REMOVAL TO MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
McGee had decided to build a new
house upon the property which he had purchased at Memphis; and,
in August 1850, he sent twenty-five of his slaves to the city,
to make brick for the structure, and I went along as cook. After
the bricks were burned, the work of clearing the ground for
the buildings was commenced. There were many large and beautiful
trees that had to be taken up and removed; and, when this work
was completed, the excavations for the foundations and the cellar
were undertaken. All of this work was done by the slaves. The
site was a beautiful one, embracing fourteen acres, situated
two miles southeast from the city, on the Memphis and Charleston
railroad. The road ran in front of the place and the Boss built
a flag-station there, for the accommodation of himself and his
neighbors, which was named McGee Station.
A NEW AND SPLENDID HOUSE
The house was one of the most
pretentious in that region, and was a year and a half in building.
It was two stories in height, and built of brick, the exterior
surface being coated with cement and marked off in blocks, about
two feet square, to represent stone. It was then whitewashed.
There was a veranda in front with six large columns, and, above,
a balcony. On the back there were also a veranda and a balcony,
extending across that end to the servants' wing. A large hall
led from front to rear, on one side of which were double parlors,
and on the other a sitting room, a bedroom and a dining room.
In the second story were a hall and four rooms, similar in all
respects to those below, and above these was a large attic.
The interior woodwork was of black walnut. The walls were white,
and the centerpieces in the ceilings of all the rooms were very
fine, being the work of an English artisan, who had been only
a short time in this country. This work was so superior, in
design and finish, to anything before seen in that region that
local artisans were much excited over it; and some offered to
purchase the right to reproduce it, but Boss refused the offer.
However, some one, while the house was finishing, helped himself
to the design, and it was reproduced, in whole or in part, in
other buildings in the city. This employment of a foreign artist
was unusual there and caused much comment. The parlors were
furnished with mahogany sets, the upholstering being in red
brocade satin. The dining room was also furnished in mahogany.
The bedrooms had mahogany bedsteads of the old-fashioned pattern
with canopies. Costly bric-a-brac, which Boss and the madam
had purchased while traveling in foreign countries, was in great
profusion. Money was no object to Edmund McGee, and he added
every modern improvement and luxury to his home; the decorations
and furnishings were throughout of the most costly and elegant;
and in the whole of Tennessee there was not a mansion more sumptuously
complete in all its appointments, or more palatial in its general
appearance. When all was finished—pictures, bric-a-brac, statuary
and flowers all in their places, Mrs. McGee was brought home.
In this new house Boss opened
up in grand style; everything was changed, and the family entered
upon a new, more formal and more pretentious manner of living.
I was known no longer as errand boy, but installed as butler
and body-servant to my master. I had the same routine of morning
work, only it was more extensive. There was a great deal to
be done in so spacious a mansion. Looking after the parlors,
halls and dining rooms, arranging flowers in the rooms, waiting
on the table, and going after the mail was my regular morning
work, the year round. Then there were my duties to perform,
night and morning, for my master; these were to brush his clothes,
black his shoes, assist him to arrange his toilet, and do any
little thing that he wanted me to. Aside from these regular
duties, there were windows to wash, silver to polish and steps
to stone on certain days in the week. I was called to do any
errand necessary, and sometimes to assist in the garden. A new
staff of house servants was installed, as follows: Aunt Delia,
cook; Louisa, chambermaid; Puss, lady's maid to wait on the
madam; Celia, nurse; Lethia, wet nurse; Sarah, dairy maid; Julia,
laundress; Uncle Gooden, gardener; Thomas, coachman.
THE NEW STYLE OF LIVING
The servants, at first, were dazed
with the splendor of the new house, and laughed and chuckled
to themselves a good deal about mars' fine house, and really
seemed pleased; for, strange to say, the slaves of rich people
always rejoiced in that fact. A servant owned by a man in moderate
circumstances was hooted at by rich men's slaves. It was common
for them to say: "Oh! don't mind that darkey, he belongs
to po'r white trash." So, as I said, our slaves rejoiced
in master's good luck. Each of the women servants wore a new,
gay colored turban, which was tied differently from that of
the ordinary servant, in some fancy knot. Their frocks and aprons
were new, and really the servants themselves looked new. My
outfit was a new cloth suit, and my aprons for wearing when
waiting on the table were snowy white linen, the style being
copied from that of the New York waiters. I felt big, for I
never knew what a white bosom shirt was before; and even though
the grief at the separation from my dear mother was almost unbearable
at times, and my sense of loneliness in having no relative near
me often made me sad, there was consolation, if not compensation,
in this little change. I had known no comforts, and had been
so cowed and broken in spirits, by cruel lashings, that I really
felt light-hearted at this improvement in my personal appearance,
although it was merely for the gratification of my master's
pride; and I thought I would do all I could to please Boss.
THE ADORNMENT OF THE GROUNDS
For some time before all the appointments
of the new home were completed, a great number of mechanics
and workmen, besides our own servants, were employed; and there
was much bustle and stir about the premises. Considerable out-door
work was yet to be done — fences to be made, gardens and orchards
to be arranged and planted, and the grounds about the house
to be laid out and adorned with shubbery and flower beds. When
this work was finally accomplished, the grounds were indeed
beautifully. The walks were graveled, and led through a profusion
of shrubbery and flower beds. There was almost every variety
of roses; while, scattered over the grounds, there were spruce,
pine and juniper trees, and some rare varieties, seldom seen
in this northern climate. Around the grounds was set a cedar
hedge, and, in time, the place became noted for the beauty of
its shrubbery; the roses especially were marvelous in the richness
and variety of their colors, their fragrance and the luxuriousness
of their growth. People who have never traveled in the South
have little idea of the richness and profusion of its flowers,
especially of its roses. Among the climbing plants, which adorned
the house, the most beautiful and fragrant was the African honeysucle
— its odor was indeed delightful.
THE GARDEN
One of the institutions of the
place was the vegetable garden. This was established not only
for the convenience and comfort of the family, but to furnish
employment for the slaves. Under the care of Uncle Gooden, the
gardner, it flourished greatly; and there was so much more produced
than the family could use, Boss concluded to sell the surplus.
The gardner, therefore, went to the city, every morning, with
a load of vegetables, which brought from eight to ten dollars
daily, and this the madam took for "pin money." In
the spring I had always to help the gardner in setting out plants
and preparing beds; and, as this was in connection with my other
work, I became so tired sometimes that I could hardly stand.
