she hastened 
 away, and soon returned with a large cake of bread. 
 
 Our arms were bound so tight that we were utterly help- 
 loss, and the little girl broke the bread, and fed us with her 
 own hand. 
 
 Is not this one instance enough to prove that nature never 
 intended man to be a tyrant ? Avarice, a blind lust of dom- 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 95 
 
 ination, the false but specious suggestions of ignorance and 
 passion combine to make him so ; and pity at length, is 
 banished from his soul. It then seeks refuge in the woman s 
 heart; and when the progress of oppression drives it even 
 dience, as sad and hesitating, it prepares to wing its way to 
 heaven, still it lurks and lingers in the bosom of the child ! 
 
 By listening closely to the conversation of the travellers, 
 for by this time the landlady had produced a jug of 
 whiskey, and they had become very communicative, we 
 learned that we were within a few miles of the town of 
 Camden, and on the great northern road leading from that 
 town into North Carolina. Our captors it seemed, were 
 from the upper-country. They had not passed through 
 Camden, but had struck into this road very near the place 
 where they met us. They were travelling into Virginia to 
 purchase slaves. 
 
 After discussing the question at considerable length, they 
 concluded to delay their journey for a day or two, and to 
 take us to Camden, in hopes to find our owner and obtain 
 a reward for apprehending us ; or if nobody should claim 
 ns immediately, they could lodge us in jail, advertise us in 
 the newspapers, and give further attention to the business 
 upon their return. 
 
 By this time, the whiskey jug was emptied, and the 
 travellers made preparations for sleeping. There were but 
 two rooms in the house. . The landlady and her daughter 
 had one ; and some beds were prepared for the guests, in 
 the other. We were carried into their room ; and after 
 Bgain lamenting that the landlady could not furnish them 
 with chains, they carefully examined and retightened the 
 ropes with which we were bound, and then undressed and 
 threw themselves upon their beds. They were probably 
 fatigued with their journey, and the whiskey increased their 
 drowsy inclination ; so that before long, they all gave evi 
 dent tokens of being in a sound slumber. 
 
 I envied them that happiness ; for the tightness of my 
 bonds, and the uneasy position in which I w r as obliged to 
 He, prevented me from sleeping. The moonbeams shone 
 in at the window, and made every object distinctly visible. 
 Thomas and myself were lamenting in whispers, our wretch- 
 
96 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 ed condition, and consulting hopelessly together, when we 
 saw the door of the room cautiously and silently opening. 
 In a moment, the landlady s little daughter made her ap 
 pearance. She came towards us with noiseless steps, and 
 one hand raised, as if motioning to us to be silent. In the 
 other, she held a knife ; and stooping down she hastily cut 
 the cords by which we were bound. 
 
 We did not dare to speak ; but our hearts beat hard, and 
 I am sure our looks expressed the gratitude we felt. We 
 gained our feet with as little noise as possible, and were 
 stealing towards the door, when a new thought struck Thom 
 as. He laid his hand upon my shoulder to draw my atten 
 tion, and then began to pick up the coat, shoes, and other 
 clothes of one of our captors. At once I understood his 
 intention, and imitated his example. The little girl seemed 
 astonished and displeased at this proceeding, and motioned 
 to us to desist. But without seeming to understand her 
 gestures, we gained the door with the clothes in our hands ; 
 und passing out of the passage, we walked slowly and 
 cautiously for some distance, taking good heed, lest the 
 sound of our footsteps might give an alarm. In the mean 
 time, the little girl patted the house dog on the head, and 
 kept him quiet. When we had gained a sufficient distance, 
 we started upon a run, which we did not give over till we 
 were fairly out of breath. 
 
 As soon as we had recovered ourselves a little, we 
 stripped off our ragged dresses, and hid them in the bushes. 
 Luckily the clothes which we had brought oft" in our flight, 
 fitted us very tolerably, and gave us a much more respecta 
 ble, and less suspicious appearance. We now went on for 
 two or three miles, till we came to a road that crossed the 
 one upon which we were travelling, and ran off towards 
 the south. 
 
 In all this time, Thomas had said nothing ; nor did he 
 scarcely seem to notice my remarks, or to hear the ques 
 tions, which, from time to time, I put to him. When we 
 came to the cross-road, he suddenly stopped, and took me 
 oy the arm. I supposed that he was going to consult with 
 me, as to the course which we should take ; and great was 
 my surprise to hear him say, " Archy, here I leave you." 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 97 
 
 I could not imagine what he intended, and I looked at 
 him for an explanation. 
 
 "You are now," he said, "on the road to the north. 
 You have good clothes, and as much learning as an over 
 seer. You can readily pass for a freeman. It will be 
 very easy for you to get away to those free States of which 
 I have heard you speak so often. If I go with you, we 
 shall both be stopped and questioned. We shall be pur 
 sued ; and if we keep together, and follow this road, we 
 shall certainly be taken. It is a great way to the free 
 States, and I have little chance and no hope of ever getting 
 there; and if I did, what should I gain by it? I will try 
 the woods again, and do as I can. I shall be able to get 
 back to our old place; but you, Archy, you can do better. 
 You are sure of getting away to the north. Go, my boy, 
 go, and God bless you." 
 
