The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-11

Now Mistis amt we gwine SEN Mars
Ran no Christmas box dis year? 1t
pintedly do seem too bad to disappint
de chile"
We were all "chillun' to Nanny,
and even though my soldier brother
now bore the title of major she
could never forget that scarcely TWEEN
ty years ago he had laid his curly
head on her breast, well knowing that
there was no more faithful repository
for his childish woes.
Tears came into my dear mothers
eyes, as she thought OF the soldier boy
who would have to be disappointed,
as far as she could see. This was the
Christmas of "a, when the people with
in the Confederate lines were at the
extremity of their needs.
"Oh, nanny" she said. What have
we for a box? Not a turkey or a
chicken, except old Speck did the last
raiders leave US. l sent to the village
yesterday for some eggs, but the last
had been sold at SIS a Dozen You
know we sent him the last coffee in the
other box, and unless you or Chloe
were there to make it, Randolph would
not have it fit to drink out of the rye
and Ochre we use"
why, Missis,'' cried nanny, tri-
umphantly, lis you done forgot de
piZended hams?" These pizened hams
are worthy of place in history. When
it was reported that the raiders were
coming. my mother determined to save,
If possible, the few hams that were
left. Taking nanny and faithful Ben
into her confidence, she proceeded with
very OstentatiOus secrecy to the smoke
house, well knowing that the eye Of
a young negrOe was at each chink,
trying to find out what "ole Miss was
doing so secret in de smoke house."
The next day the Federal soldiers came
While some looked after the live stock
and ransacked the house, others pro-
ceeded to the smoke house, for Virginie
hams had high reputation. The looks
of the little negroes told a tale of mys-
terry of some sort, which excited the
suspicious of the soldiers, and these
suspicious were confirmed when a fine
white powder was discovered over the
meat. Selling one black boy by the
collar, a soldier demanded the secret.
Use skeered to tell you, sobbed the
boy, while his teeth chartered, cause
Nanny caught us peepin' an said if
we tOle she gwine buss our haid OPEN"
But, as the danger of a bus open
haid" seemed much more imminent
from the soldier than from Nanny,
the confession was finally extracted
dat me and Dick seen ole Miss sneak
in long to de smoke house. an she
shot de do SO still like, dat we peeped
in, an dar she wus putin dat white
stuff on de meat, an Uncle Ben say
as how eff de Yakees eat dat meat
L.
then a paper labeled strychnine was
discovered in a corner. So our precious
hams were saved by a harmless shower
of flour and a piece of white paper.
With a ham to start with no Con-
fe6erate would despair Of a box. TO
Chloe proceeded to make half bushel
of gingersnaps, which, with COOLERS,
formed the Confederate confectionery.
I turn to my Confederate receipt
book" and see how these snaps were
made. "One-half cornmeal, one-half
flour, sorghum, potash Ga dark pow
der extracted from hickory ashes by
some homely process and used as soda)
garden-raised pepper and hOrseradish
for pungency." We had peach pre-
serves made with the inevitable sor-
gnum, but there was not a jar to be
had, so we had almost despaired Of
being able to send any, when nanny
gourds we'll sweetened and dried. These
were filled with the precious sweet,
then the plug replaced and made Sc
cure With paper and paste. Some of
the f1eldhands brought in two young
possums for Simeon said: IF Marse
Ran. is got to be a major, I know he
amt forgit to love possum." 1 pro-
posed to sacrifice "Speckle," the only
hen left us, but Chloe protested dat
ole hen got too much sense, she amt
gwine be kilt even for Marse RAN"
When the raiders came our good cook
mad stuffed the hen under an empty
box in the kitchen There this wise
blrd stayed without a sound for 36
hours, wondering no doubt what made
the night so long. When she was re-
leased, she found herself monarch of
all she surveyed. Every other domestic
animal had gone the way of all f1esh'
But though there was no poultry for
1t, the preparations for the box went
merrlIy on. In one corner was put
bag of cloudy looking salt Randolph
had said in his last letter, that the
corn pone, or hard parched corn, which
was all they had to eat, would not
be so bad If they had salt This salt
was triumph Of domestic ingenuity.
All the large meat houses had earth
floors, over which had been hung and
cured the vast quantities of meat used
on the plantation for generations
These dirt floors were dug up, and the
earth boiled in large kettles until the
salt was extracted. Several wagon
loads Of dirt made only a few quarts Of
the precious powder.
Our box was filed at last, and SEEM
ed to our Confederate eyes very COM
plete when every crevice had been
filled with sweet potatoes, COOLERS and
home-knit gloves and socks. The box
was finished but there were no nails
with which to fasten it, A few days
before this the blacksmith had said
there was no more iron. But Ben
brought from his store some old horse
shoes. Armed with these, I myself
went to see the nails beaten out by
the smith for we dare not trust that
precious iron out of our sight
When Rams letter (the dear letter
written on brown paper 1 have it
now, told us how that hard iron box
gave him and his mess the first real
meal they had enjoyed for many weeks.
many tears were shed. Dear cid
Nanny could badly stand up under
the caresses that were lavished on her
as the prime mover of the box. But
for her suggestion of the "pizened
hams" it would never have been