Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

In the last paragraph of Chapter 4, Mr. Beal Bondly and Colonel Lloyd discuss Mr. Bondly’s murder of one of Colonel Lloyd’s slaves. What does Douglass imply by referring to the interaction as a “transaction”?

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In the conclusion of Chapter Four, an elderly slave crossed into the adjoining property of Mr. Beal Bondly without being aware of it. Mr. Bondly shot and killed the old man. He then went over to Lloyd's home; "whether to pay him for his property, or to justify himself in what he had done, I know not," Douglass wrote, and "at any rate, this whole fiendish transaction was soon hushed up." Clearly, killing a slave was no problem whatsoever, as long as was explained, deemed justified, and recompense was provided.

Transaction refers to the agreement reached by the two men.... Lloyd's problem had nothing to do with the loss of "property", but rather, being recompensed for that "property".

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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass