Book: The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 2, August, 1862

V >> Various >> The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 2, August, 1862



THE

CONTINENTAL MONTHLY:

DEVOTED TO

LITERATURE AND NATIONAL POLICY.

* * * * *

VOL. II.--AUGUST, 1862.--No. II.

* * * * *

AMONG THE PINES.

[CONCLUDED.]

'My God! drowned herself and her child!' exclaimed the Colonel, with
deep emotion.

'Come, my friend, let us go to them at once,' I said, laying my hand on
his arm, and drawing him unresistingly away.

A pair of mules was speedily harnessed to a large turpentine-wagon, and
the horses we had ridden the day before were soon at the door. When the
Colonel, who had been closeted for a few minutes with Madam P--, came
out of the house, we mounted and rode off with the 'corn-cracker.'

The native's farm was located on the stream which watered my friend's
plantation, and was about ten miles distant. Taking a by-road which led
to it through the woods, we rode rapidly on in advance of the wagon.

'Sort o' likely gal, thet, warn't she?' remarked the turpentine-maker,
after a while.

'Yes, she was,' replied the Colonel, in a half-abstracted manner,
'_very_ likely.'

'Kill harself 'case har man war shot by thet han'som overseer uv yourn?'

'Not altogether for that, I reckon,' replied my host,' I fear the main
reason was her being put at field-work, and abused by the driver.'

'Thet comes uv not lookin' arter things yerself, Cunnel. I 'tend ter my
niggers parsonally, and they keer a durned sight more fur this world
then fur kingdom-cum. Ye cudn't hire 'em ter kill 'emselves fur no
price.'

'Well,' replied the Colonel, in a low tone, 'I _did_ look after her. I
put her at full field-work myself.'

'By--!' cried the native, reining his horse to a dead stop, and speaking
in an excited manner; 'I doan't b'lieve it, 'taint 't all like ye; yer a
d--d seceshener--thet comes uv yer bringin'-up; but ye've a soul
bigger'n a meetin'-house, and ye cudn't hev put thet slim, weakly gal
inter th' woods, no how!'

The Colonel and I instinctively halted our horses, as the 'corn-cracker'
stopped his.

'It is true, Barnes,' said my host, in a low voice, 'I _did_ do it!'

'May God Almighty furgive ye, Cunnel,' said the native, starting his
horse forward, '_I_ wudn't hev dun it fur all yer niggers, by----.'

The Colonel made no reply, and we rode on the rest of the way in
silence.

The corn-cracker's house--a low, unpainted, wooden building--stood near
the little stream, and in the centre of a cleared plot of some ten
acres. This plot was surrounded by a post and rail fence, and in its
front portion was a garden, which grew a sufficient supply of vegetables
to serve a family of twenty persons. In the rear, and at the sides of
the dwelling, were about seven acres, devoted mainly to corn and
potatoes. In one corner of the lot were three tidy-looking negro-houses,
and close beside them I noticed a low shed, near which a large quantity
of the stalks of the tall, white corn, common to that section, was
stacked in the New-England fashion. Browsing on the corn-stalks were
three sleek, well-kept milch-cows and a goat.

About four hundred yards from the farmer's house, and on the bank of the
little run, which there was quite wide and deep, stood a
turpentine-distillery, and around it were scattered a large number of
rosin and turpentine barrels, some filled and some empty. A short
distance higher up, and far enough from the 'still' to be safe in the
event of a fire, was a long, low, wooden shed, covered with rough,
unjointed boards, placed upright, and unbattened. This was the
'spirit-house,' used for the storage of the spirits of turpentine when
barreled for market, and awaiting shipment. In the creek, and filling
nearly one-half of the channel in front of the spirit-shed, was a raft
of pine-timber, on which were laden some two hundred barrels of rosin.
On such rude conveyances the turpentine-maker sent his produce to
Conwayboro. There the timber-raft was sold to my wayside friend, Captain
B--, and its freight shipped on board vessel for New-York.