 I was deeply moved ; and it was some time before I was 
 able to reply. The thoughts of escaping from my present 
 situation of danger and misery, to a land where I could 
 bear the name, and enjoy the rights of a freeman, flashed 
 upon my mind with a radiant and dazzling brightness that 
 seemed almost to blot out every other feeling. Yet still my 
 love for Thomas, and the gratitude I owed him, glimmered 
 through these new hopes ; and a low voice from the very 
 centre of my heart, bade me not to desert my friend. After 
 too long a pause, and too much hesitation, I began to 
 answer him. I spoke of his wounds ; of our sworn friend 
 ship ; and of the risk he had so lately run in my behalf; 
 and insisted that I would stay with him to the last. 
 
 I spoke, I fear, with too little of zeal and earnestness. 
 At least, all that I said, only seemed to confirm Thomas in 
 his determination. He replied that his wounds were heal 
 ing ; and that he was already almost as strong as ever. He 
 added, that if I stayed with him, I might do myself much 
 harm without the chance of doing him any good. He 
 pointed along the road, and in an energetic and com 
 manding voice, he bade me follow it, while he should take 
 the cross-road towards the south. 
 
 When Thomas had once made up his mind, there was a 
 firmness in the tone with which he spoke, sufficient often to 
 
 VOL. IT. y 
 
98 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 overawe the most unwilling. At the present moment, I 
 was but too ready to be prevailed upon. He saw his ad 
 vantage and pursued it. "Go, Archy," he repeated, "go; 
 if not for your own sake, go for mine ! If you stay with 
 me, and are taken, I shall never forgive you for it." 
 
 Little by little, my better feelings yielded ; and at last I 
 consented to the separation. I took Thomas by the hand, 
 and pressed him to my heart. A nobler spirit never 
 breathed ; I was not worthy to call myself his friend. 
 
 " God bless you, Archy," he said, as he left me. I 
 stood watching him as he w r alked rapidly away ; and as I 
 looked, I was ready to sink into the earth with shame and 
 mortification. Once or twice, I was just starting to follow 
 him ; but selfish prudence prevailed, and I held back. 1 
 watched him till he was out of sight, and then resumed my 
 journey. It was a base desertion, which not even the love of 
 liberty could excuse. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 I WALKEB on as fast as I was able, till after daylight, 
 without meeting a single individual, or passing more than 
 two or three mean and lonely houses. Just as the sun was 
 rising, I gained the top of a considerable hill. Here there 
 was a small house by the road side ; and a horse saddled 
 and bridled was tied to a tree near by. The animal was 
 sleek, and in good condition : and from the cut of the 
 saddle-bags I took him to belong to some doctor, who had 
 come thus early to visit a patient. It was a tempting 
 opportunity. I looked cautiously this way and that, and 
 seeing nobody, I unfastened the horse, and jumped into the 
 saddle. I walked him a little distance, but presently put 
 him into a gallop, that soon carried me out of sight of the 
 house. 
 
 This was a very lucky acquisition ; for as I was upon 
 the same road, which the travellers from whom I had 
 escaped would follow, as soon as they resumed their 
 journey, I was in manifest danger of being overtaken and 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 99 
 
 recognized. As I found that my horse had both spirit and 
 bottom, I put him to his speed, and went forward at a rapid 
 rate. My good luck did not end here ; for happening to 
 put my hand into the pocket of my new coat, I drew out a 
 pocket-book, which beside a parcel of musty papers, I 
 found on examining it a little, to contain quite a pretty sum 
 of money in bank notes. This discovery gave a new im 
 pulse to my spirits, which were high enough before ; and I 
 pushed on all day without stopping, except now and then to 
 rest my horse in the shade of a tree. 
 
 Towards evening I got a supper, and corn for my horse, 
 at a little hedge tavern ; and waiting till the moon rose, I 
 set out again. By morning, my horse was completely 
 broken down, and gave out entirely. Thankful for his 
 services thus far, for according to my reckoning he had 
 carried me upwards of a hundred miles in the twenty-four 
 hours, I stripped off his saddle and bridle, and turned him 
 into a \\ heat-field to refresh himself. I now pursued my jour 
 ney on foot ; for I feared if I kept the horse, the possession 
 of him might perhaps get me into difficulty ; and in fact, he 
 was so jaded and worn out, that he would be of very little 
 use to me. I had got a good start upon the travellers, and 
 I did not doubt that I could get on as fast upon foot, as they 
 would on horseback. 
 
 Before sunset, I arrived at a considerable village. Here I 
 Indulged myself in a hearty meal, and a good night s sleep. 
 Both were needed ; for what with watching, fasting, and 
 fatigue, I was quite worn out. I slept some ten hours, and 
 awoke with new vigor. I now resumed my journey which 
 I pursued without much fear of interruption ; though I 
 judged it prudent to stop but seldom, and to push forward as 
 rapidly as possible. I kept on through-rNorth Carolina and 
 Virginia ; crossed the Potomac into Maryland ; and avoid 
 ing Baltimore, I passed on into Pennsylvania, and congratu 
 lated myself that at last I trod a soil, cultivated by freemen. 
 
