pounds currency; and he knew of cases in which this had been done.  Just after the insurrection in 1816, white men made a regular sport of shooting negroes.  Mr. T. mentioned one case.  A young man had sworn that he would kill ten negroes before a certain time.  When he had shot nine he went to take breakfast with a neighbor, and carried his gun along.  The first slave he met on the estate, he accused of being concerned in the rebellion.  The negro protested that he was innocent, and begged for mercy.  The man told him to be gone, and as he turned to go away, he shot him dead.  Having fulfilled his bloody pledge, the young knight ate his breakfast with a relish.  Mr. H. said that a planter once, in a time of perfect peace, went to his door and called one of his slaves.  The negro made some reply which the master construed into insolence, and in a great rage he swore if he did not come to him immediately he would shoot him.  The man replied he hoped massa wan’t in earnest.  ‘I’ll show you whether I am in earnest,’ said the master, and with that he levelled his rifle, took deliberate aim, and shot the negro on the spot.  He died immediately.  Though great efforts were made by a few colored men to bring the murderer to punishment, they were all ineffectual.  The evidence against him was clear enough, but the influence in his favor was so strong that he finally escaped.

Dungeons were built on all the estates, and they were often abominably filthy, and infested with loathsome and venomous vermin.  For slight offences the slaves were thrust into these prisons for several successive nights—­being dragged out every morning to work during the day.  Various modes of torture were employed upon those who were consigned to the dungeon.  There were stocks for their feet, and there were staples in the floor for the ankles and wrists, placed in such a position as to keep the victim stretched out and lying on his face.  Mr. H. described one mode which was called the cabin.  A narrow board, only wide enough for a man to lie upon, was fixed in an inclined position, and elevated considerably above the ground.  The offending slave was made to lay upon this board, and a strong rope or chain, was tied about his neck and fastened to the ceiling.  It was so arranged, that if he should fall from the plank, he would inevitably hang by his neck.  Lying in this position all night, he was more likely than not to fall asleep, and then there were ninety-nine chances to one that he would roll off his narrow bed and be killed before he could awake, or have time to extricate himself.  Peradventure this is the explanation of the anxiety Mr. ——­ of ——­, used to feel, when he had confined one of his slaves in the dungeon.  He stated that he would frequently wake up in the night, was restless, and couldn’t sleep, from fear that the prisoner would kill himself before morning.