Reminiscences of Georgia

Preface

These letters were originally written to avoid the trouble of verbal replies to the individual questions of many who were anxious to learn more of the private, domestic arrangements and manners of the South, than are found in the journals of those, who in their descriptions of places, usually delineate their general features rather than particular ones. In issuing these communications the authoress had in special view many of her New England pupils, who in anticipation of being engaged in teaching at the South, were desirous to collect as much information as possible relative to those customs by which their future comfort and happiness might be greatly ex - hanced or diminished.

I have now collected these articles which at first appeared in one of the New England journals, and in compliance with the earnest solicitations of friends and pupils at the "West, consented to republish them in the form of a book, which I now most cheerfully dedicate to that noble hearted friend, whose house has been the home for the homeless and the refuge cf the oppressed,

IV PREFACE.

who, when I was a stranger in a strange land, gave me a cordial welcome beneath her hospitable roof, with the soul reviving assurance, that I "should have a larger place in her heart than she could give me in her house." To this dear friend I would say, in view of that separation which must ere long take place between us, "Farewell! If ever fondest prayer For others' weal avails on high, Mine shall not all be lost in air, But waft thy name beyond the sky."

E. P. B.

LETTER VII. Punishment of Slaves — Their Opinions — The Bar

raCKS, I U t I • I I • I I I I t M I I • M M I I I * I M I M • I I • I «TtO v'i CONTENTS.

Letter VIII

The Hospital — A Little Friendless Girl — Her Sickness Death, and Burial, 50

Letter IX

The Stranger's Hospital — Sickness, Death, and Burial of the Deserted Woman, 56

Letter X

Streets of Savannah— Bay Street— Ships in the Harbor —The Bluff— Resort for Men of Business— Death of a Cotton Merchant's Son, 63

LETTER XL Browton Street and an Old, Dilapitated Building— Its Aged Occupant— South Broad Street— A Rural Retreat — Captain Abraham's Place, 69

Letter XXI

Evils of Slavery as felt by the Master — Early Training of Children at the South — Theft and Robbery, . 151

IETTER XXII.

Runaway Slaves — The Swamps — A Family in Concealment — Murder of an Old Slave — Elopement of an Orphan Lady, 163

I

Vlll CONTENTS.

Letter XXVIII

A Large Plantation — Cause of an Unhealthy Atmosphere — Cattle, Swine and Sheep — Driving of Oxen by Southerners — Shops of various kinds — Ploughing of the Land by Men and Women — Sports of the Slaves — A Quilting Party — Marriages and Funerals — A Nursery for Colored Ckildren, 220

Letter XXIX

A Southern Camp-meeting — Preparations for the same — Removal to the Camp Ground — Scenes on the Camp Ground — Meeting for the Colored People, . .235

Letter I

Voyage at Sea — A Calm — Mother Carey's Chickens — Horses Frightened.

In attempting to give you some account of my journey to Georgia, and my residence in that State, I can hardly expect to interest you who have read the journals of so many, who wield a much abler pen ; but if an imperfect description of some of those objects and incidents which came under my observation after I left the shores of my own New England home, can in any wise contribute to your pleasure, I shall feel myself well compensated for my labor.

It will hardly be necessary for me to give an account of my journey to New York, or a particular description of my passage from thence to Savannah, as it did not differ essentially from accounts of the same kind that we see almost

A s 2 REMINISCENCES OP GEORGIA,

daily in our newspapers ; therefore the inctdents that I shall relate as connected with my passage from New York to Savannah, I intend shall belong to that class of events which are usually passed over by tourists; the same course also, I shall pursue in speaking of other things with which I was conversant while in Georgia.

We sailed from New York on one of the most gloomy days of an equinoctial storm. The rain beat upon lis so severely while we were making our way to the wharves, that we found our umbrellas to be of little service; and by the time we had passed through those muddy streets and over the decks of three or four vessels so slippery we could hardly retain an upright position, we saw after we were safely deposited in our own quarters, that we had brought away upon our shoes and the bottom of our dresses not a small share of the filth and dirt of the city : but I endured this inconvenience much better than I should have done, if I had not seen, by looking around upon my companions, that all were in the same predicament ; and in this case, certainly, I felt that " misery loved company."

On board of the vessel, I found myself one of a hundred human beings, that were all crowded together in one not very large ship, besides vari-

REMINISCENCES OF GEORGIA. O

ous animals, none of which appeared to be in the most pleasant mood.

