“The Rev. Mr. Hart, recently my pastor, in Otsego county, New York, and who has spent some time at the south as a teacher, stated to me that in the neighborhood in which he resided a slave was set to watch a turnip patch near an academy, in order to keep off the boys who occasionally trespassed on it.  Attempting to repeat the trespass in presence of the slave, they were told that his ‘master forbad it.’  At this the boys were enraged, and hurled brickbats at the slave until his face and other parts were much injured and wounded—­but nothing was said or done about it as an injury to the slave.

“He also said, that a slave from the same neighborhood was found out in the woods, with his arms and legs burned almost to a cinder, up as far as the elbow and knee joints; and there appeared to be but little more said or thought about it than if he had been a brute.  It was supposed that his master was the cause of it—­making him an example of punishment to the rest of the gang!”

The following is an extract of a letter dated March 5, 1839, from Mr. JOHN CLARKE, a highly respected citizen of Scriba, Oswego county, New York, and a member of the Presbyterian church.

The ‘Mrs. Turner’ spoken of in Mr. C.’s letter, is the wife of Hon. Fielding S. Turner, who in 1803 resided at Lexington, Kentucky, and was the attorney for the Commonwealth.  Soon after that, he removed to New Orleans, and was for many years Judge of the Criminal Court of that city.  Having amassed an immense fortune, he returned to Lexington a few years since, and still resides there.  Mr. C. the writer, spent the winter of 1836-7 in Lexington.  He says,

“Yours of the 27th ult. is received, and I hasten to state the facts which came to my knowledge while in Lexington, respecting the occurrences about which you inquire.  Mrs. Turner was originally a Boston lady.  She is from 35 to 40 years of age, and the wife of Judge Turner, formerly of New Orleans, and worth a large fortune in slaves and plantations.  I repeatedly heard, while in Lexington, Kentucky, during the winter of 1836-7, of the wanton cruelty practised by this woman upon her slaves, and that she had caused several to be whipped to death; but I never heard that she was suspected of being deranged, otherwise than by the indulgence of an ungoverned temper, until I heard that her husband was attempting to incarcerate her in the Lunatic Asylum.  The citizens of Lexington, believing the charge to be a false one, rose and prevented the accomplishment for a time, until, lulled by the fair promises of his friends, they left his domicil, and in the dead of night she was taken by force, and conveyed to the asylum.  This proceeding being judged illegal by her friends, a suit was instituted to liberate her.  I heard the testimony on the trial, which related only to proceedings had in order to getting her admitted into the asylum; and no facts came out relative to her treatment of her slaves, other than of a general character.