the chicken
of which he was accused, he would have to acknowledge his previously
stolen goods or that he had thought of stealing at the time when the
chicken or the dress was stolen. Then this examining committee would
justify the turning of the Bible or sieve on the above statement of the
accused person.

The third way of detecting thieves was taught by the fathers and mothers
of the slaves. They said no matter how untrue a man might have been
during his life, when he came to die he had to tell the truth and had to
own everything he had ever done, and whatever dealing those alive had
with anything pertaining to the dead, must be true, or they would
immediately die and go to hell to burn in fire and brimstone. So in
consequence of this, the graveyard dust was the truest of the three
ways in detecting thieves. The dust would be taken from the grave of a
person who had died last and put into a bottle with water. Then two of
the men of the examining committee would use the same words as in the
case of the Bible and the sieve, "John stole that chicken," "John did
not steal that chicken," and after this had gone on for about five
minutes, then one of the other two who attended to the Bible and the
sieve would say, "John, you are accused of stealing that chicken that
was taken from Sam's chicken coop at such a time." "In the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, if you have taken Sam's chicken
don't drink this water, for if you do you will die and go to hell and be
burned in fire and brimstone, but if you have not you may take it and it
will not hurt you." So if John had taken the chicken he would own it
rather than take the water.

Sometimes those whose characters were beyond suspicion would be proven
thieves when they tried the graveyard dust and water. When the right
person was detected, if he had any chickens he had to give four for one,
and if he had none he made it good by promising that he would do so no
more. If all the men on the plantation passed through the examination
and no one was found guilty, the stolen goods would be charged to
strangers. Of course these customs were among the negroes for their own
benefit, for they did not consider it stealing when they took anything
from their master.

JOSH AND THE CORN.

A man engaged in stripping fodder put some green ears of corn in the
fire to roast as the slaves generally do in fodder stripping time,
although they were whipped when caught. Before t