life and times of frederick douglass sample

8/9/2019 Life and Times of Frederick Douglass Sample

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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF

FREDERICK DOUGLASS


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C O P Y R I G H T E D B Y

PARK PUBLISHING Co.,

1881.


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LIFE AND TIMES OF

FREDERICK DOUGLASS

BY

FREDERICK DOUGLASS

As Published in 1882

All rights reserved, which include the right to reproduce this book

or portions thereof in any form except provided by U.S. Copyright

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CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

AUTHORS BIRTH.

Authors place of birth Description of country Its inhabit-ants Genealogical trees Method of counting time in slave

districts Date of authors birth Names of grandparents Their cabin Home with them Slave practice of separatingmothers from their children Authors recollections of hismother Who was his father? 25

CHAPTER II.

REMOVAL FROM GRANDMOTHERS.

Authors early home Its charms Authors ignorance of oldmaster His gradual perception of the truth concerninghim His relations to Col. Edward Lloyd Authors removal to

old masters home His journey thence His separation fromhis grandmother His grief 29

CHAPTER III.

TROUBLES OF CHILDHOOD.

Col. Lloyds plantation Aunt Katy Her cruelty and ill-nature Capt. Anthonys partiality to Aunt Katy Allowance of food

Authors hunger Unexpected rescue by his mother The re-proof of Aunt Katy Sleep A slave-mothers love Authorsinheritance His mothers acquirements Her death. 34

A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE SLAVE PLANTATION.

Home plantation of Colonel Lloyd Its isolation Its industries The slave rule Power of overseers Author finds some enjoy-

CHAPTER IV.


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6 CONTENTS.

ment Natural scenery Sloop Sally Lloyd Wind-mill

Slave quarter Old masters houseStables, store-houses,etc. etc. The great house Its surroundings Lloyd Burial-place Superstition of Slaves Colonel Lloyds wealth Negropoliteness Doctor Copper Captain Anthony His family

Master Daniel Lloyd His brothers Social etiquette. 40

Increasing acquaintance with old master Evils of unresistedpassion Apparent tenderness A man of trouble Custom ofmuttering to himself Brutal outrage A drunken overseer

Slaveholders impatience Wisdom of appeal A base andselfish attempt to break up a courtship. 50

The authors early reflections on Slavery Aunt Jennie and Uncle

Noah Presentiment of one day becoming a freeman Conflictbetween an overseer and a slave woman Advantage of resist-ance Death of an overseer Col. Lloyds plantation home Monthly distribution of food Singing of Slaves An espla-nation The slaves food and clothingNaked Children Lifein the quarter Sleeping-places not beds Deprivation of sleep Care of nursing babies Ash cake Contrast. 56

Contrasts Great House luxuries Its hospitality Entertain-ments Fault-finding Shameful humiliation of an old andfaithful coachman William Wilks Curious incident Ex-pressed satisfaction not always genuine Reasons for suppress-ing the truth. 65

Austin Gore Sketch of his character Overseers as a class Their peculiar characteristics The marked individuality of

CHARACTERISTICS OF OVERSEERS.

CHAPTER VIII.

LUXURIES AT THE GREAT HOUSE.

CHAPTER VII.

A CHILDS REASONING.

CHAPTER VI.

A SLAVEHOLDERS CHARACTER.

CHAPTER V.


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CONTENTS. 7

Austin Gore His sense of duty Murder of poor Denby Sen-

sation How Gore made his peace with Col. Lloyd Otherhorrible murders No laws for the protection of slaves possibleof being enforced. 75

CHAPTER IX.

CHANGE OF LOCATION.

Miss Lucretia Her kindness How it was manifested Ike A battle with him Miss Lucretias balsam Bread How it wasobtained Gleams of sunset amidst the general darkness Suffering from cold How we took our meal mush Prepara-tions for going to Baltimore Delight at the change CousinToms opinion of Baltimore Arrival there Kind reception Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Auld Their son Tommy My relations to

them My duties A turning-point in my life. 83

CHAPTER X.

LEARNING TO READ.

City annoyances Plantation regrets My mistress Her history Her kindness My master His sourness My comforts In-creased sensitiveness My occupation Learning to read Bane-ful effects of slaveholding on my dear, good mistress Mr.Hugh forbids Mrs. Sophia to teach me further Clouds gatheron my bright prospects Master Aulds exposition of the Phi-losophy of Slavery City slaves Country slaves Contrasts Exceptions Mr. Hamiltons two slaves Mrs. Hamiltons crueltreatment of them Piteous aspect presented by them No power

to come between the slave and slaveholder. 91

CHAPTER XI.

GROWING IN KNOWLEDGE.

My mistress Her slaveholding duties Their effects on her origi-nally noble nature The conflict in her mind She opposes mylearning to read Too late She had given me the inch, I wasresolved to take the ell How I pursued my study to read My tutorsWhat progress I made Slavery What I heardsaid about it Thirteen years old Columbian orator Dia-logue Speeches Sheridan Pitt Lords Chatham and Fox Knowledge increasing Liberty SingingSadness Unhappi-


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8 CONTENTS.

ness of Mrs. SophiaMy hatred of slaveryOne Upas tree

overshadaws us all. 99

CHAPTER XII.

RELIGIOUS NATURE AWAKENED.

Abolitionists spoken of Eagerness to know the meaning ofword Consults the dictionary Incendiary information Theenigma solved Nat Turner insurrection Cholera Relig-ion Methodist minister Religious impressions Father Law-son His character and occupation His influence over me Our mutual attachment New hopes and aspirations Heavenlylight Two Irishmen on wharf Conversation with them Learning to write My aims. 108

CHAPTER XIII.

THE VICISSITUDES OF SLAVE LIFE.

Death of old Masters son Richard, speedily followed by that ofold Master Valuation and division of all the property, includ-ing the slaves Sent for to come to Hillsborough to be valuedand divided Sad prospects and grief PartingSlaves have no

voice in deciding their own destinies General dread of fallinginto Master Andrews hands His drunkenness Good fortune infalling to Miss Lucretia She allows my return to Baltimore Joy at Master Hughs Death of Miss Lucretia Master ThomasAulds second marriage The new wife unlike the old Againremoved from Master Hughs Reasons for regret Plan ofescape. 116

CHAPTER XIV.

EXPERIENCE IN ST. MICHAELS.

St. Michaels and its inhabitants Capt. Auld His new wife Sufferings from hunger Forced to steal Argument in vindica-tion thereof Southern camp-meeting What Capt. Auld didthereHopesSuspicions The result Faith and works atvariance Position in the churchPoor Cousin Henny Metho-dist preachers Their disregard of the slaves One exception Sabbath-school How and by whom broken up Sad change inmy prospects Covey, the negro-breaker. 126


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CONTENTS. 9

CHAPTER XV.COVEY, THE NEGRO BREAKER.

Journey to Coveys Meditations by the way Coveys house Family Awkwardness as a field hand A cruel beating Whygiven Description of Covey First attempt at driving oxen Hair-breadth escape Ox and man alike property Hard labormore effective than the whip for breaking down the spirit Cunning and trickery of Covey Family worship Shockingand indecent contempt for chastity Great mental agitation

Anguish beyond description. 140

CHAPTER XVI.

ANOTHER PRESSURE OF THE TYRANTS VISE.

Experience at Coveys summed up First six months severerthan the remaining six Preliminaries to the change Reasonsfor narrating the circumstances Scene in the treading-yard Author taken ill Escapes to St. Michaels The pursuit Suffer-ing in the woods Talk with Master Thomas His beating Driven back to Coveys The slaves never sick Natural to

expect them to feign sickness Laziness of slaveholders. 155

CHAPTER XVII.

THE LAST FLOGGING.

A sleepless night Return to Coveys Punished by him Thechase defeated Vengeance postponed Musings in the woods The alternative Deplorable spectacle Night in the woods Expected attack Accosted by Sandy A friend, not a master Sandys hospitality The ash-cake supper Interview withSandy His advice Sandy a conjuror as well as a Christian The magic root Strange meeting with Covey His manner

Coveys Sunday face Authors defensive resolve The fight The victory, and its results. 164

CHAPTER XVIII.

NEW RELATIONS AND DUTIES.Change of masters Benefits derived by change Fame of the

fight with Covey Reckless unconcern Authors abhorrence ofslavery Ability to read a cause of prejudice The holidays


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10 CONTENTS.

How spent Sharp hit at slavery Effects of holidays Differ-

ence between Covey and Freeland An irreligious masterpreferred to a religious one Hard life at Coveys useful to theauthor Improved condition does not bring contentment Con-genial society at Freelands Authors Sabbath-school Secrecynecessary Affectionate relations of tutor and pupils Confi-dence and friendship among slaves Slavery the inviter ofvengeance. 179

CHAPTER XIX.

