"I am going to die right here because I have run enough."

September 18, 2010 12:02 AM

The old lady always called me her boy... and she kept me in her room from the time that I was born until her death, then willed me to her son Samuel. When she was dying she called me to her bedside... Taking my hand in hers she told me to be a good boy and stay with Samuel. To Samuel she said, "Keep my boy as long as you live to remember me by." Larry Lapsley began life as someone else's property, but he managed to break free from his mistress' dying wish by way of a remarkable journey that would lead him to becoming the first black homesteader in Saline County, Kansas: When I came to Salina I was twenty-five years old and was without schooling. I had never gone to school a day in my life and I haven't any education yet but there is one thing I have, a good home and plenty of friends.

Here's another version of Larry Lapsley's story, as told to the grandson of a "prosperous white man fifty years after Lapsley's death and at the beginning of the modern era of civil rights": Adventure In Freedom.

posted by amyms (22 comments total)

Thanks for that, his harrowing journey made for a gripping read.

One thing that struck me from his account was that several of the people he worked for in the south seemed to like and respect him as a person, perhaps even considered him to be a friend... yet they didn't seem to have a problem with his being owned by someone (except where it thwarted their own goals.) Seems like an odd disconnect. I'd always assumed that part of the reason slavery existed for so long was that those who owned slaves thought of them as somewhat less than human.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 3:44 AM on September 18, 2010

A wonderful read. Thanks for posting.
posted by peacheater at 3:46 AM on September 18, 2010

There was on thing about Larry concerning which many people wondered. He was rather proud of the fact that it was the intention of Mrs. Lapsley, his first mistress, to raise him as a house servant. It has been said that it was not an uncommon custom of the time to emasculate, at an early age, make negroes intended for such service. It is a face that Larry never married. He lived by himself and had little or no relationship with other negroes. If Luke Parsons or B.F. Robinson knew that he had been emasculated, they were too fine gentlemen ever to advertise the fact.

I know about the role of eunuchs, but I had no idea that American slaves were castrated as a matter of course. Horrible.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:09 AM on September 18, 2010

I'd always assumed that part of the reason slavery existed for so long was that those who owned slaves thought of them as somewhat less than human.

In Roman times, teachers, trusted accountants and bookkeepers, other such sundry respected household stewards etc were "slaves", often Greeks if they were doctors or teachers.

It'd be interesting to see the perceptual change into "slave" = "subhuman" over millenia.. was it due to slavery per se or was it the institutionalized dehumanization of the black African necessary for it to become a wholesale business versus the more historic trend of slaves through war, personal debt or simply historical reasons?

ref

In the ancient world, slaves were taken simply based upon need or want. There was no ethnic or territorial preference for the taking of slaves. As the vast majority was captured as the result of Roman wars, wherever there were Roman victories, there would be new slaves. There is no evidence to suggest that the Romans placed any preference for slavery, or exceptions, based on race or country of origin. The only thing the Romans held in deference was whether or not someone was a Roman. By the mid to late imperial period, citizenship was a rather non-exclusive status, and ethnicity played little part. They were rounded up first from among the Italian tribes, where it spread to Carthage, Greece, Macedonia, Gaul and all over the eastern provinces, with little regard for origin. The Romans simply needed to replenish the stock, and the legions provided the means to do so. As examples; at the end of the Third Macedonian War in 168 BC, it was recorded that as many as 150,000 residents of Epirus were sold in Roman bondage. It's also been estimated that Julius Caesar, upon his conquest of Gaul, may have captured and enslaved 500,000 people.

Though ethnicity seems to have played little role in who would be Roman slaves, it did seem to play a part in what tasks they would be assigned to once in service. Obviously, the era one looks at will play a role, as each major conquest would bring a new influx of people from various parts of the world, but certain factors seem to hold true throughout Roman history. Gauls, Germanics and other 'barbarian' races were preferred for their strength and endurance. In fact, the Romans in many cases preferred to use these tribes in auxilia army roles rather than as slaves in the strictest sense. Still, these people were often relegated to the menial labor tasks of mining, farming and other labor related industries, reflecting upon stereotypes of the day. Greeks were especially prized slaves for both their cultural refinement and education. Greeks with the ability to educate the Roman youth or with knowledge of medicine were expensive and highly sought after. By the late empire, the predominant house slaves in Rome came almost entirely from the east (and all its various ethnicities), as Western Europe and Africa were almost exclusively of citizen class.
posted by The Lady is a designer at 4:11 AM on September 18, 2010 [3 favorites]

Nice read -- reminded me of this, for some reason: Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when your were shooting at me.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:07 AM on September 18, 2010