It was a cold day ; the wind blew ; the rain poured down in torrents, the horses were impatient in their stables, the pigs squealed* and the fowls cackled; the children cried, and the older passengers were cross, and the very patient captain and sailors, arrayed in oil cloth, were doing their best to put to sea, and get this little world of uproar and confusion set in order, but I learned that nothing proved so effectual in calming this fault-finding assembly, as a few heavy rockings of the vessel, when she had fairly got on her way to sea.

It was really quite amusing to me, although no one on board suffered more from sea-sickness than myself, to see how soon we were all brought down to a level after our ship began to sail. We had on board " the high and the low, the rich and the poor," the haughty aristocrat from the South, and the shrewd merchant from the North ; the proud cadet in full uniform from West Point, and the poor emigrant from the East, as well as the down-trodden slave ; and in less than one hour after we left the harbor, one was no higher in the world, in one sense of it, than another, unless we except those who were prostrated in berths instead of lying upon the floor as the slaves were obliged to do. When I observed this, I could not help making this sage reflection, that though our stations in life may be one hour much elevated above that of our neighbors, the next we may, by some providence unforeseen by us, be reduced to a level with the meanest serf.

The first day of our voyage was so cold and stormy, the captain was obliged to set up a stove in the cabin, which was not needed, however, after we had sailed about three days towards the South. The next day it cleared off pleasant, the wind went down so that there was scarcely a breath to fill the sails ; then followed what the sailors call a calm, which continued four or five days. 1 never experienced any thing more tedious aud discouraging. The motion of the sea caused the ship to rock just enough to make us suffer from that most of all unpleasant sensations that one feels after having been performing a series of rapid revolutions upon his heel ; and what made this still more dishearten- * ing was the consciousness that we had to suffer all this to no purpose ; for we were making no progress all this time towards our much desired haven.

For several days we had nothing to cheer up our gloomy spirits but our own wise reflections,

REMINISCENCES OF GEORGIA. O

for we were too sick to see and converse with each other, and we found our own thoughts but sorry comforters when rolling upon the wide ocean, deathly sick and far from our loved homes and all their comforts. During this time our eyes rested upon nothing beyond our own little floating world, save the blue arch above us and that same incessantly rolling ocean, beneath us.

But nothing seemed so homelike during my voyage as to be awakened every morning by the crowing of the fowls, and my first impressions were, invariably, on awaking, of being at home in my own chamber, and that I was aroused by the inhabitants of the same barnyard which had in the days of my early youth so many times reminded me that it was morning.

The first part of our voyage was very monotonous, owing to the dead calm I mentioned before. The sailors went through their regular routine of duties : the cook laid the table three times a day, whether the passengers were able to eat or not ; sometimes a passenger as pale as a corpse would crawl out of his berth to get a reviving breath of air upon the deck, while perhaps a couple more having strength enough to sit up an hour, would try to while away the tedious time by a game at chess or back-gammon.

But no incidents happened worthy of notice, till one morning we were visited by a flock of " Mother Carey's Chickens," a circumstance which created quite a sensation, not only among the sailors on board, but among the passengers also ; for it is one of the easiest things in the world for people, after they have been out at sea a few days, to imbibe more or less of that superstition that seems to be so natural to sailors, and they believe beyond a doubt, that the appearance of these birds portends a storm. I did hope that this old-timed omen would fail this time ; for I dislike to see what appears to be nothing but a most natural occurrence received as a special forewarning of some event ; but I was disappointed ; though at the time we saw the ominous birds, no one could have judged from any other circumstance that a storm was approaching. The day was unusually pleasant ; not a cloud flitted across the sky, and the gentle breezes that fanned our brows, were scarcely strong enough to expand the sails ; but before three hours had elapsed from the time we first saw the Stormy Petrel skimming over the face of the waters, the wind had arisen to a hurricane, and the blackest and the wildest clouds overspread the sky. I never experienced any thing more dreadful than the storm that ensued and lasted three days. We could reasonably look for nothing but to be swallowed up in the frightful abyss that yawned beneath us. The ship was one scene of confusion. The children screamed, and the older passengers were terrified. Bottles and dishes were thrown from the shelves, trunks and boxes of all kinds- were hurled from one side of the ship to the other ; tables, chairs and settees, broke from their fastenings, and those who were reclining upon them were turned over backwards, being at the same time too weak and feeble to help themselves up again. The horses in the stables became so frightened by the violent pitching of the ship and the roaring of the wind among the ropes and shrouds, that they strove and dashed against the timbers, till their flesh, in many places, was torn from their bones. After the storm had abated a little, I went on deck to see one of these poor animals that was then almost dead. It was a noble creature, which a young man on board had purchased at the North for two hundred dollars, and was taking South. He was literally covered with blood, and to put an end to his sufferings as soon as possible when it became apparent that he could not recover from his bruises, he was thrown overboard.

