28 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



mies multiplied on every side; these were not 

 only among the whites, but Negroes were used 

 as tools; and every imaginable mischief was 

 devised to dethrone Mr. Tupper and ruin the 

 institution. A long and tedious lawsuit ensued ; 

 the day was dark, the clouds were so threatening, 

 despite the iron will and the great determina- 

 tion of the founder of Shaw University, it 

 looked as if the enemy would triumph. Even 

 some of the individuals who had received in- 

 struction at the hands of Mr. Tupper, turned 

 away and held with firm grip the strong arm 

 of the oppressor. At such a time a man of 

 small calibre would either be hushed into si- 

 lence, or run away and leave the guns to the 

 enemy ; but Augustus Shepard was not that man. 

 In the thickest of the fight he stood by his com- 

 mander. His gTatitude was too well founded 

 to yield. His sense of justice and right held 

 superior place in his manly heart ; his faith and 

 trust in God was well founded. 



When he was accosted by the other side and 

 was told, ''If you turn Tupper loose, he will 

 either die or be forced to give up and go back 

 ISTorth, like Martin Luther before the Diet of 

 Worms." In reply he said, ''I had rather die 



