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A Primate Model for the Study of Colitis

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A Primate Model
for the
Studv of Colitis
- ---
--I
- -
- - - - -- -

and
Colonic Carcinoma
The Cotton-Top Tamarin
S a g u i n w oedipus

Edited by
Neal K. Clapp, D .V.M., Ph.D.
Director
Marmoset Research Center
Oak Ridge, Tennessee

'-. -1
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press
CRC Press isCRC Press,
an imprint of theInc.
Boca Raton Ann Arbor
FrancisRaton,
Taylor &Boca London
Group, an Florida
informa business Tokyo
First published 1993 by CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742

Reissued 2018 by CRC Press

© 1993 by CRC Press, Inc.


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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A Primate model for the study of colitis and colonic carcinoma : the
cotton top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) / edited by Neal K. Clapp.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8493-5363-7
1. Colitis--Animal models. 2. Colon (Anatomy)--Cancer--Animal
models. 3. Saguinus oedipus--Diseases. I. Clapp, Neal K., 1928-
[DNLM: 1. Colitis. 2. Colonic Neoplasms. 3. Disease Models,
Animal. 4. Saguinus. WI 522 P952]
RC862.C6P75 1993
616.3’447--dc20
DNLM/DLC
for Library of Congress 92-48271

A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 92048271

Publisher’s Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the
original copies may be apparent.

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The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondence from those they have been
unable to contact.

ISBN 13: 978-1-315-89031-9 (hbk)


ISBN 13: 978-1-351-06941-0 (ebk)

Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the
CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com
PREFACE
Advances through medical research are frequently hampered by the ab-
sence of appropriate animal models for human disease. Animal models de-
veloped by induction or intervention, which offer the advantage of predict-
ability in time of expression, can mimic human disease in some parameters,
e.g., production of inflammatory mediators, but frequently deviate from typ-
ical human disease pathogenesis. Spontaneous animal models may also deviate
from normal human pathogenesis but more commonly suffer from the problem
of unpredictability in the time of disease expression. The cotton-top tamarin
(CTT) has been proposed as an animal model of spontaneously occumng
idiopathic colitis and colonic carcinoma which offers the further research
advantage of predictable expression, in that colonic carcinoma is expressed
in 35% of the adult CTT population found in 14 different colonies world-
wide.
In this volume, researchers report results of studies involving three of the
larger biomedical research CTT colonies in the world. Many of the studies
represent just the beginning in defining the C'lT as a model of colitis and of
colon carcinoma. Several investigators, however, have identified similarities
between colon disease expressions in CTTs and humans. Furthermore, both
humans and animals potentially may benefit from knowledge gained from
repetitive sampling possible only in the animal model.
A further advantage of the cotton-top tamarin model is the shortened
chronology between onset of colitis and eventual progression to colon car-
cinoma. The opportunity is thus available, within a reasonable time frame
and in a primate model, to assess therapeutic efficacy of both anti-colitic
agents and anti-cancer protocols. Tumor biologists also have the possibility
of evaluating expression of disease markers and designing approaches to alter
the sequence of disease progression.
As indicated earlier, many of the studies reported in this book represent
beginnings. Our colony also is experiencing a new beginning. The foresight
of Oak Ridge Associated Universities' administration in establishing the cot-
ton-top tamarin colony has been succeeded by the vision of The University
of Tennessee Medical Center in maintaining and expanding the colony. The
colony remains a fertile resource for investigators dedicated to the vision of
improving the well-being of both animals and humans through biomedical
research.

Neal K. Clapp
THE EDITOR
Neal K. Clapp, D.V.M., Ph.D., is the Director of UTMCK's Marmoset
Research Center at Oak Ridge (UTIMARCOR) and is Professor of Pathology
at The University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville, TN.
Dr. Clapp received his B.S. degree from Purdue University in 1950, his
D.V.M. from The Ohio State University in 1960, and his M.S. (Radiology)
and Ph.D. from Colorado State University in 1962 and 1964, respectively.
He was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State University from 1961
to 1964. He was an experimental pathologist at the Biology Division of Oak
Ridge National Laboratory from 1964 to 1981 and directed the Marmoset
Research program in Oak Ridge Associated Universities from 1981 to 1992.
Dr. Clapp is a member of American Association for Cancer Research,
American Veterinary Medical Association, Inflammation Research Associa-
tion, American and International Primatology Associations, Radiation Re-
search Society, and American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners.
Dr. Clapp has been the recipient of research grants from the National
Institutes of Health and several pharmaceutical company research programs.
He has presented seminars internationally at universities, in the private sector,
and at numerous international meetings. He has published more than 100
research papers. His current research interests include the pathogenesis, di-
agnosis, and therapeutic efficacy of treatment in colonic diseases.
CONTRIBUTORS
Linus J. Adams, M.D. Robert L. Carson
Chief, Director of Gastroenterology Marmoset Nurse
and Nutrition Marmoset Research Center
Department of Medicine University of Tennessee Medical
University of Tennessee Medical Center
Center at Knoxville Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Graduate School of Medicine
Knoxville, Tennessee
Sreeniwas Chintalapani,
Garth Anderson, Ph.D. M.B., B.S.
Department of Molecular and Internal Medicine
Cellular Biology Wayne State University
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Detroit, Michigan
Buffalo, New York
Neal K. Clapp, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Richard B. Andrews, B.S. Director, Marmoset Research
Senior Research Assistant Center
Department of Medical Biology Professor of Pathology
University of Tennessee Medical Graduate School of Medicine
Center University of Tennessee Medical
Knoxville, Tennessee Center at Knoxville
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Dennis Barnard, M.S.
Nutritionist
Veterinary Resources Program Bertram I. Cohen, Ph.D.
National Center for Research Assistant Director
Resources Surgical Research Lab
National Institutes of Health Beth Israel Medical Center
Bethesda, Maryland New York. New York

C. Richard Boland, M.D. James E. Crook, M.D., Ph.D.


Associate Professor Consultant
Internal Medicine MARCOR
University of Michigan Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Ann Arbor, Michigan

David A. Brian, D.V.M., Ph.D. Joseph E. Fuhr, Ph.D.


