New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-06-06
STORY OF A CONTRABAND
BY MRS. LAUNT THOMPSON.

| llttlo STORY NSluco 1 tOOk IL OOWu Amos
| word for word from his own lips) is huge
| SORROWS had never damped the courage O
soured the sweetness OF singularly brav
| and kindly nature. / first saw him in the
| soft twilight of q lovely summer evening,
| working most theoretically in friends gar
| den. and was instantly attracted by the fac
that he was not only willingly and cheerily
working after hours, but was doing so with
immense energy and rapicity. He replied
| to all his masters entreaties to stop work
| and 90 home with the assurance that he was
interested in desc yer raspberries goin' tl
rain tomorrow, and dey won't be nice fun
the mist's jam if dey's wet"
Finally he emerged, carrying big bask-
ct, tin pan, a hoe, and rake, all in one
hand, in peculiarly dexterOus manner
For Joe Mcintyre had but one arm, and
with this, as l soon discovered, accom-
plished much more than most men with
two. He was great favorite with his en-
ployers. and equally SO with his fellow SER
wants, while his skill, cleverness and will
ingness, made him fact0tum in general. In
the rosy dawn, the first sounds that greeted
our ears all that summer long were the
mellow tones of JOe's naturally deep bass
voice, subdued to sOftest accents Of per-
suasion, as he cOaxed d refractory COW to
let down her milk. 1t was not his business
to milk this particular COW, but it became
his habit, because she invariably kicked
over stool, milking pail and mixer if any
one else attempted to handle her. This is
only one instance out of many, of his happy
gift of managing ANIMALS. The kindly pa
ternal way in which he used to coax, and
pet, and feed the young calves and colts
would have filled an orphan child's heart
with Ion ging; indeed, the dominant instinct
of the mans nature led him to delight
i'm making all creatures happy, and l re-
member well the odd sight he presented one
morning, stumbling across a field, with
colts, calves, and cows all following him in
atfectionate and uncomfortable proximity,
while he expostulated with them: Nov,
honeys, ye done come fur enutf; yer knows
Is got to 60 home to my dinner, and earn
take all on yer along. Lemme 20 now, and
III bring all on ye some salt when l come
back"
The story which follows l took down at
different times, as l followed Joe about the
garden, for he never paused in his labor for
an instant. Il will be seen that his diction
is peculiar, the ordinary negro phraseology
being diversified by some high-fown ex-
pressions which he has picked up at various
times, while occasionally a singularly
happy and picturesque phrase will find
it's way into his speech. At first his recol-
lections we're given in rather fragment
airy form, but at my earnest request he
devoted Sunday afternoon to my note
book, and appeared in respondent attire,
arrayed in stitfly atarched nankeen panta-
looms and snowy shirt. his shoes-he
wears sixteens - brilliantly polished,
handsome coat much too small and large
white hat surrounding all, while four COR
geOus breastpins shone radiant upon differ
ent parts of his person. One blazed in his
cravat. a second adorned his shirt front,
third the bottom Of his waistcoat, while
the fourth cleaned like an order upon his
empty sleeve. l give his story as nearly as
possible in his own words, though unfor-
tunately l can not claim to have preserved
in anything like its native freshness the
racy charm of his narrative, to which, in
Decd his tones and gestures added not a
little.
Yes, mist, was bohn in Guinea, and de
fust ting l member is woods, woods.
woods, stretchin' away like de ocean d ar
now. We was happy enutf in dem days.
Not as member SO much, neither. l was
eight years old, g nigh as can guess, when
| was took, nae and my brudder Alfred, and
my fader and mudder. Dey was two sisters
too, but dey got away, and l suppose is
Twin dar now. Well, beside de woods, dar
was de ocean dar, JUS like it is yere. only
dar was dar, so it seems to me, brighter
We was mighty fond of goin' down to de
sho, all on us, young and old, to battle, but
we young ones .joyed ourselves de best
We went dar day arter day, like young
lambs, to play. My mind sometimes goes
wanderin' over dem days. so you must
scuse me, mist, if don't bring my 'collec-
lions tOgedder as smooth as beads on a |
string. Well, bout our bein' took. Oar was |
a colored man dar; dom know muffin bout |
ho only r hn
.poke our language like be was one of us, I
which was likely he had been, though now I
be was paid by pirates, which of course we |
lid MT know. He was roun' dar long time,
elli' stories to de chil'en, and talkin eber-
asst. wild de grOwn-up folks, till he got |
nos of de leadin' Africans under his belief |
Guinea, you know, mist, is in Africay, go
hats why dey call my nation people Afri-
'ansl dat he had ship full of red blankets
md red caps and beads and SIGH. Pears
ike de tus' ting clar like picture to my
mind is follerin' on. say, Jess like birds
. charmer. By-andby we see de sea
HMM, and dar shore enuff was de ship.
White sails spread, and goin' softly up and
low on de waves, like she was dancin' or
ourtesyln'. Den dis yer man turns roun'.
nd he makes a speech. He seen dey was
lot of old fOlke along, for dey was covet-
ous of de beads an caps an red stuffs. as
veil as de rest; an he tuck mighty good
eer to let dem old folks know he hadn't
utfin for dem.
Finally we got aboard de ship, and we
7as tuck down to place dat was all lit
# wild loOkin glasses and colored lights
nd beads and red and yellow stutfs
angin' 'roun.' A gorgerer place l never
aw. We all got in dar, and den he tole us
D stand up close, and den when we was all
xed de t'ings would be give ont to us. So
e got MS till We was all settin' by, ex-
ectin' Of great treasures, an all dis time
Q WAS edgin' hissef to de do. All of . 1