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Life at the South, or, "Uncle
Tom 's cabin " as it is
v^ C->77
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THE BOOT-BLACK
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THE SCHOOLMASTER.
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LIFE AT THE SOUTH:
"UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" AS IT IS.
NARRATIVES, SCENES, AND INCIDENTS
REAL ^^IFE OF THE LOWLY.''
Bt w. l. g. smith.
BUFFALO:
GEO, H. DERBY AND CO,
CLEVELAND: TOOKER AND GATCHEL.
SANDUSKY: C. L. DERBY AND CO.
CHICAGO : D. B. COOKE AND CO.
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iS> ^ ^77
Miv4tD cotircr utnA«r
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, bf
W. L. G. SMITH,
In the Clerk'e Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Northern District of New York.
jswnr, TBOMiJi An> oo.
8t«r«otyp«ri ADd Printers,
■OFTALO^ V. T.
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0i t^ JVemotf
OF
HENET CLAY,
THS ADVOCATE OF THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION 8OCDBTT9
FBISKD OF THB 0ON8TITUTION OF HTB COUNTBT
Ur BrEKT RKSPKCr,
THIS BOOK IB DEDICATED BT THB AUTHOX.
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PREFACE
The object which the author of the following story has in
view, is to represent the relations between master and slave.
To do this, it was necessary to depict the passions and senti-
ments as the same are usually found to exist in the every-day
scenes of life. .
The lot of the latter must necessarily be humble, as soci-
ety is at present constituted ; whilst that of the former, as an
inevitable consequence, seems to be more e^slted.
The farmer at the North shares the toils of the field from
necessity, or choice, or both ; the planter at the South is a
husbandman, it is true, but is not so apt to participate in the
toil of tillage and harvest
Every nation, and many parts of the same nation — espe-
cially when it embraces a continent like that of the United
States of America, with diversified soils and various cli-
mates — have their own customs and modes of livelihood.
The people are born and educated under the institutions
peculiar to their own locality, and sti-ange would it be, if
they did not become attached to them, and ready to repel
assaults, come from whatever quarter they may.
Statesmen and philanthropists — who look to the perpe-
tuity of the Union of the several States which compose this
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Tl PREFACE.
confederacy, and are unwilling to hazard the invaluable bless-
ings which every person in the country, whether bond or
free, daily enjoys under it — have always considered the
question of Slavery a delicate subject And if it is a stain
on our national character, as is frequently alleged, they con-
sider it an heir-loom which has descended with the immortal
charter of independence, and that the curse, if any, appro-
priately belongs to the Fathers of the Republic.
If the historian has given us a true record, there have
been " hewers of wood and drawers of water " in every clime
and age since the days of Adam. Disinterested philanthropy
looks to the amelioration of all conditions, and the enlighten-
ment of all classes of society. And although the lot of the
slave may be regarded as the lowest in the scale, still, the
candid-minded in ever}' section of our country, indulge the
hope, that the day will yet come when the descendants of
Ham will be gathered together in the land of their ancestors,
and Liberia, in God's own good time, take its position among
the independent states of the world.
It is proper to obser\'e, that some of the embellishments
which iDustrate this book have been kindly furnished by
Mr. G. P. Putnam, the publisher of Mr. Kennedy's "Swallow
Bam."
Buffalo, July 30th, 1862.
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LIFE AT THE SOUTH:
UNCLE TOM^S CABIN AS IT IS,
CHAPTER I.
"TVno 18 not familiar with the history of the Old
Dominion ? " remarked a portly-appearing gentleman,
seated at his ease in the portico of the United States
Hotel, at Washington, some years since. " And where
is her equal, sir, in all that's good and chivalrous?"
he added, with the view of engaging the attention of
a member of Congress, who just then took a seat by
his side.
" Ah, Mr. Erskine," replied the person addressed,
" I find you ' still harping on my daughter.' Her his-
tory is good so far as it goes ; but it does not go far
enough. It is the unwritten pages which we of the
Korth take exceptions to."
" Beg your pardon, Mr. Pettibone, but if you will
allow me, sir, I say not one of her sons would consent
to strike out one iota of that history. We are proud,
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li LIFE AT THE SOUTH; OB
sir, of our lineage, and customs, and polity, and we
would record it — all of it, for the benefit of our
descendants."
" Ah I yes, Mr. Erskine, yes, yes, that 's all very
well. But, we of the North hear of many scenes and
events, daily occurring upon your plantations, which
disturb our sensibilities ; and as we have good author-
ity for believing that all men are bom free and equal,
we, that is to say, myself and those who act with mo,
are determined to take the matter in hand ourselves,
and relieve the oppressed."
" That is to say, Mr. Pettibone, you will pass by the
abuses and unhappiness of your own home and fire-
side, and interest yourself exclusively with those of
your neighbor. And then'- —
" No, no ! " interrupted Mr. Pettibone, in rather a
sharp tone of voice, evidently nettled at this oppor-
tune intimation.
" And then," continued Mr. Erskine, who was deter-
mined to conclude his reply before Mr. Pettibone, who
was then rising from his seat, passed out of the
portico, "you flatter yourselves with an impression
that you are ameliorating the condition of the down-
trodden, and call this service philanthropy!"
Mr. Pettibone was, all of a sudden, in a hurry to
get up to the capitol, as he had the floor that day in
the "House."
Mr. Erskine, as the reader perhaps may have al-
ready anticipated, was a Virginia "gentleman of the
old school," of refined sentiments and manners, and
the owner of a large landed estate, situate in the county
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UNCLE TOM'b cabin AS IT K. 16
of Frederick, west of the Blue Eidge range of moun-
tains. That estate had been his home for more than
half a century, and came into his possession as the
legitimate inheritance from his ancestor. Plentifully
stocked with negroes that were bom and reared there,
the plantation was " well worked," and yielded, from
year to year, an abundant harvest. Notwithstanding
he was thus favored with the riches of this world, and
the blessings and pleasures consequent thereon, he
did not occupy a singular position, nor was he isolated
from his fellow-citizens. It was not a remarkable nor
uncommon condition in that latitude. Whoever, at
the time of which we write, or at this day, should
traverse the country lying between the Blue Ridge
and the Alleghany mountains, would pass over many
a plantation, as fair and pleasant as that of Mr. Er-
skine, and as well supplied with an abject race of
humanity. We say abject, but do not mean worth-
less; for the traveling observer would find the race
really " hewers of wood and drawers of water," such
as it had been through a long series of generations.
And if, with the calm and unbiased feelings of an
enlightened philanthropy, the traveler should stop to
inquire into the reason of this servitude, and with his
own personal observation inspect its condition and
diversified relations, in their almost endless variety
and multiplicity of detail, he probably would not fail
to discover, long before the task wds completed, an
unexpected ligament existing .between master and
slave— r one, indeed, most difficult to sever, even if
the statutes of the Commonwealth were annulled —
2*
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16 LIFE AT THE SOUTH; OB
namely, the strong cord of affection ; and composed,
if we may be allowed the expression, of the strands
of uniform kindness and sincere attachment compactly
and firmly twisted together.
The numnei's and customs of the inhabitants of this
region of country, to which we have referred, may
have undergone some modification, or change, in the
year 1839, from what it was during the first quarter
of the present century. Some of their descend-
ants, at intervals, may have bidden adieu to the
land of their nativity, and passing into other states,
there taken up their abode: some settling them-
selves upon plantations beneath • a more southern
sky and in a balmier climate, and adding to their
" worldly stock of goods " by a steady annual in-
come derived from their luxuriant fields of rice and
cotton; and others, peopling the marts of the south
and southwest, occupying the time in trade and traffic,
or embracing the "learned professions," spending
their lives in expounding the law, preaching the gos-
pel, or healing " the ills which flesh is heir to." In
fact, the state of Virginia, which has been so appro-
priately styled " the mother of presidents," has also
been to a very great extent the mother of states.
Many a son of her"'s was the first to fire the rifle, use
the axe and spade, and build the log cabin, in all that
great area of country washed by the waterj of the
Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and their countless tribu-
taries. Her laws and institutions have made their
impress upon the minds of lawgivers, given shape
and tone to legislation, until, under their benign
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UNCLE TOM's cabin AS ITIS. 17
influence, the forest, savanna, and prairie have been
converted into towns, hamlets, and cities, and occu-
pied by people in the enjoyment of the comforts and
pleasures, elegancy and refinement of civilization.
But if the " looker on in Vienna " desires to take a
more extended observation, and, descending from the
higher or middling classes, view Southern society in
its humblest form, the vision should not be strained
through the magnifying lenses of idle rumor And
imaginative story. The life and livelihood of the
slave should be seen with the naked eyesight, and
viewed as it is ; not confining the observation to ex-
treme cases of happiness or misery, but scanning it
" as a whole," wherever the institution of slavery is
recognized by the law of the land. And then, if this
impartial examination should satisfy the mind that
the natural laws of humanity had been violated; and
the gratification of that sentiment which is common
to all mankind — the love and pursuit of happiness —
not allowed, and beyond the pale of hope, the philan-
thropist might murmur with propriety, and look around
for the remedy — some potent elixir — which would
remove this cancer from the body ]i<']Itic.
As it is not our desire, so we do iiut deem it to be
our duty, to grope our way througli tlie labyrinthian
mazes of a speculative philosophy, and endeavor "to
catch a sight" of some fanciful object of philanthropy
in the distempered imaginings of an excited brain.
The true moralist is content to view nature as he finds
it, and rehearse to the listener the actual, e very-day
scenes of life, as they ordinarily occur in their various
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18 UFS AT THE SOUTH; OB
phases. And the story which is recited in the follow-
ing pages will discover to the reader au unvarnished
narrative of what has occurred more than once, during
the last dozen years, north of the Potomac.
To return from our digression to Mr. Erskine. He
had now (we may as well mention the time, it was' in
the winter of 1839,) for the first time in many years,
visited the federal metropolis. He had a two-fold pur-
pose in view, for making the visit at the present tinje.
First, for pleasure and the improvement of his acquain-
tance ; and secondly, to inform himself of the real state
of tlie slavery question before the country. As he had
observed, in reading over the proceedings of Congress,
that the subject was frequently discussed there, and
sometimes with great warmth, and apparently with
the belief that it was an evil and a curse, he was
becoming aomewhat alarmed, for he did not know
what miglit be the result of this agitation in Virginia.
No sooner had he arrived in Washington than he
commenced his inquiries. He paid his respects to the
President, and was informed by that high functionary
that there was no occasion for any uneasiness; that
the debates in the " House " were a mere fanfaronade
got up for political eifect, and intended for a different
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