ay, November 12th, his mulatto
man, SAM. Said boy is stout-built, five feet nine inches
high, 31 years old, weighs 170 lbs., and walks very erect, and with
a quick, rapid gait. The American flag is tattooed on his right arm
above the elbow. There is a knife-cut over the bridge of his nose,
a fresh bullet-wound in his left thigh, and his back bears marks of
a recent whipping. He is supposed to have made his way back to
Dinwiddie County, Va., where he was raised, or to be lurking in the
swamps in this vicinity.

The above reward will be paid for his confinement in any jail in
North or South Carolina, or Virginia, or for his delivery to the
subscriber on his plantation at ----. D. W. J----. ----, December
2, 1860.

The name signed to this hand-bill was that of the planter I was about to
visit.

Scipio having returned, reporting the stream fordable to the bridge, I
said to him, pointing to the 'notice,'--

'Read that, Scip.'

He read it, but made no remark.

'What does it mean--that fresh bullet wound, and the marks of a recent
whipping?' I asked.

'It mean, massa, dat de darky hab run away, and ben took; and dat when
dey took him dey shot him, and flogged him arter dat. Now, he hab run
away agin. De Cunnel's mighty hard on his niggas!'

'Is he! I can scarcely believe that.'

'He am, massa; but he ain't so much to blame, nuther; dey'm awful bad
set, most ob 'em,--so dey say.'

Our conversation was here interrupted by our reaching the bridge. After,
safely 'walking the plank,' and making our way to the opposite bank, I
resumed it by asking,--

'Why are the Colonel's negroes so particularly bad?'

'Cause, you see, massa, de turpentime business hab made great profits
for sum yars now, and de Cunnel hab been gettin' rich bery fass. He hab
put all his money, jes so fass as he made it, into darkies, so as to
make more; for he's got berry big plantation, and need nuffin' but
darkies to work it to make money jess like a gold mine. He goes up to
Virginny to buy niggas; and up dar _now_ dey don't sell none less dey'm
bad uns, 'cep when sum massa die or git pore. Virginny darkies dat cum
down har ain't gin'rally of much account. Dey'm either kinder
good-for-nuffin, or dey'm ugly; and de Cunnel d'rather hab de ugly dan
de no-account niggas.'

'How many negroes has he?'

''Bout two hundred, men and wimmin, I b'lieve, massa.'

'It can't be very pleasant for