Chapter VI: Front Matter (6)

The invention of the steam-engine, and its application to nautical purposes, deprived the boatmen of employment; they were again thrown upon their own resources, and as it may be supposed, did not much assist in the amelioration of Mississippi society. The country gradually increased its population, but as a majority of those who migrated were of the worst description, being composed of those who had fled from the more settled States to escape the punishment due to their crimes, it may be said, that so far from improving, the morals of the Mississippi became worse, as the mean and paltry knave, the swindler, and the forger were now mingled up with the more daring spirits, producing a more complicated and varied class of crime than before. The steam-boats were soon crowded by a description of people who were termed gamblers, as such was their ostensible profession, although they were ready for any crime which might offer an advantage to them, [see note 1] and the increase of commerce and constant inpouring of populations daily offer to them some new dupe for their villainy. The state of society was much worse than before--the knife was substituted for the rifle, and the river buried many a secret of atrocious murder. To prove the extent to which these deeds of horror were perpetrated, I shall give to the English reader, in as succinct a form as I can, the history of John Murel, the land pirate, as he was termed. There is an octavo volume, published in the United States, giving a whole statement of the affair; it was not until the year 1833 that it was exposed, and Murel sent to the Penitentiary. Murel was at the head of a large band, who had joined under his directions, for the purposes of stealing horses and negroes in the southern States, and of passing counterfeit money. He appears to have been a most dexterous as well as consummate villain. When he travelled, his usual disguise was that of an itinerant preacher; and it is said that his discourses were very "soul moving"--interesting the hearers so much that they forgot to look after their horses, which were carried away by his confederates while he was preaching. But the stealing of horses in one State, and selling them in another, was but a small portion of their business; the most lucrative was the enticing slaves to run away from their masters, that they might sell them in some other quarter. This was arranged as follows; they would tell a negro that if he would run away from his master, and allow them to sell him, he should receive a portion of the money paid for him, and that upon his return to them a second time they would send him to a free State, where he would be safe. The poor wretches complied with this request, hoping to obtain money and freedom; they would be sold to another master, and run away again to their employers; sometimes they would be sold in this manner three or four times until they had realised three or four thousand dollars by them; but as, after this, there was fear of detection, the usual custom was to get rid of the only witness that could be produced against them, which was the negro himself, by murdering him, and throwing his body into the Mississippi. Even if it was established that they had stolen a negro before he was murdered, they were always prepared to evade punishment, for they concealed the negro who had run away until he was advertised, and a reward offered to any man who would catch him. An advertisement of this kind warrants the person to take the property, if found, and then the negro becomes a property in trust. When, therefore, they sold the negro, it only became a breach of trust, not stealing; and for a breach of trust, the owner of the property can only have redress by a civil action, which was useless, as the damages were never paid. It may be inquired, how it was that Murel escaped Lynch law under such circumstances? This will be easily understood when it is stated that he had more than a thousand sworn confederates, all ready at a moment's notice to support any of the gang who might be in trouble. The names of all the principal confederates of Murel were obtained from himself, in a manner which I shall presently explain. The gang was composed of two classes: the heads or council, as they were called, who planned and concerted but seldom acted; they amounted to about four hundred. The other class were the active agents, and were termed Strikers, and amounted to about six hundred and fifty. These were the tools in the hands of the others; they ran all the risk, and received but a small proportion of the money; they were in the power of the leaders of the gang, who would sacrifice them at any time by handing them over to justice, or sinking their bodies in the Mississippi. The general rendezvous of this gang of miscreants was on the Arkansaw side of the river, where they concealed their negroes in the morasses and cane-brakes.

The depredations of this extensive combination were severely felt: but so well were their plans arranged, that although Murel, who was always active, was everywhere suspected, there was no proof to be obtained. It so happened, however, that a young man of the name of Stewart, who was looking after two slaves which Murel had decoyed away, fell in with him and obtained his confidence, took the oath, and was admitted into the gang as one of the general council. By this means all was discovered; for Stewart turned traitor, although he had taken the oath, and, having obtained every information, exposed the whole concern, the names of all the parties, and finally succeeded in bringing home sufficient evidence against Murel, to procure his conviction and sentence to the Penitentiary; where he now is. (Murel was sentenced to fourteen years' imprisonment, but as he will, upon the expiration of his time, be immediately prosecuted and sentenced again for similar deeds in other States, he will remain imprisoned for life). So many people who were supposed to be honest, and bore a respectable name in the different States, were found to be among the list of the Grand Council as published by Stewart, that every attempt was made to throw discredit upon his assertions--his character was vilified, and more than one attempt was made to assassinate him. He was obliged to quit the Southern States in consequence. It is, however, now well ascertained to have been all true; and although some blame Mr Stewart for having violated his oath, they no longer attempt to deny that his revelations were not correct. To understand, to the full amount, the enormities committed by this miscreant and his gang, the reader must read the whole account published at New York; I will however just quote one or two portions of Murel's confessions to Mr Stewart, made to him when they were journeying together. I ought to have observed, that the ultimate intentions of Murel and his associates were by his own account on a very extended scale; having no less an object in view than raising the blacks against the whites, taking possession of, and plundering New Orleans, and making themselves possessors of the territory. The following are a few extracts from the published work:--

