sent for, who was his own son, Thomas Clarkson.  Jim was taken home, whipped, and a cured middling of a hog was tied around his neck; he was then made to work along with the other slaves in the day and was put in prison in the night for two weeks.  One morning when the overseer went to his place of confinement to take him into the field, he found him dead, with a large piece of meat hanging to his neck.  The news of his death soon went abroad, also the cause of it, and when old Mr. Clarkson found it out he was very angry at his son Thomas, and his punishment was, that he was driven from his plantation with orders never to return, and that he should not have any of his property.  This seemed to grieve Thomas very much, and he made several attempts to regain his father’s affections, but failed.  Finally, one night, Thomas made an outcry that he had found a pearl of great price, that the Lord had pardoned his sins, and that he was at peace with all mankind.  When his father heard of this, he sent for him to come home, and he gave him quite a sum of money and willed him the portion of property that he had said he should keep from him.  But poor Jim was not there to forgive him.

A MAN MISTAKEN FOR A HOG.

Two negroes went to steal hogs from their masters.  The swine were under a barn, as in the South barns were made high enough for hogs to stand under.  The man who went under the barn said to the other, you must strike the hog that goes the slowest; then he went under the barn on his knees to drive them out while the other stood with his club ready to strike, but they ran out so fast he could not hit them, except the last as he thought, which came just slow enough, and he struck.  While the supposed hog was kicking, he jumped upon it to stab it with his knife but found it was his companion.

CUSTOM OF WITCHES AMONG SLAVES.

The witches among slaves were supposed to have been persons who worked with them every day, and were called old hags or jack lanterns.  Those, both men and women, who, when they had grown old looked old, were supposed to be witches.  Sometimes, after eating supper, the negroes would gather in each other’s cabins which looked over the large openings on the plantation, and when they would see a light at a great distance and see it open and shut, they would say, “there is an old hag,” and if it came from a direction in which those lived whom they called witches, one would say, “Dat looks like old Aunt Susan;” another would say, “No, dat look like man hag;” still another, “I tink dat look like ole Uncle Renty.”