Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-08-21
Freed Children I'm Virginia.


[ heard children tell about feeling
funny but | never knew what they meant
until I stood up before Il school of little
black children down in Virginia. "felt
funny then, sure enough They had never
been to school before, they scai cely knew
what a school was and they all sat with
their, great, shining black eyes fixed on
me,-the blacks SO very black, the whites
so very white, like huckleberries in bowl
of milk, somebody said till [ grew so
nervous that felt as if must either laugh
or cry, and couldn't quite make up my
mind what it should be.
Taking their names decided me. II
was long time before [ could keep from
laughing whenever heard them. When
the colored people were slaves they had
no family names as we have; thew were
Just called Jim or Tom or Sally; some
times they added the name of the master
or mistress, but often they had only the
one.
One little boy gave his lme as Dandy
jim"
"What is your other name ?" I asked
Amt got no oder name"
What is your mothers name.n
"Name Aunt Polly"
"What is your fathers name ?D
"Name Uncle jake"
And haven't you any name but Jim 81
"Done tole yer my name DANDY Jim.
Nanny ca me Jim, ole mass, ca me
Dandy Jim. Likes dat az de bes'.n
Then L came to another who called him.
self "Pres'den' Linkum."
-" Why" l said, you are not President
Lincoln
Is too. My NANNY say 500
asked his mother about it, and sure
enough all the name he had was President
Lincoln, or, us she called it, " President
Llnkum." Truth compels me to acknowl-
edge that President Lincolnn did not
always behave in just the manner that
would have been expected from person
with such distinguished name
Another had been called anything but
" Buster" There was one pretty, bright
looking little fellow, about five years old,
with just ell, ugh of lisp to make him as
cunning ae possible. When l asked his
name he said, al Eth Mahala Thpriggth'
boy"
"But what is your name W
Dat ar my name"
"What does your mother call YOU ?'
sea- me Boy"
" What DC your people call you ?n
"Ca me MahaIa Thpriggth, bow
So there was nothing to be done but to
put HIM down as 4" Mahala Spriggs's bow
Then there was "Gin'al Butler" and
Jim Grow" as black as crow, and as
full of mischief as the Jim Grow who the
old song says used to GU: such queer
carers. l don't believe there was ever
another school register like that one
When L called the names they ran some
thing IN this way Dandy Jim,' " Presiy
dent Lincoln,n "Buster.n "Mahala
Spriggs's Boy,n General Butler,n. Jim
Crow" And the owners of these names
answered to them as seriosly as if there
wasn't anything funny about it. And
there was MT to them they didn't see that
there names were at all out of the wav.
1hey had been accustomed to running
wild out OF coOrs all their lives, and it was
very hard for them to sit still for two or
tmee hours In school It would not have
been quite so hard if our schooI-room had
been more comfortable but we had no
nice brick schOUl-hOuse we had to use az
old barrack, or a barn, or whatever we
could get. And we had no desks or
chairs only long benches, > some of them
wltho ut 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, d" Teacher, dis yere boy "a chunkin'" :;
by which they meant pushing with his
elbews; or, "Teacher, please make dis
yere gal 'haVe herse'"; or, "Teacher,
make dis yere boy stop rollin' he eyes
roua' at me-" Nothing troubles them so
much as to have "eyes rolf roun'D at
them. Sometimes matters were more
serious, and | would hear, Boy, IN
mash yer mouf eff yer dom lemme 'lone.D
When they are very angry they always
want 70 "mash' somebody's moufn
One day a bench full of girls in front of
one OF the boys benches was overturned,
and the girls rolled in heap on the floor.
" How did this happen ~ | asked.
=" DIS yere Charlie,0 they all screamed
in breath, che done did it; done chunk
de bench, an dash we all on de f1o'.0
~ Ni'iiloy SdIu, " what made
you do that ?''
al does haze girls" said Charlie and
he seemed to consider that good and suff-
Gent reason for upsetting Il bench full of
them.
But they very soon got over all this, and
became as quiet and orderly as one could
desire and | never saw any children at
the North SO eager to learn. or who tnod
so hard as these There parents were ali
very poor, and but few of them were ablc
to get books for their children. So manv
OF the boys used to work after school
hours and earn money TO BUY their own
books. One little fellow only seven wears
old had looked with longing eyes, as dnv
after day aud another came with a primer
AT last l missed him. He was gone
week then came with primer which he
showed IN triumph. {" Done got nv booku
he said. He was such a little fellow that
]! never thought of his having bouoht
IL himself, so / said, a am very clad
Who gave it to you ?o lie drew himself
up with the offended dignity as he answer
G9d' Dad MT nobody CUB it TO me Oar
don.. nobody buy my books buys UNI nv
Where did you get your money ?0 | |
Done koteh bait for it,
lie had caught small fish which he sold
tS the fishermen for bait, and saving up
the pennies he earned in this way, at last
had enough to buy book. The boys had |
al sorts OF ways of making money, and
knew quite we'll how to take cure OF their
own interests. One boy ten years old, as
soon us he could read in the primer started |
night school. They were several men
VINO wanted to learn to read, but as they
were at work all day they had no chance
I" so to school. They engaged little Dick
to teach them iii the Evening, paying HIM
I'VE cents week each. lie always insisted !