The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-04-28
ONCE THE YOUNG[RS' SLAVE
UNCLE PERRY FRISTo rs NOW ~
.Na IN wESTPORr.
he was Seie' Jim and bob Yoaawer.s
servant and Accompanied TA.~
on Maay reriious rrips-rhe o,1
Home Place i'm slavery Daya

Perry FriSto. or Uncle Perry az \.
IS more often called, is a familiar eha,.
seter in the south part OF the city. lie i.
the former shave or Harry Younger. INA
father OF Cole. Bch and Sim YounrY,
once bandits of Missouri, He IS A l.s.,s
bent old negro. with a stoop in ais sAoa,.
ceTs and a crock in his Knees Ills vel.
low skin is dried and wrinsled Small
shif'y black eyes peer from under sh,s.
~ gray hrows and little tufts Of whi,a
wool overhaay his ears
The cabin where he lives Is old ana
diagy II is in the rear of a brick ssax~
building at Forty-lirss aud SUNNI,
streets. aud stands on 4 knoll OF srounA
al the side of small. winding cress.
To-day Uncle Perry is an old. deerecs,
qneru,ous negro. But there was TIN.
and that time he distinctly recalls. vhs,
he was young and vigorous and GOOD =
look upon; when he was the nurse ana
playfeliow OF a hand OF rollicksng hov..
when he was the champion iig-lancer.ls
all Southern Missouri. and could ride ana
shoot and swim like de berry dehel. n
is OF those days that he likes 70 talk. ana
one day last week he told some interest,"
ing things about his early life al tha
Younger plantation.
HIS Early Days.
IL was born in old Virginia" he her.n
speaking slowly and thickly. '.ana I WA
years old when Marsa Younger bourhe
ME and fetched me home with him
cont recollect who my first master WA
and don't remember anything about the
life | led before | came TO Marsa Yeun. &
ei's farm in Clss county. Mo- / wouldIl
Know how old am now. eept Miss b.
ina, old marsa's daughter. told me | M
years old when her father bought n
and now ] was nigh 80 years old.
"Marse Younger's was a likely rlace Il
them old days. The farm contained ~.
erai hundred acres of good land: plenty
OF meadows, plenty OF timber. and plenty
OF good corn raising ground. The biz
house, where the Youngers lived, was I
large. roomy Log cabin. Ii was built from
hewn logs. and the ehinks were filled with
pieces of wood and sandy. yellow mud. II
had big porches at the front and the
sides, and tall. red-hriek chimney Al
the back, a hundred yards from the
house were the negro quarters. Thea
quarters were not large when l came 10
live with Marsa Younger; hut they were
mighty big just before the war. and then
they grew small again" and the old 70.
gro ehuekled.
In the Negro Quarters.
AT the quarters" he continued, were
a lot of little cabins huddied close togesh-
er; and two big cabins standing somewhat
apart. The little cabins were for negroes
who We're married. and the big ones for
the unmarried slaves. One OF the big cab
ms was the boys room. and the other the
girls. But IL was at the boys loom ~
had all the fun. 1t WAS a big room.
heap bigger than the girls. At enc end
OF 1t was large, open fireplace. in which
burned huge pine logs, and around the
walls We're the hunks, where We negroes
slept. Sometimes we had dances and par
ties at the boys room. and quite often III
little Narsa Youngers would come d
them. or course they didn't dance, but
they always enjoyed watching the ~
groes having a good time. Sometimes
too. they would bring cake and eggnog
from the big house and give 1t 10 Us u
groes. for they were the kindest beyos
in the world. l remember how I uso171f
take them hunting. and how we'd tan
our guns and horses and go out into IT,
woods and spend the night In a cana
Oh. but 1t was great fun. We'd build
log fire from the dead leaves and hroksa
branches of trees. cook meal OF fretn
meat or iish and then lie close around the
blazing logs with out feet pointed toward
'em. and cur heads propped up on our
saddles. Then when our pipes uera III.
we'd lie there all quiet like and Dream or
maybe we'd spin yarns on adventures. 4
was happy In those days." murmured the
old fellow softly. ''Yes, very. very happy.
indeed.
Praises for the Younger Heys.
And those boys were 80 good to me"
he continued. "Cole and Bob and lin
were. On one IF our hunting trips was (
hurt, very badly hurt. The horse WAS
riding threw me, and then stepped On rae: q
and | was In bed several weeks on &C.
count Of the accident. But the bop
nrrsed me tenderiy until at length grew
strong again. No. ] shall never forEet
what those boys did for me. can never
forget how sorry they looked AZ isy
crushed and bleeding on the ground, @
how carefully they raked together sotI
thick bed OF leaves that | might resi- ear
Ter while my wounds were bandaged
But I suppose you want TO know some
thing more of the boys" said ne, now
they learned TO shoot, perhaps! Wen.
IN tell you. for they certainly had -
odd enough way. There WIS Dill %
Old Marsa Yonngers farm. not steep
hill but gradual sloping HILL 1t WA
just behind the big house, and there u
was the boys practced shooting. recoa.
lect they'd take a wagon wheel. send y
humping and bouncing down nil. ana
shoot Il as is rolled They'd mount tneu
stout little Mexican ponies and disn PAN
a row of five or six trees. putting snoS
through a certain mark on every ifss.
They'd loss coins Into the air ara snn0s
holes through them a. they fell- Ans
they'd shoot twigs from the highss. res
on the farm. Sometimes they'd 30 Vsit
ing around their neighhorhood. sad Whss
they did I always west along with tnem.
We'd attend dances and parties at nearby
plantations. and while the young msssen
were having fun with tho white youn9
ladies, I'd be having jolly time niftnS
with the negro girls. Those were napW
days for me- very happy ones; ana ! W.
the BOYS almost as much as-|iod.
Nothing of Their Bandlt Days
The little old negro was silent now g.
law back in his low arm chair, weary an
Hstless. He would tell nothing about tns
latter and outlaw life Of the foune0
brothers.
FOR that" said he. wasn't any OF NJ
business, and no old slave Is going 70 ~
ANYTHING against masters he loved.
When a newspaper prints story aposs
the YoungerS. or publishes plea FOR tns.
release from prison. the article Is read ~
re-feah BY the old negro. He pronapw
kravvs more about their early outlaw BIZ
than any other person living. save tnsy
themselves, but he can keep secret kse
tolls nothing Occasionally he receives