265 



Upon one of them being releafed from the 

 flakes, to which he had been tied down, with 

 his face to the earth, during his punilhment, 

 I thought that I recognized his features, and on 

 going out to afcertain the fact, I difcovered 

 him to be one of the carpenters, who had been 

 fet apart to work, under my directions, at che 

 hofpital. It happened, too, that he had dif- 

 tinguifhed himfelf by his induftry, and was the 

 man with whom I had mo ft converfed, on ac- 

 count of his fpeaking Englifh, and being able 

 to explain my inftru&ions to his fellow-work- 

 men. 



You will believe that I felt an intereft 

 regarding him, and that I was anxious to learn 

 by what offence he had brought upon himfelf 

 the fevere punifliment we had witneffed. To 

 this end, in company with Major Say and* 

 other officers, I followed the poor bleeding 

 man to his home, where we learned that the 

 alleged crime for which he had been punifhed 



was ftriking a white man ; although in fad 



it appeared to have been a refufal to get up 

 from his bed, at 9 o'clock at night, to work for 

 a white inhabitant of the town, after labouring 

 at the hofpital during the whole of the day 4 



S 