Two 'prime' negro men, dressed in the usual costume, were 'tending the
still,' and a negro-woman, as stout and strong as the men, and clad in a
short, loose, linsey gown, from beneath which peeped out a pair of
coarse leggins, was adjusting a long wooden trough, which conveyed the
liquid rosin from the 'still' to a deep excavation in the earth, at a
short distance. In the pit was a quantity of rosin sufficient to fill a
thousand barrels.

'Here, Bill,' said Barnes to one of the negro men, as we pulled up at
the distillery, 'put these critters up, and give 'em some oats, and when
they've cooled off a bit, water 'em.'

'Yas, yas, massa,' replied the negro, springing nimbly forward, and
taking the horses by the bridles, 'an' rub 'em down, massa?'

'Yas, rub 'em down right smart,' replied the corn-cracker; then turning
to me, as we dismounted, he said: 'Stranger, thet's th' sort o' niggers
fur ye; all uv mine ar' jess like him, smart and lively as kittens.'

'He does seem to go about his work cheerfully,' I replied.

'Cheerfully! d--d ef he doan't--all on 'em du! They like me better'n
thar own young 'uns, an' it's 'case I use 'em like human bein's;' and he
looked slyly toward the Colonel, who just then was walking silently
away, in the direction of the run, as if in search of the drowned
'chattels.'

'Not thar, Cunnel,' cried the native, 'they're inter th' shed,' and he
started to lead the way to the 'spirit-house.'

'Not now, Barnes,' I said, putting my hand on his arm, 'leave him alone
for a little while. He is feeling badly, and we'd better not disturb
him.'

The native motioned me to a seat on a rosin-barrel, as he replied:

'Wal, he 'pears ter, thet's a fact, and he orter. D--d ef it arn't
wicked to use niggers like cattle, as he do.'

'I don't think he means to ill-treat them; he's a kind-hearted man.'

'Wal, he ar' sort o' so; but he's left ev'ry thing ter thet d--d
overseer uv his'n. I wudn't ha' trusted him to feed my hogs.'

'Hogs!' I exclaimed, laughing; 'I supposed you didn't _feed_ hogs in
these diggings. I supposed you 'let 'em run.''

'_I_ doan't; an' I've got th' tallest porkys 'round har.'

'I've been told that they get a good living in the woods.'

'Wal, p'raps the' du jest make eout ter live thar; but my ole 'oman
likes 'em ter hum. They clean up a place like, eat up all th' leavin's,
an' give th' young nigs suthin' ter du.'

'It seems to me,' I said, resuming the previous thread of the
conversation, 'that overseers are a necessity on a large plantation.'

'Wal, the' ar', an' thet's why thar ortent ter be no big plantations;
God Almighty didn't make human bein's ter be herded togethar in th'
woods. No man orter ter hev more'n twenty on 'em--he can't look arter no
more himself, an' it's agin natur' ter set a feller over 'em what han't
no int'rest in 'cm, an' no feelin' fur 'em, an' who'll drive 'em round
like brutes. I never struck one on 'em in my life, an' my ten du more'n
ony fifteen th' Cunnel's got.'

'I thought they needed occasional correction. How do you manage them
without whipping?'

'Manage them! why, 'cordin' ter scriptur'--do ter 'em as I'd like ter be
dun ter, ef I war a nigger. Every one on 'em knows I'd part with my last
shirt, an' live on taters an' cow-fodder, 'fore I'd sell 'em; an' then I
give 'em Saturdays for 'emselfs; but thet's cute dealin' in me, (tho'
th' pore, simple souls doan't see it,) fur ye knows the' work thet day
fur 'emselfs, an' raise nigh all thar own feed, 'cept th' beef and
whisky, an' it sort o' makes 'em feel like folks, too, more like as ef
the' war _free_--the' work th' better fur it all th' week.'

'Then you think the blacks would work better if free?'

'In _course_ I does--it's agin man's natur' to be a slave. Thet lousy
parson ye herd ter meetin' a Sunday, makes slavery eout a divine
institooshun, but my wife's a Bible 'oman, and she says 'tan't so; an'
I'm d--d ef she arn't right.'

'Is your wife a South-Carolina woman?'

'No, she an' me's from th' old North--old Car'tret, nigh on ter
Newbern--an' we doan't take nat'rally to these fire-eaters.'