Letter II

Irish People — Table Furniture — Sea Birds — Sea Monsters- Cape Hatteras — Pilot Boat — The Savannah Bar.

There was nothing on board I commiserated so much as the Irish people. During the storm they were all shut down in the hole together, as many as sixty or seventy of them. As soon as the storm was over, the hatches were taken up, and these poor creatures began to crawl out, so sick and weak they could scarcely support their own weight, and for two or three days, I saw them lying all around on the barrels, boxes, timbers, and hen-coops, the most forlorn looking creatures I ever beheld.

These wretched beings had recently emigrated from Ireland, landing in New York first, where they expected to find all the luxuries of life in abundance without labor; but being disappointed, again set sail, directing their course south, still hoping to find somewhere in the " new country" those golden dreams of prosperity realized, for which they had abandoned their own country and homes. Here again as every where they are destined to disappointment. When they have gone as far as the Southern States, they generally give up the search for pleasures that are never seen only at a distance. Many females soon die of hardships and broken hearts, while the men, to drown thoughts of disappointment in the intoxicating cup, go to drinking whiskey which causes the climate fever to set in, from which they seldom recover. Thus ends every year the existence of thousands of these deluded beings. Before I went to sea, I had often wondered how the plates, knives and forks, and so on, were made to retain their places on the tables. In the first place, the tables are furnished with small strips of wood nailed on so as to form little squares in which are placed all the plates and large dishes as well as knives and forks, and spoons; then all such dishes as castors, creamers, sugar bowls, etc., are fastened to the table by tying strings to them, and pinning them by a fork. Then after all this precaution, when the sea is rough they are often forced from their places, and dashed upon the floor. Sometimes our seats broke loose while sitting at our meals, and before we had time to help each other we would find ourselves on the opposite side of the cabin.

One day during the storm a lone sea-bird came and rested upon one of the yards. It was probably driven out to sea by the heavy winds, and had lost its reckoning. The bird had apparently been a long time on the wing not finding a resting place till it descried our vessel ; for it could hardly move its wings when it reached us, and I seldom ever had my feelings more wounded, than when in mere wantonness, several young, men seized their guns to shoot the poor bird, which had flown to us for refuge ; but not finding it a place of safety, it again exerted every weary muscle to hasten from the abode of man, from whom instinct usually teaches the brute creation to fly.

Though the storm had abated, the sea continued rough for many days ; a circumstance which seemed to give us an opportunity of seeing some of the monsters of the deep. Perhaps this had nothing to do in rousing up the inhabitants of the great sea, but it appeared so to me ; for before the storm we saw not a fish, but afterwards the ocean seemed to be alive with whales, grampuses, porpoises, and other sea-monsters. For two or three days the porpoises passed our vessel by the thousand; they would be seen riding upon every wave as far as the eye could reach. I have stood for hours at a time leaning upon the gunwale, to see these fishes swim by me, and sometimes they came so near I could almost reach them with my hand.

After the storm had passed, I learned that during the worst of it we were going round Cape Hatteras, where I had a great many times before heard that mariners usually found a stormf Whether it always storms there or whether it so happens that a storm always comes up just as a vessel is passing, is not known ; but the fact that it is generally squally when a ship is off the point, is well authenticated. I have inquired of a great many persons who have been round the cape, if this was true ; and in every instance they have told me it held true in their own as well as in all others' cases with which they were acquainted.

Finally, one morning after we had all become heartily tired of being crowded together in one small unwholesome apartment, the captain informed us we could go no further without a pilot, consequently all eyes were in search of a pilot boat. Some ascended the tops of the highest masts, while all either on the yards or deck, eagerly looked for the much desired object. At length a little speck was descried in the far off distance, which in the course of an hour, to our great joy, proved to be a pilot boat. A flag was immediately hoisted, and all necessary preparations made to receive a pilot on board. Soon the pilot boat put out a little skiff containing a pilot with two sailors to row it, and when it came so near our vessel that the pilot could reach a rope from it, one was thrown to him, by means of which he ascended to the deck amid the loud huzzas of the passengers and crew. The ship waited till the captain had prepared a present for the pilot crew, then amid the hearty cheers of their sea-faring brethren, they retraced their path in the mighty deep, and soon disappeared from our view among the far off mountain waves.

