The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1888-05-03
PICKANINNY TOODLES.
A SKETCH OF NORTH CAROLINA
LIFE IN THE SIXTIES.
Wherein the Ku Klux Khan Plays
Part and GhostIy Forms Do Acts
Worthy Of True Men.

Worthy of True Men.
NANNY, it's gittin' mighty cold, +"
said little Toodles as he sat by the big
oak blaze, with his knees drawn up to
that line where a little woody head met
a big "blue jeans" overcoat, patched
all over with the remnants and scraps
old Nanny Jane had gathered in a
long course of housekeeping.
Toodles was right, it was cold. The
bare limbs above the little log cabin
where Nanny Jane and Toodles liv
ed scraped and scree ched like cats in
the dalk.
"Well now, Honey" NANNY
always called her little pickaninny
Honey" much to the disgust of that
"poah white trash's boy" next door)
"you jest step over to Mr.. Stoney's
aud ak him fur to lend you his axe,
an we'll have a fire that'll skeer of
this hear weather sho huff" Toodles
got up and PASSED out, and Nanny
went on with her darning.
Toodles was afraid. It was just af-
ter the war. and in addition to the
"raw head andibloody bones," witches
and '.varmints" that Nanny would
talk about until his little woody kinks
would resemble collection of cork
screws, Toodles had horrible mental
pictures of "dem Kukluxers" who
raided the country, but above all he
dreaded Wild Jim, notorious char
acter who had most unsavory repu-
tation. In fact he had narrowly es
capped the penitentiary on several
occasions for kidnapping negro chill
dren and selling them as slaves to
traders Just across the State line
Tonight Toodles was thinking Of
him, and horrible pictures began to
come into his head as he ran, fast as
his little legs would carry him, to
Squire Stony's residence, about half
mile down ''de big road" Nanny
was still darning, and ever and anon
she would say ''Lor bless dat chile,
he's honey an darlin' if dey ever
was one" Nanny kept on, unmind-
ful of the wild shrieks of the storm
king without, or the dying fire within.
It grew colder, the fire burned low
and the storm still ragged, fercer than
ever
Finally, a great crash of falling
limb and wild howl from the sarg;ng
storm awoke her from her cloud fan
cies and she knew that it was lete,
very late. Toodles had been gone a
long time. NANNY grew uneasy and
said, "Whar in the world can dat boy
be ? Hit'n be awful on de road if he
stays much longer" Time sped on,
the storm still moaned and shrieked,
sounding in her ears like the wild cry
ofa suffering being.
Two or three times she thought she
heard footstep. 1t was nothing,
only the rattling of the ghostly boughs
overhead. When midnight came, she
was frantic, and swinging wide the
door, she screamed, ed,-"Oh, Honey,
Honey!" No answer, only the storm
and the binding snow. 1t was mad
dening. Again the door swung open
and this time she screamed with all
her power. No answer? Yes, she i'm
agined she heard something. Listening
what? 1t sounded to her like the
beating of a horses hoofs. Yes, and
something more. There came back
on the air wild laugh, the laugh of
fend, more horrible than the shrek of
the goblins in the storm. Chilled,
awed and trembling, she once more
returned to her seat. But no, she
could not rest. She gathered her tat
tered shawl about her and passed out
into the cold night. The wind was
like knife, but on she went, scream
ing for her child, to the Squire's resi-.
dence. Everything was dark and
still, no lights. Only great black
house, covered with a mantle of white.
She aroused the people within. Too
dies had not been there. Again she
went into the storm, and, to her af-
frighted mind, ghostly fingers seemed
to clutch at her clothes as if trying to
tear them away. Grim black forms
fitted by, and a loud, wild scream
seemed trying to drown her own.
All that night she wandered up and
down the snowy road, but no Toodles
was to be found.
It was night, three days later. The
snow was still on the ground. Oat
from a deserted farm house, mossyand
delapidated, marched band of men,
some of them bearing torches that
made the long Spanish moss look
like ghostly trappings on skeleton
like trees pointing their branches
toward the sky.
They were robed in long BLACK
gowns. On the foremost was painted
q grinning white deaths head, sur.
rounded by three white mystic KS. Il
was the u.Klux band which did nle e
to suppress crime in North Caroiis.s
Just after the war than all the ju6
es and juries, lawyers and sheriff:s e. ii
bined. Tonight they were on a y.
culiar mission. Rider came tn
word, in a commanding tone.
| Silently the steeds were noun 4,
and out through the great forest oi
oak and cypress, the procession moysa
There was not n word and not souis
save the steady thump of the horSe.
Onward through the dark tEcy
rode. the torchlights in their hands
lighting the way and causing them /.
look more like visitors from another
world than the sturdy farmers they
were.
Presently one Of them muttered t.