We are talking of a time when New Orleans and its adjacent neighborhood was not free from a taint of piracy on the high seas—to say nothing of the African slave-trade—with many other combinations of crime almost incredible.
Which of these might be the specialty of the Mississippi planter no one appeared definitely to know.
My experience of the two preceding days had furnished the clue. I had no longer a doubt that, along with the ostensible pursuit of cotton-planting, Mr. Bradley secretly combined the calling of a pirate—for by this name is the river robber familiarly known in the region of the Mississippi.
My opinion was adopted by my listeners as I continued to tell them what I had seen. The facts spoke for themselves. Besides, both had heard of circumstances corroborative of what could be no longer called suspicion. For some years past there had been reports of flat-boats missing upon the Mississippi. Several had been spoken of. Henry Woodley had himself heard of an especial case, which had occurred in the preceding year. It was that of a flat, freighted with cotton, from a plantation somewhere up the Arkansas river. Its owner had dispatched it in charge of a crew of negroes, his own slaves, but had never heard more either of cotton or crew.
Most people supposed these missing boats to have perished in squalls, or "hurricanes," as they are called—to have gone to the bottom with their crews along with them, an occurrence not uncommon upon the Western rivers. But there were others who did not attribute all these losses to the storm; people of a more suspicious way of thinking, in whose memories were still fresh the exploits of the pirate Murrell. This robber had somewhat innocently been assumed to be the last of his race. Though it might be on a smaller scale, it was evident he had a successor in the planter Bradley.
As we continued to discuss what had occurred, and examine it in all its bearings, the whole scheme became clear. I now learnt for the first time that Black and his associate Stinger were complete strangers to the Woodley family. They had presented themselves on the Tennessee plantation as professed flat-builders and boatmen; and in this double capacity had they been employed. I recalled the fragment of conversation I had overheard between Black and Bradley on the wood path of the plantation. It had puzzled me at the time. Its signification was now clear, and I could understand the interest which Bradley had shown in the cotton crop about to be embarked. No doubt it was by his directions Black and Stinger had shown themselves in that quarter, and undertaken the building of the boat. They were simply his confederates in a good scheme of piracy, of which we had evidence of only a single act—no doubt far from being the first.
And there must have been murder, too! Where were the four negroes? They could not be kept out of the way—with tongues silent in such a transaction. Even if "run off" to Texas and sold, they could still talk; their talking might not be worth much, but it would in time direct suspicion upon the pirates, and put an end to the grand game they were playing with such impunity.
It was a frightful reflection to think of the sad fate of these unfortunate creatures—for we could scarce have a doubt of their having been butchered in cold blood!
There was no time to dwell upon or talk of it. Time enough for that when we had taken steps to be assured of its reality, and, if real, to punish the perpetrators of such an atrocious crime.
And what was the primary step to be taken? That was the question that came before us.