Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-02-12
TREASURE IN THE PIT.

| Il was in the very thick of the cotton
picking season. The crop was large and
the planters were driving ahead to gather
| it before any misfortune befell it,
The me nbers 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 a day picking cotton-a
large sum in the country. In giving their
| entertainment the Chosen Sons of Identity
were assisted 10y the Daughters of the Gold.
en- Reaper. large crowd attended, as it
was Saturday night and they had all day
Sunday i: which To rest.
The entertainment was great success.
owing to the good management of Silas,
the chief grand s2chem COR lambkin. as he
called it, Of the order. Merriment and iol-
Gty reigned when old Juba entered the
house and applied for membership into the
order
Old Juba was strange negro tramp
whom Nj sam Rodgers had hired in the
great dea-th OF cotton pickers. and whom
the regular plantation hands viewed with
suspicion and GistruSt, and his claims for
membership were secuted bv Silas. chief
grand lambkin
You wanteT he a Chosen Son OBJ Iden-
tity? How you gwinter Git my identified
ton. I'd like ter kno'? No, no, YOU identify
cotton; dat's all de identification YOU kin
dor said The chief grand lambkin, super
ciliouSly.
The crowd 70 with laughter, but the
mirth of he co Npany ceased when old
Juba, unnoved by .heir jeers, began to tell
them that a spirit had appeared to him
and directed him to go in search of buried
gold, and he wished their aid
DE spirit led me yer" cried the old
man, "frun 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 a clump OBJ sweetCums On
de fur side, halt an Dig"
Old JUDAS manner had altered, his head
was thrown back, his eyes fixed and his
voice assumed 4 sing song tone like kind
of rude informing The supercilious grin
vanished from the face of the chief grand
iambkin, and the crowd listened in speech
less awe to this revelation
Eth! my Laudr' muttered they, as he
ceased speaking, "dat's Marse Sam
Rodgers spring branchr' Il knows de
tree poplars." An de clump oh 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 u witch hazel diviuing rod by
the light c1 the moon.
sunday morning long procession of SUI
persutious 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 ewes, the
old man wtirled round and round with the
divining rod held at arms length, till at
last it bent a little and seemed to indicate
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 cay 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
treesl No, indeedl Take yourselves off to
the cotton field; that's the place TO gather
gold.'
''Deres seventeen an a half bushels
buried deere" cried old Juba, AN Is will
in, sub, tuh vide wild you, wen we git it"
Il expect You are, but there is no gold
there"
1t wuz buried dere 70 hundud wears
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: 90 back
and pick it out"
But the excited negroes refused to bulge,
a. n nl, 60
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 eft him Tuning and fretting.
but as misery loves company he was con-
soled Icy the fact that the negro hands of
his neighbors struck work also to take part
in the digging for gold, large sum being
offered them if they found it.
Accompanied by his followers Juba pro-
ceeded to lay of the spot where the hole
was to be dug: it must be done with suita-
bic ceremonie les or said he de ebil spirits
will 'sturb US" He accordingly drew a
line around space some twenty feet square
for excavation.
Now / want" said he de black tail OBJ
n red rooster"
Sllas had become so impressed with the
great sum o. seventeen and a half bushels
the greatness OF the Office of chief grand
iambkin, and was now a most earnest gold
seeker.
Run, Titus" said he to his son, IAN
pull out Marse Sans gamecock tail
Titus departed, not very willingly, for the
coci; was fierce and hard to catch
Now said old Juba. "nobaudy mus
say a wud " lie lay off de lines
The crpTd watched him breathiessly as
he, with IRE 1t dignity and garden pick.
proceeded to uiark OFF the spot
He got dat line crooked, muttered a
straight eyed bystander
Old Juha stopped who dat spoke,"
Profound silence
"Ef knovd who dat spoke I'd chop 'em
down wild disher picki'
The crowd lOokei reproachfully at the
speaker, who SUNK away.
Now" said Juba, way dem fedderss"
They were probably on the rooster, but
no one spoka. A runner was dispatched
to tell Titus 10 hurry up. The messenger
found Titus skulking about Mr.. Rodgers
hrNv-- l.. = l.