or merchandise if he preferred.[1] All absconding negroes who were arrested, but whose owners were unknown, were directed by an order of court passed in 1691 to be forwarded to Jamestown, where they remained until claimed, the masters of fugitives sending thither their marks and descriptions.[2] There were cases in which the names of slaves, who had run away and become notorious outlaws by the outrages they committed, were referred to in special laws of the Assembly. Such a case was that of the negro who, about 1700, took refuge in the woods extending over the greater part of the counties of James City, York, and New Kent, and who was charged with ravaging the crops, perpetrating robberies, and carrying the greatest consternation into every community in which he appeared. A reward of one thousand pounds was offered for the body of this runaway, whether produced dead or alive. It was declared to be a felony to entertain him. It would seem from this that a number of white persons were either in collusion with him, or were afraid to arrest him when he came to their houses.[3]
A few years previous to this, a mulatto, who had fled from his master, Ralph Wormeley of Middlesex, concealed himself in the fastnesses of Rappahannock County. He drew around him a number of negro accomplices, and in a short time became an object of popular terror; he carried off numerous hogs, and went so far as to break into one of his master’s stores, from which he took away a quantity of goods, including several carbines. He was at last forced to surrender.[4]
