The negro population in Georgia is very numerous, and their constant
attempts to escape to the everglades in Florida, make unceasing
vigilance on the part of their owners necessary for the safety of their
property. In many instances where suspicion exists, they are never
allowed on any pretence, to leave the estate or residence of the owner.
At the Greensborough Railway Terminus, I noticed two negroes on their
way to Charleston. Before being allowed to take their seat in an open
carriage in the rear of the train, the clerk at the station stepped up
to them, and with an air of great effrontery demanded to see their
passes; these were instantly shown with an alacrity that plainly
indicated fear; they were then shut in a box in the rear of the train,
in which I could see no sitting accommodation. The way in which these
men were treated presented nothing new, for I had invariably noticed
that coloured people in the south, whether bond or free, were spoken to
with supercilious haughtiness, which I never once saw them openly
resent.
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