 I had gone but a very few miles, before I perceived the 
 difference. In fact, I had scarcely passed the slave-holding 
 border, before the change became apparent. The spring 
 was just opening, and every thing was beginning to look 
 fresh, green, and beautiful. The nicely cultivated fields, 
 
100 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the numerous small enclosures, the neat and substantia. 
 farm-houses, thickly scattered along the way, the pretty vil 
 lages, and busy towns, the very roads themselves, which 
 were covered with wagons and travellers, all these signs 
 qfjmiversal_ thr ulrfnd comfort, gave abundant evidenceTtKat 
 at length I saw a country where labor was honorable] and 
 where every one labored for himself. It was an exhila 
 rating and delightful prospect, and in strong contrast with 
 all I had seen in the former part of my journey, in which 
 a wretched and lonely road had led me on through a vast 
 monotonous extent of unprofitable woods, deserted fields 
 grown over with broomsedge and mullen, or fields just ready 
 to be deserted, gullied, barren and with all the evidences 
 upon them, of a negligent, unwilling, and unthrifty cultiva 
 tion. Here and there, I had passed a mean and comfort 
 less house ; and once in fifty miles, a decaying, poverty- 
 stricken village, with a court house, and a store or two, and 
 a great crowd of idlers collected about a tavern door ; but 
 without one single sign of industry or improvement. 
 
 I was desirous of seeing Philadelphia ; but that city, so 
 near the slave-holding border, I feared might be infected 
 with something of the slave-holding spirit ; for the worst 
 plagues are the most apt to be contagious. I passed by, 
 without passing through it, and hastened on to New York. 
 I crossed the noble Hudson, and entered the town. It was 
 the first city I had ever seen ; at least, the first one worthy 
 to be called a city ; and when I beheld the spacious harbor 
 crowded with shipping ; the long lines of warehouses, the 
 numerous streets, the splendid shops, and the swarming 
 crowds of busy people, I was astonished and delighted with 
 the new idea which all this gave me of the resources of 
 human art and industry. I had heard of such things before, 
 but to feel, one ought to see. 
 
 I did nothing for several days, but to wander up and 
 down the streets, looking, gazing, and examining with an 
 almost insatiable curiosity. New York then, was far infe 
 rior, to what it must by this time, have become ; and the 
 commercial restrictions which then prevailed must have 
 tended to diminish its business and its bustle. Yet to my 
 rustic inexperience, the city seemed almost interminable; 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 101 
 
 and the rattling of the drays and carriages over the pave 
 ments, and the crowds of people in the streets, far ex 
 ceeded all my previous notions of the busy confusion of 
 a city. 
 
 I had now been in New York about a week, and was 
 standing one forenoon by a triangular grass-plot, near the 
 centre of the town, gazing at a fine building of white mar 
 ble, which one of the passers-by told me was the City Hall, 
 when suddenly I felt my arm rudely seized. I looked 
 round, and with horror and dismay, I found myself in the 
 gripe of general Carter, the man who in South Carolina 
 had called himself my master ; but who, in a country that 
 prided itself in the title of a - free State, ought no longer to 
 have had any claim upon me. 
 
 Let no one be deceived by the false and boastful title 
 which the northern States of the American Union have 
 thought fit to assume. With what justice can they pre- ^ 
 tend to call themselves free States, after having made a 
 bargain with the slave-holders, by which they are bound 
 to deliver back again, into the hands of their oppress 
 ors, every miserable fugitive who takes refuge within their 
 territory ? The good people of the free States have no 
 slaves themselves. Oh no ! Slave-holding they confess, 
 is a horrible enormity. They hold no slaves themselves ; 
 they only act as bumbailifFs and tipstaves to the slave 
 holders ! 
 
 My master, for so even in the free city of New York 1 
 must continue to call him, had seized me by one ami, and 
 a friend of his held me by the other. He called me by 
 name ; and in the hurry and confusion of this sudden sur 
 prise, I forgot for a moment, how impolitic it was for me to 
 appear to know him. A crowd began to collect about us. 
 When they heard that I was seized as a fugitive slave, 
 some of them appeared not a little outraged at the idea that 
 a white man should be subject to such an indignity. They 
 seemed to think that it was only the black, whom it was 
 lawful to kidnap in that way. Such indeed is the untiring 
 artfulness of tyranny that it is ever nestling even in the 
 bosoms of the free ; and there is not one prejudice, the 
 offspring as all prejudices are, of ignorance and self- 
 
102 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 conceit, of which it has not well learned how to avail 
 itself. 
 
 Though several of the crowd did not scruple to use very 
 strong expressions, they made no attempt to rescue me; and 
 I was dragged along towards that very City Hall which I 
 had just been admiring. I was carried before the sitting 
 magistrate ; some questions were put and answered ; some 
 oaths were sworn, and papers written. I had not yet re 
 covered from the first confusion of my seizure ; and this 
 array of courts and constables was a horrid sort of danger 
 to which I was totally unaccustomed, so that I scarcely 
 know what w r as said or done. But to the best of my rec 
 ollection, the magistrate declined acting on the question ; 
 though he consented to grant a warrant for detaining me in 
 prison, till I could be taken before some other tribunal. 
 
 The w r arrant was made out, and I was delivered over to 
 an officer. The court-room was filled with the crowd, who 
 had followed us from the street. They collected close 
 about us, as we left the court-room ; and I could see by 
 the expression of their faces, and the words which some of 
 them dropped, that they were veiy well inclined to favor 
 my escape. At first, I seemed all submission to the officer ; 
 we had gone however but a very few steps, when with 
 a sudden spring I tore myself from his grasp, and darted 
 among the crow r d, which opened to give me a passage. 1 
 heard noise, confusion, and shouts behind me ; but in a 
 moment, I had cleared the enclosure in which the City 
 Hall stood, and crossing one of the streets by which it was 
 bounded, I dashed down a narrow and crooked lane. The 
 people stared at me as 1 ran, and some shouted, " Stop 
 thief!" One or two seemed half inclined to seize me; but 
 I turned one short corner, and then another, and finding that 
 I was not pursued, I soon dropped into a walk. 
 
