Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1921-12-02

hands.
Good land O. Goshenl How did you
get hereT' Samson asked. Brimstead
answered:
Through the help of a Teller that
looks like you an the grit of a pair O.
horses. Come down this road early in
September on my way to the land o.
plenty. Found Peasley here. Couldn't
help it. Saw his name on the barn.
Used to go to school with him in Or
well, He offered to sell me some land
with a house on it an trust me for his
pay. 1 liked the looks o. the country
and so I didn't so no further. l was
goin' to write you a letter, but I hain't
got around to 1t yet. Amt forgot what
you done for us, l can tell We that"
"Well, this looks better than the
sand plains-a lot better-and you
look better than the flea farmer back
In York state. How are the chill
dren?"
Fat an happy an well dressed.
Mrs. Peasley has been a mother to
'em an her sister is goin' to be a wife
to me-" He came close to Samson and
added in a confidential tone: Say, If
/ was any happier I'd be scairt. I'm
like l was when / got V the tooth
ache-so scairt for fear it would come
back l was kind o. miserable"
Mr.. Peasley came out of the door.
He was a big, full-bearded, jovial man.
"I've got a small load O. hay for
you," said Samson.
II was expecting it, though / sup
posed 'twould be walkin'-in the dark
O. night" Peasley answered. "Drive in
on the barn floor"
When Samson had driven into the
barn its doors were closed and the ne
groes were called from their place of
hiding. Samson writes:
II never realized what a blessing it
is to be free until I saw that scared
man and woman crawling out from un-
der the dusty hay and shaking them
selves like a pair of dogs. The wealth
er was not cold or I guess they would
have been frozen. They knelt togeth-
er on the barn floor and the woman
prayed for Gods protection through
the day. Peasley brought food for
them and slowed them away on the
top of his haymow with a pair of buff
falo skins. l suppose they got some
sleep there. 1 went into the house to
breakfast and while / ate Brimstead
told me about his trip. His children
were there. They looked clean and
decent. He lived in a log cabin a little
further up the road. Mrs. Peasley's
sister waited on me. She is a fat and
cheerful looking lady, very light con
plected. Her hair is red-like tomato
ketchup. Looks to me a likely, stout
armed, good-hearted who can
do a lot of hard work. She can see q
joke and has an answer handy every
time"
For details Of the remainder of the
historic visit of Samson Traylor to the
home of John Peasley we are indebted
IN a letter from John to his brother
Charles, dated February 81, 1882. In
this he says:
1--WE had gone out to the barn and
III 4 WCAO ACAPlh6 NAAs
Traylor hitch up his horses. All Of a
sudden two men came riding up the
road at a fast trot and turned in and
come straight toward us and pulled up
by the wagon. One Of them was a
slim, r~ed-cheeked young Teller about
twenty-three years old. He wore top
boots and spurs and a broad-brimmed
black hat and gloves and a fur waist
coat and purity linen. He loked at the
tires of the wagon and said: That's
the one we've followed
(which O. you is Samson Traylorf'
he asked.
~ am said Traylor.
"The young Teller jumped off his
horse and tied him to the fence. Then
he went up to Traylor and said:
What did you do with my niggers,
you dirty suckerr
Men from Missouri hated the nli-
nois folks them days and called 'em
Suckers.
"Hain't you a little reckless, young
feller?' Traylor said, as cool as a Gu
SulADcI. ne SLOOu up nlSu Tie DdTn
door, which Brimstead had closed
after we backed the wagon out.
1.-The young Teller stepped close to
he New Salem man and raised his
whip for a blow. Quick as lightnin'
Traylor grabbed him and threw him
ag'in the barn door, keewhack! He
hit SO hard the boards bent and the
whole barn roared and trembled. The
other Teller tried to get his pistol out
Of its holster, but Brimstead, who
stood beside him, grabbed it, and 1
got his boss by the bits and we both
held on. The young Teller lay on the
ground shakin' as if he had the ague.
Ye never see a man so spylt in a sec
ond. Traylor picked him up. His right
arm was broke and his face and Shout
der bruised some. Ye'd a thought a
steam engine had blowed up while he
was putin wood in it. He was kind
O. limp and the mad had leaked out O.
him.