Evening star., 1928-11-04

his own mind; it was his old masters
VIII and not the famous proclamation
that set him free.
MUCH to my surprise, learned
A'A from my chronicler that Mai
Gusts had never farmed the Arlington
plantation to any considerable extent,
and that except for an adequate vege-
table garden for his own table, there
was no extensive cultivation. The slave
families were allowed to cultivate their
own designated acres, and were even
allowed to sell their produce in WASH
ington. Many a time has Uncle Jim"
rowed a boatload of garden truck"
across the Potomac to sell to the city
folks in Washington and GEORGETOWN.
There were not great many slaves at
Arlington at any time within his recol-
lection, but down on the white House
Estate" on the Pamunkey River, a much
larger plantation than Arlington, Mai.
Custis had about 500 head of slaves"
and cultivated the land extensively. Most
Of the acres allotted to the slave FAM
lilies for their own use and profit we're
down toward the river shore, east of the
old road that runs through the place
and connects Georgetown and Alexan-
dria; that part of the land now occu-
pied by the Department of Agriculture
and operated as the experimental farm.
A few of them lived within what is
now the National Cemetery. but none
near the mansion house, around which
all the adjacent land was deeply wooded
When I asked him about Fort Whipple,
the Civil War earthern ramparts of
which once stood on the present site
of Fort Myer, he recalled its frowning
cannon quite clearly, and said. he had
helped to build Fort Mcpherson, which
is still preserved within the walled GEM
etery Enclosure If Uncle Jim" is in
any degree proud of his long years of
labor at Arlington, 1t is beacuse he was
often intrusted to boss" some particu-
lar work with other men under him, and
that there never has been anything
against his record. Throughout our
long talks he never tried to impress me
with his Importance now or then, and
he never pretended to anything he was
not, or had not been. During our first
meeting. when had inadvertently sug-
gested he had perhaps been a house
servant, the aristocracy of the black
people in slavery times. he promptly
disavowed the fact and stated that as
slave he had never been anything !
other than a field ham," I wanted |
that the old stable building burned |
down, inasmuch as have thus far been |
unable to ascertain the fact with entire |
accuracy. He remembered the fire,
but could rot saw just when 1t had hap
pened. except that. lit must a been
nigh onto 25 or 80 years ago."
A GAIN touched the deep we'll of
Uncle Jim's" recollection. when I
asked him If he and the other slaves
were well treated by the master of Ar
lington. He assured me he had always
been well treated and knew nothing to
the contrary with respect to any of the
other slaves. According to Uncle jim"
no one was allowed to tech airy one of
Maj. Custis' niggers. 'thout gittin' into
trouble, no suh." Then he told me
how every negro leaving the plantation
nad to have a pass or he ;:::;.:. night set
taken up by the "patterolles." meaning
patrols, ! gathered, or any one, per-
chance, thinking to earn few dollars
oy intercepting some runaway slave for
whose capture reward would be Of
Tered by the master. Apparently, such /
passes were not hard to obtain from
Maj. Gusts" at Arlington. Frequently
when some slave wanted to leave the
place for few days, perhaps to make a
visit, and asked for permission and a
pass. Mr.. Custis would pretend at first
10 deny the favor. but always yielded
md wrote the pass or ordered it issued.
The recipient OF the pass almost in !
yariably discovered that he had been
granted leave for more time than re-
luested, sometimes twice the amount. [
That they presumed upon the old gen.
leman's kind heart and good nature is |
airly certain, because, relates Uncle
Iim." when ony Of them thus wanted to {
'e away for a week or few days, they
always needed littl& money. which i;