266 INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



the duties assigned him, to be a "servant of servants," as 

 it was ordained that he should be, 4,000 years ago. And 

 by a peculiar organization of both body and mind, his 

 condition of servitude is a condition of contentment and 

 happiness, even while enduring a degree of labor under 

 the burning sun of a southern clime, that would annihi- 

 late his white brethren. 



It is a fact that the negro is provided with an addi- 

 tional anatomical contrivance in the eye, that enables him 

 to endure the rays of a bright sun, without a shade, with 

 impunity. 



Is not this an evidence of the goodness of God toward 

 a race whom he has doomed to slavery, so that if they 

 should fall into the hands of cruel masters, who would 

 neglect to provide them with what we consider indis- 

 pensable, a covering for the head, the light of the sun 

 should not dazzle their eyes, or the intensity of its rays 

 blister their skin. Knowing this fact in regard to the 

 formation of the eye, we shall no longer feel surprised to 

 see the slaves in the sunny south, as I have often seen 

 them, throw off their hats as an irksome incumbrance, 

 and voluntarily expose their naked heads to the burning 

 sun without suffering any inconvenience. 



The women often wear a turban, more for ornament 

 than use, which they prefer to a hat that would shade 

 the eye. And I have often seen them traveling in the 

 bright sun on the road to church, with a gay bonnet 

 earned in the hand. 



Many other instances of the peculiar organization and 

 functions of the Canaanite race, adapting it to the condi- 

 tion of slavery, and guarding it against the evils of the 

 system, or the inattentions of a cruel or careless master, 

 might be adduced; but enough has been shown to prove 

 that their great Master has kindly provided for those 

 whom he has decreed shall be "servants of servants," and 

 "hewers of wood and drawers of water"; so that under 

 all contingencies, as a race of people, they are far more 

 comfortable and happy, and enjoy a condition far more 



