The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-12-17
THE BOGY MAN.

| In 1715 small slave schooner from
the coast of Africa, bound for Virginia
! was blown far out of her course, toward
the north, and put in at the port of Bos-
| ton.
The cargo consisted of little else than
| few families of Congo negroes destined
for the new plantations of Virginia.
New Englanders did not then feel any
special adherence to slavery. If not
regarded with positive favor it was not
regarded with disfavor, and the SLAYER
found little difficulty in disposing of his
cargo of men, women and children to
the good citizens of Massachusetts bay.
Among the purchasers was Mr.. Lem
uel Clark, owner of large tract of land
on the Merrimac river, in New Hamp-
shire. Three families of negroes were
bought by him and taken to his estate
in the wilderness.
Once the tenant of an English baron
ial estate himself, he inclined to play
the baron on his New Hampshire do
AAAGA14s "A 81 Cdu oDOChdGO wa Ou11U uDOx
the eminence overlooking the Merrimac,
end within the stockade, upon the crown
Of the hill, stood his large log house.
Lower down, but within the stockade,
were three cabins Of the slave families
and the more pretentious houses of the
families of English laborers who accom-
panied Mr.. Clark. to the New World.
~11- ,f< .1~ L. - IL
to the foot Of some cliffs that formed the
abutment of q range of low hills was a
wide expanse Of level, cleared land, on
which the estat, raised its corn and po-
tatoes.
Beyond the few charred stumps that
marked the edge of the clearing was the
forest stretching away as far as the eye
could reach.
as the Menimac was one of the high
ways of marauding French and Indians,
the stockade was very strongly built.
and from embrasures in its walls pro
jected three small brass cannon com.
manding the sweep Of the river in every
direction. No feet Of canoes could
safely pass tho stockade by day The
Importance of the place was so well rec
ognized that Mr.. Clark held colonial
commission as major and the stockade
was officially styled Fort Clark.
The children of the fort made no dis
tinction between white and black. The
little Clarks, Sanborns, Tennys and
Marsdens played with the little Qua
shoes, Cushees and Gambas upon terms
of perfect equality.
The children of both races whisked
from house to house. About the hearths
of the negroes the little Englishmen
listened with fascinated horror to wild
tales of devils and evil spirits, great
serpents, huge river monsters and the
gigantic maalike apes of the mysterious
continent OF Africa; of bloody tribal
wars and human sacrifices to the heather
gods. The little black boys learned of
the gay elves and gnomes, of dainty
sprites and fgys of merry England, Of
the good cheer of Christmas and the
sports of May Day. The rival story tell
ers strove to Guido each other in the
marvelou, tales; but nothing so pleased
the children of both races as Sam Qua
shee's stories of the Mumbo Jumbo, for
in his native village Sam himself had
been Mumbo Jumbo.
The big Congo negro enjoyed telling
how when a crime had been committed
by some person unknown, Mumpo Jumbo
was called upon to detect the guilty one,
and how, mounted upon stills, with
long grass cloak completely enshroud-
ing him, a great false head fastened
above his own head and pair of
wooden arms sticking out below it, he
stalked about the village like giant.
terrifying the guilty one until he con-
fessed his crime.
The children delighted to hear of the
Mumbo Jumbo marching up and down
the paths Of the African village, crowds
of people dancing about him, beating on
tomtoms and singing wild chants. And
when Cushee and Gambia gave the bat
tie yell of the cannibal tribe-for those
were cannibal families-the satisfaction
was complete.
Of the taleH dg the English merry
none pleased the little Africans
SO much as Philip Sanborn's descrip.
tons of the May Day sports. The jollity
Of Christmas they knew, for Lemuel
Clark was not Puritan and kept the
Christmas holidays, but they wished to
dance about a May pole crowned with
flowers. One Christmas night, as all
the people of the fort were gathered in |
the big common room of the ''great |
house," Mr.. Clark promised that the ap-
May Day should be celebrated
in English style. Philip Sanborn was
told to take the matter in. hand and |
make any preparations he wished |
Philip Sanborn was pleased, but seeing |
a cloud upon the face of his rival story |
teller, Sam Quashee, he asked if the
negro families might not have the after
noon of May Day for showing their ma
live games and sports.
The request was readily granted, and
On the next day Sam Quashee dragged
TO his cabin two well seasoned pine logs |
hat had been left after building the
;tockade, and for weeks thereafter EN-
ployed every evening in carving from
The logs mysterious objects which even