Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1895-12-06
Old slnve Dnrs In NIlssonrI.

"Some queer things used to happen in the
old slave days in Missouri, said Represen-
tative John Tarsney to Star writer just
before he started for Europe. 1.-THE con-
dition of the slaves was never a very bur
densome one in Missouri. The farm coun-
try and the nearness of the Iowa line pre-
vented anything like those plantation cru
elites of which we sometimes read. In fact,
should judge that some of the Missouri
slaves had as good time as their masters.
'In illustration l might tell queer story
which had its scene in Independence, Mo.
Old Banker Sawyer of Independence car
ried on the same Sawyer bank which ex-
lists today away back in the fifties, when
lndepen ience, as the eastern end of the
Santa FG trail, was the great Quitting
point for those daring and misguided peo-
pie who meditated flight across the plains.
Among other chattels of Banker SAWYER
was big black negro named DUSTIN.
Dustun was great mechanic, and had
vast fame all over the western country as
the maker of that fashion of wagon known
as the prairie schooner Sawyer had be-
sides his bank wagon-shop at Indepen-
dence. And his negro, Dustun, ran the
wagon-shop. The wagon shop did a good
trade, and Sawyer said to DUSTIN one day ::
"'You make a lot of money working
overtime, Dustun. Why do you continue
in slavery? Why don't you buy and own
yourself? You've got five or six hundred
dollars down in my bank now"
"And it was true. Dustun had laid up
quite store of money, and the fact of a
slave with money on deposit in the bank
of his master is of itself illustrative of the
lax condition of the institution in Mis-
souri,"
"'What'll you take for me?' asked Dus-
tun"
Seeing it's you,' said Sawyer, 'rll sell
out cheap. If you want to buy yourself
I'll take $500, while you're easy worth
S3000.'"
"Dustun bought himself, paid $500 down,
and took the rest of himself on credit Saw
yer made out his freedom papers, and Dus-
tun made a mortgage on himself to Saw
yer for the $1,000. Then he went to work.
In year he had paid himself free. In two
years more he had bought his wife and lit
tie girl. Then he began to make money.
But he hadn't proceeded far nor laid up
much ahead when one night fire started,
and the next morning found Dustun's
wagon shop in ashes. Shop, tools, stock,
and everything was burned up as clean as
a whistle, and with the forethought of his
race Dustun had no insurance.
at was plain, hard, bitter case of be-
gin again with Dustun. He thought the
situation over, and then went to his old
master Sawyer. After ten minutes talk,
Sawyer lent DUSTIN $1,000, took mort
gage on his wife and young one. Dustun
rebuilt his shop and opened up anew. He
kept his old trade, and added to it. 1t
finally became very questionable to start
across the plains in anything but one of
Dustun's prairie-schooners. Within a
year Dustun again had clear title to his
wife and family.
Life went easy after that with the old
black wagon,maker. He died about ten
years ago at Independence worth fairly
$4,000. The daughter whom he bought
from Sawyer and then mortgaged and
cleared the title to again was for long time,
and is, believe, now teacher in the col
ored public schools at Kansas City. Old
Dustun's memory in Independence is to
this day highly respected. u Washington
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