'Have you been here long?'

'Wal, nigh on ter six yar. I cum har with nuthin' but a thousan' ter my
back, slapped thet inter fifteen hun'red acres, paid it down, and then
hired ten likely North-Car'lina niggers, hired 'em with th' chance uv
buyin' ef the' liked eout har. Wal, th' nigs all know'd me, and the'
sprung ter it like blazes; so every yar I've managed ter buy two on 'em,
and now I've ten grow'd up, and thar young uns, th' still and all th'
traps paid fur, an' ef this d--d secesh bisness hadn't a come 'long, I'd
hev hed a right smart chance o' doin' well.'

'I'm satisfied secession will ruin the turpentine business; you'll be
shut up here, unable to sell your produce, and it will go to waste.'

'Thet's my 'pinion; but I reckon I kin manage now witheout turpentine.
I've talked it over 'long with my nigs, and we kalkerlate ef these ar
doin's go eny furder, ter tap no more trees, but cl'ar land an' go ter
raisin' craps.'

'What! do you talk politics with your negroes?'

'Nary a politic; but I'm d--d ef th' critters doan't larn 'em sumhow.
The' knows 'bout as much uv what's goin' on as I du; but plantin' arn't
politics, it's bisness, an' they've more int'rest in it nor I hev,
'cause they've sixteen mouths ter feed agin my four.'

'I'm glad, my friend, that you treat them like men; but I have supposed
they were not well enough informed to have intelligent opinions on such
subjects.'

'Informed! wal, I reckon the' is; all uv mine kin read, an' sum on 'em
kin write, too. D'ye see that little nig thar?' pointing to a juvenile,
coal-black darky of about six years, who was standing before the 'still'
fire; 'thet ar little devil kin read an' speak like a parson. He's got
hold, sumhow, uv my little gal's book o' pieces, an' larned a dozen on
'em. I make him cum inter th' house, once in a while uv an evenin', an'
speechify, an' 'twould do yer soul good ter har him, in his shirt-tail,
with a old sheet wound round him fur a toger (I've told him th'
play-actors du it so down ter Charles'on,) an' spoutin' out: 'My name am
Norval; on de Gruntin' hills my fader feed him hogs!' The little coon
never seed a sheep, an' my wife's told him a flock's a herd, an' he
thinks 'hog' _sounds_ better'n 'flock,' so, contra'y ter th' book, he
puts in 'hogs,' and hogs, you knows, hev ter grunt, so he gits 'em on
th' Gruntin' hills;' and here the kind-hearted native burst into a fit
of uproarious laughter, in which, in spite of myself, I had to join.

When the merriment had somewhat subsided, the turpentine-maker called
out to the little darky:

'Come here, Jim.'

The young chattel ran to him with alacrity, and wedging in between his
legs, placed his little black hands in a free-and-easy way on his
master's knees, and looking up trustfully in his face, said:

'Wal, massa?'

'What's yer name?'

'Dandy Jim, massa.'

'Thet arn't all; what's th'rest?'

'Dandy Jim of ole Car'lina.'

'Who made ye?'

'De good God, massa.'

'No, he didn't; God doan't make little nigs. He makes none but white
folks,' said the master, laughing.

'Yas, he'm do; missus say he'm do; dat he make dis nig jess like he done
little Totty.'

'Wal, he did, Jim. I'm d--d ef _He_ didn't, fur nobody else cud make
_ye!_' replied the man, patting the little wooly head with undisguised
affection.

'Now, Jim, say th' creed fur 'de gem-man.''

The young darky then repeated the Apostles' Creed and the Ten
Commandments.

'Is thet all ye knows?'

'No, massa, I knows a heap 'sides dat.'

'Wal, say suthin' more; sum on 'em pieces thet jingle.'

The little fellow then repeated with entire correctness, and with
appropriate gestures and emphasis, though in the genuine darky
dialect--which seems to be inborn with the pure, Southern black--Mrs.
Hemans' poem:

'The boy stood on the burning deck.'

'Mrs. Hemans draped in black!' I exclaimed, laughing heartily; 'How
would the good lady feel, could she look down from where she is, and
hear a little darky doing up her poetry in that style?'

