76 TREATMENT OF SLAVES IN CHARLESTON. 



gave him such a beating that it had nearly cost him 

 his hfe : the cook immediately left the house, ran 

 off, and was never afterwards heard of, — it was 

 supposed that he had drowned hmiself. Not a day 

 however passed without my hearing of Mrs. Street 

 whipping and ill-using her unfortunate slaves. On 

 one occasion, when one of the female slaves had 

 disobliged her, she beat her until her own strength 

 was exhausted, and then insisted on her bar-keeper, 

 Mr. Ferguson, proceeding to inflict the remainder of 

 the punishment. — Mrs. Street in the meantime took 

 his place in the bar-room. She instructed him to 

 lay on the whip severely in an adjoining room. His 

 nature was repugnant to the execution of the duty 

 which was imposed on him. He gave a wink to 

 the girl, who understood it and bellowed lustily, 

 while he made the whip crack on the walls of the 

 room. Mrs. Street expressed herself quite satisfied 

 with the way in which Ferguson had executed her 

 instructions ; but unfortunately for him, his lenity 

 to the girl became known in the house, and the 

 subject of merriment, and was one of the reasons for 

 his dismissal before I left the house ; but I did not 

 know of the most atrocious of all the proceedings 

 of this cruel woman until the very day that I quitted 

 it. I had put up my clothes in my portmanteau, 

 when I was about to set out, but finding it was 

 rather too full, I had difficulty in getting it closed to 

 allow me to lock it ; I therefore told one of the boys 

 to send me one of the stoutest of the men to assist 

 me. A great robust fellow soon afterwards appeared 

 whom I found to be the cook, with tears in his eyes ; 

 I asked him what was the matter? He told me 

 that, just at the time when the boy called for him, 

 he had got so sharp a blow on the cheek bone, from 

 this devil in petticoats, as had unmanned him for 

 the moment. Upon my expressing commiseration 

 for him, he said he viewed this as nothing, but that 

 he was leading a life of terrible suffefing ; — that 

 about two years had elapsed since he and his wife, 