"I collected all my friends about New Orleans at one of our friend's houses in that place, and we sat in council three days before we got all our plans to our notion; we then determined to undertake the rebellion at every hazard, and make as many friends as we could for that purpose. Every man's business being assigned him, I started to Natchez on foot, having sold my horse in New Orleans, with the intention of stealing another after I started: I walked four days, and no opportunity offered for me to get a horse. The fifth day, about twelve, I had become tired, and stopped at a creek to get some water and rest a little. While I was sitting on a log, looking down the road the way that I had come, a man came in sight riding on a good-looking horse. The very moment I saw him, I was determined to have his horse, if he was in the garb of a traveller. He rode up, and I saw from his equipage that he was a traveller. I arose from a seat, and drew an elegant rifle pistol on him and ordered him to dismount. He did so, and I took his horse by the bridle and pointed down the creek, and ordered him to walk before me. He went a few hundred yards and stopped. I hitched his horse, and then made him undress himself, all to his shirt and drawers, and ordered him to turn his back to me. He said, "If you are determined to kill me, let me have time to pray before I die." I told him I had no time to hear him pray. He turned round and dropped on his knees, and I shot him through the back of the head. I ripped open his belly and took out his entrails, and sunk him in the creek. I then searched his pockets, and found four hundred dollars and thirty-seven cents, and a number of papers that I did not take time to examine. I sunk the pocket-book and papers, and his hat, in the creek. His boots were brand new, and fitted me genteelly; and I put them on and sunk my old shoes in the creek, to atone for them. I rolled up his clothes and put them into his portmanteau, as they were brand new cloth of the best quality. I mounted as fine a horse as ever I straddled, and directed my course for Natchez in much better style than I had been for the last five days.

"Myself and a fellow by the name of Crenshaw gathered four good horses and started for Georgia. We got in company with a young South Carolina just before we got to Cumberland mountain, and Crenshaw soon knew all about his business. He had been to Tennessee to buy a drove of hogs, but when he got there pork was dearer than he had calculated, and he declined purchasing. We concluded he was a prize. Crenshaw winked at me; I understood his idea. Crenshaw had travelled the road before, but I never had. We had travelled several miles on the mountain, when he passed near a great precipice; just before we passed it Crenshaw asked me for my whip, which had a pound of lead in the butt; I handed it to him, and he rode up by the side of the South Carolinian, and gave him a blow on the side of the head and tumbled him from his horse; we lit from our horses and fingered his pockets; we got twelve hundred and sixty-two dollars. Crenshaw said he knew of a place to hide him, and he gathered him under his arms, and I by his feet, and conveyed him to a deep crevice in the brow of the precipice, and tumbled him into it, he went out of sight; we then tumbled in his saddle, and took his horse with us, which was worth two hundred dollars.

"We were detained a few days, and during that time our friend went to a little village in the neighbourhood and saw the negro advertised, and a description of the two men of whom he had been purchased, and giving his suspicions of the men. It was rather squally times, but any port in a storm: we took the negro that night on the bank of a creek which runs by the farm of our friend, and Crenshaw shot him through the head. We took out his entrails and sunk him in the creek.

"He sold him the third time on Arkansaw river for five hundred dollars; and then stole him and delivered him into the hand of his friend, who conducted him to a swamp, and veiled the tragic scene and got the last gleanings and sacred pledge of secrecy, as a game of that kind will not do unless it ends in a mystery to all but the fraternity. He sold that negro for two thousand dollars, and then put him for ever out of the reach of all pursuers; and they can never graze him unless they can find the negro; and that they cannot do, for his carcass has fed many a tortoise and cat-fish before this time, and the frogs have sung this many a long day to the silent repose of his skeleton."

It will be observed that in the account of his murders, by the cold-blooded villain, whenever he conceals his victim in the water, he takes out the entrails. This is because when the entrails are removed, the body will not rise again to the surface from the generation of gas, occasioned by putrefaction.

As it is but five years since the conviction of Murel, it may be supposed that society cannot be much improved in so short a period. But five years is a long period, as I have before observed in American history; and some improvement has already taken place, as I shall hereafter show; still the state of things at present is most lamentable, as the reader will acknowledge, when he has heard the facts which I have collected.