 For this escape I return my thanks, not to the laws of 
 New York, but to the good will of her citizens. The 
 secret bias and selfish interest of the law-makers, often leads 
 them wrong ; the unprompted and disinterested impulses of 
 the people, are almost always right. It is true that the 
 artful practice and cunning instigation of the purchased 
 friends and bribed advocates of oppression, joined to the 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 103 
 
 interest which the thieves and pick-pockets of a great city 
 always have in civil tumult and confusion, may now 
 and then succeed in exciting the young, the ignorant, the 
 thoughtless, and the depraved, to acts of violence in favor 
 of tyranny. But so congenial to the human heart is the 
 love of freedom, that it burns not brighter in the souls of 
 sages and of heroes, than in the bosoms even of the most 
 ignorant and thoughtless, when not quenched by some ex 
 cited prejudice, base passion, or sinister influence. 
 
 In my previous wanderings about the town, I had dis 
 covered the road that led northwardly out of it; and I soon 
 turned in that direction, determined to shake off from my 
 feet, the very dust of a city, where I had been so near fall 
 ing back again into the wretched condition of servitude. 
 
 I travelled all that day, and at night, the inn-keeper, at 
 whose house I lodged, told me that I was in the state of 
 Connecticut. I now pursued my flight for several days, 
 through a fine hilly and mountainous country, such as I had 
 never seen before. The nobleness of the prospect, the 
 craggy rocks, and rugged hills, contrasted finely with the 
 excellent cultivation of the valleys, and the universal thrift 
 and industry of the inhabitants. Where freedom nerves 
 the arm, it is in vain that rocks and hills of granite, oppose 
 the labors of the cultivator. Industrious liberty teaches him 
 the art to extract comfort, competence, and wealth from a 
 soil the most unwilling and ungrateful. 
 
 I knew that Boston was the great sea-port of New Eng 
 land ; and thither I directed my steps, resolved to leave a 
 land however otherwise inviting, whose laws would not 
 acknowledge me a freeman. As I approached the town, 
 the country lost much of its picturesque and hilly grandeur ; 
 but this was made up for by tha greater beauty of its 
 smoother and better cultivated fields ; and by the pretty 
 dwellings scattered so numerously along the road, that the 
 environs of the town seemed almost a continued village. 
 The city itself, seated on hills, and seen for a considerable 
 distance, gave a noble termination to the prospect. 
 
 I crossed a broad river, by a long bridge, and soon en 
 tered the town ; but I did not stop to examine it. Liberty 
 was too precious to be sacrificed to the gratification of an 
 
104 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 idle curiosity ; a New York mob had set me free ; a . Bos 
 ton mob might perhaps delight in the opportunity of restoring 
 me to servitude. I found my way, as soon as the crooked 
 and irregular streets would allow me, to the wharves. 
 Many of the ships were stripped and rotting in the docks ; 
 but after some search and inquiry, I found a vessel about to 
 sail for Bordeaux. I offered myself as a sailor. The cap 
 tain questioned me, and laughed heartily at my land-lubberly 
 air, and rustic ignorance ; but finally he agreed to take me 
 at half wages. He advanced me a month s pay ; and the 
 second mate who was a fine young fellow, and who seemed 
 to feel for my lonely and helpless ignorance, assisted me in 
 buying such clothes as would be necessary for the voyage. 
 
 In a few days, our cargo was completed, and the ship 
 was ready for sea. We dropped off from the wharf; 
 threaded our course among the numerous islets and head 
 lands of Boston harbor ; passed the castle and the light 
 house ; sent off our pilot ; and with all sail set, and a 
 smacking breeze, we left the town behind. 
 
 As I stood upon the forecastle, and looked towards the 
 land, which soon seemed but a little streak in the horizon, 
 and was fast sinking from our sight, I seemed to feel a 
 heavy weight drop off me. The chains were gone. I felt 
 myself a freeman ; and as I watched the fast receding shore, 
 my bosom heaved with a proud scorn, a mingled feeling 
 of safety and disdain. 
 
 " Farewell, my country !" such were the thoughts that 
 rose upon my mind, and pressed to find an utterance from 
 my lips ; " And such a country ! A land boasting to be 
 the chosen seat of liberty and equal rights, yet holding such 
 a portion of her people in hopeless, helpless, miserable 
 bondage ! " 
 
 " Farewell, my country ! Much is the gratitude anti 
 thanks I owe thee ! Land of the tyrant and the slave 
 Farewell!" 
 
 " And welcome, welcome, ye bounding billows and 
 foamy surges of the ocean ! Ye are the emblems and the 
 children of liberty I hail ye as my brothers ! for, at last, 
 I too am free ! free ! free ! " 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 105 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE favorable breezes, with which we had set out, did 
 not last long. The weather soon became tempestuous, and 
 we were involved in fogs, and driven about by contrary 
 winds. Our labors and hardships were very great ; but 
 still I found a sort of pleasure in them. Tt was for myself 
 that I toiled and suffered ; and that thought gave me 
 strength and vigor. 
 
