to answer for his conduct before any regular court,
but he did not recognize the authority of the committee of vigilance. "As to this gentleman, my guest," he continued, "I am a justice of the peace, and if you will bring proof against him of any violation of the laws, I will issue a warrant for his arrest; but, except on some lawful warrant, I shall not suffer him to be taken from my house."
The only ground of suspicion against me seemed to be, that I was a stranger, who ought not to be allowed to traverse the country, in its present state of alarm, without giving an account of myself. But as my host did not think this a sufficient ground for the issue of a warrant, the messengers of the vigilance committee shortly departed; not without furious threats of returning soon with men enough to take us both by force, and pretty plain intimations that after this resistance to the authority of the committee, which could be looked upon in no other light than as plain proof of our concern in the plot, we could reasonably expect nothing short of hanging. Six white men, and eighteen negroes, they added, had been hung already, and many more had been arrested.
No sooner had these fellows gone, than I turned to my host to thank him for his protection; but almost before replying to me, he ordered two horses to be saddled. "I wish I could protect you," he added; "but though I mean to stand a siege myself, and shall rely, if compelled to surrender, upon my numerous friends and connections to shield me, it would not be safe for you to remain.
"Your horse is hardly fit for a new start; but I will give you a fresh one, and will send yours back to Vicksburg. You shall have my negro man Sambo for a guide. He knows the country well, and, if any body can, will carry you safe to the banks of the Mississippi, for which you had better make by the shortest cut. Steamboats are passing continually up and down. Get on board the first that comes along, and forego your travels in these parts for the present."
