Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1913-12-12
A Southern
Christmas
Before the Emancipation
Proclamation


II was Dee Is. That WIS before rail-
roads haG zen from the Mississippi
river the aat CARRYING trade Of
fre,e t. anf ssenee,s nua th. steam-
ors IN, -. AMI ea,,, ,..,,...o,
g. 9. -, ~ ~, ~ ~.
- i''''' ~ '''''''' ~" .''N -
'e''iis "e'e l = n''.'i 'Ne'nS % '"''ses
ance ~ the iushwest- One might
start ifo'h ei'fi.r o. tnese e'ties carry
IN Dece'a''ef. Nnen me ground was
covered Ni'h oW- ana reaeu New
Oriealis ioi SL'' 'inaS g hha snlnhler
sun hhsef
On this SiF ~ Dec. 10. when the
steamer re. iin : was passing Baton
Rouge IN u G. p sat TWO men play
ing cards IA g days on the Mis-
slssipp sain'3AAs went on openly.
either chips q money on the tape
without any pfetehse or eoneealment.
ana these Two men We're playing with
the principal currency Of the period
the state bank bills. One OF them
was a PROFESSIONAL gambler, the other
a young sugar planter whose home
was ~ Louisiana. not far from New
Orieails- ihe gambler was quietly
taking away from the planter what
money he had with him; now permit
ung nm % WIN iew dollars ana
now forcing him TO lose great many.
Presently he took the last OF his op-
pOQents funds
Arthur St Clair conid not afford TO
lose this money he owned a good
plantation and the negroes to work Il.
but had no capital Indeed. many or
the planters II that day were in a con
tinual state OF debt usually borrowing
on 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 temptation TO risk separating one
Of the families he owned. for the pur-
pose Of making an attempt to recoup.
II have a negro boy. ten years old
he said, whom | consider worth Mt
least 500. VIII you lend me $500 on
him?''
-Certainly. sub; with pleasure, sub"
"Tll draw up note containing a
Hen on the boy"
TITS not necessary. I assure you. suh-
Yor~ word Is quite enough, suh."
50 they played on till the amount
Icr ned was lost; then 500 more was
lsrrowed This also being lost, bill
Df sale for the boy was made out for
tie property to be delivered ten days
from the date. signed by st Clair and
handed to the gambler.
81 would be happy to 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-
ton. II wiz 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 be had lost. for money In itself
was of little value in his eyes. But be
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 bis parents. In ten
days a 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 10
strangers, Why had he not made the
time twenty days-any other than on
Christmas dayf 1t had not occurred
to him that the tenth day from the
present would be the day on which al
Christians tried 70 make ah other
Christians happy. how could ne tel
his man. sam. that on christinns DAY
instead of being maze happy py elits
MS IanlilF was 70 De MADE miseraoie
by the loss Of one O US numbers
81 tlair earrlea ms lrohpie nome
u.'s % '''',' 80