The proceedings¹ of the day—planned originally as a "demonstration," dignified² subsequently as a "revolution," under any name the culmination³ of the conspiracy⁴ formed by Carteret and his colleagues—had by seven o'clock in the afternoon developed into a murderous riot. Crowds of white men and half-grown boys, drunk with whiskey or with license⁵, raged through the streets, beating, chasing, or killing⁶ any negro so unfortunate as to fall into their hands. Why any particular negro was assailed⁷, no one stopped to inquire; it was merely a white mob thirsting for black blood, with no more conscience or discrimination than would be exercised by a wolf in a sheepfold. It was race against race, the whites against the negroes; and it was a one-sided affair, for until Josh Green got together his body of armed men, no effective resistance had been made by any colored person, and the individuals who had been killed had so far left no marks upon the enemy by which they might be remembered.  
"Kill the niggers!" rang out now and then through the dusk, and far down the street and along the intersecting thoroughfares distant voices took up the ominous⁸ refrain,—"Kill the niggers! Kill the damned niggers!" Now, not a dark face had been seen on the street for half an hour, until the group of men headed by Josh made their appearance in the negro quarter. Armed with guns and axes, they presented quite a formidable appearance as they made their way toward the new hospital, near which stood a schoolhouse and a large church, both used by the colored people. They did not reach their destination without having met a number of white men, singly or in twos or threes; and the rumor⁹ spread with incredible swiftness that the negroes in turn were up in arms, determined¹⁰ to massacre¹¹ all the whites and burn the town. Some of the whites became alarmed, and recognizing the power of the negroes, if armed and conscious of their strength, were impressed by the immediate¹² necessity of overpowering and overawing them. Others, with appetites already whetted¹³ by slaughter¹⁴, saw a chance, welcome rather than not, of shedding more black blood. Spontaneously the white mob flocked toward the hospital, where rumor had it that a large body of desperate negroes, breathing threats of blood and fire, had taken a determined stand.
 
It had been Josh's plan merely to remain quietly and peaceably in the neighborhood of the little group of public institutions, molesting¹⁶ no one, unless first attacked, and merely letting the white people see that they meant to protect their own; but so rapidly did the rumor spread, and so promptly¹⁷ did the white people act, that by the time Josh and his supporters had reached the top of the rising ground where the hospital stood, a crowd of white men much more numerous than their own party were following them at a short distance.
 
Josh, with the eye of a general, perceived that some of his party were becoming a little nervous, and decided¹⁸ that they would feel safer behind shelter.
 
"I reckon we better go inside de hospittle, boys," he exclaimed. "Den¹⁹ we'll be behind brick walls, an' dem other fellows 'll be outside, an' ef dere's any fightin', we'll have de bes' show. We ain' gwine ter do no shootin' till we're pestered²¹, an' dey'll be less likely ter pester²⁰ us ef dey can't git at us widout runnin' some resk. Come along in! Be men! De gov'ner er de President is gwine ter sen' soldiers ter stop dese gwines-on, an' meantime we kin²² keep dem white devils f'm bu'nin' down our hospittles an' chu'ch-houses. Wen dey comes an' fin's out dat we jes' means ter pertect ou' prope'ty, dey'll go 'long 'bout²³ deir own business. Er, ef dey wants a scrap²⁵, dey kin have it! Come erlong, boys!"
 
Jerry Letlow, who had kept out of sight during the day, had started out, after night had set in, to find Major Carteret. Jerry was very much afraid. The events of the day had filled him with terror. Whatever the limitations of Jerry's mind or character may have been, Jerry had a keen appreciation²⁶ of the danger to the negroes when they came in conflict with the whites, and he had no desire to imperil his own skin. He valued his life for his own sake, and not for any altruistic²⁷ theory that it might be of service to others. In other words, Jerry was something of a coward. He had kept in hiding all day, but finding, toward evening, that the riot did not abate²⁸, and fearing, from the rumors²⁹ which came to his ears, that all the negroes would be exterminated³⁰, he had set out, somewhat desperately³¹, to try to find his white patron and protector. He had been cautious to avoid meeting any white men, and, anticipating no danger from those of his own race, went toward the party which he saw approaching, whose path would cross his own. When they were only a few yards apart, Josh took a step forward and caught Jerry by the arm.
 
"Come along, Jerry, we need you! Here's another man, boys. Come on now, and fight fer yo' race!"
 
In vain Jerry protested. "I don' wan²⁴' ter fight," he howled. "De w'ite folks ain' gwine ter pester me; dey're my frien's. Tu'n me loose,—tu'n me loose, er we all gwine ter git killed!"
 