All the vegetables raised were fine, and at that time brought
a good price. The first cabbage that we sold in the markets
brought twenty-five cents a head. The first sweet potatoes marketed
always brought a dollar a peck, or four dollars a bushel. The
Memphis market regulations required that all vegetables be washed
before being exposed for sale. Corn was husked, and everything
was clean and inviting. Any one found guilty of selling, or
exhibiting for sale, vegetables of a previous day was fined,
at once, by the market master. This rule was carried out to
the letter. Nothing stale could be sold, or even come into market.
The rules required that all poultry be dressed before being
brought to market. The entrails were cleaned and strung and
sold separately—usually for about ten cents a string.
PROFUSION OF FLOWERS
Flowers grew in profusion everywhere
through the south, and it has, properly, been called the land
of flowers. But flowers had no such sale there as have our flowers
here in the north. The pansy and many of our highly prized plants
and flowers grew wild in the south. The people there did not
seem to care for flowers as we do. I have sold many bouquets
for a dime, and very beautiful ones for fifteen and twenty cents,
that would sell in the north for fifty to seventy-five cents.
THE FRUIT ORCHARD
The new place had an orchard of
about four acres, consisting of a variety of apple, peach, pear
and plum trees. Boss hired an expert gardner to teach me the
art of grafting, and after some practice, I became quite skilled
in this work. Some of the pear trees that had been grafted had
three different kinds of fruit on them, and others had three
kinds of apples on them besides the pears. This grafting I did
myself, and the trees were considered very fine by Boss. Another
part of my work was the trimming of the hedge and the care of
all the shrubbery.
I PRACTICE MEDICINE AMONG THE
SLAVES
McGee had a medicine chest built
into the wall of the new house. The shelves for medicine were
of wood, and the arrangement was very convenient. It was really
a small drug store. In contained everything in the way of drugs
that was necessary to use in doctoring the slaves. We had quinine,
castor-oil, alcohol and ipecac in great quantities, as these
were the principal drugs used in the limited practice in the
home establishment. If a servant came from the field to the
house with a chill, which was frequent, the first thing we did
was to give him a dose of ipecac to vomit him. On the evening
after, we would give him two or three of Cook's pills. These
pills we made at home, I always had to prepare the medicines,
and give the dose, the Boss standing by dictating. Working with
medicine, giving it and caring for the sick were the parts of
my work that I liked best. Boss used Dr. Gunn's book altogether
for recipes in putting up medicines. He read me the recipe,
while I compounded it.
A SWELL RECEPTION
In celebration of the opening
of the new house, McGee gave an elaborate reception and dinner.
The menu embraced nearly everything that one could think of
or desire, and all in the greatest profusion. It was a custom,
not only with the McGees but among the southern people generally,
to make much of eating — it was one of their hobbies. Everything
was cooked well, and highly seasoned. Scarcity was foreign to
the homes of the wealthy southerners.
RELATIVES VISIT AT THE MANSION
After the family had been settled
about a month in the new home, their relatives in Panola Co.,
Miss., Mr. Jack McGee, known among the servants as "Old
Jack," Mrs. Melinda McGee, his wife, Mrs. Farrington, their
daughter who was a widow, and their other children Louisa, Ella
and William, all came up for a visit, and to see the wonderful
house. Mr. Jack McGee was the father of madam and the uncle
of Boss. My master and mistress were therefore first cousins,
and Boss sometimes called the old man father and at other times,
uncle. Old Master Jack, as he alighted, said to those behind
him: "Now be careful, step lightly, Louisa, this is the
finest house you ever set foot in." When all had come into
the house, and the old man had begun to look around, he said:
"I don't know what Edmund is thinking about-out to build
such a house-house." He was very old, and had never lost
all of his Scotch dialect, and he had a habit of repeating a
part or all of some words, as in the foregoing quotation. The
other members of the visiting family were well pleased with
the house, and said it was grand. They laughed and talked merrily
over the many novel things which they saw. Mrs. Farrington,
who was a gay widow, was naturally interested in everything.
I busied myself waiting upon them, and it was late that night
before I was through. So many made extra work for me.
ONE OF THE VISITORS DISTRUSTS
ME
The next morning, after breakfast,
Boss and old Master Jack went out to view the grounds. They
took me along so that if anything was wanted I could do it.
Boss would have me drive a stake in some place to mark where
he desired to put something, perhaps some flowers, or a tree.
He went on through the grounds, showing his father how everything
was to be arranged. The old man shook his head, and said: "Well,
it's good, but I am afraid you'll spoil these niggers-niggers.
Keep you eye on that boy Lou, (meaning me) he is slippery-slippery,
too smart-art." "Oh! I'll manage that, Father,"
said Boss. "Well, see that you do-oo, for I see running
away in his eyes." One of the things that interested old
Master Jack was the ringing of the dinner bell. "Well,
I do think," said the old man, "that boy can ring
a bell better than anbody I ever heard. Why, its got a regular
tune." I used to try to see how near I could come to making
it say, come to dinner.
THE MADAM IN A RAGE
The four days soon passed, and
all the company gone, we were once more at our regular work.
Delia, the cook, seemingly had not pleased the madam in her
cooking while the company were there; so, the morning after
they left, she went toward the kitchen, calling: "Delia,
Delia." Delia said: "Dah! I wonder what she wants
now." By this time she was in the kitchen, confronting
Delia. Her face was flushed as she screamed out: "What
kind of biscuits were those you baked this week?" "I
think they were all right, Mis Sarh." "Hush!"
screamed out the madam, stamping her foot to make it more emphatic.
"You did not half cook them," said she; "they
were not beat enough. Those waffles were ridiculous," said
the madam. "Well, Miss Sarh, I tried." "Stop!"
cried Madam in a rage, "I'll give you thunder if you dictate
to me." Not a very elegant display in language or manner
for a great lady! Old Aunt Delia, who was used to these occurances,
said: "My Lord! dat woman dunno what she wants. Ah! Lou,
there is nothing but the devil up here, (meaning the new home);
can't do nothin to please her up here in dis fine house. I tell
you Satan neber git his own til he git her." They did not
use baking powder, as we do now, but the biscuits were beaten
until light enough. Twenty minutes was the time allotted for
this work; but when company came there was so much to be done
— so many more dishes to prepare, that Delia would, perhaps,
not have so much time for each meal. But there was no allowance
made. It was never thought reasonable that a servant should
make a mistake — things must always be the same. I was listening
to this quarrel between madam and Delia, supposing my time would
come next; but for that once she said nothing to me.
