PREFACE.
The number of years during which the Copeland and Wages Gang of Land Pirates pursued a successful career of robbery, incendiarism and murder in the United States; their final dismemberment, disgrace and violent end at the hand of retributive justice; and the stern moral lesson taught by their history and fate, have induced the undersigned to publish the confession of one of the leaders of the gang, as made by himself, in anticipation of his death at the hands of the hangman. Its accuracy may be relied on; and indeed it is hardly possible to doubt the truth of its statements, so minutely, consecutively and clearly are they related, and so consonant are they with the various localities and the characters of the men.
This confession was given to me, principally by the aid of copious memoranda which Copeland had kept for years in his diary, and which materially refreshed his memory.
James Copeland, the subject of this memoir, was born near Pascagoula river, in Jackson county, Miss., on the 18th day of January, 1823. He was the son of Isham Copeland and Rebecca Copeland, his wife—formerly Rebecca Wells. The parents had resided for many years near Pascagoula river.
Isham Copeland was a farmer in easy circumstances, with a good farm, several negroes, plenty of horses and mules and other live stock; and, in fact, he might be said to have everything about him that a family in moderate circumstances could require to enable him to live comfortably. He was the father of several sons; but, alas! this, which is by most men deemed a blessing, proved to him a curse; and after encountering many trials in youth and manhood, just when he thought to enjoy the peace and repose of old age, his son’s misconduct drew on him many severe reverses of fortune, and finally drove him to the grave broken hearted.
J. R. S. PITTS.
LIFE AND CAREER
OF
JAMES COPELAND,
THE SOUTHERN LAND PIRATE, AND HIS INTIMATE ASSOCIATES,
AS RELATED IN DETAIL, BY HIMSELF, IN PRISON, A FEW DAYS BEFORE HIS EXECUTION, TO DR. J. R. S. PITTS, THEN SHERIFF OF PERRY COUNTY, MISS.
When I was about ten or eleven years of age, my father sent me to school, and I went at intervals from time to time, to several good teachers. I might, with proper training and management, have received a liberal education. My father often insisted, and urged it upon me to study and try to obtain a good education, and he told me that he would send me to school as long as I wished to go. But being misled by my associations with bad company, I was engaged, instead, in studying mischief, and other things no way profitable to myself or advantageous to youths. It was my misfortune, that my disposition led me on to study how to cheat, defraud and swindle my comrades and school-mates, out of their pocket-knives, their money or anything they might have, which I wanted, and I was generally successful in my undertaking. If I could not effect my object in one way, I would resort to some other, and finally obtain it before I stopped. Indulging in this rude and mischievous disposition, I naturally became more hardened, and when at school, it was my delight to see the scholars whipped or otherwise punished, and I would often tell lies on any of them that would displease me, so as to cause them to get a flogging; and very often I would tell a lie on an innocent scholar, so as to clear a favorite and guilty one, and have the innocent one punished. It most generally happened, that I managed my villainy so as to get clear; it sometimes happened, however, that I got punished. This I did not care for any longer than the punishment lasted. So soon as I was released, I would commit a worse misdeed than the one I was chastised for, and any of my school-mates that were the cause of my punishment, I was certain to wreak my vengeance on, by having them punished in some way. From my bad conduct in school there was no teacher that would permit me to go to his school long at a time, and whenever I had any difficulty with my teachers, my mother would always protect and indulge me in what I would do; and being so indulged and protected, this excited me to commit crimes of greater magnitude. And I am frank, here to say, that my mother has been the principal and great cause of all my crimes and misfortunes, by stimulating me to the commission of those deeds that have brought me to what I am.
