The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1898-02-04

coat. Like most men VINO nau Ueen
brought up in the West, he had good
command of a horse, but 1t must De
acknowledged that in appearance ne
was not very dashing rider. On TINS
occasion, by the time he had reached
the troops, he was completely covered
with dust, and the black color OF his
clothes had changed to Confederate
gray. AS he had no straps, his trou-
sers gradually worked up above MS
ankles, and gave him the appearance
Of country farmer riding into town
wearing his Sunday clothes. A citizen
on horseback is always an odd sight
in the midst of a uniformed army, and
the picture presented by the president
bordered upon the grotesque. How
ever, the troops were so lost in ad-
miration of the man that the humorous
aspect did not seem to strike them.
The soldiers rapidly passed the word
along the line that Uncle Abe" had
joined them, and cheers broke forth
from all the commands, and enthusiast
tic shouts and even words of familiar
greeting met him on all sides.
After a while General Grant said:
"Mr. President, let us ride on and see
the colored troops, who behaved so
handsomely in Smiths attack on the
works in front of Petersburg last
week"
"Oh, yes" replied Mr.. Lincoln; Il
want to take look at those boys. |
read with the greatest delight the ac-
count given in Mr.. Dana's dispatch to
the Secretary of War of how gallantly
they behaved. He said they took out
six of the sixteen guns captured that
day. / was opposed on nearly every
side when | first favored the raising
of colored regiments; but they have
proved their efficiency, and l am
glad @ey have kept pace with the
white troops in the recent assaults.
When we wanted every able-bodied
man who could be spared to go to the
front, and my opposers kept object
ing to the negroes, l used to tell them
that at such times it was just as we'll
to be a little color blind | think,
general, We can say of the black boys
what country fellow, who was an old
time abolitionist in Illinois, said when
he went to theater in Chicago and
saw Forest playing Othello. He was
not very we'll up in Shakespeare, and
didn't know that the tragedian was a
white man who had blacked up for
the purpose. After the play was over
the folks who had invited him to go
to the show wanted to know what he
thought of the actors, and he said:
WAL, layin' aside all sectional pref
udices and any partially l may have
for the race, derned if l don't think
the niger held his own with any on
EN-" The Western dialect employed
in this story was perfect.
The camp of the colored troops of
the Eighteenth Corps was soon reach
ed. and scene now occurred which
defes description. They beheld for
the first time the liberator of their
race-the man who by stroke of his
pen had struck the shackles from the
limbs of their fellow bondsmen and
proclaimed liberty to the enslaved AL
ways impressionable, the enthusiasm
of the blacks now knew no limits.
They cheered, laughed, cried, sang
hymns of praise, and shouted in their
negro dialect, God Dress Massa Lin
kumr' de Lord save Fader Abra-
ham, de day OBJ jubilee am come,
shuah." They crowded about him and
fondled his horse; some of them kissed
his hands, while others ran off crying
in triumph to their comrades that they