Professor Professor
Department of Microbiology Medical Biology and Pathology
College of Veterinary Medicine University of Tennessee Medical
University of Tennessee Center
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee
Robert M. Hansard, B.A., B.S. Norman L. Letvin, M.D.
Research Associate Associate Professor
Marmoset Research Center Department of Medicine
Oak Ridge Associated Universities New England Regional Primate
Oak Ridge, Tennessee Research Center
Southborough, Massachusetts
Lemuel Herrera, M.D.
Surgical Oncology Gordon D. Luk, M.D.
Medical Center of Delaware Patterson Professor
Wilmington, Delaware Internal Medicine
VA Medical Center
Marsha A. Henke, M.S. University of Texas
Research Associate Southwestern Medical Center
Marmoset Research Center Dallas, Texas
Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Kenneth Manley, Ph.D.
Lorna D. Johnson, M.D. Department of Molecular and
Lecturer Cellular Biology
Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Reproductive Biology Buffalo, New York
Harvard Medical School
Boston Massachusetts Roderic B. Mast
Conservation International
Norval W. King, D.V.M. Washington, D.C.
Associate Director for Research
New England Regional Primate
Research Center Stuart Van Meter, M.D.
Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor
Southborough, Massachusetts Department of Pathology
University of Tennessee Medical
Karel Kithier, M.D., Ph.D. Center
Associate Professor Knoxville. Tennessee
Pathology
Wayne State University of Medicine Russell A. Mittermeier
Detroit, Michigan Conservation International
Washington, D.C.
Joseph J. Knapka, Ph.D.
Staff Nutritionist
Veterinary Resources Program Erwin H. Mosbach, Ph.D.
National Center for Research Director
Resources Surgical Research Laboratory
National Institutes of Health Beth Israel Medical Center
Bethesda, Maryland New York, New York
Gloria M. Petersen, Ph.D. Linda J. Shockley, M.S.
Assistant Professor Lieutenant Colonel
Department of Epidemiology Chemical Corps
The Johns Hopkins University United States Army
School of Hygiene and Public Alexandria, Virginia
Health
Baltimore, Maryland Suzette D. Tardif, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Nicholas J. Petrelli, M.D. Department of Anthropology
Chief University of Tennessee
Surgical Oncology Knoxville. Tennessee
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Buffalo, New York Martin Tobi, M.D., Ch.B.
Assistant Professor
Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D. Department of Medicine
Chief Wayne State University
Gastrointestinal Unit Detroit, Michigan
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts Kaila Vijaya, M.B.B.S.,
Resident Internal Medicine
Jose Vicente Rodriguez Wayne State University
Santafk de Bogota Detroit, Michigan
Colombia. South America
Bryan F. Warren, M.D., Ch.B.
Marie-Paule Roth, M.D. Department of Pathology and
Research Scientist Microbiology
CRPG du CNRS University of Bristol
Toulouse Cedex, France Bristol, United Kingdom
Prabhat K. Sehgal, B.V.Sc.
Assistant Professor of Pathology David I. Watkins, Ph.D.
Division of Primate Resources Assistant Professor
New England Regional Primate Department of Pathology and
Research Center Regional Primate Research Center
Harvard Medical School University of Wisconsin
Southborough, Massachusetts Madison, Wisconsin
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To management and staff of Oak Ridge Associated Universities and The
University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville, who had the vision and
commitment to support and encourage the research and merit of the Marmoset
Colony through many years.
To many collaborators and co-workers who have encouraged and labored
with us in seeking knowledge to understand the animal model and its value
in studying both animal and human diseases.
DEDICATION
To my family who have offered support and encouragement for many years:
my wife, Dot, our children, Cheryl, Mark, and Steve, their spouses, and our
grandchildren. Thanks.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. Historical Background of Callitrichids

Chapter 1
The Colombian Cotton-Top Tamarin in the Wild........................................ 3
Roderic B. Mast, Jose Vicente Rodriguez, and Russell
A. Mittermeier

Chapter 2
Breeding the Cotton-Top Tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) in Captivity......... 45
Suzette D. Tardif and Neal K. Clapp

Chapter 3
Callitrichid Nutrition................................................................................... 55
Dennis Barnard and Joseph J. Knapka

B. Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Callitrichids

Chapter 4
Natural History, Time Course, and Pathogenesis of Idipathic Colitis
in Cotton-Top Tamarins (Saguinus oedipus).............................................. 83
Neal K. Clapp, Marsha A. Henke, Robert M. Hansard, Robert
L. Carson, Linas J. Adams, and Ronald V. Nardi

Chapter 5
The Prevalence of Idiopathic Colitis in the New England
Regional Primate Research Center Cotton-Top Tamarin
(Saguinus oedipus) Colony......................................................................... 101
Norval W. King, Lorna D. Johnson, and Prabhat K. Sehgal

Chapter 6
An Antigenic Profile in Cotton-Top Tamarins— Saguinus
oedipus—A Model for Human Inflammatory Bowel Disease and
Colorectal C ancer........................................................................................ 113
Martin Tobi, Sreeniwas Chintalapani, Vijaya Kaila, Karel Kithier,
Marsha A. Henke, and Neal K. Clapp

Chapter 7
Extraintestinal Manifestations of Cotton-Top Tamarin C olitis................ 127
Bryan F. Warren, Marsha A. Henke, and Neal K. Clapp
Chapter 8
A Protocol to Evaluate the Efficacy of Anticolitic Agents Against
Ulcerative Colitis in Cotton-Top Tamarins................................................ 133
Neal K. Clapp, Marsha A. Henke, Robert M. Hansard, and
Robert L. Carson

Chapter 9
Coronaviruses in Tamarin and Marmoset C olitis...................................... 145
David A. Brian and Linda J. Shockley

Chapter 10
Do Repeated Colonic Mucosal Biopsies Impact Mortality in
Cotton-Top Tamarins?................................................................................. 161
Neal K. Clapp, Marsha A. Henke, Robert M. Hansard,
Robert L. Carson, and Ronald V. Nardi

C. Colon Carcinoma in Saguinus oedipus

Chapter 11
Spontaneous Colonic Carcinoma Observations in the Oak
Ridge Associated Universities’ 26-Year-Old Cotton-Top Tamarin
(Saguinus oedipus) Colony........................................................................ 171
Neal K. Clapp and Marsha A. Henke

Chapter 12
Genetic Epidemiology of Colon Cancer....................................................187
Gloria M. Petersen and Marie-Paule Roth

Chapter 13
Prevalence of Colonic Carcinoma in Cotton-Top Tamarin Colonies
Throughout the World..................................................................................199
Neal K. Clapp

Chapter 14
Early Colonic Carcinoma Development in Cotton-Top Tamarins:
Evidence of Promotion by Colitic Episodes............................................. 207
Neal K. Clapp and Marsha A. Henke

Chapter 15
Death Rates with Age from All Causes and from Colonic
Carcinoma in Wild-Caught and Colony-Bom
Cotton-Top Tamarins................................................................................... 221
Neal K. Clapp and John B. Storer
Chapter 16
Tamarin Colon Cancer and Flow Cytometry ........................................... 231
Joseph E. Fuhr, Stuart Van Meter, Richard B. Andrews, and
Neal K. Clapp

D. Physiologic Changes and Markers Associated with Colon Disease

Chapter 17
Fecal Steroids in Tamarins and Marmosets.............................................. 241
Bertram I. Cohen, Erwin H. Mosbach, Marsha A. Henke, and
Neal K. Clapp

Chapter 18
A Serum Marker for Colon Cancer Detection: The Use of the
Cotton-Top Tamarin................................................................................... 253
Nicholas J. Petrelli, Garth Anderson, Lemuel Herrera,
Kenneth Manly, Marsha A. Henke, and Neal K. Clapp

Chapter 19
Colonic Glycoprotein Heterogeneity in the Cotton-Top Tamarin:
Glycoconjugate Modifications Associated with the Nonhuman
Primate Model of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and
Colonic Cancer........................................................................................... 267
C. Richard Boland and Daniel K. Podolsky

Chapter 20
Polyamine Metabolism in Colonic Diseases............................................. 283
Gordon D. Luk

Chapter 21
Immunobiology of the Cotton-Top Tamarin............................................. 295
David I. Watkins and Norman L. Letvin

Chapter 22
Scintigraphic Imaging of Tamarin Colorectal Cancer with
Radiolabeled Monoclonal Antibodies........................................................ 309
James E. Crook and Neal K. Clapp

E. Summary

Chapter 23
Future Directions for Colon Disease Research Using
Cotton-Top Tamarins..................................................................................319
Neal K. Clapp, Ronald V. Nardi, and Martin Tobi

Index 325
A. Historical Background of Callitrichids
Chapter 1

THE COLOMBIAN COTTON-TOP TAMARIN IN


THE WILD

Roderic B. Mast, Jose Vicente Rodriguez, and Russell A. Mittermeier

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction.......................................................................................... 4

II. Taxonomy ........................................................................................... 4


A. The Family Callitrichidae ...................................................... 4
B. The Cotton-Top and its Congeners........................................ 5

