A Social History of the American Negro Part 9

We have seen that from the beginning there were liberal-minded men in the South who opposed the system of slavery, and if we actually take note of all the utterances of different men and of the proposals for doing away with the system, we shall find that about the turn of the century there was in this section considerable anti-slavery sentiment.

Between 1800 and 1820, however, the opening of new lands in the Southwest, the increasing emphasis on cotton, and the rapidly growing Negro population, gave force to the argument of expediency; and the Missouri Compromise drew sharply the lines of the contest. The South now came to regard slavery as its peculiar heritage; public men were forced to defend the inst.i.tution; and in general the best thought of the section began to be obsessed and dominated by the Negro, just as it is to-day in large measure. In taking this position the South deliberately committed intellectual suicide. In such matters as freedom of speech and literary achievement, and in genuine statesmans.h.i.+p if not for the time being in political influence, this part of the country declined, and before long the difference between it and New England was appalling.

Calhoun and Hayne were strong; but between 1820 and 1860 the South had no names to compare with Longfellow and Emerson in literature, or with Morse and Hoe in invention. The foremost college professor, Dew, of William and Mary, and even the outstanding divines, Furman, the Baptist, of South Carolina, in the twenties, and Palmer, the Presbyterian of New Orleans, in the fifties, are all now remembered mainly because they defended their section in keeping the Negro in bonds. William and Mary College, and even the University of Virginia, as compared with Harvard and Yale, became provincial inst.i.tutions; and instead of the Was.h.i.+ngton or Jefferson of an earlier day now began to be nourished such a leader as "Bob" Toombs, who for all of his fire and eloquence was a demagogue.

In making its choice the South could not and did not blame the Negro per se, for it was freely recognized that upon slave labor rested such economic stability as the section possessed. The tragedy was simply that thousands of intelligent Americans deliberately turned their faces to the past, and preferred to read the novels of Walter Scott and live in the Middle Ages rather than study the French Revolution and live in the nineteenth century. One hundred years after we find that the chains are still forged, that thought is not yet free. Thus the Negro Problem began to be, and still is, very largely the problem of the white man of the South. The era of capitalism had not yet dawned, and still far in the future was the day when the poor white man and the Negro were slowly to realize that their interests were largely identical.

The argument with which the South came to support its position and to defend slavery need not here detain us at length. It was formally stated by Dew and others[1] and it was to be heard on every hand. One could hardly go to church, to say nothing of going to a public meeting, without hearing echoes of it. In general it was maintained that slavery had made for the civilization of the world in that it had mitigated the evils of war, had made labor profitable, had changed the nature of savages, and elevated woman. The slave-trade was of course horrible and unjust, but the great advantages of the system more than outweighed a few attendant evils. Emanc.i.p.ation and deportation were alike impossible.

Even if practicable, they would not be expedient measures, for they meant the loss to Virginia of one-third of her property. As for morality, it was not to be expected that the Negro should have the sensibilities of the white man. Moreover the system had the advantage of cultivating a republican spirit among the white people. In short, said Dew, the slaves, in both the economic and the moral point of view, were "entirely unfit for a state of freedom among the whites." Holland, already cited, in 1822 maintained five points, as follows: 1. That the United States are one for national purposes, but separate for their internal regulation and government; 2. That the people of the North and East "always exhibited an unfriendly feeling on subjects affecting the interests of the South and West"; 3. That the inst.i.tution of slavery was not an inst.i.tution of the South's voluntary choosing; 4. That the Southern sections of the Union, both before and after the Declaration of Independence, "had uniformly exhibited a disposition to restrict the extension of the evil--and had always manifested as cordial a disposition to ameliorate it as those of the North and East"; and 5.

That the actual state and condition of the slave population "reflected no disgrace whatever on the character of the country--as the slaves were infinitely better provided for than the laboring poor of other countries of the world, and were generally happier than millions of white people in the world." Such arguments the clergy supported and endeavored to reconcile with Christian precept. Rev. Dr. Richard Furman, president of the Baptist Convention of South Carolina,[2] after much inquiry and reasoning, arrived at the conclusion that "the holding of slaves is justifiable by the doctrine and example contained in Holy Writ; and is, therefore, consistent with Christian uprightness both in sentiment and conduct." Said he further: "The Christian golden rule, of doing to others as we would they should do to us, has been urged as an unanswerable argument against holding slaves. But surely this rule is never to be urged against that order of things which the Divine government has established; nor do our desires become a standard to us, under this rule, unless they have a due regard to justice, propriety, and the general good.... A father may very naturally desire that his son should be obedient to his orders: Is he therefore to obey the orders of his son? A man might be pleased to be exonerated from his debts by the generosity of his creditors; or that his rich neighbor should equally divide his property with him; and in certain circ.u.mstances might desire these to be done: Would the mere existence of this desire oblige him to exonerate his debtors, and to make such division of his property?"

