The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1894-11-09

of musical tendencie3 who could play
the guitar or banjo, and 80 dances were
fire uent while corn hu kings were
quite as much of q frolic. The me-
grces' quarters" consisted of row or
rows OF cabins, generally OF logs, 'front.'
ing a street not tar from the owners
house, and to the rear. Here, after
supper was ended, the slaves were left
To them elves, and found what amuse-
ment they could until the bell rang for
bedtime. Then all were supposed TO
retire, and any who failed to be in
place when the overseer or driver
made the final round for the
night were subject TO severe pun
ishment The slaves were not per-
mitted to leave the plantation with
out a written pass or permit from their
owner or overseer, and in town the fire
bell was generally rung at o'clock as
n signal for them to go home. After
the ringing OF the bell the n ght
watchmen or patrol of the town
started on their rounds, when every
slave found on the street was stopped
and questioned, and if found without a
pass was arrested and locked up. The
ringing OF the fire bell was, therefore,
signal for general scampering, and
could be heard pounding the sidewalks
with their generous feet in an effort
10 reach home before the night watch
started out. This well understood
feature of Southern life it was that
gave rise to the once popular song,
"Run, Niger, Run, the Patrol VIII
Catch You.
The diversions of the plantation
were very simple In the season pos
sum and coon hunts were in order, the
slaves who Joined in the sports often
being accompanied by members of the
owners family, who went for the mere
pleasure of hunting something. With
the slaves, however, the expedition
was strictly business enterprise, for
then, as ever since, the fat possum
was esteemed most tcothsome dainty,
and lucky indeed was he who managed
to secure one of thee much-coveted
animals for his own eXclu i've eating.
The preparation for the table was a
matter OF much interest and no little
care. After the 'possum had been
made re dy for the roasting, large
pumpkin was split in two and the seeds
taken out OF one half, which was de-
posted before the fire and filled with
peele sweet potatoes. The 'possum
! was bHCh HuuS up W IL vail DCiOi . q
rearing fire, directly above the pump
kin, and slowly twirling around, he
was equally rSasted on every side,
while his fat, forced out by the heat,
di ped on the sweet lOtatoes and
pumpkin, ! otatoes and pos um were
all cooked ready fer consumption at the
same time. and fea was thus pro-
vided which, according to darby esti'
mate was fit for the god
The life of the slave, with its inter
walls of relaxation, was not, in the
main, an unhappy one. There was q
complete lack OF responsibility. The
old-time negro slave lived only for the
day. The morrow troubled him not.
He was sure of q living, for he knew
his master could not afford to let him
starve. He was not allowed t. learn
anything. All books to him were
sealed. But knowing nothing of them
he never missed the information they
contained. His greatest salts action
was TO have a good master, and when
| he had any ambitions. the highest
was t. run AVA and go North, where
| he would be free. 1t was often graft
| f ed, too, for if any one will take the
| time to look over the files of any news
paper published in the border States
before the war, he will find that one OF
its most conspicuous features was the
pict ire of running negro with bundle
slung on stick over his shoulder.
and a description of the slave supposed
to have run away. But instances are
also not lacking Of slaves accompany