As soon as the pilot had partaken of a little repast, he took the command of our ship, and communicated to us the joyful intelligence that we should see the port of SaVannah by " sundown." About the middle of the afternoon, we came in sight of the shores of South Carolina, which really looked so green and sunny, I could hardly realize it was the fall of the year, having left the gardens and groves of New England in their robes of sere and yellow leaves. As the pilot had promised, we came in sight of the long and much desired haven, just as the sun was going down behind the distant steeples. Here we anticipated some trouble in passing the bar, for in our last war with Great Britain, to prevent the ascent of the British ships up the river, our navy sank a row of vessels on the bar, reaching from one shore to the other ; so that now all her Majesty's ships are obliged to remain out at sea, and all her imports and exports are conveyed to and from her ships in boats. Our vessels can usually pass the bar, as they have lighter bottoms than the British ships. We got over, however, without any difficulty, and while the gentlemen were shaving, a duty they had not ventured to undertake before, as they said "fearing suicide," the ladies enjoyed a portion of the twilight hour in watching the beautiful shores of the Savannah.

Here the weeping willow bent its pliant branches above many a little hut, and the tall marsh grass grew over the water's edge. We ascended the river as far as we could in our vessel, it being low tide, then took boats to go into the city. As soon as we cast anchor, which was at some distance from Savannah many gentlemen who had an interest in our arrival came in small boats to meet us, and gave us a welcome which appeared to be gratefully received by all. They informed us that they had spent the greater part of the day on the observatory, waiting to get a glimpse of that well-known banner they had so many times seen floating from the top of our fine brig, that they began now to fear had been wrecked in the storm. As soon as we were ready to disembark, they accompanied us to the shore, where we took leave of those who had been companions during a long and tedious voyage.

It was about half past eight when we entered the city, and here let me say, I never pictured to myself any scene described in fictitious narrative half so novel and romantic as Savannah appeared to me, the first evening I entered her streets.

Letter III

Savannah — The Pride of India — Pulaski Monument-— Mar * ket — A colored woman's head-dress — Low life in Georgia.

Savannah received its name, originally, from its general appearance, which was justly called by its founders a savanna, a term that signifies an open, marshy plain, without timber, as its first settlers found it. But though it still retains its first name, with merely the addition of one letter, it can no longer be literally applied to it ; for now it looks like a city built in a forest, so numerous are the shade trees in every part of it. Beneath these trees, the lamps are suspended that give light to the city in the evening. These lights, interspersed with the many long, black shadows, that fall every where around, heighten the romantic effect that the first sight of these streets would naturally produce in the mind of one unaccustomed to Southern scenes.

The city is laid out in squares, each of which is surrounded by a beautiful growth of orna-

16 REMINISCENES OF GEORGIA.

mental trees. The Pride of India is the most common, the preference being given to these trees because they attain their full growth sooner than any others. They become large trees in six or seven years, and when they arrive at maturity, they are as large as our oldest elms. For a long time in the summer season, they are completely covered with blossoms, in color like our lilac, and growing in clusters like the snowball. Then the blossoms are succeeded by a yellow, dry kind of fruit, about as large as our English cherry, which remains on the tree till the blossoms again appear. Trees of all kinds come to maturity much sooner at the South than they do at the North, owing to the climate, which allows them to grow the year round, while here the severity of the climate, entirely stops vegetation during the greater part of the year.

Many of the squares in Savannah are left open for places of public resort and promenade, and planted with beautiful shade trees of various kinds. In the midst of these grounds, wells are dug for the accommodation of the public, there being but few, if any private wells and reservoirs of water. One of these beautiful sites is ornamented with a splendid monument, erected to the memory of General Pulaski, who lost his life near this spot in the defence of our country's liberties.