The two great causes of the present lawless state of society in the South are a mistaken notion of physical courage, and a total want of moral courage. Fiery and choleric in his disposition, intemperate in his habits, and worked upon by the peculiarity of the climate, the Southerner is always ready to enter into a quarrel, and prepared with pistol and Bowie-knife to defend himself. For the latter he cannot well be blamed, for in the present state of things, it is only being prepared in self-defence; but at the same time, the weapons being at hand, is one great cause of such frequent bloodshed. To give the lie, or to use opprobrious language, is considered sufficient justification for using the knife; and as public opinion is on the side of the party who thus retaliates on an affront, there is no appeal to law, as if there was, the majority would never permit the law to be put in force: the consequence is, that if a man is occasionally tried for murder, if any witness will come forward to prove that the party murdered made use of an offensive epithet to the prisoner, (and there are always to be found plenty of people to do this act of kindness,) he is invariably acquitted. The law therefore being impotent, is hardly ever resorted to; every man takes the law into his own hands, and upon the least affront, blood is certain to be shed. Strange to say, I have heard the system of the South defended by very respectable individuals. They say that, taking summary measures at the time that the blood is up, is much preferable to the general custom of fighting a duel the next day, which is murder in cold blood; that this idea is supported by the laws of England is certain, as it resolves murder into manslaughter. But, unfortunately, the argument is not borne out, from the simple fact, that the quarrels do not [go away] with the cooling down of the blood, and if not settled on the spot, they remain as feuds between the parties, and revenge takes the place of anger; years will sometimes pass away, and the insult or injury is never forgotten; and deliberate, cold-blooded murder is the result; for there is no warning given.

When I was in Kentucky, a man walked up to Mr Prentice, the talented editor of the Louisville Journal, and without a word passing, fired a pistol at his head. Fortunately the ball missed him; no notice was taken of this attempt to murder. But I have had many other examples of this kind, for if you quarrel with a person and the affair is not decided at once, it is considered perfectly justifiable to take your revenge whenever you meet him, and in any way you can. An American gentleman told me that he happened to arrive at a town in Georgia with a friend of his, who went with him to the post-office for letters. This person had had a quarrel with another who resided in the town; but they had not met with each other for seven years. The town resident was looking out of his window, when they went to the post-office on the opposite side of the street; he recognised his enemy, and closing his shutters that he might not be seen, passed the muzzle of his rifle between them, and shot him dead, as he was with his back to him paying for his letters.

But a more curious instance of this custom was narrated to me by an eye-witness; a certain general had a feud with another person, and it was perfectly understood that they were to fight when they met. It so happened, that the general had agreed to dine at the public table of the principal hotel in the town with some friends. When the gong sounded, and they all hastened in, as they do, to take their places, he found his antagonist seated with a party of his own friends directly opposite to him. Both their pistols were out in a moment, and were presented. "Would you prefer dining first?" said the general, who was remarkable for coolness and presence of mind. "I have no objection," replied the other, and the pistols were withdrawn. Some observation, however, occasioned the pistols to be again produced before the dinner was over; and then the friends interfered, each party removing so many feet above and below, so as to separate them.

A day or two afterwards they again met at the corner of a street, and the weapons were produced; but the general, who had some important business to transact, said, "I believe, sir, I can, and you know I can, cock a pistol as soon as any man. I give you your choice; shall it be now, or at some future meeting?"--"At some future meeting then," replied his antagonist, "for, to confess the truth, general, I should like to _have you at an advantage_; that is to say, I should like to shoot you, when your back is turned."

I have observed that there is a total want of moral courage on the part of the more respectable population, who will quietly express their horror and disgust at such scenes, but who will never interfere, if the most barbarous murder is committed close to where they are standing. I spoke to many gentlemen on this subject, expressing my surprise; the invariable answer was, "If we interfered we should only hurt ourselves, and do no good; in all probability we should have the quarrel fixed upon ourselves, and risk our own lives, for a man whom we neither know nor care about."

In one case only, the Southerners hang together, which is, if the quarrel is with a stranger. Should the stranger have the best of it, all the worse for him; for, by their own understanding, the stranger must be _whipped_. (Whipping is the term for being conquered, whether the contest is with or without weapons.) No stranger can therefore escape, if he gets into a quarrel; although they fight with each other, on this point the Southerners are all agreed, and there is no chance of escape.

A striking proof of indifference to human life shown by the authorities took place when I was in the West. Colonel C, returning with his regiment from Florida, passed through a town in the State of Tennessee. In a quarrel, one of his soldiers murdered a citizen; and the colonel, who respected the laws, immediately sent the soldier as a prisoner, with a corporal's guard, to be handed over to the authorities. The authorities returned their thanks to the colonel for his kind attention, were "very much obliged to him: but as for the man, _they did not want him_," so the soldier marched off with the rest of the detachment.

