An Englishman's Travels In America: His Observations Of Life And Manners In The Free And Slave States - 1857 - By J. Benwell.
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He Deplored The Alternative Much, As He
Had Been Born And Bred A Slave In Carolina, And, By Untiring Assiduity,
Had saved money enough to emancipate himself and his wife; "In fact," he
added, "I feel this is my country,
And leaving it will come hard." He
had a numerous family, which he maintained in great respectability, and
his business being a profitable one made him more reluctant to abandon
it and the advantages that otherwise would attend his continuance in
Charleston. He hospitably entertained me at his home, and appeared
highly gratified at meeting with a white man who felt disposed to regard
him with equality.
After dining at his house one day, he took me a ride round the suburbs
of the city, which I noticed were flat and exceedingly uninteresting. We
returned by way of the Marine Parade, which is certainly a _chef
d'oeuvre_ of its kind. This is on the south side of the city, and
commands a magnificent sea-view. It is raised far above the sea, and
laid out with carriage-drives and paths for pedestrians. Far out,
looking towards Cape Hatteras, is a fort on an island; this is always
garrisoned by a detachment of U.S. troops, and of late years has been
used as a receptacle for those daring chiefs among the Indians, who, by
their indomitable courage, have been the terror of the United States
frontier. Here that hero Oceola, chief of the Seminoles, died not long
before, in captivity, from excessive grief, caused by the treachery of
certain American officers, who, under a pretended truce, seized him and
his attendant warriors.
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