Poor Mary Brown was at length sold, at 450 dollars, as a house-servant
to a wealthy man of Vicksburgh, who compelled her to cohabit with him,
and had children by her,--most probably filling up the measure of his
iniquity by selling his own flesh. Wrongs like these must have inspired
our poet when he exclaimed,--
"To think that man--them just and gentle God--Should stand before
Thee with a tyrant's rod O'er creatures like himself, with souls from
Thee, Yet dare to boast of perfect liberty! Away! away! I 'd rather
hold my neck In doubtful tenure from a sultan's beck, In climes where
Liberty has scarce been named, Nor any right but that of ruling
claimed, Than thus to live where bastard Freedom waves Her fustian flag
in mockery over slaves!"
As we advanced, we continually met with flat boats, laden with produce,
and floating sluggishly down. In the vernacular phrase, these boats are
called "Kentucky flats," or "broad-horns." They are curiously
constructed. At a distance, they appear like large chests or trunks
afloat. They are from 50 to 100 feet long, and generally about 15 or 20
feet wide. The timbers of the bottom are massive beams.
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