III. Natural Historyof Cotton-Top Tamarins........................................... 15

IV. Status of Cotton-Top Tamarins in theW ild...................................... 16


A. Habitat Characteristics........................................................... 16
B. Cotton-Top Distribution........................................................ 17

V. Conservation.......................................................................................18
A. Threats to Wild Cotton-Top Tamarins.................................. 19
1. Habitat Loss or Alteration......................................... 20
2. Direct Threats: Hunting andLive Capture................22
B. Cotton-Top Tamarins in Captivity........................................ 25
C. Past and Present Field ConservationEfforts......................... 26
D. Conservation Recommendations........................................... 32
1. Additional Studies and Priority Setting.................... 32
2. Conservation Actions................................................ 33

VI. Conclusions........................................................................................ 35

VII. Summary ........................................................................................... 38

VIII. Resumen.............................................................................................38

Acknowledgments........................................................................................ 39

References..................................................................................................... 39

0-8493-5363-7/93/S0.00 + $.50
© 1993 by CRC Press, Inc. 3
4 A Primate Model for the Study of Colitis and Colonic Carcinoma

I. INTRODUCTION
Due to its unique natural history and physiology, the cotton-top tamarin
is one of the most important primate models for biomedical research, and has
been used for laboratory research on numerous maladies, from Epstein-Barr
virus to colitis and colon cancer. As will be discussed throughout this volume,
the cotton-top tamarin is indispensable for the study of colitis and colon
carcinogenesis, as it is the only primate model which, like humans, sponta-
neously develops colitis preceding and often accompanying the onset of colon
cancer.
Although the cotton-top is found abundantly in both zoological and re-
search colonies throughout the it is considered highly endangered
in its wild habitat. The cotton-top's entire distribution is in a small area of
northwestern Colombia, South America; there, its native forests have been
substantially reduced, and free-ranging monkeys have been threatened by live
capture for local and international pet markets and the biomedical industry.'
The cotton-top tamarin is just one endangered resident of these high
diversity forests but is noteworthy because of its beauty and charisma, as
well as its economic and utilitarian importance as a tool to catalyze a more
rapid cure for colon cancer, one of the leading causes of death, second only
to lung cancer1 in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. As
such, the cotton-top is an ideal flagship species to draw attention to the plight
of its tropical forest habitat, and hence should be used (through education
and awareness campaigns) both to rally public support and to muster financial
resources for conservation in Colombia.
This paper discusses the taxonomy, distribution, and conservation of the
cotton-top tamarin in the wild and the authors recommend actions to ensure
the long-term survival of the species and the integrity of its natural habitat,
as well as a rationale and general guidelines for ways in which biomedical
researchers can play a greater role in conserving the natural habitats of cotton-
tops and other primate species used in biomedical research.

11. TAXONOMY
A. THE FAMILY CALLITRICHIDAE
The Callitrichidae make up the most diverse family of New World mon-
keys, with 32 species in all. Apart from the 16 marmoset species within the
genera Callithrix (15) and Cebuella there are four lion tamarin species
within the genus Leontopithec~s,'~ and 12 tamarin species within the genus
S a g u i n ~ s . ~Snowdon
~" and SoiniI2have divided the tamarins into two groups,
the Hylaen (or Amazonian) and the extra-Amazonian. The latter group of
trans-Andean tamarins comprises three taxa (S. geofffoyi, S. oedipus, and S.
leucopus), all of which are found in Colombia.
Overall, the callitrichids are the smallest of the New World monkeys,
have nonprehensile tails, possess claws instead of nails, and move quadru-
Mast et al. 5

pedally.".'4 The callitrichids are the size of, and move in a similar fashion
to, squirrels; KavanaghI5 has aptly referred to the Callitrichidae as the "little
squirrel-like monkeys with claws." In addition, all monkeys of the family
Callitrichidae lack a set of paired molars that are typical of the other families
of New World primates. The four callitrichid genera can be further distin-
guished on the basis of dentition. The "short-tusked" lower anterior dentition
characteristic of the genera Callithrix and Cebuella is a physiological adap-
tation allowing these taxa to perforate tree bark and induce the flow of exudates
(gum and sap), which are important food sources. In contrast, the genera
Saguinus and Leontopithecus possess the "long-tusked" dental configuration
in which the canines are much longer than the incisors.
B. THE COTTON-TOP AND ITS CONGENERS
Of Colombia's 26 primate species (12 genera and 45 taxa, see Table I),"
three are endemic; these include one species of douroucouli or owl monkey
(Aotus brumbacki), and two congeneric callitrichids, Saguinus leucopus (the
white-footed tamarin) and the subject of this chapter, S. oedipus (the cotton-
top tamarin, Figures 1A and 1B). A large mane of cottony white fur on its
head gives the cotton-top tamarin its most appropriate name. This notable
feature makes the animal one of the world's most striking primates and is
also the source of its other vernacular name, used mostly in Germany, the
"Franz Liszt" monkey, for the Hungarian piano virtuoso and composer (181 1-
1886) also known for his ashen pompadour. First described by Linnaeus in
1758, the cotton-top tamarin is often mistakenly referred to in the literature
as the cotton-top "marmoset." In Colombia it is called titi, titis, or titipielroja
in the northern portion of its range, plus bichichi in the southwestern portion
(where it is confused with Saguinus geoffroyi, called by the same common
name, see Figure 2). l 8
It is noteworthy to mention that Her~hkovitz'~ describes both the cotton-
top and Panamanian (or Geoffroy's) tamarins as subspecies of Saguinus oed-
ipus (S. o. oedipus and S. o. geoffroyi, respectively), and Hernandez Camacho
and Defler'9,20have also suggested that these two taxa fall beneath a single
superspecies.'' We have chosen to utilize herein the more widely accepted
view that both of these taxa are full specie^.^,^'
The debate regarding the taxonomy of the three extra-Amazonian tamarins
results largely from a severe lack of data on wild distribution and ecology.
The Panamanian tamarin (S. geoflroyi) is found in extreme eastern Panama
and northwestern Colombia roughly to the west of the Atrato River (see maps,
Figures 3A and B); a few sightings of the Panamanian tamarin have been
made to the east of the Atrato, in the vicinity of Quibdo." The cotton-top's
other closely related congener, the white-footed tamarin (S. leucopus, see
Figure 4), ranges to the south and east of the cotton-top's distribution; its
range is roughly bounded to the north and west by the Cauca River and the
Magdalena River, respectively. The distribution and ecology of the white-
footed tamarin is the most poorly known of the three extra-Amazonian cal-
litrichids especially in the eastern and southern portions of its range.23
TABLE 1 01

Primates of Colombia

Spanish common English common Conservation status


Present in Colombia name name CITES, IUCN, Authors**

Cebuella pygmaea pygmaea' titi, leoncito, pielroja, chi- pygmy marmoset 2, N, V


chico
Saguinus fuscicollis fuscicollis2 titi saddle-back tamarin 2, N, S
Saguinus nigricollis nigricollis bebeleche black-mantled ta- 2, E, A
marin
Saguinus nigricollis hernandezi* bebeleche 2, N, U
Saguinus graellsi3 titi Graells' black-man- 2, N, U
tled tamarin
Saguinus inustus gueviblanco, mico diablito mottle-faced tamarin 2, N, U
Saguinus geoffroyi bichichi Panamanian tamarin 1, N, V
Saguinus oedipus* titi, tistis, titi pielroja, titi cotton-top tamarin 1, E, A
cabeciblanco
Saguinus leucopus* tistis, titi gris white-footed tamarin 1, E, A
Callimico goeldii chichico diablo goeldi's marmoset 1, R, A
Aotus lemurinus zonalis marteja, marta, micode- Douroucouli or owl 2, N, A
noche, tutamono monkey
Aotus lemurinus griseimembra 2, N, A
II II
Aotus lemurinus lemurinus* 2, N, A
II II
Aotus brumbacki* 2, N, V
II II
Aotus vociferans 2, N, V
II II
Aotus nancymai 2, N, V
Callicebus cupreus discolor zocai, zocayo, zogui-zogui dusky titi 2, N, V
II II II
Callicebus cupreus ornatus* 2, N, V
Callicebus torquatus lugens viudita, macaco, zogui-zogui collared titi 2, N, V
II II II
A Primate Modelf orthe Studyof Colitisand Colonic Carcinoma

