egroes were going
out to the river to go to Kansas. I said, "It is several
miles to the river; how are they going?" Said he, "They are
toting their things out on their heads." Said I, "Go right
at once there and offer them the wagons on the plantation to
haul the things. What is the matter?" Said he, "I don't
know; I went out this morning and summoned the hands to the
field, but they say they are all going to Kansas." I got on
my horse and rode out and met a negro who had been my
engineer. I said to him, "What is the matter, where are you
all going?" He stopped right on the road and said, "Mr.
Calhoun, you never have deceived me, and I am going to tell
you what is the matter. There were two men came through here
last week, one night, and said 'You see this picture?' There
is a picture of a farm in Kansas for me that General Grant
has bought out there for me. That is so because my name is
on the back of it, and here is my ticket; that carries me to
Kansas." Said I, "Let me see it." He showed me a piece of
pasteboard that had printed on it "Good for one trip to
Kansas." Said I, "What did you pay him for this?" He said,
"We paid him $2 a piece." "How many of you are in this
thing?" "Over eighty of us are in this thing." Said I, "That
man then swindled you out of $160; he is an imposter; there
is no farm bought for you in Kansas." I saw that the time
for me to remonstrate with them was not then; they were on
their way to the Mississippi River, and I let them all go.
After they got out there I went and expostulated with them;
told them of the difference in climate, soil, and everything
else that they were accustomed to, and that if they went
there many of them would lose their families and children.
They would not listen to me. They went on to the river bank,
and those negroes who went out there owed me over $109,000.

Q. How many of them were there? Eighty I think you said?
--A. There were 80, I think. Once, I suppose, there were 150
negroes, perhaps more, on the bank of the river. They were
not at a regular landing. They went out to the intermediate
points where a boat would not be compelled to land. We
notified all the boats coming up the river not to land at
this point. I did not want these negroes to go off, being
satisfied t