time feeling was running very high, and these people were anxious to come in and quell this riot, but a few of us who were more prudent, a few of the leading planters of the county, got together, sent these different companies word not to come there, that we did not want them in the county; some of the companies were already on their way to Chicot County, thinking the people there were going to be massacred.  A great many of our people had to run away from their homes for several days; but we took the ground that we would let the thing take its natural course.  As soon as things quieted down, which they did so partially in three or four days, some of our gentlemen who had gone off with their families returned, and it resulted in our arresting a few of the ringleaders in the county.  The courts and the administration were all at that time in the hands of persons not identified with the interests of the county, and it was impossible for us to get justice meted out.  We saved a massacre of the negroes of the county, but we never could bring those men to any kind of punishment before the courts, and finally we came to a compromise with them, that if they would leave the county we would withdraw the suit against them, and that was the way the thing was ended.  Now, I do not believe you could get up a riot in Chicot County because I think there are many intelligent negroes there who would not permit it.  Those are the kind of race issues that I referred to.  Relieve us of that sort of thing, and leave our government to ourselves and our people, and give to the negro the same protection the white man has, but do not give him any more.  Do not let him feel that he has the United States Government standing behind him, and that he is the child of the United States Government to be taken care of, but that he must rely on his own resources and energy for his living, and time will solve the question, and the demand for his labor will protect him.

Q. Do you find that the feeling among the negroes which resulted in the exodus of a few years ago has been allayed and perhaps has disappeared?  —­A.  I will tell you something that is rather amusing about that.  The first that I heard of a negro exodus in my section of the country—­it was to Kansas—­was my manager coming into my room one morning and saying that the negroes were going out to the river to go to Kansas.  I said, “It is several miles to the river; how are they going?” Said he, “They are toting their things out on their heads.”  Said I, “Go right at once there and offer them the wagons on the plantation to haul the things.  What is the matter?” Said he, “I don’t know; I went out this morning and summoned the hands to the field, but they say they are all going to Kansas.”  I got on my horse and rode out and met a negro who had been my engineer.  I said to him, “What is the matter, where are you all going?” He stopped right on the road and said, “Mr. Calhoun, you never have deceived me,