Callicebus torquatus lucifer 2, N, V


Saimiri sciureus albigena* titi vizcaino, titi frayle, fray- squirrel monkey 2, N, S
lecito, macaco de cheiro
Saimiri sciureus macrodon 2, N, S
II
Saimiri sciureus casiquiarensis 2, N, S
Pithecia monachus mico volador, huapo negro, saki monkey 2, N, V
huarpo negro
lf
Pithecia monachus monachus 2, N, V
Cacajao melanocephalus ouakary chucuto, rabon black-headed uakari 2, V, V
Cebus capucinus capucinus cariblanco, mico negro, mai- white-faced capuchin 2, N, V
cero, machin
II II
Cebus capucinus curtus* Gorgona Island capu- 2, N, S
chin
Cebus albifrons malitiosus* mico tanque, coruptela de white-fronted capu- 2, N, V
takke, (nombre en An- chin
doque), machfn, yurac-ma-
chin, yana-machin (Que-
chua), cairara
Cebus albifrons cesarae 2, N, A
Cebus albifrons versicolor4 2, N, V
Cebus albifrons albifrons* 2, N, V
Cebus albifrons unicolor 2, N, V
Cebus albifrons yuracus 2, N, V
Cebus apella apella cachOn, cachudo, macaco tufted capuchin 2, N, S
prego
Alouatta seniculus seniculus aullador, guariba, cotu- red howler monkey 2, N, S
mono, mono cotudo, ara-
guato, arauato, mono colo-
rado, bramador
Il II
Alouatta seniculus stramineus 2, N, V
Alouatta palliata aequatorialis gueviblanco, chong6n, aulla- mantled howler mon- 1, N, V
dor negro key
TABLE 1 (continued) 00
Primates of Colombia

Spanish common English common Conservation status


Present in Colombia name name CITES, IUCN, Authors**

Lagothrix lagotricha lagotricha barrigudo, churuco, choyo wooly monkey 2, V, A


II II
Lagothrix lagotricha lugens 2, V, A
Ateles belzebuth belzebuth mica, coats, mona marimba, black spider monkey 2, V, A
marimonda chomba, bra-
ceador, maquisapa
Ateles belzebuth hybridus 2, V, A
II II II
Ateles belzebuth brunneus* 2, V, A
Ateles fusciceps rufiventris brown headed spider 2, V, A
monkey
Ateles fusciceps grisescens 2, V, A
Possibly present in Colombia
Saguinus labiatus thomasi5 lig Thomas' moustached 2, N, U
tamarin
Aotus nigriceps6 marta, marteja Douroucouli or owl 2, N, U
monkey
Pithecia aequatorialis7 mico volador 2, N, U
Chiropotes satanas chiropotes8 7 bearded saki 2, E, U
Cacajao calvus rubicundue uakari, mico ingles, macaco red uakari 2, V, U
ingles, huapo, huarpo rojo
Cebus nigrivitattusm maicero, machin Weper capuchin 2, N, U
monkey
Ateles fusciceps fusciceps marimonda brown-headed spider 2, V, U
monkey
A Primate Modelfor the Studyof Colitisand ColonicCarcinoma
Undescribed primate taxa from Colombia
Saguinus sp." titi cardonero ? ?, ?, V rJ
Aotus sp.12 marteja, marta, micoden- ? ?, ?, A ro
oche, tuta mono

Note: * = endemic to Colombia; **: CITES: I = Appendix I; 2 = Appendix 2. IUCN: N = not listed; E = endangered;
R = rare; V = vulnerable. Authors: V = vulnerable; S = satisfactory; A = endangered; U = insufficient data.

This subspecies name is derived from the supposition that Cebuella pygmaea niveiventer should be a valid subspecies,
based on revision of specimens from Brazil.
2
Recent information pemits the supposition that the resident population in the Trapezio of the Colombian Amazon should
be referred to as a new subspecies.
3
Hershkovitz considers this a subspecies of Saguinus nigricollis.
4
This includes C. c. leucocephalus, C. c. adustus, and C. c pleei.
5
This taxon is found north of the Solimeles River and the headwaters of the Putumayo River.
6
Individuals of this taxon may have been introduced from Peru.
7
This taxon may be found in the Trapezio of the Colombian Amazon.
8
A dubious report of this animal has been recorded near the Orinoco River.
9
This taxon may be found in the Trapezio of the Colombian Amazon.
10
This species is synonymous with C. olivaceus and is possibly found in Colombia, in the Departments of Guainia and
Amazonas.
Numerous visual records of an undescribed species bearing the local name "titi cardonero" have been made by Hershkovitz
and others from: the watershed of the Guachaca River, near Pueblito, Department of Magdalena; the watershed of the
River Ariguani, near Carcolicito and near Bosconia, Department of Cesar; and from the Tarra River, town of San Calixto,
Department of Norte de Santander. Recently at La Gabarra, near the Catatumbo River in the Norte de Santander Department,
captive individuals were also reported by Gerardo Villa. Hershkovitz has indicated that this animal could be a species of
Callimico.
12
This species is in the process of description, with type locality from the upper Cusiana River, Department of Boyaca.
10 A Primate Model for the Study of Colitis and Colonic Carcinoma

FIGURE 1A. The cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) is well represented in captive zo-
ological and research colonies in the U.S. and Europe, but is highly endangered in its native
tropical forest habitat in northwestern Colombia. (Photo by Roderic Mast.)

The biological species concept assumes that if two taxa can interbreed
and produce viable offspring in the wild, they cannot be considered separate
species. Often, the ability of two taxa to interbreed can be tested in captivity
and Benirschke has indicated that hybrids would likely occur within all the
callitrichid genera if the animals were given the opportunity to interbreed.24
Mast et al. 11

FIGURE 1B.

Interestingly, there seem to be many hybrids produced by Saguinus species,''


though there are no confirmed reports of such offspring being fertile. E ~ p l e , ~ ~
for example, reports a specific case of hybridization between Saguinus oedipus
and S. geoffroyi, although it is unknown if the two litters produced were
fertile. Hybrid offspring have also been produced between S. oedipus and
S. r n i d a ~ . ~ ~
12 A Primate Model for the Study of Colitis and Colorlie Carcinoma

FIGURE 2. The Panamanian tamarin (Suguinus gec!ffroyi). (Photo by Russell Mittermeier.)

When the geographic distribution and ecology of closely related varieties


is as poorly known as is the case with the three aforementioned tamarin
species, the biological species concept is difficult to apply; Skinnerz4suggests
that, in such cases, taxonomists must resort to other methods, such as mor-
phological comparisons. Skinner compared morphological traits for 17 char-
acteristics among S. geoffroyi, S . leucopus, and S. oedipus. She concluded
that S. leucopus and S. oedipus were more closely related than either species
Mast et al. 13

Tayrona National Park

Isl. del Rosario Santa Marta

Barranquilla

Caribbean
Sea
Sierra Nevada
de Santa Marta
Mas'it CESAR
Los ColoradosSanctuary
0 10 50 100 150Km
I • , Zambrano

Mantes de Maria Reserve San Juan


Neporriticeno

Carmen de
Bolivar • %.

