I could have concluded this study in any number of ways. And, in fact, I considered several promising lines of thought. Eventually, however, I chose to close my discussion with an incident involving a slave who has fascinated me nearly as long as Yombo, Dick, and Quamino—the bondman York, owned by John Blanchard of Woodbridge. York's behavior in this incident, which was both tragic and comical, underscores the anger, frustration, and alienation of enslaved males in eighteenth-century New Jersey. Indeed, it may serve as a metaphor for black men living in American society throughout the ages. The following account is based on the court testimonials that three white males—Benjamin Bishop, David Bishop, and William Edgar—provided on June 28, 1760, six days after the incident.

The Bishop brothers and Edgar testified under oath that on Sunday, June 22, around five o'clock in the afternoon, York was seen approaching the house of Moses Bishop (Benjamin and David Bishop's brother) with a drawn sword in one hand and a pistol in the other. Along the way, the bondman stumbled and fell into a brook, wetting his pistol. After getting out of the water, he not only began brandishing the sword about, but also struck it violently into the door of Moses Bishop's house, muttering the words “son of a Bitch” several times. Not quite satisfied with this terrorizing display, he struck the sword into several other objects in his path. At some point, York appeared at one of the open windows of Moses's house and struck something inside with the sword as well. This action terrified the women inside the house, and they cried for help to Benjamin Bishop, who was in a field near his brother's house at the time (the whereabouts of Moses are never revealed in the testimonials). Shortly thereafter, a group of white men, consisting of Benjamin Bishop, Richard Kelly, John Moore III, and John Carlisle, gathered at the scene and discussed how to handle the slave. Carlisle suggested that they knock him down with a stake, then take away his weapons. Thereupon, all four men got stakes and called after York, who had gone to the other side of the house.