THE MADAM'S SEVERITY
Mrs. McGee was naturally irritable.
Servants always got an extra whipping when she had any personal
trouble, as though they could help it. Every morning little
Kate, Aunt Delia's little girl, would have to go with the madam
on her rounds to the different buildings of the establishment,
to carry the key basket. So many were the keys that they were
kept in a basket especially provided for them, and the child
was its regular bearer. The madam, with this little attendant,
was everywhere — in the barn, in the hennery, in the smokehouse
— and she always made trouble with the servants wherever she
went. Indeed, she rarely returned to the house from these rounds
without having whipped two or three servants, whether there
was really any cause for the punishment or not. She seldom let
a day pass without beating some poor woman unmercifully. The
number and severity of these whippings depended more upon the
humor of the madam than upon the conduct of the slaves. Of course,
I always came in for a share in this brutal treatment. She continued
her old habit of boxing my jaws, pinching my ears; no day ever
passing without her indulging in this exercise of her physical
powers. So long had I endured this, I came to except it, no
matter how well I did my duties; and it had its natural effect
upon me, making me a coward, even though I was now growing into
manhood. I remember once, in particular, when I had tried to
please her by arranging the parlor, I overheard her say: "They
soon get spirit — it don't do to praise servants." My
heart sank within me. What good was it for me to try to please?
She would find fault anyway. Her usual morning greeting was:
"Well, Lou, have you dusted the parlors? "Oh, yes,"
I would answer. "Have the flowers been arranged?"
"Yes, all is in readiness," I would say. Once I had
stoned the steps as usual, but the madam grew angry as soon
as she saw them. I had labored hard, and thought she would be
pleased. The result, however, was very far from that. She took
me out, stripped me of my shirt and began thrashing me, saying
I was spoiled. I was no longer a child, but old enough to be
treated differently. I began to cry, for it seemed to me my
heart would break. But, after the first burst of tears, the
feeling came over me that I was a man, and it was an outrage
to treat me so — to keep me under the lash day after day.
A SHOCKING ACCIDENT
Not long after Mrs. Farrington
had made her first visit to our house, she came there to live.
Celia had been acting as her maid. When Mrs. Farrington had
been up some months, it was decided that all the family should
go down to old Master Jack's for a visit. Celia, the maid, had
been so hurried in the preparations for this visit that she
had done nothing for herself. The night before the family was
to leave, therefore, she was getting ready a garment for herself
to wear on the trip; and it was supposed that she sewed until
midnight, or after, when she fell asleep, letting the goods
fall into the candle. All at once, a little after twelve o'clock,
I heard a scream, then a cry of "fire! fire!" and
Boss yelling: "Louis! Louis!" I jumped up, throwing
an old coat over me, and ran up stairs, in the direction of
Mrs. Farrington's room, I encountered Boss in the hall; and,
as it was dark and the smoke stifling, I could hardly make any
headway. At this moment Mrs. Farrington threw her door open,
and screemed for "Cousin Eddie," meaning McGee. He
hurriedly called to me to get a pitcher of water quick. I grasped
the pitcher from the stand, and he attempted to throw the water
on Celia, who was all in a blaze, running around like a mad
woman; but the pitcher slipped from his hand and broke, very
little of the water reaching her. She was at last wrapped in
an old blanket, to extinguish the flames; but she was burned
too badly to recover. Boss, being a physician, said at once:
"Poor girl, poor girl! she is burned to death." He
did all he could for her, wrapped her in linen sheets, and endeavored
to relieve her sufferings, but all was of no avail — she had
inhaled the flame, injuring her internally, and lived only a
few days.
MASTER'S NEW COTTON PLANTATION
Shortly after Boss bought his
home in Memphis, he bought a large farm in Bolivar, Miss. It
was a regular cotton farm, on the Missippi river, embracing
200 acres. The houses built for the slaves were frame, eighteen
in number, each to contain three or four families, and arranged
on each side of a street that ran through the farm. This street
was all grassed over, but there were no sidewalks. All the buildings—the
barn, gin-house, slaves' quarters and overseers' house—were
whitewashed, and on this grass-grown street they made a neat
and pretty appearance. The house where the Boss and the madam
staid, when they went down to the farm, was about two hundred
yards from the slaves' quarters. It was arranged in two appartments,
one for the overseer and wife, and the other for the master
and mistress upon the occasion of their visits. This building
was separated from the other buildings by a fence. There was
what was called the cook house, where was cooked all the food
for the hands. Aunt Matilda was cook in charge. Besides the
buildings already named, there were stables, a blacksmith shop
and sawmill; and the general order of arrangement was carried
out with respect to all—the appearance was that of a village.
Everything was raised in abundance, to last from one crop to
the next. Vegetables and meat were provided from the farm, and
a dairy of fifty cows furnished all the milk and butter needed.
The cane brakes were so heavy
that it was common for bears to hide there, and, at night, come
out and carry off hogs. Wolves were plenty in the woods behind
the farm, and could be heard at any time. The cane was so thick
that when they were clearing up new ground, it would have to
be set on fire, and the cracking that would ensue was like the
continuous explosion of small fire crackers.
About one hundred and sixty slaves,
besides children, all owned by McGee, were worked on the farm.
Instead of ginning two or three bales of cotton a day, as at
Pontotoc, they ginned six to seven bales here.
INCIDENTS
I remember well the time when
the great Swedish singer, Jenny Lind, came to Memphis. It was
during her famous tour though American, in 1851. Our folks were
all enthused over her. Boss went in and secured tickets to her
concert, and I was summoned to drive them to the hall. It was
a great event. People swarmed the streets like bees. The carriages
and hacks were stacked back from the hall as far as the eye
could reach.
On another occasion, when the
great prodigy, Blind Tom, came to Memphis, there was a similar
stir among the people. Tom was very young then, and he was called
the Blind Boy. People came from far and near to hear him. Those
coming from the villages and small towns, who could not get
passage on the regular trains, came in freight or on flat bottom
cars. The tickets were $5.00 each, as I remember, Boss said
it was expensive, but all must hear this boy pianist. Many were
the comments on this boy of such wonderful talents. As I drove
our people home they seemed to talk of nothing else. They declared
that he was indeed a wonder.
LONGING FOR FREEDOM
Sometimes when the farm hands
were at work, peddlers would come along; and, as they were treated
badly by the rich planters, they hated them, and talked to the
slaves in way to excite them and set them thinking of freedom.