THE RUNAWAY PLOT.New Years thoughts and meditations Again hired by Freeland

Kindness no compensation for slavery Incipient steps towardescape Considerations leading thereto Hostility to slavery Solemn vow taken Plan divulged to slaves Columbian oratoragain Scheme gains favor Danger of discovery Skill of

slaveholders Suspicion and coercion Hymns with doublemeaningConsultation Pass-word Hope and fearIgnoranceof Geography Imaginary difficulties Patrick Henry Sandy

a dreamer Route to the north mapped out Objections Frauds Passes Anxieties Fear of failure Strange presentiment Coincidence Betrayal Arrests Resistance Mrs. Freeland Prison Brutal Jests Passes eaten Denial Sandy Draggedbehind horses Slave traders Alone in prison Sent to Balti-

more. 191

CHAPTER XX.

APPRENTICESHIP LIFE.

Nothing lost in my attempt to run away Comrades at home Reasons for sending me away eturn to Baltimore Tommychanged Caulking in Gardiners ship yard Desperate fight

Its causes Conflict between white and black labor Outrage Testimony Master Hugh Slavery in Baltimore My condi-tion improves New associations Slaveholders right to the

slaves wages How to make a discontented slave. 219

CHAPTER XXI.

ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY.

Closing incidents in my Life as a Slave Discontent Suspi-cions Masters generosity Difficulties in the way of escape


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CONTENTS. 11

Plan to obtain money Allowed to hire my time A gleam of

hope Attend camp-meeting Anger of Master Hugh Theresult Plans of escape Day for departure fixed Harassingdoubts and fears-Painful thoughts of separation from friends. 233

SECOND PART.

CHAPTER I.

ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY.

Reasons for not having revealed the manner of escape Nothingof romance in the method Danger Free papersUnjust tax

Protection papers Free trade and sailors rights Americaneagle Railroad train Unobserving conductor Capt. Mc-Gowan Honest German Fears Safe arrival in Philadelphia Ditto in New York. 242

CHAPTER II.

LIFE AS A FREEMAN.

Loneliness and insecurity Allenders JakeSuccored by a

sailor David Ruggles Marriage Steamer J. W. Richmond Stage to New Bedford Arrival there Drivers detention ofbaggage Nathan Johnson Change of name Why calledDouglass Obtaining Work The Liberator and its Editor. 250

CHAPTER III.

INTRODUCED TO THE ABOLITIONISTS.

Anti-Slavery Convention at Nantucket First Speech Much Sen-

sation Extraordinary Speech of Mr. Garrison Anti-SlaveryAgency Youthful Enthusiasm Fugitive Slaveship Doubted Experience in slavery written Danger of Recapture. 266


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12 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.RECOLLECTIONS OF OLD FRIENDS.

Work in Rhode Island Dorr War Recollections of old friends Further labors in Rhode Island and elsewhere in New Eng-land. 272

CHAPTER V.

ONE HUNDRED CONVENTIONS.

Anti-Slavery Conventions held in parts of New England, and insome of the Middle and Western States Mobs Incidents, etc. 280

CHAPTER VI.

IMPRESSIONS ABROAD.

Danger to be averted A refuge sought abroad Voyage on thesteamship Cambria Refusal of first-class passage Attractionsof the fore-castle deck Hutchinson family Invited to make aspeech Southerners feel insulted Captain threatens to putthem in irons Experiences abroad Attentions received Im-pressions of different members of Parliament, and of other publicmen Contrast with life in America Kindness of friends Their purchase of my person, and the gift of the same to my-self My return. 289

CHAPTER VII.

TRIUMPHS AND TRIALS.

New Experiences Painful Disagreement of Opinion with oldFriends Final Decision to publish my Paper in Rochester Its Fortunes and its Friends Change in my own Views Re-garding the Constitution of the United States Fidelity to

Conviction Loss of Old Friends Support of New Ones Lossof House, etc., by Fire Triumphs and Trials UndergroundRailroad Incidents 320

CHAPTER VIII.

JOHN BROWN AND MRS. STOWE.My First Meeting with Capt. John Brown The Free Soil Move-

ment Colored Convention Uncle Toms Cabin IndustrialSchool for Colored People Letter to Mrs. H. B. Stowe. 337


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CONTENTS. 13

CHAPTER IX.INCREASING DEMANDS OF THE SLAVE POWER.

Increased demands of slavery War in Kansas John Brownsraid His capture and execution My escape to England from

United States marshals. 36 0

CHAPTER X.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END.

My connection with John Brown To and from England Presi-dential contest Election of Abraham Lincoln. 383

CHAPTER XI.

SECESSION AND WAR

Recruiting of the 54th and 55th Colored Regiments Visit toPresident Lincoln and Secretary Stanton Promised a Commis-sion as Adjutant-General to General Thomas Disappointment 408

CHAPTER XII.

HOPE FOR THE NATION.

Proclamation of emancipation Its reception in Boston Objec-tions brought against it Its effect on the country Interviewwith President Lincoln New York riots Re-election of Mr.Lincoln His inauguration, and inauguralVice-PresidentJohnson Presidential reception The fall of Richmond

Fanueil Hall The assassination Condolence 426

CHAPTER XIII.

VAST CHANGES.

Satisfaction and anxiety, new fields of labor opening Lyceumsand colleges soliciting addresses Literary attractions Pecu-niary gain Still pleading for human rightsPresident Andy

Johnson Colored delegation Their reply to him National

Loyalist Convention, 1866, and its procession Not wanted Meeting with an old friend Joy and surprise The old masterswelcome, and Miss Amandas friendship Enfranchisementdebated and accomplished The negro a citizen 453


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14 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIV.

LIVING AND LEARNING,

Inducement to a political career Objections A newspaper en-terprise The New National Era Its abandonment TheFreedmans Saving and Trust Company Sad experience Vindication. 484

CHAPTER XV.

WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE.

The Santo Domingo controversy Decoration Day at Arlington,1871 Speech delivered there National colored convention atNew Orleans, 1872 Elector at large for the State of New York Death of Hon. Henry Wilson 494

CHAPTER XVI.

TIME MAKES ALL THINGS EVEN.

Return to old master A last interview Capt. Aulds admis-sion had I been in your place, I should have done as you

did Speech at Easton The old jail there Invited to a sailon the revenue cutter Guthrie Hon. John L. Thomas Visitto the old plantation Home of Col. LloydKind reception andattentions Familiar scenes Old memories Burial-ground-Hospitality Gracious reception from Mrs. Buchanan A littlegirls floral gift A promise of a good time coming Speechat Harpers Ferry, Decoration day, 1881 Storer College Hon.

A. J. Hunter 533

CHAPTER XVII.INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.

Hon. Gerrit Smith and Mr. E. C. Delevan Experiences at Hotelsand on Steamboats and other modes of travel Hon. EdwardMarshall Grace Greenwood Hon. Moses Norris Robert J.Ingersoll Reflections and conclusions Compensations 551

CHAPTER XVIII.

HONOR TO WHOM HONOR.Grateful recognition Friends in need Lucretia Mott Lydia

Maria Child Sarah and Angelina Grimke Abby Kelley H.Beecher Stowe Other Friends Woman Suffrage 566


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CHAPTER XIX.RETROSPECTION.

Meeting of colored citizens in Washington to express their sym-pathy at the great national bereavement, the death of President

Garfield Concluding reflections and conviction 577

APPENDIX.

Oration at the unveiling of the Freedmens monument, at Lin-coln Park, Washington, D. C., April 14, 1876 Extract from aspeech delivered at Elmira, N. Y., August 1, 1880 584


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P ORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR ON ST E E L,

T HE LAST TIME HE SAW HIS M OTHER,

W HIPPING OF OLD B A R N E Y,

GORE SHOOTING DENBY,

M R S. AULD TEACHING HIM TO READ,

FOUND IN THE WOODS BY SANDY ,

D RIVEN TO JAIL FOR RUNNING AWAY ,

H IS PRESENT HOME IN W ASHINGTON ,

AT THE WHARF IN N E W P O R T ,

FIGHTING THE MOB IN INDIANA ,

P ORTRAIT OF JOHN B R O W N,PORTRAIT OF W M. LLOYD GARRISON ,

P ORTRAIT OF W ENDELL P HILLIPS ,

PORTRAIT OF CHARLES SUMNER,

COMMISSIONERS TO SANTO DOMINGO,

MARSHAL AT PRESIDENT GARFIELD S INAUGURATION ,

RE V I S I T S H I S O L D H O M E,

PORTRAIT OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN ON STEEL ,

P A G E .

Face title.

36

70

7994

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254

285

335403

461

497

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545

599


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INTRODUCTION.

J UST what this country has in store to benefit or to startle theworld in the future, no tongue can tell. We know full well thewonderful things which have occurred or have been accomplished

here in the past, but the still more wonderful things which we may

well say will happen in the centuries of development which lie be-

fore us, is vain conjecture; it lies in the domain of speculation.

America will be the field for the demonstration of truths not now

accepted and the establishment of a new and higher civilization.

Horace Walpoles prophecy will be verified when there shall be a

Xenophon at New York and a Thucydides at Boston. Up to thistime the most remarkable contribution this country has given to the

world is the Author and subject of this book, now being introduced

to the publicFrederick Douglass. The contribution comes natu-

rally and legitimately and to some not unexpectedly, nevertheless it

is altogether unique and must be regarded as truly remarkable.

