The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1896-05-19
WORK OF A MIME BALL.
Six Scars Left by One Bullet Up
on the Body Of an Ex-Slave
in Virginia.

There is negro man now living in
Fauquier county, Va, who bears the
evidence on his person of the damage
that one of the old MIME balls was
capable of inflic,ing. He was, prior
to the civil war, the butler in a fine
old mansion where he was as nearly
his own master as slave could be.
He was unusually intelligent and had
been taught to read by the children of
the family, The boy of the house was
happiest when he was allowed to be
with Jim. When, however, the Fed
eral army approached within a days
march to the old homestead Jim ran
off one night to freedom.
About a year afterward he returned
unexpectedly and resumed his old
duties He would say little of his life
as free man, save that he had been
engaged as body servant by an officer.
Not for long time afterward was it
discovered that he had been in serious
trouble, and the discovery was only
made when urged to explain the
presence of six scars that had evident
ly been bullet wounds.
One summer morning he was sent
with an assistant and his young mas
ter to draw seine through the deep
holes in the stream that ran through
the plantation, in order to secure fish
as course for an approaching war
dinner. The seine was made of a cof-
fee bag that had been picken up on a
camp field. The bag was ripped open
and fastened at the two ends to long
poles that it might be showed under
over hanging banks. Clad only in
trousers the men prepared to drag the
first hole, and then the young boy saw
that his pet, Jim, had been injured
After much coaxing jim consented to
explain that the six scars were the
marks of one bullet and to tell how il
happened.
Jim had in some way aroused the
enmity OF one of the guards attached
to headquarters. One afternoon he
had gone on foraging expedition
alone before the countersign had been
selected. Returning about dusk, he
was unlucky enough to be halted on
his approach to camp by his enemy,
His story was that he wished to avoid
a discussion, and 80, when he found
that there would be difficulty in
passing tie guard, he turned, saying
he would 60 elsewhere for the night,
and that the guard shot him without
more ado, The ball from the musket
struck him in the muscles of back be.
hind the arm, passing through them
and into the under part of the arm
1t was DETECTED by the bone and
passed out of the arm about an inch
forward of its entry, entered the fleshy
part of the chest, and out again al
about the same spot in front from
which it would have emerged had il
gone directly through his body from
1 its first point of impact. The soldier
was tried, but exonerated on the
ground that he had reason to believe
that Jim had turned in order to draw
a pistol.
His old master suspected that jim
had returned only to prepare his fami-
ly for another flight, and told him
that he was willing that they should
60 on one condition, and that was that
the departure should be made at night
and SO ithappened. Jim was not seen
again until years after, when the old
plantation had been sold to pay secur-
ity debts. At the close of Virginia
October day Jim led away one of the
old horses that he had bought to use
on little farm he had rented days
Journey from the old home.
/