INCIDENTS AT SODUS BAY.
About this time two slaves who were laboring in the forest, instead of
returning to their cabin as was expected, got lost, and wandered eight
days in the dense forest without provision, except what they could procure
from roots and the bark of trees. Great exertion was made to find them;
guns were fired, horns blown, and shouts raised, but all to no purpose.
Finally, we gave them up, supposing they had starved to death or had been
killed by wild beasts. One of them was an elderly man, named Benjamin
Bristol, and the other, Edmund Watkins, a lad of about eighteen years of
age. They wandered in an easterly direction, a distance of some sixty or
seventy miles, through an unbroken wilderness, vainly trying to find their
way home. On the eighth day, to their inexpressible joy, they came out on
the shore of Lake Ontario, near Oswego; but young Watkins was so
completely exhausted that he declared himself incapable of further
exertion, and begged to be left to his fate. Bristol, however, who chewed
tobacco, which it was supposed kept him from sinking so low as his
companion, took him on his back, and carried him home, which they reached
in a famished state and reduced to skeletons. All were thankful for the
preservation of their lives, and, with the best we could do for them,
they soon recruited and became strong as ever.
One day, two others and myself thought we saw some animal swimming across
the bay. We got a boat and went out to see what it was. After rowing for
some time we came near enough to perceive it was a large bear. Those who
watched us from the shore expected to see our boat upset, and all on board
drowned, but it was not so to be; the, bear was struck on the nose with a
blow that killed him instantly, and he was hauled ashore in great triumph.
While these things were transpiring on the east side of the bay, the
overseer on the west side determined to punish one of the slaves who
worked on the east side. The name of the slave was Williams; a strong,
athletic man, and generally a good workman, but he had unfortunately
offended the overseer, for which nothing could appease his wrath but the
privilege of flogging him. The slave, however, thought as he was no longer
in Virginia, he would not submit to such chastisement, and the overseer
was obliged to content himself with threatening what he would do if he
caught him on the west side of the bay.
A short time after, the overseer called at the cabin of one of the slaves,
and was not a little surprised to find there the refractory slave,
Williams, in company with three other men. He immediately walked up to
him and asked him some question, to which Williams made no reply.
Attended, as he always was, by his ferocious bull-dog, he flourished his
cowhide in great wrath and demanded an instant reply, but he received
none, whereupon he struck the slave a blow with the cowhide. Instantly
Williams sprang and caught him by the throat and held him writhing in his
vise-like grasp, until he succeeded in getting possession of the cowhide,
with which he gave the overseer such a flogging as slaves seldom get.
Williams was seized at once by the dog who endeavored to defend his brutal
master, but the other slaves came to the rescue, and threw the dog into a
huge fire which was near by, from which, after a singeing, he ran off,
howling worse than his master when in the hands of Williams. He foamed and
swore and still the blows descended; then he commanded the slaves to
assist him, but as none obeyed, he commenced begging in the most humble
manner, and at last entreated them as "gentlemen" to spare him; but all to
no purpose. When Williams thought he had thrashed him sufficiently, he let
him go and hurried to his boat and rowed down the bay, instead of crossing
it. The overseer no sooner found himself at liberty than he ran out,
calling to a servant girl to bring his rifle, which was loaded. The rifle
was brought, but before he could get to the bay, Williams had gone beyond
his reach; but unfortunately another boat was at this moment crossing the
bay, which he, mad with rage, fired into. The men in the boat immediately
cried out to him not to repeat the shot, but he was so angry that he swore
he would shoot somebody, and sent another bullet after them. No one was
hurt, however, but the brave overseer was vanquished. Crest-fallen and
unrevenged, he shortly after called on Capt. Helm for a settlement,
which was granted, and bidding a final adieu to the "Genesee Country," he
departed for Virginia, where he could beat slaves without himself
receiving a cow-hiding. No one regretted his absence, nor do I think
any but the most heartless would cordially welcome his return to the land
of Slavery.
[Illustration: "Instantly Williams sprang and caught him by the throat and
held him writhing in his vise-like grasp, until he succeeded in getting
possession of the cow-hide, with which he gave the overseer such a
flogging as slaves seldom get."]