Old Virginia and her neighbours

THE CAROLINA FRONTIER. 329the different ratios of their black to their whitepopulation. About 1760 the inhabitants of NorthCarolina were reckoned at 200,000, of whom onefourth were slaves ; those of South Carolina at150,000, of whom nearly or quite three fourthswere slaves. In the former case the typical pictureis that of a few black men raising tobaccoand corn on the small plantation where the masterlives ; in the latter case it is that of an immensegang toiling in a rice swamp under the lash of anoverseer.Care should always be taken not to exaggeratesuch contrasts, but after making all allowancesthe nature of the difference is here, I think,correctly indicated.In 1740, while war was going on between Spainand England, there was a brief but startling insurrectionof slaves in South Carolina. It wassuspected that Spanish emissaries were concernedin it. However that may have been, the occasionof such a war might well seem to the negroes tofurnish a good opportunity. Under thelead of a fellow named Cato the insur- rectionofgents gathered near Stono Inlet and beganan indiscriminate massacre of men, women,children. The alarm was quickly given and theaffair was soon brought to an end, though notuntil too many lives had been lost. The newsarrived in Wilton while the people were attendingchurch. It was the custom of the planters tocarry rifles and pistols, and very little time waslost before Captain Bee led forth a well-equippedbody of militia in quest of the rebels. They wereovertaken in a large field, all in hilarious disorder.