The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-01
STORY OF BEy MONTGOMERY
Jefferson Davis Private Secretary and
Slave.

Negro Boy Whom Davis brothel
Gave to Taught to Read and
Write by His Master, and Finally
Put in Charge of a Large Cotton
Plantation - Found Faithful and
Able-Conhdence Which Was JUST
fed in Later Years.
From the New York Times.
jefferson Davis was once a lieutenant
in the SIXTH United States infantry. In 1882
the First regiment of the United States
dragons was organized. Mr., Davis was
always a fine horseman, and preferred
the mounted service, so he was trans
ferred from the infantry to the cavalry.
He was soon made adutant Of the reg
imeut, and there served until he left the
army.
II must have been about 1887 when JEFF
ferson Davis went home to Mississippi on
leave to visit his brother Joseph While
at Vicksburg one day he heard there was
to be a sale of negroes. Though he had
lived in a slaveholding country all his
youth, he had never seen a sale Of this
sort, so he said to his brother Joseph:
LET US go and see it, The sale went
on. About fifty hands had been sold,
when a lad perhaps y years old, was put
on the block He was a pure African,
with not a faint Of white blood in him.
But his face was uncommonly intelligent.
MIR. Davis was struck with the lads APP
pearance. II would like to buy that
boy" he said to his brother but don't
know for how much he would sell. I'm
afraid can't afford it," The bidding
began, and, before his brother knew what
was going on, Joseph Davis bought the
boy and presented him to his brother,
saying; Let me give you your first
slave.
The Lad was unusually intelligent and
Mr. DAVIS saw that there were in him ca
paCities not usual to the African race.
He taught him to read and then to write,
and within year after his purchase the
lad read very well and wrote a very fair,
round hand. BY this time Mr.. Davis had
left the army and gone to Mississippi to
live. 1t soon became rumOred in the
neighborhood that JEFF Davis was teach
ing his Niger to read and write This
innovation did not please the older plant
ers, and several gentlemen took occasion
to demonstrate with him about it. YES
it is true he replied. Il have a boy
about IA years old. He is pure African.
have taught him to read, and he writes
very fair hand. l need somebody for a
secretary, and propose TO teach this boy
to be Of higher service to me than to
brush my clothes or to black my boots. -
This ended the protests, and Mr. Davis
was allowed to pursue the education of
his negro Unmolested. A few slaves at
that time were allowed the use of a gun,
and this boy soon became fair shot.
There seems to be some doubt as to
what his name was. His mother was not
quite sure as TO his paternity, but she
said she " lowed he was old Ben Mont
gomery's SON So he was called Ben
The boy soon became an
secretary. He could be trusted
TO do anything. He had not that negro
tendency TO talk of what went on in 1.-The
big house, that most negro servants had.
he was as silent as death concerning all
Marse Jef's matters.
AT this time Mr.. Davis had charge of
the Hurricanes estate, which consisted
OF three plantations of 5000 acres each
about twenty miles below Nicksburg.
They consisted of the Hurricanes, " the
palmyra" and 'Briar1eld" His broth
er's health was not good, and the respon-
sibllity for the management Of the prop
erty rested entirely upon Mr.. Davis In
after years Mir. Davis often said that he
did not know what he would have
done without the efficient and in
telligent aid of Ben Montgomery
at this time. It. is no easy matter
TO manage an estate making 500 bales of
cotton. There were stores to be bought,
letters TO be written, bills of lading to be
signed, and goods receipted for. The cap
talns of the great Mississippi River boats
looked rather queerly at first when they
saw a coal black negro come down to the
river to receive the stores of the aristo-
cratic Davis estate. They We're still more
astonished when his negro handed to the
clerk Of the boat an open letter saving
that the bearer, Ben Montgomery, was
to receipt for any goods or sign
any bill of lading with the name of Jeffer-
son Davis.
There was one unusually Un-African
feature ABOUT Ben Montgomery. He was
quick at figures. Before he
belonged TO Mr.. Davis eighteen months he
had worked through the old-time Davies
arithmetic, the standard then in the com
mon schools of the south Mathematics
Is the bette noir of the African race. 1t il
their stumbling block But Montgomery
grew superior to all this, and MIR. Davis
soon found that the boy could work out in
his head an arithmetical sum of no mean
When he was about 10 years old there
came an opportunity to test his general
- NsobAlttSo anu l4uutStN. IL was necessary
for some one to go to Cincinnati about the
machinery for new and immense steam
engine and cotton gin. There was no
Geographic line in those days of course.
The mails were slow an uncertain. A
special messenger would probably have
the work done more speedily than any
letter writing. 1t was determined In
trust Montgomery to execute this bust
ness, simply because there was no one
else to go. He was furnished with the nee
essary letters and the permit of slave to
travel and put aboard the Creole Belle. a
hne packet running from New Orleans to
Cincinnati. just before he started MIR
Davis gave him IS, 600. 1t must be con-
fessed he did this with little trepida-
ton. The boy was young, had never
Travelled by himself much. and then.
above all, he was going into free state.
ben, said Mr.. Davis, 4 am trusting
you with good deal of money. | have
told you to whom YOU are TO deliver it.
Be sure and take receipt, and don't for
get what terrible loss this money would
be to me if you should happen to lose it =
"Good-by, Marse JEFF said the ne
gro the tears coming to his eyes. 81 un-
derstands all you has told me. and I
won lose your money, and won't let any
body know ] have it,
lie talked it over with his brother ,Toe
It was important to both of them that
tney should have an income of this estate.
II the federals did capture Vicksburp
abouU the nrst property they would CON
hscate and loot would be the Hurricanes
IL mad on il then over IL COO bales 80 -