Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1871-01-11
That he has caught a Tartarp
school Experience Among the FreeH
eH Children. IN FIFEinla.

school Experience Among the Freed
Children IN FlFginla.
.erHasr lrs.
To the Decembez number Of Oar
Young Folks, Elizabeth Kilham contri-
butes th&OllOwing amusing sketch:
I have heard children tell about feel
ing funny but I never knew exactly
what they meant until the first time
that stood up before school of little
black children down in virginia. 7
felt funny then sure enough. They
had never been to school before, thew
scarcely knew what school was: and
they all sat With their great shining
black eyes fixed on me-the black so
very black, the whites 50 very white.
like huekleberries in a bowl of milk.
somebody said, till grew so nervous
that felt as if must either laugh or
cry, aud couldn't quite make up nv
mind which it should be.
& Taking their names decided me. It
was long time before could keep
from laughing whenever I heard them.
When the colored people were slaves
they had no family names as we have;
they were just called Jim or Tom or
Sally sometimes they added the name
Of their master or mistress, but often
they had only She one.
One little boy gave his name as Dan
dy Jin.1s -.f-- .."--..-.
II And what is your Othername p I ask
ed.
tAfn't got no oder name
what is your mothers name.I
Name Aunt Polly -.fH ...
What is your fathers name
Name Uncle Jake
And haven't you any name but
Jim p arl ef-'
Done tole yer my name Dandy Jim.
Nanny ca, Jim, ole mass ca me Dan
dy Jim. Likes dat ar de bes'."
Then came to another who called
himself 'Pres'denr Linkum.I
Why said, you are not President
Lincoln
Is too. Nanny say so.'
re- 4 asked his mother about it and sure
enough all the name he had was Presi-
dent Lincoln, or as she called it, Pres
den Linkum.' Truth cOmpels me to
acknowledge that president Lincoln
did not always behave in Just the man
ner that would have been expected from
q parsonage with such distinguished
name.
Another had never been called any
thing but Buster There was one pret-
tyi bright-looking little fellow, about
i've years old, with just enough of q lisp
to make him as cunning as possible
When asked his name he said, 18th
AIshala Thpriggth' boy
But what is your name@
Dat ar my name.'
What does your mother call you p
Ca me Boy
What do other people call yOu@
Ca me Mahala Thpriggth' boy
SO there was nothing to be done but
to put him down as 'Mahala Spriggs's
boy Then there was 'Gin'al Butler.'
and Jim Crow, as black as a crow and
as full Of mischief as the Jim Grow who
the old song says used to cut such queer
capers. l don't believe there was ever
another school register like that one.
When I called the names they run
something in this way: Dandy Jim,'
President Lincoln Buster 'Mahala
Spriggs's boy General Butler,' Jim
Crow And the owners of these names
answered to them as serioUsIv ss If
there wasn't anything funny about II.
And indeed there wasn't to them: thew
didn't see that their names were at an
out Of the way.
They had been accustomed to running
wild out of doors all their lives, and II
was very hard for them to sit still for
two or three hours in school. 1t would
not have been quite so bad if our school,
room had been more comfortable; but
we had no nice brick schOOlbouse. We
had to use an old barrack, or barn, or
whatever we could get. And we had
no desks or chairs, only long benches.
some OF them without backs, where the
children had to sit packed as close as
herrings IN box. They could not very
well help getting into trouble under such
circumstances, and every few minutes
some one would call out, Teacher, dis
yer boy chunkin;' by which they all
meant pushing with his elbows; or,
Teacher, please make dis yere gal have
leTself} or, Teacher, make dis we're
boy stop rOllin' he eyes rOUn' at me-
Nothing troubles them so much as to
have eyes roll rOun' at them. Some
lines matters were more serious, and I
would hear, Boy, TQ mash yer mouf
sf yer don't lemme 'lone.' When thew
are very angry they always want to
mash somebody's imOuf.5
One day bench full of girls in front
1f the boys benches was overturned,
md the girls rolled in heap. on the
ioOr. How did this happen?' I ask
ID.
dis yere Charlie they all screamed
n breath, he done 1t; done chunk de
bench, am dash we on de do'.'
why, Charlie said, what made
you do that?'
i does hate girls said Charlie; and
le seemed to consider that good and
reason for upsetting a bench
ull of them.