Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-30
the man tried to duck, me. and now they

against MIN, ana SO began 10 coax lne S1Tl
not to go; then when sne moved right
along. he babe her wait till he put down
the plank If she would go. She had barely
stepped foot on it, when, quick as cat,
screamed. Jump, Annie, he's going to duck
you. She did jump, just as Ruthie and
had done. and again the plank went down
with 81 lash. I went with the girl up to
rested. The next morning in the Police
Court he told tale of such wonderful
virtue and forbearance on mis- part, and
such dreadful; doings of Annie. that Judge
Miller said: Well. 1 guess. John, you'd bet
ter go up for sixty days just to get rest
from such an awfuiiy bad woman He
served his term; meanwhile I had placed
Annie on, of his reach in a home down in
Virginia, and ever since he has been free
Jnhn mas Lea sending ne such tokens of
20, "s."Am - came this morning. varied
with threats of violence"
You can fancy this recital of life, as she
lived on the canal, was not calculated to
increase my confidence in my surround
lngs. The mssionary's room. moreover,
was In itself assurance that the world, to
which / hang by faith. was something
apart and all it's provisions for peace of
mind and creature comfort counted naught
In this strange order of existence.
WOmnn's Touch.
The touch of home that woman's love
Is somehow empowered to give barren
place here betokened love so impersonal
as to have its clearest rendering written in
the inscription above the door: Come unto
me all we that are weary and heavy laden,
and will give you rest" The blessed little
girl who is home anywhere that want. sor-
row and sin make an abiding place for her
mothers service of humanity, went about
singing softly to herself; yet fraught with
sacredness as was this room wherein 1 was
Well frankly confess 1 was none the less
scared. Every once in while there would
te kind of swiShing sound, and perhaps
clanking OF chains outside, and the mis-
sionary would eXclaim, There comes
BOAT, and would run to the door, follow
ing wondering if this one would take off
our dead bodies or would it be the next.
On n Canal Boat.
These canal boats are about seventy-five
feet long, with two low-roofed cabins, one
at either end, each about twelve feet
square In one are housed the mules and
in the other the man and wife and chill
dren. Ten days are occupied in the trip
which extends from the navy yard in
Washington to Cumberland. At each place
the boat ties up for two or three days to
load or unload This affords the women
and children measure of liberty, out they
sun remain class apart. The society of
the submerged has its distinctions and I'M
written laws as iron-bound as those above
administered by Midas and Mrs Grundy
and in this society, which is literally out of
sight, canal folks are counted q degree
lower than the lowest that live on land
saw one of the canal children black and
blue, as far as her flesh was visible from
pounding she had been given by school
children from the toughest part of George
town. who resented the little girls attempt
to go to school. and sought by bea ting to
teach her to keep the place that according
to their social scheme is on the canal and
nowhere else. The towpath is the only bit
of ground where these children feel they
ri o. tn he md ,1,ar he
boats are tied up the mules take so much
OF this narrow space that the very beasts
OF the field seem to combine with all hu-
mainly above to crowd the little folks CT
the canal back on the bad-smelling, close
confined boats, the decks of which offer
such an uncertain playground that The
children play there staked like cattle. They
wear a leather band around the waist
staple on the boat. They sleep in this har
ness in summer. when families. as rule,
make their beds on deck. Yet. despite this
precaution, canal children are constantly
drowning. Six have been lost this way
since last June.
Pauline Pry Goes Aboard.
In order to change the mules from the
towpath on one side to the other, a boat
tied up in front OF the missionarys door,
and with great trepidation l went aboard.
l did not go down into the jaunty cabin.
could not. There isn't sulphur nor Tur
kish baths enough in the world to ever put
me on good terms with myself again had
done so. This room, twelve feet square,
had a bed across one end part way. and
hung over this was another bed. Extending
the rest of the way across was something
built like closet, which contained another
bed, the partitioning forming the frame,
the occupants crawling in through small
door. In the niche on the side which this
closet bed made was a cook stove on which
grease and onions were frying. A locker
no ut hnr cid wit h obi lIr.sT, 4
great rawboned woman, constituted The
remainder Of the furniture at the time of
my visit.
Sample Canal Matron.
You dear old soul; I'm terrible glad to
see you," was the hearty greeting the We
man gave the missionary, taking her pipe
out of her mouth and splitting with good
aim out the small window. She wore
sun bonnet that looked as if it also served
the purpose of night cap, and in spite of
the cold day, her dress waist was fastened
by but two buttons at the waist and open
ed from there to the throat to make per
forming the maternal function to six
months old baby as little trouble posi-
BILE.
Didn't l get a scare comm down this
trip" she said You see Joe in be-!
there?' We had not seen Joe. but being
directed by her motion. now perceived a
boy about eight years old under the covers
of the closet bed.
I'VE wuz about three miles this side of
Cumberland when l see that brat go off
inter the water. There's Joe ducked,' says
1. He's divin,' says pop He amt divln',
says l. He is divin', says pop. Then says
/, If he's dvin' I'll dive an l duv Down
went and sures as he's a red-headed
good-for-nuthin' brat, there he was ON the
bottom, his hands dug tight in the mld
stitiin' like blamed fool yanked him up
sudden. kin tell you, and brought him up
and slung him at pop, sayn' That's how
he was divin'. We rolled him over a
mighty sight afore the water come out'n
him, and now he amt feein' good for much
yet. but he's a Twin. l never did believe
in these folks as have their hearts broke
and go snivelin' around to make others
miserable. You see, l might ha' been sit
tin by corpse this mint and carryin' on
to kill If hadn't up and hustled that brat
back where he belongs, and reckon if 9TH
er folksd do more hustin' and less hangin
back and holerin we aid get along a
heap easier; amt that SOP
Nobody could dispute this philosophy, first
because it is sound and also because the
canal lady uttering it looked able to back up
every word she spoke.
1t was only a few minutes work changing
the mules, and We therefore made a coli