"Oh, Henry!"
"Now, hold on, Dave, let me reason it out for you. The whites hold hundreds of black slaves, don't they?"
"Yes."
"Well, to an Indian it is no worse for a red man to hold a white person as a captive than it is for a white man to own a slave. It's a poor rule that won't work both ways."
"The blacks are naturally slaves—ain't good fer nuthin' else," put in
Barringford, who had some old-fashioned ideas on the subject.
"I don't believe that, Sam," came from Dave. "Some black people are wiser than you think. If they had the chance to rise, they'd do it."
"I heard tell that some men believe in freeing the blacks," came from
Henry.
"Some on 'em don't want to be free," said the old frontiersman. "Jest look at the slaves belongin' to old Lord Fairfax, and to the Dinwiddies, and to the Washingtons. Why, they all think it is an honor to belong to them families. They wouldn't go if ye druv 'em away."
"Yes, I know, for I have talked to some of 'em myself," said Dave. "The Washington blacks are particularly faithful. If they were set free I don't suppose they'd know what to do with themselves."
"They'd starve," said Barringford.