They would say encouragingly to them: "Ah! You will be
free some day." But the down-trodden slaves, some of whom
were bowed with age, with frosted hair and furrowed cheek, would
answer, looking up from their work: "We don't blieve dat;
my grandfather said we was to be free, but we aint free yet."
It had been talked of (this freedom) from generation to generation.
Perhaps they would not have thought of freedom, if their owners
had not been so cruel. He my mistress been more kind to me,
I should have thought less of liberty. I know the cruel treatment
which I received was the main thing that made me wish to be
free. Besides this, it was inhuman to separate families as they
did. Think of a mother being sold from all her children — separated
for life! This separation was common, and many died heart-broken,
by reason of it. Ah! I cannot forget the cruel separation from
my mother. I know not what became of her, but I have always
believed her dead many years ago. Hundreds were separate, as
my mother and I were, and never met again. Though freedom was
yearned for by some because the treatment was so bad, others,
who were bright and had looked into the matter, knew it was
a curse to be held a slave — they longed to stand out in true
manhood — allowed to express their opinions as were white men.
Others still desired freedom, thinking they could then reclaim
a wife, or husband, or children. The mother would again see
her child. All these promptings of the heart made them yearn
for freedom. New Year's was always a heart-rendering time, for
it was then the slaves were bought and sold; and they stood
in constant fear of losing some one dear to them—a child, a
husband, or wife.
MY FIRST BREAK FOR FREEDOM
In the new home my duties were
harder than ever. The McGees held me with tighter grip, and
it was nothing but cruel abuse, from morning till night. So
I made up my mind to try and run away to a free country. I used
to hear Boss read sometimes, in the papers, about runaway slaves
who had gone to Canada, and it always made me long to go; yet
I never appeared as if I paid the slightest attention to what
the family read or said on such matters; but I felt that I could
be like others, and try at least to get away. One morning, when
Boss had gone to town, Madam had threatened to whip me, and
told me to come to the house. When she called me I did not go,
but went off down through the garden and through the woods,
and made my way for the city. When I got into Memphis, I found
at the landing a boat called the Statesman, and I sneaked aboard.
It was not expected that the boat would stay more than a few
hours, but, for some reason, it stayed all night.
The boat was loaded with sugar,
and I hid myself behind four hogsheads. I could see both engineers,
one each side of me. When night came on, I crept out from my
hiding place, and went forward to search for food and water,
for I was thirsty and very hungry. I found the table where the
deck hands had been eating, and managed to get a little food,
left from their meal, and some water. This was by no means enough,
but I had to be content, and went back to my place of concealment.
I had been on board the boat three days; and, on the third night,
when I came out to hunt food, the second mate saw me. In a minute
he eyed me over and said: "Why, I have a reward for you."
In a second he had me go up stairs to the captain. This raised
a great excitement among the passengers; and, in a minute, I
was besieged with numerous questions. Some spoke as if they
were sorry for me, and said if they have slipped me ashore.
The whole boat was in alarm. It seemed to me they were consulting
slips of paper. One said: "Yes, he is the same. Listen
how this reads:"
"Ran away from Edmund McGee,
my mulatto boy Louis, 5 feet 6 inches in height, black hair,
is very bright and intelligent. Will give $500 for him alive,
and half of this amount for knowledge that he has been killed."
My heart sprang into my throat
when I heard two men read this advertisement. I knew, at once,
what it all meant, remembering how often I had heard Boss read
such articles from the papers and from the handbills that were
distributed through the city. The captain asked me if I could
dance. It seemed he felt sorry for me, for he said: "That's
a bright boy to be a slave." Then turning to me he said:
"Come, give us a dance." I was young and nimble, so
I danced a few of the old southern clog dances, and sang one
or two songs, like this:
"Come along, Sam, the fifer's
son,
Aint you mighty glad your day's work's done?"
After I finished singing and dancing,
the captain took up a collection for me and got about two dollars.
This cheered me a good deal. I knew that I would need money
if I should ever succeed in getting on.
On the following evening, when
we reached West Franklin, Indiana, while the passengers were
at tea, another boat pushed into port right after ours. Immediately
a gentleman passenger came to me hurriedly, and whispered to
me to go down stairs, jump out on the bow of the other boat,
and go ashore. I was alarmed, but obeyed, for I felt that he
was a friend to slaves. I went out as quietly as I could, and
was not missed until I had gotten on shore. Then I heard the
alarm given that the boy was gone — that the runaway was gone.
But I sped on, and did not stop until I had run through the
village, and had come to a road that led right into the country.
I took this road and went on until I had gone four or five miles,
when I came to a farm house. Before reaching it, however, I
met two men on horseback, on their way to the village. They
passed on without specially noticing me, and I kept on my way
until reaching the farmhouse. I was so hungry, I went in and
asked for food. While I was eating, the men whom I had met rode
up. They had been to the village, and, learning that a runaway
slave was wanted, and remembering meeting me, they returned
in hot haste, in hope of finding me and securing the reward.
They hallooed to the people in the house, an old woman and her
daughter, whom they seemed to know, saying: "There is a
runaway nigger out, who stole off a boat this evening."
The old lady said, "Come," becoming frightened at
once. When they came in they began to question me. I trembled
all over but answered them. They said: "You are the fellow
we want, who ran off the boat." I was too scared to deny
it; so I owned I was on the boat, and stole off. They did not
tarry long, but, taking me with them, they went, about a mile
and a half, to their house. They planned and talked all the
way, and one said: "We are good for $75.00 for him any
way." The next morning they took me into the village. They
soon found out that the engineer, by order of the captain, had
stayed over to search for me. A lawsuit followed, and I was
taken before the magistrate before the engineer could got possession
of me. There was a legal course that had to be gone through
with. A lawyer, Fox by name, furnished the $75.00 for the men
who had caught me. That part of the case being settled, Fox
and the engineer started for Evansville, Ind., that same night.
Upon arriving there, Fox received from the captain of the boat
the money he had advanced to the men who caught me; and we went
on, arriving at Louisville, Ky., the next day. I was then taken
again before a magistrate, by the captain, when the following
statement was read by that official:
"Captain Montgomery brought
forth a boy, and said he is the property of Edmund McGee,
of Memphis, Tenn. Come forth owner, and prove property, for
after the boy shall remain in jail six months he shall be
sold to pay jail feed."
