The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-10-08
THE SORREL HAIR;
Or
What Became of the Old Leather
Trunk.
Bill Arp in Me atlanta Constitution.

He moved to our County and purchased
a snug little farm in the valley about
eight miles from town. He had wife
| S8a .hass Suhd1en ana negro man
name Dick. When Benson came into
the settlement there was little cloud
over his reputation for honesty. 1t was
whispered around that his nabors who
lived near his old home were willing for
him to go, for they said that his hogs and
his sheep increased faster than was
natural and theirs decreased in some
mysterious manner.
But still Benson was member of the
church and being gifted with language
would sometimes talk and exhort in
meeting and lead in prayer. he was
emotional and fervent and soon made
friends in his new home, and the cloud
for time dispersed Mrs. Benson was a
woman of good family, she was we'll
hammered and industrious, but had
kind of pleading pitiful expression as
though she was living under apprehen-
sion of trouble. Benson had family
prayer night and morning, and always
prayed loud and good long time; his
negro man Dick came regularly to prayer
and said amen and amen in good
Methodist fashion, but Dick soon got
under cloud and it got larger and
blacker as time rolled on, for the nabors
said there was q rogue in the settlement.
Chickens were missing and the mill had
been broken open, and Dick had carried
chickens to sell one Saturday night.
The relations between Dick and his
master were very confding-much more
so than was usual between master and
slave. They were companions and
consulted with each other, and this was
after while talked about to Benson's
prejudice. If Dick stole chickens and
sold them who had the money? that was
the question. Some little debts had
followed Benson from his homo, and he
had been sued in the magistrates court
and had paid them little by little and it
was mystery where he got the money
for his crop vas not harvested and he
had nothing to sell. But still Benson
got along and met the brethren on the
Sabbath with cheerful face and prayed
and exhorted as usual. There is one
other fact, an important fact that must
be mentioned. Benson owed q balance
of Eve hundred dollars of purchase
money upon his place and had been sued
for it in the circuit court.
Three miles below him farther down
in the valley lived respectable old.
gentleman whose name was Montague.
He had raised a numerous family, but
| FIVE of his sons and as many daughters
we're all married and most Of them had
settled in the naborhood and were estab.
lished and comfortable upon farms the
old gentleman had give them, for he
was quite wealthy. He was solid man
Of primitive habits, a member of the
Presbyterian church and exemplary in
all his conduct saving the suspicion that
he was little too fond of gold, and
when he loaned it exacted too high a rate
| of interest. He lived off of his "intrust,"
as he called it, and he firmly believed
that his gold was his. His loans were
general made to thrifty, prosperous men,
but the poor and the distressed were
turned away with the assertion that be
did not have cent in the world. He
called his pocket the world but his money
was kept in an old hair trunk.
The weight of many years had dimmed
the old mans sight and almost stopped
up his ears. is.aged wife was also deaf,
but otherwise they were in good health
and almost every Sunday there was
gathering there Of children and grand
children and The old couple were going
down to the grave most happily, consid.
ering their wants and their ambition.
Sometimes they had one or more of their
numerous posterity to stay over night
with them, but most generally they we're
alone in the great big house, and the old
mans gold was in the old hair trunk
under his bed. His numerousslaves and
domestic servants occupied the cabins
close by. They were faithful and obedi-
ent, for most of them had been born in
his household and knew no king but
"master" and no queen but "old mistis,"
and they were proud of his wealth :and
his dignity.
One rainy morning in the Spring of
the year there was wild alarm in the
Montague household. The old hair
trunk was gone. Mr. Montague never
failed to give glance that way when he
arose. 1t was his habit as fixed as putting
on his garments. He thought at first
that his old eyes deceived him and he
stopped down and felt for it with out
stretched hand. Hastily dressing himself
he looked the room again and discovered
window up-a back window that looked
upon the garden. I. had not been raised
for months. His wife had noticed his
unusual manner and got up hastily and
heard his excited voice and saw his misery
as he exclaimed "gone-it's gone-the
trunk, look at the window" aud he sank
down in pitiful despair. The old lady
hurried 10 the open window and looked
upon the ground and saw nothing but
box-an old box that the robber had
stood upon. TotteriDg to the door she
screamed for the servants and they came
and they screamed too and sounded the
alarm; then came the negroes generally
from out their cabins, for it was not yet
sunrise, and the wild panic began. The
ball was opened, "Fore God deys stole
old masters trunk, fore God dey is-tuk
it outen de winder-fore God dey did"
Run Bob, run Jesse, run Jake, run
children, run for mas John and mas
Tom and mass George-run for everybody
and tell 'en come quick-run honey,
don't stop nary mint" And they did
run. In less than an hour the children
and many nabors came in hot haste;
some on foot and some on horseback, and
all wild with desperate energy to catch
the robbers. 1t did not take long to
track them through the garden and over
the garden fence and through the cotton
patch to the woods that bordered the
clearing. And there in the underground
of oak and pine bushes was the trunk
the old hair trunk. 1t was wide open
and there was no more money in it than
there was in the old mans "world." His
seven thousand dollars in gold was gone.
He had counted it all the day before and
the week before and knew the amount.
The old man tottered feebly to the scene
and cried. The shock was too much for
him. His daughters led him back sor.
rowfully to the house, and as he bowed
along be shook his head and exclaimed
Benson Tom Benson did it," and he
kept up the refrain, and as the crowd
passed to and fro Benson was in every
tongue and the darkeys took it up and
cried "Benson" on the run.
Old Mr.. Montague had a reason for
| t,o,t t,,,o u,o,1.c