Calhoun in 1837 formally accepted slavery, saying that the South should no longer apologize for it; and the whole argument from the standpoint of expediency received eloquent expression in the Senate of the United States from no less a man than Henry Clay, who more and more appears in the perspective as a pro-Southern advocate. Said he: "I am no friend of slavery. But I prefer the liberty of my own country to that of any other people; and the liberty of my own race to that of any other race.

The liberty of the descendants of Africa in the United States is incompatible with the safety and liberty of the European descendants.

Their slavery forms an exception--an exception resulting from a stern and inexorable necessity--to the general liberty in the United States."[3] After the lapse of years the pro-slavery argument is pitiful in its numerous fallacies. It was in line with much of the discussion of the day that questioned whether the Negro was actually a human being, and but serves to show to what extremes economic interest will sometimes drive men otherwise of high intelligence and honor.

[Footnote 1: _The Pro-Slavery Argument_ (as maintained by the most distinguished writers of the Southern states). Charleston, 1852.]

[Footnote 2: "Rev. Dr. Richard Furman's Exposition of the Views of the Baptists relative to the Coloured Population in the United States, in a Communication to the Governor of South Carolina." Second edition, Charleston, 1833 (letter bears original date, December 24, 1822).]

[Footnote 3: Address "On Abolition," February 7, 1839.]

CHAPTER VII

THE NEGRO REPLY, I: REVOLT

We have already seen that on several occasions in colonial times the Negroes in bondage made a bid for freedom, many men risking their all and losing their lives in consequence. In general these early attempts failed completely to realize their aim, organization being feeble and the leaders.h.i.+p untrained and exerting only an emotional hold over adherents. In Charleston, S.C., in 1822, however, there was planned an insurrection about whose scope there could be no question. The leader, Denmark Vesey, is interesting as an intellectual insurrectionist just as the more famous Nat Turner is typical of the more fervent sort. It is the purpose of the present chapter to study the attempts for freedom made by these two men, and also those of two daring groups of captives who revolted at sea.

1. _Denmark Vesey's Insurrection_

Denmark Vesey is first seen as one of the three hundred and ninety slaves on the s.h.i.+p of Captain Vesey, who commanded a vessel trading between St. Thomas and Cape Francois (Santo Domingo), and who was engaged in supplying the French of the latter place with slaves. At the time, the boy was fourteen years old, and of unusual personal beauty, alertness, and magnetism. He was shown considerable favoritism, and was called Telemaque (afterwards corrupted to _Telmak_, and then to _Denmark_). On his arrival at Cape Francois, Denmark was sold with others of the slaves to a planter who owned a considerable estate. On his next trip, however, Captain Vesey learned that the boy was to be returned to him as unsound and subject to epileptic fits. The laws of the place permitted the return of a slave in such a case, and while it has been thought that Denmark's fits may have been feigned in order that he might have some change of estate, there was quite enough proof in the matter to impress the king's physician. Captain Vesey never had reason to regret having to take the boy back. They made several voyages together, and Denmark served until 1800 as his faithful personal attendant. In this year the young man, now thirty-three years of age and living in Charleston, won $1,500 in an East Bay Street lottery, $600 of which he devoted immediately to the purchase of his freedom. The sum was much less than he was really worth, but Captain Vesey liked him and had no reason to drive a hard bargain with him.

In the early years of his full manhood accordingly Denmark Vesey found himself a free man in his own right and possessed of the means for a little real start in life. He improved his time and proceeded to win greater standing and recognition by regular and industrious work at his trade, that of a carpenter. Over the slaves he came to have unbounded influence. Among them, in accordance with the standards of the day, he had several wives and children (none of whom could he call his own), and he understood perfectly the fervor and faith and superst.i.tion of the Negroes with whom he had to deal. To his remarkable personal magnetism moreover he added just the strong pa.s.sion and the domineering temper that were needed to make his conquest complete.

