The National tribune., 1893-01-12
THE SECOND GRAND REVIEW.
What a Veteran Saw at the National En-
campment-Nigger Babies Galore.

go; but III tell you all about it; just give m,
time. Say, give us chaw, pard. That's th'
stuff; mighty good plug, that. Well, as wa
going to say: l went down to the 'campment
got my pension, you know-hadn't been fol
| that couldn't have gone. First time have
| been to the Capital since the Grand Review
| and say, pard, saw more niger babies than
| | ever saw in all my life, except when we went
| from Atlanta down to the sea. Washington:
full of them, and more, too seems like they
| bobbed up out Of the earth as We marched
| along, just as they did down along the road in
| Georgia. And say, pard, do you remember that
day? Of course you do. The day when them
legs of yours got shot full of holes. Well,
should say SO! The regiment was all strung
| along the road, and we was well up at the head
| of the column, when the General came back
and told the Colonel to hustle along little
| faster; and all the time the boys were just a
| sweating. But there was bridge ahead down
| the road about six miles. and it was even up
which would get there frst-old Joe Wheeler's
cavalry or VIC mud. packers-and the fellows
| who got there last would have to wade the
| river. And don't you remember that day,
| pard, how the darkies swarmed from every
crossroad and every plantation, until they
fairly blocked the way? Right alongside our
| company there tramped the blacklist Niger
wench l ever did see. She was 80 black she
wouldn't cast shadow in the morning SUE
and that woman didn't have on any hat, or
shoes, but one piece Of clothing short at the
| bottom and open in the front, and her Quarter
master did not keep that in good repair But
she was a big, stamping woman and she had in
her arms the blacklist little pickaninBy | ever
| saw. Well, that young lamb didn't have any
| more clothing in proportion to its size than did
| its mother.
| We was pegging it out along the sandy
| road, every mothers son of us just humping
| ourselves, and the black woman was pounding
| sand to keep up Seemed as if she had an
! affection for us. First she had the youngster
| on her hip, with one little black leg sticking
| out behind and one in front. Then she changed
F.! it, and carried it under one arm, and the black
legs and something more were exposed behind.
| When she tired of this it was placed on her
| shoulder, the little black legs straddle Of her
| neck and so she shifted the little thing about
! from place to place, and the water ran off her
| face ill streams. / never saw any thing so funny
before, but did once after. That was the day
when all the darkies in Georgia seemed to flock
along the read beside our regiment all of 'em
hunting for freedom.
That day there was big, black niger strut
ting alongside the column, and he had pick.
| aninny under each arm, and them piekaninnies
were twins. They did not have anything but
gunny5ack5 on for clothes, and as the darby
carried them along, they kind of slipped down
out of his arms behind, and all we could see
little darby babies as the old man hustled along
for freedom. 1t reminds me of the pictures
we sec in store windows of Robson and Crane
two angels with feathers
Well, you remember. pard, we didn't have
much of our brass band left just few pieces
and they didn't make refined music to any
great extent. While the hornblowers did not
fight much, they had to carry the other fellows
off the field, and l suppose the sight of broken
heads and busted arms had a sort of depressing
effect, and the band had diminished away until
there weren't but five horns and bass drum
left; and wagon had run over the big horn,
and it squawked when the fellow blowed it.
And the boys was beginning to straggie, for the
old man, our Colonel, had us on a run, and
every little while he would get outside the
road and holler: "Close up there, boys, close
up. Get move on you," and then we bumped
ourselves.
1t kind o. struck the old man that little
music from the band would cheer up the boys,
and lie said in firm sort of way: Here. you
band fellows play tune; play quickstep in
double-quick time, and be - quick about
it, too"
There's nothing like music to make fellows
legs Timber up, and the band gave US a blast
The bass drummer said that he was sweating
so that it had wet the sheepskn head on his
drum, but he banged away on it just the same;
and how we did light out of that. Well, all
tha time the black woman held her own with
us, and the sound of music put new life into
her feet, and she broke into run to get to the
front. 1t was the first time in all her life that
she had heard brass band, and it was out of
sight, at the head of the regiment. In her ears
it beat Gilmores or the sailors band owned by
Sousa, down to Washington; while with new
excitement she struggled to catch up with it,
breaking into the ranks, lodging in and out
among the boys, the youngster in her arms,
at he fon of ia fho
painting for breath. the boys shouting Go it,
Aunty, while you're young"
The mother soon discovered that she must
give up the pickaninny or go little slower,
and to go slow was to lose sight of the band
and charms of the music. Just along there
was a heavy pine woods on each side of the
road and high log fences, higher than your
head, and saw that woman run up close to
the fence and throw the kid high into the air
over it. 1t looked just like throwing black
pig out of q smokeh0use. Its little black arms
and legs whirled about in the air like the wings
on old Perkinss wind mill, and as it went out
of sight the wall of woe that came from the
poor little thing made me wipe the sand out of
my eyes many q time since. Maybe somebody
found that baby afterwards. ! hope they did
something like Pharaoh's daughter in the bull
rushes. Somehow l never could believe that
story, anyway. I always thought she lied
about the bulrushes. Well, Pm hearing that
kid yet
The woman, lightened of her load, soon got
out of sight to the front, and then, pard,
little ways down the road we turned off into
the woods and you and and lot of the boys
went on the squirmish-line, and that's where
you got it in the legs, and you Amt been worth
much as sprinter since. They put you in a
wagon and ratified your bones over the roads
clean to Savannah, and you will always have
the war about you until yon die and the
Eternal Quartermaster makes you sound again
in wind and limb. But honest, old pard, I'd
sooner have half of my legs shot off with
Parrot she'll than have the wall of that black
baby always ringing in my ears
Well, well, have often wondered what they
do with black babies in the other world, and
whom / saw all them black kids on the streets
down to the Encampment, couldn't keep the
shadows of that one in Georgia out of my eyes.
And say, pard, went to the picture shops and
looked in all the windows along the streets, and
there was any quantity of white baby angels,
but nary single black one. Ireckon, though,
the Lord found the one in the woods when
Georgia was reconstructed and got back into
the Union.
What about the second grand review? Oh.
yes. forgot about that. pll come over this
evening when the milking is done and bring
my new cob pipe and some killikiDick and tell
you all about it.-CHARLEs E. BELKNAP.
NEW APPOINTEES.
The President sent the following nomina-
tions to the Senate during the past week: