In this vale of tears, life is full of disappointments. The inconsiderate governor of South Carolina inflicted a severe one upon the good citizens of Newberry.
A man named Graham once stole a negro, at that time a capital offence, from Joseph Caldwell, but he was soon caught and lodged in jail. A crazy negro man by the name of Rob, belonging to Patrick Caldwell, had been in jail some time for safe keeping before Graham was put in.
After Graham had been in jail awhile, Rob asked him one day why he did not get out. His reply was that he did not know how.
Rob then told him that when Coates came in with his supper he must have both hands full of sand and stand behind the door, watch his chance and, after Coates had opened the door and entered the room, just as he turns around to close it, to throw the sand into his eyes.
Graham did so. Coates dropped the candle and supper to get the sand out of his eyes, and Graham passed around him and made his escape.
Rob was so glad that he got out and made his escape that he yelled as loud as he could for Graham to go it! And kept it up until quite a crowd of men collected at the jail to see what was the matter.
After his escape Graham went to a little island in Broad River, where he was soon discovered, and Mr. Joseph Campbell sent a negro man to the island to bring him out. He was taken back to jail, tried at the next term of court, pleaded guilty, and sentenced by the judge to be hanged on a certain day,
When the day came around a great many people went to see him hang. H. H. Kinnard, the Sheriff, took him to the gallows, put the cap on him. The spectators looking to see him swing in a few minutes, to their great surprise his pardon, or rather commutation of sentence, was read by the Sheriff under the gallows with his cap on.
Then the cap and rope were removed and the Sheriff gave him a very severe whipping and told him he had to leave the State.
After it was all over and Graham was discharged, men came galloping into town cursing, and swearing that they had ridden twenty miles to see him hang and the Sheriff would not hang him.
(I wonder how you “steal a negro,” unless he wants to be stolen. And what do you do with him after you have stolen him? And why was it a capital offense?)