The Cook County news-herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Cook County, Minn.) 1909-current, 1918-02-27

sceue % you seldom see, and never
want to. Nast1ness beyond account,
and chaos run loose In the midst 81 the
nastiness. There were not q great
many OF the negroes; but BY. way
Ct making what there were understand
that they were free. Vaughan had had
their handouts and anklecuffs knocked
On, and. for convenience sake, was
putting them upon the rascals Of the
schooner's crew. The negroes were,
most OF them, out OF the hold, and
sWarmfng all round the dirty deck,
with central throng surrounding
vaughan and addressing him in every
dialect and patois Of q dialect, from
the Zulu click up to the Partisan Of
Beledeljereed. ..:s ~ ..ss....= re.
II As We came on deck, Vaughan
looked down from hogshead, on
which he had mounted In desperation,
and said: VIC
For Gods love, is there anybody
who can make these wretches under
stand something? The men gave them
rum, and that did not quiet them.
knocked that big fellow down twice,
and that did not soothe him. And then
talked Choctaw to all of them to-
gether; and I'll be hanged If they un-
derstood that as well as they under
stood the English"
Nolan said he could speak Por.
tuguese, and one or two fine-looking
kroomen were dragged out, who; as it
had been found already, had worked
for the Portuguese on the coast at
Fernando Pc.
'Tell them they are Free" said
Vaughan; ''and tell them that these
rascals are to be hanged as soon as
we can get rope enough"
Nolan explained it in such Portu-
guese as the Kroomen could under
stand, and they in turn to such of the
negroes as could understand them.
Then there was such yell of delight,
clinching OF fists, leaping and dancing,
kissing of Nolan's feet, and a general
rush made to the hogshead by way Of
spontaneous worship of Vaughan as
the deus ex machina of the occasion.
"Tell thcm." said Vaughan, well
pleased, shat I will take them all to
Cape Palmas."
This did not answer so we'll. Cape
Palmas was practically as far from
the homes Of most Of them as New Or
leans or Rio Janeiro was that is, they
would be eternalfy separated from
home there. And their interpreters, as
we could understand, instantly said,
"Ah, non Palmas," and began to pro-
pose infinite other expedients in most
voluble language. Vaughan was rath-
er disappointed at this result of his
liberality, and asked Nolan eagerly
what they said. The drops stood on
poor Nolan's white forehead as he
hushed the men down, and said,
"He says, Not Palmas.' He says,
Take us home, take us to our coun-
try, take us to our own house, take
US to. our own, pickaninnies and our
own women He says he has an old
father and mother, who will die, if
they do not see him. And this one
says he left his people all sick, and
padded down to come and help them
and that these devils caught him in
the bay just in sight of home. and
that he has never seen anybody from
home since then. And this one says"
choked out Nolan, ''that he has not
heard a word from his home in six
months, while he has been locked up
in an Internal barracoon."
Vaughan always said he grew gray
himself while Nolan struggled through
this Interpretation. I, who did not I'M
derstand anything Of the passion in
volved in it, saw that the very ele-
ments were melting with fervent heat,
and that something was to pay some
where. Even the negroes themselves
stopped bowling as they saw Nolan's
agony, and Vaughan's almost equal
agony of sympathy. AS quick as he
could get words, he said:
"Tell them yes, yes; tell them they
shall go to the Mountains of the Moon,
If they will. If sail the schooner
through the Great White Desert, they
shall go homer
And after some fashion Nolan said
so. And then they all fell to kissing
him again and wanted to rub his nose
with theirs.
But he could not stand it long; and
getting Vaughan to say. he might 90
back, he beckoned me down into our
boat. AS we lay back in the stern
sheets and the men gave way, he said
to me: "Youngster, let that show you
what it is to be without family, with
out a home, and without country.
And If you are ever tempted to say
word or to do a thing that shall put
bar between you and your family,
your home, and your country, pray
God In his mercy to take you that in
slant home to bis own heaven. Stick
by your family, boy; forget you have
self, while you do everything for
them. Think of your home, boy write
and send and talk about it. Let it
be nearer and nearer to your, thought,
the farther you have to travel from it
and rush to 1t, when you are free, as
that poor black slave Is doing now.
And for your country, boy" and the
words srnttlo6 IN HIS throat tend for