The herald., 1893-02-12
'THElRu MA AWAYNEeRO
HlpING ouT.ATTAlAep WITH HIM The
RaNkSoE A PROGRESSION.
'---..-.-L-

9s n'"~N'SEfN tsf1OFESSlCN.
----.-<A----
a Figure of the Old south.--sse- was a
NIsorn woodcraftsrnap and Cave Dwclier,
and He Climbed the Trees monkey
Fashion--How He Msnaged to Live.
Among the many picturesque figures
with which the old south teened most
etriking one was the runaway negro. Not
the occasional "hider out''-the one who
sought temporary refuge in the'w woods to
escape punishment for something dome or
left uudone, or for fearo being sold tothe
speculators, nor even when the crop was
grassy and The work hard. hut the one
who clnngte avid life as instfnctively as
an Indian, and WHO might almost be
terIned the professional runaway.
Your genuine runaway was born
woodcfaftsman. The habits Of wild ami
mails and ways. of taking them seemed to
be bis by intuition. He had no difficulty
In varying'hi Inenu1of pig, lamb and poul-
try with all the rabbits, squirrels, opos-
sums and fish that he1wanted. Sometimes
he carried hfs dog intothe woods with him,
although of course it greatly increased his
danger ofahsing taken. But this was more
gfor oonipanionship than Anything else, for,
single handed, with his snares, traps and
s.sgnms," he was. more than match for
wild game Of all kinds
\ Dfsconiforts which would have driven
the amateur back togthe snug chimney
corner of the plantation Quarters and a
whipping had no terrors for him. Like
the rest Of his race. be cared not a fig for
wet, while cold, the negro's dread, he
tknew well how. toguard against. The art
of producing bhe trnaximeim of fire with
nfr r1,< 10
ition. He knew exactly what kind of wood
land bark to solect, and how to combine
them to this end. No matter how hard
the rain, how sodden the wood, all that he
asked was Chunk" or, lacking that,
coal of Ere, to be as happy as a king--the
Ideal, not the real king mean. From
coai which, in unskilled hands, would
scarcesy have sufliced to light pipe, he
cpNh, with oven the wettest and most I'm
possible kind Of fneLisoon call into being
the raresb Of roaring flres while in the
preservation and transportation. Of fire he
could have given lessons to Prometheus
himself
i. IN the most essential feature of cave,
architeoture-secrecy-he easily surpassed
all imitators Between two suns, and
oftener than not with only the wornout
stump Of aThoe, the runaway would dig
and conceaTa cave which defed detection
from the eyes Of a lynx. At the same time
several cubic yards Of uptttrned earth had
to be whisked away and hid under distant
leaves, or, better still, consigned to the safe
keeping Of some running stream.
For several reasons the wornout "old
Gelds'' Of the utherp states were the fa-
voritesite of thecave digger. Thesedrcary
wastes, given over to guheys, broom sedge
and scrub pines, being deserted by man
hood In general, were OF course his safest
retreat The soil having been over ex-
hausted and 'esiIned out" and the sappy,
twisted piBes being held worthless for
either rails or fuel, there was no danger of
the woodnlan's AK coming that way again
tormany along year. Nor did the squirrel
or fox hunter have often to seek or follow
his quarry into thiseterra aincognito-where
Indeed the dense screen Of the low, thick
pines would have confined their vision to o
very limited space.
Here this Esa,rsof the south, whom in
deed every mans hand was against and
slirrouhurdgs aadIna t5 hfa susteHa,iscs- s- Of 81
eafety. The .weironess and virtual barren
mess drove off other men. The deep, water
worn gnlleys, barriers to. the ordinary
traveller, whether mounted or on foot, Of
Tered him highway whose firm or gray
eily bottom registered no passing foot
Prints to be read by curiousor hostile eyes.
Nowhere did hesdisplay mere ingenuity
than m contrivirg means to,approach and,
depart from his kifrow and leave no sign.
AS | hsve saidsfh gully.waA his favorite
path, though occasionally he had recourse
70 the Indians ghway-a stream. Some
times be would sever at thegrouncla q long,
stout grapevine, the other end being Sc
eurely interlaced among the tree limbs
many feet above. By graeping thisvine he
was abletoswing clear of the ground many
feet, or even cross q considerable ravine
and drop just at the mouth of his cave.
Again, when the pines were thick, ha
might climb tree, and passing from limb
toliYnb. monkey fashion, slide down a tree
trunk atfthe proper spot. Still another,
which could sometimes be practiced, was
to mount stray OK, and forcing him to
the proper place spring off. One very orig
fnal old darlky, little dreaming that, history
was repeating itself-with variation--is
said to have fashioned to his shoes an old
pair Of horseshoes, reversed, knowing that
no runaway hunter would ever think to
notice q horse track .
Amid the swamps the malaria proof
negro found little difficulty, if so minded,
In passing a lifetime 'hid out' But up
among the hills of the central portion,
where there Wore no retreats impenetSable
to all but the initiated, where the farm
houses Were close together and compare
lively little land uncleared, it took no lit
ele skill and cunning to play the runaway
successfully for any considerable period.
xet Johnson's surrender brought in more
th2n one ragged, svarnlintlike'' creature,
who had spent perhaps the better part of
long life in this manner. There were even
women runaways, and sometimes very sue
cessful ones. A few children were born in
the woods. l knew Of one instance in
which the close the war brought up a con-
siderable family Of whose existence the le.
gal owner knew nothing David Lodge in
Kate ffdd,,s Washington.
Tidcloss Sea.