Our Pantheon contains many that are illustrious and worthy, but

Douglass is unlike all others, he is sui generis. For every other

great character we can bring forward, Europe can produce another

equally as great; when we bring forward Douglass, he cannot bematched.

Douglass was born a slave, he won his liberty; he is of negro

extraction, and consequently was despised and outraged; he has by

his own energy and force of character commanded the respect of

the Nation; he was ignorant, he has, against law and by stealth

and entirely unaided, educated himself; he was poor, he has by

honest toil and industry become rich and independent, so to speak;

he, a chattel slave of a hated and cruelly wronged race, in the teeth

of American prejudice and in face of nearly every kind of hindrance

and draw-back, has come to be one of the foremost orators of the

age, with a reputation established on both sides of the Atlantic; a

writer of power and elegance of expression; a thinker whose views

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18 INTRODUCTION.

are potent in controlling and shaping public opinion; a high officer

in the National Government; a cultivated gentleman whose virtuesas a husband, father, and citizen are the highest honor a man can

have.

Frederick Douglass stands upon a pedestal; he has reached this

lofty height through years of toil and strife, but it has been the

strife of moral ideas; strife in the battle for human rights. No

bitter memories come from this strife; no feelings of remorse can

rise to cast their gloomy shadows over his soul; Douglass has now

reached and passed the meridian of life, his co-laborers in the strife

have now nearly all passed away. Garrison has gone, Gerritt Smithhas gone, Giddings and Sumner have gone,nearly all the abolition-ists are gone to their reward. The culmination of his life work has

been reached; the object dear to his heartthe Emancipation of the

slaveshad been accomplished, through the blessings of God; he

stands facing the goal, already reached by his co-laborers, with a

halo of peace about him, and nothing but serenity and gratitude

must fill his breast. To those, who in the pastin ante-bellum days

in any degree shared with Douglass his hopes and feelings on the

slavery question, this serenity of mind, this gratitude, can be under-stood and felt. All Americans, no matter what may have been their

views on slavery, now that freedom has come and slavery is ended,

must have a restful feeling and be glad that the source of bitterness

and trouble is removed. The man who is sorry because of the

abolition of slavery, has outlived his day and generation; he should

have insisted upon being buried with the lost cause at Appo-

matox.

We rejoice that Douglass has attained unto this exalted position

this pedestal. It has been honorably reached; it is a just recogni-

tion of talent and effort; it is another proof that success attends

high and noble aim. With this example, the black boy as well as

the white boy can take hope and courage in the race of life.

Douglass life has been a romanceand a fragranceto the age.

There has been just enough mystery about his origin and escape

from slavery to throw a charm about them. The odd proceedings

in the purchase of his freedom after his escape from slavery; his

movements in connection with the John Brown raid at Harpers

Ferry and his subsequent flight across the ocean are romantic as

anything which took place among the crags and the cliffs, theRoderick Dhus and Douglasses of the Lady of the Lake; while the

pure life he has led and his spotless character are sweet by contrast


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INTRODUCTION. 1 9

with the lives of mere politicians and time-serving statesmen. It

is well to contemplate one like him, who has had hair-breadthescapes. It is inspiring to know that the day of self-sacrifice and

self-development are not passed.

To say that his life has been eventful, is hardly the word. From

the time when he first saw the light on the Tuckahoe plantation up

to the time he was called to fill a high official position, his life has

been crowded with events which in some sense may be called mira-

cles, and now since his autobiography has come to be written, we

must understand the hour of retrospect has comefor casting up

and balancing accounts as to work done or left undone.It is more than forty years now that he has been before the world

as a writer and speakerbusy, active, wonderful years to himand

we are called upon to pass judgment upon his labors. What can

we say? Can he claim the well done good and faithful? The

record shows this, and we must state it, generally speaking, his life

had been devoted to his race and the cause of his race. The free-

dom and elevation of his people has been his life work, and it has

been done well and faithfully. That is the record, and that is suffi-

cient. No higher eulogium can be pronounced than that Long-fellow says of the Village Blacksmith:

Something attempted, something done,Has earned a nights repose.

Douglass found his people enslaved and oppressed. He has given

the best years of his life to the improvement of their condition, and,

now that he looks back upon his labors, may he not say he has

attempted and done something? and may he not claim the

repose which ought to come in the evening of a well spent

life?The first twenty-three years of Douglass life were twenty-three

years of slavery, obscurity, and degradation, yet doubtless in time

to come these years will be regarded by the student of history the

most interesting portion of his life; to those who in the future

would know the inside history of American slavery, this part of his

life will be specially instructive. Plantation life at Tuckahoe as

related by him is not fiction, it is fact; it is not the historians dis-

sertation on slavery, it is slavery itself, the slaves life, acts, and

thoughts, and the life, acts, and thoughts of those around him. It

is Macauley (I think) who says that a copy of a daily newspaper

[if there were such] published at Rome would give more informa-

tion and be of more value than any history we have. So, too, this


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20 INTRODUCTION.

photographic view of slave life as given to us in the autobiography

of an ex-slave will give to the reader a clearer insight of the systemof slavery than can be gained from the examination of general history.

Col. Lloyds plantation, where Douglass belonged, was very much

like other plantations of the south. Here was the great house and

the cabins, the old Aunties, and patriarchal Uncles, little picannin-

ies and picanninies not so little, of every shade of complexion, from

ebony black to whiteness of the master race; mules, overseers, and

broken down fences. Here was the negro Doctor learned in the

science of roots and herbs; also the black conjurer with his divina-

tion. Here was slave-breeding and slave-selling, whipping, tortur-ing and beating to death. All this came under the observation of

Douglass and is a part of the education he received while under the

yoke of bondage. He was there in the midst of this confusion,

ignorance, and brutality. Little did the overseer on this plantation

think that he had in his gang a man of superior order and un-

daunted spirit, whose mind, far above the minds of the grovelling

creatures about him, was at that very time plotting schemes for his

liberty; nor did the thought ever enter the mind of Col. Lloyd,

the rich slaveholder, that he had upon his estate one who was des-tined to assail the system of slavery with more power and effect

than any other person.

Douglass fame will rest mainly, no doubt, upon his oratory.

His powers in this direction are very great, and, in some respects,

unparalleled by our living speakers. His oratory is his own, and

apparently formed after the model of no single person. It is not

after the Edmund Burke style, which has been so closely followed

by Everett, Sumner, and others, and which has resulted in giving

us splendid and highly embellished essays rather than natural and

not overwrought speeches. If his oratory must be classified, it

should be placed somewhere between the Fox and Henry Clay

schools. Like Clay, Douglass greatest effect is upon his immediate

hearers, those who see him and feel his presence, and, like Clay, a

good part of his oratorical fame will be tradition. The most strik-

ing feature of Douglass oratory is his fire, not the quick andflashy kind, but the steady and intense kind. Years ago, on the

anti-slavery platform, in some sudden and unbidden outburst of

passion and indignation, he has been known to awe-inspire his lis-

teners as though tna were there.If oratory consists of the power to move men by spoken words,

Douglass is a complete orator. He can make men laugh or cry, at


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INTRODUCTION. 21

his will. He has power of statement, logic, withering denuncia-

tion, pathos, humor, and inimitable wit. Daniel Webster, with hisimmense intellectuality, had no humor, not a particle. It does not

appear that he could even see the point of a joke. Douglass is

brim full of humor, at times, of the dryest kind. It is of a quiet

kind. You can see it coming a long way off in a peculiar twitch of

his mouth. It increases and broadens gradually until it becomes

irresistible and all-pervading with his audience.

Douglass rank as a writer is high, and justly so. His writings,

if anything, are more meritorious than his speaking. For many

years he was the editor of newspapers, doing all of the editorialwork. He has contributed largely to magazines. He is a forcible

and thoughtful writer. His style is pure and graceful, and he has

great felicity of expression. His written productions, in finish,

compare favorably with the written productions of our most culti-

vated writers. His style comes partly, no doubt, from his long and

constant practice, but the true source is his clear mind, which is

well stored by a close acquaintance with the best authors. His

range of reading has been wide and extensive. He has been a hard

student. In every sense of the word, he is a self-made man. Bydint of hard study he has educated himself, and to-day it may be

said he has a well-trained intellect. He has surmounted the disad-

vantage of not having a university education, by application and

well-directed effort. He seems to have realized the fact, that to

one who is anxious to become educated and is really in earnest, it is

not positively necessary to go to college, and that information may

be had outside of college walks; books may be obtained and read

elsewhere. They are not chained to desks in college libraries, as

they were in early times at Oxford. Professors lectures may bebought already printed, learned doctors may be listened to in the

lyceum, and the printing-press has made it easy and cheap to get

information on every subject and topic that is discussed and taught

in the university. Douglass never made the mistake (a common

one) of considering that his education was finished. He has con-

tinued to study, he studies now, and is a growing man, and at this

present moment he is a stronger man intellectually than ever

before.