Gulf of
Urabd

Distribution limits of
Saguinus oedipus
Riosucio

Paramillo National
Park

Villa Arteaga

Las Orquideas
National Park e Medellin

Pacific
Ocean

VALLE
Cali°

FIGURE 3A. Map of distribution limits for Saguinus oedipus showing parks and protected
areas, major rivers, principal collection and study sites, and sites of introduced populations of
cotton-tops outside the distribution.
14 A Primate Model for the Study of Colitis and Colonic Carcinoma

0 20 50 100 Km

0 20 50 100 Miles

Barranquilla

ATLANTIC°

Cartagena

MAGDALENA
Caribbean
Sea

a. sft
"0-
n •

•••*,
Riosucio r.

1500 m. altitudinal
CHOCO limit of S. oedipus

Pacific "Z,
ANTIOQUIA
Ocean

FIGURE 3B. Map of distribution limits for Saguinus oedipus showing political divisions and
details of the southern extent based on a calculated altitudinal limit of 1500 m. Question marks
indicate areas where further field data are necessary to clearly establish southern limits.

were to S. geoffroyi; on that basis alone she prefers to refer to the latter two
as separate species. When considering the contrasts in morphology and phys-
iology of S. oedipus and S. geoffroyi as evidence in favor of full-species
status for each, it is noteworthy to mention also the fact that the latter does
not develop colon cancer; indeed, to date the only species known to spon-
taneously develop colon cancer is S. oedipus.'
Mast et al. 15

FIGURE 4. The white-footed tarnarm (Saguinus lc'ucopus). (Photo by Federico Medem.)

Nonetheless, the question remains as to whether the Panamanian and


cotton-top tamarins have entirely allopatric distributions, and the answer will
derive from additional field study. If their distributions are allopatric, then
morphological distinctiveness is unquestionably sufficient to make them sep-
arate species. And even if these species do indeed interbreed in the wild, yet
only produce hybrids within a narrow hybrid zone, full species status is likely
warranted.

111. NATURAL HISTORY OF COTTON-TOP


TAMARINS
An exceptional review of the genus Saguinus, including descriptions of
the species, habitat, diet, population dynamics, social and reproductive be-
havior, expression and communication, locomotor and postural behavior, and
learning and cognitive behavior is provided by Snowdon and Soini."
16 A Primate Model for the Study of Colitis and Colonic Carcinoma

In general, tamarins are considered primarily insectivore-frugivores with


a tendency to omnivory. Cotton-tops feed on fruit, insects, frogs, lizards, and
tree gums (especially the gum of the "caro" tree,Enterolobium cycl~carpum'~),
and live in extended family groups of 2 to 13 animals, though Barbosa et
a1.18 have reported groups of up to 20 individuals. Average adult weight for
a wild cotton-top is 410 g (N = 21) for males and 420 g (N = 22) for
females." Wild densities are dependent on available habitat and have been
recorded at 78 individual~/km~.~~ Cotton-top home range size varies from 7.8
to 10 hectares.27Cotton-tops generally breed in the wild from April to June,
producing one offspring, though twins are also common and reports of triplets
exist." Sexual maturity in cotton-tops is reached in less than two years, and
fathers and older sibling cotton-tops assist in caring for newborn offspring,
which is one of the most characteristic behaviors of callitrichids in
Cotton-tops and most other callitrichid species thrive in secondary forest
where clearing has taken place. Some callitrichids survive well in small forest
fragments,12 and in general callitrichids prefer to utilize edge habitats to
continuous forest.28In the case of the cotton-top, they have little choice, as
most of the continuous forest is gone, but nonetheless D a w s o n ' ~ work
~~.~~
with S. geoffroyi indicates that this species actually avoids primary forest,
preferring edge and degraded forest habitats. Cotton-tops live in both moist
and dry forest formations up to 1500 m.26The ability of the species to prosper
in secondary and degraded habitats could well have prevented its extinction.

IV. STATUS OF COTTON-TOP TAMARINS IN


THE WILD
Members of the genus Saguinus range from Costa Rica to northern Bo-
livia.16 The three extra-Amazonian (trans-Andean) species, S. geoffroyi, S.
oedipus, and S. leucopus, reside in southeastern Panama and adjacent Costa
Rica and northern Colombia, the latter two occurring exclusively in Colombia.
The maps (Figures 3A and 3B) present the distribution limits for S. oedipus,
showing parks and protected areas, major rivers, principal collection and
study sites, political boundaries, and sites of introduced populations.

A. HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS
The major geographic features of this portion of northwestern Colombia
are the northern termini of the western and central Andean cordilleras, sep-
arated by the Cauca River, and the eastern cordillera, lying to the west of
the Magdalena River. An isolated massif, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
juts from the northern coast, rises from sea level to 5785 m (the highest point
in Colombia) in just 42 horizontal km, and as such is the tallest coastal
mountain on earth. The cool, moist Andes (2000 to 4000 mm annual rainfall)
decline northward into the warm, dry, Caribbean coastal plain (less than 1000
mm annual rainfall), through which several major rivers drain into the Car-
ibbean (such as the Rivers Sin6 and the Magdalena River System with its
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Slavery Agency—​Youthful Enthusiasm—​Fugitive
Slaveship Doubted—​Experience in Slavery Written—​
Danger of Recapture

CHAPTER IV.
RECOLLECTIONS OF OLD FRIENDS.

Work in Rhode Island—​Dorr War—​Recollections of old


friends—​Further labors in Rhode Island and elsewhere in
New England 250

CHAPTER V.
ONE HUNDRED CONVENTIONS.

Anti-Slavery Conventions held in parts of New England, and


in some of the Middle and Western States—​Mobs—​
Incidents, etc. 257

CHAPTER VI.
IMPRESSIONS ABROAD.

Danger to be averted—​A refuge sought abroad—​Voyage on


the steamship Cambria—​Refusal of first-class passage—​
Attractions of the forecastle-deck—​Hutchinson family—​
Invited to make a speech—​Southerners feel insulted—​
Captain threatens to put them in irons—​Experiences
abroad—​Attentions received—​Impressions of different
members of Parliament, and of other public men—​
Contrast with life in America—​Kindness of friends—​Their
purchase of my person, and the gift of the same to myself
—​My return 266
CHAPTER VII.
TRIUMPHS AND TRIALS.

New Experiences—​Painful Disagreement of Opinion with old


Friends—​Final Decision to Publish my Paper in Rochester
—​Its Fortunes and its Friends—​Change in my own Views
Regarding the Constitution of the United States—​Fidelity
to Conviction—​Loss of Old Friends—​Support of New
Ones—​Loss of House, etc., by Fire—​Triumphs and Trials
—​Under-ground Railroad—​Incidents 294

CHAPTER VIII.
JOHN BROWN AND MRS. STOWE.

My First Meeting with Capt John Brown—​The Free Soil


Movement—​Colored Convention—​Uncle Tom’s Cabin—​
Industrial School for Colored People—​Letter to Mrs. H. B.
Stowe 309

CHAPTER IX.
INCREASING DEMANDS OF THE SLAVE POWER.

Increased demands of slavery—​War in Kansas—​John


Brown’s raid—​His capture and execution—​My escape to
England from United States marshals 329

CHAPTER X.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END.

My connection with John Brown—​To and from England—​


Presidential contest—​Election of Abraham Lincoln 350
CHAPTER XI.
SECESSION AND WAR.

