I had only a small riding whip with me, having left my
fire-arms with a friend at Fort Andrews, and much dreaded laceration.
Their noise soon brought out a ferocious, lank-visaged-looking man,
about forty years of age, who immediately called off the dogs; but
before I had time to make the inquiry that brought me there, he began in
about the following strain,
"What dye yer waunt up yar, stranger? Arter no good, I guess; you'd
better put it 'bout straight. I see'd yer torking to the hands
yonder--none o' yer 'mancipator doctrines yar."
The fellow's address "struck me all of a heap," as he would himself have
said, had he been in my situation; he spoke so fast, that I could not
edge in a word; at last I stated the cause of my intrusion, but he would
not believe a word, ordered me to quit the plantation or he would set
the dogs on me, and was getting into such an ungovernable rage, that I
thought it would be wise to follow his advice. So I slowly retreated to
the yard entrance by which I had come in. Returning to my companions at
the cross-roads, I found that, in my absence, a passer-by had given them
the wished-for information, and we pushed on to a house of call, a few
miles distant.
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