When I was about the age of twelve years, my mother one day sent me with a sack to a neighbor’s house (Mr. Helverson’s), to procure some vegetables or greens. I communicated my errand to Mrs. H., who told me to go to the garden and take what I wanted. I had no knife with me. I asked Mrs. H. to loan me a knife, which I knew she had, and she pulled out a very pretty little knife from her work-pocket, and told me not to lose or break it, for it was a present made to her by a friend. This I listened to and promised her that I would be careful. Now, while I was in the garden procuring vegetables or greens, my whole mind and wits were employed in devising some mode by which I could cheat the lady out of her knife. Finally, after I had procured my vegetables and placed them in the sack, I put the knife in the bottom of the sack; I then returned to the house, and told the lady that I laid the knife down in the garden, and had forgot the place and could not find it; I asked her to go with me and help me hunt for it, which she accordingly did, and we both hunted diligently, but to no effect. The lady was very anxious about her knife and much regretted its loss, while I was all the time laughing in my sleeve, to know how completely I had swindled her. This trick of mine passed off very well for a time. It was, however, found out that I had the knife, and that created some noise and trouble. I was accused of stealing the knife. But I denied all accusations and stated that I had bought the knife I had, in Mobile, and proved it by my mother, who always upheld me in my rascality. This may be said to have been my first successful feat in stealing, although I was in the habit of stealing little frivolous things from the school boys, before that time.
My father living a very close neighbor to Mr. Helverson, whose family is related to ours, their stock run together in the same range. My next onset in stealing was from Mr. H. again; he had a lot of very fine fat pigs, and these were at that time selling at a high price in Mobile. My brother Isham (nicknamed Whinn) and myself geared up a horse in a cart and started, pretendingly for a camp hunt to kill deer and haul to Mobile. We went a short distance that night and camped. During the night we went to Helverson’s hog bed, and stole a cart load of his finest pigs, fifteen in number, hauled them to Mobile and sold them at two dollars each. Although Mr. H. was satisfied in his own mind that we had stolen his pigs, yet he could not prove it; and I escaped again. So I was stimulated with my success, and being still more encouraged and upheld by my mother, and not exceeding fourteen years of age, I believed that I could make an independent fortune by thieving, and became insensible of the danger which awaited me. A short time after the incident just related had transpired, I made a second rake upon Mr. H.’s pigs. But in my second adventure, I was not so fortunate as I was in the first, for Mr. H. rather got me that time. The proof was sufficiently strong, and I was prosecuted, for the first time, for pig stealing. Well knowing my guilt as I did, and the evidence against me, I thought my case extremely doubtful. I was arrested by the sheriff of Jackson county, and had to give bond to appear at the Circuit Court of Jackson county, to answer an indictment preferred against me by the State of Mississippi, for the crime of larceny. The bond required me to attend the Court from term to term, and from day to day, until discharged by due course of law. My poor old father employed the best counsel to defend me, that could be obtained in all the country. This cost the poor old man a large sum of money. My counsel, after learning the facts of the case, advised me that my only chance of acquittal, was to put off the trial as long as possible. This he did from term to term, in hopes that something might occur to get me acquitted. I well knew if my case should be brought to a hearing, I would be convicted, and I dreaded the consequences; for I knew that there would then be no chance on earth to prevent my being sent to the penitentiary.
Fully sensible of my situation, young as I was at that time, it became necessary for me to devise some plan to get out of the scrape, and I reflected for weeks how to manage this matter. One day, in a conversation with my mother and some other confidential friends, she and they advised me to consult Gale H. Wages; and my mother said she would send for Wages and see him herself, as he was a particular friend of hers. This she accordingly did, and he came to our house. There were several of the clan at our house then, though I did not know them at that time as such; but my mother did, as I afterward found out when I joined them. Among the many plans proposed by the clan, none seemed to suit my mother or Wages. Some were for waylaying and killing the witnesses; some for one thing, and some for another. Finally Wages made his proposition, which was seconded by my mother. This was the proposition I had been waiting to hear, for my mother told me that whatever plan Wages would pursue, he would be certain to get me clear. His plan was, that we should, in some way or other, endeavor to have the Court house and all the records destroyed, and so destroy the indictment against me. By that means there would be nothing against me, and I should be acquitted, as no charge would rest against me.
