The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1900-05-03

Ously, the white teamstef might be
kicked into an adjacent township. but
IL an ordinary contraband came on the
scene he 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
mt yourselves. Whatcher doin'? Get IN
dar, you newell and the team
clamp their bellpull 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 near
relative and much impressed thereby.
The boldest soldier in the army would
vince in passing a mule train On . mar
row road-neyer knowing what minute
he might be playing tag with the
heavenly bOdies-whereas, any stray
darkey would, if requested. pick stone
ont of a mules hind foot, using no
stronger formula Of speech than:
Watch out dar. you mewel! I sees
yo,i fiOgrasticatin' ye nonsense. 'Hayye
yoself. TO buss yo' wide openr'
The ignorant Southern darkeys had
strange IDEAS Of Yankee sOdgers' be-
fore seeing them. i have heard them
speak of their surprise that the hrst
specimens seen were like other white
folks and not so much as wearing horns
on the head. One old uncle observed:
Il was most jubous tell see one take
his hat of, an. bless yO' soul! he hadn't
no mo- horns on his hade den me. Deed
de Onliest diffunce l see in 'um was dey
didn't chew terbacker an talk poler-
ticks de whole blessed time lax. our
fOlkses did"
There was something touching in
their subserviency to the whites. Strag-
Cling soldiers would make them carry
like mules. One poor cOntraband. stag
gering along under four muskets and
innumerable accouterments, was an
grily asked by an officer who happened
on the scene why he carried such q
load for lazy soldiers. He answered
simply:
DE gentlemen tole me hat ter take
'em Dey'd been tOtin' dem all de
mawnin' deserves. dev said, an was
tireder den me. Sides, dey t0le me I
was 'bleedzei ter tote IN anyway"
Contrabands hanging about the
camps believed at first everything told
them by the soldiers. Army horses and
mules were branded ~. s." ON the left
shoulder in letters about two inches
high. On one occasion the soldiers cir
cuiated a report that all the contra
bands were to be similarly marked for 4
Identification as Union darkeys. The
result was a remarkable reduction in
our sable camp followers within few
hours, but some were quite willing to
submit to the branding for the sake Of
with the 'sodgers-"
One Of these actually stood without
while the practical jokers
brought a heated branding iron close to
his forehead. fully prepared to stand
the burning. Another one swore he had
already been branded but the marks
had got wore on" The only one who
really felt the iron was m agile youth
who was calm until the mere edge Of
the heated iron touched him about half
way between his neck and his heels.
when he gave a warwhoOp and shot out
Of camp like a black meteor. One Of
the jokers in his enjoyment Of the deli
cate humor of this laughed until he fell
backward into the fire and sat down ON
It. The darkey's wild warwhOOp was q
whisper in comparison
with the ear-splitting yell Of that hu-