The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1916-08-24
SLAVERY iRli'Y
DAYS WERE
HAPPY ONES
TO A CANON
CITY NEGRO
-oLD DICK" ANDERSON, PROSPER
Gus JANIToR, BORN IN sLAV-
ERY IN MISSOURI AND HATED
TO LEAVE MASTER.
IN A CIVIL WAR BATTLE
tBY PETER sTERLINGl.


a century we of this western country
see few negroes who were born in
slavery. Yet there is one in Canon
City. Richard Anderson, better known
as plain "Old Dick" spent his boy
hood in slavery. And he is frank to
say that those were some of the hap
piest days of his life.
He belonged to the fl oily of CO..
John Early, who had large farm in
Lexington township. Lafayette county.
Missouri He was in his sixteenth
year when the war ended and from
the soldiers of both the north and
south were at once his terror and his
delight.
Richards mother, who was So when
she died. was born in slavery, as was
also his father, who was born in eigh-
teen hundred and died the year of the
Emancipation. Dicks mother was
brought to Missouri from Virginia,
where the Early family had large plan
tations. She married his father in
Missouri Dick himself was born Oct
30, 1S4S.
The Earlys were very good to their
slaves. They were born of the good
old southern aristocracy, who treated
their charges as human beings and
looked after them carefully.
Dick said that when he was little
youngster it used to be the practice
of the colored boys on the farm to
gather in the horse lot late in the
evening after all the work was done
and shoot craps. They had to be very
careful lest they disturb the Earlys,
who would not countenance anything
of that sort on the farm.
One night when the boys got ex-
cited and commenced to shout "Seben-
come-a-leben" extra loud Colonel Ear
ly appeared on the scene. his hand
some face clouded in wrath and his
silvery hair glimmering in the faint
moonlight He didn't say anything.
because he didn't have a chance. Those
colored lads simply dived through
solid wood getting. out of the way.
OOAOiCi A%aiis JuRN iOOhNd anu Nhdt
was sufficient There was never any
more crap shooting on that farm and
yet no one had been punished nor
was the incident ever mentioned
During the war the Bushwhackers
used to make frequent raids up into
Lafayette county and many is the
time, Dick remembers. that he was
rustled out of bed just at dawn to get
a bunch of soldiers some smack"
The Early family was proud of their
fine thoroughbred racing stock and
it was with deep regret that they saw
the soldiers take their horses away
from them. LII Authah" and Bonnie
Laddie" were two of the favorites and
it used to pain the colored h5ys deeply
TO see federal soldiers riding by IN
these two fine steeds mcsi any morn
ing shooting as they rode at the
Bushwhackers, whom they were pur-
suing.
The closest Dick ever got to an act
nal battle was one fine morning when
General Blunt with 1000 men out Jay
Ia hAh Adi ihNo oosVVV lhch uiluci
General Price right close to the Early
farm. In fact the Early farm became
the center of the battle tina was fought
and which ended in the demoraliza-
1ion of General Blunt's command
Dick had always wanted to see a
real battle, SO he took up vantage
point on the front stone wall. He had
no sooner gotten nicely settled than
bunch Of federals rode up and fired
a volley over his head at some Con-
federates not far distant. Dick ducked
behind the wall Immediately, but the
lively skirmish which followed kept
him anchored to the spot where he
fell. He couldn't move now, because
he was too scared, so he lay quiet for
at least half an hour while the bullets
fiew in almost solid streams over him.
He had all the battle he wanted.
Dick learned to read and write in
Sunday school. That in fact was the
only schooling he has ever had, al.
though today ne possesses good edu.
cation and writes a fairly presentable
hand.
It was a sad day when the Early
negroes were told that they were free.
Most Of them didn't know what II
meant. but they knew they we're about