The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1888-07-26
BETTER THAN GOLD.
AN INCIDENT OF THE LATE WAR
Illustrating the Fidelity of Former
Slaves.

We had related to US this week
an incident Illustrative of the fideli-
ty OF the colored people, during the
late war, to their Southern masters.
Our informant is citizen of Cobb
county and knows personally of the
truth of the statement. His father
owned colored man, named Char
lie, who was raised from boyhood in
his fathers family. Charlie was one
fourth Indian and three-fourths At
rican. He romped and played with
him and his brothers, worked side
by side in the corn-feld, and, as a
consequence, strong attachment
cemented their friendship, and there
was no consideration that could be
held out that could make this color
ed man disloyal to his kind old mas
ter.
The war came on, and Federal
armies were sweeping down upon
the Southland with cleaning bayo-
nets, the flash of cavalary swords,
the shet and shell of artillery, and
the torch of confagration. Those
were times that tried mems souls
and tested the metal in their compo-
sltiun. 1t was enough to bring dis
may to the stoutest heart, as the
Confederate forces fell back before
the overwhelming hosts of the in
vader.
Marietta had been burned and
people were refugeeing and carrying
oft and secreting their valuables.
The master of this colored man had
one thousand dollars in gold and he
was apprehensive that the Federal
soldiers would ransack his house
and get it. So he called his trusted
servant and said:
Charlie, you have always been
faithful to me. l have here in this
tin box one thousand dollars in gold.
| want you to take it and hide it for
me. If | keep it, the yankees will
search my house and force me to
give it up; but if you take charge of
it, | can truthfully tell them that /
know ofno money about the house."
So Charlie took the box of gold
and went off down the public road,
alongside of which was tootpath, and
with his spade he cut out a square
sod Of. grass, dug hole and put the
tin box down into it, replaced the
sod, removed all fresh dirt, trod
down the grass, and went back to
his work at his masters house.
The Federal forces came marching
over the path and the gold, but no
discovery was made. At the house
they ordered Charlie to bring out
two of his masters horses, to saddle
and mount one of them and follow
the "boys in blue" The colored
man positively refused to comply,
said that it had been his home from
childhood, andshe wasn't going to
leave his old master and mistress.
The cavalry officer pulled out his
pistol and pointed it at Charlie and
exclaimed:
sect on that horse and move on
with the army OF I'll shoot you dead
in your tracks p
Charlie was undaunted, and his
reply was characteristic of his cour-
age and love. He looked thAofficer
square in the face and said:
"You may be mean enough to
shoot and kill a negro like me, but
before | will leave my old master
and mistress, my best friends, you
can kill me, but at best you can
shorten my life but few years.
The cavalary officer saw the fixed
purpose of the colored man to re-
main, and he put up his pistol and
rode off.
Some weeks after Sherman had
marched on to the sea- the old
master said, "Well, Charley, the
Yankees are gone, and if you know
where that gold is you had better
get it for me"
"All right" responded Charlie;
Il know where it is, for I've walk
ed over it nearly every day since |
buried it,