种植园奴隶的自由之路: 从黑人奴隶到国会议员

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[00:03.50]29 Freedom for the Planter	种植者的自由
[00:07.44](By Sharon D. McGhee)	（译 / 赖金亮）
[00:10.41]To nine-year-old Robert Smalls , Beaufort Sea , South Carolina, was the best place in the world. 对于年仅九岁的罗伯特・斯莫尔斯来说，南卡罗来纳州的波弗特海是世上最好的地方。
[00:18.55]It lay off the Carolina coast in the midst of a maze of islands. 波弗特海位于卡罗来纳海岸不远处，置身于众多迷宫般交错的岛屿之中。
[00:22.72]Rich oak, pine, and cedar trees stood as guardians over what were known as the Sea Islands.	在这被人们称作“海群岛”的地方，生长着茂密的橡树、松树和雪松，它们仿佛卫兵一样保护着这里。
[00:29.16]Robert and his mother, Lydia, belonged to rice planter Henry McKee.	罗伯特和她的母亲莉迪亚都是水稻种植园主亨利・麦基的奴隶。
[00:35.12]Within sight of the slave quarters was McKee's great mansion, flanked by magnolia trees.站在奴隶的住所就可以看到麦基那宏伟的豪宅，豪宅两边还种满了玉兰树。
[00:41.90]Because he was both bright and kind, Robert became a favored slave. 罗伯特生来聪明，心地又好，因此获得了麦基的偏爱。
[00:46.70]His life was carefree and comfortable, but Lydia began to worry that her son did not understand his true status. 他的生活无忧无虑又自在轻松，但是莉迪亚开始担心儿子没有弄明白自己真正的身份。
[00:53.95]To show him what slavery really meant,she brought him to a slave auction . 为了让罗伯特明白什么是奴隶制，她带罗伯特去看了一场奴隶拍卖。
[00:58.27]It was a scene that Robert never forgot.	那里的情景令罗伯特终生难忘。
[01:02.10]In 1851 Henry McKee sold the plantation in Beaufort and bought another less than fifty miles away, near Charleston. 在1851年，亨利・麦基卖掉了波弗特的种植园，然后在离那儿不到50英里的查尔斯顿附近买了另一个种植园。
[01:10.76]Twelve-year-old Robert was sent to Charleston to be hired out. ・12岁的罗伯特被派到查尔斯顿供人租用。
[01:14.25]He worked as a waiter and then as a lamplighter. 他在那里做过侍者，接着又做过点街灯的灯夫。
[01:17.92]In his free hours he went to the waterfront, where he could watch the schooners and the graceful clipper ships.	没事的时候，他会去码头看看纵帆船，欣赏快速帆船在海上优雅地航行。
[01:24.33]With Henry McKee's consent, he quit his job as a lamplighter and took any work he could find on the waterfront. 得到亨利・麦基的允许后，罗伯特辞掉了灯夫的工作，在码头随便做点杂工。
[01:32.17]As a teenager, Robert loaded and unloaded ships. 年少的罗伯特给船装卸货物，
[01:36.01]He painted hulls and cabins and learned the trade of sailmaker. 给船身和船舱上漆，还学会了怎么制帆、修帆。
[01:40.75]Working on a schooner as a sailor, he watched how the boat pilots handled their vessels. 在纵帆船上当水手期间，他观察领航员如何操纵船只。
[01:46.17]He began to study maps of the region, including the currents and tides. 之后他又开始研究本地区的地图，包括水流和潮汐的规律。
[01:51.11]Before long he could pilot boats skillfully.	没过多久，他就已经可以轻松自如地驾驶船只了。
[01:54.25]In 1860 bitter emotions about slavery divided the country. ・1860年，人们对奴隶制充满敌意的争端使美国分裂了。
[01:59.48]By late December, South Carolina had withdrawn from the Union. 当年12月底，南卡罗来纳州脱离了联邦政府。
[02:03.79]Ten more southern states soon followed. 不久，南方又有十个州紧随其后。
[02:06.48]They called themselves the Confederate States of America. 这些脱离出来的州自称为“美利坚联盟国”。
[02:09.84]At dawn on April 12th, 1861, the Civil War began when Confederates fired on and captured Fort Sumter, one of many Union forts scattered throughout Charleston's harbor.	・1861年4月12日黎明时分，作为北方联邦遍布在查尔斯顿海湾众多堡垒之一的萨姆特堡遭到了南方联盟军的进攻，随后被占领，美国内战爆发。
[02:22.72]Robert was forced into the Confederate Navy as a sailor on a paddle- wheel steamer called the Planter. 罗伯特被迫加入了南方联盟的海军，在一艘名叫“种植者号”的浆轮汽船上当水手。
[02:28.90]It was ideal for river work, because it could travel in shallow coastal waters without running aground . 这艘船可以在滨海浅水水域里航行而不会搁浅,因此很适合在河域航行。
[02:36.84]By then Robert had mastered navigation, and he soon became the ship's helmsman . 那时候罗伯特已经熟练掌握了航海术，很快就当上了“种植者号”的舵手。
[02:42.01]He learned the signals necessary to pass by the forts, as well as the locations of hidden underwater explosives.	他还掌握了穿过各个堡垒需要的信号，并摸清了水下隐藏的炸药的具体位置。
[02:49.82]The great Union fleet could be seen poised off the South Carolina coast. 庞大的北方联邦舰队就部署在南卡罗来纳州沿岸，整装待发。
[02:54.63]From a safe distance, Robert watched the Union attack and capture the Sea Islands, including his native Beaufort Sea. 在保证自己安全的距离之外，罗伯特远远地看着北方联邦军进攻并夺取了海群岛，其中就有自己的出生地波弗特海。