With this plan I was highly pleased, and much elated with the idea that I had a friend fully able and competent to bear me out, and who would stand up to me at any and all hazards, and bring me out clear. Wages pledged himself to me in private to do this, and he was as good as his word. We set a time for the accomplishment of our design, and we accordingly met. The precise date I cannot recollect, but it was a dry time, and a dark night, with a strong breeze from the North. After procuring sufficient dry combustibles, we entered the Court-house, went up stairs, and placed our combustibles in the roof, on the windward side of the house. Wages went down stairs to patrol around. After reconnoitering around sufficiently, he gave me the signal, by a rap or knock on the wall; I immediately sprung open the door of my dark-lantern, applied the match, and made my escape down stairs, and Wages and myself left the place in double quick time. We halted on an eminence some five or six hundred yards to the southeast of the Court house, to watch the conflagration. Such a sight I never had before beheld. The flames seemed to ascend as high, if not higher than the tops of the tallest pine trees; they made everything perfectly light for over two hundred yards around. After the Court-house, records and all were completely consumed, and the flames had abated and died away, we took our departure for home, rejoicing at our success in the accomplishment of our design. There was a great deal of talk and conjecture about the burning of the Court-house, and we were accused—at least, I was strongly censured, but there never was any discovery made, nor any proof sufficient to get hold of either Wages or myself; so I again got clear of a crime of which I was guilty and for which I ought to have been punished.
The assistance, advice and protection I had received from Wages, gave me the utmost confidence in him, and he had unbounded influence over me; I looked on him as my warmest and most confidential friend, and I eventually pinned my whole faith on him and relied upon him for advice and directions in everything. Although a villain, as I must now acknowledge Wages was, yet he had some redeeming traits in his character. At his own home he was friendly, kind and hospitable; in company, he was affable and polite; and no person at first acquaintance, would have believed for one moment, that he was the out lawed brigand that he finally proved himself to be; and I firmly believe he would have spilt the last drop of blood in his veins to protect me; yet I must say that he was the principal author of my misfortunes, and has brought me where I am.
After the burning of the Court House, the intercourse between Wages and myself became more frequent. We became strongly allied to each other, and confidence was fully established between us. Wages one day made a proposition to me; to join him, and go with him, alleging that we could make money without work, and live in ease and genteel style; that there were a great many persons concerned with him, in different parts of the country, some of them men of wealth and in good standing in the community in which they lived; that they had an organized Band that would stand up to each other at all hazard; that they had a Wigwam in the city of Mobile, where they held occasional meetings; and that they had many confederates there whom the public little suspected. To this proposition I readily acceded; it corresponded with my disposition and idea of things, and then, being the age I was, and stimulated by my past success, I feared nothing.
I went to Mobile with Wages, and there he introduced me to some of his comrades, who were members of his Clan. They accordingly held a meeting at their Wig-wam, and I was there introduced by Wages, (who was their president,) as a candidate for membership, I should have been rejected, had Wages not interceded for me. I was finally passed and admitted to membership. Wages then administered to me the oath, which every member had to take. I was then instructed and given the signs and pass-words of the Clan; and above all was cautioned to keep a watchful eye, and not to let any person entrap me; nor let any person, under pretence of belonging to the Clan, or wishing to join, obtain in any way information from me in relation to the existence of the Clan, or their plan or mode of operation. The oath was administered on the Holy Bible. (Oh! what a profanation of that good book!) The form of the oath was: “You solemnly swear upon the Holy Evangelist of Almighty God, that you will never divulge, and always conceal and never reveal any of the signs or pass-words of our order; that you will not invent any sign, token or device by which the secret mysteries of our order may be made known; that you will not in any way betray or cause to be betrayed any member of this order—the whole under pain of having your head severed from your body—so help you God.”