Mr. McGee was informed of my whereabouts,
and it was long before he and his cousin came to get me. When
they came, I was called up by the nickname they had given me,
"Memphis." "Come out here, 'Memphis,'" said
the turnkey, "your master has come for you." I went
down stairs to the office, and found Boss waiting for me. "Hello,
Lou!" said he, "what are you doing here, you dog?"
I was so frightened I said nothing. Of course, some few words
were passed between him and the officers. I heard him say that
I was a smart fellow, and he could not tell why I had run away;
that he had always treated me well. This was to impress the
officers with the idea that he was not unkind to his slaves.
The slave-holders all hated to be classed as bad task-master.
Yet nearly all of them were. The clothes I wore were jail property,
and he could not take me away in them; so we started to go up
town to get others. As we passed out the jailor, Buckhanon,
said: "Ain't you going to put hand-cuffs on him?"
"Oh, no!" said Boss. After I was taken to the store
and fitted with a new suit of clothes, he brought me back to
the jail, where I washed myself and put on the new garments.
When all was complete, and I seemed to suit master's fastidious
eye, he took me to the Gault House, where he was stopping. In
the evening we started for home, and reached Memphis the following
day. Boss did not flog me, as I expected, but sent me to my
regular routine work. We had been in this new home so short
a time he did not want it to be rumored that he whipped his
slaves, he was so stylish and rich. But the madam was filled
with rage, although she did not say much. I think they saw that
I was no longer a child — they feared I would go again. But
after I had been home some three or four weeks, Madam Sarah
commenced her old tricks — attempting to whip me, box my jaws
and pinch me. If any little thing was not pleasing to her at
meal time, it was a special delight for her to reach out, when
I drew near to her to pass something, and give me a blow with
her hand. Truly it was a monstrous domestic institution that
not only tolerated, but fostered, such an exhibition of table
manners by a would-be fine lady—such vulgar spite and cruelty!
MY SECOND RUNAWAY TRIP
About three months after my first
attempt to get away, I thought I would try it again. I went
to Memphis, and saw a boat at the landing, called the John Lirozey,
a Cincinnati packet. This boat carried the mail. She had come
into port in the morning, and was being unloaded. I went aboard
in the afternoon and jumped down into the hull. Boss had been
there in the fore part of the afternoon inquiring for me, but
I did not know it then. After I had been in the boat some time,
the men commenced loading it. I crept up in the corner and hid
myself. At first two or three hundred dry and green hides were
thrown in, and these hid me; but later on two or three tiers
of cotton bales were put in the center of the hull, and, when
the boat started, I got upon the top of these, and lay there.
I could hear the people talking above me, but it was so dark
I could not see anything — it was dark as a dungeon. I had
lain there two nights and began to get so weak and faint I could
stand it no longer. For some reason the boat did not start the
day I went aboard, consequently, I had not gotten as far from
home as I expected, and my privations had largely been in vain.
Despairing and hungry, on the third day, I commenced howling
and screaming, hoping that some one would hear me, and come
to my relief, for almost anything else would have been preferable
to the privation and hunger from which I was suffering. But
I could make no one hear, at least no one paid any attention
to my screams, if they did hear. In the evening, however, one
of the deck hands came in with a lantern to look around and
see everything was all right. I saw the light and followed him
out, but I had been out of my hiding only a short time when
I was discovered by a man who took me up stairs to the captain.
It was an effort for me to walk up stairs, as I was weak and
faint, having neither eaten nor drank anything for three days.
This boat was crowded with passengers, and it was soon a scene
of confusion. I was placed in the pilot's room for safety, until
we arrived at a small town in Kentucky called Monroe. I was
put off here to be kept until the packet came back from Cincinnati.
Then I was carried back to Memphis, arriving about one o'clock
at night, and, for safe keeping, was put into what was called
the calaboose. This was especially for the keeping of slaves
who had run away and been caught. Word was sent to Boss of my
capture; and the next morning Thomas Bland, a fellow servant
of mine, was sent to take me home. I can not tell how I felt,
for the only thought that came to me was that I should get killed.
The madam met us as we drove into the yard. "Ah!"
she said to me, "you put up at the wrong hotel, sir."
I was taken to the barn where stocks had been prepared, beside
which were a cowhide and a pail of salt water, all prepared
for me. It was terrible, but there was no escape. I was fastened
in the stocks, my clothing removed, and the whipping began.
Boss whipped me a while, then he sat down and read his paper,
after which the whipping was resumed. This continued for two
hours. Fastened as I was in the stocks, I could only stand and
take lash after lash, as long as he desired, the terrible rawhide
cutting into my flesh at every stroke. Then he used peach tree
switches, which cracked the flesh so the blood oozed out. After
this came the paddle, two and half feet long and three inches
wide. Salt and water was at once applied to wash the wounds,
and the smarting was maddening. This torture was common among
the southern planters. God only knows what I suffered under
it all, and He alone gave me strength to endure it. I could
hardly move after the terrible ordeal was finished, and could
scarcely bear my clothes to touch me at first, so sore was my
whole body, and it was weeks before I was myself again.
PREACHING TO THE SLAVES
As an offset, probably, to such
diabolical cruelties as those which were practiced upon me in
common with nearly all the slaves in the cotton region of the
south, it was the custom in the section of country where I lived
to have the white minister preach to the servants Sunday afternoon,
after the morning service for the whites. The white people hired
the minister by the year to preach for them at their church.
Then he had to preach to each master's slaves in turn. The circuit
was made once a month, but there was service of some kind every
Sunday. The slaves on some places gathered in the yard, at others
in the white folks' school houses, and they all seemed pleased
and eager to hear the word of God. It was a strong evidence
of their native intelligence and discrimination that they could
discern the difference between the truths of the "word"
and the professed practice of those truths by their masters.
My Boss took pride in having all his slaves look clean and tidy
at the Sabbath service; but how would he have liked to have
the slaves, with backs lacerated with the lash, appear in those
assemblies with their wounds uncovered? The question can never
be answered. The master and most of his victims have gone where
professions of righteousness will not avail to cover the barbarities
practised here.