 I applied myself with the greatest zeal and good-will to 
 learn the business of my profession. At first, my compan 
 ions laughed at my ignorance and awkwardness, and were 
 full of their jokes and tricks upon me. But though rude 
 and thoughtless, they were generous and good-natured. In 
 the very first week of our voyage, I had a fair fight with 
 the bully of the ship. I whipped him soundly ; and the 
 crew all agreed, that there was something in me. 
 
 I was strong and active; and as I made it a point to 
 imitate whatever I saw done by any of the crew, I was 
 surprised to find in how short a time I was able to run over 
 the rigging, and venture upon the yards. The maze of 
 ropes and sea-terms that at first perplexed me, soon grew 
 clear. Before we were across the ocean, I could hand, 
 reef, and steer with any man on board; and the crew swore 
 with one consent, that I was born to be a sailor. 
 
 But I was not satisfied with setting sails and handling 
 ropes. I washed to understand the art of navigation. One 
 of our crew was a young man of good education, who served 
 before the mast, as is common with New Englanders, in 
 expectation of presently commanding a ship himself. He 
 had his books and his instruments ; and as he had already 
 been one or two voyages, he understood pretty well, how 
 to apply them, and used to keep a reckoning of the ship s 
 course. This same young sailor, Tom Turner by name, 
 was a fine, free-hearted fellow as ever lived ; but he was of 
 a slight make, and his strength was not equal to his spirit. I 
 had gained his good-will by standing by him in some of our 
 forecastle frolics ; and seeing how anxious I was to learn, 
 
106 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 he undertook to be my instructor. He put bis Navigator 
 into my band, and whenever it was my watch below, I was 
 constantly poring over it. At first, the whole matter seemed 
 mighty mysterious. It was some time before 1 could see 
 into it. But Tom, who had a fluent tongue, lectured and 
 explained ; and I listened and studied ; and presently T 
 began to understand it. 
 
 All this time, we were beating about in the neighborhood 
 of the banks of Newfoundland ; and as we experienced a 
 constant succession of storms and contrary winds, we made 
 but little progress. We lost a couple of top-sails and sev 
 eral of our spars ; and had been out some seventy days in 
 very rough weather. 
 
 I took it all kindly though ; I was in no hurry to get 
 ashore. I had chosen the ocean for my country ; and 
 when the winds roared, the rigging rattled, and the timbers 
 creaked, I only wrapped my monkey-jacket a little closer, 
 braced myself against my sea-chest, and studied my Nav 
 igator ; that is, if it happened to be my watch below ; 
 for when upon deck, I was always ready at the first call, 
 and was the first to spring into the rigging. 
 
 At last, the weather moderated, and we made sail for the 
 coast of France. We had made the land, and were within 
 a few leagues of our harbor, when an armed brig, with the 
 British colors flying,- bore down upon us, fired a shot a-head. 
 and sent a boat s crew on board. 
 
 In those days, American vessels were quite accustomed 
 to such sort of visitations ; and our captain did not seem to 
 be much alarmed. But no sooner had the boat s officer 
 reached our deck, than laying his hand upon his sword, he 
 told the captain that he was a prisoner. 
 
 It seemed that while we were beating about on the Grand 
 Bank, America, at last, had screwed up her courage, and 
 had declared war against England. The armed brig was a 
 British privateer, and we were her prize. At first we were 
 all ordered below ; but presently we were called up again, 
 and offered the choice of enlisting on board the privateer, 
 or being carried prisoners into England. Near half our 
 crew were what the sailors call Dutchmen, that is, people 
 from the North Sea, or the coasts of the Baltic. These 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 107 
 
 adventurers readily enlisted. Tom Turner was spokesman 
 for the Americans ; and when called upon to follow this 
 example, he answered the lieutenant, in a tone so gruff as 
 to be little better than a growl, " We ll see you damned 
 first!" 
 
 For myself, I felt no patriotic scruples. I had renounced 
 my country ; if indeed that place can be fitly called one s 
 country, which while it gives him birth, cuts him off, by its 
 wicked and unjust laws, from every thing that makes life 
 worth having. Despite the murmurs and hisses of my 
 companions, I stepped forward, and put my name to the 
 shipping paper. Had they known my history, they would 
 not have blamed me. 
 
 After cruising for some time, without success, we returned 
 to Liverpool to refit. Our crew was recruited ; and we 
 soon put to sea again. Cruising off the coast of France, 
 we took several prizes, but none of very great value. We 
 now made sail for the West Indies ; and, in the neighbor 
 hood of the Bermudas, while close hauled to the wind and 
 under easy sail, we discovered a vessel a-head, and gave 
 chase. 
 
 The chase slackened sail and waited for us to come up. 
 This made us suppose that it might be a man-of-war ; and 
 as we were more anxious for plunder than for fighting, we 
 put up the helm, and bore away. 
 
 The chase now made sail in pursuit ; and as she proved 
 to be much the better sailer, she gained rapidly upon us. 
 
 When we saw that there was no chance of escaping, we 
 took in our light canvass, brought the vessel to, ran up the 
 British flag, and cleared for action. 
 
