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.
Au cours de son Récit, il relate deux exemples de cruauté meurtrière, — dans l'un desquels un planteur tira délibérément sur un esclave appartenant à une plantation voisine, qui s'était retrouvé par inadvertance dans son domaine seigneurial en quête de poisson ; et dans l'autre, un contremaître fit sauter la cervelle d'un esclave qui avait fui vers un cours d'eau pour échapper à une flagellation sanglante.
_Mr. Douglass_ states that in neither of these instances was any thing done by way of legal arrest or judicial investigation.
_M. Douglass_ déclare que dans aucun de ces cas il ne fut procédé à une arrestation légale ni à une enquête judiciaire.
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.
Le Baltimore American, du 17 mars 1845, relate un cas d'atrocité similaire, perpétré avec une impunité semblable — comme suit : — "_Meurtre d'un esclave._— Nous apprenons, sur la foi d'une lettre du comté de Charles, dans le Maryland, reçue par un gentleman de cette ville, qu'un jeune homme nommé Matthews, neveu du général Matthews, et dont le père occuperait, croit-on, une fonction à Washington, a tué l'un des esclaves de la ferme de son père en lui tirant dessus.
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 lettre indique que le jeune Matthews avait été laissé responsable de la ferme ; qu'il donna un ordre au serviteur, lequel fut désobéi, après quoi il se rendit à la maison, _obtint un fusil et, revenant sur ses pas, tira sur le serviteur._
He immediately, the letter continues, fled to his father's residence, where he still remains unmolested.
Il s'enfuit aussitôt, poursuit la lettre, vers la demeure de son père, où il demeure encore sans être inquiété.
Vocabulary
- cours
- Course, flow; 'au cours de' means 'during'
- Récit
- A narrative account or story told by someone
- relate
- To recount or narrate events in detail
- cruauté
- Cruelty; disposition to inflict pain or suffering
- meurtrière
- Deadly or lethal; causing death
- desquels
- Relative pronoun meaning 'of which' or 'from which'
- planteur
- A plantation owner, especially in a colonial context
- tira
- Past tense of 'tirer'; shot or fired a weapon
- délibérément
- Deliberately; done on purpose with full intention
- esclave
- A slave; person legally owned by another
- appartenant
- Present participle of 'appartenir'; belonging to someone
- plantation
- A large farm where crops are grown using laborers
- voisine
- Neighboring; situated nearby or adjacent
- retrouvé
- Past participle of 'retrouver'; found oneself or ended up
- inadvertance
- Inadvertence; an unintentional mistake or oversight
- domaine
- Domain or estate; a piece of land owned by someone
- seigneurial
- Relating to a lord's manor or feudal estate
- quête
- A quest or search for something desired
- poisson
- Fish; aquatic animal used as food
- contremaître
- A foreman or overseer supervising workers on a site
- sauter
- To jump, blow up, or cause something to explode
- cervelle
- Brain matter; colloquial term for a person's brains
- fui
- Past participle of 'fuir'; fled or escaped from danger
- échapper
- To escape or avoid a danger or punishment
- flagellation
- The act of whipping or flogging as punishment
- sanglante
- Bloody; involving or covered in blood
- déclare
- Declares or states something formally or officially
- aucun
- No, none, or not any; a negative adjective
- cas
- Case or instance; a particular situation or matter
- fut
- Simple past of 'être'; was (formal or literary)
- procédé
- Process or procedure; a method of doing something
- arrestation
- Arrest; the act of legally detaining a person
- légale
- Legal; permitted by or relating to the law
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'neither'
- enquête
- An investigation or inquiry into a matter
- judiciaire
- Judicial; relating to courts or the justice system
- atrocité
- An atrocity; an extremely wicked or cruel act
- similaire
- Similar; nearly the same or resembling something else
- perpétré
- Past participle of 'perpétrer'; committed a crime or act
- impunité
- Impunity; exemption from punishment or consequence
- semblable
- Similar or alike; resembling something else
- suit
- Third person of 'suivre'; follows, as in 'as follows'
- Meurtre
- Murder; the unlawful killing of a human being
- apprenons
- First-person plural of 'apprendre'; we learn or hear
- foi
- Faith or trust; here used in 'par la foi de' meaning 'via'
- lettre
- A letter; a written message sent to someone
- comté
- A county; an administrative region or district
- reçue
- Past participle of 'recevoir' (fem.); received
- nommé
- Named or called; identified by a particular name
- neveu
- Nephew; the son of one's brother or sister
- général
- A general; a high-ranking military officer
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning 'whose', 'of which', 'from which'
- occuperait
- Conditional of 'occuper'; would hold or occupy a position
- croit-on
- Impersonal phrase meaning 'it is believed' or 'reportedly'
- fonction
- A function, role, or official position held by someone
- tué
- Past participle of 'tuer'; killed
- esclaves
- Plural of 'esclave'; enslaved people
- ferme
- A farm; agricultural land with buildings
- tirant
- Present participle of 'tirer'; shooting or pulling
- dessus
- Above or on top; also 'tirer dessus' means 'to shoot at'
- indique
- Indicates or shows; third-person singular of 'indiquer'
- laissé
- Past participle of 'laisser'; left in charge or allowed
- responsable
- Responsible; in charge or accountable for something
- ordre
- An order or command given to someone
- serviteur
- A servant; a person employed to serve another
- lequel
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'who' (masculine)
- désobéi
- Past participle of 'désobéir'; disobeyed an order
- quoi
- Pronoun meaning 'what'; 'après quoi' means 'after which'
- rendit
- Simple past of 'se rendre'; went or made his way to
- _obtint
- Simple past of 'obtenir'; obtained or got something
- fusil
- A rifle or gun; a firearm used for shooting
- revenant
- Present participle of 'revenir'; returning or coming back
- enfuit
- Simple past of 's'enfuir'; fled or ran away
- aussitôt
- Immediately or at once; without delay
- poursuit
- Third-person of 'poursuivre'; pursues or continues
- demeure
- Residence or dwelling; the place where someone lives
- encore
- Still, yet, or again; indicating continuation
- inquiété
- Past participle of 'inquiéter'; disturbed, troubled, or prosecuted
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