The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1895-12-19

IneSe memories WHlcn spring
through the branching shade ofgyears
into bud, and which translate into
words for my dear little people, are a
literal translation Of Christmas, dur
ing the late civil war, in my old Viz
ginia home, which was situated near
the village OF Chuckatuck, in Nanse-
mond county, named for the tribes Of
Nansemum Indians, and SO called by
John Smith. This home was dag
onAlly opposite Newport News, on
neck of land formed by the Chucka-
tuck creek and Nansemond river
twenty miles southwest from Norfolk
and about ninety miles from Rich
mond, and from point of which l
witnessed the naval engagement be-
tween the Monitor and Merrimac
All OF this section Of the country
was at that time, and had been since
the capture Of Roanoke island bysthe
Federals and the abandonment of Nor
folk and Suffolk by the Confederates,
In quiet possession Of the former The
Confederate lines extended only to the
BlackWater river on the east, where a
small body Of Confederate forces, I'M
der Gen. Pryor, was stationed to hold
the Federals in check. Through the
proclamation of that martyr, barbar-
ously ordered by slavery, while
Gods instrument to solve it's wrongs
and wretchedness, had not been
grasped in it's entirety by the negroes
yet they knew they had only to cross
over beyond the reach Of the Confed-
eracy to be free; but the light of re-
lease from their bondage was almost
overbalanced in their loving. loyal
hearts by the darkness of leaving
their old homes.
NearlnE Christmas Eve.
"Well. dis il C'ris'mus ebe, demon
rer will be Girls mus ebe, an day after
demon C'hiS'mus Day in de mawnin',"
l overheard Aunt Serena saying to
herself, though with anything but the
Wonted cheerful Christmas glee in her
usual CHEEKY voice, as l went into her
kitchen, all cleaned and ready for
Christmas with the light finishing
touc hes, cedar wreaths and bright
holly berries picturesquely hung round
Its whitewashed ceiling.
Eyes, chile, dat's so; C'ris'mus doan
cum but Wunct er yeah; but 1 amt got
no erasmus in my bones dis yeah, en-
| my 'nsjdes aim linded wild intrus' %ner
pleger, needer, en- DIES now, Wen I
Wuz troo wild all de Wuk en- sot down
en- luck er lntervue err de pre- muses.,
L lOyW'd ter myself at sumhoW er
| nudder it all 'peart ter me mo- per-
sakly lax Good Friday dan it did
erasmus, en- Wen stunt TO- de safe
| lWd de dos open, after 'ad dun turf
hrack cakes n C'rism'us doins sottin
| Oar IN rows on de shef's, cas'n shad-
ders DIES lax dey had gumpshun er-
nun inside er um ter put on deep
mo'nin' fer all err dem yuther happy
C,rls muses. at dun en- gone fereber
mo- l sed ter myself at eff I did'n
| kno' diffunt I 'ud bleebe Ole Santa
Claus WIZ er niger dis yeah fer sho'.
Den l shet de safe do en- sot down
wild my sperits er swinkin' en- nv
kerrege er Oozin'.'' *. 81 syr. 81
| ,SinceEWe had no sugar in Virginia.:;
| sorghum, an Asiatic plant with succu-
lent stalks, a native of Asia, but re-
! Gently introduced into this country,
and from which we made a syrup,
| had to serve all it's purposes, and
| somehow we ingeniously managed to
concoct great many things out of it
| that tasted very good to us then, in
| those War-starving times. With the
| aid of our native fruits, dried currants,
| cherries, apples, pears, peaches, figs,
Wortle berries ana citrOn. we succeed
ed in making a very delicious fruit
cake.
The shelves in the old tin safe now
| were filled with sorghum buildings,
| sorghum pies, sorghum cakes and sor-
ghum candies, made into all manner
| or shapes, some plain and others
filled with Walnuts, peanuts and hick-
DRY nuts, and to me, as I remember it
all now. in the long distance Of time.
looked very tempting and inviting. in
spite OF the uncanny suggestions of
''nigger Santa Claus
Christmas Dainties.
"The hog-killing' quite an event on
a Virginia plantation) had been over
with for nearly two weeks, and much
of the time since then had been spent
by us preparing and getting off the
Christmas boxes for our loved ones
across the lines. Besides the many
sorghum-made dainties that we put
in these boxes, there were sausages,
and spareribs and chimes and cheese
souse, and pigs feet, and even crack
ling bread and gatherings were put
into some of them, to say nothing Of
the jars Of picked oysters and baked
sweet potatoes yellow and white
yams), and all had been safely packed
and struggled safely across the Black
water, upon whose opposite banks
j-|kSh |!