Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1870-12-09
FREED CHILDREN IN VIRGINIA
A School Experience.

10 the December number OF OtE'
| Young Folks, Elizabeth Kilham
contributes the following amusing
sketch:
1 have heard children tell about
'feeling funny" but l never knew
exactly what they meant until the
first time that I stood up before a
school of little black children down
in Virginia. l 'fclt funny" then,
sure enough. They had never been
to school before; they scarcely knew
what school was; they all sat with
their great shining eyes fixed on me
the blacks so very black, the
whites SO very white, like buckle
berries in y bowl of milk, somebody
said, till grew so nervous that [
felt as if must either laugh or cry,
and could't quite make up my mind
which it should be.
Taking their names decided me.
1t was a long time before l could
keep from laughing whenever l
heard them. When the colorcd peo-
pie were slaves they had no family
names as we have; they were just
called Jim or Tom or Sally; some
times they added the name of their
master or mistress, but often they
had only the one. ,.a
One little boy gave his name as
''Dandy jim"
"What is your other name?" l
asked. ..... ...-
''Ain't got no oder name"
"What is your mothers name?"
"Name Aunt Polly"
''What is your fathers name?"
"Name Uncle Jake"
"And haven't you any name but
.Jim?'
'sDonc tole you my name Dandy
Jim. Nanny ca me jim, old mas
sa ca me Dandy Jim. Likes dat ar
dc bcs'.'
Then / came to another who call
ed himself "Pres'den Linkun."
"Why," l said "you are not Pres
ident Lincoln" ..t...
"Is too; my nanny say So"
| asked his mother about it, and
sure enough all the name he had was
President Lincoln, or, as she called
it, "Pres'dcn Linkum." Truth com
pcls me to acknowledge that 'Prcs-
ident Lincoln" did not always be-
have in just the manner that would
have been expected from a person.
age with such a distinguished name.
Another had never been called
anything but "Buster.'' There was
one pretty, bright-looking little fel-
low, about five years old, with just
enough of Il lisp to make him rs cum
ming as possible. When l asked
him his name he said, "I'th Mahala
Thpriggth' boy"
''But what is your name?"
''Dat ar my name."
"What does your mother call
you?"
"Ca' me Boy"
"What do other people call you?"
Goa me Mahala Thpriggth' boy"
SO there was nothing to be done
but to put him down as "Mahala
Sprigg's boy" Then there was
"Gin'al Butler" and "Jim Crows" as
black as crow, and as full of mis-
chief as the jim Grow who the old
song says used to cut such queer ca
pers. l don't believe there was ever
another school register like that one.
When l called the names they ran
something in this way: "Dandy
Jim," "President Lincoln," ''Bus-
ter" "Mahala Sprigg's Boy" Seen
eral Butler" Jim Crow" And the
owners Of these names answered
them as seriously as if there wasn't
any thing funny about it. And there
wasn't to them; they didn't see that
their names were at all out of the
way.
They had been accustomed to run
ming wild out of doors all their lives,
and it was very hard for them to sit
still two or three hours in school.
1t would not have been quite so hard
if our school room had been more
comfortable; but we had no nice
brick school house; we had to use
an old barrack, or barn, or whatev.
cr we could get. And we had nc
desk or chairs, only long benches
some of them without backs, where
the children had to sit packed as
close as hcrrings in a box. They
could not very well help getting in
to trouble under such circumstan
ces, and every few minutes some
one would call out, ''Teacher,, dis
yer boy chunkin;" by which the,
meant pushing with his elbows; o1
"reacher, please make dis yer ga
have herself" "Tcacher, make di.
yer boy stop rollin' he eyes round
at me- Nothing troubles them 81
much as to have eyes roll ,roun' 4
them. Sometimes matters were more
serious, and ! would hear "Boy, III
mash your moufif yer don, lem M
lone. When they are very angr.
; they always want to smash" some
lb'qP'diy's ''mouf." e. ,s ~ FAM x.
J One day u bench full ,.of girls il