Bab Bab 31 · The Middle Passage

. The Middle Passage

“Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look upon

iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and

holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more

righteous than he?”—HAB. 1: 13.

On the lower part of a small, mean boat, on the Red River, Tom

sat,—chains on his wrists, chains on his feet, and a weight heavier

than chains lay on his heart. All had faded from his sky,—moon and

star; all had passed by him, as the trees and banks were now passing,

to return no more. Kentucky home, with wife and children, and indulgent

owners; St. Clare home, with all its refinements and splendors; the

golden head of Eva, with its saint-like eyes; the proud, gay, handsome,

seemingly careless, yet ever-kind St. Clare; hours of ease and

indulgent leisure,—all gone! and in place thereof, _what_ remains?

It is one of the bitterest apportionments of a lot of slavery, that the

negro, sympathetic and assimilative, after acquiring, in a refined

family, the tastes and feelings which form the atmosphere of such a

place, is not the less liable to become the bond-slave of the coarsest

and most brutal,—just as a chair or table, which once decorated the

superb saloon, comes, at last, battered and defaced, to the barroom of

some filthy tavern, or some low haunt of vulgar debauchery. The great

difference is, that the table and chair cannot feel, and the _man_ can;

for even a legal enactment that he shall be “taken, reputed, adjudged

in law, to be a chattel personal,” cannot blot out his soul, with its

own private little world of memories, hopes, loves, fears, and desires.

Mr. Simon Legree, Tom’s master, had purchased slaves at one place and

another, in New Orleans, to the number of eight, and driven them,

handcuffed, in couples of two and two, down to the good steamer Pirate,

which lay at the levee, ready for a trip up the Red River.

Having got them fairly on board, and the boat being off, he came round,

with that air of efficiency which ever characterized him, to take a

review of them. Stopping opposite to Tom, who had been attired for sale

in his best broadcloth suit, with well-starched linen and shining

boots, he briefly expressed himself as follows:

“Stand up.”

Tom stood up.

“Take off that stock!” and, as Tom, encumbered by his fetters,

proceeded to do it, he assisted him, by pulling it, with no gentle

hand, from his neck, and putting it in his pocket.

Legree now turned to Tom’s trunk, which, previous to this, he had been

ransacking, and, taking from it a pair of old pantaloons and

dilapidated coat, which Tom had been wont to put on about his

stable-work, he said, liberating Tom’s hands from the handcuffs, and

pointing to a recess in among the boxes,

“You go there, and put these on.”

Tom obeyed, and in a few moments returned.

“Take off your boots,” said Mr. Legree.

Tom did so.

“There,” said the former, throwing him a pair of coarse, stout shoes,

such as were common among the slaves, “put these on.”

In Tom’s hurried exchange, he had not forgotten to transfer his

cherished Bible to his pocket. It was well he did so; for Mr. Legree,

having refitted Tom’s handcuffs, proceeded deliberately to investigate

the contents of his pockets. He drew out a silk handkerchief, and put

it into his own pocket. Several little trifles, which Tom had

treasured, chiefly because they had amused Eva, he looked upon with a

contemptuous grunt, and tossed them over his shoulder into the river.

Tom’s Methodist hymn-book, which, in his hurry, he had forgotten, he

now held up and turned over.

“Humph! pious, to be sure. So, what’s yer name,—you belong to the

church, eh?”

“Yes, Mas’r,” said Tom, firmly.

“Well, I’ll soon have _that_ out of you. I have none o’ yer bawling,

praying, singing niggers on my place; so remember. Now, mind yourself,”

he said, with a stamp and a fierce glance of his gray eye, directed at

Tom, “_I’m_ your church now! You understand,—you’ve got to be as _I_

say.”

Something within the silent black man answered _No!_ and, as if

repeated by an invisible voice, came the words of an old prophetic

scroll, as Eva had often read them to him,—“Fear not! for I have

redeemed thee. I have called thee by name. Thou art MINE!”

But Simon Legree heard no voice. That voice is one he never shall hear.