Recruiting of the 54th and 55th Colored Regiments—​Visit to


President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton—​Promised a
Commission as Adjutant General to General Thomas—​
Disappointment 373

CHAPTER XII.
HOPE FOR THE NATION.

Proclamation of emancipation—​Its reception in Boston—​


Objections brought against it—​Its effect on the country—​
Interview with President Lincoln—​New York riots—​Re-
election of Mr. Lincoln—​His inauguration, and inaugural—​
Vice-President Johnson—​Presidential reception—​The fall
of Richmond—​Fanueil Hall—​The assassination—​
Condolence 390

CHAPTER XIII.
VAST CHANGES.

Satisfaction and anxiety, new fields of labor opening—​


Lyceums and colleges soliciting addresses—​Literary
attractions—​Pecuniary gain—​Still pleading for human
rights—​President Andy Johnson—​Colored delegation—​
Their reply to him—​National Loyalist Convention, 1866,
and its procession—​Not Wanted—​Meeting with an old
friend—​Joy and surprise—​The old master’s welcome, and
Miss Amanda’s friendship—​Enfranchisement debated and
accomplished—​The Negro a citizen 414

CHAPTER XIV.
LIVING AND LEARNING.

Inducements to a political career—​Objections—​A newspaper


enterprise—​The New National Era—​Its abandonment—​
The Freedman’s Saving and Trust Company—​Sad
experience—​Vindication 442

CHAPTER XV.
WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE.

The Santo Domingo controversy—​Decoration day at


Arlington, 1871—​Speech delivered there—​National
colored convention at New Orleans, 1872—​Elector at
large for the State of New York—​Death of Hon. Henry
Wilson 451

CHAPTER XVI.
“TIME MAKES ALL THINGS EVEN.”

Return to the “old master”—​A last interview—​Capt. Auld’s


admission “had I been in your place, I should have done
as you did”—​Speech at Easton—​The old jail there—​
Invited to a sail on the revenue cutter Guthrie—​Hon. John
L. Thomas—​Visit to the old plantation—​Home of Col.
Lloyd—​Kind reception and attentions—​Familiar scenes—​
Old memories—​Burial-ground—​Hospitality—​Gracious
reception from Mrs. Buchanan—​A little girl’s floral gift—​A
promise of a “good time coming”—​Speech at Harper’s
Ferry, Decoration day, 1881—​Storer College—​Hon. A. J.
Hunter 487

CHAPTER XVII.
INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.
Hon. Gerrit Smith and Mr. E. C. Delevan—​Experiences at
Hotels and on Steamboats and other modes of travel—​
Hon. Edward Marshall—​Grace Greenwood—​Hon. Moses
Norris—​Rob’t J. Ingersoll—​Reflections and conclusions—​
Compensations 503

CHAPTER XVIII.
“HONOR TO WHOM HONOR.”

Grateful recognition—​Friends in need—​Lucretia Mott—​Lydia


Maria Child—​Sarah and Angelina Grimke—​Abby Kelly—​
H. Beecher Stowe—​Other Friends—​Woman Suffrage 517

CHAPTER XIX.
RETROSPECTION.

Meeting of colored citizens in Washington to express their


sympathy at the great national bereavement, the death of
President Garfield—​Concluding reflections and
convictions 527

APPENDIX.
Oration at the unveiling of the Freedmen’s monument, at
Lincoln Park, Washington, D. C., April 14, 1876—​Extract
from a speech delivered at Elmira, N. Y., August 1, 1880 533
PAGE.
1. Portrait of the Author on Steel, Frontispiece
2. The last time he saw his Mother, 36
3. Whipping of old Barney, 66
4. Gore shooting Denby, 74
5. Mrs. Auld teaching him to read, 89
6. Found in the woods by Sandy, 153
7. Driven to jail for running away, 191
8. His present home in Washington, 221
9. At the wharf in Newport, 233
10. Fighting the mob in Indiana, 263
11. Portrait of John Brown, 308
12. Portrait of Wm. Lloyd Garrison, 369
13. Portrait of Wendell Phillips, 422
14. Portrait of Charles Sumner, 453
15. Commissioners to Santo Domingo, 459
16. Marshal at President Garfield’s Inauguration, 475
17. Revisits his old home, 497
18. Portrait of Abraham Lincoln on Steel, 547
INTRODUCTION.
JUST what this country has in store to benefit or to startle the world
in the future, no tongue can tell. We know full well the wonderful
things which have occurred or have been accomplished here in the
past, but the still more wonderful things which we may well say will
happen in the centuries of development which lie before us, is vain
conjecture, it lies in the domain of speculation.
America will be the field for the demonstration of truths not now
accepted and the establishment of a new and higher civilization.
Horace Walpole’s prophecy will be verified when there shall be a
Xenophon at New York and a Thucydides at Boston. Up to this time
the most remarkable contribution this country has given to the world
is the Author and subject of this book, now being introduced to the
public—Frederick Douglass. The contribution comes naturally and
legitimately and to some not unexpectedly, nevertheless it is
altogether unique and must be regarded as truly remarkable. Our
Pantheon contains many that are illustrious and worthy, but
Douglass is unlike all others, he is sui generis. For every other great
character we can bring forward, Europe can produce another equally
as great; when we bring forward Douglass, he cannot be matched.
Douglass was born a slave, he won his liberty; he is of negro
extraction, and consequently was despised and outraged; he has by
his own energy and force of character commanded the respect of the
Nation; he was ignorant, he has, against law and by stealth and
entirely unaided, educated himself; he was poor, he has by honest
toil and industry become rich and independent, so to speak; he, a
chattel slave of a hated and cruelly wronged race, in the teeth of
American prejudice and in face of nearly every kind of hindrance and
draw-back, has come to be one of the foremost orators of the age,
with a reputation established on both sides of the Atlantic; a writer of
power and elegance of expression; a thinker whose views are potent
in controlling and shaping public opinion; a high officer in the
National Government; a cultivated gentleman whose virtues as a
husband, father, and citizen are the highest honor a man can have.
Frederick Douglass stands upon a pedestal; he has reached this
lofty height through years of toil and strife, but it has been the strife
of moral ideas; strife in the battle for human rights. No bitter
memories come from this strife; no feelings of remorse can rise to
cast their gloomy shadows over his soul; Douglass has now reached
and passed the meridian of life, his co-laborers in the strife have now
nearly all passed away. Garrison has gone, Gerritt Smith has gone,
Giddings and Sumner have gone,—nearly all the early abolitionists
are gone to their reward. The culmination of his life work has been
reached; the object dear to his heart—the Emancipation of the
slaves—has been accomplished, through the blessings of God; he
stands facing the goal, already reached by his co-laborers, with a
halo of peace about him, and nothing but serenity and gratitude must
fill his breast. To those, who in the past—in ante-bellum days—in any
degree shared with Douglass his hopes and feelings on the slavery
question, this serenity of mind, this gratitude, can be understood and
felt. All Americans, no matter what may have been their views on
slavery, now that freedom has come and slavery is ended, must
have a restful feeling and be glad that the source of bitterness and
trouble is removed. The man who is sorry because of the abolition of
slavery, has outlived his day and generation; he should have insisted
upon being buried with the “lost cause” at Appomattox.
We rejoice that Douglass has attained unto this exalted position
—this pedestal. It has been honorably reached; it is a just
recognition of talent and effort; it is another proof that success
attends high and noble aim. With this example, the black boy as well
as the white boy can take hope and courage in the race of life.
Douglass’ life has been a romance—and a fragrance—to the
age. There has been just enough mystery about his origin and
escape from slavery to throw a charm about them. The odd
proceedings in the purchase of his freedom after his escape from
slavery; his movements in connection with the John Brown raid at
Harper’s Ferry and his subsequent flight across the ocean are
romantic as anything which took place among the crags and cliffs,
the Roderick Dhus and Douglasses of the Lady of the Lake; while
the pure life he has led and his spotless character are sweet by
contrast with the lives of mere politicians and time serving
statesmen. It is well to contemplate one like him, who has had “hair
breadth escapes.” It is inspiring to know that the day of self-sacrifice
and self-development are not passed.
To say that his life has been eventful, is hardly the word. From
the time when he first saw the light on the Tuckahoe plantation up to
the time he was called to fill a high official position, his life has been
crowded with events which in some sense may be called miracles,
and now since his autobiography has come to be written, we must
understand the hour of retrospect has come—for casting up and
balancing accounts as to work done or left undone.
It is more than forty years now that he has been before the world
as a writer and speaker—busy, active, wonderful years to him—and
we are called upon to pass judgment upon his labors. What can we
say? Can he claim the well done good and faithful? The record
shows this, and we must state it, generally speaking, his life has
been devoted to his race and the cause of his race. The freedom
and elevation of his people has been his life work, and it has been
done well and faithfully. That is the record, and that is sufficient. No
higher eulogium can be pronounced than that Longfellow says of the
Village Blacksmith:—

