The morning call., 1890-09-15
SAM STAPLES.
BY EpGAR JAMES BLISS.

K1yAEARLY every man is better than he
fNs% is judged. Human depravity has to
ESa.9 find It's chief argument in individual
cases. As q race, as nation, as commu-
nifty, m ankind is great success. The man
who doubts this statement will bear watch
ing
In the wear of 1862 we were in camp at
Fairfax Courthouse, one of those half-baked
settlements which were so commonly found
in the South at the end Of the war. They
served their chief usefulness in designating
localities from which dispatches might be
dated and troops assembled.
Camp life is monotonous at the best, and
when rainy weather ard diSiuterested local
tiles are added time flies with broken wings,
indeed. One afternoon as i sat just outside
the camp in the shade of a friendly tree,
adding fever to a bit of inconsistencies by
reading paper from OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
and ALL was approached by man who
came from the direction of a camp of Penn
svlvania troops a short distance away, and
as he stopped before me he SAID. IN that
drawing lazy tona which Identified him Is
a native "Wal, stranger. | reckon l have
struck camp of New England Yanks."
How SOP" l inquired.
You are reading a newspaper; that's
sure fiipper." said the man, as he put pack
or bundle down on the ground and at once
converted it into seat.
- You see," he continued, you New En-
gland YankS can always he spotted by two
things-when you amt stealing you're read
ing They say that Ben Butler is one of the
best read lawyers i'll yonr parts; That's
the reason, reckon, that he don't have to
stop stealing down here, TO read up, as some
of the rest of you do"
well, my friend" l remarked, You
can't be accused of hiding your sentiments,
or lack Of plain speech, can you?"
The man slid from his pack 10 the ground,
and resting his head upon 1t. he took out
pipe and lit it as he said:
stranger, when youuns visited Vergna,
gnin' on two years ago now, was as we'll
Off, | reckon, as most of my neishbors. My
niggers were good stock, and my l.lace was
kept up well nigh as well as any about. |
had good market in Richmond, which was
only SIX miles away, and everything vas
prOSpering.
well" said 1. what change has taken
place."
"Change! change p replied the man. as
a look of sadness came over his face, and he
seemed to be looking into the past and
thinking Of the past as well. Change. l
count it something of change when man
don't know where bis family IS, his niggers
gone and his place deserted. You may be
a good ways from home, lad, but If you live
you've got home to go to; while l, right
here in the State where l was born, the
State that | have loved nigh on to fifty
years, almost within sight OF the place
where my children were horn, here, | can
saw | am wanderer on Gods earth, and
have no place to lay nv head but there
and lifting himself up he pointed with his
thin finger 10 the pack at his feet, while |
saw a tear finding its way down his sun
burned face
| was hardly more than q boy. | had come
from State where. children were taught
awful crime of slavery. and the
freshly printed pages of Uncle Toms
Cabin" | had read the thrilling story of the
slave and the slaye-driver To me all men
south of Mason and DiXon'S line had the
the curse and horror of slavery upon their
souls, and, yet, so great Is the p7wer OF
human sympathy that found myself with
oatstre,ched hand, as L sad: II have no
reason to be homesick when | hear such
words as these. 1t is a poor th rs 10 offer.
perhaps, but l can say, how deeply | SYM
pathiZs with YOU
He dill not take my hand. He did 10! Look
toward me- With that far-away look upon
his face, and a bitterness in his voice have
hardly ever heard equa!cd, he said, as he
Sp rpt his brown hand over his fee:
Robbed and ruined by YANKEE invaders;
home gone and hope gone; no light ahead,
no heart to live"
Not as bad as that" 1 said what if the
COnfederateS win 2"
grew almost black rs he thurderei: Worse
4 thousand times worse. Much as hate you
Yankees, have no part nor parcel with
these men who are conducting our cause
Every man in our army, from Lee down, are
mighty men OF valor and ought to win, but
they WOnt-they wont. Richmond is fight
ing our army more than yours, and Richmond
Will destroy the C0nfederacy. Marx me,
young man. / am no prophet, nor the son
Of a prophet, but you can write it down that
.t4.ts rata tote ..f \ NfapA
never to take place among the nations Of
the earth. ana you can sign Sam Staples
name to il. That's my name"
While my visitor had been talking | was
deeply engaged in studying him. | have
seldom seen more interesting man. He
was of slight build, not above the medium
height; his unkempt hair was rather long
and impressed me with the conviction that
1t had turned gray very rapidly; his eyes
were deep, black and restless; he had no
beard, and alT his features combined in
making a very striking face. He was
dressed in suit oil homespun gray
cloth that hung loosely upon his slight
frame and gave the appearance of cloth
ing very much more ordinary man than |
felt The man before me- was. His appear
ance was no more striking than his words.
| had heard OF Northern copperheads, but
thi, was the first instance Of the existence
Of Southern cOpperheadS that had ever come
to my attention. Here was a man distinct
lively DOuluciu DUIl DJtu ny DllLH duu HdV-
ural aptitude. All his sympathies were
with his people and their cause was his,
without a question. Still he predicted the
downfall and utter failure of the Confed-
eracy because of his convictiln that the Gov
eminent at Richmond was more to be feared
than all the forces of the North.
"Weil," | said at last, IF You have no
confidence in Your so-caIled Govern ment,
why do you express yourself so bitterly
against us? Surely You must see that, from
your view of the case. the Union is to be re-
established; and that being the case. why
not accept the Inevitable and try to get
a correct understanding VI the relations
between the North and the South"
Correct understanding" he answered;
"a correct understanding is this: The
O0rthern Yankees should go back where
they came from aud leave us alone; we
don't want their company, and we don't ad
init their right to Interfere in our affairs
That is the beginning and ending Of all ar
gument about this matter"
While L was forced TO admit in my own
mind the uselessness of discussing the ques-
tons involved in the waT with the man, |
at the same time could not refrain from
asking him soma questions, and the result
was another hour spent in talk that evil
IDENTIFY ended just where it began. At its
close my caller took up his pack and said:
well, / reckon L had better attend TO
business"
Thereupon he proceeded to open his pack
and offer Tor sale a general assortment Of
writing materials, pipes, knives and such
other articles as would naturally find sale
among soldiers. He told me he purchased
most of his stock at Alexandria, ana made
out, by charging good prices, to save some
thing. To my suggestion that he might do
better trading among the Confederate SOL
diers, as he sympathlzed with them and
would naturally secure their trade, he said :
This is business with me. | am not
ready to pay for my goods in Union money
as l have to, and sell for Confederate script
No; l shall count Confederate dollars as
dollars when they will buy dollars worth
of goods"