Soon after Douglass escape from Maryland to the Northern

States, he commenced his public career. It was at New Bedford,

as a local Methodist preacher, and by taking part in small public

meetings held by colored people, wherein anti-slavery and other


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22 INTRODUCTION.

matters were discussed. There he laid the foundation of the splen-

did career which is now about drawing to a close. In these meet-ings Douglass gave evidence that he possessed uncommon powers,

and it was plainly to be seen that he needed only a field and oppor-

tunity to display them. That field and opportunity soon came, as

it always does to possessors of genius. He became a member and

agent of the American Anti-Slavery society. Then commenced his

great crusade against slavery in behalf of his oppressed brethren at

the South.

He waged violent and unceasing war against slavery. He went

through every town and hamlet in the Free States, raising his voiceagainst the iniquitous system.

Just escaped from the prison-house himself, to tear down the

walls of the same and to let the oppressed go free was the mission

which engaged the powers of his soul and body. North, East, and

West, all through the land went this escaped slave, delivering his

warning message against the doomed cities of the South. The

ocean did not stop nor hinder him. Across the Atlantic he went,

through England, Ireland, and Scotland. Wherever people could

be found to listen to his story, he pleaded the cause of his enslavedand down-trodden brethren with vehemence and great power.

From 1840 to 1861, the time of the commencement of the civil

war, which extirpated slavery in this country, Douglass was continu-

ally speaking on the platform, writing for his newspaper and for

magazines, or working in conventions for the abolition of slavery.

The life and work of Douglass has been a complete vindication

of the colored people in this respect. It has refuted and over-

thrown the position taken by some writers, that colored people

were deficient in mental qualifications and were incapable of attain-

ing high intellectual position. We may reasonably expect to hear

no more of this now, the argument is exploded. Douglass has set-

tled the fact the right way, and it is something to settle a fact.

That Douglass is a brave man there can be little doubt. He has

physical as well as moral courage. His encounter with the over-

seer of the eastern shore plantation attests his pluck. There the

odds were against him, everything was against him. There the

unwritten rule of law was, that the negro who dared to strike awhite man must be killed; but Douglass fought the overseer and

whipped him. His plotting with other slaves to escape, writingand giving them passes, and the unequal and desperate fight main-

tained by him in the Baltimore ship yard, where law and public


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INTRODUCTION. 23

sentiment were against him, also show that he has courage. But

since the day of his slavery, while living here at the North, manyinstances have happened which show very plainly that he is a man

of courage and determination. If he had not been, he would have

long since succumbed to the brutality and violence of the low and

mean-spirited people found in the Free States.

Up to a very recent date it has been deemed quite safe, even here

in the North, to insult and impose on inoffensive colored people, to

elbow a colored man from the sidewalk, to jeer at him and apply

vile epithets to him. In some localities this has been the rule and

not the exception, and to put him out of public conveyances andpublic places by force was of common occurrence. It made little

difference that the colored man was decent, civil, and respectably

clad, and had paid his fare. If the proprietor of the place or his

patrons took the notion that the presence of the colored man was

an affront to their dignity or inconsistent with their notions of self-

respect, out he must go. Nor must he stand upon the order of his

going, but go at once. It was against this feeling that Douglass

had to contend. He met it often. He was a prominent colored

man traveling from place to place. A good part of the time hewas in strange cities, stopping at strange tavernsthat is, when he

was allowed to stop. Time and again has he been refused accom-

modation in hotels. Time and again has he been in a strange place

with nowhere to lay his head until some kind anti-slavery person

would come forward and give him shelter.

The writer of this remembers well, because he was present and

saw the transaction, the John Brown meeting in Tremont Temple,

in 1860, when a violent mob, composed of the rough element from

the slums of the city, led and encouraged by bankers and brokers,

came into the hall to break up the meeting. Douglass was presid-

ing. The mob was armed; the police were powerless; the mayor

could not or would not do anything. On came the mob, surgingthrough the aisles, over benches, and upon the platform. The

women in the audience became alarmed and fled. The hirelings

were prepared to do anything; they had the power and could with

impunity. Douglass sat upon the platform with a few chosen

spirits, cool and undaunted. The mob had got about and around

him. He did not heed their howling nor was he moved by their

threats. It was not until their leader, a rich banker, with his fol-lowers, had mounted the platform and wrenched the chair from

under him that he was dispossessed. By main force and personal


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24 INTRODUCTION.

violence (Douglass resisting all the time) they removed him from

the platform.It affords me great pleasure to introduce to the public this book,

The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. I am glad of the

opportunity to present a work which tells the story of the rise and

progress of our most celebrated colored man. To the names of

Toussaint LOverture and Alexander Dumas is to be added that of

Frederick Douglass. We point with pride to this trio of illustrious

names. I bid my follow countrymen take new hope and courage.The near future will bring us other men of worth and genius, and

our list of illustrious names will become lengthened. Until thattime the duty is to work and wait.

Respectfully,

GEORGE L. RUFFIN.


27/53

LIFE AS A SLAVE.

CHAPTER I.

AUTHORS BIRTH.

Authors place of birth Description of country Its inhabitants

Genealogical trees Method of counting time in slave districts

Date of authors birth Names of grandparents Their cabin

Home with them Slave practice of separating mothers from their

children Authors recollections of his mother Who was his

father?

IN Talbot County, Eastern Shore, State of Maryland,

near Easton, the county town, there is a small district

of country, thinly populated, and remarkable for nothing

that I know of more than for the worn-out, sandy, desert-

l i ke appea r ance o f i t s s o i l , t he gene r a l d i l ap i da t i on o f

its farms and fences, the indigent and spiritless character

of its inhabitants, and the prevalence of ague and fever.

It was in this dull, flat, and unthrifty district or neighbor-

hood, bordered by the Choptank river, among the laziest

and muddiest of streams, surrounded by a white popula-

t ion of the lowest order , indolent and drunken to a pro-

verb, and among s laves who, in point of ignorance and

indolence, were ful ly in accord with their surroundings,

that I, without any fault of my own, was born, and spent

the first years of my childhood.

T he r eade r mus t no t expec t me t o s ay much o f my

family. Genealogical trees did not flourish among slaves.

A person of some consequence in civilized society, some-

t i mes des i gna t ed a s f a t he r , was l i t e r a l l y unknown t o

2 ( 2 5 )


28/53

26 HIS GRANDMOTHER.

s l a v e l a w a n d s l a v e p r a c t i c e . I n e v e r m e t w i t h a

slave in that part of the country who could tell me with

any ce r t a i n t y how o l d he was . Few a t t ha t t i me knew

anything of the months of the year or of the days of the

m o n t h . T h e y m e a s u r e d t h e a g e s o f t h e i r c h i l d r e n b y

spring-time, winter-time, harvest-time, planting-time, and

the like. Masters allowed no questions to be put to them

by s l a ves co nc e r n i ng t he i r age s . Suc h que s t i on s w er e

regarded by the masters as evidence of an impudent curi-

I have since learned, I suppose myself to have been born

in February, 1817.

My first experience of life, as I now remember it, and I

remember it but hazily, began in the family of my grand-

mother and grandfather , Betsey and Isaac Bailey. They

wer e cons i de r ed o l d s e t t l e r s i n t he ne i ghbor hood , and

from certain circumstances I infer that my grandmother ,especially, was held in high esteem, far higher than was

the lot of most colored persons in that region. She was

a good nurse, and a capital hand at making nets used for

catching shad and her r ing, and was , wi thal , somewhat

f amous a s a f i s he r woman . I have known he r t o be i n

the water wais t deep, for hours , se ine-haul ing. She was

a gardener as well as a fisherwoman, and remarkable for

her success in keeping her seedling sweet potatoes throughthe months of winter , and eas i ly got the reputat ion of

b e i n g b o r n t o g o o d l u c k . I n p l a n t i n g - t i m e G r a n d -

mother Betsey was sent for in al l direct ions, s imply to

p lace t he seed l i ng po t a toes i n t he h i l l s o r d r i l l s ; fo r

supers t i t ion had i t that her touch was needed to make

them grow. This reputation was full of advantage to her

and her grandchildren, for a good crop, af ter her plant-

ing for the neighbors , brought her a share of the har -

vest.

osi ty. From certain events , however , the dates of which

Whether because she was too old for field service, or


29/53

HIS PARENTS. 27

because she had so faithfully discharged the duties of her

station in early life, I know not, but she enjoyed the high

privilege of living in a cabin separate from the quarters,

having only the charge of the young children and the bur-

den of her own support imposed upon her. She esteemed

i t great good for tune to l ive so, and took much comfort

i n h a v i n g t h e c h i l d r e n . T h e p r a c t i c e o f s e p a r a t i n g

mothers f rom thei r chi ldren and hi r ing them out a t d is -

tances too great to admit of their meeting, save at longintervals , was a marked feature of the cruel ty and bar-

bar i ty of the s lave system; but i t was in harmony with

the grand aim of that system, which always and every-

where sought to reduce man to a level with the brute. It

had no interest in recognizing or preserving any of the

ties that bind families together or to their homes.

s tamped upon my memory. She was tal l and f inely pro-

My grandmothers five daughters were hired out in this

way, and my only recollections of my own mother are ofa few hasty vis i ts made in the night on foot , af ter the

daily tasks were over, and when she was under the neces-

sity of returning in time to respond to the drivers call to

the f ield in the ear ly morning. These l i t t le gl impses of

m y m o t h e r , o b t a i n e d u n d e r s u c h c i r c u m s t a n c e s a n d

against such odds, meager as they were, are ineffaceably

port ioned, of dark, glossy complexion, with regular fea-

tures, and amongst the slaves was remarkably sedate and

d i gn i f i ed . T he r e i s , i n P r i cha r d s Na t u r a l H i s t o r y o f

Man, the head of a figure, on page 157, the features of

wh i ch s o r e s embl e my mo t he r t ha t I o f t en r ecu r t o i t

with something of the feelings which I suppose others ex-

per ience when looking upon the l ikenesses of thei r own

dear departed ones.

