The cattle low. The horses trample as in their stables. The swine
scream, and fight with each other. The turkeys jobble. The dogs of a
hundred regions become acquainted. The boatmen travel about from boat
to boat, to make inquiries and form acquaintances." It is a world in
miniature.
LETTER XIII.
Voyage up the Mississippi (continued)--Grand Gulph and Big Black
River--Snags--"I belong to myself, Sir"--Vicksburg and Lynch Law--A Man
Overboard--"Drove of Horses, Mules, and Niggers"--Character of
Fellow-Passengers--The Sabbath--Disobedience to Conscience.
We came on the 12th of February to the Grand Gulph and "Big Black
River." The former is situated at the base of a bold and solitary
"bluff." Here, a few years ago, "a negro man was condemned by the _mob_
to be _burned alive over a slow fire_, which was put into execution,
for murdering a black woman and her master Mr. Green, a respectable
citizen of that place, who attempted to save her from the clutches of
this monster." Such is the newspaper version of the affair. Had the
real truth been stated, it would have appeared that this Green was the
"_monster_," who had seduced the wretched negro's wife!
The "Big Black River" is not so very "big" after all.
Pages:
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138