Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-08-02
THINGS THAT COME
DOWN MY CREEK
A TALE OF FOUR CITIES
"HE story begins in the late ffties y
iSS1ln at white heat
BY HARRY STILLWELL.

driven to war by organized minorities. The
press of both north and south famed the
flames of discOrd and the fierce speeches of
Thaddeus Stephens, Wendell Phillips, and
others of the abolitionst school, were being
answered from the halls of congress by elo-
quent southern orators. was the so-called
higher law against the written law of the
Constitutions 1.-The rights of man" against
the rights of the citizen. Cooler heads in
congress had agreed on a compromise and
certain conservative forces had producedothe
fugitive slave law under which a southerner,
whose property was in slaves, could reclaim
a fugitive wherever in the United States The
might find him; and by process clearly de-
fined. But this was national law and GER
tain state forces were strong enough to se-
cure legislature action that boldly annulled
it, thus reversing on the south the nUllihca-
ton of Jackson's day. Certain New England
states made it crime for an officer or COURT
to surrender a slave whose recovery might
be sought in those states. I think that Mas
sachusetts was one of these. And thereby
hangs this tale, never before written. All
the principals in it, save one, are now dead
The story opens in the city of Macon Ga,
the home of many wealthy and cultured fam.
lilies, and still famous for its beautiful CO.
lonial houses, its spacious private grounds,
profusion of flowers and the air of refine
ment that characterized the social circles.
Here, too, was The famous Wesleyan college,
ate woman. Cotton was the source of the
city's wealth and many of the princely plant
of south Georgia had their homes there's
In CT these old aristocratic families
whose home was, with a single exception,
the most picturesque in the city, was mu.
latto girl. She was maid and seamstress
and, frequently happened in the SOUTH
regarded as one of the household. In
such cases, while the property title existed,
it was, as a matter of fact, practically for
ho n
gathered around them, and where there Were
younger children, they frequently exercised
the authority of a mother over them. And
they enjoyed equal protection Marriage
was the great problem. Frequently the own
of the girl bought the husband and solved
1t in that way. The girl in this instance re-
ferred to- bore the name of Emma, and En-
is the central figure of the storm and a
drama, which moving swiftly, was to touch
Boston, Paris and Charleston, and wear the
p"''ionS u al anu po''-""l poii'i'S' "y''es
The romance begins in the city of Macon.
(How it would have delighted Caroline Lee
Hentz) There were in that city two free
negroes of the half-blood who bore the name
of Craft-William and Charles. They were
exceptionally fine men of their class. The
former married mulatto girl in the family
of Isaac Scott, then president of the Central
of Georgia railroad, a wealthy northerner.
who had made his home in the south 1t was
all with his consent, and when she cametoa
say farewell he drew out his check book
and wrote her check for $1,000, and gave
it to her-suspending a card game while he
did it. She was already free. This woman
afterwards "Aunt Sarah" to the descendants
of Issac Scott and a very fine character,
lived to good old age and having chill
dren of her own, willed her property to some
of the Scott descendants She had invested
her dowry in suburban lands which became
very valuable This is outside the story /
began, but shows its background and the
relations of the races.
Charles Craft was very much in love with
Emma, and she with him, but for reason
not known the family to which she be-
longed would not consent to their marriage.
1t is possible that they did not want to part
from her and were unwilling to bring free
negro to live on the lot. Whatever the rea-
son, it was insurmountable, so, one day
when the family We're temporarily absent,
Emma and Charles boldly struck out for
Boston, Emma travelling as Cuban widow
heavily yelled; and Charles as her valet. In
this way they got past the authorities in
Savannah and in due time reached Boston,
It Is almost certain that the abolitionistAd
planned the elopement. In Boston they were
received with enthusiasm and made much Of
The papers featured the romance and the
beauty of the bride. And the story got back
to Macon roy
But the owners of Emma could not bring
themselves to believe other than that She. a
child in experience. had been stolen away by
the Boston abolitionists, and they set to
work to recover her. They were probably
prepared to settle matters satisfactorily with
Charles too. So, armed with requisition and
proof of ownership, and accompanied by the
sheriff of Bibb county, wherein is located
Macon, nephew of the legal owner of the
bride set out for Boston and in due course
of time arrived in that city. He soon located
Emma and Charles, who were still having
the time of their young lives as guests of the
Hub, and proceeded to throw the laws net
around them. And there the trouble started.
For there began a series of riots that came
near costing the two Georgians their lives.
After one-sided fight lasting several days,
during which state officers gave them less
than half protection, they woke up one
morning to find their quarry flown and their
invitation to leave also. becoming more ur-
gent every minute. They left.
Emma and Charles had been spirited away .
by their faithful friends, the abolitionists.
Just where, is not known, but probably to ri
Canada. The next heard of them was from
Paris, where their child, a daughter, was
born. And there they remained until after
the War Between the States, supported BY .
their Boston friends. After the war they
were soon back in Boston and the daughter
was placed in WELLESLEY college, it's first COLI
ored student. Leaving there she became the
wife of DR.. Crum, whose appointment by
president Roosevelt collector at Charlesar,
ton precipitated one of The bitterest contro-o;
versies of his administration. The conserya-
tive element of Charleston however after-'N
wards did Justice to Roosevelt Mckinley
had promised Crum the postoffce and Roose.n
welt gave the collectorship a compromise