take of fine suppers, to which the ladies add many little delicacies, and handsome presents of wearing apparel to the married pair. When the negroes desire a clergyman to perform the ceremony for them, planters seldom refuse to comply with their request.

When negroes leave the plantation, for whatever purpose, whether to attend church, class meeting or market, visit their husbands, wives, or sweethearts, or are sent on errands, they must carry with them a written permission of absence from their master, stating the object for which his slave leaves his plantation, the place or places to which he is going, and the time to which his absence is limited. This written authority is called a "pass," and is usually written somewhat after this form:

"Pass J sunset," or "E

to Natchez and back again by

has permission to visit his wife on Mr. C's plantation, to be absent till 9 o'clock."

In such fluctuating property as slaves, it often happens that husband, wife, and children may all belong to different owners; and as negroes belonging to different plantations intermarry, such a provision, which is a state law, is necessary to preserve discipline, and embrace within the eye or knowledge of the master, every movement of his slave. Were slaves allowed to leave the estates without the knowledge of their masters, during a certain portion of every week, an immense body of men in the aggregate, consisting of a few from every

VOL. II.-M

130

IMPORTANT REGULATION.

plantation in the state, would be moving among the plantations, at liberty to plan and execute any mischief they might choose to set on foot. If negroes leave the plantation without a "pass," they are liable to be taken up by any white person who suspects them to be runaways, and punishment is the consequence. The law allows every white man in town or country this kind of supervision over negroes; and as there are always men who are on the lookout for runaways, for the purpose of obtaining the reward of several dollars for each they can bring back to his master, the slave, should he leave the plantation without his "pass"-the want of which generally denotes the runaway-is soon apprehended. You will see that this regulation is a wise legal provision for the preservation both of private and public security. An anecdote connected with this subject was recently related to me by a planter whose slave was the hero. "A gentleman," said he, “met one of my negroes mounted on horseback, with a jug in his hand, riding toward Natchez. Suspecting him from appearances to be a runaway, he stopped him and asked for his "pass." The slave unrolled first one old rag-an old rag is a negro's substitute for a pocket-and then another without success. "I'spec' me loss me pass, master." "Whom do you belong to?" "Mr. "Where are you going?"

giving the wrong person.

"To Natchez, get whiskey, master." At the moment, my brand upon the horse struck the

eye

of

the gentleman; "You are a runaway, boy—you belong to Mr. D." Instantly the negro leaped

HOW TO FIND OUT THE ROGUE.

131

from his horse, cleared the fence, and fled through the woods like a deer toward home. The gentleman on arriving at his own house, sent a servant to me with the horse which the runaway had deserted. I immediately assembled the whole force of the plantation and not one of the negroes was missing; the culprit having managed to arrive at the plantation before I could receive any intimation of his absence. I tried a long time to make the guilty one confess, but in vain. So at last, I tried the effect of a ruse. "Well, boys, I know it is one of you, and though I am not able to point out the rogue, my friend who detected him will recognize him at So you must walk over to his house, Fall

once.

in there-march!"

"They proceeded a short distance, when I ordered a halt. “Mind, boys, the guilty one shall not only be punished by me, but I will give every ‘hand' on the plantation the liberty of taking personal satisfaction, for compelling them to take a walk of three miles. So, march!" They moved on again for about a quarter of a mile, when they came to a full stop deliberated a few moments and then retraced their steps. "Hie! what now?” “Why, master, Bob say he de one." Bob, who it seems had confessed to his fellow-slaves as the best policy, now stepped forward, and acknowledged himself to be the runaway."

Preparation for a deer hunt—A sailor, a planter, and an author -A deer driver-"Stands" for deer-The hunting ground-The hunt-Ellis's cliff-Silver mine-An hypothesis-Alluvial formation of the lower valley of the Mississippi-Geological descriptions of the south-west.

THE morning after my arrival at the plantation, which suggested the subject of my last letter, two gentlemen, with their guns and dogs, arrived at the house, to proceed from thence, according to a previous arrangement, on a deer hunt. This noble and attractive game abounds in the "bottoms" and river hills in this region; though the planters, who are in general passionately fond of hunting, are fast thinning their numbers. The branching antlers of a stag, as in the old oaken halls of England, are found fixed, in some conspicuous station, in almost every planter's habitation-trophies of his skill, and testimonials of his attachment to the chase.

Having prepared our hunting apparatus, and assembled the dogs, which, from their impatient movements, evidently needed no intimation of our design, we mounted our horses, and, winding through the cotton fields, entered a forest to the south, and proceeded, in fine spirits, toward the "drive," four or five miles below, as the hunting station is tech

A DIVERSIFIED CHARACTER.

133

nically termed by deer hunters. There were, exclusive of a servant, four in our party. One of them, my host, formerly an officer in the navy, having, some years since, left the service, and settled himself down as a cotton planter, presented in his person the anomalous union, in Mississippi, of the sailor and farmer: for in this state, which has little intercourse directly with the sea, sailors are rare birds. Till recently a ship could not be seen by a Mississippian without going to New-Orleans, or elsewhere out of the state: but since Natchez became a port of entry, and ships have ascended here, the citizens who flocked in from all the country round, to gaze upon them, are a little more au fait to this branch of nautical knowledge. It would be difficult to say which predominates in this gentleman, the bluff and frank bearing of the sailor, or the easy and independent manner of the planter. In the management of his plantation, the result of his peculiar economy has shown, that the discipline with which he was familiar in the navy, with suitable modifica tions, has not been applied unsuccessfully to the government of his slaves. What a strange inclination sailors have for farming! Inquire of any NewEngland sea-captain the ultimatum of his wishes, after leaving the sea-for sailors in general follow the sea as the means of securing them a snug berth on shore-and he will almost invariably reply-"a farm." Another of our party was a planter, a native of Mississippi, and the son of a gentleman whose philosophic researches have greatly contributed to the advancement of science. He