The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1863-12-24

lllcy Ildll GOld % NV w DoJ phy S
the planet Mars or the book of Deuteronomy,
[ should not have asked why there were a
great many things that seemed to me to have
as little reason. | first came to understand
ANYTHING about 'the man without a country"
one day when we overhauled a dirty little
schooner which had slaves on board. An
officer was told to take charge of her, and at
ter a few minutes, lie sent back to his boat
to ask that some Que might be sent him who
could speak Portuguese. We were all looking
over the rail when the message came, and
we all wished we could interpret, when the
captain asked who spoke Portuguese. But
none of the oGice,s did and Just as the Cap
tain was sending forward to ask if any OF the
people could, Nolan stepped. out and said he
should be glad to inter pref, if the captain
wished, as he understood the language. The
captain thanked him, fitted out another boat
with him and i'll this boat it was my luck to
go.
When we got there, it was such a scene as
you seldom see, and never want to. Nastl-
ness beyond account, and chaos run loose in
the midst of the nastiness. There were not
a great many of the negroes but by the way
of making what there were understand that
they were free, Vaughan had their handouts
and ankle-cutfs knocked oft, and, for conVen-
fence sake, WAS putting them upon the ras-
Gals of the schooner's crew. The negroes were
most of them out of the hold, and swarming
all round the dirty deck, with a central throng
surrounding Vaughan, aud addressing him in
every dialect and '~'patois'' of a dialect, from
the Zulu clisk up to the Partisan of Beledel-
jereed. eli se
AS we came on deck, Vaughan looked down
from a hogshead, on which he had mounted in
desperation, and said
'.For Gods love, is there anybody who can
make These wretches understand something ?
The msn gave them rum, and that did not
quiet them. l knocked that big fellow down
twice, and that did not sooth him. And then
| talked Choctaw to all of them together and
FL be hanged if they understand that as well
as they understand the English"
Nolan said he could speak Portuguese, and
one or two fine looking Kroomen were drag
gen out, who, as it had been found already had
worked for the Portuguese Oh the coast at Fer
nando Pc.
''l'elI them they are free" said Vaughan
land tell them that these rascals are to be
hanged as soon as we can get rope enough"
Nolan ''put that into Spanish, that is, he
explained it in such Portuguese as the kroo-
men could understand, and they in turn to
| SUCH ii UllG IGSIOCS dr. Otl OLlNlOIoOdliII lCitI'
There was such a yell Of delight, clinching of
fists, leaping and dancing, kissing Of Nolan'S
feet and a general rush made to the hogshead
by way of Spontaneous worship Of Vaughan,
as the deus er m0cOiWN of the occasion. =,
''Tell Them" said Vaughan, we'll pleased,
that [ will take them all to Cape PalInas. ,
This did not answer 30 well. Cape PalInas
was practically as far from the homes of me
| of +bo,, aO Nau 0,laonc ~. Rio Jonorio N1rac
.that is, they would be e~ternally separated
From home there. And their interpreters, as
1--WE could understand, instantly said, '.An non
PaLmas," and began to propose infinite other
expedients in the most voluble language
Vaughan was rather disappointed at this re-
suit of his liberaIity, and asked Nolan
eagerly what they said. The drops stood up
on Door Nolan's white forehead, as he hushed
the men down, and said
'He says, "Not Palmas." He says, ''Take
us home, take us to our own country, take us
to our own house, take us to our own picka-
ninnies and our own women" He says he
fhas an old father and mother, who will die, if
they do not see him. And this one says he
left his people all sick, and padded down to
Fernando to beg the white doctor to come
and help them, aud that these devils caught
him in the bay just in sight of home, and that
he has never seen anybody from home since
then. And this one says" choked out Nolan,
'that he had not heard a word from his home
in six months, while he has been locked up III
all Internal barracoon."
Vaughan always said he grew gray himself
while Nolan struggled through his interpre-
~tation. |, who did not understand anything
of the passion involved in it, saw that the very
clements were melting with fervent heat, and
that something was to pay somewhere. Even
the negroes themselves stopped bowling as
they saw Nolan's agony, and Vaughan's al
most equal agony of sympathy. AS quick as
he could get words, he said
''Tell them yes, yes, yes; tell them they
shall 90 to the Mountains Of the Moon, ifthey
will. If sail the schooner through the Great
White Desert, they shall go home!"
And after some fashion Nolan said SO. And
then they all fell to kissing him again, and
wanted to rub his nose with theirs. But he
could not stand it long; and gettiug Waugh
an to say he might go back, he beckoned me
into our boat. AS we lay back in the stern
sheets, and the men gave way, he said to me,
''Youngster, let that show you what it is to
be without a family, without a home and
without a country. And if you are evertempt-
ed to say a word or do a thing that shall put
a bar between you and your family, your
home and your country, pray God in his mer-
cy to take you that instant home to His own
heaven. Stick by your family, boy forget
t you have a self, while you do everything fol
them. Think of your home, boy write and
send, and talk about it. Let it be nearer and
nearer to your thought, the farther you have
you are free, as thats.poor black slave is doing
,o,- Ar for your country how - ona fbp
words ratified in his throat, and for that
? flag" and he pointed to the ship,never dream
but of serving her as she bids you, though
5 the service carry you through a thousand
< bells. No matter what happens to you, new
er look at another flag, never let a night pass
but YOU pray God to bless that flag. Re
member, boy, that behind all these men you
0 have to do with, behind officers and govern
ment, and people, even, there is the country
. herself, your country, and that you belong tx
her as you belong to your mother
S Stand by her, boy, as you would stand by
YOUR own mother, if those devils there haC
got hold of her to-day !"
i | was frightened to death by his calm hare
l. passion but l bIundered out that | would
t by all that was holy, and that | had neve
u thought Of doing anything else. He hardly
V seemed to hear me; but he did, almost in g
whisper, say,-"Oh, if anybody had said 81
Y to me, when l was Of your age"
d l think it was this haif-conidence of his
t which l never abused, for | never told thi
S story till now, which afterwards made III
great friends. He was very kind to me. OF
ten he sat up, or even got up, at night, t
n walk the deck with me, when it was m,
IS watch. He explained to me a great deal o
n my mathematics. He lent me books an
helped me about my reading. He never al
d luded so directly to his story again; bu
from one and another officer | nave learned
n in thirty years, what am telling. When W
n parted from him in st. Thomas harbor, a
the end of our cruise, | was more sorry tina