 The enemy was an armed and fast-sailing schooner an 
 American privateer, as it proved, about a fair match for the 
 brig, in point of size and armament, but in much finer trim, 
 and most beautifully worked. She ran down upon us ; her 
 crew gave three cheers ; and shooting across our bows, she 
 gave us a broad-side that did much execution. She tacked 
 and manoeuvred till she gained a favorable position, and 
 then poured in her fire with such steadiness, that she 
 seemed all a-blaze. Her guns were well shotted, and well 
 aimed, and did serious damage. Our captain and first 
 
108 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 lieutenant were soon wounded and disabled. We paid 
 back the enemy as well as we could ; but our men dropped 
 fast ; and our fire began to slacken. The schooner s bow 
 sprit got fast in our main rigging, and directly we heard the 
 cry for the boarders. We seized our pikes, and prepared 
 to receive them ; but a party of the enemy soon got a foot 
 ing on board the brig ; wounded the only officer on deck ; 
 and drove our men frightened and confused towards the 
 forecastle. 
 
 I saw our danger ; and the idea of falling again into the 
 hands of the tyrants from whom I had escaped, summoned 
 back my ebbing courage. I seemed to feel a more than 
 human energy spring up within me. I put myself at the 
 head of our yielding and dispirited crew, and fought with 
 all the frantic valor of a mad hero of romance. I struck 
 down two or three of the foremost of the enemy ; and as 
 they quailed and shrunk before me, I cheered and encour 
 aged my companions, and called on them to charge. My 
 example seemed to inspire them. They rallied at once, 
 and rushed forward with new courage. They drove the 
 enemy before them ; tumbled some into the sea ; and 
 pressed the others back into their own vessel. 
 
 Nor did our success stop here. We boarded in our turn ; 
 and the decks of the schooner saw as bloody a battle as had 
 been fought on those of the brig. The fortune of the fight 
 still ran in our favor, arid we soon drove the enemy to take 
 refuge on the quarter-deck. We called to them to sur 
 render; but their captain waving his bloody sword, sternly 
 refused. He encouraged his men to charge once more, and 
 rushed furiously upon us. His cutlass clashed against my 
 pike, and flew from his hand. He slipped, and fell upon 
 the deck ; and in a moment, my weapon was at his breast. 
 
 He cried for quarter. I thought I knew his face. 
 
 "Your name?" 
 
 "Osborne!" 
 
 il Jonathan Osborne late commander of the Two Sallys? " 
 
 "The same!" 
 
 "Then die, v a wretch like you deserves no mercy!" 
 and as I spoke I plunged the weapon to his heart, and felt 
 thrilling to the very elbow-joint, the pleasurable sense of 
 doing justice on a tyrant ! 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 109 
 
 But justice ought never to be sullied by passion, and if 
 possible, should be unstained with blood. If in my feelings 
 at that moment, there was something noble, there was far 
 too much of savage fury and passionate revenge. Yet from 
 what I then felt, I can well understand the fierce spirit and 
 ferocious energy of the slave, who vindicates his liberty at 
 the sword s point, and who looks upon the slaughter of his 
 oppressors almost as a debt due to humanity. 
 
 The crew no sooner saw their captain slain, than they 
 threw down their arms and cried for quarter. The schoon 
 er was ours, and a finer vessel never sailed the seas. 
 
 Every officer on board the brig was wounded. All con 
 fessed that the capture of the prize was, in a great measure, 
 due to me ; and with the approbation of all the crew, I was 
 put on board as prize-master. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 \YE had a short passage to Liverpool. The schooner 
 was condemned as a prize, and was bought in by the own 
 ers of the brig. They fitted her out as a privateer ; and 
 as they had been informed how large a share I had in her 
 capture, they offered me the command of her. I readily 
 accepted it ; and having selected an experienced old sailor 
 for my first lieutenant, I soon collected a crew, and set sail. 
 
 The cruising ground which I preferred, was the coast of 
 America. Off the harbor of Boston, we were so lucky as 
 to fall in with, and make prize of a homeward bound East- 
 Indiaman, with a very valuable cargo of teas and silks. 
 We put a prize-crew on board and sent her off for Liver 
 pool, where she arrived safely, and produced us a very 
 handsome sum in prize-money. We now stood to the 
 southward ; and for a month or two, we cruised off the 
 capes of Virginia. As we kept well in to the coast, we 
 often made the land ; and I never saw it without feeling a 
 strong inclination to send a boat s crew ashore, and to kid 
 nap from their beds, such of the nearest planters as I could 
 
 VOL. II. 10 
 
110 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 lay my hands upon. But I did not think it prudent to 
 attempt to carry into execution, this piece of experimental 
 instruction, of which the Virginians stand so much in need. 
 
 My cruising adventures, chases, and escapes would fill a 
 volume ; but they are little to my present purpose. Suf 
 fice it to say, that while the war lasted I kept the seas ; 
 and when it ended, most reluctantly I left them. My 
 share in the prizes we had taken, rendered me wealthy, 
 at least what the moderation of my wishes made me esteem 
 so. But what was to supply the ever varying stimulus 
 and excitement, which till now, had sustained me, and pre 
 vented my mind from preying on itself, and poisoning my 
 peace with bitter recollections ? The images of my wife, 
 my child, and of the friend to whom I owed so much, 
 often, on my voyages, flitted mournfully across my mind ; 
 but the cry of l Sail ahead would call off my thoughts, and 
 dissipate my incipient melancholy in the bustle of action * 
 But now that I was on shore, homeless, alone, a stranger, with 
 nothing to occupy my mind, the thoughts of those dear 
 sufferers haunted me continually. The very first thing I 
 did, was to look up a trusty agent whom I might send in 
 search of them. Such an one I found. I gave him all the 
 information which might promote the object of his mission ; 
 I allowed him an unlimited credit on my banker ; and stimu 
 lated his zeal by a handsome advance, and the promise of 
 a still larger reward, if he succeeded in the object of his 
 mission. 
 