'D--d ef I doan't b'lieve'twud make her love th' little nig like I do,'
replied the corn-cracker, taking him up on his knee as tenderly as he
would have taken up his own child.

'Tell me, my little man,' I said, 'who taught you all these things?'

'I lamed 'em myseff, sar,' was the prompt reply.

'You learned them yourself! but who taught you to read?'

'I larned 'em myseff, sar!'

'You couldn't have learned _that_ yourself; didn't your 'massa' teach
you?'

'No, sar.'

'Oh! your 'missus' did?'

'No, sar.'

'No, sar!' I repeated; then suspecting the real state of the case, I
looked him sternly in the eye, and said: 'My little man, it's wrong to
tell lies, you must _always_ speak the truth; now, tell me truly, did
not your 'missus' teach you these things?'

'No, sar, I larned 'em myseff.'

'Ye can't cum it, stranger; ye moight roast him over a slow fire, an'
not git nary a thing eout on him but thet,' said the corn-cracker,
leaning forward, and breaking into a boisterous fit of laughter. 'It's
agin th' law, an' I'm d--d ef _I_ teached him. Reckon he _did_ larn
himself!'

'I must know your wife, my friend. She's a good woman.'

'Good! ye kin bet high on thet; she's uv th' stuff th' Lord makes angels
eout on.'

I had no doubt of it, and was about to say so, when the Colonel's
turpentine-wagon drove up, and I remembered I had left him too long
alone.

The coachman was driving, and Jim sat on the wagon beside him.

'Massa K--,' said the latter, getting down and coming to me, 'Whar am
dey?'

'In the spirit-shed.'

He was turning to go there, when I called him back, saying: 'Jim, you
must not see your master now; you'd better keep out of sight for the
present.'

'No, massa; de ma'am say de Cunnel take dis bery hard, and dat I orter
tell him I'se sorry for what I'se done.'

'Well, wait awhile. Let me go in first.'

Accompanied by the corn-cracker, I entered the turpentine-shed. A row of
spirit-barrels were ranged along each of its sides, and two tiers
occupied the centre of the building. On these a number of loose planks
were placed, and on the planks lay the bodies of the metif woman and her
child. The Colonel was seated on a barrel near them, with his head
resting on his hands, and his eyes fixed on the ground. He did not seem
to notice our entrance, and passing him without speaking, I stepped to
the side of the dead.

The woman's dress, the common linsey gown worn by her class, was still
wet, and her short, kinky, brown hair fell in matted folds around her
head. One arm hung loosely by her side; the other was clasped tightly
around her child, which lay as if asleep on her bosom. One of its small
hands clung to its mother's breast, and around its little lips played a
smile. But how shall I describe the pale, sweet beauty of the face of
the drowned girl, as she lay there, her eyes closed, and her lips
parted, as in prayer? Never but once have I seen on human features the
strange radiance that shone upon it, or the mingled expression of hope
and peace and resignation that rested there, and that was in the
long-gone time when, standing by her bedside, I watched the passing away
of one who is now an angel in heaven!

'Come, my dear friend, let us go,' I said, turning and gently taking the
Colonel by the arm, 'the negroes are here, and will take charge of the
dead.'

'No, no!' he replied, rising and looking around as if aroused from a
troubled dream; 'that is for _me_ to do!' Then he added, after a
moment's pause, 'Will you help me to get them into the wagon?'

'Yes, I will, certainly.'

He made one step toward the body of the dead girl, then sinking down
again on the barrel, covered his face with his hands, and cried out: 'My
God! this is terrible! Did you ever see such a look as that? It will
haunt me forever!'

'Come, my friend, rouse yourself--this is weakness; you are tired with
the long ride and excitement of the past few days. Come, go home; I will
look after them.'

'No, no! I must do it. I will be a man again;' and he rose and walked
steadily to the dead bodies. 'Is there any one here to help?' he asked.

Jim was standing in the doorway, and I motioned to him to come forward.
The great tears were streaming down his face, as he stepped timidly
toward his master, and said: 'I'll do dis, massa, don't you trubble
yerself no more.'