It must not be supposed that in this representation of society, I chiefly refer to the humbler classes. I refer to those who are considered as [gentlemen], and who, if wealth, and public employment may be said to constitute gentility, are the gentlemen of the States bordering on the Mississippi. My readers may perhaps recollect a circumstance which occurred but a short time ago, when a member of the House of Legislature in the State of Arkansas, who had a feud with the Speaker of the House, upon his entering the hall, was rushed upon by the Speaker, and stabbed to the heart with a Bowie-knife. What was the result? What steps were taken on the committal of such a foul murder in the very hall of legislature! such a precedent of example shown to the State, by one of its most important members? The following American account, will show what law, what justice, and what a jury is to be found in this region of unprecedented barbarism!

"A MOST DISGRACEFUL AFFAIR.

"Our readers will perhaps recollect the circumstance which occurred in the legislature of Arkansas, when a member was killed by the Speaker. The Little Rock Gazette gives the following picture of the state of public feeling in that most civilised country:--

"Three days had elapsed before the constituted authorities took any notice of this terrible, this murderous deed, and not even then until a relation of the murdered Anthony had demanded a warrant for the apprehension of Wilson. Several days then elapsed before he was brought before an examining court; he then, in a carriage and four, came to the place appointed for his trial. Four or five days were employed in the examination of witnesses, and never was a clearer case of murder proved than on that occasion. Notwithstanding, the court (Justice Brown dissenting) admitted Wilson to bail, and positively refused that the prosecuting attorney for the State should introduce the law, to show that it was not a bailable case, or even to hear an argument from him, and the counsel associated with him to prosecute Wilson for the murder.

"At the time appointed for the session of the Circuit Court, Wilson appeared agreeably to his recognisance; a motion was made by Wilson's counsel for a change of _venue_, founded on the affidavits of Wilson and two other men. One stated in his affidavit, that `nine-tenths of the people of Pulaski had made up and expressed their opinions, and that therefore it would be unsafe for Wilson to be tried in Pulaski;' and the other, that, `from the repeated occurrence of similar acts within the last four or five years in this country, the people were disposed to act rigidly, and that it would be unsafe for Wilson to be tried in Pulaski.' The court thereupon removed Wilson to Saline county, and ordered the sheriff to take Wilson into custody, and deliver him over to the sheriff of Saline county.

"The sheriff of Pulaski never confined Wilson one minute, but permitted him to go where he pleased, without a guard or any restraint imposed upon him whatever. On his way to Saline he entertained him freely at his own house, and the next day delivered him over to the sheriff of that county, who conducted the prisoner to the debtors' room in the jail and gave him the key, so that everybody else had free egress and ingress at all times. Wilson invited everybody to call on him, and he wished to see his friends, and his room was crowded with visitors, who called to drink grog and laugh and talk with him. But this theatre was not sufficiently large for this purpose; he afterwards visited the dram-shops, where he freely treated all that would partake with him, and went fishing and hunting with others at pleasure, and entirely without restraint; he also ate at the same table with the judge while on trial.

"When the court met at Saline, Wilson was put on his trial. Several days were occupied in examining witnesses in the case; after the examination was closed, while Colonel Taylor was engaged in a very able, lucid, and argumentative speech on the part of the prosecution, some man collected a parcel of the rabble, and came within a few yards of the court-house door, and bawled, in a loud voice, `Part them! part them!' Everybody supposed there was an affray, and ran to the door and windows to see, and behold there was nothing more than the man and the rabble he had collected round him for the purpose of annoying Colonel Taylor while speaking. A few minutes afterwards this same person brought a horse near the court-house door, and commenced crying the horse, as though he were for sale, and continued for ten or fifteen minutes to ride before the court-house door, crying the horse in a loud and boisterous tone of voice. The judge sat as a silent listener to the indignity thus offered the court and counsel by this man, without interposing his authority.

"To show the depravity of the times and the people, after the verdict had been delivered by the jury, and the court informed Wilson that he was discharged, there was a rush towards him; some seized him by the hand, some by the arm, and there was great and loud rejoicing and exultation directly in the presence of the court, and Wilson told the sheriff to take the jury to a grocery that he might treat them, and invited every body that chose to go. The house was soon filled to overflowing, and it is much to be regretted that some men who have held a good standing in society followed the crowd to the grocery and partook of Wilson's treat. The rejoicing was kept up till near supper time; but, to cap the climax, soon after supper was over a majority of the jury, together with many others, went to the room that had been occupied for several days by the friend and relation of the murdered Anthony, and commenced a scene of the most ridiculous dancing (as it is believed) in triumph for Wilson, and as a triumph over the feelings of the relation of the departed Anthony. The scene did not end here. The party retired to a dram-shop, and continued their rejoicings until about half after ten o'clock. They then collected a parcel of horns, trumpets, etcetera, and marched through the streets blowing them till near day, when one of the company rode his horse into the porch adjoining the room which was occupied by the relation of the deceased.

