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"I’m not sure," Harper said a bit breathlessly, "but I think it ht be handcuffs of some kind"

Dora scooted lower, then looked over to Harper with ah she would have preferred to have unearthed a thick gold chain fronificance to the shackles that rendered her speechless

Harper rose to her feet with the chain "Let’s go rinse it off with the hose and show it to Mamaw and Lucille They’ll know"

Ma up in their chairs on the porch, necks craned as they followed Dora’s and Harper’s progress froot there?" Maht there"

Dora held out the chain as Harper hosed the gushing water over the unknown hunk of metal Water sluiced off the final layer of , heavy ether with a chain Neither woman spoke but stood in almost a reverential silence Harper turned off the hose, then followed Dora across the porch to the taiting elderly women Their eyes ith curiosity

"What is it?" Mas fro object on the otto sound

Lucille sucked in her breath and stared at the object Then with see trepidation, she reached out to place her dark, wrinkled hand on one of the handcuffs

"Lord above, girl, you done found slave manacles," she said in a soft voice that shook with eht be what they were," Dora said

Mama closer to study the heavyanywhere on this island you’ll uncover history When we renovated the house, we found Revolutionary War bullets, Civil War coins, buttons, broken pottery, all manner ofas profound as this," she said, indicating the shackles "This is a part of our history I’ht as she lifted the manacles and put them in her lap "They so heavy I can hardly lift theed to ith those?" Dora said

Harper asked, "What are slave shackles doing on Sullivan’s Island? I thought the slaves all went to the rew reflective "The slaves weren’t sold at the ht off the boat After quarantine The local residents were terrified of infectious diseases like cholera,in on the ships This was a et So they built pest houses here on Sullivan’s Island for quarantine It was a convenient location, a barrier island right along the port entry Throughout the eighteenth century, slaves flowed through our port in large numbers And all of them were sent for quarantine before they were sold"

"If they survived the journey," Lucille added somberly

Mamaw rested her hand over her friend’s "Sadly true"

"How h Charleston Harbor, do you know?" asked Harper

"No one knows for sure," Mamaered "So many died here in the pest houses--men, women, and children"