The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1890-07-24
WAR TIME HEROES.
THE HAMS.

Now, mistis, amt we gwine SEN
Marsc Ran no box dis Christmas. IL
p'intcdly do seem too bad to ~disapp'int
dc chile!"
We were all ''chillun' to nanny, and
oven though my soldier-brother now
bore The title of Major, she could never
forget that II little more than twenty
years before he had laid his curly head
on her breast, well knowing there was
10 more faithful repository for his child
Ish woes.
Tears came into rsy mothers eyes rs
she thought of the soldier-boy who
would have to be disappointed, so far as
she could see. 1t was tho Christmas of
1864, when the people within the Con-
fcderate lines were almost at the last
extremity of their need.
80 mammy!" she said, what have we
for a box? Not n turkey nor "A chicken,
except old Speck, did tho last raiders
leave us! ] son to the village yester-
day to get some eggs, but the last had
been sold at fifteen dollars n dozen.
You know last Christmas we sent the
last coffee, and unless you or Chloe could
go to make it for him, Randolph would
never have it fit to drink, out of the rye
and ochre we USE
why, mistis, is you done forgit the
pizcncd hams?"
These ''pizoned' hams are worthy OF
a place in history. When it was report.
ed that the raiders were coming, my
mother determined to save, if possible,
the few hams we had left. Taking
nanny and faithful Ben into her conf
dcncc, she proceeded with dissertations
secrecy TO the smoko-house, well know
ing that the eye of a young negro was at
each chink. trying to find out what ''ole
mis- was dom so secret in the smoke
house"
The next day the Federal soldiers
came. While some looked after the live
stock. others proceeded to the smoke
house, for Virginia hams always had a
high reputation. The looks of the lit
tie negroes told a story of mystery of
somc sort. which excited the suspicious
Of these soldiers. which were confirmed
when they discovered a fine white pow
Ter over the meat.
Selling one black boy by the collar, a
soldier demanded the secret.
''l'se skcered to tell YOU" sobhcd the
boy, while his teeth chartered, case
nanny caught us peepin', and said cf
we told she gwine bus our head open"
But as the danger of a "bus' open
head" seemed more imminent from the
soldier than from nanny, the confess
sion was finally extracted that ME and
Dick seed old mis- sncakin' long to de
smokc-housc, and she shot de do so still
like, dat we pecpcd in, an den she was
putin dat white stuff on de meat, an
Uncle Ben said as how of de Yankees
cat dat meat dey won't ncbber cat muffin
mo-"
Just then n slip of paper labeled
"sirychninc' was discovered in Il corner.
So our precious hams were saved by a
harmless shower of flour and q piece of
white paper.
With a ham to start with no Confed-
crate would despair of a box. So Chloe
proceeded to make half n bushel of gin.
gcr-snaps, which with ''goobers' (pea-
nuts constituted the Confederate con.
fcctioncry. turn now to my "Confcd,
crate Rccipc-lIook,' and see how those
snaps were made:
"Onc.hulf meal. one. half -four, sorghum, pot
ash instead of soda "a dark powder got from
hickory ashes by some homely chemical pro
cess. garden raised pepper, and n little horse
radish for pungcncy,"
We had peach preserves, made with
the inevitable sorghum, of course: but
rs there was not a jar to be had, we had
almost dcspaircd of being able to send
any. Nanny solved the problem BY
producing some gourds, wcll-swcetened
and dried. These were filled with the
precious sweet, and then the plug
replaced over the hole and secured
with paper and paste. Some of the field
hands brought in two young possums,
for SimSOn said if 'Nlarse Ran done 20
to be n major, | knows he amt forgit tc
love possum."
| proposed to sacrifice "Speckle," the
only hen | had left, but Chloe protested
that dat old hen had so much sense she
mustn't he kilt, even for Marse Ran
When the raiders came the good old
cook had stuffed the hen into an empty
I"N in the kitchen. There the wise
bird staid without making a sound for
'hirty-siN hours, wondering, no doubt,
what made the night so long. When she
was released she found herself mon
arch of all she surveyed" Every other
domestic animal on the place had gone
the way of all flesh.
But though there was no poultry for
it, tho preparation of the Christmas box
went on. In one corner was put a little
bag of cloudy-looking salt. Randolph
had said in his last letter that il there
were always salt, the corn-pone or hard
parchcd corn would not be so bad.
This salt was a triumph of Confeder-
ate ingenuity. All the large mcat-houses
had a floor of earth, over which had been
cured and hung the meat used on tho
plantation for generations. These dirt
floors were dug up and the earth boiled
in large kettles u~ntil'all the salt was ex
tractcd. Several ~wagon-loads of dir
produced a few quarts of the preciou,
powder.
Our box was filled at last with on,
thing and another, and seemed to on
poor confederate eyes very complet,
when the chinlis had been stuffed will
s~Wcot-potatoes and home-knit glove
and stockings.
The box was done, but there were n
nails with which to fasten it. TIL
blacksmith had said, a few days before
that he had no more iron. But BE,
brought from his stores some old horse
shoes. Armed with these | myself wen
to see the nails beaten out by the smith
since we dared not trust that p~reciou
iron out of our sight.
When Rams" next letter told us no,
that hard-won box had given him an