Of my father I know nothing. Slavery had no recog-

ni t ion of fa thers , as none of famil ies . That the mother

was a s lave was enough for i ts deadly purpose. By i ts


30/53

28 RELATIONS OF FATHER TO HIS CHILDREN.

law the chi ld fol lowed the condit ion of i ts mother . The

f a t he r mi gh t be a f r eeman and t he ch i l d a s l ave . T he

father might be a white man, glorying in the purity of his

Anglo-Saxon blood, and the child ranked with the blackest

s l aves . Fa t he r he mi gh t be , and no t be hus band , and

could sell his own child without incurring reproach, if in

its veins coursed one drop of African blood.


31/53

CHAPTER II.

REMOVAL FROM GRANDMOTHERS.

Authors early home Its charms Authors ignorance of old mas-

ter His gradual perception of the truth concerning him His

relations to Col. Edward Lloyd Authors removal to old mas-

ters home His journey thence His separation from his grand-

mother His grief.

LI V I N G thus with my grandmother, whose kindness

and love stood in place of my mothers, it was some

time before I knew myself to be a s lave. I knew many

o t h e r t h i n g s b e f o r e I k n e w t h a t . H e r l i t t l e c a b i n

had t o me t he a t t r ac t i ons o f a pa l ace . I t s f ence - r a i l ed f loorwhich was equally f loor and bedsteadup stairs ,

and its clay floor down stairs, its dirt and straw chimney,

and wi ndowl es s s i des , and t ha t mos t cu r i ous p i ece o f

workmanship, the ladder stairway, and the hole so strange-

ly dug in front of the f i re-place, beneath which grand-

mamma p l aced he r s wee t po t a t oes , t o keep t hem f r om

frost in winter, were full of interest to my childish obser-

v a t i o n . T h e s q u i r r e l s , a s t h e y s k i p p e d t h e f e n c e s ,

climbed the trees, or gathered their nuts, were an unceas-

ing del ight to me. There, too, r ight at the s ide of the

hu t , s t ood t he o l d we l l , w i t h i t s s t a t e l y and s kywar d -

pointing beam, so aptly placed between the limbs of what

had once been a tree, and so nicely balanced, that I could

move it up and down with only one hand, and could get a

drink myself without calling for help. Nor were these all

the attractions of the place. At a little distance stood

Mr. Lees mill, where the people came in large numbers

t o g e t t h e i r c o r n g r o u n d . I c a n n e v e r t e l l t h e m a n y

( 2 9 )


32/53

30 MY OLD MASTER.

things thought and felt, as I sat on the bank and watched

that mi l l , and the turning of i t s ponderous wheel . The

mi l l - pond , t oo , had i t s cha r ms ; and wi t h my p i n - hook

and thread l ine, I could get amusing nibbles i f I could

catch no f i sh .

I t was not long, however , before I began to learn the

sad fact that this house of my childhood belonged not to

my dear old grandmother , but to some one I had never

seen, and who l ived a great dis tance off . I learned, too,

the sadder fact, that not only the home and lot, but that

g r andmot he r he r s e l f and a l l t he l i t t l e ch i l d r en a r ound

her belonged to a mysterious personage, called by grand-

mot he r , w i t h eve r y mar k o f r eve r ence , Ol d M as t e r .

Thus early did clouds and shadows begin to fall upon my

p a t h .

I l e a r ned t ha t t h i s o l d mas t e r , whos e name s eemed

eve r t o be men t i oned wi t h f ea r and s hudde r i ng , on l yallowed the little children to live with grandmother for a

l imited t ime, and that as soon as they were big enough

they were promptly taken away to l ive with the said old

master . These were dis tress ing revelat ions, indeed. My

grandmother was all the world to me, and the thought of

being separated from her was a most unwelcome sugges-

t i on t o my a f f ec t i ons and hopes . T h i s mys t e r i ous o l d

m a s t e r w a s r e a l l y a m a n o f s o m e c o n s e q u e n c e . H eowned s eve r a l f a r ms i n T uckahoe , was t he ch i e f c l e r k

and butler on the home plantation of Colonel Lloyd, had

overseers as well as s laves on his own farms, and gave

directions to the overseers on the farms owned by Colonel

L l oyd . C ap t a i n Aar on An t hony , f o r s uch i s t he name

and title of my old master, lived on Colonel Lloyds plan-

tat ion, which was s i tuated on the Wye r iver , and which

was one of the largest , most fer t i le , and best appointed

i n t he S t a t e .

About this plantat ion and this old master I was most


33/53

HIS REMOVAL TO COLONEL LLOYDS. 31

e a g e r t o k n o w e v e r y t h i n g w h i c h c o u l d b e k n o w n ;

and, unhappily for me, al l the information I could get

concerning him increased my dread of being separated

f rom my grandmother and grandfather . I wished i t was

possible I could remain small al l my l ife, knowing that

the sooner I grew large the shorter would be my time to

remain wi th them. Everything about the cabin became

doubly dear, and I was sure there could be no other spot

equal to it on earth. But the time came when I must go,

a n d m y g r a n d m o t h e r , k n o w i n g m y f e a r s , i n p i t y f o r

them, kindly kept me ignorant of the dreaded moment

up to the morning (a beaut i fu l summer morning) when

we were to start; and, indeed, during the whole journey,

which, chi ld as I was, I remember as well as i f i t were

yesterday, she kept the unwelcome truth hidden from me.

The dis tance f rom Tuckahoe to Colonel Lloyds , where

my old master lived, was full twelve miles, and the walkwas qui te a severe tes t of the endurance of my young

legs. The journey would have proved too severe for me,

b u t t h a t m y d e a r o l d g r a n d m o t h e r ( b l e s s i n g s o n h e r

memory) afforded occasional rel ief by toteing me on

her shoulder. Advanced in years as she was, as was evi-

d e n t f r o m t h e m o r e t h a n o n e g r a y h a i r w h i c h p e e p e d

from between the ample and graceful folds of her newly

and smoothly- i roned bandana turban, grandmother wasyet a woman of power and spir i t . She was remarkably

straight in f igure, elas t ic and muscular in movement. I

s eemed ha r d l y t o be a bu r den t o he r . She wou l d have

toted me farther, but I felt myself too much of a man

to al low i t . Yet while I walked I was not independent

o f h e r . S h e o f t e n f o u n d m e h o l d i n g h e r s k i r t s l e s t

something should come out of the woods and eat me up.

Several old logs and s tumps imposed upon me, and got

themselves taken for enormous animals . I could plainly

s e e t h e i r l e g s , e y e s , e a r s , a n d t e e t h , t i l l I g o t c l o s e


34/53

32 HIS BROTHER AND SISTERS.

e n o u g h t o s e e t h a t t h e e y e s w e r e k n o t s , w a s h e d w h i t e

with rain, and the legs were broken l imbs, and the ears

and teeth only such because of the point from which they

were seen.

As the day advanced the heat increased, and it was not

u n t i l t h e a f t e r n o o n t h a t w e r e a c h e d t h e m u c h - d r e a d e d

end o f t he j ou r ney . He r e I f ound mys e l f i n t he mi ds t

of a group of children of all sizes and of many colors,

b l ack , b r own , c oppe r -co l o r ed , and nea r l y wh i t e . I ha d

no t s een s o many ch i l d r en be f o r e . As a new- comer I

was an ob j ec t o f s pec i a l i n t e r e s t . Af t e r l augh i ng and

yel l ing around me and playing al l sor ts of wild t r icks ,

t h e y a s k e d m e t o g o o u t a n d p l a y w i t h t h e m . T h i s I

r e f u s e d t o d o . G r a n d m a m m a l o o k e d s a d , a n d I c o u l d

not help feel ing that our being there boded no good to

me . She was s oon t o l o s e ano t he r ob j ec t o f a f f ec t i on ,

as she had lost many before. Affect ionately pat t ing meon the head, she told me to be a good boy and go out to

play with the chi ldren. They are kin to you, she said,

g o a n d p l a y w i t h t h e m . S h e p o i n t e d o u t t o m e m y

brother Perry , my s isters , Sarah and Eliza. I had never

seen them before , and though I had somet imes heard of

them and felt a curious interest in them, I really did not

u n d e r s t a n d w h a t t h e y w e r e t o m e o r I t o t h e m . B r o t h -

ers and s is ters we were by blood, but s lavery had madeus s trangers . They were already ini t iated into the mys-

ter ies of old masters domici le, and they seemed to look

upon me wi t h a ce r t a i n deg r ee o f compas s i on . I r ea l l y

wanted to play with them, but they were strangers to me,

and I was ful l of fear that my grandmother might leave

f o r h o m e w i t h o u t t a k i n g m e w i t h h e r . E n t r e a t e d t o d o

so, however , and that , too , by my dear grandmother , I

went to the back part of the house to play with them and

the other chi ldren. Play, however , I did not , but s tood

with my back against the wall witnessing the playing of


35/53

HIS GRIEF. 33

t he o t he r s . A t l a s t , wh i l e s t and i ng t he r e , one o f t he

children, who had been in the kitchen, ran up to me in a

s o r t o f r o g u i s h g l e e , e x c l a i m i n g , F e d , F e d , g r a n d -

mamma gone! I could not bel ieve i t . Yet , fear ing the

worst , I ran into the ki tchen to see for myself , and lo!

she was indeed gone, and was now far away, and clean

o u t o f s i g h t . I n e e d n o t t e l l a l l t h a t h a p p e n e d n o w .

