The Maine bugle ... campaign; 1-5 Jan. 1894-Oct. 1898 - Maine.gov

330 I'fJ^ MAINE BUGLE.
sweet potatoes in pits near by and we helped ourselves to them
whenever we wanted them. When I first escaped from the
rebels at Albany, I do not think I weighed more than forty
pounds, I could easily count every bone in my body. I was
just a skeleton with the skin drawn very tightly over the bones.
On this diet of fresh pork and sweet potatoes I soon fatted up
and when I reported to Gen. McCook at Albany the following
April I looked as well as ever.
Sundays we used to teach the negroes to read, they had
Methodist hymn books and the Bible for books. The " preachers
" were most anxious to learn to read " coz" they said "we
has all dese pore souls on our hans an' we's 'sponsible for 'em."
One preacher, the leading hog stealer, couldn't stop to learn the
letters, he must learn quicker. So I used to point out the
words of a certain chapter in Revelation till he knew all the
words whenever he saw them but he didn't know a letter.
Then he would try another chapter till he came to a word he
had not learned. I would tell him what it was, and so on.
Others were anxious to begin with the letters and learn "de
whole ting." Their singing was very good. I used to try to
prepare them for their freedom by telling them how they would
have to be saving and prudent with their earnings and not drink
whiskey.
When I was about ten years old I read " Uncle Tom's Cabin "
" Inside of Slavery," " Carry Moore," and some other works
exposing the barbarity of the slavery days. It did not seem
possible for such tales to be true, but being with the slaves who
were then serving their masters and hearing them speak of the
time Mars Culbreath " wipped ole Pomp to deff" and other
such incidents soon convinced me that Mrs. Stowe did not
color her story of " Uncle Tom " any too black. I heard the
negroes speak one day of the time " when ole Aunty Jane's
baby was killed." I inquired about it and they told me of a
very smart boy that was too young to work in the field but
could trap birds. " He was a orful cruel buoy;" used to tor-
ture the birds to death in difi'erent ways. As he grew older the