"These are some of the facts that took place during the progress of the trial, and after its close. The whole proceedings have been conducted more like a farce than anything else, and it is a disgrace to the country in which this fatal, this horrible massacre has happened, that there should be in it men so lost to every virtue, of feeling and humanity, to sanction and give countenance to such a bloody deed. Wilson's hand is now stained with the blood of a worthy and unoffending man. The seal of disapprobation must for ever rest upon him in the estimation of the honest, well-meaning portion of the community. Humanity shudders at the bloody deed, and ages cannot wipe away the stain which he has brought upon his country. Arkansas, therefore, the mock of the other States on account of the frequent murders and assassinations which have marked her character, has now to be branded with the stain of this horrible, this murderous deed, rendered still more odious from the circumstance that a jury of twelve men should have rendered a verdict of acquittal contrary to law and evidence."

To quote the numerous instances of violation of all law and justice in these new States would require volumes. I will, however, support my evidence with that of Miss Martineau, who, speaking of the State of Alabama, says--"It is certainly the place to become rich in, but the state of society is fearful. One of my hosts, a man of great good-nature, as he shows in the treatment of his slaves and in his family relations, had been stabbed in the back, in the reading-room of the town, two years before, and no prosecution was instituted. Another of my hosts carried loaded pistols for a fortnight, just before I arrived, knowing that he was lain in wait for by persons against whose illegal practices he had given information to a magistrate, whose carriage was therefore broken in pieces and thrown into the river. A lawyer, with whom we were in company one afternoon, was sent to take the deposition of a dying man, who had been sitting with his family in the shade, when he received three balls in the back from three men who took aim at him from behind trees. The tales of jail-breaking and rescue were numberless; and a lady of Montgomery told me, that she had lived there four years, during which time no day, she believed, had passed without some one's life having been attempted either by duelling or assassination."

The rapid increase of population in the Far West, and the many respectable people who have lately migrated there, together with the Texas having now become the refuge of those whose presence even the Southern States will no longer tolerate, promise very soon to produce a change. The cities have already set the example by purifying themselves. Natchez, the lower town of which was a Pandemonium, has cleansed herself to a very great extent. Vicksburg has, by its salutary Lynch law, relieved herself of the infamous gamblers, and New Orleans, in whose streets murders were daily occurring, is now one of the safest towns in the Union.

This regeneration in New Orleans was principally brought about by the exertions of the English and American merchants from the Eastern States, who established an effectual police, and having been promised support by the State legislature, determined to make an example of the very first party who should commit a murder. It so happened, that the first person who was guilty, was a Colonel or Mr Whittaker of Louisiana, a person well connected, and of a wealthy family. In a state of intoxication he entered the bar of an hotel, and affronted at the bar-keeper not paying immediate attention to his wishes, he rushed upon the unfortunate man, and literally cut him to pieces with his heavy Bowie knife.

He was put in prison, tried and condemned. Every effort was made to save him, both by force and perseverance, but in vain. Finding that he must really suffer the penalty of the law, his friends, to avoid the disgrace of a public execution, provided him with the means; and he destroyed himself in the prison the night before his execution. So unexpected was this act of justice, that it created the greatest sensation; it was looked upon as a legal murder; his body, being made over to his relations, was escorted to his home with great parade; the militia were turned out to receive it with military honours, and General --, who set up for the governorship of Louisiana, pronounced the funeral eulogy!!

But this decided and judicious step was attended with the best results; and now that there is an active police, and it is known that a murderer will be executed, you may safely walk the streets of New Orleans on the darkest nights.

To show, however, how difficult it is to eradicate bad habits, a gentleman told me that it being the custom when the Quadroon balls were given at New Orleans, for the police to search every person on entering, and taking away his Bowie-knife, the young man would resort to the following contrivance. The knives of a dozen, perhaps, were confided to one, who remained outside; the others entered, and being searched were passed; they then opened one of the ball-room windows, and let down a string, to which the party left outside fastened all their knives as well as his own; they were hauled up, he then entered himself, and each person regained his knife. The reason for these precautions being taken by the police was, that the women being all of colour, their evidence was not admissible in a court of justice; and no evidence could be obtained from the young men, should a murder have been committed.