[03:02.59]He heard that the Union set the Sea Islands slaves free. 他听说北方联邦军让海群岛的奴隶们重获自由。
[03:06.76]For months he brooded over his continuing slavery and the freedom that was visible just a few miles away.	之后的几个月里，罗伯特认真思考了自己一直被奴役的状态，还有那就在几英里外可见的自由。
[03:14.17]In the spring of 1862, the Planter's slave crew gathered in Robert's room to listen to an escape plan. ・1862年春天的某一天，“种植者号”上的奴隶船员在罗伯特的房间里集会，听他说明逃跑计划。
[03:23.10]With them were their wives and children. 跟这些船员们一起准备逃跑的还有他们的妻子和孩子。
[03:25.26]It was decided that the women and children would hide in a merchant boat. 他们商量决定，让女人和孩子事先藏在一艘商船里， 
[03:30.02]The Planter would pick them up and then head for the Union fleet. 等“种植者号”把他们接上船后，就驶向北方联邦的舰队。
[03:33.04]It was a simple plan. 计划很简 单，
[03:34.37]But success depended on choosing just the right moment.	但要想成功还得选对时机。
[03:38.33]On May 12th, that moment came. 到了5月12日那天，行动的时机来了。
[03:41.82]The captain, chief engineer, and mate went ashore for the night, leaving the slave crew on board. 那天“种植者号”的船长、轮机长和大副全都上岸去过夜，船上只剩下那些奴隶船员。
[03:48.15]Robert alerted the women. 罗伯特通知一起逃跑的女人们待命。
[03:50.00]At 3 a.m. on May 13th, the Planter eased into the channel and picked up the women and children. ・5月13日凌晨3点，“种植者号”缓缓驶入航道，把女人和孩子接上船。
[03:56.68]The harbor was ringed with armed forts on constant alert, and the Planter would have to pass each of these forts before reaching the Union fleet.	整个海湾被时刻处于警戒状态的武装堡垒所包围，要到达北方联邦舰队所在地，“种植者号”就必须一个个通过这些堡垒。
[04:05.74]Robert sailed the ship at its normal speed. 罗伯特驾驶船只按照正常速度航行。
[04:09.11]Wearing the captain's hat and jacket, he stood in the pilot house with the steam whistle's cord in his hand. 他站在驾驶舱里，头戴船长帽，身穿船长服，手里拽着汽笛拉绳。
[04:15.09]He gave the correct signal for the first fort. 对着第一座堡垒，他发出了正确的信号。
[04:18.55]The sentry waved him on. 卫兵向他摆手，示意他继续前进。
[04:20.59]Gradually the Planter made its way until it approached Fort Sumter, the last fort that stood between the slaves and their freedom.	“种植者号”一路前行， 来到萨姆特堡前，这是最后一座堡垒，横亘在他们和自由之间。
[04:29.64]The pace was slow and easy. 船缓慢、轻松地行驶着。
[04:32.10]Robert looked into the muzzles of Sumter's guns and gave the singnal - two long whistles and one short. 罗伯特看了一眼萨姆特堡的炮口，然后发出了信号――两声长鸣，一声短鸣。
[04:39.00]The Planter was passed again. “种植者号”再次被放行。
[04:41.00]Once outside the range of the guns, Robert shouted for more steam, and the ship sped out to sea.	一开出萨姆特堡的炮火范围，罗伯特立即大声下令加大马力，船只快速向大海驶去。
[04:48.59]At 5:45 a.m., Captain F. J. Nichols of the Union fleet saw a craft steaming out of the harbor. 凌晨5点45分，北方联邦舰队F.J.尼科尔斯船长发现有一艘船正驶出海湾。
[04:56.15]Because of its lowered guns and its white flag of surrender , he allowed the Planter to anchor near the fleet.	船上的炮已经放下，还升起了投降的白旗，于是他允许“种植者号”在舰队附近抛锚停船。
[05:03.70]News of the ship's abduction spread.这次劫船逃跑的消息很快便传播开来。
[05:06.40]Newspapers declared the deed "daring and heroic". 报纸称这一事件为“勇气可嘉的英雄之举”。
[05:10.00]The loss of the Planter was a blow to the Confederate government, and the unknown slave was hailed as a courageous hero. 失去“种植者号”对于南方联盟政府打击不小，而这件事背后默默无名的奴隶则被人们视为勇敢的英雄。
[05:17.45]But this incident was only the beginning of a life dedicated to fighting for freedom.	但是这件事对于罗伯特致力于为自由而战的一生来说，仅仅只是一个开始。
[05:22.97]In 1871 Robert Smalls was elected to the South Carolina legislature . ・1871年，罗伯特・斯莫尔斯通过选举进入南卡罗来纳州立法机关任职。
[05:29.00]Later, he served as a member of the U.S. Congress. 后来，他又当上了美国国会的议员。
[05:32.76]He worked hard for free public education, and he fought for equal rights for all citizens.	他为实现免费公共教育而努力，并为全体公民获得平等权利而奋斗。
[05:38.86]Robert spoke eloquently on behalf of his people. 罗伯特曾代表黑人发表过这样精彩的演说：
[05:42.56]"My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be the equal of any people anywhere.“作为黑人，我们不需要任何特殊的保护，因为过去我们在这个国家所经历的历史已经证明了，我们和其他任何一个地方的人们都是平等的。 
[05:52.48]All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life."	我们真正需要的，是在人生这场战役中获得平等的机会。”

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种植园奴隶的自由之路: 从黑人奴隶 到国会议员

种植园奴隶的自由之路: 从黑人奴隶到国会议员