Thus for twenty years he worked on. He already knew French as well as English, but he now studied and reflected upon as wide a range of subjects as possible. It was not expected at the time that there would be religious cla.s.ses or congregations of Negroes apart from the white people; but the law was not strictly observed, and for a number of years a Negro congregation had a church in Hampstead in the suburbs of Charleston. At the meetings here and elsewhere Vesey found his opportunity, and he drew interesting parallels between the experiences of the Jews and the Negroes. He would rebuke a companion on the street for bowing to a white person; and if such a man replied, "We are slaves," he would say, "You deserve to be." If the man then asked what he could do to better his condition, he would say, "Go and buy a spelling-book and read the fable of Hercules and the wagoner."[1] At the same time if he happened to engage in conversation with white people in the presence of Negroes, he would often take occasion to introduce some striking remark on slavery. He regularly held up to emulation the work of the Negroes of Santo Domingo; and either he or one of his chief lieutenants clandestinely sent a letter to the President of Santo Domingo to ask if the people there would help the Negroes of Charleston if the latter made an effort to free themselves.[2] About 1820 moreover, when he heard of the African Colonization scheme and the opportunity came to him to go, he put this by, waiting for something better. This was the period of the Missouri Compromise. Reports of the agitation and of the debates in Congress were eagerly scanned by those Negroes in Charleston who could read; rumor exaggerated them; and some of the more credulous of the slaves came to believe that the efforts of Northern friends had actually emanc.i.p.ated them and that they were being illegally held in bondage. Nor was the situation improved when the city marshal, John J. Lafar, on January 15, 1821, reminded those ministers or other persons who kept night and Sunday schools for Negroes that the law forbade the education of such persons and would have to be enforced.

Meanwhile Vesey was very patient. After a few months, however, he ceased to work at his trade in order that all the more he might devote himself to the mission of his life. This was, as he conceived it, an insurrection that would do nothing less than totally annihilate the white population of Charleston.

[Footnote 1: Official Report, 19.]

[Footnote 2: Official Report, 96-97, and Higginson, 232-3.]

In the prosecution of such a plan the greatest secrecy and faithfulness were of course necessary, and Vesey waited until about Christmas, 1821, to begin active recruiting. He first sounded Ned and Rolla Bennett, slaves of Governor Thomas Bennett, and then Peter Poyas and Jack Purcell. After Christmas he spoke to Gullah Jack and Monday Gell; and Lot Forrester and Frank Ferguson became his chief agents for the plantations outside of Charleston.[1] In the whole matter of the choice of his chief a.s.sistants he showed remarkable judgment of character. His penetration was almost uncanny. "Rolla was plausible, and possessed uncommon self-possession; bold and ardent, he was not to be deterred from his purpose by danger. Ned's appearance indicated that he was a man of firm nerves and desperate courage. Peter was intrepid and resolute, true to his engagements, and cautious in observing secrecy when it was necessary; he was not to be daunted or impeded by difficulties, and though confident of success, was careful in providing against any obstacles or casualties which might arise, and intent upon discovering every means which might be in their power if thought of beforehand.

Gullah Jack was regarded as a sorcerer, and as such feared by the natives of Africa, who believe in witchcraft. He was not only considered invulnerable, but that he could make others so by his charms; and that he could and certainly would provide all his followers with arms....

His influence amongst the Africans was inconceivable. Monday was firm, resolute, discreet, and intelligent."[2] He was also daring and active, a harness-maker in the prime of life, and he could read and write with facility; but he was also the only man of prominence in the conspiracy whose courage failed him in court and who turned traitor. To these names must be added that of Batteau Bennett, who was only eighteen years old and who brought to the plan all the ardor and devotion of youth. In general Vesey sought to bring into the plan those Negroes, such as stevedores and mechanics, who worked away from home and who had some free time. He would not use men who were known to become intoxicated, and one talkative man named George he excluded from his meetings. Nor did he use women, not because he did not trust them, but because in case of mishap he wanted the children to be properly cared for. "Take care,"

said Peter Poyas, in speaking about the plan to one of the recruits, "and don't mention it to those waiting men who receive presents of old coats, etc., from their masters, or they'll betray us; I will speak to them."

[Footnote 1: Official Report, 20. Note that Higginson, who was so untiring in his research, strangely confuses Jack Purcell and Gullah Jack (p. 230). The men were quite distinct, as appears throughout the report and from the list of those executed. The name of Gullah Jack's owner was Pritchard.]

[Footnote 2: Official Report, 24. Note that this remarkable characterization was given by the judges, Kennedy and Parker, who afterwards condemned the men to death.]

