Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-01-04
Whole No. 1881.
School Experience Among the Freed
Children I'm VIrrinia.

SCHOOL Experience Among tAo AAO0N
Children in Virginia.
To the December number Of Oar
Young Folks Elizabeth Kflham con-
tributes the following amusing sketch;
I have heard children tell about
feeling funny but never knew
exactly what they meant until the
first time that i stood up before
school Of little black children down
in Virginia. I "felt funny" then
sure enough. They had never been
to school before, they scarcely knew
what school was; and they all sal
with their great shining black eyes
fixed on me-the black 50 very black,
the whites so very white, like huekle-
berries in q bowl OF milk, somebody
said, till grew so nervous that felt
as X must either laugh or cry, and
couldn't quite make up my MIND
which it should be.
Taking their names decided me. 1t
WIS long time before ] could keep
from laughing WheneverI ] 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 the one.
One little boy gave his name -
Dandy jim"
And what is your other namePi 4
asked.
''Ain't got no oder name"
'iWhht is your mothers name7''
Name Aunt Polly.n
What is your fathers nameT'
Name Uncle jake
And haven't you any name but
Jim?''
Done tOle yer my name Dandy
jim Nanny ca me Jim, ole mass
ca me Dandy Jim. Likes dat ar de
bes'. -
Then came 10 another who called
himself Pres iGsni Linkum."
Why said. ''you are not Presi-
dent Lineolnin
SIS too. Nanny say so.
asked his mother about It and SURE
enough all the name he had was Pres
ident Lincoln, or, as she called It,
Pres den Linkum.n Truth eompels
me to acknowledge that President
Lincoln" did not always behave in
lust the manner that would have been
expected from q parsonage with sueh
q distinguished name
Another had never been called any
thing but Buster" There was one
pretty, bright looking little fellow,
about five years old, with just enough
Of lisp to make him IS cunning as
possible. When I asked his name he
said, ''I'th Alahala ThpTiggth' boy"
"But what Is your name2'
tfDat Az my uarne.1
what does your mother eal you!
"Ca' me Boy
what do other people call you q .,
sea me Mahala Thpriggth' boy"
So there was nothing 70 be done
but to nut him down As "mahala
Spriggs's bOy.n Then there was
"Ginial Butler" and "Jim Crow - as
black as a crow, and as full Of misehleI
as the Jim Crow 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 some
thing in this way: Dandy jim
stPresident Lincoln - 't Buster, y . Ma
haIa SDriggs's Boy,n General But
lerI y Linn Crow And the owners
OF these names answered 70 them as
seriously as IL there wasn't anything
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 70 run
ming wild out Of doors all their lives,
and il was very hard for them to SIT
still for two or three hours in sehool.
It would not have been quite 50 pad
If our Eehool-room had been more
comfortable; but we we had no nice
brick school house we had 10 use an
old barrack, or q barn, or Whatever
we could get. And we had no desks
or chairs, only long benches, some OF
them without backs, where the enll-
dren had to sit packed as close as her-
rings in a box They could not very
well help getting into trouble under
such circumstances, and every teW
minutes some one would can out,
ssTeaeher, dis yer boy chunkin
by which they meant pushing win
his elbows; or, i'Teaeher, please make
dis we're gal have herself OF, HIeaeh-
er. make dis we're boy stop rOlnn. ne
ewes roun5 at me.n Nothing troubles
them so much as to have "eyes roll
rouniU at them. Sometimes matters
were more serious, and i would hear,
'sBoy. III mash yer mouf ef yer don't
Iemme Ione.D When they are very
angry they always want to ''mash"
somebody's ''mOuf.n
One day bench full Of girls IN
front of the boys benches was over
turned, and the girls rolled in heap
on the floor. How did this happen?
/ asked.
'Dis yere Charlie" they all scream
ed in a breath, ''he done did it; done
chunk de bench, an dash We on de
fio'.u
why, Charlie" said what
made you do that ?'i
'I does hate girls said Charlie;
and he seemed to consider that good
and sufficient reasC q for upsetting q
bensh fall Of them