A FAMILY OF FREE PERSONS SOLD
INTO SLAVERY
My wife Matilda was born in Fayette
county, Kentucky, June 17th, 1830. It seems that her mother
and her seven children were to have been free according to the
old Pennsylvania law. There were two uncles of the family who
were also to have been free, but who had been kept over time;
so they sued for their freedom, and gained it. The lawyers in
the case were abolitionists and friends to the slaves, and saw
that these men had justice. After they had secured their freedom,
they entered suit for my wife's mother, their sister, and her
seven children. But as soon as the brothers entered this suit,
Robert Logan, who claimed my wife's mother and her children
as his slaves, put them into a trader's yard in Lexington; and,
when he saw that there was a possibility of their being successful
in securing their freedom, he put them in jail, to be "sold
down the river." This was a deliberate attempt to keep
them from their rights for he knew that they were to have been
set free, many years before; and this fact was known to all
the neighborhood. My wife's mother was born free, her mother,
having passed the allotted time under a law, had been free for
many years. Yet they kept her children as slaves, in plain violation
of law as well as justice. The children of free persons under
southern laws were free — this was always admitted. The course
of Logan in putting the family in jail, for safe keeping until
they could be sent to the southern market, was a tacit admission
that he had no legal hold upon them. Woods and Collins, a couple
of "nigger traders," were collecting a "drove"
of slaves for Memphis, about this time, and, when they were
ready to start, all the family were sent off with the gang;
and, when they arrived in Memphis, they were put in the trader's
yard of Nathan Bedford Forrest. This Forrest afterward became
a general in the rebel army, and commanded at the capture of
Fort Pillow; and, in harmony with the debasing influences of
his early business, he was responsible for the fiendish massacre
of negroes after the capture of the fort — an act which will
make his name forever infamous. None of this family were sold
to the same person except my wife and one sister. All the rest
were sold to different persons. The elder daughter was sold
seven times in one day. The reason of this was that the parties
that bought her, finding that she was not legally a slave, and
that they could get no written guarantee that she was, got rid
of her as soon as possible. It seems that those who bought the
other members of the family were not so particular, and were
willing to run the risk. They knew that such things — such
outrages upon law and justice — were common. Among these was
my Boss, who bought two of the girls, Matilda and her sister
Mary Ellen. Matilda was bought for a cook; her sister was a
present to Mrs. Farrington, his wife's sister, to act as her
maid and seamstress. Aunt Delia, who had been cook, was given
another branch of work to do, and Matilda was installed as cook.
I remember well the day she came. The madam greeted her, and
said: "Well, what can you do, girl? Have you ever done
any cooking? Where are you from? Matilda was, as I remember
her, a sad picture to look at. She had been a slave, it is true,
but had seen good days to what the slaves down the river saw.
Any one could see she was almost heartbroken — she never seemed
happy. Days grew into weeks and weeks into months, but the same
routine of work went on.
MY MARRIAGE—BIRTH OF TWINS
Matilda had been there three years
when I married her. The Boss had always promised that he would
give me a nice wedding, and he kept his word. He was very proud,
and liked praise. The wedding that he gave us was indeed a pleasant
one. All the slaves from their neighbor acquaintance were invited.
One thing Boss did was a credit to him, but it was rare among
slave-holders — he had me married by their parish minister.
It was a beautiful evening, the 30th of November, 1858, when
Matilda and I stood in the parlor of the McGee house and were
solemnly made man and wife. Old Master Jack came up from Panola
at that time, and was there when the ceremony was performed.
As he looked through his fingers at us, he was overheard saying:
"It will ruin them, givin wedins-wedins." Things went
on as usual after this. The madam grew more irritable and exacting,
always finding fault with the servants, whipping them, or threatening
to do so, upon the slightest provocation, or none at all. There
was something in my wife's manner, however, which kept the madam
from whipping he — an open or implied threat perhaps that such
treatment would not be endured without resistance or protest
of some kind. This the madam regarded as a great indignity,
and she hated my wife for it, and, at times, was ready to crush
her, so great was her anger. In a year there were born to us
twin babies; and the madam now thought she had my wife tied,
as the babies would be a barrier to anything like resistance
on her part, and there would be no danger of her running away.
She, therefore, thought that she could enjoy, without hindrance,
the privilege of beating the woman of whose womanhood she had
theretofore stood somewhat in fear.
MADAM'S CRUELTY TO MY WIFE AND
CHILDREN
Boss said from the first that
I should give my wife assistance, as she needed time to care
for the babies. Really he was not as bad as the madam at heart,
for she tried to see how hard she could be on us. She gave me
all the extra work to do that she could think of, apparently
to keep me from helping my wife in the kitchen. She had all
the cooking to do for three heavy meals each day, all the washing
ironing of the finest clothes, besides caring for the babies
between times. In the morning she wold nurse the babies, then
hurry off to the kitchen to get breakfast while they were left
in charge of a little girl. Again at noon she repeated her visit
to the babies, after cooking the dinner, then in the evening,
after supper, she would go to nurse them again. After supper
was over, dishes all washed and kitchen in order, she would
then go to the little ones for the night. One can see that she
had very little time with the children. My heart was sore and
heavy, for my wife was almost run to death with work. The children
grew puny and sickly for want of proper care. The doctor said
it was because the milk the mother nursed to them was so heated
by her constant and excessive labors as to be unwholesome, and
she never had time to cool before ministering to them. So the
little things, instead of thriving and developing, as was their
right, dwindled toward the inevitable end. Oh! we were wretched
— our hearts ached for a day which we could call our own. My
wife was a Christian, and had learned to know the worth of prayer,
so would always speak consolingly. "God will help us,"
she said: "let us try and be patient." Our trial went
on, until one morning I heard a great fuss in the house, the
madam calling for the yard man to come and tie my wife, as she
could not manage her. My wife her; but now, as the babies were
here, mistress thought she would try it once more. Matilda resisted,
and madam called for Boss. In a minute he came, and, grabbing
my wife, commenced choking her, saying to her: "What do
you mean? Is that the way you talk to ladies?" My wife
had only said to her mistress: "You shall not whip me."
This made her furious, hence her call for Boss. I was in the
dining room, and could hear everything. My blood boiled in my
veins to see my wife so abused; yet I dare not open my mouth.
After the fuss, my wife went straight to the laundry. I followed
her there, and found her bundling up he babies' clothes, which
were washed but not ironed. I knew at a glance that she was
going away. Boss had just gone to the city; and I did not know
what to say, but I told her to do the best she could. Often
when company came and I held the horses, or did an errand for
them, they would tip me to a quarter or half a dollar. This
money I always saved, and so had a little change, which I now
gave to Matilda, for her use in her effort to get away from
her cruel treatment. She started at once for Forrest's trader's
yards, with the babies in her arms and, after she got into Memphis,
she stopped outside the yard to rest. While she was sitting
on the curb stone, Forrest came out of the yard by the back
gate and saw her. Coming up to her he said: "My God! Matilda,
what are you doing here? You have changed so I would not have
known you. Why have you come here?" Matilda said: "I
came back here to be sold again." He stepped back and called
another "nigger trader," Collins by name, from Kentucky.
