Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1859-11-16

Il Vas this kind 81 encouragement
which urged Brown into his HsrPer's
Ferry cxpedeion- Harip6ury Hse,'os.
SLAVE IaeUsdrrloss IN the UsIrED
SrATEs.-Oae a the earliest plots dis
covered for 81 tesurectioa among the
slaves in the southern states, was that OF
1922, which was organized 1t Charles
ten, South Carolina, by mulatto nam.
cd Denmark Vexey. He was man OF
sbrewdness and tact, possessing great
influence over his agents, and remark
able degree ofenergy. His plan was to
murder the masters, seize the women,
set fire to the city, and then take pos
session Of the shipping ia the harbor,
ana then escape to s.. Domingo. The
plot was discussed and arranged in the
religious and other meetings of the me-
croes, but one Of the conspirators became
conscience stricken and disclosed it. A
panic followed; the negroes were every
where arrested, and some thirty or forty
were tried aad executed.
The next well organized and extensive
slave insurrection was that known as the
"Southampton Massacre" which, under
the lead of the notorious Nat Turner,
spread through some of the southern
counties in Virginia in 1881, and in
which between seventy five and hun
dred white folks were murdered. Turner
was slave about thirty years of age, AN
ignorant, but bold and resolute fanatic,
who believed he had been raised up by
God to liberatc his companions from
slavery.
Companies OF armed men were hastily
gathered aud sent to the seat Of war.-
The rebellion was soon checked, and it
was found that the insurgents did not
number over one or two hundred, though
they had been successful in achieving q
horrid slaughter. All the slaves con-
cerned in the massacre were shot or ex-
cutcd after trial, though Nat Turner, the
head and front of the conspiracy, man
aged to elude pursuit for months, living
in holes cxcavated in the earth. lie was
at last discovered in his den by the bark
ing OF a dog. and surrendered without
resistance. lie made no defence, but
confessed his agency in the whole mat
ter, and avowed he had received di-
vine commission to liberatc slaves, and
told the story Of his preparation for it,
through several years, with csolness and
minutemess. He of course suffered
death.
That few ignorant slaves should
massacre nearly one hundred whit,.,a and
hold possession Of the country for weeks,
was terrible evidence of the danger which
stalked before the hearth of every plan
ter.
Since that rebellion, no other occurred
to excite alarm or attract general a ten
ton till 1856, when the people along
the valley of the Cumberland in Tennes-
see, became greatly alarmed about an
anticipated rising. Slaves were arrested
and whipped to extort confessions, and
rumors Of uprisings being circulated,
preparations were made by the citizens
Of Tennessee and Kentucky for defense
and attack. AS they recovered from
the panic, it was generally conceded
that there was no ground to fear a slave
iusurrcction, and the subject was soon
forgotten.
The recent capture of Harpcr's Ferry
by John Brown. is peculiar, because it
was the work of whites-the first time
that professional aboltionists had dared
to resort to arms-and also, because OF
the wonderful success which met the first
efforts of score of fanatical men, who
without support, had made dcmonstra-
ton in the heart of q slaveholding coun-
try, and seized the arsenal of the United
| States.