With his lieutenants Vesey finally brought into the plan the Negroes for seventy or eighty miles around Charleston. The second Monday in July, 1822, or Sunday, July 14, was the time originally set for the attack.

July was chosen because in midsummer many of the white people were away at different resorts; and Sunday received favorable consideration because on that day the slaves from the outlying plantations were frequently permitted to come to the city. Lists of the recruits were kept. Peter Poyas is said to have gathered as many as six hundred names, chiefly from that part of Charleston known as South Bay in which he lived; and it is a mark of his care and discretion that of all of those afterwards arrested and tried, not one belonged to his company. Monday Gell, who joined late and was very prudent, had forty-two names. All such lists, however, were in course of time destroyed. "During the period that these enlistments were carrying on, Vesey held frequent meetings of the conspirators at his house; and as arms were necessary to their success, each night a hat was handed round, and collections made, for the purpose of purchasing them, and also to defray other necessary expenses. A Negro who was a blacksmith and had been accustomed to make edged tools, was employed to make pike-heads and bayonets with sockets, to be fixed at the ends of long poles and used as pikes. Of these pike-heads and bayonets, one hundred were said to have been made at an early day, and by the 16th June as many as two or three hundred, and between three and four hundred daggers."[1] A bundle containing some of the poles, neatly trimmed and smoothed off, and nine or ten feet long, was afterwards found concealed on a farm on Charleston Neck, where several of the meetings were held, having been carried there to have the pike-heads and bayonets fixed in place. Governor Bennett stated that the number of poles thus found was thirteen, but so wary were the Negroes that he and other prominent men underestimated the means of attack. It was thought that the Negroes in Charleston might use their masters'

arms, while those from the country were to bring hoes, hatchets, and axes. For their main supply of arms, however, Vesey and Peter Poyas depended upon the magazines and storehouses in the city. They planned to seize the a.r.s.enal in Meeting Street opposite St. Michael's Church; it was the key to the city, held the arms of the state, and had for some time been neglected. Poyas at a given signal at midnight was to move upon this point, killing the sentinel. Two large gun and powder stores were by arrangement to be at the disposal of the insurrectionists; and other leaders, coming from six different directions, were to seize strategic points and thus aid the central work of Poyas. Meanwhile a body of horse was to keep the streets clear. "Eat only dry food," said Gullah Jack as the day approached, "parched corn and ground nuts, and when you join us as we pa.s.s put this crab claw in your mouth and you can't be wounded."

[Footnote 1: Official Report, 31-32.]

On May 25[1] a slave of Colonel Prioleau, while on an errand at the wharf, was accosted by another slave, William Paul, who remarked: "I have often seen a flag with the number 76, but never one with the number 96 upon it before." As this man showed no knowledge of what was going on, Paul spoke to him further and quite frankly about the plot. The slave afterwards spoke to a free man about what he had heard; this man advised him to tell his master about it; and so he did on Prioleau's return on May 30. Prioleau immediately informed the Intendant, or Mayor, and by five o'clock in the afternoon both the slave and Paul were being examined. Paul was placed in confinement, but not before his testimony had implicated Peter Poyas and Mingo Harth, a man who had been appointed to lead one of the companies of horse. Harth and Poyas were cool and collected, however, they ridiculed the whole idea, and the wardens, completely deceived, discharged them. In general at this time the authorities were careful and endeavored not to act hastily. About June 8, however, Paul, greatly excited and fearing execution, confessed that the plan was very extensive and said that it was led by an individual who bore a charmed life. Ned Bennett, hearing that his name had been mentioned, voluntarily went before the Intendant and asked to be examined, thus again completely baffling the officials. All the while, in the face of the greatest danger, Vesey continued to hold his meetings. By Friday, June 14, however, another informant had spoken to his master, and all too fully were Peter Poyas's fears about "waiting-men" justified. This man said that the original plan had been changed, for the night of Sunday, June 16, was now the time set for the insurrection, and otherwise he was able to give all essential information.[2] On Sat.u.r.day night, June 15, Jesse Blackwood, an aid sent into the country to prepare the slaves to enter the following day, while he penetrated two lines of guards, was at the third line halted and sent back into the city. Vesey now realized in a moment that all his plans were disclosed, and immediately he destroyed any papers that might prove to be incriminating. "On Sunday, June 16, at ten o'clock at night, Captain Cattle's Corps of Hussars, Captain Miller's Light Infantry, Captain Martindale's Neck Rangers, the Charleston Riflemen and the City Guard were ordered to rendezvous for guard, the whole organized as a detachment under command of Colonel R.Y. Hayne."[3] It was his work on this occasion that gave Hayne that appeal to the public which was later to help him to pa.s.s on to the governors.h.i.+p and then to the United States Senate. On the fateful night twenty or thirty men from the outlying districts who had not been able to get word of the progress of events, came to the city in a small boat, but Vesey sent word to them to go back as quickly as possible.