"Look here," said Forrest, pointing to my wife. Collins
took in the situation at once and said he would buy her and
the children. "That woman is of a good family," said
he, "and was only sold to prevent her from getting her
freedom." She was then taken into the yard. "Oh!"
said Forrest, "I know these McGees, they are hard colts."
Word was then sent McGee that his cook was in the yard and had
come to be sold. He went in haste to the yard. Collins offered
to buy her, but McGee said no man's money could buy that woman
and her children. I raised her husband and I would not separate
them. She was brought back, and as they rode along in the rockaway,
Boss said: "When I am through with you I guess you won't
run away again." As they drove up I saw the madam go running
out to meet them. She shouted to Matilda: "Ah! madam, you
put up at the wrong hotel." They at once went to the barn
where my wife was tied to the joist, and Boss and the madam
beat her by turns. After they had finished the whipping, Boss
said, tauntingly: "Now I am buying you and selling you
— I want you to know that I never shall sell you while my head
and yours is hot." I was trembling from head to foot, for
I was powerless to do anything for her. My twin babies lived
only six months after that, not having had the care they needed,
and which it was impossible for their mother to give them while
performing the almost endless labor required of her, under threats
of cruel beatings. One day not long after our babies were buried
the madam followed my wife to the smoke house and said: "I
am tempted to take that knife from you, Matilda, and cut you
in two. You and old Ruben (one of the slaves) went all around
the neighborhood and told the people that I killed your babies,
and almost whipped you to death." Of course, when the slaves
were accused falsely, as in this case, they were not allowed
to make any reply—they just had to endure in silence whatever
was said.
EFFORTS TO LEARN TO READ AND
WRITE
Thomas, the coachman, and I were
fast friends. We used to get together every time we had a chance
and talk about freedom. "Oh!" Tom would say, "if
I could only write." I remember when Tom first began to
take lessons at night from some plasterers, workmen of the neighborhood.
They saw that he was so anxious to learn that they promised
to teach him every evening if he would slip out to their house.
I, too, was eager to learn to read and write, but did not have
the opportunity which Tom had of getting out at night. I had
to sleep in the house where the folks were, and could not go
out without being observed, while Tom had quarters in another
part of the establishment, and could slip out unobserved. Tom,
however, consoled me by saying that he would teach me as soon
as he knew how. So Tom one night put a copy of some figures
on the side of the barn for me to practice from. I took the
chalk and imitated him as near as I could, but my work was poor
beside his, as he had been learning for some months, and could
make the figures quite well and write a little. Still I kept
trying, Tom encouraging me and telling me that I would learn
in time. "Just keep trying," said he. When this first
lesson was over, I forgot to rub out the marks on the barn,
and the next morning when Old Master Jack, who happened to be
at our home just at that time, went out there and saw the copy
and my imitation of it, he at once raised great excitement by
calling attention to the rude characters and wanting to know
who had done that. I was afraid to own that I had done it; but
old Master Jack somehow surmised that it was Tom or I, for he
said to Boss: "Edmund, you must watch those fellows, Louis
and Thomas, if you don't they will get spoilt—spoilt. They
are pretty close to town here—here." Tom and I laughed
over this a good deal and how easily we slipped out of it, but
concluded not to stop trying to learn all we could. Tom always
said: "Lou, I am going to be a free man yet, then we will
need some education; no, let us never stop trying to learn."
Tom was a Virginian, as I was, and was sold from his parents
when a mere lad. Boss used to write to his parents (owners)
occasionally, that his people might hear from him. The letters
were to his mother, but sent in care of the white folks. Tom
had progressed very fast in his secret studies, and could write
enough to frame a letter. It seems it had been over a year since
Boss had written for him, but nothing was said until one morning
I heard Boss telling Tom to come to the barn to be whipped.
He showed Tom three letters which he had written to his mother,
and this so startled him that he said nothing. I listened breathlessly
to cach word Boss said: "Where did you learn to write?"
asked he, "and when did you learn? How long have you been
writing to your mother?" At that moment he produced the
three letters which Tom had written. Boss, it seems, had mistrusted
something, and spoke to the postmaster, telling him to stop
any letters which Tom might mail for Virginia to his mother.
The postmaster did as directed, for slaves had no rights which
postmasters were bound to respect; hence, the letters fell into
the master's hands instead of going to their destination. Tom,
not hearing from his first letter, wrote a second, then a third,
never dreaming that they had been intercepted. Boss raged and
Tom was severely whipped. After this nothing Tom did pleased
any of the family — it was a continual pick on him. Everything
was wrong with both of us, for they were equally hard on me.
They mistrusted, I think, that I could write; yet I could not
find out just what they did think.
TOM STRIKES FOR LIBERTY AND GAINS
IT
Tom stayed only a few weeks after
this. He said to me, one morning: "Lou, I am going away.
If I can get a boat to-night that is starting off, why, I am
gone from this place." I was sad to see him go, for he
was like a brother to me — he was my companion and friend.
He went, and was just in time to catch the boat at the Memphis
dock. He succeeded in getting on, and made an application to
the captain to work on the boat. The captain did not hesitate
to employ him, as it was common for slaves to be permitted to
hire themselves out for wages which they were required to return,
in whole or in part, to their masters. Of course all such slaves
carried a written pass to this effect. Tom was shrewd; and,
having learned to write fairly well, he wrote himself a pass,
which was of the usual kind, stating his name, to whom he belonged,
and that he was privileged to hire himself out wherever he could,
coming and going as he pleased. Where the slave was an exceptional
one, and where the owner had only two or three slaves, a pass
would readily be given to hire himself out, or hire his own
time, as it was generally called, he being required to turn
over to his master a certain amount of his earnings, each month
or week, and to make a report to his master of his whereabouts
and receipts. Sometimes the slave would be required to turn
in to his master a certain sum, as, for instance, fifty or one
hundred dollars a year; and he would have to earn that before
he could use any of his earnings for himself. If he was a mechanic
he would have little trouble in doing this, as the wages of
such were often quite liberal. This kind of a pass was rarely,
if ever, given by the planters having large numbers of slaves.
