Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 July 1902 — SAVED BY AN INDIAN. [ARTICLE]

SAVED BY AN INDIAN.

Sow ■ Bloody Revolt of Negro Slaves In New Jersey Was Averted. A bloody and desperate revolt was once threatened by the negro slaves of the Acquackanonck district of New Jersey, and were It not for a drunken Indian there would have been an awful slaughter of the whites. Shortly after the Revolution the slaves demanded their emancipation. Some of the New York farmers had freed their slaves, most of whom went Ramapo mountains, where they found unoccupied land. Stragglers appeared among the New Jersey slaves and had little trouble spreading dissension. The Dutch farmers were not yet ready to abolish slavery and refused the demands made upon them. The slaves became Insolent and hard to manage. They even went so far as to threaten dire vengeance, but little attention was paid to their mutterings. The negroes formed a secret society, and held meetings in the woods and in deserted houses. At last their plans were about complete for a .general revolt. A meeting was called in an old distillery which used to stand near Passaic. Negroes came from every direction, and by midnight nearly a hundred were gathered there. The leaders made excited speeches advocating the slaughter of all the men in the community. They were eager for a revolt and were to be informed just when to strike. The slaves of each family were to take care of their own masters. What was to become of them afterward was not considered, nor were there any plans of escaping the punishment which would surely be inflicted on them. They were for blood, regardless of consequences. An old Indian had spent the day at the distillery, and the man in charge of the vats had amused himself by getting the redskin drunk. He fell just outside the door, and lay there in a drunken stupor. He was awakened about midnight by the loud voices of the excited slaves, and after a time realized the purpose of tlie meeting. He knew that the farmers would reward him with whisky and tobacco if he carried them the news, and lost no time in doing so. He went to several farm houses before he could find any one who would l>eHeve the story, for no one thought that the slaves really intended to make trouble. Investigation showed that he was telling the truth, and the surrounded the distillery. The leaders were arrested and carried to Newark in chains. Many of the slaves were lashed by their owners until all thought of revolt was beaten out of them.