While the men were dispersing themselves, some going into one room,
some into another, I turned directly into the right-hand room in
front, which I judged to be that from the window of which the boy had
challenged me as I came towards the house. He was still there, with a
gun in his hand, and there was a candle burning on the table.
"This is my son, Sir Richard," said the doctor, who accompanied me.
Turning round from his post, the boy shook hands with me frankly. He
was a fine-looking lad, with bright eyes, but he could not have been
more than thirteen or fourteen years of age. Pointing with his hand,
he said,--
"There they come, father; but they are mighty slow about it."
"You had better put out the lights on this floor, Dr. Blunt," I
said.--"they will only serve to direct the enemy's fire, and lose us
the advantage which the position of the moon gives. We are in shadow
here; but you perceive we can see almost every pebble of the ground
out there."
"To be sure! to be sure! Well thought of! Put out all the lights,"
said Doctor Blunt.
"Now, will you go round, doctor," I continued, "and see that every man
has his ammunition close at hand? I wonder if these bullets will fit
my gun."
"They are quite small," said the doctor, moving away; "you had better
put two or three in."
When he was gone, I approached the window at which the boy was still
standing, and leaning out, took a general survey of the moonlight
scene which presented itself before the house. It was one which, at
other times, or on any ordinary occasion, would have presented no
single point of interest. The ground was very nearly flat, slightly
undulating, indeed, towards the eastward, with a small lawn or field
in front of the house, and an orchard of what seemed peach and plum
trees, at about a hundred and fifty yards' distance. Sweeping all
round the horizon, was a dense belt of forest-ground, dark in the
shadowy moonlight, like evening clouds upon the edge of the sky, and
the space within this barrier of wood was lighted up by the full,
clear beams of the rising planet. It was one of those nights which, on
this continent, are peculiarly beautiful; when the moon drowns, in her
own effulgence, all the stars immediately round herself, but leaves
the rest of the sky full of bright luminaries, which, large and full,
seem to vie the one with the other in aiding her to make up for the
absence of the sun. Fields which had been cultivated, and from most of
which the crops had been reaped, to the extent of five or six hundred
acres, lay around me within the belt of forest, and on the right
extended, first, the stubble field, fifty or sixty acres in extent,
and then the wide field of Indian corn not yet gathered in.
The maize presents a somewhat curious appearance in the calm
moonlight--an appearance, at least, to which we are unaccustomed in
Europe, especially when it is ripe. It looks almost white, yet
something tells you--I know not well what--that it is not snow which
covers the land. Often is it so tall, that a man of full height could
pass through it unperceived; but the spring this year had been
backward, little rain had fallen, and the corn was considered stunted
and deficient. Thus, when I had passed through that field, the long
reed-like stalks, with their broad leaves, had not reached higher than
my shoulder, and I could now plainly perceive a thick group of dark
objects making its way towards the house, still at the distance of a
quarter of a mile.
All in external nature was very calm and still and pleasant; and the
flat and somewhat monotonous scene acquired an aspect almost
picturesque, from the accessories of light and shade, and the
resplendent heaven above it. But there was that moving group of black
objects, which, sometimes pausing for an instant, and always
proceeding very slowly and cautiously, kept still advancing towards
the house, and added a different sort of interest to the scene.
While I was making my survey I continued to charge my gun, and
endeavoured, to the best of my power, to calculate the number of the
enemy. I could only make out twenty-four; and I do not think I was
wrong by more than one or two on either side. In the meantime the boy
stood beside me, apparently calm and tranquil, without saying a word.
There was an heroic sort of quietude in his demeanour which struck me
very much. I knew that through the whole of the south of the United
States the idea of a revolt of the slaves is one of those fearful
phantoms of the imagination which is present to the minds of all men,
although, in the affairs of business, or the excitement of pleasure,
they may, from custom, forget it, and take no notice of the shadow of
Nemesis which is cast upon the festal board--the sword suspended by a
hair, which hangs over the head even of the lord of the feast. They
are like people inhabiting a volcanic region, who trim their vines,
and sing and dance in their harvests, forgetting altogether the
proximity of danger and death, till the first tremulous motion of the
earth announces the coming earthquake, and then they start up confused
and alarmed by the coming of events which they might have foreseen in
the due course of nature.
