SOLOMON NORTHUP
SOLOMON NORTHUP (1808-63), as the title page of his narrative indicates, was a free black man of New York who was kidnapped, sold, and held as a slave in one of the most remote regions of the South for a period of twelve years. His book, Twelve Years a Slave, is singular in a number of ways: it is perhaps the only slave narrative written from the perspective of a nonslave; it is one of the few to describe the condition of slaves in Louisiana; it combines a mastery of detail with a richness and strength of language rare in the narrative corpus; and it was one of the fastest selling and most popularâthe first printing of eight thousand copies was sold within a month of publication, and over thirty thousand copies were sold altogether.1
Northupâs tale proved unforgettable to his readers. As one of them, Frederick Douglass, said at the time,
It is a strange history; its truth is stranger than fiction. . . . Think of it: For thirty years a man, with all a manâs hopes, fears and aspirationsâwith a wife and children to call him by the endearing names of husband and fatherâwith a home, humble it may be, but still a home . . . then for twelve years a thing, a chattel personal, classed with mules and horses. . . . Oh! it is horrible. It chills the blood to think that such are.2
Another reader, Harriet Beecher Stowe, read about Northupâs experiences in a long article published in The New York Times. She incorporated Northupâs story into The Key to Uncle Tomâs Cabin, noting, âIt is a singular coincidence that this man was carried to a plantation in the Red River country, that same region where the scene of Tomâs captivity was laid; and his account of this plantation, his mode of life there, and some incidents which he describes, form a striking parallel to that history.â3 Southerners, too, were impressed by Northupâs accountâ even Edwin Epps, Northupâs cruelest master, confessed the narrativeâs truth to a Union soldier who searched him out during the Civil War.4
The narrative was written by David Wilson, a lawyer from the area of Northupâs home, Glen Falls, New York. Wilson was a newly elected member of the state legislature, a former superintendent of public schools, and the author of some poetry and local history. The two books he published besides Northupâs narrative also concerned local figures with bizarre pastsâone recounted an Indian massacre, the other detailed the life of an insane murderess. Unlike most of the slavesâ amanuenses, Wilson was not an active abolitionist; also unlike some others, he composed the book in his own style rather than shaping it according to Northupâs dictation, as a comparison of his books has shown.5 Wilson was faithful, however, to the facts of the story, as well as Northupâs sentiments: as Wilsonâs preface attests, Northup, who was literate, had the opportunity to go over the manuscript carefully and correct anything that seemed inaccurate. At the same time, Wilsonâs goal seems to have been to outdo the success of Uncle Tomâs Cabin, which had been published the year before. This may help explain the presence in Twelve Years a Slave of some sentimental and stereotypical passages that seem to come straight out of Stowe.
Northup went on a lecture tour shortly after the bookâs publication. A typical reaction was published in The Liberator in 1855:
Twelve Years a Slave has been widely read in New England, and no narrative of manâs experience as a slave . . . is more touching, or better calculated to expose the true character and designs of slaveholders. But it is far more potent to see the man, and hear him, in his clear, manly, straightforward way, speak of slavery as he experienced it, and as he saw it in others. Those who have read his Narrative can scarce fail to desire to see the man . . . and to hear his story from his own lips.6
Some time after the narrative was published, a perceptive reader brought to Northupâs attention the identity of the two men who kidnapped him and sold him into slavery. Unfortunately, when Northup attempted to prosecute the kidnappers, the trial bogged down in a maze of legal technicalities regarding questions of jurisdiction and the applicability of certain laws to the case. The culprits were never punished. With the three thousand dollars Northup had obtained from the sale of the copyright to his narrative, he purchased some property in Glen Falls and took up his old trade of carpentry.7
SOLOMON IN HIS PLANTATION SUIT.
TO
HARRIET BEECHER STOWE
WHOSE NAME,
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, IS IDENTIFIED WITH THE
GREAT REFORM:
THIS NARRATIVE, AFFORDING ANOTHER
Key to Uncle Tomâs Cabin,8
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
âSuch dupes are men to custom, and so prone
To reverence what is ancient, and can plead
A course of long observance for its use,
That even servitude, the worst of ills,
Because delivered down from sire to son,
Is kept and guarded as a sacred thing.
But is it fit or can it bear the shock
Of rational discussion, that a man
Compounded and made up, like other men,
Of elements tumultuous, in whom lust
And folly in as ample measure meet,
As in the bosom of the slave he rules,
Should be a despot absolute, and boast
Himself the only freeman of his land?â
COWPER.9
CONTENTS.
Editorâs Preface
CHAPTER I.
IntroductoryâAncestryâThe Northup FamilyâBirth and ParentageâMintus NorthupâMarriage with Anne HamptonâGood ResolutionsâChamplain Canalâ Rafting Excursion to CanadaâFarmingâThe ViolinâCookingâRemoval to SaratogaâParker and PerryâSlaves and SlaveryâThe ChildrenâThe Beginning of Sorrow,
CHAPTER II.