The party paid no attention to Jerry's protestations. Indeed, with the crowd of whites following behind, they were simply considering the question of a position from which they could most effectively defend themselves and the building which they imagined to be threatened. If Josh had released his grip of Jerry, that worthy³² could easily have escaped from the crowd; but Josh maintained his hold almost mechanically, and, in the confusion, Jerry found himself swept with the rest into the hospital, the doors of which were promptly barricaded³³ with the heavier pieces of furniture, and the windows manned by several men each, Josh, with the instinct of a born commander, posting his forces so that they could cover with their guns all the approaches to the building. Jerry still continuing to make himself troublesome, Josh, in a moment of impatience³⁴, gave him a terrific box on the ear, which stretched him out upon the floor unconscious.
 
"Shet up," he said; "ef you can't stan' up like a man, keep still, and don't interfere³⁵ wid men w'at will fight!" The hospital, when Josh and his men took possession, had been found deserted³⁶. Fortunately there were no patients for that day, except one or two convalescents, and these, with the attendants, had joined the exodus³⁷ of the colored people from the town.
 
A white man advanced from the crowd without toward the main entrance to the hospital. Big Josh, looking out from a window, grasped his gun more firmly, as his eyes fell upon the man who had murdered his father and darkened his mother's life. Mechanically he raised his rifle, but lowered it as the white man lifted up his hand as a sign that he wished to speak.
 
"You niggers," called Captain McBane loudly,—it was that worthy,—"you niggers are courtin' death, an' you won't have to court her but a minute er two mo' befo' she'll have you. If you surrender and give up your arms, you'll be dealt with leniently,—you may get off with the chain-gang or the penitentiary³⁸. If you resist, you'll be shot like dogs."
 
"Dat's no news, Mr. White Man," replied Josh, appearing boldly at the window. "We're use' ter bein' treated like dogs by men like you. If you w'ite people will go 'long an' ten' ter yo' own business an' let us alone, we'll ten' ter ou'n. You've got guns, an' we've got jest as much right ter carry 'em as you have. Lay down yo'n, an' we'll lay down ou'n,—we didn' take 'em up fust; but we ain' gwine ter let you bu'n down ou' chu'ches an' school'ouses, er dis hospittle, an' we ain' comin' out er dis house, where we ain' disturbin' nobody, fer you ter shoot us down er sen' us ter jail. You hear me!"
 
"All right," responded McBane. "You've had fair warning. Your blood be on your"—His speech was interrupted by a shot from the crowd, which splintered the window-casing close to Josh's head. This was followed by half a dozen other shots, which were replied to, almost simultaneously³⁹, by a volley from within, by which one of the attacking party was killed and another wounded.
 
This roused the mob to frenzy⁴⁰.
 
"Vengeance⁴¹! vengeance!" they yelled. "Kill the niggers!"
 
A negro had killed a white man,—the unpardonable sin, admitting neither excuse, justification⁴², nor extenuation⁴³. From time immemorial it had been bred in the Southern white consciousness, and in the negro consciousness also, for that matter, that the person of a white man was sacred from the touch of a negro, no matter what the provocation⁴⁴. A dozen colored men lay dead in the streets of Wellington, inoffensive people, slain⁴⁵ in cold blood because they had been bold enough to question the authority of those who had assailed them, or frightened enough to flee when they had been ordered to stand still; but their lives counted nothing against that of a riotous⁴⁶ white man, who had courted death by attacking a body of armed men.
 
The crowd, too, surrounding the hospital, had changed somewhat in character. The men who had acted as leaders in the early afternoon, having accomplished⁴⁷ their purpose of overturning the local administration and establishing a provisional government of their own, had withdrawn⁴⁸ from active participation⁴⁹ in the rioting, deeming the negroes already sufficiently⁵⁰ overawed to render unlikely any further trouble from that source. Several of the ringleaders had indeed begun to exert themselves to prevent further disorder⁵¹, or any loss of property, the possibility of which had become apparent; but those who set in motion the forces of evil cannot always control them afterwards. The baser element of the white population, recruited from the wharves⁵² and the saloons, was now predominant.
 
Captain McBane was the only one of the revolutionary committee who had remained with the mob, not with any purpose to restore or preserve order, but because he found the company and the occasion entirely⁵³ congenial. He had had no opportunity, at least no tenable excuse, to kill or maim⁵⁴ a negro since the termination of his contract with the state for convicts, and this occasion had awakened⁵⁵ a dormant⁵⁶ appetite for these diversions. We are all pupp............