The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1875-10-08

and suitable graves dug near the chapel.
The news of these fearful preparations
soon penetrated every cabin in the negro
quarter, and these things began to look
serious in the mind of Mr.. Cuffee Black
| The negroes knew that Mr.. Randolph was
q member of Congress, and q big man in
the country; they knew he was accustom-
ed to have his way, and that nobody at
tempted to interfere with him. and they
| fully believed that he had full power of
life and death over them. They knew he
was good, kind master and neighbor,
but then they said he had "sich quar- Ways
there was no telling what he might do if
the notion took him. They had seen how
he had burned up all the damaged farm
implements; had caused all the worthless
sheep, goats and horses to be knocked in
the head, and how he had shot all the old
| broken down stock without pity, and now
| what did he mean to do with them. This
was exactly the train of reflection and
comment that Mr.. Randolph had calculat-
ed upon, and accordingly on his arrival on
the ground, he found an anxious, terrified
crowd of negroes, and not one missing
all were there. He entered and took his
seat beside the overseer at table. Juba,
his servant, placed on the table before him
his duelling case, open, and containing
a pair of pistols and plenty Of ammuni-
ton.
care they all here 2" asked Mr. Randolph
of the overseer.
Up spoke hundred voices: ooh, yes,
Marst John, we's all here" Chumley was
ordered to call the list containing the
names of all those who had been old
enough to work during the year, but had
not worked. They were placed in a row
in which soon stood more than half of all
the grown negroes.
The old shirks and sinners were not
slow to see how the list had been made up
and long before the roll call was ended
many of them were on their knees beseech-
ingly looking from the stern face of their
master toward the pistols and the open
graves; and many "Lord a mercy on me
Marst john" went up from the line; but
Randolph ordered them to be silent.
When the last had been called he squeak
cd out:
"You say, Chumloy, these niggers won't
work; that they are old, worthless and
good for nothing that they cannot make
enough to eat, and l must buy bread and
meat to feed them"
Handing Chumlcy pair of pistols, he
said:
"Chumley, begin at the other end of the
line, and I'll begin at this, and we will
shoot these worthless negroes"
A universal shrek went up, and all the
negroes rushed up to Randolph and beg
ged, in the most pitilul terms, for their
lives, all declaring that they could work
and that they never would play possum
and lie up again.
Randolph finally relented and agreed to
spare them, provided they could give Sc
curity among the other negroes that they
would work well in the future. No one
could have effected such scare as Ran
dolph did. The negroes knew that he was
a strange, eccentric man that the white
people of Charlotte all but worshipped
him, and they believed implicitly that he
would do all that he said he would do
He did not allow any severe punishment
upon his slaves but his lesson was sutfici-
ent. The empty graves were filed up with
out occupants and the negroes went to
work with wills