Wages was President and Chief of the Clan. All important business of the Clan was entrusted to his care. He called meetings, gave all notices to the Clan for their gatherings, and when assembled he presided in the chair. In all matters, he had the preferred right to introduce resolutions for the benefit of the Clan.
There were present at this meeting, Charles McGrath, Vice-President; McClain, Secretary; John Eelva, Henry Sanford, Richard Cabel and Sampson Teapark, Vigilant Committee; William Brown, of Mobile, Tyler.
After I was thus initiated, and invested with all the signs, words and tokens, and fully instructed in the mysteries of the Clan, I was taught their mode of secret correspondence, by means of an alphabet or key, invented by the notorious Murrell, of Tennessee. I was furnished with the alphabet and key, and in that same mystic writing I was furnished with a list of all the names that belonged to our Clan, and a list of several other Clans, that ours was in correspondence with, their several places of residence, and the locations of their Wig-wams; so that when we stole a horse, a mule, or a negro, we knew precisely where to carry them, to have them concealed and sold.
After I had been thus fully initiated and had become identified with the Clan, Wages and McGrath, knowing my ability, and that I was a keen shrewd and cunning lad, took me under their immediate special charge. We had a rendezvous at old Wages’ about twelve miles from Mobile, and another at Dog River, about the same distance in a different direction. We ranged that season from one place to the other, and sometimes in town, stealing any and everything we could. Sometimes killing beef, hogs and sheep, hauling them to town and selling them; sometimes stealing a fine horse or mule and conveying it to some of our comrades to conceal; and occasionally a negro would disappear. All this while, we pretended to be engaged in making shingles, burning charcoal, and getting laths and pickets, each for himself. We always managed to furnish the family with all the meat they could use.
We worked on in this way until late in the summer or early in the fall of 1839, when most of the inhabitants had left the city; and we having six of our Clan then employed as City Guards, we rallied our forces and Wages ordered a meeting. It was there resolved that we should prepare ourselves with boats and teams—the boats to be stationed at a particular wharf in Mobile, on a certain night, and the teams at a landing named, on Dog River the next night. It was also ordered that we should assemble at our Wig-wam on the first night at seven o’clock. The meeting then adjourned.
The promised evening came, and every member was punctual in his attendance. It was a full meeting of the Clan. We all rigged ourselves out with false moustaches, some with false whiskers, some with a green patch over one eye, and many of them dressed like sailors, and thus fitted out and disguised, we were ready for action, with all kinds of false keys, skeleton keys, lock picks, crow bars, &c. At nine o’clock the City Guards turned out, and by a previous arrangement, those of our comrades who mounted guard, were on the first watch. They immediately sent two of their number to inform us where to make the first break. They had reconnoitered previously and knew what places had the richest and most valuable goods, and they had also procured false keys for several stores. Thus armed, each man with his revolver, bowie knife and dark lantern, about ten o’clock we started out. Our first break was a fancy dry-goods store which we opened with one of our keys. We took over $5,000 worth of goods from that store, fine silks, muslins, &c. We next entered a rich jewelry store, and made a clean sweep there. There were no fine watches; we got some silver watches and two or three gold watches, left, we supposed, to be repaired. Our raise there was about four to five thousand dollars. Our next break was on a large clothing store. There we took $3000 worth of the finest and best clothing. While we were at this, some of the clan were packing off and storing in their boats. We had procured two butcher carts, which would stand a short distance off and our men packed and loaded the carts, which they hauled to our boats. About half-past eleven o’clock, knowing that there would be a new guard out at twelve o’clock, we dispersed and set fire to each of the stores we had robbed. Soon there was the cry of fire; the wind commenced blowing, and the fire spread rapidly. Our Clan now commenced operations anew; we seized and carried out goods from any and every store we came to, still retaining the carts. We kept them constantly employed; and before daylight we had loaded two large, swift boats, and had a large quantity of merchandise in a “wood flat.” A little before daylight, we left with our boats for Dog River. We arrived there about eight o’clock, ten miles from the city, and went up the river to our landing place, where we secreted our goods until that night, when we had our teams at work, hauling off and concealing goods, which we finally accomplished the second night. Wages then ordered a meeting of the clan, and punctual attendance was required. The object of this meeting was for a report from each member of the amount of goods he had obtained, so that an equal distribution might be made. From the report then made, we had procured over twenty-five thousand dollars worth of goods of almost every description. We had an abundant supply of groceries and liquors. Our friends in the city had a bountiful supply of almost everything. We made a division of our plunder, and Wages, McGrath and myself got for our share about six thousand dollars worth. We were permitted to select the finest and most costly goods, such as the jewelry, fine silks, muslins etc., which we could carry in our trunks.
