Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 11).djvu/94

 humble page shall bear his honoured name, liberty, justice, and truth, shall bless him, and make him a blessing.

At noon, we were overtaken in the forest by a tremendous storm of wind, hail, rain, thunder and lightning; huge trees fell around us; houses were unroofed; and we were exposed to all its fury in our chaise under a tree. The air seemed full of thunder-bolts, insomuch that I fancied myself shot through and through. Hail-stones, large as pigeons' eggs, smote us and our horse, but were not permitted to do us harm.

About 20 miles west of Columbia, we saw a party of jurymen and other citizens, digging up the body of a slave, who had been wantonly whipped to death, and buried privately about a week since, and that too by the hands of his own master. As this is the second man thus murdered, the first being left unburied for dogs to eat, I hereby resolve to give publicity to all the particulars of the last case when I reach the city. The gentleman who disclosed to the Coroner the secret of this outrageous murder, came to us, stated the case clearly, and invited us to go with him and behold what was once man, but then a mis-shapen mass {70} of putrescence. At sunset we reached Columbia, and bid farewell to the kind and generous Major Rugeley. I promised to revisit him, but could not; a circumstance which I much regretted, because he and his sire had collected a museum, containing many natural curiosities of the state, in readiness for my return to them and England.

Sunday, 30th.—Off by six o'clock. Saw a large field of wheat ready for the harvest, and white plums, dead ripe, in great abundance. Four young negroes were offered for sale at 1,000 dollars the lump, but found no