Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1864-12-29

Othef nlulug pluOesl uut tucy osscib
with much earnestness and glee, that
"massa can't come dat over We; We
knowd a heaphetter. what for de Yam
KEGS want TO hurt black mon Massa
hates dc Yankees, an he's no fren' ter
we; so we am de Yankee bis frens.N
Very simple logic that, but IL is suifl.
cient for the negroes.
WHAT THB NEGROES THINK.
Near Covington, one Judge Harris has
a large plantation; before we arrived II
was well stocked; can't answer for its
condition atterward. A jollier set of ne
groes | never saw than his were when
the blue coats came aong. Horrible
stories of their cruelty to the negroes
were also told by their masters TO fright
en- them, but the negroes never put zone
word of faith in them, asked Judge
Harris head-man: "Well, how do YOU
like the Yankees :" Like him bully,
bully, bully. Use wanted to see 'em
long time; heard heap bout 'em. Say,
Sally, desc here be gentlemen dats pass
ing" A compliment to our soldiers
which they no doubt would have appre-
ciated could they have heard Mr. Lewis
"Yass sar, Use hope de Lord win pros
per dem and Mr. Sherman"
"Why do you hope that the Lord will
help the Yankeel'
Because | thinks, and wese all links.
dat you'se down here in our interests"
We are continually meeting with COM
ical incidents illustrative Of the ignor-
ance of the people, and more especially
of the funny side of negro character.
One old lady, a white woman, stood
at her gate watching, with wondering
eyes, drove of cattle as they passed.
"Lor', massy," said she, "whar did all
them beef come from never seed so
many in all my life.'
Those cattle were driven all the wav
from Chicago, more than one thousand
miles"
Goodness, Lor', what a population
you Yanks is"
Gen. Sherman invites all able bodied
negroes (others could not make the
march) to join the column and he takes
especial pleasure when they join the pro-
cessi IN, on some occasions telling them
they are free; that Massa Lincoln has
given them their liberty, and that they
can &C where they please; that If they
earn their freedom they should have II
but that Massa Lincoln had given IL
to them anyhow. They all seem to un-
derstand that the proclamation of free
dom had made them free, and | have
met but few instances where they did
not.say they expected the Yankees were
coming down sometime or other, and
very generally they are possessed with
the idea that we are fighting for them
and that their freedom is the object of
the war. This notion they got from
hearing the talk of their masters,
stick in dar" was the angry exclam-
alton OF one of Il party of negroes to an
other, who was asking too many cues
lions Of the officer who had given them
permission to Join the column Stick
in dar it's all right; we'se gwine along
we'se free"
The majority accept the advent of the
Yankees as the fulfllment of the milIep-
NAL prophecies. The day Of jubilee"
the hope and prayer of lifetime. has
come. They cannot be made to under
stand that they must remain behind.
and they are satisfied only when Gen.
Sherman tells them-as he does every
day-that we shall come back for them
some time, and that they must be patient
until the proper hour OF deliverance
comes.
At house few miles from Milledge-
Vile we halted for an hour In an old
hut | found negro and his wife. both
of them over sixty years old. In the
talk which ensued nothing was said
which led me to suppose that either of
them was anxious to leave their mis-
tress, who, by the way, was a sullen.
cruel looking woman, when all at once
the Old negress Strengthened herself I'D.
and her face, which moment before
was almost stupid in its expression, as
sumed a fierce almost develish aspect.
Pointing her shining black finger ut the
old man crOuched in the corner of the
fire place she Missed out "What for
you sit dar you spose I wait sixty
years for notten ? Don't yer see de door
open Use follow my child | not STAY.
Yes, nodder day ] goes long wild desc
people; yes sar, walks till | drop in
my tracks" A more terrible sight I
never beheld. | can think of nothing
to compare with it, except Charlotte
Cushman's Meg Merriles. Rembrandt
only could have painted the scene. with
Its dramatic surroundings.
M unlttc.L CHARACTER