That boy's coolness and tranquillity, in the circumstances in which we
were placed, struck me very much. None of us at that time could tell
how all these things were to end: no one was aware how far the
conspiracy had extended, or what preparations had been made to insure
its success. All that we knew was, that the blacks were infinitely
superior in number to the whites; that they had risen with merciless
fury against their masters; and that they had not yet met with any
decisive check: that every house they had attacked they had taken
without difficulty, and massacred the inhabitants without
consideration of age or sex.
Such was our position; yet that boy stood there beside me as cool and
quiet as if there was no risk or danger in the coming contest.
"Now, my good lad," I said, after I had taken my survey, "you and I
are to defend this window, I suppose."
"I suppose so, sir," he said; "my father told me to stay here."
"Are you not a little nervous?" I asked, with a smile.
"Yes, sir," he answered frankly; "but I always do what father tells
me."
"Well," I answered, "there is no great danger, and you are a good,
brave fellow. I have seen a good many of these affairs; and it is such
hearts as yours that always carry victory with them. Now, I am an old
soldier and an officer, so you must obey orders. Go and get a pillow
from the bed, and place it on the window-sill. Now, kneel down there;
rest your gun quietly over; fix upon the man you intend to shoot,
keeping him always under cover of the muzzle, and do not fire until I
tell you. I'll bet you a dollar you'll bring him down."
"Won't you have a pillow, too?" asked the boy.
"No," I answered; "I intend to stand here, covered by this corner of
the window-frame; but you had better whisper by a hint of what man you
intend to fire at, that we may not both mark the same."
"I'll fire at the biggest," said the boy; "I am more sure to hit him."
"And I will take the little one," I answered. "We shall give a good
account of both, depend upon it."
There was no real levity in what I said; for I could not but feel,
that whatever might be the lad's inherent courage, yet with his want
of experience in such scenes of strife and bloodshed, there must be
some awe, if not timidity.
In the meantime Doctor Blunt passed along from room to room, seeing
that all his little garrison were well placed, and doing his duty as
commander-in-chief very creditably. At length he returned to us,
before he took his own post at one of the windows, slapping his son on
the shoulder, and saying,--
"Well, Simon, my lad, here you are, under the command of a gallant
officer, who, I see, has taken care of you. Do your duty boldly, my
son, and we will give these fellows a peppering."
"I will try, father," replied the boy, modestly, and Doctor Blunt
continued looking out.
"Ay, they have come into the open ground. They have determined upon
it, but I think we can match them."
"You had better, I think, reserve your fire, Doctor Blunt," I said.
"If they should perceive us at the windows, as probably they will, let
them fire at us first. If they make a rush to break into the lower
story, they are lost with the small number they have; for we can pick
them off at our ease, if we do it coolly, while they cannot touch us
up here."
"Do you give the word, Sir Richard, will you?" said Doctor Blunt. "I
will tell the people not to fire till you speak."
"Very well," I answered; "but let each mark his man as he comes up,
and keep him constantly covered, that the first fire may be a telling
one. Those who have double-barrelled guns had better reserve the
second barrel, that they may keep the enemy employed while they are
are re-loading."
"I understand, I understand," said my host. "I will go and tell them
all; but you cannot expect very well-disciplined soldiers here, Sir
Richard."
"We must do our best, my good sir," I answered; "and I have no doubt
of the result. One of us is equal to five or six of them, when we are
not taken asleep in our beds."
Doctor Blunt moved away to give the orders I had suggested, and I
again put my head out of the window. The body of insurgents was now
not a hundred and fifty yards from the house; but I don't think they
saw me, for that side of the building was completely in shadow. They
advanced very cautiously, however, taking advantage of the trees of
the peach-orchard, to cover their approach; and there was evidently
some hesitation at its verge, before they came out in the clear
moonlight. They might, indeed, be laying their plan of attack.
At length one man came forth, about ten or twenty yards before the
rest, and took a leisurely survey of the whole front of the house. I
was greatly afraid that some of our party would fire; but all kept
still. At length the negro returned to his companions, and then they
marched forward in a long, straggling line; each man with his gun
raised to his shoulder, covering the upper windows.
