Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-08-08
BRER PETER.
An Old-TIme Negro Preacher.

An Old-Ilme Negro Preacher.
Washington Cor. PhiIadeZphia Record.
The old-time negro preachers, the black,
fat, oily, old sinners, whose kinkY gray
wool covered so much wisdom, are fast
dying out in the South. We see and hear
less and less of them every year. Their
places are passing to better if not brighter
men, the young graduates of the post
Dellum colleges and seminaries, and they
themselves are swiftly crossing the rush
ing "Johdan," with the fields of Living
green full in view. In their day these
shrewd old Africans were power. They
could do more with the halt-starved
souls they had to feed and guide than all
the white shepherds in the country put
together. unlearned and untTaveled,
they eXerted tremendous influence, and
l like to think that on the whole it was
used for good. Whatever may be the
truth of history In this particular, it is
certain no similar set of men ever did so
much to make the world laugh and grow
fat. The best stories you hear i'm the South
are about the negro preachers, and the
best amusement they can offer in the
average Southern town is a sermon by the
local Brer Jasper, who moralizes with
s0ul-tlcklIng gravity about something of
which he knows nothing until you feel
your sides ache with suppressed laughter.
One of these ancient worthless is before my
description, faded and greasy broadcloth
and battered beaver included, and Wen
call him Brer Peter. When the Federal
army and the army of suffers which fol-
lowed at first struck the black districts of
the South the negroes of those districts
hrst made the acquaintance of Federal
paper money. Many of them were en-
ployed in the Quartermaster's or the Com
mlssary's Department, and at the end of
the month were paid 500 or $30-eXtrava-
CANT wages to men who had never had
wages before, and who would have been
perfectly willing to serve "Lincum's
sogers" for ratiOns and clothes. They
were paid in paper money. For the first
SIX weeks or so in every district
the suffers flourished like green bay trees.
The negroes couldn't tell So bill
from 81 bill or 80 cent note from a
quarter. They bought from the suffers
for the sake of buying; he gave them
what they asked for or what looked like it
and some change, and they who had
everything they were accustomed to have
before they went to the sutler didn't care
whether he gave them two ones or two
fVes i'll change. Brer Peter, who was
much sharper than his flock, soon found
out that they had been fieeced right and
left. SO, on Sunday morning when his
little meeting house was filled with SOL
diers and suffers, Brer Peter announced:
MY tex will be foun' in de book ub Gen
esls, chapter first; Now de sarpient was
sutler dan de udder beas' ub de fell"
and then he riddled ''dem suffers for
an hour. 1t was Brer Peter who
referred to the mysterious ways of
an subscriptions providence" after
his home was burned down: who prevent
ing glib white recruiting officer from
Illinois DESTROYS of addressing the flock,
with view to filling the quotas of some
Northern regiment as ''Brigadeh General
Littleheld, as ii were." and who asked the
Lord in prayer following the stupid
sermon ola white brother who had invited
himself to fill Brer Peters pulpit to
-"bress the words which hab fallen from
the sinful and polluted lips of thine UNI
worthy servant" But Brer Peter crown
ing achievement was in the matter of the
marriage certificates. He came to a
friend of mine, who had a printing shop
IN his town, one day and asked in
low and somewhat mysterious tones
whether he had any of 'them
pretty pictures, stitcates, or some name
like that, the white people hang on the
wall to show that they're married" He
had ''seed'' them, he said, and he wanted
some like them. My friend said he could
not make them; they were engraved.
Eyes, yes,' broke in Brer Peter, "a man
and a woman standing together and a
preacher joining their hands. Very pretty.
very pretty Yes continued my friend,
but you'd have to send to the North for
them, and they would be extensive,
''All right, all right" said Brer Peter. 81
want them. Send for them; send for a
hundred, and then print hundred cheap
ones without any pictures for me-" BY
and-by the engraved certificates of mar
riage arrived from the North They
were more expensive than my friend had
expected. ''They cost % cents apiece"
he told Brer Peter, rather expect
ing that he would have to send them back.
"All right, all right" said Brer Peter.
They're very pretty. Here's the money!"
and off he went in high feather Nv
friend thought that two hundred mar
riage certificates ought TO last one negro
preacher year or two at least. In lit
tie more than month Brer Peter sur
prised him by returning with: Cant
you get me some more of those stiflicates.
They'se going like hot cakes" Yes
said my friend in puzzled way. Yes,
echoed Brer Peter, "and, boss, | want to
make bargain with you. | don't want
you TO sell these stitlicates to anybody
else, nor to tell nobody else where /
gets them. just let it be
secret atween me and you, and I'lI give
you 90 cents apiece for them" "AlI
right" said my friend. Eyes" said Brer
Peter, land get lot Of them, so | can
come 10 you ana get as many as | want
every time" every WELL" said my friend.
and he did. He sold Brer Peter a thou
sand in little over year-a hundred or
so at a time. Then he began to investi-
gate. He found that the smart old rascal
had gone to every old negro couple in the
country side for miles and miles; had told
them that General Grant had declared all
the ante bettUm marriages "no ac-
count;' mad issued instructions that
they must be re-perfOrmed IN or
der to validate them, and had sent
a supply of certificates to Brer Peter.
which, hung upon the walls of the cabins.
were to authenticate the new marriages
to all future generations. His news DOW
erfully affected the women even where il
didn't touch the men, and every one of
them wanted that ''pretty picture" They
got it-for fifty cents-and Brer Peter got
an additional marriage fee of 81 in each
case. He lives in the comfortable house
on the spacious lot he made out of this
ingenious traffic. Then, as now, Grants
name was one to cOnjure with in the black
districts.