He only glared for a moment on the downcast face of Tom, and walked

off. He took Tom’s trunk, which contained a very neat and abundant

wardrobe, to the forecastle, where it was soon surrounded by various

hands of the boat. With much laughing, at the expense of niggers who

tried to be gentlemen, the articles very readily were sold to one and

another, and the empty trunk finally put up at auction. It was a good

joke, they all thought, especially to see how Tom looked after his

things, as they were going this way and that; and then the auction of

the trunk, that was funnier than all, and occasioned abundant

witticisms.

This little affair being over, Simon sauntered up again to his

property.

“Now, Tom, I’ve relieved you of any extra baggage, you see. Take mighty

good care of them clothes. It’ll be long enough ’fore you get more. I

go in for making niggers careful; one suit has to do for one year, on

my place.”

Simon next walked up to the place where Emmeline was sitting, chained

to another woman.

“Well, my dear,” he said, chucking her under the chin, “keep up your

spirits.”

The involuntary look of horror, fright and aversion, with which the

girl regarded him, did not escape his eye. He frowned fiercely.

“None o’ your shines, gal! you’s got to keep a pleasant face, when I

speak to ye,—d’ye hear? And you, you old yellow poco moonshine!” he

said, giving a shove to the mulatto woman to whom Emmeline was chained,

“don’t you carry that sort of face! You’s got to look chipper, I tell

ye!”

“I say, all on ye,” he said retreating a pace or two back, “look at

me,—look at me,—look me right in the eye,—_straight_, now!” said he,

stamping his foot at every pause.

As by a fascination, every eye was now directed to the glaring

greenish-gray eye of Simon.

“Now,” said he, doubling his great, heavy fist into something

resembling a blacksmith’s hammer, “d’ye see this fist? Heft it!” he

said, bringing it down on Tom’s hand. “Look at these yer bones! Well, I

tell ye this yer fist has got as hard as iron _knocking down niggers_.

I never see the nigger, yet, I couldn’t bring down with one crack,”

said he, bringing his fist down so near to the face of Tom that he

winked and drew back. “I don’t keep none o’ yer cussed overseers; I

does my own overseeing; and I tell you things _is_ seen to. You’s every

one on ye got to toe the mark, I tell ye; quick,—straight,—the moment I

speak. That’s the way to keep in with me. Ye won’t find no soft spot in

me, nowhere. So, now, mind yerselves; for I don’t show no mercy!”

The women involuntarily drew in their breath, and the whole gang sat

with downcast, dejected faces. Meanwhile, Simon turned on his heel, and

marched up to the bar of the boat for a dram.

“That’s the way I begin with my niggers,” he said, to a gentlemanly

man, who had stood by him during his speech. “It’s my system to begin

strong,—just let ’em know what to expect.”

“Indeed!” said the stranger, looking upon him with the curiosity of a

naturalist studying some out-of-the-way specimen.

“Yes, indeed. I’m none o’ yer gentlemen planters, with lily fingers, to

slop round and be cheated by some old cuss of an overseer! Just feel of

my knuckles, now; look at my fist. Tell ye, sir, the flesh on ’t has

come jest like a stone, practising on nigger—feel on it.”

The stranger applied his fingers to the implement in question, and

simply said,

“’T is hard enough; and, I suppose,” he added, “practice has made your

heart just like it.”

“Why, yes, I may say so,” said Simon, with a hearty laugh. “I reckon

there’s as little soft in me as in any one going. Tell you, nobody

comes it over me! Niggers never gets round me, neither with squalling

nor soft soap,—that’s a fact.”

“You have a fine lot there.”

“Real,” said Simon. “There’s that Tom, they telled me he was suthin’

uncommon. I paid a little high for him, tendin’ him for a driver and a

managing chap; only get the notions out that he’s larnt by bein’

treated as niggers never ought to be, he’ll do prime! The yellow woman

I got took in on. I rayther think she’s sickly, but I shall put her

through for what she’s worth; she may last a year or two. I don’t go

for savin’ niggers. Use up, and buy more, ’s my way;-makes you less

trouble, and I’m quite sure it comes cheaper in the end;” and Simon

sipped his glass.

“And how long do they generally last?” said the stranger.

