Life and bloody career of the executed criminal, James Copeland, the great Southern land piratePitts, J. R. S. (James Robert Soda)
History
Life and bloody career of the executed criminal, James Copeland, the great Southern land pirate
Pitts, J. R. S. (James Robert Soda)
Copeland, James, 1823-1857; Criminals -- Gulf States -- Biography
carried our horses and negroes over; took the flat back, and took a
small boat, and Wages and I crossed to our horses and negroes. By this
time we could discern the appearance of day. We mounted and traveled
on; we could perceive we were passing several large plantations; by
sunrise we had traveled four or five miles. We could see at a distance
several clusters of woodland in the prairies. We made for one of
them some distance from the road, which we found afforded sufficient
shelter for that day. We found some water, but not plenty, and very
bad; our horses would drink but little of it. We stripped and hampered
our horses to graze, took our breakfast and told the negroes to go to
sleep. I went to sleep, and Wages kept watch. About twelve o’clock I
was awakened by the report of a gun. I rose up and found that Wages
had shot a fat yearling beef. We skinned and saved the hind quarters
and loin, and salted it a little and barbecued it. While Wages lay
down and took a nap the negro woman and I attended to the meat. About
an hour before sunset Wages awoke, and we all eat heartily. We eat
the last of our bread and potatoes; our horses had finished grazing
and were resting, and about sunset we began to pack up for traveling,
with plenty of meat and no bread. About dark we left our sheltered
woods and started on the road again. We were then about one hundred
and twenty miles from the place where we had stolen the negroes. We
traveled on that night about thirty miles, and reached a large creek
between midnight and day. We passed one or two plantations, and very
little woodland. When Wages came to the creek he examined the ford and
found horse tracks; he rode in first, went over and came back, and
took the bridle of the horse that had the two little negroes and led
him safely across, and the negro woman and myself followed. We went on
some seven or eight miles, and came to woodland and plantations again.
Some of the plantations were very large. We continued traveling till
daylight; after day we passed several fine, large plantations. The sun
was about one hour high when we came to a ferry on a large river. We
called, and the ferryman was a negro; we inquired the distance from the
last river we had crossed; he said sixty-three miles. The negro was a
very intelligent fellow; we inquired particularly for San Antonio, and
told him there was where we were going. We inquired for several other
places, and left; at a short distance we found a place where we could
rest, not far from a plantation. There Wages and myself procured some
corn for our horses, the first they had eaten for several days. We also
procured some bread; after we had fed and rested our horses and slept
some ourselves, a little before night we started again. We traveled
that night about thirty-five miles, and stopped at a small creek and
camped till daylight. We then started, crossed the creek, went out a
short distance and turned our course more to the east. We took a trail
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