But although some of the towns have, as I have pointed out, effected a great reformation, the state of society in general in these States is still most lamentable; and there is little or no security for life and property; and what is to be much deplored, the evil extends to other States which otherwise would much sooner become civilised.

This arises from the Southern habits of migrating to the other States during the unhealthy months. During the rest of the year they remain on their properties, living perhaps in a miserable log-house, and almost in a state of nature, laying up dollars and attending carefully to their business. But as soon as the autumn comes, it is the time for holiday, they dress themselves in their best clothes, and set off to amuse themselves; spend their money and pass off for gentlemen. Their resorts are chiefly the State of Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio; where the springs, Cincinnati, Louisville, and other towns are crowded with them; they pass their time in constant revelling, many of them being seldom free from the effects of liquor; and I must say, that I never in my life heard such awful swearing as many of them are guilty of. Every sentence is commenced with some tremendous oath, which really horrifies you; in fact, although in the dress of gentlemen, in no other point can they lay any pretensions to the title. Of course, I am now speaking of the mass; there are many exceptions, but even these go with the stream, and make no efforts to resist it. Content with not practising these vices themselves, they have not the courage to protest against them in others.

In the Eastern States the use of the knife was opposed to general feeling, as it is, or as I regret to say, as it _used_ to be in this country. I was passing down Broadway in New York, when a scoundrel of a carman flogged with his whip a young Southern who had a lady under his protection. Justly irritated, and no match for the sturdy ruffian in physical strength, the young man was so imprudent as to draw his knife, and throw it Indian fashion; and for so doing, he was with difficulty saved from the indignation of the people.

Ohio is chiefly populated by Eastern people; yet to my surprise when at Cincinnati, a row took place in the theatre, Bowie-knives were drawn by several. I never had an idea that there was such a weapon worn there; but as I afterwards discovered, they were worn in self defence, because the Southerners carried them. The same may be said of the States of Virginia and Kentucky, which are really now in many portions of them civilised States; but the regular inroad of the Southerners every year keeps up a system, which would before this have very probably become obsolete; but as it is, the duel at sight, and the knife, is resorted to in these States, as well as in the Mississippi. This lamentable state of society must exist for some time yet, as civilisation progresses but slowly in some of the slave States. Some improvement has of late been made, as I have pointed out; but it is chiefly the lower class of miscreants who have been rooted out, not the _gentleman assassins_; for I can give them no other title.

The women of the south appear to have their passions equally violent with the men. When I was at Louisville, a married lady, for some fancied affront, insisted upon her husband _whipping_ another gentlemen. The husband not wishing to get a broken head, expostulated, upon which she replied, that, if he did not, she would find some other gentleman to do it for her. The husband, who probably was aware that these services are not without their reward, went accordingly, and had a turn-up in obedience to the lady's wishes.

It appears to me, that it is the Southern ladies, and the ladies alone, who can affect any reformation in these points. They have great sway, and if they were to form an association, and declare that they would not marry, or admit into their company, any man who carried a Bowie-knife or other weapons, that they would prevail, when nothing else will. This would be a glorious achievement, and I am convinced from the chivalry towards women shown by the Southerners on every occasion, that they might be prevailed upon by them to leave off customs so disgraceful, so demoralising, and so incompatible with the true principles of honour and Christianity.

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Note 1. "_Jackson, Mississippi, Oct_. 18.

"Postscript.--_By yesterday evening's northern mail_, we learn from the Argus of 9th inst., that during the last week the gamblers in Columbus, Mississippi, have kept the town in great excitement. Armed men paraded the streets, and were stationed at corners, with double-barrelled guns, Bowie knives, etcetera; and every day a general fight was anticipated. The gamblers put law and public indignation at defiance. The militia were called out to aid the civil authority in preserving peace."--Sun.

VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER ONE.

SOCIETY--WOMEN.

The women of America are unquestionably, physically, as far as beauty is concerned, and morally, of a higher standard than the men; nevertheless they have not that influence which they ought to possess. In my former remarks upon the women of America I have said, that they are the prettiest in the world, and I have put the word _prettiest_ in italics, as I considered it a term peculiarly appropriate to the American women. In many points the Americans have, to a certain degree, arrived at that equality which they profess to covet; and in no one, perhaps, more than in the fair distribution of good looks among the women. This is easily accounted for: there is not to be found, on the one hand, that squalid wretchedness, that half-starved growing up, that disease and misery, nor on the other, that hereditary refinement, that inoculation of the beautiful, from the constant association with the fine arts, that careful nurture, and constant attention to health and exercise, which exist in the dense population of the cities of the Old World; and occasion those variations from extreme plainness to the perfection of beauty which are to be seen, particularly in the metropolis of England. In the United States, where neither the excess of misery nor of luxury and refinement are known, you have, therefore, a more equal distribution of good looks, and, although you often meet with beautiful women, it is but rarely that you find one that may be termed ill favoured. The _coup-d'oeil_ is, therefore, more pleasing in America--enter society, and turn your eyes in any direction, you will everywhere find cause for pleasure, although seldom any of annoyance. The climate is not, however, favourable to beauty, which, compared to the English, is very transitory, especially in the Eastern States; and when a female arrives at the age of thirty, its reign is, generally speaking, over.

