him just as he was preparing to start his boat, and he and the negro were both taken before the mayor. He charged the captain with having detained his property from his possession by violence and force of arms; and produced a bill of sale for the negro, purporting to have been given in Tipton county, State of Tennessee, and brought in a witness (one of his friends), who swore that he was present when the negro was purchased, and saw him delivered to the plaintiff. The mayor asked the captain the cause of his detaining the negro from his master.

66

Captain. Why, why,-I, I was told that this man was a negro thief, sir.'

66

Mayor. Have you any evidence?'

"C. Why,—I don't know where the man is who He is gone, sir.'

told me.

"M. 'What were you going to do with his negro?'

"C. "Why—I, I was going to keep him, sir.'

"M. Keep him!'

"C. 'Yes, sir, I'd keep him safe.'

"M. 'Yes, sir, I will keep you safe a while.

66 The negro was delivered to the plaintiff, and the captain nicked with a heavy fine, and imprisoned: and his pretty friend, who knew so much, soon had a nurse that attended him day and night, until he found his way to the bottom of the Mississippi river. This was the way he fixed these two villains for their smartness in matters that did not concern them. He waited until the captain was just ready to start; and, by his never coming about, the captain thought he had made his escape, and that he was proud to get a chance to run; so he had no chance to make any defence, and NewOrleans is a minute place.

"He sold his negro in New-Orleans for eight hundred dollars; and in a few nights he stole him again, and got a friend to conduct him up the country to a friend's house in one of the upper parishes. Here he became a Methodist preacher, and preached for a neighbourhood of Methodists. He had got two fine geldings near New-Orleans, and his friend rode one and his negro the other; and while he was preaching and praying for the Methodists, he told them that he had been down to the lower country to sell his slaves; that he had become rather conscientious on the subject of slavery, but that the boy he had with him appeared to be so much opposed to being sold, that he had concluded to carry him back home again. The negro was up to this, and he began to pretend to love one of Higginbotham's negro women, and he began to beg his Mossa Higginbotham to buy him. Brother Higginbotham purchased his preacher's negro, and the preacher started home to Kentucky, an assumed residence. Brother Higginbotham gave him seven hundred dollars for his boy. He had a friend to convey the boy across the Mississippi river, near the Arkansas river, where he was to meet him at the house of another friend. Brother Higginbotham is greatly distressed; his boy is gone, who was sold for loving his negro woman; and his preacher was gone with his money. He stove about in every direction like a mad bull; but all was in vain, his negro was gone. The preacher was prompt to attend at the house of his appointed friend, where he met his companion with the negro. He sold him the third time on the Arkansas river, for five hundred dollars; and then stole him and delivered him into the hands of his

friend, who conducted him to a swamp, and veiled the tragic scene, and got the last gleanings and sacred pledge of secrecy, as a game of that kind will not do unless it ends in a mystery to all but the fraternity. He sold that negro for two thousand dollars, and then put him for ever out of the reach of all pursuers, and they can never graze him unless they can find the negro, and that they cannot do, for his carcass has fed many a tortoise and catfish before this time; and the frogs have sung this many a long day to the silent repose of his skeleton; and his remembrance is recorded in the book of mysteries. Thus ended the history of the Tipton boy, and Brother Higginbotham's parson, who vanished like a spirit to the land of mystics."

H. "Wonderful and strange man! who can tell the worth of such a noble leader? he is great and wise in all things!"

M. "That is his character, sir."

The following is Mr. Higginbotham's certificate on that subject:

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Clinton, Louisiana, Sept. 12th, 1835.

"MR. VIRGIL A. STEWART :

"DEAR SIR-Your letter of the 25th of August has just come to hand, requesting a statement of the fact of Murrell's selling a negro to Mr. Higginbotham of this parish. I have to answer, in reply, that the statement set forth in The Western Land-Pirate' is true with but one exception. Murrell did not call himself a preacher, but left an impression with the people where he stayed that he was a professor of religion. The negro was purchased by Mr. Willis Higginbotham for Mrs. Powers. He stayed with her from Thursday un

til Saturday, and then left her ruined, and was heard of

no more.

"Yours respectfully,

"JOHN B. HIGGINBOTHAM."

"State of Louisiana, East Feliciana Parish.

"Personally appeared before the undersigned, justice of the peace in and for said parish, the Rev. John B. Higginbotham, who upon oath says that the above statement is true, and has subscribed to the same this 12th day of September, 1835.

"L. P. M'CAULEY, J. P."

The conversation between Murrell and Hues continued as follows:→

Murrell, " Well, sir, we are within a half a mile of Wesley, and we will have a warm when we get there."

Hues. "Yes, sir, we need it very much; and we will have some good brandy and something to eat at the tavern."

M. "We will get the brandy, but I have lots of provisions in my portmanteau."

Mr. Stewart (whom the reader must hereafter know by the name of Hues) began to feel, as they approached Wesley, considerable embarrassment lest his acquaintances in that place should recognise him in the presence of Murrell, and thus subvert all the plans he had been forming for his detection, and which, till then, had succeeded much to his wishes; for his conversation with Murrell, from their first meeting, had been all of a character to impress him that he (Hues) was an entire stranger in the country through which

they were travelling. He was much puzzled to know in what manner he should meet the exigency of the occasion (and they were already in sight of Wesley). It at length occurred to him that his character of horse-hunter might be of use in furnishing an excuse to separate a short time from his companion, by which he could make an opportunity to confer with his acquaintances, and apprize them of his business. Accordingly, as they entered the village, he drew forth a flask, and desired Murrell, he being acquainted, to ride on and have it filled, remarking that he would, meanwhile, stop at the first store, and write some advertisements for his stray horse (having concluded to accompany him to Arkansas), as such a step might be the means of obtaining some account of him by their return. Murrell assented to his proposition-took charge of the flask, and, after desiring him to arrange his business with all possible despatch, rode on to the house which he had pointed out to Hues as the Wesley Inn; for Hues had thought it necessary to make some inquiry respecting the place, in order to appear the consistent stranger.

This arrangement suited Hues very well; for two of his acquaintances were at the tavern. He stopped at the first store he came to till he saw Murrell enter the tavern, when he made the best of his way to a grocery kept by a third friend, with a view of putting him on his guard. Upon being told that he was absent from the village, he foresaw but one important difficulty in the way of success (that of being recognised by his friend at the tavern), which, in a very short time, was most happily removed-for he saw