The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1904-05-18
Bread Cast
On the Waters


wife Of Colonel Trayers, who had fall.
en- in one Of the battles Of the civil wnr
fighting for the Genfederacy. called
one Of her former slaves into her
house and thus spoke to him:
Zach. you have for some time been
a freeman; but, unlike the rest Of my
men aud women, you have continued
to stag SSlth me and work for me. !
have NOT been surprised at this, for
You have always served me faithfully
You know that besides this plantatior
! own small one In the next county.
1t is OF no use to NE since have M
people to work it. The buildings are
going to ruin, and, the fences having
been used for firewood BY tlie soldiers
OF both SIDES, the place is left entirely
unprotected. have determined to give
the plantation TO you. There is a deed
for It. Take 1t and see whether you
can make the gift valuable
'Wha' -wha' 20 goin, TO do. mis-.
tress2 10 goin' to GLIB away de place
widout nottln' paid TO it3'
Yes. Zach. I'm going TO give 1t to
you, hoping that 1t may serve as some
reward for your devotion to me during
trying times, for standing by me
through four bitter years of war when
your master was away in the army
and since you were made free by the
proclamation. still have this large
plantation, but don't feel that can
make 1t pay me anything. am un.
used to hiring hands to work, and
have not the business capacity nor tile
capital to raise and dispose of crop.
You can tcgin in small way, doing
some of the work yourself and hiring
few hands to help you when necessary.
Go, Zach. wish you success"
"Mist'ess." said the negro, IF yo'll
list let me kiss yo' hand once I'll take
so gift and see what l can do with it,
She held out her hand to him, and he
touched it reverently with his lips,
then went out to take possession of his
plantation.
Twenty years passed.
The widow had each year made a
desperate effort to raise crop of cot.
ton and market It. Some years she
had succeeded In reaping sufficient
profit to enable her to live and put in
the seed for the next years crop. But
she found that when she most needed
hands the negroes were least willing
to engage, and when she succeeded la
inducing them to do so there was no
way Of keeping them up to their work
The days of the overseer were ended.
and the widow had not found sub.
stitute. The consequence was that at
last she saw herself an old. broken
down woman, her buildlngr dllapidat-
ed for want of having been kept up,
her farming utensils either broken or
taken away by her hired hands and
her treasury empty.
Meanwhile Zach had proceeded on
the advice given him by his mistress
beginning by working a few acres him
self, saving most of the proceeds OF his
crops, repairing his buildings with his
own hands during the winter season
and, as his boys grew older, avaiIing
himself of their help. Every season
he cultivated more acres than the pre-
ceding one till the whole plantation
was productive. While many planters
sold their best seed to the cottonseed
oil manufacturers Zach declined to
sell bis seed at any price, putting 1t
all into the ground. The result was
that he got larger crops, better cotton
and higher prices than his neighbors
The time came when he had more
money In bank than he cared to use in
his planting.
Zach had often visited his former
mistress and begged her to let him do
something for her, but the idea OF ac-
ceptinG anything from one who had
been her slave was repugnant to her,
and she always concealed her impov-
erished condition. But one morning
Zach went to the old plantation and as
he entered the grounds noticed that
there was not negro on the place
Going Into the house he found his mis-,
tress sitting before a table on which,
though 1t was her dinner hour, there
was nothing but corn pone. The tears
came into the mans eyes.
"Afist'ess," he said, "yo' hain't been
treatin' me far. Yo' been sayin' 20
didn't need nottin', and here 20 air
eatin' what want fit TO- yo' field
hands in de days when Mars Cunnel
war a-libln. Yo' GLIB me yo' leetle
plantation, and TUX it. Now yo' need
meat and bread an yo' won't take 'em
from me. know hain't fittln' TO glib
nottin' to fine white lady who always
glib tings away herself, but this dir
gottin' into bad way--a mighty bad
way-and somepin' hes to be done. u
hain't goin' to stand It no longer.
I'd come hyer and wuk 20 plantation
TO- yo myself, but I'd haf to hire
lot of these lazy niggers, and l got
nuff of 'en now. / got check TO-
some cotton dis mawnin'. and I'm
goln' to make 1t paid to yo'. Don't
say nottin'; hain't gibin' yo no mon
ey-only glbin' yo' back leetle bit Of
what yo' glib me. What l be today
widOut 20 gibin' me dat plantation?'
While speaking the last words he
was milking for a writing desk. and,
desnite the old ladv's nrntaGf H.,