The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-05-13
WAR STORIES.
Days Of Terror and Suspense Following
Wars Close.

+. aud brought their families home. Al
though people lived for months with
out any protection from even q pre-
tcncc OF law it is strange to remember
how little violence Of any kind there
was. We used to hear dreadful
stories of murders and robbcrics in
other parts of the State, but, with the
exception Of stealing animals to run
away on, there were no lawlcss acts
around here worth mentioning. Near
IL all OF the negroes who were living,
and able to do SO, returned by the 1st
OF September Of that year. They al
ways came up to the house to tell us
"lluddcc,' and to tell the wonderful
adventures and many suffcrings they
had experienced. One old woman
who had attended to the dairy brought
the key up and said: "Nlissis, yer de
dary doh key. kah it all tru dc
ahmy wid me en- cbry time l look at it
/ think cr you Ell dc chillun, en- say
L gwine kah dis key home, en- gic it to
Missis, cf lib ter git here; en- yer it
isr
She was much distressed to hear
that the dairy door had been smashed
open by yankee soldier who was too
thirsty to wait for the key, and so the
key that she had carried so faithfully
was useless. When the negroes came
home one of them, boy, told me
that when he was going to George
town with the yankees, that he had
gone, with some of'them, into white
mnn's house and had taken clock
and carried it off with him, and said
that he didn't know then what i. vas;
that he heard it ticking, aud us he
was carrying it along he heard ''clang,
clang,' under his arm, aud that he
threw it as far from him as he could
leaving the old clock striking away
behind log. This same boy, and
many others. had joined the army
while they we're away, and came home
in blue, with brass buttons. They
now draw pensions for these few
months in the army after the war was
over. A few months after the end of
the war garrison of United States
soldiers came,to Sumter and establish
ed military court, presided over by q
provost marshal, and if white per-
son had any trouble ut all with negro
tho latter would be suro to say, in
hrelteniug tone: "I'll tex you to de
progo master" I've heard the cook
threaten the children Of her mistress
with "de progo master" during q quar-
re! between her and them. The
"progo master" in Sumter was the
late Captain 7. B. Johnston, for many
years after that known as leading
republican politician IN the State, and
I never saw him afterwards without
thinking Of what threatening sort of
q bugaboo he had presented to my boy
ish fears. On the whole, however,
the white and colored people of this
community got on very peaceably to-
gether, and quarrels seldom went fur
ther than threats when their anger
cooled. The greatest trouble we had
with them was to get them to do any
work. The principal thing that free
dom meant to the great majority Of
them, was ability to live without being
obliged to work. Aud it was not
strange that they thought this, for
some OF ine United States away OBJ
GERS held meetings which the negroes
attended, and the later were told that
the land of the white people would
be taken away and each one Of the
negroes would be given forty acres and
mule.
These meetings were held in Sumter
every Saturday. and no matter how
pressing the work on the farms might
be, every negro in the country, wit h
few exceptions men, women and
children-would go to them. They'd
drive if they could scrape up any sort
of an old vehicle, with horse, OK or
ass attached TO it; and if they had no
vehicle, some, would ride the animals
and the others walk; but go they
would!
Aud tho streets Of Sumter would be
jammed with these negroes from morn
ing to night. This thing was kept up
for years and the negroes were being
moulded into the solid republican
ranks that the white people afterwards
found it so hard to break. I remem-
ber attending one of these meetings
once. They were held in an open lot
right in front of the court house,