The climate of the Western States appears, however, more favourable to it, and I think I saw more handsome women at Cincinnati than in any other city of the Union; their figures were more perfect, and they were finer grown, not receiving the sudden checks to which the Eastern women are exposed.

Generally speaking, but a small interval elapses between the period of American girls leaving school and their entering upon their duties as wives; but during that period, whatever it may be, they are allowed more liberty than the young people in our country; walking out without _chaperons_, and visiting their friends as they please. There is a reason for this: the matrons are compelled, from the insufficiency of their domestics, to attend personally to all the various duties of housekeeping; their fathers and brothers are all employed in their respective money-making transactions, and a servant cannot be spared from American establishments; if, therefore, they are to walk out and take exercise, it must be alone, and this can be done in the United States with more security than elsewhere, from the circumstance of everybody being actively employed, and there being no people at leisure who are strolling or idling about. I think that the portion of time which elapses between the period of a young girl leaving school and being married, is the happiest of her existence. I have already remarked upon the attention and gallantry shewn by the Americans to the women, especially to the unmarried. This is carried to an extent which, in England, would be considered by our young women as no compliment; to a certain degree it pervades every class, and even the sable damsels have no reason to complain of not being treated with the excess of politeness; but in my opinion, (and I believe the majority of the American women will admit the correctness of it,) they do not consider themselves flattered by a species of homage which is paying no compliment to their good sense, and after which the usual attentions of an Englishman to the sex are by some considered as amounting to hauteur and neglect.

Be it as it may, the American women are not spoiled by this universal adulation which they receive previous to their marriage. It is not that one is selected for her wealth or extreme beauty to the exception of all others; in such a case it might prove dangerous; but it is a flattery paid to the whole sex, given to all, and received as a matter of course by all, and therefore it does no mischief. It does, however, prove what I have observed at the commencement of this chapter, which is, that the women have not that influence which they are entitled to, and which, for the sake of morality, it is to be lamented that they have not; when men _respect_ women they do not attempt to make fools of them, but treat them as rational and immortal beings, and this general adulation is cheating them with the shadow, while they withhold from them the substance.

I have said that the period between her emancipation from school and her marriage is the happiest portion of an American woman's existence; indeed it has reminded me of the fetes and amusements given in a Catholic country to a young girl previous to her taking the veil, and being immured from the world; for the duties of a wife in America are from circumstances very onerous, and I consider her existence after that period as but one of negative enjoyment. And yet she appears anxious to abridge even this small portion of freedom and happiness, for marriage is considered almost as a business, or, I should say, a duty, an idea probably handed down by the first settlers, to whom an increase of population was of such vital importance. Note 1.

However much the Americans may wish to deny it, I am inclined to think that there are more marriages of _convenance_ in the United States than in most other countries. The men begin to calculate long before they are of an age to marry, and it is not very likely that they would calculate so well upon all other points, and not upon the value of a dowry; moreover, the old people "calculate some," and the girls accept an offer, without their hearts being seriously compromised. Of course there are exceptions: but I do not think that there are many _love_ matches made in America, and one reason for my holding this opinion is, my having discovered how quietly matches are broken off and new engagements entered into; and it is, perhaps, from a knowledge of this fact, arising from the calculating spirit of the gentlemen, who are apt to consider 20,000 dollars as preferable to 10,000, that the American girls are not too hasty in surrendering their hearts.

I knew a young lady who was engaged to an acquaintance of mine; on my return to their city a short time afterwards, I found that the match was broken off, and that she was engaged to another, and nothing was thought of it. I do not argue from this simple instance, but because I found, on talking about it, that it was a very common circumstance, and because, where scandal is so rife, no remarks were made. If a young lady behaves in a way so as to give offence to the gentleman she is engaged to, and sufficiently indecorous to warrant his breaking off the match, he is gallant to the very last, for he writes to her, and begs that she will dismiss _him_. This I knew to be done by a party I was acquainted with; he told me that it was considered _good taste_, and I agreed with him. On the whole, I hold it very fortunate that in American marriages there is, generally speaking, more prudence than love on both sides, for from the peculiar habits and customs of the country, a woman who loved without prudence would not feel very happy as a wife.