'It's good of you, Jim. You'll forgive me for being so cruel to you,
won't you?' said the Colonel, taking the black by the hand.

'Forgib ye, massa! _I_ war all ter blame; but ye'll forgib me,
massa--ye'll forgib me!' cried the black, with strong emotion.

'Yes, yes; but say no more about it. Come, let us get Julie home.'

But the poor girl was already _home_--home where her sufferings and her
sorrows were over, and all her tears were wiped away forever!

We four bore away the mother and the child. A number of blankets were in
the bottom of the wagon, and we laid the bodies carefully upon them.
When all seemed ready, the Colonel, who was still standing by the side
of the dead, turned to my new friend, and said: 'Barnes, will you loan
me a pillow? I will send it back to-night.'

'Sartin, Cunnel,' and the farmer soon brought one from the house.
Lifting tenderly the head of the drowned girl, the Colonel placed it
beneath her, and smoothing back her tangled hair, he gently covered her
face with his handkerchief, as if she could still feel his kindness, or
longer cared for the pity or the love of mortal. Yet, who knows but that
her parted soul, from the high realm to which it had soared, may not
then have looked down, have seen that act, and have forgiven him?

* * * * *

In the first moments of grief the sympathy of friends and the words of
consolation bring no relief. How much more harshly do such words grate
on the ear when the soul is bowed down by remorse and unavailing regret!
Then the wounded spirit finds peace nowhere but with God.

I saw that the Colonel would be alone, and turning to him, as he
prepared to follow the strange vehicle which, with its load of death,
was already jolting its way over the rough forest road, I said:

'Will you pardon me, if I remain with your friend here for a while? I
will be at the mansion before dark.'

'Oh! certainly, my friend; come when you feel disposed,' he replied, and
mounting his horse, he was soon out of sight among the trees.

'Now, Barnes,' I said, shaking off the gloomy feelings that had
oppressed me; 'come, I must see that wife of yours, and get a glimpse of
how you live.'

'Sartin, stranger; come in. I'll give ye th' tallest dinner my 'oman can
scare up, an' she's sum pumkins in th' cookin' line;' and he led the way
to the farm-house.

As I turned to follow, I slipped a half-dollar into the hand of the
darky who was holding my horse, and asked him to put her again into the
stable.

'I'll do dat, sar; but I karn't take dis; massa doan't 'low it nohow,'
he replied, tendering me back the money.

'Barnes, your negroes have strange ways; I never met one before who'd
refuse money.'

'Wal, stranger,'tan't hosspetality to take money on yer friends, and
Bill gets all he wants from me.'

I took the silver and gave it to the first darky I met, who happened to
be an old centenarian belonging to the Colonel. As I tossed it to him,
he grinned out: 'Ah! massa, I'll git sum 'backer wid dis; 'pears like I
hadn't nary a chaw in furty yar.' With more than one leg in the grave,
the old negro had not lost his appetite for the weed: in fact, that and
whisky are the only 'luxuries' ever known to the plantation black.

As we went nearer, I took a closer survey of the farm-house. It was, as
I have said, a low, unpainted, wooden building, located in the middle of
a ten-acre lot. It was approached by a straight walk, paved with a
mixture of sand and tar, similar to that which the reader may have seen
in the Champs Elysees. I do not know whether my backwoods friend or the
Parisian pavior was the first inventor of this composition; but I am
satisfied the corn-cracker had not stolen it from the stone-cracker. The
walk was lined with fruit-bearing shrubs, and directly in front of the
house were two small flower-beds.

The dwelling itself, though of a dingy-brown wood-color, was neat and
inviting. It may have been forty feet square on the ground, and was only
a story and a half high; but a projecting roof and a front dormer-window
relieved it from the appearance of disproportion. Its gable ends were
surmounted by two enormous brick chimneys, carried up on the outside, in
the fashion of the South, and its high, broad windows were ornamented
with Venetian blinds. Its front door opened directly into the
'living-room,' and at the threshold we met its mistress. As the image of
that lady has still a warm place in a pleasant corner of my memory, I
will describe her. She was about thirty years of age, and had a fresh,
cheerful face. To say that she was handsome, would not be strictly true;
though she had that pleasant, gentle, kindly expression that sometimes
makes even a homely person seem beautiful. But she was not homely. Her
features were regular, her hair glossy and brown, and her eyes black and
brilliant, and for their color, the mildest and softest I had ever seen.
Her figure was tall, and in its outline somewhat sharp and angular; but
she had an ease and grace about her that made one forget she was not
molded as softly and roundly as others. She seemed just the woman on
whose bosom a tired, worn, over-burdened man might lay his weary head,
and find rest and forgetfulness.