“Something attempted, something done,


Has earned a night’s repose.”

Douglass found his people enslaved and oppressed. He has


given the best years of his life to the improvement of their condition,
and, now that he looks back upon his labors, may he not say he has
“attempted” and “done” something? and may he not claim the
“repose” which ought to come in the evening of a well spent life?
The first twenty-three years of Douglass’ life were twenty-three
years of slavery, obscurity, and degradation, yet doubtless in time to
come these years will be regarded by the student of history the most
interesting portion of his life; to those who in the future would know
the inside history of American slavery, this part of his life will be
specially instructive. Plantation life at Tuckahoe as related by him is
not fiction, it is fact; it is not the historian’s dissertation on slavery, it
is slavery itself, the slave’s life, acts, and thoughts, and the life, acts,
and thoughts of those around him. It is Macauley (I think) who says
that a copy of a daily newspaper [if there were such] published at
Rome would give more information and be of more value than any
history we have. So, too, this photographic view of slave life as given
to us in the autobiography of an ex-slave will give to the reader a
clearer insight of the system of slavery than can be gained from the
examination of general history.
Col. Lloyd’s plantation, where Douglass belonged, was very
much like other plantations of the south. Here was the great house
and the cabins, the old Aunties and patriarchal Uncles, little
picanninies and picanninies not so little, of every shade of
complexion, from ebony black to whiteness of the master race;
mules, overseers, and broken down fences. Here was the negro
Doctor learned in the science of roots and herbs; also the black
conjurer with his divination. Here was slave-breeding and slave-
selling, whipping, torturing, and beating to death. All this came under
the observation of Douglass and is a part of the education he
received while under the yoke of bondage. He was there in the midst
of this confusion, ignorance, and brutality. Little did the overseer on
this plantation think that he had in his gang a man of superior order
and undaunted spirit, whose mind, far above the minds of the
grovelling creatures about him, was at that very time plotting
schemes for his liberty; nor did the thought ever enter the mind of
Col. Lloyd, the rich slaveholder, that he had upon his estate one who
was destined to assail the system of slavery with more power and
effect than any other person.
Douglass’ fame will rest mainly, no doubt, upon his oratory. His
powers in this direction are very great and in some respects
unparalleled by our living speakers. His oratory is his own and
apparently formed after the model of no single person. It is not after
the Edmund Burke style, which has been so closely followed by
Everett, Sumner, and others, and which has resulted in giving us
splendid and highly embellished essays rather than natural and not
overwrought speeches. If his oratory must be classified, it should be
placed somewhere between the Fox and Henry Clay schools. Like
Clay, Douglass’ greatest effect is upon his immediate hearers, those
who see him and feel his presence, and like Clay a good part of his
oratorical fame will be tradition. The most striking feature of
Douglass’ oratory is his fire, not the quick and flashy kind, but the
steady and intense kind. Years ago on the anti-slavery platform, in
some sudden and unbidden outburst of passion and indignation he
has been known to awe-inspire his listeners as though Ætna were
there.
If oratory consists of the power to move men by spoken words,
Douglass is a complete orator. He can make men laugh or cry, at his
will. He has power of statement, logic, withering denunciation,
pathos, humor, and inimitable wit. Daniel Webster with his immense
intellectuality had no humor, not a particle. It does not appear that he
could even see the point of a joke. Douglass is brim full of humor at
times, of the dryest kind. It is of a quiet kind. You can see it coming a
long way off in a peculiar twitch of his mouth; it increases and
broadens gradually until it becomes irresistible and all-pervading with
his audience.
Douglass’ rank as a writer is high, and justly so. His writings, if
anything, are more meritorious than his speaking. For many years he
was the editor of newspapers, doing all of the editorial work. He has
contributed largely to magazines. He is a forcible and thoughtful
writer. His style is pure and graceful, and he has great felicity of
expression. His written productions in finish compare favorably with
the written productions of our most cultivated writers. His style
comes partly, no doubt, from his long and constant practice, but the
true source is his clear mind, which is well stored by a close
acquaintance with the best authors. His range of reading has been
wide and extensive. He has been a hard student. In every sense of
the word he is a self-made man. By dint of hard study he has
educated himself, and to-day it may be said he has a well-trained
intellect. He has surmounted the disadvantage of not having an
university education, by application and well-directed effort. He
seems to have realized the fact that to one who is anxious to
become educated and is really in earnest, it is not positively
necessary to go to college, and that information may be had outside
of college walks; books may be obtained and read elsewhere, they
are not chained to desks in college libraries as they were in early
times at Oxford; Professors’ lectures may be bought already printed;
learned doctors may be listened to in the Lyceum; and the printing
press has made it easy and cheap to get information on every
subject and topic that is discussed and taught in the University.
Douglass never made the great mistake (a common one) of
considering that his education was finished. He has continued to
study, he studies now, and is a growing man, and at this present
moment he is a stronger man intellectually than ever before.
Soon after Douglass’ escape from Maryland to the Northern
States, he commenced his public career. It was at New Bedford as a
local Methodist preacher and by taking part in small public meetings
held by colored people, wherein anti-slavery and other matters were
discussed. There he laid the foundation of the splendid career which
is now about drawing to a close. In these meetings Douglass gave
evidence that he possessed uncommon powers, and it was plainly to
be seen that he needed only a field and opportunity to display them.
That field and opportunity soon came, as it always does to
possessors of genius. He became a member and agent of the
American Anti-Slavery society. Then commenced his great crusade
against slavery in behalf of his oppressed brethren at the South.
He waged violent and unceasing war against slavery. He went
through every town and hamlet in the Free States, raising his voice
against the iniquitous system.
Just escaped from the prison-house himself, to tear down the
walls of the same and to let the oppressed go free, was the mission
which engaged the powers of his soul and body. North, East, and
West, all through the land went this escaped slave delivering his
warning message against the doomed cities of the South. The ocean
did not stop nor hinder him. Across the Atlantic he went, through
England, Ireland, and Scotland. Wherever people could be found to
listen to his story, he pleaded the cause of his enslaved and down-
trodden brethren with vehemence and great power. From 1840 to
1861, the time of the commencement of the civil war, which
extirpated slavery in this country, Douglass was continuously
speaking on the platform, writing for his newspaper and for
magazines, or working in conventions for the abolition of slavery.
The life and work of Douglass has been a complete vindication
of the colored people in this respect; it has refuted and overthrown
the position taken by some writers that colored people were deficient
in mental qualifications and were incapable of attaining high
intellectual position. We may reasonably expect to hear no more of
this now, the argument is exploded. Douglass has settled the fact the
right way, and it is something to settle a fact.
That Douglass is a brave man there can be little doubt. He has
physical as well as moral courage. His encounter with the overseer
of the eastern shore plantation attests his pluck. There the odds
were against him, everything was against him—there the unwritten
rule of law was, that the negro who dared to strike a white man, must
be killed, but Douglass fought the overseer and whipped him. His
plotting with other slaves to escape, writing and giving them passes,
and the unequal and desperate fight maintained by him in the
Baltimore ship yard, where law and public sentiment were against
him, also show that he has courage. But since the day of his slavery,
while living here at the North, many instances have happened which
show very plainly that he is a man of courage and determination; if
he had not been, he would have long since succumbed to the
brutality and violence of the low and mean spirited people found in
the Free States.
Up to a very recent date it has been deemed quite safe even
here in the North to insult and impose on inoffensive colored people,
to elbow a colored man from the sidewalk, to jeer at him and apply
vile epithets to him, in some localities this has been the rule and not
the exception, and to put him out of public conveyances and public
places by force, was of common occurrence. It made little difference
that the colored man was decent, civil, and respectably clad, and
had paid his fare, if the proprietor of the place or his patrons took the
notion that the presence of the colored man was an affront to their
dignity or inconsistent with their notions of self-respect, out he must
go. Nor must he stand upon the order of his going, but go at once. It
was against this feeling that Douglass had to contend. He met it
often; he was a prominent colored man traveling from place to place.
A good part of the time he was in strange cities stopping at strange
taverns—that is, when he was allowed to stop. Time and again has
he been refused accommodation in hotels. Time and again has he
been in a strange place with nowhere to lay his head until some kind
anti-slavery person would come forward and give him shelter.
The writer of this remembers well, because he was present and
saw the transaction,—the John Brown meeting in Tremont Temple in
1860, when a violent mob composed of the rough element from the
slums of the city, led and encouraged by bankers and brokers, came
into the hall to break up the meeting. Douglass was presiding; the
mob was armed; the police were powerless; the mayor could not or
would not do anything. On came the mob surging through the aisles
over benches and upon the platform; the women in the audience
became alarmed and fled. The hirelings were prepared to do
anything, they had the power and could with impunity. Douglass sat
upon the platform with a few chosen spirits, cool and undaunted; the
mob had got about and around him; he did not heed their howling
nor was he moved by their threats. It was not until their leader, a rich
banker, with his followers, had mounted the platform and wrenched
the chair from under him that he was dispossessed, by main force
and personal violence (Douglass resisting all the time) they removed
him from the platform.
It affords me great pleasure to introduce to the public this book,
“The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.” I am glad of the
opportunity to present a work which tells the story of the rise and
progress of our most celebrated colored man. To the names of
Toussaint L’Overture and Alexander Dumas is to be added that of
Frederick Douglass. We point with pride to this trio of illustrious
names. I bid my fellow country men take new hope and courage; the
near future will bring us other men of worth and genius, and our list
of illustrious names will become lengthened. Until that time the duty
is to work and wait.
Respectfully,
GEORGE L. RUFFIN.
LIFE AS A SLAVE.
CHAPTER I.
AUTHOR’S BIRTH.