Al mos t hea r t - b r oken a t t he d i s cove r y , I f e l l upon t he

ground and wept a boys bitter tears, refusing to be com-

forted. My brother gave me peaches and pears to quiet

m e , b u t I p r o m p t l y t h r e w t h e m o n t h e g r o u n d . I h a d

never been deceived before, and something of resentment

at this mingled with my grief at par t ing with my grand-

m o t h e r .

I t was now late in the af ternoon. The day had been

an exci t ing and wearisome one, and I know not where,

but I suppose I sobbed myself to sleep; and its balm wasnever more welcome to any wounded soul than to mine.

The reader may be surprised that I relate so minutely an

i n c i d e n t a p p a r e n t l y s o t r i v i a l , a n d w h i c h m u s t h a v e

occurred when I was less than seven years old; but, as I

wish to give a faithful history of my experience in slav-

ery, I cannot withhold a circumstance which at the time

a f f ec t ed me s o deep l y , and wh i ch I s t i l l r emember s o

v i v i d l y . B es i des , t h i s was my f i r s t i n t r oduc t i on t o t herealities of the slave system.


36/53

CHAPTER III.

TROUBLES OF CHILDHOOD.

Col. Lloyds plantation Aunt Katy Her cruelty and ill-nature

Capt. Anthonys partiality to Aunt Katy Allowance of food

Authors hunger Unexpected rescue by his mother The reproof

of Aunt Katy Sleep A slave-mothers love Authors inheritance

His mothers acquirements Her death.

ON C E es t ab l i s hed on t he home p l an t a t i on o f C o l .

LloydI was with the chi ldren there, lef t to the

tender mercies of Aunt Katy, a slave woman, who was to

classes or sizes, he left to Aunt Katy all the minor detailsc o n c e r n i n g o u r m a n a g e m e n t . S h e w a s a w o m a n w h o

never al lowed herself to act great ly within the l imits of

de l ega t ed power , no ma t t e r how b r oad t ha t au t ho r i t y

might be. Ambit ious of old masters favor , i l l - tempered

and cruel by nature, she found in her present position an

ample f ield for the exercise of her i l l -omened quali t ies .

She had a s t r ong ho l d upon o l d mas t e r , f o r s he was a

f irs t- rate cook, and very industr ious. She was thereforegreatly favored by himand as one mark of his favor she

was t he on l y mo t he r who was pe r mi t t ed t o r e t a i n he r

children around her, and even to these, her own children,

she was of ten f iendish in her brutal i ty. Cruel , however ,

as she somet imes was to her own chi ldren, she was not

destitute of maternal feeling, and in her instinct to satisfy

their demands for food she was of ten guil ty of s tarving

me and the other chi ldren. Want of food was my chief

t rouble during my f irs t summer here. Captain Anthony,

instead of allowing a given quantity of food to each slave,

my master what he was to Col. Lloyd. Disposing of us in

( 3 4 )


37/53

AUNT KATY OFFENDED. 35

committed the al lowance for al l to Aunt Katy, to be di-

vided by her , af ter cooking, amongst us . The al lowance

cons i s t ed o f coa r s e co r n - mea l , no t ve r y abundan t , and

which, by passing through Aunt Katys hands, became more

slender still for some of us. I have often been so pinched

with hunger as to dispute with old Nep, the dog, for

t h e c r u m b s w h i c h f e l l f r o m t h e k i t c h e n t a b l e . M a n y

times have I fol lowed, with eager s tep, the wait ing-gir l

when she shook the table-cloth, to get the crumbs ands ma l l bones f l ung ou t f o r t he dogs and ca t s . I t was a

great thing to have the pr ivi lege of dipping a piece of

bread into the water in which meat had been boiled, and

the skin taken from the rusty bacon was a posi t ive lux-

ury. With this descr ipt ion of the domestic arrangements

o f my new home , I may he r e r ecoun t a c i r cums t ance

which is deeply impressed on my memory, as affording a

bright gleam of a slave-mothers love, and the earnestnesso f a m o t h e r s c a r e . I h a d o f f e n d e d A u n t K a t y . I d o

not remember in what way, for my offences were numer-

ous in that quarter, greatly depending upon her moods as

to their heinousness, and she had adopted her usual mode

of punishing me: namely, making me go al l day without

food. For the f i rs t hour or two af ter dinner t ime, I suc-

ceeded pret ty well in keeping up my spir i ts ; but as the

day wore away, I found it quite impossible to do so any

l onge r . Sundown came , bu t no b r ead ; and i n i t s s t ead

came the threat from Aunt Katy, with a scowl well-suited

to i ts terr ible import , that she would s tarve the l i fe out

of me. Brandishing her knife, she chopped off the heavy

sl ices of bread for the other chi ldren, and put the loaf

away, mutter ing al l the while her savage designs upon

myself . Against this disappointment , for I was expect-

ing that her heart would relent at las t , I made an extra

effor t to maintain my dignity, but when I saw the other

children around me with satisfied faces, I could stand it


38/53

36 MY MOTHERS VISIT.

no longer . I went out behind the ki tchen wal l and cr ied

l i ke a f i ne f e l l ow. W hen wea r i ed wi t h t h i s , I r e t u r ned

to the kitchen, sat by the fire and brooded over my hard

l o t . I was t oo hungr y t o s l eep . W hi l e I s a t i n t he co r -

ne r , I c augh t s i gh t o f an ca r o f I nd i an co r n upon an

upper shel f . I watched my chance and got i t ; and shel l -

ing off a few grains , I put i t back again. These grains I

quickly put into the hot ashes to roast . I did this at the

r isk of get t ing a brutal thumping, for Aunt Katy could

beat as well as starve me. My corn was not long in roast-

ing, and I eagerly pulled it from the ashes, and placed it

upon a s tool in a clever l i t t le pi le. I began to help my-

self, when who but my own dear mother should come in.

The scene which followed is beyond my power to describe.

T he f r i end l e s s and hungr y boy , i n h i s ex t r emes t need ,

f o u n d h i m s e l f i n t h e s t r o n g , p r o t e c t i n g a r m s o f h i s

mother . I have before spoken of my mothers dignif iedand i mpr es s i ve manne r . I s ha l l neve r f o r ge t t he i nde -

scr ibable expression of her countenance when I told her

that Aunt Katy had said she would s tarve the l i fe out of

me. There was deep and tender pity in her glance at me,

and a fiery indignation at Aunt Katy at the same moment,

and wh i l e s he t ook t he co r n f r om me , and gave i n i t s

s tead a large ginger-cake, she read Aunt Katy a lecture

wh i ch was neve r f o r go t t en . T ha t n i gh t I l e a r ned a s Ihad never learned before, that I was not only a child, but

somebodys chi ld. I was grander upon my mothers knee

than a k ing upon his throne. But my t r iumph was shor t .

I dropped off to sleep, and waked in the morning to find

my mo t he r gone and mys e l f a t t he mer cy aga i n o f t he

virago in my masters kitchen, whose fiery wrath was my

constant dread.

My mother had walked twelve miles to see me, and had

the same distance to travel over again before the morning

s un r i s e . I do no t r emember eve r s ee i ng he r aga i n . He r


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T H E L A S T T I M E H E S A W H I S M O T H E R .


40/53

HER DEATH. 39

a grief that I knew my mother so little, and have so few

weariness and heartfel t sorrow. To me i t has ever been

death soon ended the l i t t le communicat ion that had ex-

i s t ed be t ween us , and wi t h i t , I be l i eve , a l i f e f u l l o f

of her words treasured in my remembrance. I have since

learned that she was the only one of all the colored peo-

p le of Tuckahoe who could read. How she acquired th is

knowledge I know not , for Tuckahoe was the las t place

in the world where she would have been l ikely to f ind

facilities for learning. I can therefore fondly and proudly

a s c r i b e t o h e r a n e a r n e s t l o v e o f k n o w l e d g e . T h a t a

f ield-hand should learn to read in any s lave State is re-

markable, but the achievement of my mother , consider-

ing the place and circumstances, was very extraordinary.