Having properly stowed away our effects, we took a trip from Mobile to Florida by way of Pensacola, carrying with us some of the jewelry, watches and dry goods. We traveled from Pensacola through Florida, with our pack of goods, as pedlars, each taking a different route, and all to meet at Apalachicola on a certain day. Wages went the middle route, McGrath the southern route, and I went the northern route. I traveled some distance, occasionally selling some of my plunder. I eventually arrived at a very rich neighborhood, near the Chatochooca river, not far from the Alabama line. There I soon disposed of most of my goods.
I fell in with a house where a very rich old widow lady lived. She bought a good deal of my jewelry and other goods for her two young daughters. I pretended to be sick, for an excuse to stay there. This lady had a very nice mulatto girl about seventeen years old. During the time I was there pretending to be sick, I made an arrangement with this girl to run away with me; I promised to take her for a wife, and carry her to a free State. She was to meet me on a certain night at the landing on the river, about one mile from that place. I left the house pretending to go to Columbus, Ga., and traveled up the river some thirty miles, where I stole a canoe. I procured some meat and bread and started down the river. On the night appointed I was at the landing, and about ten o’clock the mulatto girl came. She had provided bed clothing and provisions in plenty. I then started down the river with my girl. We went about thirty miles that night, and lay by in the river swamp all next day. The next night we made about fifty miles down the river. The third night we reached Apalachicola, two days previous to the time appointed to meet Wages and McGrath. I landed a short distance above town, and left my girl in a swamp just after daylight, and then went to the city. In looking around I fell in with John Harden, he being one of our clan. He soon gave me an introduction to a place where I could conceal my girl, and stay myself. The next day McGrath arrived; I met him in the street, and gave him a sign to follow me to our rendezvous. I showed him my girl and told him the way I had got her; he then told me that he had stolen a likely negro fellow, and had him concealed in a swamp about four miles from town. After dinner, and a little before night, McGrath and I went out to the swamp, brought in his fellow, and concealed him at the same place where my girl was.
The next day about eight o’clock Wages came up; we were all on the lookout for him. We gave him a hint to come to our place. We showed Wages what a raise we had made; he then told us that he had stolen two negroes and two fine horses, and that they were concealed in the swamp about five miles from town. In fear of pursuit he said we must leave instanter. We made an arrangement with Harden and our landlord to take the horses. They gave Wages twenty-five dollars a piece for the horses, and our board bill. That night Wages and Harden went out to the swamp; Harden took the horses and left, and Wages brought in his negroes and placed them with ours. That night while Wages was gone after his negroes McGrath and I went to a coffee house, and while there we met some Spaniards that had a little schooner there, and which was then loaded for New Orleans. We made the arrangement with them to carry us and our negroes to New Orleans, returned to our place, and had everything prepared. About ten o’clock Wages came in with his negroes, and we all went on board the vessel, which weighed anchor and sailed down the bar. Next morning the captain cleared his vessel, and by ten o’clock we were over the bar and under way, with a good breeze. On the second night, a little before day, we landed at the Pontchartrain railroad, and left in the first cars for the city. We went into one of our places in the city, got breakfast for ourselves and negroes, and at nine o’clock we left in a steamboat for Bayou Sara. We landed there, crossed the river and went to one of our clan—a rich planter—where we sold our negroes. I got one thousand dollars for my mulatto girl; McGrath sold his fellow for eleven hundred dollars, and Wages sold each of his boys for nine hundred dollars. We took our money and left for Mobile. My girl made considerable fuss when I was about to leave, but I told her I would return in a month, and rather pacified her. I must here acknowledge that my conscience did that time feel mortified, after the girl had come with me, and I had lived with her as a wife, and she had such implicit confidence in me. My conscience still feels mortified when I reflect how much better it would have been for me to have kept her and lived with her than to come to what I have.