If you're interested in slavery through a first-person account from the (former) slave's point-of-view, there are actually quite a few extant slave narratives that were published during the 19th century.
A few places to look to get you started:
James Mars.
Slave narratives from the Federal Writer's Project.
North American Slave Narratives.
Robert E. Lee's slave.
American Slave narratives.
Frederick Douglass.
posted by MythMaker at 7:50 AM on September 18, 2010 [7 favorites]

I liked the part about the mountain lion and the rock.
posted by Ouisch at 8:35 AM on September 18, 2010

That is an amazing story. I couldn't stop reading. Thanks.
posted by Xoebe at 8:53 AM on September 18, 2010

Gripping and nice job, juxtaposing the two stories. I rarely read any article that long (on my screen).
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:25 AM on September 18, 2010

Incredible story - I never heard it before. Thank you.
posted by anitanita at 11:41 AM on September 18, 2010

reminded me of this, for some reason: Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when your were shooting at me.

Has it been indisputably confirmed that this is a true account, rather than an uplifting fictitious account? I believe there's been quite some controversy surrounding this, including the complete inability to locate a George Carter in any reliable records.

We must remember, that in some of these accounts, the former slaves may not have been the actual writers, instead, it's a transcription based on an oral account. And sometimes, perhaps, it's an account that's entirely fictitious from start to finish including the existence of the narrator.

I'm not saying that it isn't real in this particular case, just that sometimes factuality is glossed over, and things might be more complicated.
posted by VikingSword at 1:54 PM on September 18, 2010

VikingSword, that's addressed in the BoinBoing post. No one knows for sure that he wrote that with his own hand, but he did exist, and the facts all jibe as to time and place, apparently.
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:07 PM on September 18, 2010

Ah, then again, what do I know? I'm a t-shirt printer, not a historian, dammit.
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:11 PM on September 18, 2010

that was a fascinating read. thanks for this post.
posted by dabitch at 4:07 PM on September 18, 2010

Serene Empress Dork : One thing that struck me from his account was that several of the people he worked for in the south seemed to like and respect him as a person, perhaps even considered him to be a friend... yet they didn't seem to have a problem with his being owned by someone (except where it thwarted their own goals.) Seems like an odd disconnect. I'd always assumed that part of the reason slavery existed for so long was that those who owned slaves thought of them as somewhat less than human.

Think "pet". We can have little furry friends, we can respect their hunting skills, we may even respect their personal space (favorite sleeping spot). We care for them, keep them safe, enjoy their company... Hell, a lot of people treat their pets better than they would treat other humans.

And yet, we still consider them "just" animals; and on the flip side of the above, when they start to cost too much to repair, we have them put down. When we move into a new place that doesn't allow pets, or get a new spouse with an allergy, or in the worst cases, when kittens/puppies stop looking sufficiently "cute", we simply get rid of them.

So though we may find the justifications for human slavery inadequate in the first place, I see no disconnect between owning a human and acknowledging the same as a possible friend.
posted by pla at 4:17 PM on September 18, 2010

The Slave Narratives should be mandatory reading in high school.
posted by davidpriest.ca at 5:20 PM on September 18, 2010

thanks for this!
posted by ms.jones at 5:34 PM on September 18, 2010

I feel the way VikingSword apparently does. The reply is too sardonic to have been written by anyone other than a gifted humorist. If it really was written by an ex-slave then he was an educated man and a gifted raconteur; and it's surprising that none of his other writings have been preserved. If it was written by someone else then it's a fiction - perhaps one based on fact, perhaps not.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:04 PM on September 18, 2010

Just wanted to pop in and point out that the George Carter narrative, mentioned in comments above, is about a completely different person. I'm sorry to act like I'm moderating my own post, but I'd hate to see Larry Lapsley's life story overshadowed by a true/false controversy regarding someone else.
posted by amyms at 6:55 PM on September 18, 2010

I don't think there's any definite proof that house slaves were routinely castrated. It's possible that he had an accident as a child or had an un-descended testicle, but most slave owners were interested in breeding more slaves, so why would any owner limit the breeding stock by castrating males?

There's plenty of evidence for castration as a punishment pre-1800

Lily Learned first interviewed Larry Lapsley in 1895.
posted by Ideefixe at 7:48 PM on September 18, 2010

I'd hate to see Larry Lapsley's life story overshadowed by a true/false controversy regarding someone else.

Sorry, amyms. I would not have made that comment if I had realized there was any real controversy. Another Learning Things on Metafilter moment for me -- they're distressingly common.

The post itself is intensely interesting.
posted by Devils Rancher at 1:32 AM on September 19, 2010

No worries, Devils Rancher. I just got over-protective of my post. I need to be more Zen about these things.
posted by amyms at 8:47 AM on September 19, 2010