As all these grounds are named from some particular circumstance, this is called the Monument square ; another is called the Market square, because the city market stands upon it, and so on. On the evening of my arrival, seeing none but white people in the streets, the fact that I was in a land where the largest proportion of its inhabitants were slaves, did not occur to my mind, neither was I forcibly reminded of this unpleasant truth, till the following morning ; for all the slaves in the city are obliged to retire within the precincts of their own dwellings at eight o'clock in the evening, the hour when the bell rings to summon the city patrol to their several posts. After that hour, every slave who is found in the streets without a passport is taken up and confined in the guard house till he has had a trial. If then he can prove he had a reasonable excuse for being out at an unreasonable hour, he is liberated. If it is found he is a run-away slave, then he is advertised for a certain number of days, and sold at public auction, if the owner of the slave does not make his appearance, and prove property before the advertisement is out. A pail carried by a slave in the evening serves for a legal passport. The propriety of this law I do not understand unless it is this, that a slave, running away, would not be likely to encumber himself with so much of a burden ; and besides, the pail would naturally signify' an errand. *

Soon after I had taken tea, I retired to* a chamber already prepared for my reception* and never was a couch more grateful to one, than that which rested my weary body that night. I never experienced any thing half so comfortable as to be sensible that my bed once more stood upon " terra firma." Words cannot express how sweet it was to be once more where the creaking of masts and the eternal clattering of the ropes and sails,. and the dashing of the waves against the sides of the -ship, could no longer reach my ears. I could not for some time sleep, I so much enjoyed the consciousness of being where I was not constantly tumbled from one side of my bed to the other, and where too I was not expecting to be thrown out of my bed if I did not exert all my strength in clinging to it all night.

In the morning, no sooner had the sky began to look a little grey, than such a confused jargon of strange sounds broke upon my ear, that in a few moments I found the sweet influences of sleep had entirely taken their flight and gone so far away they could not be recalled again that morning; therefore I arose and threw aside my curtain to learn the cause that had deprived me of my^ morning nap, when to my surprise I saw a great many colored persons, with now and then a white man among them, cmd animals of various kinds, among which mules- were the most numerous, all of which were assembled together under a sort of shelter, that from the appearance of things I soon judged to' be the city market, a description of which, perhaps, will not be uninteresting to those who have not visited the South. It is not a close building, like our markets at the North, but merely a roof, supported by pillars. This roof covers quite an extent of ground, laid with bricks for a floor. In the middle stands a pump, where water i^, obtained that is used in the market. This building is furnished with stalls, owned by individuals in the city, who send produce thef e to sell. In each of these stalls stands a servant woman to sell her masters property, who is careful to deck out his saleswoman in the most gaudy colors to make her as conspicuous as possible, that she may be successful in trade. I once heard a gentleman say, whose saleswoman had not been very successful, " he must get her a new handkerchief for her head, and see if she would not sell more."

Bonnets are not worn by the colored people at the South, not even to church. The fashion of their head dress is a sort of turban, made byfolding a cotton handkerchief in that peculiar kind of way known only to themselves. They select for this purpose the most gaudy that can be found. As I never saw any of the kind before or since, I have concluded they were manufactured for this express purpose by those who well understand what was most congenial to their tastes. During my stay in Georgia, I saw so many of those red and yellow articles worn by the colored people, high colors have never been endurable to me since. These turbans are so arranged, as to entirely conceal their own hair ; but those who are particularly desirous to make a good external appearance, wear false braids and curls as long as those that grace the face of any white lady. The market is free for trade from five o'clock in the morning till ten. Then the bell rings and all are obliged to disperse and take with them their unsold articles, for every thing that remains on the ground after ten o'clock belongs to the keeper. Trade is not allowed in the market excepting on Saturday evening, when it is more crowded than at any other time ; for the people come then to purchase for the Sabbath, and many go just because they want to see a great crowd. It has been estimated that on some pleasant evenings there are no less than four thousand people in the market at one time. Here almost every eatable thing can be found. Vegetables fresh from the garden are sold the year round. All kinds of fish, both shell and finny, may be had there; birds of all kinds, both tame and wild, and the most delicious tropical fruits, as well as those which are brought from cold countries. People travel a great distance for the purpose of buying and selling in the market. I have known women to come one hundred miles to sell the products of their own industry. Those who do this live in the northern part of the State, and differ much in their manners and customs from the people in the low country. They have no idea of style and refinement in living; a great many of them own slaves and they all work in the field together, white men and black men, white women and black women, without distinction. I have been told it is not an uncommon occurrence to see a white woman holding the plough, a task, however, not so difficult there as it would be at the North, owing to the lightness of the soil. When the morning's work is done, they all repair to the house, both masters and slaves, where a pot of homony has been prepared for dinner, then all sit down on the floor, and help themselves out of the same dish.