Report of the Joint select committee appointed to inquire into the condition of affairs in the late insurrectionary states, so far as regards the execution of laws, and the safety of the lives and property of the citizens of the United States and Testimony taken.

ALABAMA- SUB-COMMITTEE. 1787
Anslter. Yes, sir; for the trial; but didn't have any, and I was put back. I didn't
see her till I was taken out next morning-not any more that night.
Iy M1r. BLAIRn:
Q(cstiot;. Wtere yon put back
Aiiacc. Ye, si, I was put bakclk ina jail next day: after being' taken out a smalll space.
lty the CHAIIIMAN:
Q:es tioi'1. H ow long did v( lie in jail')
AnswCr. From Friday niglit till Wednesdaly.
Question. WAVhat was done then?
Aisn'ot'. On Saturday was to be the trial, bunt was not; but we came out, and were
to go on trial aogain Wednesday, when we were taiken out and brought to the roomr
where thley were going to try us at. We were all carried in; but when they called
witnesses, the party thlat was prosecuting us didn't have any witnesses, according to
the way I could understand it. I guess we had a good many-fifty or sixty, I reckon,
at least,;'liite and black; and tlhe attorney that was to prosecute us, after examining
lis witnesses privately, came in and stated to the court that it was probably foolish-wess to h;l'ts thoa minds of tile people in the country on such a case as that, because
-he cohld nol)t get no evidence at al l ragainst us, to make a case out of it; and, if the
court ple:'!sed, lhe thiollht it wa s Leo st to turn us loose; and on that consideration wo
were tiuned loose. i- attorney asked ne what I thought of it. I told him on such:
subject like ihalt Ti I would;rathr do so, if they considered it best; I didn't have:liother w-ord to saxy; I let it g, and s);lo t - w l ha t was done that time; though I
was ait'reted right straightJ twenlty mi'inutes after aga;in. I am a kind of a necllanic;
I hav(e been: a mclti( ilti(' — regula' j>lrneIn:1, and a' mn at alinmost any work that is
a:do)e int tlis c unit:y.
i Mr. IBLAII'
q,!c,,,,',s0/., Y were arrested gain imi edi l tely:tc i'i
i;.t' r;~. Yes. sir; I ta a kind otf a gunsmith-jouruneymaun, too; and there was a pistol
se,(it l o the lOi,1,wi:g1 I iwas ar:e.,sted, to woi-r on, ald I was mnaking a buggy at tho
time:i t, lt- cuti:sif place fir a youngi white vgentleman tl and had no place to work' undli:,n li-;Lad ( work-bench Le out do;ors and had done my work and had my tools out
therle to p- aint it off, a' d the ae 1 al showrer of rain; and he told me to move into
the p;isslg of thl ]ouse, and! I carried tlhem in there; and the fellow stuck the pistol
ii ny ciatl —pocket like this, and there was a hole in the pocket and the pistol went
dIoxwii li ct, anld when I w-as arrested I had just put a coat of paint on the buggy,
and iuyi coat was halnging up, and the man came and arrested me, and I told hin:ll.i m to)los ad paint vwere sitting there and I would like to pick them up. He said,
"' Yon cai'lt go anywhere but right here. If you want anything you must send for it."
When the boy brought my coat and I put it on, the pistol was found down in the
pocket of the coat-tail; and I had to give a $50 bond and surety. A man arrested me
afterward and I had to give a $200 bond, and I proved it then that the man put it in
there. But, I have to attend court Monday, I suppose, on it yet.
B3y the CHAIRrMAN:
Question. What were you arrested for-carrying concealed weapois?
Aivswer. That was what I was arrested for; and that was the way it came there. I
didn't put it there myself: It would not shoot; it was tried and found out. That;
was how I came by it. If I hadn't been arrested I would have known the pistol by
the weight of it, but a man wouldn't notice forty pistols in his coat then; for I consider it pretty serious when a man comes and arrests me for killing somebody. I
never thought of such a thing. That took my attention in preference to the pistols.
Question. You have proved yourself clear of that charge?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. And they dismissed you of that charge and arrested you ten minutes afterward?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. For what?
Answer. For carrying concealed weapons. They didn't take that up till the other
was done with.
Question. Have you ever heard what has become of Stokes?
Answier. I have heard people say that they have seen him, and that he went away.
They never said where he went to. I never heard. My wife told me his wife told
her that he was home that night; that morning before day, after he was arrested.
Question. How many of these men did you see in the lane that had disguises on?
Answer. Well, sir, it appeared to me like there was about twenty-five or thirty men.
It looked to me like that number, but they were scattered a good ways. It looked
like twenty-five or thirty men.
Question. How near were you to Eutaw wvhen surrounded by tLese men in the lane?