"Keep down!" I said to my young companion; "keep your head down, and
let them fire. Then raise yourself, choose your man, and when I give
the word, pull the trigger."
I have always found it a very difficult thing to get men to reserve
their fire. There is a sort of natural anxiety to have the first
chance, which causes many a shot to be thrown away. There was no
nervousness, however, upon the present occasion; and all remained
profoundly still, while the insurgents advanced to within about thirty
paces of the house. We could now see all the men distinctly; so much
so as nearly to distinguish their features, though that is somewhat
difficult with a negro, even in the daylight. They evidently saw us
too, and our white faces made us a better mark; but, as I had
expected, the having to fire upward disturbed their aim.
When they were at the distance I have mentioned, the word "Halt!" was
pronounced; and the whole line came to a stand. Then there seemed to
be some little hesitation; but, after a moment some one shouted,
"Fire!" And nine or ten guns went off right at the windows. The glass
crashed and rattled above us in the upper part of the frame, and a
bullet seemed to strike the wall just below where I was standing; but
not a single shot took effect upon anybody in the house.
I had a great mind to let them come a little nearer still, that we
might be more sure of our aim; but I knew that every one was impatient
round me; and, seeing a movement amongst the negroes, as if to make a
rush upon the lower part of the house, I gave the word to fire. Every
one was prepared; every one had selected his man, and all the guns
went off almost at once.
Never was such a scene as now ensued. Six or seven of the insurgents
fell down at once; and then there was a general scamper. Away they
went in every different direction--tumbling over their fallen
companions--running against the trees of the orchard--throwing away
their guns to fly the better; and showing every symptom of that panic
terror which so generally accompanies want of discipline.
From the boldness with which they had marched up to the house, and the
deliberation with which they had fired, I had not thought that the
affair would be so soon over; but they were now evidently routed
beyond any chance of a rally; and I gave one tall, big fellow, who was
running faster than any of the rest, the advantage of my second
barrel. He stumbled and fell, but was up again in a moment, and away,
though he must have been wounded. Several more shots were fired
amongst the fugitives from the other windows.
Running round to Doctor Blunt, I said--
"If we make a sally now, we may capture some of them."
Three or four of the gentlemen followed me downstairs; and rushing
out, we got into the orchard as fast as possible, amongst the trees of
which, several of the insurgents were endeavouring to shelter
themselves from the shots which had been coming after them from the
windows; though they might have made a good fight of it still, had
they not been so completely scared. But no resistance was offered.
Three or four ran away across the fields as fast as they could go,
when they saw white faces in the orchard; but we captured two of them
and marched them up towards the house.
On the spot where the negro line had been formed we found the rest of
our party, with a lantern and a sort of link or flambeau, examining
the fallen. Billy Byles was hauling up one of the wounded men, while
Doctor Blunt and another gentleman were stooping down over a tall
fellow, who seemed quite dead, and holding the link to his face as if
they saw something very curious in it.
"The most curious head I ever beheld," said Doctor Blunt's companion.
"Did you ever see such a development? The organ of combativeness
enormously full, and destructiveness as big as my fist. I must have
that head for my cabinet, doctor."
"Ah, Sir Richard, I see you have brought in a prisoner," said Doctor
Blunt, raising his head as I came up with the man I had taken. "This
is my friend, Doctor ----, the famous phrenologist."
"Did you ever see such an extraordinary head, Sir Richard?" said the
enthusiastic professor of what was then almost a new science. "Why, it
is all back; it has neither top nor front. The posterior portion must
weigh ten times the anterior. You, sir, what's your name?" he
continued, turning to my prisoner. "Do you know who this is?"
"That is Will, sir," answered the unfortunate man;--"that is the
gentleman who said we were to kill all the babies."
"There, I told you so!" cried the doctor, rejoicing in the triumph of
his art. "He could not help it. That organ of destructiveness did it
all. That man should never have been suffered to go loose. Henceforth,
if crimes are committed, it is the fault of society. We can always
detect the propensity to mischief by the certain laws of phrenology,
and our business is to guard against it. If we suffer men like that to
go loose, the crimes they commit are chargeable to our own
negligence."
