I stopped and looked up at Father, expecting him to reach forward for the book. But he merely nodded for me to go on, and so I obeyed.
WITNESS: Mr. D. Judd, jailor, Davidson Co., Tenn., in the “Nashville Banner” Dec. 10,1838. TESTIMONY: “Committed to jail as a runaway, a negro woman named Martha, 17 or 18 years of age, has numerous scars of the whip on her back.”
WITNESS: Mr. Robert Nicoll, Dauphin St., between Emmanuel and Conception Sts., Mobile, Ala., in the “Mobile Commercial Advertiser” Oct. 30,1838. TESTIMONY: “Ten dollars reward for my woman Siby, very much scarred about the neck and ears by whipping.”
WITNESS: Mr. Bryant Johnson, Fort Valley, Houston Co., Ga., in the “Standard of Union” Milledgeville, Ga., Oct. 2,1838. TESTIMONY: “Ranaway, a negro woman named Maria, some scars on her back occasioned by the whip.”
WITNESS: Mr. James T. De Jarnett, Vernon, Autauga Co., Ala., in the “Pensacola Gazette,” July 14,1838. TESTIMONY: “Stolen, a negro woman named Celia. On examining her back you will find marks caused by the whip.”
WITNESS: Maurice Y. Garcia, sheriff of the County of Jefferson, La., in the “New Orleans Bee,” Aug. 14,1838. TESTIMONY: “Lodged in jail, a mulatto boy having large marks of the whip on his shoulders and other parts of his body.”
WITNESS: R. J. Bland, sheriff of Claiborne Co., Miss., in the “Charleston (S.C.) Courier,” Aug. 28,1838. TESTIMONY: “Was committed to jail, a negro boy named Tom; is much marked with the whip.”
WITNESS: Mr. James Noe, Red River Landing, La., in the “Sentinel” Vicksburg, Miss., Aug. 22,1838. TESTIMONY: “Ranaway, a negro fellow named Dick — has many scars on his back from being whipped”
WITNESS: William Craze, jailor, Alexandria, La., in the “Planter’s Intelligencer,” Sept. 21,1838. TESTIMONY: “Committed to jail, a negro slave — his back is very badly scarred.”
WITNESS: James A. Rowland, jailor, Lumberton, N.C., in the “Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer” June 20,1838. TESTIMONY: “Committed, a mulatto fellow-his back shows lasting impressions of the whip and leaves no doubt of his being a slave.”
WITNESS: J. K. Roberts, sheriff, Blount Co., Ala., in the “Huntsville Democrat” Dec. 9,1838. TESTIMONY: “Committed to jail, a negro man — his back much marked by the whip.”
WITNESS: Mr. H. Varillat, No. 23 Girod St., New Orleans, La., in the “Commercial Bulletin,” Aug. 27,1838. TESTIMONY: “Ranaway, the negro slave named Jupiter — has a fresh mark of a cowskin on one of his cheeks.”
WITNESS: Mr. Cornelius D. Tolin, Augusta, Ga., in the “Chronicle Sentinel,” Oct. 18,1838. TESTIMONY: “Ranaway, a negro man named Johnson-has a great many marks of the whip on his hack.”
Here, with trembling hand, I delivered the book across to Father, who throughout had sat peering somberly into the fire that blazed in the great open fireplace. He brought the book near to his face, as he customarily did, and in his reedy voice continued where I had left off.
The slaves are often branded with hot irons, pursued with firearms and shot, hunted with dogs and torn by them, shockingly maimed with knives, dirks,&C.;have their ears cut off, their eyes knocked out, their hones dislocated and broken with bludgeons, their fingers and toes cut off, their faces and other parts of their persons disfigured with scars and gashes, besides those made with the lash.
We shall adopt, under this head, the same course as that pursued under previous ones — first give the testimony of the slaveholders themselves to the mutilations &c, by copying their own graphic descriptions of them in advertisements published under their own names and in newspapers published in the slave states and, generally, in their own immediate vicinity. We shall, as heretofore, insert only so much of each advertisement as will be necessary to make the point intelligible.
Father ceased to read, and we five sat for a moment in silence. All the younger children were long asleep in the rooms above. Then Father passed the book, still open at the page where he had left off, over to me, and falling into the antique manner of speech that he sometimes used, especially when overcome by emotion, he said, “Owen, thou hast still at times the voice of a child. Read these words, so that we may better hear in thy innocent voice their terrible, indicting evil.”
Not fully understanding, I nonetheless obeyed, and read on.
WITNESS: Mr. Micajah Kicks, Nash Co., N.C., in the Raleigh “Standard,” July 18,1838. TESTIMONY: “Ranaway, a negro woman and two children; a few days before she went off, I burnt her with a hot iron on the left side of her face; I tried to make the letter M.”
WITNESS: Mr. Asa B. Metcalf Adams Co., Miss., in the “Natchez Courier” June 15,1832. TESTIMONY: “Ranaway, Mary, a black woman; has a scar on her back and right arm near the shoulder, caused by a rifle ball!’
WITNESS: Mr. William Overstreet, Benton, Yazoo Co., Miss., in the “Lexington (Kentucky) Observer,” July 22,1838. TESTIMONY: “Ranaway,a negro man named Henry, his left eye out, some scars from a dirk on and under his left arm, and much scarred with the whip.”