She wore a neat calico dress, fitting closely to the neck, and an apron
of spotless white muslin. A little lace cap perched cosily on the back
of her head, hiding a portion of her wavy, dark hair, and on her feet--a
miracle, reader, in one of her class--were stockings and shoes! Giving
me her hand--which, at the risk of making her husband jealous, I held
for a moment--she said, making a gentle courtesy:

'Ye ar welcome, stranger.'

'I sincerely thank you, madam; I _am_ a stranger in these parts.'

She tendered me a chair; while her husband opened a sideboard, and
brought forth a box of Havanas and a decanter of Scuppernong. As I took
the proffered seat, he offered me the refreshments. I drank the lady's
health in the wine, but declined the cigars. Seeing this, she remarked:

'Yer from th' North, sir, arn't ye?'

'Yes, madam, I live in New-York; but I was born in New-England.'

'I reckoned so; I knew ye didn't belong in Car'lina.'

'How did you know that, madam?' I asked, laughing.

'I seed ye doan't smoke 'fore wimmin. But ye mustn't mind me; I sort o'
likes it; it's a great comfut to John, and may be it ar to ye.'

'Well, I do relish a good cigar; but I never smoke before any lady
except my wife, and though she's only 'a little lower than the angels,'
she _does_, once in a while, say it's a shame to make the _house_ smell
like a tobacco-factory.'

Barnes handed me the box again, and I took one. As I was lighting it, he
said:

'Ye've got a good 'oman, hev ye?'

'There's none better; at least, I think so.'

'Wal, I'm 'zactly uv thet 'pinion 'bout mine; I wouldn't trade her fur
all this worle an' th' best half uv t'other.'

'Don't ye talk so, John,' said the lady. Then addressing me, she added:
'It's a good husband thet makes a good wife, sir.'

'Sometimes, madam, but not always, I've known some of the best of wives
who had miserable husbands.'

'An' I'm d--d ef _I_ made my wife th' 'oman she ar',' said the
corn-cracker.

'Hush, John, ye mustn't swar so; ye knows how often ye've said ye
wouldn't.'

'Wal, I du, an' I won't agin, by--.' But Sukey, whar's th' young uns?'

'Out in the lot, I reckon; but ye mustn't holler'm in--they'r all dirt.'

'No matter for that, madam,' I said, 'dirt is healthy for little ones;
rolling in the mud makes them grow.'

'Then ourn orter grow right smart, fur they'r in it allers.'

'How many have you, madam?'

'Two; a little boy, four, and a little gal, six.'

'They're of interesting ages.'

'Yas, the' is int'restin'; ev'ry uns own chil'ren is smart; but the'
does know a heap. John was off ter Charl'ston no great while back, an'
the little boy used ter pray ev'ry mornin' an' ev'nin' fur his fader ter
cum hum. I larned 'em thet jest so soon as the' talked, 'cause thar's no
tellin' how quick the' moight be tooken 'way. Wal, the little feller
prayed ev'ry mornin' an' ev'nin' fur his fader ter cum back, and John
didn't cum; so finarly he got sort o' provoked with th' Lord, an' he
said God war aither deaf an' couldn't har or he war naughty an' wouldn't
tell fader thet little Johnny wanted to seed 'im 'werry mooch,'' and
here the good lady laughed pleasantly, and I joined in most heartily.

Blessed are the children that have such a mother!

Soon the husband returned with the little girl and boy and four young
ebonies, all bare-headed and all dressed alike, in thick trowsers and a
loose linsey shirt. Among them was my new acquaintance, 'Dandy Jim, of
ole Car'lina.'

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