I was not inclined to stay longer to hear the worthy gentleman's
dissertation; and, touching Doctor Blunt's arm, I said--
"We had better return to the house and secure these two men. I must
also ask you to do me the great favour of lending me a horse to ride
to the county town; for I cannot be satisfied till I see this Colonel
Halliday."
"You had better postpone your journey till to-morrow morning,"
answered the doctor, walking with me towards the door. "Don't you
think it will be dangerous to go alone at this time of night?"
"Oh, no," I replied. "These people will not rally; and you may be sure
they brought up their whole force. If I am not mistaken, you may look
upon the insurrection as at an end. They have met with a check which
they will not soon recover; and your neighbours will have much to
thank you for, Doctor Blunt."
"Well, sir," replied the doctor, evidently much gratified, "I trust we
have done our duty; and if every one will do his duty in such
circumstances, the state will have nothing to fear."
"Your gallant young son, sir, has done his duty too, nobly," I
replied; "I am quite sure he brought down his man; he was as steady as
an old soldier."
"I am delighted to hear you say so, Sir Richard," answered the father,
doubtless with a proud heart. "He has been brought up to obey orders,
without hesitation, and I trust he has a right--a hereditary right--to
courage. His family has not produced a coward, sir, and I trust it
never will; but you had better come in and finish your supper, Sir
Richard, while they get a horse for you. Will it not be better to have
one saddled for your man Zed likewise? He knows the roads more
thoroughly than you do, I suspect, and might be of assistance to you
in case of danger."
I gladly embraced the offer and was not sorry, to say sooth, for some
more food. Nor did I altogether refrain from Doctor Blunt's good wine;
for I felt that night, more than I ever did in my life, those
sensations which doubtless lead many a man to drunkenness--the need of
something to keep up my spirits, to enable me to cast off the load of
thought, and pursue my course amidst whatever painful circumstances
might surround me.
I did not drink much, it is true; for out of the bottle of Madeira,
set by my side, several of my companions in the late affray came in
and helped themselves very liberally. In fact, for the next half-hour,
as may be well supposed, the house of Doctor Blunt presented a scene
of excitement and confusion sufficient to banish everything like sober
thought. Every one was talking; every one was moving about; every one
was asking questions, and nobody answering them. Some were examining
where the balls had struck; many were describing their own deeds, and
telling how they had picked off their man: and certainly if all had
been done which they asserted, a dozen negroes must have fallen
instead of six. All were talking; some were laughing loudly; and,
strange to say, even the captured and wounded negroes were joining in
the merriment, almost as if they had been of the victorious, instead
of the defeated, party.
I saw one fellow sitting in the hall, just opposite the door, with a
bullet through his shoulder, and his hands tied behind him, show his
white teeth from one end of the range to the other, exclaiming, with a
laugh,--
"I wish somebody would tie my hands afore instead of behind. My golly,
how hot dat hole feel! I tink dey must shoot wid red-hot shot."
At length it was announced that the horses were ready, and I rose to
depart.
"What, going, Sir Richard!" exclaimed Billy Byles, coming in. "Hang
it, you have stolen a march upon them. I shall go in to-night. Blunt,
you had better march the prisoners in. There's no use of keeping them
here all night. Hadn't you better wait for us, Sir Richard?"
"No, my good friend," I answered; "I cannot rest satisfied till I hear
more of Miss Davenport."
Billy Byles was of that sanguine and immovable disposition, which from
one success infers that everything else must go right, and he
answered,--
"Oh, she is quite safe, depend upon it." Although not an hour before,
on hearing of the situation in which she had been left, he had
exclaimed, "Poor Bessy!" in tones of melancholy augury, which still
rang in my ears.
I declined to delay my departure, however; and, shaking hands with
young Blunt as I passed, I walked forward to the door, where the
horses stood. Zed crept after me slowly, with much the air of an
offending dog, who expects, as he follows his master's heels, to have
a kick every minute, and keeps himself prepared to jump back and avoid
the blow.
Much shaking of hands took place on the steps of the house; but at
length I mounted, and took my way on.