POISONING THE OVERSEER.
A few days after we passed the residence of an old bachelor who had a large number of negroes; he was absent at Natchitoches and had left his overseer in charge. We stopped there, and remained two days; we procured some whisky from a grocery store a short distance off; prepared some of it with poison, and induced the overseer to drink freely. We gave him a full dose of the poison, and before day on the third morning he was dead.
Meanwhile Wages and I had made arrangements to steal a likely negro woman and two young negroes, a boy and girl, about ten years of age, besides two of the finest horses on the place. We sent out runners to let one or two of the neighbors know that the overseer was dead; we had our negroes and horses concealed about five miles distant, and about sunrise we offered to pay our bills and left, pretending to go to New Orleans. After we had got out of sight of the plantation we made a circuit and went to the place where the negroes and horses were concealed. Having provided ourselves with provisions, we remained secreted at that place all that day. That night we started with our negroes and horses. Wages took the lead; our horses and negroes were all refreshed. We traveled a brisk gait all that night and till next day at nine or ten o’clock. We suffered greatly for water, having met with none after midnight, until we stopped at a small creek. We had passed no houses after daylight. After we stopped we stripped our horses, gave them water and hampered them to graze; we got water for ourselves and negroes, and took a little spirits we had, and eat the balance of our provisions. After we had rested a little while, Wages took his gun and went up the creek in search of game; I took mine and went to the road we had just left, and went on rather down the creek. At the distance of about two miles I came to a plantation. It was an old stock place, inhabited by some of the old creole settlers that had lived there in Spanish times. I inquired the distances and courses of the country. They told me it was about forty miles to the first river, and that there was but one settlement on the road where we could get water for ourselves and horses, at about twenty-five miles. After I had got this information I purchased some bread and potatoes and a small piece of dried beef, and returned to our camp. Wages had killed a fine deer, and he and the negro woman were roasting a fine piece. We fared well that day. That night about dark we left our camp, provided with provisions for two days. A little after midnight we reached the first water. A little before daylight we reached some settlements and woodland; we traveled a short distance and came to a small, deep river. We there found a ferry flat and some small boats. We took the flat and carried our horses and negroes over; took the flat back, and took a small boat, and Wages and I crossed to our horses and negroes. By this time we could discern the appearance of day. We mounted and traveled on; we could perceive we were passing several large plantations; by sunrise we had traveled four or five miles. We could see at a distance several clusters of woodland in the prairies. We made for one of them some distance from the road, which we found afforded sufficient shelter for that day. We found some water, but not plenty, and very bad; our horses would drink but little of it. We stripped and hampered our horses to graze, took our breakfast and told the negroes to go to sleep. I went to sleep, and Wages kept watch. About twelve o’clock I was awakened by the report of a gun. I rose up and found that Wages had shot a fat yearling beef. We skinned and saved the hind quarters and loin, and salted it a little and barbecued it. While Wages lay down and took a nap the negro woman and I attended to the meat. About an hour before sunset Wages awoke, and we all eat heartily. We eat the last of our bread and potatoes; our horses had finished grazing and were resting, and about sunset we began to pack up for traveling, with plenty of meat and no bread. About dark we left our sheltered woods and started on the road again. We were then about one hundred and twenty miles from the place where we had stolen the negroes. We traveled on that night about thirty miles, and reached a large creek between midnight and day. We passed one or two plantations, and very little woodland. When Wages came to the creek he examined the ford and found horse tracks; he rode in first, went over and came back, and took the bridle of the horse that had the two little negroes and led him safely across, and the negro woman and myself followed. We went on some seven or eight miles, and came to woodland and plantations again. Some of the plantations were very large. We continued traveling till daylight; after day we passed several fine, large plantations. The sun was about one hour high when we came to a ferry on a large river. We called, and the ferryman was a negro; we inquired the distance from the last river we had crossed; he said sixty-three miles. The negro was a very intelligent fellow; we inquired particularly for San Antonio, and told him there was where we were going. We inquired for several other places, and left; at a short distance we found a place where we could rest, not far from a plantation. There Wages and myself procured some corn for our horses, the first they had eaten for several days. We also procured some bread; after we had fed and rested our horses and slept some ourselves, a little before night we started again. We traveled that night about thirty-five miles, and stopped at a small creek and camped till daylight. We then started, crossed the creek, went out a short distance and turned our course more to the east. We took a trail that led us down the creek. We halted about noon to rest our horses, which by this time were much fatigued. Here we procured something for ourselves to eat.
We were now over two hundred miles from the place where we had stolen the negroes; we here enquired for several places and where was the best place to locate. We wanted to find a rich neighborhood where there was good society, etc. We got directions for several places, among the rest the lower settlement on the Brasos river. After we had rested, late in the afternoon, we set out, pretending to be bound for San Antonio, but we steered our course for the Brasos river, where we arrived the second day after. We quartered our negroes with a planter there and traveled around. We at length found a purchaser, some twenty miles from the place where the negroes were. We delivered them to him and received the pay for them—sixteen hundred dollars. We took the horses about forty miles and sold one, and about thirty miles further we sold the other. We then went some distance and sold our own horses.
We had realized from all our sales a little short of two thousand dollars. This was about the tenth of May. The money was principally in New Orleans Bank bills, and we had some gold and silver to pay our little expenses. We now steered our course for San Antonio, on foot, and reached there in about five days. We traveled leisurely, and procured some two-headed Texas gourds to carry our water through the prairies. After resting a day or two, we looked around to see how the land lay. We went into a store and bought two light Spanish saddles, with bridles and all the apparatus for riding. We put them up in a genteel package, and provided ourselves with provisions for two days. Each shouldered his pack, and we left San Antonio in the night, and steered our course west. We had traveled some ten or fifteen miles, when we stopped at a small creek and camped. Next morning we traveled on some twenty-five miles farther, when we came to a ranche, where there was a great stock of horses, mules, jacks, jennies and horned cattle. We hid our saddles before we approached the place, and went up with our bundles of clothes and guns and asked for something to eat, which was given us—plenty milk and bread. Only one or two of the people could speak English, and that very indifferently. An old man, the head of the place, and his drover and herdsman, spoke the best English. We asked the old man to let us have a couple of horses and saddles, and we would go with him a hunting and take our guns; we told him we wished to see the country; he told us “yes,” and furnished us with horses. We spent a week or more with him. We killed plenty of venison to supply the whole ranche.