In view of this fact, I am happy to attribute any love of

l e t t e r s I may have , no t t o my p r e s umed Ang l o - Saxon

paterni ty , but to the nat ive genius of my sable , unpro-tected, and uncultivated mothera woman who belonged

to a race whose mental endowments are s t i l l disparaged

and despised.


41/53

CHAPTER IV.

A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE SLAVE PLANTATION.

Home Plantation of Colonel Lloyd Its Isolation Its Industries

The Slave Rule Power of Overseers Author Finds some Enjoy-

ment Natural Scenery Sloop Sally Lloyd Wind Mill SlaveQuarter Old Masters House Stables, Store Houses, etc., etc.

The Great House Its Surroundings Lloyd Burial-Place

Superstition of Slaves Colonel Lloyds Wealth Negro Politeness

Doctor Copper Captain Anthony His Family Master Daniel

Lloyd His Brothers Social Etiquette.

IT was generally supposed that slavery in the State of

Maryland existed in its mildest form, and that it was

total ly divested of those harsh and terr ible peculiar i t ieswhich characterized the slave system in the Southern and

S o u t h - W e s t e r n S t a t e s o f t h e A m e r i c a n U n i o n . T h e

g r ound o f t h i s op i n i on was t he con t i gu i t y o f t he f r ee

States , and the inf luence of their moral , rel igious, and

humane sent iments . Publ ic opinion was , indeed, a meas-

urable res traint upon the cruel ty and barbari ty of mas-

ters, overseers, and slave-drivers, whenever and wherever

it could reach them; but there were certain secluded andout-of-the-way places, even in the State of Maryland, fifty

years ago, seldom visited by a single ray of healthy pub-

l ic sent iment , where s lavery, wrapt in i ts own congenial

darkness, could and did develop all its malign and shock-

ing character is t ics , where i t could be indecent without

shame, cruel without shuddering, and murderous without

app r ehens i on o r f ea r o f expos u r e o r pun i s hmen t . J u s t

such a secluded, dark, and out-of- the-way place was the

home plantation of Colonel Edward Lloyd, in Talbot

c o u n t y , e a s t e r n s h o r e o f M a r y l a n d . I t w a s f a r a w a y

( 4 0 )


42/53

COLONEL LLOYDS PLANTATION. 4 1

school-house nor town-house in i t s neighborhood. The

from all the great thoroughfares of travel and commerce,

and proximate to no town or vi l lage. There was nei ther

school-house was unnecessary, for there were no children

to go to school . The chi ldren and grandchildren of Col .

Lloyd were taught in the house by a private tutor (a Mr.

Page from Greenfield, Massachuset ts , a tal l , gaunt sap-

ling of a man, remarkably dignified, thoughtful, and reti-

cent, and who did not speak a dozen words to a slave in a

who l e yea r ) . T he ove r s ee r s ch i l d r en wen t o f f s ome-

where in the Sta te to school , and therefore could br ing

no foreign or dangerous influence from abroad to embar-

r a s s t he na t u r a l ope r a t i on o f t he s l ave s ys t em o f t he

place. Not even the commonest mechanics , f rom whom

there might have been an occas ional outburs t of hones t

and t e l l i ng i nd i gna t i on a t c r ue l t y and wr ong on o t he r

p lantat ions, were white men here . I ts whole public was

s l aves , and ove r s ee r s . I t s b l acks mi t h s , whee l wr i gh t s ,

made up of and divided into three classes , s laveholders ,

shoemakers, weavers, and coopers were slaves. Not even

commerce, selfish and indifferent to moral considerations

as i t usual ly is , was permit ted within i ts secluded pre-

c i nc t s . W he t he r w i t h a v i ew o f gua r d i ng aga i n s t t he

escape of i ts secrets , I know not , but i t is a fact , that

every leaf and grain of the products of this plantat ion

and t hos e o f t he ne i ghbor i ng f a r ms be l ong i ng t o C o l .

Lloyd were t ransported to Balt imore in his own vessels ,

every man and boy on board of which, except the captain,

wer e owned by h i m as h i s p r ope r t y . I n r e t u r n , eve r y -

th ing brought to the planta t ion came through the same

channel . To make this isolat ion more apparent , i t may

be stated that the adjoining estates to Col. Lloyds were

o w n e d a n d o c c u p i e d b y f r i e n d s o f h i s , w h o w e r e a s

deeply interested as himself in maintaining the slave sys-

tem in all its rigor. These were the Tilgmans, the Gold-


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42 EXPERIENCE DURING CHILDHOOD.

boroughs, the Lockermans, the Pacas, the Skinners, Gib-

sons, and others of lesser affluence and standing.

slave.

The fact is, public opinion in such a quarter, the reader

must see, was not likely to be very efficient in protecting

the s lave from cruel ty. To be a res traint upon abuses of

this nature, opinion must emanate from humane and vir-

tuous communi t ies , and to no such opinion or inf luence

w a s C o l . L l o y d s p l a n t a t i o n e x p o s e d . I t w a s a l i t t l e

nat ion by i tself , having i ts own language, i ts own rules ,

regulations, and customs. The troubles and controversies

ar is ing here were not set t led by the civi l power of the

S t a t e . T h e o v e r s e e r w a s t h e i m p o r t a n t d i g n i t a r y . H e

was general ly accuser , judge, jury, advocate, and execu-

t i one r . T he c r i mi na l was a l ways dumb , and no s l ave

was a l l owed t o t e s t i f y o t he r t han aga i n s t h i s b r o t he r

There were, of course, no confl ict ing r ights of prop-erty, for all the people were the property of one man, and

t hey cou l d t hems e l ves own no p r ope r t y . R e l i g i on and

pol i t ics were largely excluded. One class of the popula-

tion was too high to be reached by the common preacher,

and the other class was too low in condit ion and igno-

rance to be much cared for by religious teachers, and yet

some religious ideas did enter this dark corner.

This , however , is not the only view which the place

p r e s en t ed . Th ough c i v i l i za t i on w as , i n m any r e s pec t s ,

s h u t o u t , n a t u r e c o u l d n o t b e . T h o u g h s e p a r a t e d f r o m

the rest of the world, though public opinion, as I have

said, could seldom penetrate its dark domain, though the

whole place were stamped with its own peculiar iron-like

individuali ty, and though cr imes, high-handed and atro-

cious, could be committed there with strange and shock-

ing impunity, i t was, to outward seeming, a most s tr ik-

ingly interesting place, full of l ife, activity, and spirit ,

and presented a very favorable contrast to the indolent


44/53

SLOOP SALLY LLOYD. 43

mono t ony and l anguor o f T uckahoe . I t r e s embl ed , i n

some respects , descr ipt ions I have s ince read of the oldb a r o n i a l d o m a i n s o f E u r o p e . K e e n a s w a s m y r e g r e t

and great as was my sorrow at leaving my old home, I

was not long in adapting myself to this my new one. A

mans troubles are always half disposed of when he finds

endur ance t he on l y a l t e r na t i ve . I f ound mys e l f he r e ,

there was no get t ing away, and naught remained for me

but to make the best of it. Here were plenty of children

to play with and plenty of pleasant resorts for boys of

my age and o l de r . T he l i t t l e t end r i l s o f a f f ec t i on , s o

rudely broken from the darling objects in and around my

g r a n d m o t h e r s h o m e , g r a d u a l l y b e g a n t o e x t e n d a n d

t w i n e t h e m s e l v e s a r o u n d t h e n e w s u r r o u n d i n g s . H e r e ,

for the first time, I saw a large windmill, with its wide-

sweeping white wings, a commanding object to a childs

eye. This was situated on what was called Long Pointa t r ac t o f l and d i v i d i ng M i l e s r i ve r f r om t he W ye . I

spent many hours here watching the wings of th is won-

d r o u s m i l l . I n t h e r i v e r , o r w h a t w a s c a l l e d t h e

Swas h , a t a s ho r t d i s t ance f r om t he s ho r e , qu i e t l y

lying at anchor, with her small row boat dancing at her

s tern, was a large s loop, the Sal ly Lloyd, cal led by that

name in honor of the favori te daughter of the Colonel .

These two objects , the s loop and mil l , as I remember,a w a k e n e d t h o u g h t s , i d e a s , a n d w o n d e r i n g . T h e n h e r e

were a great many houses, human habitations full of the

myster ies of l i fe at every s tage of i t . There was the l i t -

t le red house up the road, occupied by Mr. Seveir , the

o v e r s e e r . A l i t t l e n e a r e r t o m y o l d m a s t e r s s t o o d a

long, low, rough building literally alive with slaves of all

a g e s , s e x e s , c o n d i t i o n s , s i z e s , a n d c o l o r s . T h i s w a s

cal led the long quarter . Perched upon a hi l l east of our

hous e , was a t a l l , d i l ap i da t ed o l d b r i ck bu i l d i ng , t he

architectural dimensions of which proclaimed its creation


45/53

44 BEAUTIES OF THE GREAT HOUSE.

for a different purpose, now occupied by slaves, in a simi-

l a r manne r t o t he l ong qua r t e r s . B es i des t he s e , t he r e

were numerous other slave houses and huts scattered

around in the neighborhood, every nook and corner of

which were completely occupied.

