San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-05-05
TREASURE IN THE PIT.

picking season. The crop was large and
the planters were driving ahead to gather
it before any misfortune befell it.
The members of the Order of the Chosen
Sons of Identity had an entertainment at
the Bush Arbor meeting house. The soci-
ETY. was wealthy, for the members got from
| fifty cents to 81 day picking cotton-a
] large sum in the country. In giving their
entertainment the Chosen Sons of Identity
were assisted by the Daughters of the Gold
en- Reaper. A large crowd attended, as it
was Saturday night and they had all day
Sunday in which to rest.
The entertainment was great success,
| owing TO the good management of Silas,
| the chief grand sachem (or lambkin, as he
| called it) of the order. Merriment and jol-
| lily reigned when old Juba entered the
house and applied for membership into the
order.
Old Juba was strange negro tramp
| whom Mr.. Sam Rodgers had hired in the
great dearth of cotton pickers, and whom
the regular plantation hands viewed with
suspicion and distrust, and his claims for
membership were secuted by Silas, chief
grand lambkin.
"You wanter be a Chosen Son OBJ Iden-
tity? How you gwinter git my identified
ton, I'd like ter kno'? No, no, you identify
cotton; OATS all de identification you kin
do!'' said the chief grand lambkin, super
ciliously.
The crowd roared with laughter, but the
mirth of the company ceased when old
Juba, unmoved by their jeers, began to tell
| them that spirit had appeared to him
and directed him to go in search of buried
nj ho nod hn; ail
"De spirit led me yer" cried the old
man, "frum fur place He say tub me,
Go Juba,' and l go, Go hunt fer a branch
dat run, norf and souf, de spring of which
rises outer tupeler gum; foller de branch
till you git tub tree poplars, den foller till
you come tub clump OBJ sweetgums on
de fur side, halt an dig!'
Old JUDAS manner had altered, his head
was thrown back, his eyes fixed, and his
voice assumed a sing song tone like kind
of rude informing. The supercilious grin
vanished from the face of the chief grand
lambkin, and the crowd listened in speech
less awe to this revelation.
"Ehl my Laudw muttered they, as he
ceased speaking, ''dat's Marse Sam
Rodgers spring branch" ~ knows de
tree poplars." AN de clump OBJ sweet
gums" cried one and another of the COM
pany. The entertainment broke up, and
the negroes followed old Juba as he went
out to cut a witch hazel divining rod by
the light of the moon.
Sunday morning a long procession of SUI
perstitious negroes accompanied Juba till
he halted at the clump of sweet gums and
began to try to locate the spot where the
gold lay. buried. Shutting his eyes, the
old man whirled round and round with the
divining rod held at arms length, till at
last it bent little and seemed to indicate
a particular spot. The crowd eagerly mott
fed him of the fact, and Juba, opening his
eyes, proceeded to measure off the ground
for about twenty feet This was all they
could do Sunday, so they returned to the
Bush Arbor meeting house and proftably
spent the day preaching about the find
ings of the spirit"
Early Monday morning they all marched
up to the planters house and asked per-
mission to dig for gold. Mr.. Rodgers was
greatly surprised at the request, for he
thought they were all out in the field pick
ing cotton.
dig for gold down by the sweetgum
trees! No, indeedl Take yourselves off to
the cotton field; that's the place to gather
gold"
"Dere's seventeen an half bushels
buried dere," cried old Juba, IAN rs will
in, sub, tub wide wild you, wen we git it,"
81 expect you are, but there is no gold
there"
st wuz buried dere fo' hundud years
ago, so de sperit says"
well, the spirit lies. This country
wasn't settled 100 years ago. But there is
millions of gold in the cotton field; go back
and pick it out"
But the excited negroes refused to bulge,
and at last Mr.. Rodgers was forced to COM
promise They might dig for week; at
the end of that time, if they found no gold,
they must stop and go back to picking cot
ton. They left him Tuning and fretting,
but as misery loves company he was con-
soled by the fact that the negro hands of
his neighbors struck work also to take part
in the digging for gold, a large, sum being
offered them if they found it.
Accompanied by his followers Juba pro-
ceeded to lay off the spot where the hole
was to be dug; it must be done with suita-
BILE ceremonies "or," said he ''de ebil spirits
will 'sturb u.s." He accordingly drew
line around space some twenty feet square
for excavation.
"Now l want" said he, de black tail OBJ
a red rooster"
Silas had become so impressed with the
great sum of seventeen and half bushels
Of gold that he forsook for the time being
the greatness of the office of chief grand
lambkin. and was now a most earnest gold
seeker.
run, Titus" said he to his son, "an'
pull out Marse Sans gamecock tail"
Titus departed, not very willingly, for the
cock was fierce and hard to catch.
Snow" said old Juba, "nobaudy mus
say a wud vile lay off de lines"
The crowd watched him breathlesslv as