The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-12-04
CHAPTER ".

It was this promptness Of the general
court which brought about the dramatic
close to the story, as it was finally told
me by my four interpreters.
At the first, even after the interest
had shown in the necklace and in the
book, they had not understood how in
tense was my curiosity, and how eager
I was to crafty it in every detail. AS
have intimated already, they had one
detail and another Of it to give me, such
as should search for vainly, though I
should 60 up and down among the oldest
people in Boston, and ask to tell me
what they remembered Of October, 1645.
Alas, 60 soon as we give ourselves over
to printing presses and libraries, this
matter of tradition, from father to son,
and from mother to daughter, dies out.
But this tale of the days and weeks and
months which Telega the "Ginny Black"
spent in Boston, while they were waiting
for mast-schooner to sail from Pisca-
taqua, which might transfer him to
Guinea trader, which shodld take him
to the Congo-this tale had been re-
peated, without any Russian scandal"
ind without any vagueless Of detail,
Tor seven generations. Cotton and
Wilson and Winthrop and Dudley, with
sll the pride OF paper and ink, have
been more reticent. They have not
bold whether he dined with them or
breakfasted with them or took his tea
with them. Winthrop has not told by
what efforts Of interpreters he tried to
find out whether this man knew that ha
was grandson of Ham or shether he
did not know. This Is certain, that
Telega picked up some words Of English,
and found that they still had the name
of the shillings in the necklace, and they
still knew and could speak the word
Smyth in a fashion, and more plainly
the word Cotton, and they knew as well
that the wampun necklace was a treas
ure Of different sort from the string OF
silver and gold.
Telega had seen and driven horses
and oxen; Telega had been taught to
sail in a boat and to fish with English
fishing tackle; Telega had once been
trusted with the care Of sheep; Telega
had been able to tell of the cocks and
hens for whom he had scattered corn
morning and evening; and at last, when
Telega bad been sent, as found, to the
Piscataqua for his farewell-sent with
the blessings Of priests and the hearty
Misunderstanding of many others-he had
been told that the money that was given
to him was to be used for any purpose OF
his passage, If he should find himself in
a strait; but, as the reader will see, he
fell into no misfortune which an intelli-
gent black like himself, with smatter-
ing Of two languages besides his own,
could not fairly meet. He had carried
in a bag at his neck, concealed under his
clothing, the three joes and thirty-one
shillings, which had been given him by
the treasurer in the town house in Bos-
ton, and he had brought them out safely
when he arrived at his home. He had
also brought with him the copy Of the
Scripture, which he had been made to
understand was more precious by far
than the joes and the shillings. After
he had gained some little knowledge Of
the English language, Isuppose that one
and another attempt had been made to
rescue his soul from its certain danger.
But it was clear enough that nobody
pretended that he had thus gained any
understanding Of the vital truths Of the
religion of John Cotton. There had been
no blasphemous baptizing, and he had
been left-unwillingly, I dare say-to
worship such gods as he found in the