Mr. Black, the hunter, though a mile or more off, knew that something had happened from the irregular barking of the other dogs, and also because he did not hear the yelling of the two leading dogs.  So he blew his horn, called the rest of his dogs, and gave up the chase until he had replaced his leading dogs by others, which he always had on hand at home.

Slave hunters generally had one or two among the pack of hound dogs, called trailers or leaders, which the others, fifty or more, were trained to follow.  So if anything happened to the leaders while on chase, the rest would become confused, and could not follow the runaway.  But if the leaders were hurt or killed after the runaways were captured, the rest would surround and guard them until the hunter reached them, as he was always a mile or more behind.

After the leading dogs had been replaced, Mr. Black resumed the chase, and caught some of the runaways, but the rest came home themselves.

The last runaway slave Mr. Black was hired to hunt belonged to Col.  M.R.  Singleton, and was named Dick, but instead of Dick he caught a slave belonging to a man in Sumterville county, who had been in the woods seven years.  This runaway slave had another name at home, but while in the woods had assumed the name of Champion, for his success in keeping slave hunters from capturing him up to that time.

Mr. Black, the hunter, chased Dick and Champion two days and nights; on the morning before the capture of the latter they swam across the Water-ree river.  After they got across they were separated; the dogs followed Champion, and ran him down that morning about eleven o’clock.  Champion had a gun and pistol; as the first dog ran up and opened his mouth to take hold of him he discharged the contents of the pistol in his mouth and killed him instantly.  The rest of the dogs did not take hold of him, but surrounded him and held him at bay until the hunter reached the spot.

When Mr. Black rode up within gunshot, Champion aimed at him with a loaded double barrel gun, but the caps of both barrels snapped from being wet by running through the bushes.  Mr. Black had a gun and pistol, too; he attempted to shoot the negro, but William Turner, Col.  Singleton’s overseer, who hired Mr. Black to hunt Dick, the runaway from the colonel’s plantation, would not let him do it.  Mr. Black then attempted to strike Champion with the breech of his gun, but Champion kicked him down, and as he drew his knife to stab Mr. Black, Mr. Turner, the overseer, struck him on the back of his head with the butt of a loaded whip.  This stunned him for a few moments, and by the time he had regained his senses they had handcuffed him.

After the negro had been handcuffed, Mr. Black wanted to abuse him, because he had killed the dog, and attempted to shoot him, but Mr. Turner, the overseer, would not let him.  Champion was taken to Col.  Singleton’s plantation, locked up in the dungeon under the overseer’s house, and his master was notified of his capture; he was a mulatto negro, and his master, who was his father, sent for him at Col.  Singleton’s plantation; but I never learned whether Mr. Black, the hunter, was ever paid for capturing him.  Dick, the runaway negro from Col.  Singleton’s place, came home himself sometime after Champion, his companion, had been captured.