The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-02-19

| it came to be; the one q cause, and the
other result, of that terrible conflict.
Whether slaves were well treated Or
| i'll, whether their masters were kind and
considerable or harsh and severe, desire
for liberty seemed to possess the slave
heart, and all were ready to escape from
bondage when and as they could, with the
only exception of those who were unable
to take their families with them. and
were unwilling to leave them behind.
them in North Carolina, in South Caro-
| lin, in Florida, in Virginia, and on the
| sea islands of the Southern coast. When
some one said to Mr.. Lincoln that the
| slaves had no desire for emancipation.
| that as a class they were contented as
they were, he replied that, if that were
really SO, it would furnish the best rea-
son he had ever heard for thinking that
they were unfit to be free. But the slaves
whom l met, or of whom ! heard. did not
fail at this testing point. They were not
satisfied with slavery. They all longed
| for liberty. and all were ready to grasp
it when they could.
On the first raid, or dash, of my regi-
ment into the interior of North Carolina,
in which shared, after joined my COM
mand, I met, at Little Washington, an in
| telligent and kind-heated merchant, who
told regretfully of his experience with his
! slaves. At the opening of the war he
had about 30 slaves, whom he priced and
treated kindly. He went to New York to
make purchases, leaving them on his
| place. Before he left he had free talk
with them to promote their contentment.
He assured them that if, N the progress
of the war, other slaves were freed, they
should be, and that at their emancipation
| he would give them tract of 100 acres
of land to settle on, where they could be
as independent as they pleased.
l h. To iva No
them, with times MS they were, since they
could not be used by himself or hired out
to others to advantage. They were now
only burden to him financially, but he
wanted to keep them 'for the pride of the
thing" He bought, he said, several hun
dred dollars worth of clothing for them
in New York, but when he came back all
but one of the slaves, and he an old one
had fed. A slave who was too old. or too
infirm, to take care of himself, was, il
seemed, sometimes willing to be support
ed In slavery rather than to starve in
| freedom.
In spite of the kindness of this mans
heart, in spite of his generous provision
for his slaves. in spite of his liberal prom
! ises to them for the future, in spite of his
pride in their affection and his confidence
| in their cOntentment, almost without eX-
ception they had preferred present liberty
with its uncertainties and risks. to con,
| tinued slavery with nj! Its high privileges
and expectations. The man quite took
this matter to heart, and it did look un
grateful-from his standpoint. But this
was much the way with slaves generally
They steamed in at our picket lines
men, women. and children. They follow,
ed, on its return, every detachment OF
troops sent out on hostile movement
or for purposes of observation. New
Berne swarmed with them, and. the more
there were there, the more others wanted
to come in. Of course, many were doomed
to disappointment in what they there
found in freedom; but none were deferred
from seeking it by what it brought, Oh
what it failed to bring.
ITO he continuedl