was out. Shortly after, two Negroes, one the owner of the
dog, were hunting with the same animal. The dog barked at Turner who
had just gone out to walk. Thinking himself discovered, Turner begged
these men to conceal his whereabouts, but they, on finding out who it
was, precipitately fled. Concluding from this that they would betray
him, Turner left his hiding place, but he was pursued almost
incessantly. At one time he was shot at by one Francis near a fodder
stack in a field, but happening to fall at the moment of the
discharge, the contents of the pistol passed through the crown of his
hat. The lines, however, were closing upon Turner. His escape from
Francis added new enthusiasm to the pursuit and Turner's resources as
fertile as ever contrived a new hiding place in a sort of den in the
lap of a fallen tree over which he placed fine brush. He protruded his
head as if to reconnoiter about noon, Sunday, October 30, when a
Benjamin Phipps, who had that morning for the first time turned out in
pursuit, came suddenly upon him. Phipps not knowing him, demanded:
"Who are you?" He was answered, "I am Nat Turner." Phipps then ordered
him to extend his arms and Turner obeyed, delivering up a sword which
was the only weapon he then had.[15]

This was ten weeks after that Sunday in August when they had feasted
in the woods and arranged their plan of attack. At the time of the
capture there were at least fifty men out in search of him, none of
whom could have been two miles from the hiding place. The _Richmond
Enquirer_ in giving the first public announcement, said: "Nat
displayed no sort of enterprise in his attempt to escape nor any
degree of courage in resisting his captor;" but this journal does not
give him credit for having eluded his pursuers for more than two
months or for knowing that discretion is the better part of valor.
Several companies of the State militia and a battalion of United
States marines had joined in the search and failed, yet Nat displayed
no enterprise.[16]

His arrest caused much relief. He was taken the next day to Jerusalem,
the county seat, and tried on the fifth of November before a board of
magistrates. The indictment against him was for making insurrection
and plotting to take away the lives of divers free white persons on
the twenty-second of August, 1831. On his arraignment Turner pleaded
"Not Guilty." The Commonwealth submitted its case, not on the
testimony of any eye witnesses but on the