In the case of Fetters alone the colonel found a dozen instances where
the law, bad as it was, had not been sufficient for Fetters's purpose,
but had been plainly violated. Caxton discovered a discharged guard of
Fetters, who told him of many things that had taken place at Sycamore;
and brought another guard one evening, at that time employed there,
who told him, among other things, that Bud Johnson's life, owing to
his surliness and rebellious conduct, and some spite which Haines
seemed to bear against him, was simply a hell on earth--that even a
strong Negro could not stand it indefinitely.

A case was made up and submitted to the grand jury. Witnesses were
summoned at the colonel's instance. At the last moment they all
weakened, even the discharged guard, and their testimony was not
sufficient to justify an indictment.

The colonel then sued out a writ of habeas corpus for the body of Bud
Johnson, and it was heard before the common pleas court at Clarendon,
with public opinion divided between the colonel and Fetters. The court
held that under his contract, for which he had paid the consideration,
Fetters was entitled to Johnson's services.

The colonel, defeated but still undismayed, ordered Caxton to prepare
a memorial for presentation to the federal authorities, calling their
attention to the fact that peonage, a crime under the Federal
statutes, was being flagrantly practised in the State. This allegation
was supported by a voluminous brief, giving names and dates and
particular instances of barbarity. The colonel was not without some
quiet support in this movement; there were several public-spirited men
in the county, including his able lieutenant Caxton, Dr. Price and old
General Thornton, none of whom were under any obligation to Fetters,
and who all acknowledged that something ought to be done to purge the
State of a great disgrace.

There was another party, of course, which deprecated any scandal which
would involve the good name of the State or reflect upon the South,
and who insisted that in time these things would pass away and there
would be no trace of them in future generations. But the colonel
insisted that so also would the victims of the system pass away, who,
being already in existence, were certainly entitled to as much
consideration as generations yet unborn; it was hardly fair to
sacrifice them to a mere punctilio. The colonel had reached the
conviction that the regenerative forces of educati