Another kind of pass read something like this: "Pass my
boy or my girl," as the case might be, the name being attached.
These were only given to permit the slave to go from the farm
of his own master to that of another. Some men had wives or
children belonging on neighboring farms, and would be given
passes to visit them. Without such a pass they were liable to
be stopped and turned back to their homes. There was, however,
a good deal of visiting without passes, but it was against the
general rule which required them; and any slave leaving home
without a pass was liable to punishment if discovered. On our
plantation passes were never given, but the slaves did visit
in the neighborhood, notwithstanding, and would sometimes slip
into town at night. Tom had in this way seen the pass of a neighboring
slave to hire out; and it was from this he learned the form
from which he wrote his, and which opened his way to freedom.
Upon reading Tom's pass, the captain did not hesitate, but hired
him at once; and Tom worked his way to New Orleans, to which
city the boat was bound. In the meantime Boss took me and we
drove to numerous stations, where he telegraphed ahead for his
run-away boy Tom. But Tom reached New Orleans without hindrance,
and there fell in with the steward of a Boston steamer, and,
getting aboard of it, was soon on the ocean, on his way to that
city where were so many friends of the slave. Arriving there
he made his way to Canada; which was, for so many generations,
the only land of freedom attainable to American slaves.
NEWS OF TOM'S REACHING CANADA
Now that Tom was gone, excitement
prevailed at the house among the white folks — nothing had
been heard of him or the method of his escape. All the servants
expected that he would be caught, and I was alarmed every time
Boss came from the city, fearing that he had news that Tom was
caught. He had been gone about six months, when, one morning,
I went to the postoffice and brought back a letter. It seemed
to me that I felt that it contained something unusual, but I
did not know what it was. It proved to be a letter from Tom
to Boss. They did not intend that the servants should know it
was from Tom, but one of the house maids heard them reading
it, and came out and told us. She whispered: "Tom is free;
he has gone to Canada; Boss read it in the letter Lou brought."
This news cheered me, and made me eager to get away; but I never
heard from him any more until after the rebellion. Tom gone
made my duties more. I now had to drive the carriage, but Uncle
Madison was kept at the barn to do the work there, and hitch
up the team — I only had to drive when the family went out.
NEWS OF TOM'S REACHING CANADA.
Now that Tom was gone, excitement
prevailed at the house among the white folks — nothing had
been heard of him or the method of his escape. All the servants
expected that he would be caught, and I was alarmed every time
Boss came from the city, fearing that he had news that Tom was
caught. He had been gone about six months, when, one morning,
I went to the postoffice and brought back a letter. It seemed
to me that I felt that it contained something unusual, but I
did not know what it was. It proved to be a letter from Tom
to Boss. They did not intend that the servants should know it
was from Tom, but one of the house maids heard them reading
it, and came out and told us. She whispered: "Tom is free;
he has gone to Canada; Boss read it in the letter Lou brought."
This news cheered me, and made me eager to get away; but I never
heard from him any more until after the rebellion. Tom gone
made my duties more. I now had to drive the carriage, but Uncle
Madison was kept at the barn to do the work there, and hitch
up the team — I only had to drive when the family went out.
M'GEE EXPECTS TO CAPTURE TOM
In the summer the McGees made
up their minds to go down east, and come around by Niagara Falls,
for this was the place from which Tom had written them. Boss
had great confidence in himself, and did not doubt his ability
to take Tom home with him if he should meet him, even though
it should be in Canada. So he took a pair of handcuffs with
him as a preparation for the enterprise. His young nephew had
been to Niagara Falls, and seen and talked with Tom; but Boss
said if he had seen him anywhere he would have laid hands on
him, at once, taken him home, at all hazards.
MAKING CLOTHES
When the family went on this visit
down east I was left in charge of the house, and was expected
to keep everything in order, and also to make the winter clothes
for the farm hands. The madam and I had cut out these clothes
before she left, and it was my principal duty to run the sewing
machine in their manufacture. Many whole days I spent in this
work. My wife made the button holes and sewed on the buttons.
I made hundreds of sacks for use in picking cotton. This work
was always done in summer. When the garments were all finished
they were shipped to the farm at Bolivar, to be ready for the
fall and winter wear. In like manner the clothes for summer
use were made in winter.
A SUPERSTITION
It was the custom in those days
for slaves to carry voo-doo bags. It was handed down from generation
to generation; and, though it was one of the superstitions of
a barbarous ancestry, it was still very generally and tenaciously
held to by all classes. I too carried a little bag, which I
got from an old slave who claimed that it had power to prevent
any one who carried it from being whipped. It was made of leather,
and contained roots, nuts, pins and some other things. The claim
that it would prevent the folks from whipping me so much, I
found, was not sustained by my experience—my whippings came
just the same. Many of the servants were thorough believers
in it, though, and carried these bags all the time.
MEMPHIS AND ITS COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE
The city
of Memphis, from its high bluff on the Mississippi, overlooks
the surrounding country for a long distance. The muddy waters
of the river, when at a low stage, lap the ever crumbling banks
that yearly change, yielding to new deflections of the current.
For hundreds of miles below there is a highly interesting and
rarely broken series of forests, cane brakes and sand bar, covered
with masses of willows and poplars which, in the spring, when
the floods come down are overflowed for many miles back. It
was found necessary to run embankments practically parallel
with the current, in order to confine the waters of the river
in its channel. Memphis was and is the most important city of
Tenessee, indeed, the most important between St. Louis and new
Orleans, particularly from the commercial point of view. Cotton
was the principal product of the territory tributary to it.
The street running along the bluff was called Front Row, and
was filled with stores and business houses. This street was
the principal cotton market, and here the article which, in
those days, was personified as the commercial "king,"
was bought and sold, and whence it was shipped, or stored, awaiting
and advancing price. The completion of the Memphis and Charleston
railroad was a great event in the history of the city. It was
termed the marriage of the Mississippi and the Atlantic, and
was celebrated with a great popular demonstration, people coming
from the surrounding country for many miles. Water was brought
from the Atlantic ocean and poured into the river; and water
taken from the river and poured into the Atlantic at Charleston.
It was anticipated that this railroad connection between the
two cities would make of Charleston the great shipping port,
and of Memphis the principal cotton market of the southwest.
The expectation in neither of these cases has been fully realized.
Boss, in common with planters and business men throughout that
whole region, was greatly excited. I attended him and thus had
the opportunity of witnessing this notable celebration.
Chapter
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