The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-07-01
JEFFERSON DAVIS
CONTINUED from page ~

to meet them in the next l want to
be able to look them in-the face and
say that l was true to them.
What few personal things Mr.. and
Mrs. Davis had hidden away we're
dug up after the war, that is, all ex-
cept the great seal of the Confed-
eracy, which will probably remain
where it is for a good many years 10
come. 1t will probably be found by
accident some day, but there isn't
enough money in the United States TO
make me tell where it is, though I'm
the poorest man you know.
"All I'll say is that it was down in
Virginia. Perhaps it wasn't far from
Richmond. That's all l will ever tell,
for l gave Mr.. Davis my word of
honor that I'd never tell a living
soul where the seal was hidden. /
never broke my word to him while
he was living, and I'm not going to
do it now that he is dead. Lots of
men have tried to make me betray
that trust, but none have ever sue
ceeded or ever will.
"One day, it was on the day that
Mr.. Davis monument was unveiled
down at Richmond, and Senator Car
mack of Tennessee made the Grafton
Of the occasion, two men tried to buy
the secret of the seal from me. They
put a lot of money down on the table
in front of me; they said it was
$4,000, and it looked like it was
more than that, and they told me
that l could have it all if I would
lead them to the spot where the great
seal of the Confederacy was buried.
tell you I looked hard at THAI
money, for it was a whole lot, but it
didn't tempt me much.
'Mr. Davis always treated me more
like a relative than a servant, he was
so kind and considerate. l was with
him for years, yet l never heard him
utter a swear word, though some OF
the other servants said that he used
profane language at times. AS I was
with him so long and had never heard
him swear, l never believed those
stories.
81 was waiting on the ladies table
down at the st. Charles Hotel, New
, Orleans, when I first saw Mr.. and
Mrs. Davis, and it was down there
/ that they hired me- Bishop Otey rec
commended me to Mrs. Davis so high
ly that one day when I was waiting
at her table she said that~-she was
going to hire me anyway. We wan
you to come with u.s. she said, AN;
we won't take no for an answer S;
in a day or two I met Mr.. Davis IT
Bishop Otey's study and we came e
a business understanding.
81 was a free-born man, as I told
you before. My mother was two
thirds Cherokee, and my father was
a Creole, so I never said Master e
no man, not even to Mr. Davis.
down in New Orleans, where they
hired me, Willie and Jefferson Davis
two of Mr.. Davis sons both died ci
the yellow fever. They had a boat
together, Willie was the captain anC
Jeff was the mate and they were
mighty fine young fellows I want tc
tell you. l drove the horses that tool
the hearse to the cemetery when they
were buried.
81 drove the horses that carried
Mr.. Davis to his grave, and the horse:
that took Mrs. Davis to the cemeter!
when she was laid away. l drove tn,
hearse that went out to the cemeter'
when poor little Joe was buried 10,
was the baby, you know He wa
only little bit of tot when he wa
killed down in Richmond. He wa
toddling around, unsteady on his fee
like most little fellows are, yor
know, when he fell off a veranda an,
struck his poor little head on tn
stones. l have been to the funeral
of all the Davis family-Miss Wiz
ME and all-except Miss Maggie, VIII
was afterward Mrs. Hayes, and sh
was cremated, so I could not driv
the horses there.
'If live to a hundred-I az
eighty-three next 9th of March,
think-I'll never forget the last day