Evening star., 1897-01-02

| I'M -A-A1f-.f keys are not respect
| VNM SN,l able colored persons)
| &> AN is strangely attract
| IA ed by music, musk
| Ar and the military.
As cur troops marched into the south
ern country the darkeys would flock to
!ooh at the soldiers and, especially in the
| case of the younger ones, could not keep
| from following. Thus every advancing
| column carried with it a black contingent
gathering g volume, like a rolled SNOWFALL.
until at times the white force seemed to
be mere nucleus.
This was complimentary, but not al
ways convenient; as there was small de-
| mand for their services except as body
servants to officers, and mobs of the ig-
norant creatures became simply nomads.
trudging aimlessly after the troops and
exposed to most of the hardships. IL not
to the dangers, of campaigning. with none
OF the glory or pay. For all that they
| were happy lot in childish recklessness
OF the future and easy Oblivion of the past.
Beyond the general idea that contact with
the Union soldiers meant being free, they
mad little idea of what the war was about.
One fairly intelligent looking negro being
told, laughingly. that he looked like a Sc
cessionist. replied:
Deed | isn't no secessionist.''
vis?'' O"
mo. sah"
We'll, do you hurrah for the Union?"
NO, san, l doesn't hurrah fer him
needer'
Then who do you hurrah for?
Il jess hrrrahs fer Abe Linkum"
1hat was a word OF magic to the war
time negro. AS body servants to the off,
GERS the green field hands were sore trials
as the very names of things in daily use
were Unknown. Meat meant only fat
pork. bread" conveyed nothing but corn
meal cooked In small loaves, and one will
ing youth who served me, answered a
question as to what he had been doing
with my sword by stating:
Use jess been cleaning yo' savious"
which was as nearly as he had caught The
word sater.
'One oh de Sta6."
Officers servants took amonk them
selves the rank mot the title) Of their en-
ployers. A general officers servant would
converse only de haut en- bas with the
darkey Who waited on a captain. 1 knew
case where a detailed staff officer re-
turning to his regimental duties could not
get his servant to accompany him. The
fellow had. he said, been servant to a
mounted staff officer and couldn't demean
himself by waiting on a mere infantry
ieuterSnt Sometimes these airs were like
ly to get the darkeys into scrapes.
one night in eastern Kentucky a certain
general and his staff were sleeping on q
foor OF a deserted house during a brief
nights halt, and, although all were snor-
lrg. the creaking noise of the door being
stealthily opened awakened every man on
the instant.
Who goes there?" was promptly called
out.
The answer. in a gentle, almost apollo
"One OBJ de STAFF
Boots. sabers and everything else that
hands could throw went crashing at that
hastily shut door, and for days afterward
particularly ragged darkey as perhaps he
ing "one OBJ de STAFF off duty
The news brought by grape vine tele-
graph frequently beat the regular chan
@ lteiS Oh Information In the most astonishing
fashion. Reports Of decisive battles long
distances away were current with correct
statements as to the ISSUE on several occa-
slons when no known means of such early
rransmission ra existed by mail or wire.
Granting a few cases when coincidence
arising from the constant chatter OF our
sable attendants might furnish the solu-
ton. there were others where the whole
subject Of the manner OF TRANSMISSION was
ard still is, a mystery.
Whlte people, hundreds of miles from, the
scene are said to have learned from tba
negroes that the battle of Bull Run had
.,es. Desh Iousht ana lost by the Union army.
Just as they are said to have learned in lSiss
OF the fall of Vicksburg by grape vine tel
egraph' long before the news could reach
them through white channels.
Virginia State Pride,
Inc army darkey, with all his glee over
MS freedom, Dragged of having belonged to
rich people, and to some extent boasted of
his state. Virginia darkeys certainly looked
down on those Of other states. Even
Kentucky darkey would observe In a quar-.
rel: Il never yit did see an AIIerbarmer
niger wuf anything"
Inc cortrabands had the acquisitiyeness
OF magpies as to cast-off things of no yalue
one who could get part of a worn-out u,f-
icrm was an object of envy among his fell
son,s sows' anu anu IN every mob of them could be
seen sorry mules. usually the veriest linn
ing skeletons, loaded with trash which was
almost pathetic in its worthlessness-sreh
as ragged fragments of blankets. corfoe
t to.s wiInout spouts, kettles without bot
IONS ana Dts OF all the odds and ends left
IN deserted camps. Sometimes such an ami.
MAJ Wouiu De surrounded by an entire fam
ny, ny, from the newborn pickaninny, looking
IN. d piach rubber doll, and carried by its
hianlIny Whlle she led the next larger sized
enid by the hand. up to the gray-haireJ
vised cane A O." iiipfo-
The contrabands, who, it NAV he said :,
passing, spoke of themselves as ..comn,r,,
oands '-miSled by the sound-were usafn,
Mhen permitted to handle army mnles
1uey hdu, ana nave, natural faculty with
mule far beyond the capacity of a white
man to acquire. An army mule was more
dangerous than Gatling gun He could
kick in seventeen directions at once and
with unerring aim. while the peculiar teie
scopic extension slides on his hind legs en-
abied him to kick a soldier anywhere from
three rods to furlong distant, even if that
soldier was up tree down in a cellar
some mules kicked better than others. but
a strictly average hree-year-old would
think nothing of kicking the waathercock
on an Episcopal church the other side OF
the railroad track. When the six-m;,la
wagon teams would quarrel among them
selves about forage or politics, all COM
mencing TO argue with their heels simuIta-
neously, the white teamster might be kick
ed into an adjacent township, but IL an
ordinary contraband came on the SCENE ba
would calmly take the bride of the near
wheel mule. crawl up on the animals back
and call out:
High dar! You mewels. Jess look at
yo'selves. Whatcher doin'? Get up dar. YOU
meweli and the team would clamp their
bell-pull tails down and haul that wagon
away SO steadily and sweetly that only
the way the mules would wink at each
other would prove they were not at the
funeral of relative and y,,,cb ivx,