Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-12-04


freight and passengers, and the steam
ers plying back and forth between
ST. Louis or Cincinnati AMI New Or
leans were the main means of convey
ance in the southwest. One might
start from either of these cities early
in December, when the ground was
covered with snow, and reach New
Orleans for Christmas to find summer
still lingering.
On this day of Dec. Is, when the
steamer Tecumseh was passing Baton
Rouge, in the cabin sat two men play
ing cards. In those days on the Mis-
sissippi gambling went on openly,
either chips or money on the table
without any pretense OF corcealment.
and these two men were playing with
the principal currency OF the period
the state bank bills. One of them
was n professional gambler, the other
n young sugar planter. whose home
was in Louisiana. not far from New
Orleans The gambler was quietly
taking away from the planter what
money he had with him: now permit
ting him to win a few dollars, and
now forcing him to lose a great many.
Presently he took the last of his op-
ponents funds.
Arthur st. Clair could not afford TO
lose this money. He owned a good
plantation and the negroes TO work II,
but had no capital. Indeed. many OF
the planters of that day were in a con-
tinual state Of debt. usually borrowing
on a new crop before having liQuidat-
ed their indebtedness for the old one.
st. Clair was one of these. Besides
working on the credit system in vogue
at the time, he was a very kind mas
ter to his slaves and never denied them
anything they wanted, no matter what
the cost Nevertheless, having lost
some $500 to the gambler. he yielded
TO n temptation to risk separating one
of the families he owned, for the pur-
pose of making an attempt to recoup.
II have n negro boy, ten years old"
he said. whom ] consider worth at
least $500. Will you lend me 5000 on
him."
Certainly. sub; with pleasure. sub"
III draw up q note containing a
lien on the boy"
Its not necessary, l assure you, sub.
Your word is quite enough. sub"
80 IneN Played Oh I'LL the
loaned was lost; then 5000 more was
borrowed. This also being lost, bill
of sale for the boy was made out for
the property to be delivered ten days
from the date. signed by st. Clair and
handed to the gambler.
al would be happy to loan you more
on other OF your servants, suh,'' said
the gambler.
No" said the other ruefully. by
what l have done l have separated a
family The boy ! have lost at cards
is the only child of the best man and
the best woman I have on my planta
ton. 1t will break both the fathers
and the mothers hearts to part with
him. ! have done very wrong and will
do no more"
St Clair, with lowering brow, went
out on the guard. rs the deck outside
the cabin was called, and, sitting him
self down in one of the wooden arm
chairs he found there, gave himself up
to remorse at having yielded to temp
tation. He was not troubled at the
money he had lost, for money in itself
was of little value in his eyes. But he
had used his credit TO the uttermost
farthing, and he saw no way to pre-
vent the hDy he b d lost. Billy, from
being torn from lis parents In ten
days a scene wouli be enacted that he
dreaded. Ten day! Why. in ten days
IL would be Christmas.
st. Clair arose from his chair and |
paced the suard feverishly. or all the |
days in the year to take boy from |
his parents and turn him over to |
strangers. Why had he not made the |
time twenty days-any other than on |
Christmas day? 1t had not occurred |
10 him that the tenth day from the |
present would be the day on which all
Christians tried to make all other
Christians happy. How could he tell !
his man. Sam. that on Christmas day
instead Of being made happy by gifts
his family was TO be made miserable
by the loss of one of its number?
ST. Clair carried his trouble home
with him. but kept it to himself till the
day before Christmas. He tried to
nerve himself to tell his wife, that she
might relieve him OF the task Of telling
Sam and Susan, the parents Of little
Billy, that on Christmas day they must
part with their best beloved. But his
effort was failure. Adelia ST. Clair
took a much interest in the welfare or
her negroes as IL they We're part Of
her own family. Her husband could
not nerve himself to confess how weak
he had been.
He knew that Sam was very fond of
him. though he was Sans master. He
had often stood between Sam and
harm and had given him everything he
wanted He felt that he could impart
the news to Sam with less pain to
himself than to any one else and knew
that by confessing the whole story
Sam would blame him less than any
one else. So the day before Christmas.
falling the slave aside where he would
not be overheard by others, he made
his confession. 4
SAM" he ADDED, when he nad tsId
that on Christmas the new owner of
Billy would arrive to take the boy