“Now, Bob, you sen’ word to Uncle Dan’el, Tom Anderson, an’ de rest ob dem, to come to McCullough’s woods nex’ Sunday night. I want to hab a sin-killin’ an’ debil-dribin’ time. But, boy, you’d better git out er yere. Ole Miss’ll be down on yer like a scratch cat.”
Although the slaves were denied unrestricted travel, and the holding of meetings without the surveillance of a white man, yet they contrived to meet by stealth and hold gatherings where they could mingle their prayers and tears, and lay plans for escaping to the Union army. Outwitting the vigilance of the patrollers and home guards, they established these meetings miles apart, extending into several States.
Sometimes their hope of deliverance was cruelly blighted by hearing of some adventurous soul who, having escaped to the Union army, had been pursued and returned again to bondage. Yet hope survived all these disasters which gathered around the fate of their unfortunate brethren, who were remanded to slavery through the undiscerning folly of those who were strengthening the hands which were dealing their deadliest blows at the heart of the Nation. But slavery had cast such a glamour over the Nation, and so warped the consciences of men, that they failed to read aright the legible transcript of Divine retribution which was written upon the shuddering earth, where the blood of God’s poor children had been as water freely spilled.
II
Contraband of War
A few evenings after this conversation between Robert and Linda, a prayer-meeting was held. Under the cover of night a few dusky figures met by stealth in McCullough’s woods.
“Howdy,” said Robert, approaching Uncle Daniel, the leader of the prayer-meeting, who had preceded him but a few minutes.
“Thanks and praise; I’se all right. How is you, chile?”
“Oh, I’m all right,” said Robert, smiling, and grasping Uncle Daniel’s hand.
“What’s de news?” exclaimed several, as they turned their faces eagerly towards Robert.
“I hear,” said Robert, “that they are done sending the runaways back to their masters.”
“Is dat so?” said a half dozen earnest voices. “How did you yere it?”
“I read it in the papers. And Tom told me he heard them talking about it last night, at his house. How did you hear it, Tom? Come, tell us all about it.”
Tom Anderson hesitated a moment, and then said:—
“Now, boys, I’ll tell you all ’bout it. But you’s got to be mighty mum ’bout it. It won’t do to let de cat outer de bag.”
“Dat’s so! But tell us wat you yered. We ain’t gwine to say nuffin to nobody.”
“Well,” said Tom, “las’ night ole Marster had company. Two big ginerals, and dey was hoppin’ mad. One ob dem looked like a turkey gobbler, his face war so red. An’ he sed one ob dem Yankee ginerals, I thinks dey called him Beas’ Butler, sed dat de slaves dat runned away war some big name—I don’t know what he called it. But it meant dat all ob we who com’d to de Yankees should be free.”
“Contraband of war,” said Robert, who enjoyed the distinction of being a good reader, and was pretty well posted about the war. Mrs. Johnson had taught him to read on the same principle she would have taught a pet animal amusing tricks. She had never imagined the time would come when he would use the machinery she had put in his hands to help overthrow the institution to which she was so ardently attached.
“What does it mean? Is it somethin’ good for us?”
“I think,” said Robert, a little vain of his superior knowledge, “it is the best kind of good. It means if two armies are fighting and the horses of one run away, the other has a right to take them. And it is just the same if a slave runs away from the Secesh to the Union lines. He is called a contraband, just the same as if he were an ox or a horse. They wouldn’t send the horses back, and they won’t send us back.”
“Is dat so?” said Uncle Daniel, a dear old father, with a look of saintly patience on his face. “Well, chillen, what do you mean to do?”
“Go, jis’ as soon as we kin git to de army,” said Tom Anderson.
“What else did the generals say? And how did you come to hear them, Tom?” asked Robert Johnson.
“Well, yer see, Marster’s too ole and feeble to go to de war, but his heart’s in it. An’ it makes him feel good all ober when dem big ginerals comes an’ tells him all ’bout it. Well, I war laying out on de porch fas’ asleep an’ snorin’ drefful hard. Oh, I war so soun’ asleep dat wen Marster wanted some ice-water he had to shake me drefful hard to wake me up. An’ all de time I war wide ’wake as he war.”
“What did they say?” asked Robert, who was always on the lookout for news from the battlefield.
“One ob dem said, dem Yankees war talkin’ of puttin’ guns in our han’s and settin’ us all free. An’ de oder said, ‘Oh, sho! ef dey puts guns in dere hands dey’ll soon be in our’n; and ef dey sets em free dey wouldn’t know how to take keer ob demselves.’ ”
“Only let ’em try it,” chorused a half dozen voices, “an’ dey’ll soon see who’ll git de bes’ ob de guns; an’ as to taking keer ob ourselves, I specs we kin take keer ob ourselves as well as take keer ob dem.”
“Yes,” said Tom, “who plants de cotton and raises all de crops?”
“ ‘They eat the meat and give us the bones,
Eat the cherries and give us the stones,’
“And I’m getting tired of the whole business,” said Robert.
“But, Bob,” said Uncle Daniel, “you’ve got a good owner. You don’t hab to run away from bad times and wuss a comin’.”
“It isn’t so