The two StrangersâThe Circus CompanyâDeparture from SaratogaâVentriloquism and LegerdemainâJourney to New YorkâFree PapersâBrown and HamiltonâThe haste to reach the CircusâArrival in WashingtonâFuneral of Harrisonâ The Sudden SicknessâThe Torment of ThirstâThe Receding LightâInsensibilityâ Chains and Darkness,
CHAPTER III.
Painful MeditationsâJames H. BurchâWilliamsâ Slave Pen in WashingtonâThe Lackey, RadburnâAssert my FreedomâThe Anger of the TraderâThe Paddle and Cat-oâ-nine-tailsâThe WhippingâNew AcquaintancesâRay, Williams, and RandallâArrival of Little Emily and her Mother in the PenâMaternal SorrowsâThe Story of Eliza,
CHAPTER IV.
Elizaâs SorrowsâPreparation to EmbarkâDriven Through the Streets of WashingtonâHail, ColumbiaâThe Tomb of WashingtonâClem RayâThe Breakfast on the SteamerâThe happy BirdsâAquia CreekâFredericksburghâArrival in Rich-mondâGoodin and his Slave PenâRobert, of CincinnatiâDavid and his Wifeâ Mary and LetheâClemâs ReturnâHis subsequent Escape to CanadaâThe Brig OrleansâJames H. Burch,
CHAPTER V.
Arrival at NorfolkâFrederick and MariaâArthur, the FreemanâAppointed StewardâJim, Cuffee, and JennyâThe StormâBahama BanksâThe CalmâThe Con-spiracyâThe Long BoatâThe Small-PoxâDeath of RobertâManning, the Sailorâ The Meeting in the ForecastleâThe LetterâArrival At New-OrleansâArthurâs RescueâTheophilus Freeman, the ConsigneeâPlattâFirst Night in the New-Orleans Slave Pen,
CHAPTER VI.
Freemanâs IndustryâCleanliness and ClothesâExercising in the Show RoomâThe DanceâBob, the FiddlerâArrival of CustomersâSlaves ExaminedâThe Old Gentleman of New-OrleansâSale of David, Caroline, and LetheâParting of Randall and ElizaâSmall-PoxâThe HospitalâRecovery and Return to Freemanâs Slave PenâThe Purchaser of Eliza, Harry, and PlattâElizaâs Agony on Parting from Little Emily,
CHAPTER VII.
The Steamboat RodolphâDeparture from New-OrleansâWilliam FordâArrival at Alexandra, on Red RiverâResolutionsâThe Great Pine WoodsâWild Cattleâ Martinâs Summer ResidenceâThe Texas RoadâArrival at Master FordâsâRoseâ Mistress FordâSally and her ChildrenâJohn, the CookâWalter, Sam, and AntonyâThe Mills on Indian CreekâSabbath DaysâSamâs ConversionâThe Profit of KindnessâRaftingâAdam Taydem, the Little White ManâCascalla and his TribeâThe Indian BallâJohn M. TibeatsâThe Storm approaching,
CHAPTER VIII.
Fordâs EmbarrassmentsâThe Sale to TibeatsâThe Chattel MortgageâMistress Fordâs Plantation on Bayou BoeufâDescription of the LatterâFordâs Brother-in-Law, Peter TannerâMeeting with ElizaâShe still Mourns for her ChildrenâFordâs Overseer, ChapinâTibeatsâ AbuseâThe Keg of NailsâThe First Fight with TibeatsâHis Discomfiture and CastigationâThe attempt to Hang meâChapinâs Interference and SpeechâUnhappy ReflectionsâAbrupt Departure of Tibeats, Cook, and RamseyâLawson and the Brown MuleâMessage to the Pine Woods,
CHAPTER IX.
The Hot SunâYet boundâThe Cords sink into my FleshâChapinâs Uneasinessâ SpeculationâRachel, and her Cup of WaterâSuffering increasesâThe Happiness of SlaveryâArrival of FordâHe cuts the Cords which bind me, and takes the Rope from my NeckâMiseryâThe gathering of Slaves in Elizaâs CabinâTheir KindnessâRachel Repeats the Occurrences of the DayâLawson entertains his Companions with an Account of his RideâChapinâs Apprehensions of TibeatsâHired to Peter TannerâPeter expounds the ScripturesâDescription of the Stocks,
CHAPTER X.
Return of TibeatsâImpossibility of pleasing himâHe attacks me with a Hatchetâ The Struggle over the Broad AxeâThe Temptation to Murder himâEscape across the PlantationâObservations from the FenceâTibeats approaches, followed by the HoundsâThey take my TrackâTheir loud YellsâThey almost overtake meâI reach the WaterâThe Hounds confusedâMoccasin SnakesâAlligatorsâNight in the âGreat Pacoudrie SwampââThe Sounds of LifeâNorth-West CourseâEmerge into the Pine WoodsâSlave and his Young MasterâArrival At FordâsâFood and Rest,
CHAPTER XI.