[Footnote 1: Higginson, 215.]

[Footnote 2: For reasons of policy the names of these informers were withheld from publication, but they were well known, of course, to the Negroes of Charleston. The published doc.u.ments said of the chief informer, "It would be a libel on the liberality and grat.i.tude of this community to suppose that this man can be overlooked among those who are to be rewarded for their fidelity and principle." The author has been informed that his reward for betraying his people was to be officially and legally declared "a white man."]

[Footnote 3: Jervey: _Robert Y. Hayne and His Times_, 131-2.]

Two courts were formed for the trial of the conspirators. The first, after a long session of five weeks, was dissolved July 20; a second was convened, but after three days closed its investigation and adjourned August 8.[1] All the while the public mind was greatly excited. The first court, which speedily condemned thirty-four men to death, was severely criticized. The New York _Daily Advertiser_ termed the execution "a b.l.o.o.d.y sacrifice"; but Charleston replied with the reminder of the Negroes who had been burned in New York in 1741.[2] Some of the Negroes blamed the leaders for the trouble into which they had been brought, but Vesey himself made no confession. He was by no means alone.

"Do not open your lips," said Poyas; "die silent as you shall see me do." Something of the solicitude of owners for their slaves may be seen from the request of Governor Bennett himself in behalf of Batteau Bennett. He asked for a special review of the case of this young man, who was among those condemned to death, "with a view to the mitigation of his punishment." The court did review the case, but it did not change its sentence. Throughout the proceedings the white people of Charleston were impressed by the character of those who had taken part in the insurrection; "many of them possessed the highest confidence of their owners, and not one was of bad character."[3]

[Footnote 1: Bennett letter.]

[Footnote 2: See _City Gazette_, August 14, 1822, cited by Jervey.]

[Footnote 3: Official Report, 44.]

As a result of this effort for freedom one hundred and thirty-one Negroes were arrested; thirty-five were executed and forty-three banished.[1] Of those executed, Denmark Vesey, Peter Poyas, Ned Bennett, Rolla Bennett, Batteau Bennett, and Jesse Blackwood were hanged July 2; Gullah Jack and one more on July 12; twenty-two were hanged on a huge gallows Friday, July 26; four more were hanged July 30, and one on August 9. Of those banished, twelve had been sentenced for execution, but were afterwards given banishment instead; twenty-one were to be transported by their masters beyond the limits of the United States; one, a free man, required to leave the state, satisfied the court by offering to leave the United States, while nine others who were not definitely sentenced were strongly recommended to their owners for banishment. The others of the one hundred and thirty-one were acquitted.

The authorities at length felt that they had executed enough to teach the Negroes a lesson, and the hanging ceased; but within the next year or two Governor Bennett and others gave to the world most gloomy reflections upon the whole proceeding and upon the grave problem at their door. Thus closed the insurrection that for the ambitiousness of its plan, the care with which it was matured, and the faithfulness of the leaders to one another, was never equalled by a similar attempt for freedom in the United States.

[Footnote 1: The figure is sometimes given as 37, but the lists total 43.]

_2. Nat Turner's Insurrection_

About noon on Sunday, August 21, 1831, on the plantation of Joseph Travis at Cross Keys, in Southampton County, in Southeastern Virginia, were gathered four Negroes, Henry Porter, Hark Travis, Nelson Williams, and Sam Francis, evidently preparing for a barbecue. They were soon joined by a gigantic and athletic Negro named Will Francis, and by another named Jack Reese. Two hours later came a short, strong-looking man who had a face of great resolution and at whom one would not have needed to glance a second time to know that he was to be the master-spirit of the company. Seeing Will and his companion he raised a question as to their being present, to which Will replied that life was worth no more to him than the others and that liberty was as dear to him. This answer satisfied the latest comer, and Nat Turner now went into conference with his most trusted friends. One can only imagine the purpose, the eagerness, and the firmness on those dark faces throughout that long summer afternoon and evening. When at last in the night the low whispering ceased, the doom of nearly three-score white persons--and it might be added, of twice as many Negroes--was sealed.

