Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1913-12-24
St.>s <.s t.N9S.S:> s . e St&vS~s N<H >&4.:>l A Southern thi Christmas Before the Emancipation
 Proclamation
By ELLA RAY WEIGH

It was Dec. 15 That was before rail roads had taken from the Mississippi river the great carrying trade of freight and passengers. and the steam CTS plying back and forth between St. Louis or Cincinnati and New Or 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 Dee. 15, when the steamer Tecumsch was passing Baton Rouge, in the cabin sat two men play ing cards, Tn those days on the Nils sissippi gambling went on openly either chips or money on the table without any pretense of c0nccalment. and these two men were playing with the principal currency of the period the state bank bills. One of them was 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 it. but had no capital. Indeed. many Of the planters of that day were in q con- tinual state of debt usually borrowing on new crop before having iguidat 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 temptation to risk separating one of the families he owned. for the rur pose of making an attempt to recoHp.
 1T have d negro boy. ten years old uc Stlu, NlIOili COIiSiUcl No'tIl GU least $40O. Will you lend me $20O on him?'
 Certainly sub; with pleasure. suh."
 "1ll draw up note containing lien on the boy"
 "1t's not necessary. assure you, suh. Your word is quite enough. sui.' \
 So they played on till the amount loaned was lost: then S20O more was borrowed This also being lost, a bill of sale for the boy was made out for the property to he delivered ten days from the date signed by St Clair and handed to the gambler,
 "I would be happy 10 loan you more on other of your servants. suh." said the gambler
 "No." said the other ruefully. By what have done l have separated family The boy have lost at cards is the only child of the best man and the best woman have on my planta. tion. It 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 as 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 boy he had lost. Billy. from being torn from his parents. In ten days scene would be enacted that he dreaded Ten days! Why. in ten days it would be Christmas.
 St. Clair arose from his chair and paced the guard feverishly. Of 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? It had not occurred to him tbat 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 it's 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 q failure. Adelia St. Clair took as much interest in the welfare of her negroes as if they were part of I her own family. Her husband could
 not nerve himself to confess how weak ne had been.
 He knew that Sam was very fond of
 him though he was Saln's master He
 had often stood between Sam and harm and had given alim everything he
 wanted. He felt that he could inpart
 +n C,m with lass rnin fO