The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-05-10
SLOW JOE'S FREEDOM.
r Came After Many Years of Trials
ard Disappointment.

About this little Virginia town there
is an air of WEAKNESS, as ii the old
houses struggling over the hill had
stopped half way up from sheer ia
tigue. They stand all huddled together,
nearly leaning on each other, or with
their old heads nodding over the street,
the little square window in the gable
staring blankly and sleepily at the oc-
casional passer-by.
That deserted cabin 81 Tie foot Of the
hill is the place where Joe lived. 1t has
been many years since then, but l shall
never forget the first time ne came dI-
rcctly into my notice
One summer afternoon the butler
came into my room, and said apologet-
ically: "Marse Henry, won't you step
out on de po'ch, san? Dey's emery
ouartah niger out d2r. where say he
bound fo' to see yo' hisself, sah.'
A bedrnggled negro boy met me out
side, and said with a mysterious air:
''Marse Hinry, dar white lady down
wander in de woods whar want you"
What are you talking about? A
lady! Who is ito"
'Hits-ilit's Miss Elm Tracy, sab. -
eDid Miss Tracy send You for ne?''
Nav. sab, she amt sent me arter
yo'. sab: but she, she hollerin' fo' yo'
nightly"
What do you mean? Where is shc?'
'She down yander gittin' drownded.
She done fall in de ribber. Marse Hinry,
and she ware calm on yo' nightly,
SO l lowed I'd caam long fotch 20,
sab. Lawdy, Marse Hinry.''
knocked Joe over like ninepin,
and with an expression as forcible as
the blow shot out the house. jumped on
my horse and galloped toward the
woods. To think my lady was drown
ing while that stupid negro was david
ling over telling it. To think l was
parlcying with him when I might have
been saving her! Now it might be too
late.
With a horrible fear crushing Oh me,
! spurred toward the foot-ridge where
it was probable she had fallen. AS l
turned the bend of the river and saw a
woman's figure lying on the grass few
rods ahead, [ scarcely believed my eyes.
I jumped off my horse, ran to her. bent
over her, saw she was breathing.
When / realized that she was SAFE
the revulsion of feeling was so strong
that if | had been a woman | should
have cried. As ii was-well, 1 don't
know exactly what l did. Perhaps
did shed tear or so:
Ellen said the hand-rail on which she
was leaning must have given way. She
had fearful sense of falling, q dim
recollection Of screaming as the waters
closed over her, 4 confused remem-
brance of some one crashing through
the underground and swimming toward
her, then no more consciousness till she
found herself on the bank, with Joe
leaning over her, saying:
Lay still, mistiss; Joe gwine ter
fotch him fo' yo'. Soon es / square de
water outen desc breches l gwine run
fur him
Then he had set off for me and
brought me as soon as if he hadn't
scared me half to death.
Joe received my grateful demonstra-
tons, when we returned to the house, il
awkward silence, and replied when 1
rebuked him for neglecting to say that
he had saved Ellen:
''Marse Hinry, l amt never say yit
dat Miss Elm ware drownded daid. l
say she ware gittin' jrownded when she
ware calm OF you; and she ware, sab,
'cept fotch her out"
l offered TO buy Joe from my father
and set him free. After some days
cogitatioD he declined the offer, and l
was at loss what to do for him.
Such service as he had rem
dered could not go unrewarded. l
found that the desire of his heart was
to be skilled carpenter and have his
own tools, SO 1 apprenticed him to a
good builder.
He was an odd-looking fellow-tall,
thin and oose-jointed, his face curious
II unresponsive, with fixed gravity of
expression very strange in negro.
His mind was like his body, loosely
hung together, and an idea was long in
possessing it. Once there, it was i'm
movably fixed. His slowness of speech
gained hinthe reputation of dullness
and the sobriauet Slow Joe. He was a
man of one idea, and that idea was his
work.
One day | saw something that made
me think Joe was getting another idea.
He was working in the yard, and Hen
rietta, 4 free negress who sewed for my
mother, came around the house and
went briskly down the walk past Joe.
without looking at him, not seeming to
hear his "Howdy, Henretta?"
He called after her: ''Yo' walkin'
mighty swift. Do de san bun yo' foot?
Come back yere, Henr'eI-a; l wantter
ak yo' bout sumpin'."
She turned her head end looked at
him. Il Amt gwine to tu,n in my part
an cross my luck fur no fool niger,
lestwise sech as yo' isl
faint gwine cross yo' lack. I'll
spit in de part.
He stopped down, made cross mark
in the sand, and gravelY spat in it.
Henrietta watched the performance
silently. Then she laughed derisively,
and walked on as briskly as before.
\ spool of thread dropped out of her
bundle and rolled back to Joe's feet.
He pushed it angrily ont o: his way,
took up hns saw and worked steadily
for minute. Then he put DOWN his
saw, picked mp the spool and wound
flA 1.NSa .1,-.a-y1 c.NCi ~, .,c+.a. lD-l--
ing after Hcnriettas retreainG figure,
then followed her.
saw him overtai,e her and give her
the spool. watched them stand talking,
and noticed Henrietta wave her hand Z {
him as he came back. with . grave,
;-c.>l 1,,l- l:- g,aa