The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1906-08-18
THE SLAVE OWNER

oAAooAN 0A0oP. Cl0pt up " look dL
him. had heard he was coming and
that he was a runaway slave.
Whats your name?' I asked.
'Aleck,' he said: an what's your
name, young marster?'
Sammy l sad.
That's the way it began between
us, and it's kept on ever since. / call
him 'Aleck,' and he calls me Sammy
never anything else, even to-day"
He calls you Sammy" said, in
establishment. The familiarity was
new to me between master and slave.
Yes, always. There isn't another
person in the world now that calls me
Sammy" 8"
My travelling companion stopped for
moment, cleared ibis throat and con-
tinued: 49, u:
"Aleck didn't do a. thing but look
after me. We fshed ii together and
went swimming together: and we
hunted eggs and trapped rabbits; and
when got older and had gun Aleck
would go along to look after the dogs.
and cut down the trees when we were
out for coons.
What Aleck had in those days I
mad, and what I had he had; and there
was no difference between us till the
war broke out
Il was grown then, and Aleck was
six or seven years older We were on
the border line, and one morning the
union soldiers opened fire, and all that
was left of the house, barns, outbuild-
ings and negro quarters was a heap Of
ashes.
THAT sent me south, of course, feel
ing pretty ugly and bitter, and 1 don't
know that I've gotten over it since.
MY father was too old to go, and he
and my mother moved into the village
and lived in two rooms over my ia
theirs Office
In a few months they had drafted
Aleck and carried him off.
Three years after that my mother
fell i'll and heard of it and came
back in disguise, and was arrested as
suspicious character as I entered the
town. l didn't blame them, for
looked like tramp and intended to.
The next day I was let out and went
nome to where my mother and father
were living. AS I was opening the
garden gate-it was night-Aleck laid
his hand on my shoulder. He had on
the uniform of United States SOL
der. | couldn't believe my eyes at
nrst. had lost track of him. and.
as | found out afterwards, so had nv
father. We stood under the street
lamp and he saw the look in nv face
and threw his hands up over his head
as a negro does when some sudden
shock comes to him.
Don't turn away fom me, Sammy
ne cried, please don't, Sammy. faint
my fault I got on desc clo'es, deed it
amt. Dey done fo'ced me. I heared
you was here an been tryin' to gift
to We all day. Oh, so glad to cit hold
Oh We, Sammy, so glad; so glad He
broke out into sobs of crying: was
near 1t myself, for he was the first one
from home had seen, and there was
something in his voice that went
through me.
"Then he unbuttoned his coat. felt
in his pocket, pushed something into
my hand and disappeared in the dark
ness. When L. got inside and, held it
out to the light, he had, given me two
fve-dollar greenbacks! IS" ,,
II was sitting by my mother the
next: night about ten o'clock
wouldn't let me out Of her sight
when there came q rap at the, door
and Aleck came in: = knew how my
father would feel about seeing him in
those clothes: I didn' know tilltafter.-
wards that, they were all he had and nd
that the poor fellow. was as bad: 81 as Is
any ofls., s# q .z1z5 i Is AZ, .5Z &: / 7:
! 4: + = ather opened upon Aleck= right
away Just as I: knew he would d, With.
out giving him q chance e. speak. 55.IIe
upbraided him Tor going into the
army told Is take his mon 81 back