Note 298 — Chapter XV · THE CAROLINA FRONTIER.
Reading edition
The story is told by St. John de Crèvecœur, in his Letters from an American Farmer, Philadelphia, 1793, pp. 178-180. Crèvecœur was on his way to dine with a planter when he encountered the shocking spectacle. He succeeded in passing a shell of water through the bars of the cage to the lips of the poor wretch, who thanked him and begged to be killed; but the Frenchman had no means at hand.