Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-05-20
A SLAVE THE STAKE.
Captain Joseph Browns Recollections of a
Thrilling Incident on the River.

captain Joseph brO"H6 NeCohcCtioho VI q
Thrilling Incident on the River.
"The events which I am about to
relate" remarked Captain Joseph
Brown, formerly mayor of St. Louis,
"occurred long before the war. I was
passenger on the boat and witnessed
the whole affair. A principal actor in
the scenes that led up TO the tragedy,
for so it proved to be, was Andrew
Butler. Mr.. Butler lived in Hannibal,
Mo-, and was a slave dealer. Those
purchased by Mr.. Butler in this Sec
ton were usually transferred, before
sending them south, to Lynch's slave
pen, located On Fifth street (now
Broadway, between Elm and Poplar
streets, where they were held until af.
ter sufficient number had been COL
lected to make shipment desirable,
when they were taken to New Orleans
and sold from the block, if they had
not before been disposed of by private
sale.
"At that time there was family
living in Rails county, near Hannibal,
who were wealthy and had rather d
gay young son who spent much of his
time in Hannibal and on the river, and
who contracted fast habits, including
penchant for gambling. He, how
ever, afterwards married and seemed
to settle down.
"The father of the family had a
plantation, and among the household
was Dina, mulatto, who had num-
ber of very bright children, and, as
was often the case, little Sallie and Jim
were always considered as belonging
to young Mars George Taylor and
his wife. Jim was Georges body SER
want while Sallie took case of young
Misses and the little Taylors that were
coming on. Jim was given a good
deal of liberty, to the extent of going
into Hannibal on odd occasions and
hiring himself to the landlord of the
hotel (at that time Mr.. CampbelD to
wait on the table.
ut so happened that Andrew j..
Butler was guest at the house on
a public occasion when Jim, either
by accident or design (for ell the blacks
hated a slave trader) spilled a plate
of soup over the dress suit of Butler,
which so incensed him that he demand
ed that the Negro jim should be
whipped but Mr.. Campbell not own
Ing the Negro, refused to have it done.
The result was that Butler swore ven
geance op the Negro and said he
would yet own him and would give
him O hundred lashes and then Sell
him for plantation work in the south,
which was the horror of family Ne
gro in Missouri; and when a Negro
child disobeyed, the threat was often
used to frighten him into obedience.
1.-THE following fall, George Taylor
and bis beautiful wife, together with
their servants, Jim and 'Sallie' were
passengers on the 'Rosalie' Captain
Cameron, on their way to New Orleans,
and the St. Charles hotel. At St.
Louis it so transpired that they took
passage on the splendid passenger
"Autocrat,' Captain jim Cos
lee and Clerk Hamilton Hawley, the
first of Louisville and the latter Of
Memphis, and it also occurred that
J. Butler, with number Of
slaves, was a passenger on the same
ho,t for Man Orleans
"The first night out Butler ap-
preached Taylor and proposed game
of poker. Taylor consented to sit
down in the social hall in front of the
bar and play a four-handed game to
pass the time. The four played for a
couple of hours, when two of them
quit, leaving Butler aud Taylor to con-
tinue the game. They played on with
varied success until the next morning,
every little while having their glasses
filed at the bar with mint juleps or
stronger, until at length
Doth became more or less intoxicated,
and $4,000 of Taylor's money, all he
had, had passed into Buffers hands.
Butler was not willing to play unless
Taylor had money to 'ante-up' or
in its stead. The result was
that Taylor, in his drunken frenzy, put
up his watch and lost it. After the
watch had been passed over, before a
crowd of excited passengers, who,
however, dared not interfere, Butler
said, What else have
you got to put up ?" Taylor answer
ed, Il have nothing but this ring
which was large cluster of diamonds.
Butler said, Il do not want any more
of your jewelry; but I will play you
81 200 against "Jim."' Jim, who had
been lowering around his master dur
ing the night to see to his personal
safety, now stepped up and said, Mas