“Well, donno; ’cordin’ as their constitution is. Stout fellers last six

or seven years; trashy ones gets worked up in two or three. I used to,

when I fust begun, have considerable trouble fussin’ with ’em and

trying to make ’em hold out,—doctorin’ on ’em up when they’s sick, and

givin’ on ’em clothes and blankets, and what not, tryin’ to keep ’em

all sort o’ decent and comfortable. Law, ’t wasn’t no sort o’ use; I

lost money on ’em, and ’t was heaps o’ trouble. Now, you see, I just

put ’em straight through, sick or well. When one nigger’s dead, I buy

another; and I find it comes cheaper and easier, every way.”

The stranger turned away, and seated himself beside a gentleman, who

had been listening to the conversation with repressed uneasiness.

“You must not take that fellow to be any specimen of Southern

planters,” said he.

“I should hope not,” said the young gentleman, with emphasis.

“He is a mean, low, brutal fellow!” said the other.

“And yet your laws allow him to hold any number of human beings subject

to his absolute will, without even a shadow of protection; and, low as

he is, you cannot say that there are not many such.”

“Well,” said the other, “there are also many considerate and humane men

among planters.”

“Granted,” said the young man; “but, in my opinion, it is you

considerate, humane men, that are responsible for all the brutality and

outrage wrought by these wretches; because, if it were not for your

sanction and influence, the whole system could not keep foothold for an

hour. If there were no planters except such as that one,” said he,

pointing with his finger to Legree, who stood with his back to them,

“the whole thing would go down like a millstone. It is your

respectability and humanity that licenses and protects his brutality.”

“You certainly have a high opinion of my good nature,” said the

planter, smiling, “but I advise you not to talk quite so loud, as there

are people on board the boat who might not be quite so tolerant to

opinion as I am. You had better wait till I get up to my plantation,

and there you may abuse us all, quite at your leisure.”

The young gentleman colored and smiled, and the two were soon busy in a

game of backgammon. Meanwhile, another conversation was going on in the

lower part of the boat, between Emmeline and the mulatto woman with

whom she was confined. As was natural, they were exchanging with each

other some particulars of their history.

“Who did you belong to?” said Emmeline.

“Well, my Mas’r was Mr. Ellis,—lived on Levee-street. P’raps you’ve

seen the house.”

“Was he good to you?” said Emmeline.

“Mostly, till he tuk sick. He’s lain sick, off and on, more than six

months, and been orful oneasy. ’Pears like he warnt willin’ to have

nobody rest, day or night; and got so curous, there couldn’t nobody

suit him. ’Pears like he just grew crosser, every day; kep me up nights

till I got farly beat out, and couldn’t keep awake no longer; and cause

I got to sleep, one night, Lors, he talk so orful to me, and he tell me

he’d sell me to just the hardest master he could find; and he’d

promised me my freedom, too, when he died.”

“Had you any friends?” said Emmeline.

“Yes, my husband,—he’s a blacksmith. Mas’r gen’ly hired him out. They

took me off so quick, I didn’t even have time to see him; and I’s got

four children. O, dear me!” said the woman, covering her face with her

hands.

It is a natural impulse, in every one, when they hear a tale of

distress, to think of something to say by way of consolation. Emmeline

wanted to say something, but she could not think of anything to say.

What was there to be said? As by a common consent, they both avoided,

with fear and dread, all mention of the horrible man who was now their

master.

True, there is religious trust for even the darkest hour. The mulatto

woman was a member of the Methodist church, and had an unenlightened

but very sincere spirit of piety. Emmeline had been educated much more

intelligently,—taught to read and write, and diligently instructed in

the Bible, by the care of a faithful and pious mistress; yet, would it

not try the faith of the firmest Christian, to find themselves

abandoned, apparently, of God, in the grasp of ruthless violence? How

much more must it shake the faith of Christ’s poor little ones, weak in

knowledge and tender in years!

The boat moved on,—freighted with its weight of sorrow,—up the red,

muddy, turbid current, through the abrupt tortuous windings of the Red

river; and sad eyes gazed wearily on the steep red-clay banks, as they

glided by in dreary sameness. At last the boat stopped at a small town,

and Legree, with his party, disembarked.