The Mistressâ GardenâThe Crimson and Golden FruitâOrange and Pomegranate TreesâReturn to Bayou BoeufâMaster Fordâs Remarks on the wayâThe Meeting with TibeatsâHis Account of the ChaseâFord censures his BrutalityâArrival At the PlantationâAstonishment of the Slaves on seeing meâThe anticipated FloggingâKentucky JohnâMr. Eldret, the PlanterâEldretâs SamâTrip to the âBig Cane BrakeââThe Tradition of âSuttonâs FieldââForest TreesâGnats and MosquitoesâThe Arrival of Black Women in the Big CaneâLumber WomenâSudden Appearance of TibeatsâHis Provoking TreatmentâVisit to Bayou BoeufâThe Slave PassâSouthern HospitalityâThe Last of ElizaâSale to Edwin Epps,
CHAPTER XII.
Personal Appearance of EppsâEpps, Drunk and SoberâA Glimpse of his Historyâ Cotton GrowingâThe Mode of Ploughing and Preparing GroundâOf Planting, of Hoeing, of Picking, of Treating Raw HandsâThe difference in Cotton PickersâPat-sey a remarkable oneâTasked according to AbilityâBeauty of a Cotton FieldâThe Slaveâs LaborsâFear of Approaching the Gin-HouseâWeighingââChoresââ Cabin LifeâThe Corn MillâThe Uses of the GourdâFear of OversleepingâFear continuallyâMode of Cultivating CornâSweet PotatoesâFertility of the SoilâFattening HogsâPreserving BaconâRaising CattleâShooting-MatchesâGarden ProductsâFlowers and Verdure,
CHAPTER XIII.
The Curious Axe-HelveâSymptoms of approaching IllnessâContinue to declineâ The Whip ineffectualâConfined to the CabinâVisit by Dr. WinesâArtâPartial RecoveryâFailure at Cotton PickingâWhat may be heard on Eppsâ Plantationâ Lashes GraduatedâEpps in a Whipping MoodâEpps in a Dancing MoodâDescription of the DanceâLoss of Rest no ExcuseâEppsâ CharacteristicsâJim BurnsâRemoval from Huff Power to Bayou BoeufâDescription of Uncle Abram; of Wiley; of Aunt Phebe; of Bob, Henry, and Edward; of Patsey; with a Genealogical Account of eachâSomething of their Past History, and Peculiar Characteristicsâ Jealousy and LustâPatsey, the Victim,
CHAPTER XIV.
Destruction of the Cotton Crop in 1845âDemand for Laborers in St. Maryâs ParishâSent thither in a DroveâThe Order of the MarchâThe Grand Coteauâ Hired to Judge Turner on Bayou SalleâAppointed Driver in his Sugar HouseâSunday ServicesâSlave Furniture; how obtainedâThe Party at Yarneyâs, in Centre-villeâGood FortuneâThe Captain of the SteamerâHis Refusal to Secrete meâReturn to Bayou BoeufâSight of TibeatsâPatseyâs SorrowsâTumult and ContentionâHunting the Coon and OpossumâThe Cunning of the latterâThe Lean Condition of the SlaveâDescription of the Fish TrapâThe Murder of the Man from NatchezâEpps Challenged by MarshallâThe Influence of SlaveryâThe Love of Freedom,
CHAPTER XV.
Labors on Sugar PlantationsâThe Mode of Planting Caneâof Hoeing CaneâCane RicksâCutting CaneâDescription of the Cane KnifeâWinrowingâPreparing for Succeeding CropsâDescription of Hawkinsâ Sugar Mill on Bayou BoeufâThe Christmas HolidaysâThe Carnival Season of the Children of BondageâThe Christmas SupperâRed, the Favorite ColorâThe Violin, and the Consolation it affordedâThe Christmas DanceâLively, the CoquetteâSam Roberts, and his RivalsâSlave SongsâSouthern Life as it isâThree Days in the YearâThe System of MarriageâUncle Abramâs Contempt of Matrimony,
CHAPTER XVI.
OverseersâHow they are Armed and AccompaniedâThe HomicideâHis Execution At MarksvilleâSlave DriversâAppointed Driver on removing to Bayou Boeufâ Practice makes perfectâEppsâs Attempt to Cut Plattâs ThroatâThe Escape from himâProtected by the MistressâForbids Reading and WritingâObtain a Sheet of Paper After Nine Yearsâ EffortâThe LetterâArmsby, the Mean WhiteâPartially confide in himâHis TreacheryâEppsâ SuspicionsâHow they were quietedâBurn-ing the LetterâArmsby leaves the BayouâDisappointment and Despair,
CHAPTER XVII.
Wiley disregards the counsels of Aunt Phebe and Uncle Abram, and is caught by the PatrollersâThe Organization and Duties of the latterâWiley Runs AwayâSpecu-lations in regard to himâHis Unexpected ReturnâHis Capture on the Red River, and Confinement in Alexandria JailâDiscovered by Joseph B. RobertsâSubduing Dogs in anticipation of EscapeâThe Fugitives in the Great Pine WoodsâCaptured by Adam Taydem and the IndiansâAugustus killed by DogsâNelly, Eldretâs Slave WomanâThe Story of CelesteâThe Conc...