Author’s place of birth—Description of country—Its Inhabitants—Genealogical


trees—Method of counting time in slave districts—Date of author’s birth—
Names of grandparents—Their cabin—Home with them—Slave practice
of separating mothers from their children—Author’s recollections of his
mother—Who was his father?

IN Talbot County, Eastern Shore, State of Maryland, near Easton,


the county town, there is a small district of country, thinly populated,
and remarkable for nothing that I know of more than for the worn-out,
sandy, desert-like appearance of its soil, the general dilapidation of
its farms and fences, the indigent and spiritless character of its
inhabitants, and the prevalence of ague and fever. It was in this dull,
flat, and unthrifty district or neighborhood, bordered by the Choptank
river, among the laziest and muddiest of streams surrounded by a
white population of the lowest order, indolent and drunken to a
proverb, and among slaves who, in point of ignorance and indolence,
were fully in accord with their surroundings, that I, without any fault
of my own, was born, and spent the first years of my childhood.
The reader must not expect me to say much of my family.
Genealogical trees did not flourish among slaves. A person of some
consequence in civilized society, sometimes designated as father,
was literally unknown to slave law and slave practice. I never met
with a slave in that part of the country who could tell me with any
certainty how old he was. Few at that time knew anything of the
months of the year or of the days of the month. They measured the
ages of their children by spring-time, winter-time, harvest-time,
planting-time, and the like. Masters allowed no questions to be put to
them by slaves concerning their ages. Such questions were
regarded by the masters as evidence of an impudent curiosity. From
certain events, however, the dates of which I have since learned, I
suppose myself to have been born in February, 1817.
My first experience of life, as I now remember it, and I remember
it but hazily, began in the family of my grandmother and grandfather,
Betsey and Isaac Bailey. They were considered old settlers in the
neighborhood, and from certain circumstances I infer that my
grandmother, especially, was held in high esteem, far higher than
was the lot of most colored persons in that region. She was a good
nurse, and a capital hand at making nets used for catching shad and
herring, and was, withal, somewhat famous as a fisherwoman. I
have known her to be in the water waist deep, for hours, seine-
hauling. She was a gardener as well as a fisherwoman, and
remarkable for her success in keeping her seedling sweet potatoes
through the months of winter, and easily got the reputation of being
born to “good luck.” In planting time Grandmother Betsey was sent
for in all directions, simply to place the seedling potatoes in the hills
or drills; for superstition had it that her touch was needed to make
them grow. This reputation was full of advantage to her and her
grandchildren, for a good crop, after her planting for the neighbors,
brought her a share of the harvest.
Whether because she was too old for field service, or because
she had so faithfully discharged the duties of her station in early life,
I know not, but she enjoyed the high privilege of living in a cabin
separate from the quarters, having only the charge of the young
children and the burden of her own support imposed upon her. She
esteemed it great good fortune to live so, and took much comfort in
having the children. The practice of separating mothers from their
children and hiring them out at distances too great to admit of their
meeting, save at long intervals, was a marked feature of the cruelty
and barbarity of the slave system; but it was in harmony with the
grand aim of that system, which always and everywhere sought to
reduce man to a level with the brute. It had no interest in recognizing
or preserving any of the ties that bind families together or to their
homes.
My grandmother’s five daughters were hired out in this way, and
my only recollections of my own mother are of a few hasty visits
made in the night on foot, after the daily tasks were over, and when
she was under the necessity of returning in time to respond to the
driver’s call to the field in the early morning. These little glimpses of
my mother, obtained under such circumstances and against such
odds, meager as they were, are ineffaceably stamped upon my
memory. She was tall and finely proportioned, of dark glossy
complexion, with regular features, and amongst the slaves was
remarkably sedate and dignified. There is, in “Prichard’s Natural
History of Man,” the head of a figure, on page 157, the features of
which so resemble my mother that I often recur to it with something
of the feelings which I suppose others experience when looking upon
the likenesses of their own dear departed ones.
Of my father I know nothing. Slavery had no recognition of
fathers, as none of families. That the mother was a slave was
enough for its deadly purpose. By its law the child followed the
condition of its mother. The father might be a freeman and the child a
slave. The father might be a white man, glorying in the purity of his
Anglo-Saxon blood, and his child ranked with the blackest slaves.
Father he might be, and not be husband, and could sell his own child
without incurring reproach, if in its veins coursed one drop of African
blood.

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