 He sailed for America by the first opportunity ; and I 
 consoled myself with the hope that his search would be 
 successful. In the mean time, to have some occupation 
 that might keep off anxious doubts and troublesome anxie- 
 eies, I applied myself to study. When a child, I had a fond 
 ness for reading, and an ardent love of knowledge. This 
 love of knowledge, the accursed discipline of servitude had 
 stifled and kept under, but had not totally extinguished. I 
 was astonished to find it still so strong. Having once turned 
 my attention that way, my mind drank in all sorts of 
 information, as the thirsty earth imbibes the rain. I 
 might rather be said to devour books, than to read them. 
 I scarcely gave myself time to sleep. No sooner had I fin 
 
ARCHY MOORE. Hi 
 
 ished one, than I hurried to another with restless inquietude. 
 I read on without selection or discrimination. It was a long 
 time before I learned to compare, to weigh, and to judge. 
 It happened to me as it has happened to mankind in general. 
 Tn my anxiety to know, I was ready to take every thing on 
 trust ; and I did not stop to distinguish between what was 
 fact, and what was fiction. But while I allowed an abun 
 dance of folly and falsehood to be palmed upon me undei 
 the sober disguise of truth, I had but little taste for writers 
 professedly imaginative. I could not understand why they 
 wrote, or what they aimed at. I despised the poets ; but 
 voyages, travels, histories and narratives of every sort, I 
 devoured with undistinguishing voracity. Time and reflec 
 tion have since enabled me to extract something of truth 
 and philosophy from these chaotic acquisitions. 
 
 For a while, my studies had much the same stimulating 
 and exciting effect with my former activity. They raised 
 my spirits, and enabled me to bear up under the discour 
 aging advices which I received from America. But they 
 palled at last; and when my agent returned with the 
 disastrous information, that all his searches had been una 
 vailing, I found no support under the load of grief that over 
 whelmed me. 
 
 From such information as my agent had been able to 
 obtain, it appeared that Mrs Montgomery, Cassy s mistress, 
 had become security to a large amount for that brother of 
 hers, by whose advice and agency she managed her affairs. 
 That brother was a planter ; and among the American 
 planters, the passion for gambling is next to universal, 
 for it is one of the few excitements by which they are able 
 to relieve the listless and wearisome indolence of their use 
 less lives. Mrs Montgomery s brother was a gambler, and 
 an unsuccessful one. Having ruined himself, he began to 
 prey upon his sister. Besides embezzling all such money 
 of hers as he could lay his hands upon, and as he had the 
 entire management of her Affairs, her income was much at his 
 disposal, he induced her, under various pretences, to put 
 her name to bonds and notes to a large amount. On these 
 notes and bonds suits were commenced ; but this, her 
 brother, who strove to defer the disclosure of his villames as 
 
112 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 long as possible, took care to conceal from her ; and the 
 first thing she knew of the matter, her entire property was 
 seized on execution. 
 
 Among her other chattels, my wife and child were sold, 
 for it is the law and the practice of America to sell women 
 and children to pay the debts of a gambler ! 
 
 Cassy and her infant had fallen into the hands of a gen 
 tleman, such is the American phrase, who followed the 
 lucrative and respectable business of a slave-trader. My 
 agent no sooner learned his name, than he set out in pursuit 
 of him. But he found that the man had been dead for a 
 year or two ; and that he had left no papers behind him, 
 from which might be traced the history of his slave-trading 
 expeditions. Not yet discouraged, my agent travelled over 
 the entire route, which he was told the deceased slave- 
 trader had usually followed. He even succeeded in getting 
 some trace of the very gang of slaves which had been pur 
 chased at the sale of Mi s Montgomery s property. He 
 tracked them from village to village, till he arrived at Au 
 gusta in the state of Georgia, but here he lost sight of 
 them altogether. That town is or was, one of the great 
 marts of the American slave-trade ; and here in all proba 
 bility, the slaves were sold ; but to whom, it was impossible 
 to discover. 
 
 Thus baffled in his search, my agent had recourse to 
 advertisements in the newspapers, in which the person of 
 my wife was particularly described, mention was made of 
 the name of her late owner, and a very generous reward 
 was offered to any one who would give information w 7 here 
 she or her child was to be found. These advertisements 
 brought him an abundance of communications, but none to 
 the purpose ; and after having spent near two years in the 
 search, he gave it up, at last, as unavailing. 
 
 Of Thomas he could learn nothing, except that general 
 Carter had never retaken him. A man of his figure and 
 appearance had been occasionally seen, traversing the 
 woods of that neighborhood, and lurking about the planta 
 tions ; and it seemed not unlikely that he was still alive, 
 and the leader of some band of runaways. Such was the 
 information which my agent brought me. 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 113 
 
 While he remained in America, however little encour 
 agement his letters gave, still I could hope. But now, the 
 last staff of consolation was plucked from under me. What 
 availed it, that I had myself shaken off the chains, which 
 were still hanging, and perhaps with a weight so much the 
 heavier, to the friend of my heart, to the wife of my bosom, 
 to the dear, dear infant, the child of my love ? The curse 
 of tyranny indeed is multifold ; nay, infinite ! It blasted 
 me across the broad Atlantic ; and when I thought of Gassy 
 and my boy, I shrunk and trembled as if again the irons 
 were upon me, and the bloody lash cracking about my 
 head ! Almighty God ! why hast thou created beings 
 capable of so much misery ! 
 