On our way to Mobile we stopped in New Orleans three or four days. During our stay there was one fire. We made a small raise on that of about one hundred dollars each. McGrath came very near being caught by attempting to make a second haul. We left next day for Mobile; landed at Pascagoula, and walked home by land, with our money and the small amount of goods we had stolen in New Orleans.
We then deposited our money, and gathered all the balance of our fine goods that we had stolen in Mobile at the great fire, and what we had stolen in New Orleans, and prepared ourselves for a second tour. We had realized about four thousand five hundred dollars, which we hid in the ground, and we took each of us about one hundred and fifty dollars for our expenses, and an equal share of the goods.
On the 25th day of March, 1843, Wages, McGrath and myself left Mobile bound to Texas; we went to New Orleans, where we landed the next day. We remained there about three days and sold a great quantity of our goods, such as were too heavy to carry. While we were in the city Wages won about seven hundred dollars from a Tennessee corn dealer by the name of Murphy. McGrath and myself had lost about one hundred and fifty dollars each. We left New Orleans, went up the Mississippi, and landed at the house of an old friend that belonged to our clan. His name was Welter. We spent one day and night with him; we had seen him in the city a few days before, and were invited to call, but when we approached his residence we all pretended to be entire strangers. This was a strict injunction upon our clan—when traveling never to meet any of our comrades as acquaintances, but always treat them as entire strangers, that we had never seen in our life.
Wages pretended to have some business with the old gentleman, and introduced himself, McGrath and myself under fictitious names. The old gentleman had two very nice genteel daughters. They were sociable and refined, well educated, and highly accomplished every way; he was wealthy, and had a good reputation in his neighborhood, and no one would for one moment have suspected him of belonging to our clan. But I afterward learned from Wages that this old gentleman had belonged to the Murrell Clan for many years; and that was what carried Wages there, to get some information relative to some negroes that had been stolen and carried to Louisiana near the Texas line. Wages also informed me that this same man made all his property by stealing and kidnapping negroes from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Having obtained the information we wanted, we made preparation to leave. We offered to pay our fare, but this was promptly refused. We were well entertained; the old gentleman furnished us each with a flask of good brandy, and, after thanking him and his family for their kind, hospitable treatment, we bid adieu, and took our departure for Texas.
We got on a steamboat and went up the Mississippi to the mouth of Red river, and up that river to a landing called the New Springs. There we paid our passage and went on shore, each with his pack and his double-barrel gun. We stopped at a house about one mile from the river, where we called for our dinner, which we got, and we all remained there until next day, during which time we sold a considerable amount of our goods at that house and in the neighborhood, which made our packs much lighter. We left next day, stopping at all houses, and selling our goods, which we did at a rapid rate, as we had stolen them and were not sufficient judges of their value to know what price to ask, and in consequence we often sold them at one-half their value, and so soon got rid of them.