Let us enter into an examination of the married life in the United States.

All the men in America are busy; their whole time is engrossed by their accumulation of money; they breakfast early and repair to their stores or counting-houses; the majority of them do not go home to dinner, but eat at the nearest tavern or oyster-cellar, for they generally live at a considerable distance from the business part of the town, and time is too precious to be thrown away. It would be supposed that they would be home to an early tea; many are, but the majority are not. After fagging, they require recreation, and the recreations of most Americans are politics and news, besides the chance of doing a little more business, all of which, with drink, are to be obtained at the bars of the principal commercial hotels in the city. The consequence is, that the major portion of them come home late, tired, and go to bed; early the next morning they are off to their business again. Here it is evident that the women do not have much of their husband's society; nor do I consider this arising from any want of inclination on the part of the husbands, as there is an absolute necessity that they should work as hard as others if they wish to do well, and what one does, the other must do. Even frequenting the bar is almost a necessity, for it is there that they obtain all the information of the day. But the result is that the married women are left alone; their husbands are not their companions, and if they could be, still the majority of the husbands would not be suitable companions for the following reasons. An American starts into life at so early an age that what he has gained at school, with the exception of that portion brought into use from his business, is lost. He has no time for reading, except the newspaper; all his thoughts and ideas are centred in his employment; he becomes perfect in that, acquires a great deal of practical knowledge useful for making money, but for little else. This he must do if he would succeed, and the major portion confine themselves to such knowledge alone. But with the women it is different; their education is much more extended than that of the men, because they are more docile, and easier to control in their youth; and when they are married, although their duties are much more onerous than with us, still, during the long days and evenings, during which they wait for the return of their husbands, they have time to finish, I may say, their own educations and improve their minds by reading. The consequence of this, with other adjuncts, is, that their minds become, and really are, much more cultivated and refined than those of their husbands; and when the universal practice of using tobacco and drinking among the latter is borne in mind, it will be readily admitted that they are also much more refined in their persons.

These are the causes why the American women are so universally admired by the English and other nations, while they do not consider the men as equal to them either in manners or personal appearance. Let it be borne in mind that I am now speaking of the majority, and that the exceptions are very numerous; for instance, you may except one whole profession, that of the lawyers, among whom you will find no want of gentlemen or men of highly cultivated minds; indeed, the same may be said with respect to most of the liberal professions, but only so because their profession allows that time for improving themselves which the American in general, in his struggle on the race for wealth, cannot afford to spare.

As I have before observed, the ambition of the American is from circumstances mostly directed to but one object--that of rapidly raising himself above his fellows by the accumulation of a fortune; to this one great desideratum all his energies are directed, all his thoughts are bent, and by it all his ideas are engrossed. When I first arrived in America, as I walked down Broadway, it appeared strange to me that there should be such a remarkable family likeness among the people. Every man I met seemed to me by his features, to be a brother or a connection of the last man who had passed me; I could not at first comprehend this, but the mystery was soon revealed. It was that they were all intent and engrossed with the same object; all were, as they passed, calculating and reflecting; this produced a similar contraction of the brow, knitting of the eye-brows, and compression of the lips--a similarity of feeling had produced a similarity of expression, from the same muscles being called into action. Even their hurried walk assisted the error; it is a saying in the United States, "that a New York merchant always walks as if he had a good dinner before him, and a bailiff behind him," and the metaphor is not inapt.

Now, a man so wholly engrossed in business cannot be a very good companion if he were at home; his thoughts would be elsewhere, and therefore perhaps it is better that things should remain as they are. But the great evil arising from this is, that the children are left wholly to the management of their mothers, and the want of paternal control I have already commented upon. The Americans have reason to be proud of their women, for they are really good wives--much _too good_ for them; I have no hesitation in asserting this, and should there be any unfortunate difference between any married couple in America, all the lady has to say is, "The fact is, Sir, I'm much too good for you, and Captain Marryat says so." (I flatter myself there's a little mischief in that last sentence.)

It appears, then, that the American woman has little of her husband's society, and that in education and refinement she is much his superior, notwithstanding which she is a domestic slave. For this the Americans are not to blame, as it is the effect of circumstances, over which they cannot be said to have any control. But the Americans are to blame in one point, which is, that they do not properly appreciate or value their wives, who have not half the influence which wives have in England, or one quarter that legitimate influence to which they are entitled. That they are proud of them, flatter them, and are kind to them after their own fashion, I grant, but female influence extends no farther. Some authors have said, that by the morals of the women you can judge of the morals of a country; generally speaking, this is true, but America is an exception, for the women are more moral, more educated, and more refined than the men, and yet have at present no influence whatever in society.