Old masters house, a long brick building, plain but

substant ial , was central ly located, and was an independ-

e n t e s t a b l i s h m e n t . B e s i d e s t h e s e h o u s e s t h e r e w e r e

barns , stables , store-houses, tobacco-houses, blacksmith

shops, wheelwright shops, cooper shops; but above al l

there stood the grandest building my young eyes had

ever beheld, cal led by every one on the plantat ion the

great house. This was occupied by Col. Lloyd and his

f ami l y . I t was s u r r ounded by numer ous and va r i ous l y -

shaped out-buildings. There were ki tchens, wash-houses ,

dairies, summer-houses, green-houses, hen-houses, turkey-

hous es , p i geon - hous es , and a r bo r s o f many s i ze s and devices , al l neat ly painted or whitewashed, interspersed

with grand old trees, ornamental and primitive, which

afforded delightful shade in summer and imparted to the

scene a high degree of s tately beauty. The g r e a t h o u s e

i tself was a large white wooden building with wings on

three s ides of i t . In front a broad port ico extended the

entire length of the building, supported by a long range

of columns, which gave to the Colonels home an air of

great dignity and grandeur . I t was a t reat to my young

and g r adua l l y open i ng mi nd t o beho l d t h i s e l abo r a t e

exhibition of wealth, power, and beauty.

The carriage entrance to the house was by a large gate,

more than a quar ter of a mi le d is tant . The in termediate

space was a beautiful lawn, very neat ly kept and cared

for . I t was dotted thickly over with t rees and f lowers .

The road or lane f rom the gate to the great house was

richly paved with white pebbles from the beach, and in its

course formed a complete c i rc le around the lawn. Out-


46/53

SLAVE SUPERSTITION. 45

side this select enclosure were parks , as about the res i-

dences of the English nobil i ty, where rabbits , deer , and

other wild game might be seen peering and playing about,

wi th none to moles t them or make them af ra id . The

tops of the s tately poplars were of ten covered with red-

winged blackbirds, making all nature vocal with the joy-

ous l i fe and beauty of their wild, warbl ing notes . These

all belonged to me as well as to Col. Edward Lloyd, and,

whe t he r t hey d i d o r no t , I g r ea t l y en j oyed t hem. No t

far from the great house were the stately mansions of the

dead Lloydsa place of somber aspect. Vast tombs, em-

bowered beneath the weeping willow and the fir tree, told

of the generations of the family, as well as their wealth.

Superstition was rife among the slaves about this family

burying-ground. St range s ights had been seen there by

some of the older s laves , and I was of ten compelled to

hea r s t o r i e s o f s h r ouded ghos t s , r i d i ng on g r ea t b l ack horses , and of bal ls of f i re which had been seen to f ly

there at midnight , and of s tar t l ing and dreadful sounds

that had been repeatedly heard . Slaves knew enough of

t he Or t hodox t heo l ogy a t t he t i me t o cons i gn a l l bad

slaveholders to hell, and they often fancied such persons

wishing themselves back again to wield the lash. Tales

of sights and sounds strange and terrible, connected with

the huge black tombs, were a great security to the grounds

about them, for few of the slaves had the courage to ap-

proach them during the day time. It was a dark, gloomy,

and forbidding place, and it was difficult to feel that the

spir i ts of the s leeping dust there deposi ted reigned with

the blest in the realms of eternal peace.

Here was transacted the business of twenty or thirty

different farms, which, with the slaves upon them, num-

bering, in all, not less than a thousand, all belonged to

Col. Lloyd. Each farm was under the management of an

overseer, whose word was law.


47/53

4 6 SLAVE ETIQUETTE.

Mr. Lloyd at this time was very rich. His slaves alone,

numbering as I have said not less than a thousand, were

an immense fortune, and though scarcely a month passed

w i t h o u t t h e s a l e o f o n e o r m o r e l o t s t o t h e G e o r g i a

t raders , there was no apparent d iminut ion in the number

of his human s tock. The sel l ing of any to the State of

Georgia was a sore and mournful event to those lef t be-

hind, as well as to the victims themselves.

T he r eade r has a l r eady been i n f o r med o f t he hand i -

crafts carried on here by the slaves. Uncle Toney

was the blacksmith , Uncle Harry the car twr ight , and

Uncle Abel was the shoemaker, and these had assist-

ants in thei r several depar tments . These mechanics were

cal led Uncles by al l the younger s laves , not because

they really sustained that relationship to any, but accord-

ing to plantation etiquette, as a mark of respect, due from

the younger to the older slaves. Strange and even ridicu-lous as it may seem, among a people so uncultivated and

with so many stern trials to look in the face, there is not

to be found among any people a more r igid enforcement

of the law of respect to elders than is maintained among

t hem. I s e t t h i s down a s pa r t l y cons t i t u t i ona l w i t h t he

colored race and partly conventional. There is no better

material in the world for making a gentleman than is fur-

nished in the African.Among other slave notabilities, I found here one called

by everybody, white and colored, Uncle Isaac Copper .

It was seldom that a slave, however venerable, was hon-

ored with a surname in Maryland, and so completely has

the south shaped the manners of the north in this respect

t ha t t he i r r i gh t t o s uch honor i s t a r d i l y admi t t ed even

now. I t goes sadly against the grain to address and treat

a negro as one would address and treat a white man. But

once in a while, even in a slave state, a negro had a sur-

name fas tened to h im by common consent . This was the


48/53

REMEDIES FOR BODY AND SOUL. 47

c a s e w i t h U n c l e I s a a c C o p p e r . W h e n t h e U n c l e

was dropped, he was called Doctor Copper. He was both

o u r D o c t o r o f M e d i c i n e a n d o u r D o c t o r o f D i v i n i t y .

Where he took his degree I am unable to say, but he was

too well es tabl ished in his profession to permit quest ion

as to his nat ive ski l l or at tainments . One qualif icat ion

he ce r t a i n l y had . He was a con f i r med c r i pp l e , who l l y

unable to work, and was wor th nothing for sa le in the

m a r k e t . T h o u g h l a m e , h e w a s n o s l u g g a r d . H e m a d e

his crutches do him good service, and was always on the

aler t looking up the s ick, and such as were supposed to

need h i s a i d and couns e l . H i s r emed i a l p r e s c r i p t i ons

embraced four ar t icles . For diseases of the body, epsom

salts and castor oi l ; for those of the soul , the Lords

prayer, and a few stout hickory switches.

I was ear ly sent to Doctor Isaac Copper , with twenty

t h e p r a y e r t o g i v e u s a s h o r t l e c t u r e , a n d t o u s e h i s

or thir ty other chi ldren, to learn the Lords prayer . Theold man was seated on a huge three- legged oaken s tool ,

armed with several large hickory switches, and from the

point where he sat, lame as he was, he could reach every

boy i n t he ro om. Af t e r s t an d i ng a w h i l e t o l e a r n wh a t

was expected of us, he commanded us to kneel down.

T h i s done , he t o l d u s t o s ay eve r y t h i ng he s a i d . Our

Fa t he r t h i s we r epea t ed a f t e r h i m wi t h p r ompt nes s

and uniformitywho art in Heaven, was less promptlyand uniformly repeated, and the old gentleman paused in

switches on our backs.

Everybody in the South seemed to want the privilege of

whipping somebody else. Uncle Isaac, though a good old

man, shared the common passion of his time and country.

I cannot say I was much edif ied by at tendance upon his

minis try. There was even at that t ime something a l i t t le

inconsis tent and laughable, in my mind, in the blending

of prayer with punishment.


49/53

4 8 MY MASTER, CAPT. ANTHONY.

I was not long in my new home before I found that the

dread I had conceived of Captain Anthony was in a meas-

ure groundless . Instead of leaping out f rom some hiding-

place and destroying me, he hardly seemed to notice my

p r e senc e . He p r obab l y t hough t a s l i t t l e o f my a r r i va l

t he r e a s o f an add i t i ona l p i g t o h i s s t ock . He was t he

chief agent of his employer. The overseers of all the

farms composing the Lloyd estate were in some sort under

him. The Colonel himself seldom addressed an overseer ,o r a l l owed h i ms e l f t o be add r e s s ed by one . T o C ap t a i n

An t hony , t he r e f o r e , was commi t t ed t he heads h i p o f a l l

weighed and measured the al lowances of each s lave, at

t he f a r ms . He ca r r i ed t he keys o f a l l t he s t o r e - hous es ,

the end of each month; super intended the s tor ing of a l l

goods brought to the s tore-house; deal t out the raw ma-

ter ial to the different handicraf tsmen; shipped the grain,

tobacco, and al l other saleable produce of the numerousfarms to Baltimore, and had a general oversight of all the

wor ks hops o f t he p l ace . I n add i t i on t o a l l t h i s he was

f r e q u e n t l y c a l l e d a b r o a d t o E a s t o n a n d e l s e w h e r e i

life and times of frederick douglass sample

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