Having disposed of the principal part of our goods, about the fourth day after we left the New Spring landing, we were approaching the prairie county on the Texas border. We provided ourselves with bread and salt; we had ammunition. Shortly before night, we came to a small piece of woodland, by a ravine. There was a large drove of cattle of all sizes there; McGrath shot a very fat two-year old heifer; we skinned the hind quarters and tenderloin; we built up a fire, salted some of our meat and roasted it by the fire and feasted sumptuously. The wolves came near our camp and made a dreadful noise, but at daybreak we shot and killed three and the balance ran off. They had devoured all the heifer’s meat, but we had provided sufficient for our journey that day. We set out and traveled in a direction to find a settlement, then made about twenty-five miles south of Shreveport. That was the place where Welter had told Wages that the negroes were, that we were after. We traveled about thirty miles that day, and suffered very much for water. We reached a settlement a little before night, on some of the waters of the Sabine River. It was the residence of some stock keepers; there were some three or four families, and some fifteen or twenty Mexican drovers, and horse thieves; they had just been to Natchitoches, and had a full supply of rum; a few of them could speak English. We quartered with them, and that night we opened the little remnant of our goods and jewelry, and had a general raffle. By the next day we had realized from our raffle, sufficient to purchase each of us a good Spanish saddle and bridle, and a good Texas horse. We learned from one of these Mexicans the residence of the man who owned the negroes that we were after, and we also learned that he and his family were strict members of the Methodist Church. Now it was that one of us had to turn preacher, so as to reconnoiter around the place. Wages and I put that on McGrath. We all mounted our horses and started, having procured plenty of lassoes, &c., McGrath being an Irishman and his tongue tipped with plenty of blarney.
We traveled for two days very moderately, and, our chief employment was drilling McGrath, how to pray and sing, and give that long Methodist groan, and “Amen.” He having made considerable progress, we went to Natchitoches. McGrath entered that town by one road, and Wages and myself by another. McGrath went among a few of his brethren that evening.
To our astonishment it was posted at every corner, that the “Rev. Mr. McGrath, from Charleston, South Carolina, would preach at the Methodist Church that evening, at half-past seven.” We attended church. McGrath took his stand in the pulpit. He made a very genteel apology to his audience, saying he was much fatigued from his travel; that he had caught cold and was very hoarse and could not sing; but he read out the hymn. It was: “Hark from the tombs a doleful sound.” One old brother pitched the tune to Old Hundred, and they all chimed in, Wages and myself among the rest; Wages sang bass and I tenor, and we all made that old church sound like distant thunder. After singing, McGrath made a very good but short prayer; he then took his text in the 16th chapter of St. Mark, at the verse where Mary the mother, and Mary Magdalene found the stone rolled from the door of the sepulchre. “And he said unto them, Be not affrighted; ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified; he has risen; he is not here; behold the place where they laid him.” He read several verses in that chapter, and then made some very good explanations relative to the parables, and prophesies on the coming of the Messiah, and the mysterious way in which he disappeared, and wound up his discourse by telling the audience that he had been a great sinner in his young days, that it had been but a few years since the Lord had called him to preach, and he thanked his God that he was now able and willing to lay down his life upon the altar of God; he then raved, and exhorted all to repent and turn to God; and after raving about half an hour called all his hearers that wished to be prayed for to come forward. The whole congregation kneeled down; he prayed for them all, and finally finished, sang another hymn and dismissed his congregation, and we all retired, Wages and myself to a gaming table, and McGrath with some of his brethren. Next day the members of the church there waited on McGrath to know what was his pecuniary situation. He told them that he was very poor, was on his way to see a rich relation of his, about two hundred miles from there; that he carried his gun to keep off wild beasts, etc. They made up money to buy him a fine suit of black, a new saddle and saddle-bags and fifty dollars in cash. We remained there two days, when McGrath left. Wages and I left by another road. We all met a short distance from town and made the proper arrangement for our operations. McGrath was to go on to the house of this man that had the negroes, and there make what discoveries were necessary. He was to join Wages and myself at San Antonio on the first day of September following. Wages and I left in the direction for the Red Land on the Irish bayou.