e free when dey come, an' 'pears like we believe _dat_."

I found this to be true of nearly all the people I talked with, and I
thought it strange they should have had so much faith in the
Northerners. Truly, for years past, they had had but little cause to
think them very friendly. Cupid told us that his master was so daring as
to come back, after he had fled from the island, at the risk of being
taken prisoner by our soldiers; and that he ordered the people to get
all the furniture together and take it to a plantation on the opposite
side of the creek, and to stay on that side themselves. "So," said
Cupid, "dey could jus' sweep us all up in a heap, an' put us in de boat.
An' he telled me to take Patience--dat's my wife--an' de chil'en down to
a certain pint, an' den I could come back, if I choose. Jus' as if I was
gwine to be sich a goat!" added he, with a look and gesture of ineffable
contempt. He and the rest of the people, instead of obeying their
master, left the place and hid themselves in the woods; and when he came
to look for them, not one of all his "faithful servants" was to be
found. A few, principally house-servants, had previously been carried
away.

In the evenings, the children frequently came in to sing and shout for
us. These "shouts" are very strange,--in truth, almost indescribable. It
is necessary to hear and see in order to have any clear idea of them.
The children form a ring, and move around in a kind of shuffling dance,
singing all the time. Four or five stand apart, and sing very
energetically, clapping their hands, stamping their feet, and rocking
their bodies to and fro. These are the musicians, to whose performance
the shouters keep perfect time. The grown people on this plantation did
not shout, but they do on some of the other plantations. It is very
comical to see little children, not more than three or four years old,
entering into the performance with all their might. But the shouting of
the grown people is rather solemn and impressive than otherwise. We
cannot determine whether it has a religious character or not. Some of
the people tell us that it has, others that it has not. But as the
shouts of the grown people are always in connection with their
religious meetings, it is probable that they are the barbarous
expression of religion, handed down to them from their African
ancestors, and destined to pass away under the influence of Christian
teachings. The people on this island have