 I recovered slowly from the shock, which at first had 
 quite unmanned me. But though I regained some degree 
 of composure, it was in vain that I courted any thing like 
 enjoyment. A worm was gnawing at my heart which 
 would not be appeased. Never was there a bosom more 
 inclined than mine to the gentle pleasures of domestic life. 
 But I found only torture in the recollection that I was a 
 husband and a father. Oh, had my wife and my dear boy 
 been with me, in what a sweet retirement I could have 
 spent my days, ever finding a new relish for present bliss in 
 the recollection of ills endured, and miseries escaped ! 
 
 The sense of loneliness which oppressed me, an<J the 
 bitter thoughts and hateful images that were ever crowding 
 on my mind, made my life an irksome burden, and drove 
 me to seek relief in the excitements of travel. I visited 
 every country in Europe, and sought occupation and amuse 
 ment in examining their scheme of society, and studying 
 their laws and manners. I traversed Turkey and the 
 regions of the East, once the seats of art and opulence, but 
 long since ruined by the heavy hand of tyranny, and the 
 ever renewed extortions of military pillage. I crossed the 
 Persian deserts, and saw in India a new and better civiliza 
 tion slowly rising upon the ruins of the old. 
 
 The interest I felt in the oppressed and unfortunate race, 
 with which, upon the mother s side I am connected, carried 
 me again across the ocean. I have climbed the lofty crests of 
 the Andes, and wandered among the flowery forests of Brazil 
 10* 
 
114 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Every where I have seen the hateful empire of aristo 
 cratic usurpation, lording it with a high hand, over the lives, 
 the liberty, and the happiness of men. But every where, 
 or almost every where, 1 have seen the bondsmen beginninc 
 io forget the base lore of traditionary subserviency, and 
 already feeling the impulses, and lisping in the language of 
 freedom. I have seen it every where ; every where, ex 
 cept in my native America. 
 
 There are slaves in many other countries ; but no where 
 else is oppression so heartless and unrelenting. No where 
 else, has tyranny ever assumed a shape so fiendish. No 
 where else is it, of all the world beside, the open aim of 
 the laws, and the professed purpose of the masters, to blot 
 out the intellects of half the population, and to extinguish 
 at once and forever, both the capacity and the hope of 
 freedom. 
 
 In catholic Brazil, in the Spanish islands, where one 
 might expect to find tyranny aggravated by ignorance and 
 superstition, the slave is still regarded as a man, and as en 
 titled to something of human sympathies. He may kneel 
 at the altar by his master s side ; and he may hear the 
 catholic priest proclaiming boldly from his pulpit, the sacred 
 truth that all men are equal. He may find consolation and 
 support in the hope of one day becoming a freeman. He 
 may purchase his liberty with money ; if barbarously and 
 unreasonably punished, he may demand it as his legal right ; 
 he may expect it from the gratitude or the generosity of his 
 master; or from the conscience-stricken dictates of his 
 priest-attended deathbed. When he becomes a freeman, 
 he has a freeman s rights, and enjoys a real and practical 
 equality, at the mere mention of which, the prating and 
 prejudiced Americans are filled with creeping horror, and 
 passionate indignation. 
 
 Slavery, in those countries, by the force of causes now 
 in operation, is fast approaching to its end ; and let the Afri 
 can slave-trade be once totally abolished, and before the 
 expiration of half a century, there will not a slave be found 
 in either Spanish or Portuguese America. 
 
 It is in the United States alone, that country so apt to 
 claim a monopoly of freedom, that the spirit of tyranny still 
 
ARCHY MOORE. 115 
 
 soars boldly triumphant, and disdains even the most distant 
 thought of limitation. Here alone, of all the world beside, 
 oppression riots unchecked by fear of God, or sympathy 
 for man. 
 
 To add the last security to despotism, the American 
 slave-holders, while they fiercely refuse to relinquish the 
 least tittle of their whip-wielding authority, have deprived 
 themselves, by special statute, of the power of emancipa 
 tion, and have thus artfully and industriously closed up the 
 last loop-hole, through which Hope might look in upon 
 their victims ! 
 
 And thou my child ! These are the mercies to which 
 thy youth is delivered over ! Perhaps already the spirit of 
 manhood is extinguished within thee ; already perhaps the 
 frost of servitude has nipped thy budding soul, and left it 
 blasted , worthless. 
 
 No! oh no! It ought not, must not, cannot, shall 
 not be so ! Child ! thou hast yet a father ; one who 
 has not forgotten, and who will not forsake thee. Thy 
 need is great and great shall be his efforts ; that love is 
 little worth which disappointment tires, or danger daunts. 
 
 Yes ; I have resolved it. I will revisit America, and 
 through the length and the breadth of the land, I will search 
 out my child. I will snatch him from the oppressor s grasp, 
 or perish in the attempt. Should I be recognized and 
 seized ? It is not in vain that I have read the history of 
 the Romans ; I know a way to disappoint the tyrants ; 
 the guilt be on their heads ! I cannot be a slave the sec 
 ond time. 
 
 FINIS. 
 

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