184 A NEGRO LYNCHED. 



and this he said was owing to his being a drunkard, while he 

 himself took no spirits of any kind. They had plenty of food 

 with them, though they had to eat the meat raw, so that it 

 could not have been starvation which killed the man. 



But to return to our bear-hunt. Later in the evening, 

 when the norther had blown itself out and we were again 

 sitting on the verandah, a young fellow rode up, whom most 

 of those present seemed to know; and on his joining us some 

 one said to him " Well, did you get him ? " on which he 

 answered " Yes, but we did not bring him in"; and then the 

 subject was changed, as if everyone knew what this meant. Now 

 men are inquisitive sometimes, though of course very seldom, 



and F and I (for H was not with us) were curious to 



know what this meant, so we crossed to where the young 

 fellow was sitting and asked him. 



It seemed that some weeks before, he had gone into 

 Galveston to buy his winter supplies, taking with him two 

 negroes, who had been with his family all their lives, and who, 

 when all slaves were freed, had chosen to remain as servants, 

 getting wages ; and that while in Galveston two women returning 

 from market had been set upon by negroes and robbed, besides 

 being badly beaten. For some reason one of his servants was 

 suspected, and was arrested and lodged in prison. On hearing 

 this he had gone to him to say that if he was innocent he 

 would provide counsel to defend him, and as the negro assured 

 him that he was so, he saw a lawyer and arranged matters with 

 him. However, before the trial came off, this negro had 

 managed to escape, thereby proving himself guilty. Knowing 

 how stupid negroes are, and how they often when pursued go 

 to the very place where you would be sure to look for them, 



