The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1910-03-25

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Mai. Baldwin was blessed with
worthless son, a very unusual case
in that section Of the country, lying
between the Broad and Saluda rlV-
ers, and known from the mountain
to the sea as 1.-THE Dutch Fork. -
Furthermore, he had an aristocrahc
wife, and a naughty daughter, known
to the negroes of the two plantations
as the "young miss at the big
house." These two ruled the old
Major with a strong hand. Now,
this Marse Jake was an outeast, an
exile from his family, but the neigh
bors all said Jake was the best one
in the bunch.
May, the young miss at the big
house, had never allowed her cold,
proud heart to fall a victim Of loves
wiles. Nevertheless, her splendid
style of beauty, her magnificent form,
rosy complexion, to say lothlng Of
her fathers wealth, brought suitozs
for her hand and heart in abundance.
Still Miss May was unfettered and
fancy free, while the young gallants
fickered around her Like. moths to
the candle.
Mai. Baldwin was a man Of many
acres, in the heart Of Dutch Fork
and many slaves, with a good, easy
disposition, always yielding to the
point of least resistance. So he gem
orally allowed his pompous wife and
august daughter to run the household
as they saw fit.
+, It was told of old Major Baldwin
how true I am not prepared to say
that during the day, when he was
out on the farm at work with the
negroes he always left his shoes at
the ".big. house, and should company
come in the meantime, Mrs. Baldwin
would rush negro out INTO the yard
with the shoes, ready to put on, be-
fore being admitted to the house.
But what Of Jake, his son, and two
years younger than Miss May? No
pen can portray the characteristics,
the peculiarties and idiosynerasies OF
Marse Jake, as the negroes on the
plantation, as well as those round
about called him. He had long since
I5een given up as a hopeless case by
the naughty women Of the household
and, of course, the father silently
gave consent. There was nothing
vicious, dissolute o.. mean about
Jake. He was just simply worth
less, rowing blade, loved fun and
frolic and above all, he loved to hunt
and fish. The negroes all said Marse
Jake was a sure enough gentleman,
and the best dancer in all the eoun-
try side. In his early youth he had
chosen as his affinity and, boon COM
panion a great pot-belied, fat-head-
ed negro boy. near his own age, and
who answered to the name of Cage.
There were. never two people better
suited and more devoted to each 9TH
,er than these two adopts in Vaga-
bondage. They were inseparabls.
Cage followed Jake Like a shadow,
while the latter thought everything
done and said by the former was
just too funny for anything. Cage
was considered by white and black to
be the LATEST negro in the land, do
ing nothing but trailing after Jake
Baldwin's heels, carrying his gun
and fishing tackle. Mrs. Baldwin
and her daughter rordially hated
Cage, and laid most Of Jake's short
eomings to his door. And the over
seer, he was only biding his time
when he would be called upon to take
the worthless rascal in hands.
Major Baldwin, to keep down bick- |
erings against Jake for his uncouth
and slovenly ways, his Indifference to !
the proprieties Of life, wished to!
keep them out Of sight as much as
possible and allowed Jake and Cage
to follow the even tenor of their
ways. Both were lazy, out Of all
reason, it is true, but to ramble from
morn till night over the field hunt
ing, or pushing a rickety old bat
teau up and down the river, fishing,
were joys unspeakable, with Cage
carrying his long barrel "fint and
steel" gun percussion caps were