The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-02-14
DEACON A AT HOME AND ABROAD.
A Night with the Guerril1as.
WRITTEN FOR THE NEWS BY COL. W.

WRITTEN FOR THE NEWS BY COL. w.
$50 smooth he daub'd his vice with show o.
virtue,
That ne Iiv'd from all attainder of suspect. p
Should you go to the largest and most
costly railroad depot in America and
on one of the many trains that are leay
| ing at almost every minute of the day
you could, after an hours run, step of
upon the sidewalk of the lovely little
city of s., in the good old wooden
nutmeg state. The street leading to the
left, as you leave the little depot, runs
straight to the stately residence of Deacon
A, an old and well-known citizen OF
the place, whose worldly ways have been
those of contractor and builder of hous-
es, and their like, for the past forty years
and over.
The Deacon started out in the world
poor, but by dint of hard work, much
economy and careful, shrewd manage
ment he has amassed a handsome fortune
of this worlds goods, and the old gent.
himself lays claim to having laid up
great and glorious treasures in that better
world beyond the skies.
1t is true that there are scores of poor
people who would, could they have the
opportunity, oppose the entrance of the
boastful deacon into the Kingdom of the
blest, on the ground that he is and al
ways has been a hypocrite-a sly old
cheat-his pretended piety a mockery
used by him as snare to delude and en-
trap the unwary. Yet again there are
many of the good people of the church
of which he is an honored member who
deem him a pattern of godliness and
propriety His countenance, too, is of a
ministerial cast. He is an easy CONVEX
sationalist, aptly posted on biblical and
religious matters, can quote scripture
like parson, repeat extensively of poet
ry and sing such soul-stirring hymns as /:
"W hen Tcan read my title clear
To mansions in the skies,
I'll bid farewell to every fear
And wipe my weeping eyes,
and dexterously apply his clean bandan-
ma to his eyes to check the flow of tears
that chase each other out of those wick
ed peppers.
During the war of the rebellion it be-
came my lot TO learn something of the
character of Deacon A, which can be
best illustrated in a short sketch of his
career while acting in the capacity of a
cotton-planter on the plantation of Judge
C., seven miles below Baton Rouge,
at the time abandoned, and rented out by
the government of the United States.
The deacon was charged with practicing
fraud ON the government and selling sup
plies to the rebels. For this reason l
was directed to look after the old man,
study his ms and outs, and learn facts IN
my own way. Accordingly when 1 ar
was ostensibly cotton speculator. The
deacon was glad to see me, and invited
me to make his plantation my headquar-
tiers, assuring me at the same time that
there was no better point to buy cotton
cheap. A few days sojourn at the plan
tation gave me an opportunity to study
the character of one of the keenest old
hypocrites that I ever fell in with,
before or since that time. His tricks and
devices were more multifarious than mo
Their Cary's chickens. He went to Louisi-
ana to make money just how he was not
particular. He bought stolen cotton,
mules and such like, and sold whisky to
soldiers and negroes in violation of militia
ryorders. One of his sharp games was TO
get up at two O'Clock every morning and
ring the old plantation bell to awake the
sleeping darkies and call them forth to
prayers and exhort them to labor early
and late in the fields, that they might
faithfully serve the government and find
grace in the eyes of the Lord, thereby
managing to secure about sixteen hours
labor per day out of the simple minded
sons of toll.
The shortcomings and willy tricks OF
this pious old knave had become pretty
generally known to the people round
about him, and his fame had really
reached across the stretch of neutral
ground and inside of the confederate
lines on the other side of the Ammite
river, along whose border numerous
bands of guerrillas roamed and found a
hiding place. 1t had reached the ears
of the deacon, in an indirect and not over
credulous manner, that these despera-
dos might some night give him a call
and pay their respects.
The plantation house of Judge c.,
in which the deacon at the time was
living. was strongly built and of large
dimensions. The lower part was used
by the deacon to store his supplies, con-
sisting of bacon, whisky, &c, and to re-
bale the crooked" cotton purchased by
him. The upper part of the house was
his domicil. The lower doors were
made very strong, of hard wood, and
could be securely barred. All the win
dows had close shutters, with strong fas-
Jennings. But ever on the alert, with an
eye to danger, the old deacon had cut a
hole through the floor of the upper room,
and so adjusted rope that he could
easily slide to the floor below, where he
had cut another hole through which he
could pass underneath the house and es
cape outside through an opening in the
underpinning. This secret means of ex.
it was only known to the man that made
it, he having carefully concealed the
places with bags of cotton. While the
deacon did not really expect the fierce
guerrillas, yet he thought it best to be
well prepared in case of emergency
There were two ways of entering the
story occupied as dwelling-one from
the lower hall, up the main stairway the
other by pair of back stairs leading
upon a veranda level with the second
floor, and door that entered into the
upper hall. For my own part had no
suspicion of guerrillas in that locality,
but in those dangerous times 1 always
went prepared, and carried with me q
double barreled shotgun, heavily loaded
with buck-shot, and a good army revol.
yer, which l kept handy for use at all
times.
1t was past the dead hour of midnight
when had been sleeping soundly, that
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