Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 13
In the course of his Narrative, he relates two instances of murderous cruelty,—in one of which a planter deliberately shot a slave belonging to a neighboring plantation, who had unintentionally gotten within his lordly domain in quest of fish; and in the other, an overseer blew out the brains of a slave who had fled to a stream of water to escape a bloody scourging.
En el transcurso de su Narrativa, relata dos casos de crueldad homicida,—en uno de los cuales un hacendado disparó deliberadamente contra un esclavo perteneciente a una plantación vecina, que había entrado sin querer en su señorial dominio en busca de peces; y en el otro, un capataz le voló los sesos a un esclavo que había huido hacia un arroyo para escapar de una sangrienta flagelación.
_Mr. Douglass_ states that in neither of these instances was any thing done by way of legal arrest or judicial investigation.
_El Sr. Douglass_ afirma que en ninguno de estos casos se hizo nada en cuanto a arresto legal o investigación judicial.
The Baltimore American, of March 17, 1845, relates a similar case of atrocity, perpetrated with similar impunity—as follows:—"_Shooting a slave._—We learn, upon the authority of a letter from Charles county, Maryland, received by a gentleman of this city, that a young man, named Matthews, a nephew of General Matthews, and whose father, it is believed, holds an office at Washington, killed one of the slaves upon his father's farm by shooting him.
El Baltimore American, del 17 de marzo de 1845, relata un caso similar de atrocidad, perpetrado con similar impunidad—de la siguiente manera:—"_Disparo contra un esclavo._—Nos enteramos, por medio de una carta proveniente del condado de Charles, Maryland, recibida por un caballero de esta ciudad, que un joven llamado Matthews, sobrino del General Matthews, y cuyo padre, según se cree, ocupa un cargo en Washington, mató a uno de los esclavos de la granja de su padre disparándole.
The letter states that young Matthews had been left in charge of the farm; that he gave an order to the servant, which was disobeyed, when he proceeded to the house, _obtained a gun, and, returning, shot the servant._
La carta afirma que el joven Matthews había quedado a cargo de la granja; que dio una orden al sirviente, la cual fue desobedecida, tras lo cual se dirigió a la casa, _obtuvo un arma y, al regresar, le disparó al sirviente._
He immediately, the letter continues, fled to his father's residence, where he still remains unmolested.
Inmediatamente, continúa la carta, huyó a la residencia de su padre, donde permanece aún sin ser molestado.
Vocabulary
- En
- In, at, on (preposition indicating location or time)
- el
- The (definite article, masculine singular)
- transcurso
- Course, passage (of time)
- de
- Of, from (preposition showing possession or origin)
- su
- His, her, its, your (possessive adjective)
- Narrativa
- Narrative, story (noun)
- relata
- Recounts, relates, narrates (third person singular verb)
- dos
- Two (cardinal number)
- casos
- Cases, instances (plural noun)
- crueldad
- Cruelty, brutality (noun)
- homicida
- Homicidal, murderous (adjective)
- uno
- One (cardinal number or pronoun)
- los
- The (definite article, masculine plural)
- cuales
- Which, that (relative pronoun)
- un
- A, an (indefinite article, masculine singular)
- hacendado
- Landowner, plantation owner (noun)
- disparó
- Shot, fired (past tense verb)
- deliberadamente
- Deliberately, intentionally, on purpose
- contra
- Against (preposition)
- esclavo
- Slave (noun)
- perteneciente
- Belonging, pertaining (adjective)
- una
- A, an (indefinite article, feminine singular)
- plantación
- Plantation, farm (noun)
- vecina
- Neighboring, adjacent (feminine adjective)
- que
- That, which, who (relative pronoun)
- había
- Had (past tense auxiliary verb)
- entrado
- Entered, come in (past participle)
- sin
- Without (preposition)
- querer
- To want, to wish (infinitive verb)
- señorial
- Manorial, relating to a lord's estate
- dominio
- Domain, territory, dominion (noun)
- busca
- Searches, looks for (third person singular verb)
- peces
- Fish (plural noun)
- otro
- Other, another (pronoun or adjective)
- capataz
- Overseer, foreman (noun)
- le
- Him, to him, you (indirect object pronoun)
- voló
- Flew, blew off (past tense verb)
- sesos
- Brains (plural noun)
- huido
- Fled, escaped (past participle)
- hacia
- Towards, to (preposition)
- arroyo
- Stream, creek (noun)
- para
- For, in order to (preposition)
- escapar
- To escape, to flee (infinitive verb)
- sangrienta
- Bloody, bloodstained (feminine adjective)
- flagelación
- Whipping, flogging (noun)
- afirma
- Affirms, asserts, claims (third person singular)
- ninguno
- None, not any (pronoun or adjective)
- estos
- These (masculine plural pronoun)
- se
- Oneself, himself, herself (reflexive pronoun)
- hizo
- Did, made (past tense verb)
- nada
- Nothing (pronoun)
- cuanto
- How much, as much as (pronoun)
- arresto
- Arrest, detention (noun)
- legal
- Legal, lawful (adjective)
- investigación
- Investigation, inquiry (noun)
- judicial
- Judicial, related to courts (adjective)
- American
- American (adjective or noun)
- marzo
- March (month)
- caso
- Case, instance (noun)
- similar
- Similar, alike (adjective)
- atrocidad
- Atrocity, brutal act (noun)
- perpetrado
- Perpetrated, committed (past participle)
- con
- With (preposition)
- impunidad
- Impunity, freedom from punishment (noun)
- la
- The (definite article, feminine singular)
- siguiente
- Following, next (adjective)
- manera
- Way, manner, means (noun)
- Disparo
- Shot, gunshot (noun)
- Nos
- Us, to us (object pronoun)
- enteramos
- Found out, learned (past tense verb)
- por
- By, through, for (preposition)
- medio
- Means, medium, way (noun)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →