resent town of Concord, on the road leading from
Charlotte to Salisbury. They immediately unloaded the wagons, stove in
the heads of the kegs, threw the powder into a pile, tore the blankets
into strips, made a train of powder a considerable distance from the
pile, and then Major James White fired a pistol into the train, which
produced a tremendous explosion. A stave from the pile struck White on
the forehead, and cut him severely. As soon as this bold exploit
became known to Colonel Moses Alexander, he put his whole ingenuity to
work to find out the perpetrators of so foul a deed against his
Majesty. The transaction remained a mystery for some time. Great
threats were made, and, in order to induce some one to turn traitor, a
pardon was offered to any one who would turn King's evidence against
the rest. Ashmore and Hadley, being half brothers, and composed of the
same rotten materials, set out unknown to each other, to avail
themselves of the offered pardon, and accidently met each other on the
threshold of Moses Alexander's house. When they made known their
business, Alexander remarked, "that, by virtue of the Governor's
proclamation, they were pardoned, but they were the first that ought
to be hanged." The rest of the "Black Boys" had to flee from their
country. They fled to the State of Georgia, where they remained for
some time.

The Governor, finding he could not get them into his grasp, held out
insinuations that if they would return and confess their fault, they
should be pardoned. In a short time, the boys returned from Georgia to
their homes. As soon as it became known to Moses Alexander, he raised
a guard, consisting of himself, his two brothers, John and Jake, and a
few others, and surrounded the house of the old man White, the father
of the boys. Caruthers, the son-in-law of White, happened to be at his
(White's) house at the same time. To make the capture doubly sure,
Alexander placed a guard at each door. One of the guard, wishing to
favor the escape of Caruthers, struck up a quarrel with Moses
Alexander at one door, while his brother, Daniel Alexander, whispered
to Mrs. White, if there were any of them within, they might pass out
and he would not notice it; in the meantime, out goes Caruthers, and
in a few jumps was in the river, which opportunely flowed near the
besieged mansion. The alarm was immediately given, but pursuit was
fruitless.

At another time, the royalists heard of some of the boys being