Cross Keys was seventy miles from Norfolk, just about as far from Richmond, twenty-five miles from the Dismal Swamp, fifteen miles from Murfreesboro in North Carolina, and also fifteen miles from Jerusalem, the county seat of Southampton County. The community was settled primarily by white people of modest means. Joseph Travis, the owner of Nat Turner, had recently married the widow of one Putnam Moore.

Nat Turner, who originally belonged to one Benjamin Turner, was born October 2, 1800. He was mentally precocious and had marks on his head and breast which were interpreted by the Negroes who knew him as marking him for some high calling. In his mature years he also had on his right arm a knot which was the result of a blow which he had received. He experimented in paper, gunpowder, and pottery, and it is recorded of him that he was never known to swear an oath, to drink a drop of spirits, or to commit a theft. Instead he cultivated fasting and prayer and the reading of the Bible.

More and more Nat gave himself up to a life of the spirit and to communion with the voices that he said he heard. He once ran away for a month, but felt commanded by the spirit to return. About 1825 a consciousness of his great mission came to him, and daily he labored to make himself more worthy. As he worked in the field he saw drops of blood on the corn, and he also saw white spirits and black spirits contending in the skies. While he thus so largely lived in a religious or mystical world and was immersed, he was not a professional Baptist preacher. On May 12, 1828, he was left no longer in doubt. A great voice said unto him that the Serpent was loosed, that Christ had laid down the yoke, that he, Nat, was to take it up again, and that the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first.

An eclipse of the sun in February, 1831, was interpreted as the sign for him to go forward. Yet he waited a little longer, until he had made sure of his most important a.s.sociates. It is worthy of note that when he began his work, while he wanted the killing to be as effective and widespread as possible, he commanded that no outrage be committed, and he was obeyed.

When on the Sunday in August Nat and his companions finished their conference, they went to find Austin, a brother-spirit; and then all went to the cider-press and drank except Nat. It was understood that he as the leader was to spill the first blood, and that he was to begin with his own master, Joseph Travis. Going to the house, Hark placed a ladder against the chimney. On this Nat ascended; then he went downstairs, unbarred the doors, and removed the guns from their places.

He and Will together entered Travis's chamber, and the first blow was given to the master of the house. The hatchet glanced off and Travis called to his wife; but this was with his last breath, for Will at once despatched him with his ax. The wife and the three children of the house were also killed immediately. Then followed a drill of the company, after which all went to the home of Salathiel Francis six hundred yards away. Sam and Will knocked, and Francis asked who was there. Sam replied that he had a letter, for him. The man came to the door, where he was seized and killed by repeated blows over the head. He was the only white person in the house. In silence all pa.s.sed on to the home of Mrs.

Reese, who was killed while asleep in bed. Her son awoke, but was also immediately killed. A mile away the insurrectionists came to the home of Mrs. Turner, which they reached about sunrise on Monday morning. Henry, Austin, and Sam went to the still, where they found and killed the overseer, Peebles, Austin shooting him. Then all went to the house. The family saw them coming and shut the door--to no avail, however, as Will with one stroke of his ax opened it and entered to find Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Newsome in the middle of the room almost frightened to death. Will killed Mrs. Turner with one blow of his ax, and after Nat had struck Mrs. Newsome over the head with his sword, Will turned and killed her also. By this time the company amounted to fifteen. Nine went mounted to the home of Mrs. Whitehead and six others went along a byway to the home of Henry Bryant. As they neared the first house Richard Whitehead, the son of the family, was standing in the cotton-patch near the fence.

Will killed him with his ax immediately. In the house he killed Mrs.

Whitehead, almost severing her head from her body with one blow.

Margaret, a daughter, tried to conceal herself and ran, but was killed by Turner with a fence-rail. The men in this first company were now joined by those in the second, the six who had gone to the Bryant home, who informed them that they had done the work a.s.signed, which was to kill Henry Bryant himself, his wife and child, and his wife's mother. By this time the killing had become fast and furious. The company divided again; some would go ahead, and Nat would come up to find work already accomplished. Generally fifteen or twenty of the best mounted were put in front to strike terror and prevent escape, and Nat himself frequently did not get to the houses where killing was done. More and more the Negroes, now about forty in number, were getting drunken and noisy.

The alarm was given, and by nine or ten o'clock on Monday morning one Captain Harris and his family had escaped. Prominent among the events of the morning, however, was the killing at the home of Mrs. Waller of ten children who were gathering for school.[1]