La Grange Journal. (La Grange, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 24, 1910 Page: 2 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Fayette County Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Fayette Public Library, Museum and Archives.
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UNCLE ZEKE’S SPECULATION
A Story of War and Reconstruction Days in Texas
By William A. Bowen 'Copyright applied for>
creek an’ git some minners to fish
wid,’’ leading the way himself.
They had not proceeded far when
the old darkey grabbed a limb and
rushing behind Charlie begau be-
laboring poor Button with all his
might. The dusky youth set up a
yell to be heard a mile. Uncle Zeke
keeping time to his cries, exclaim-
ing between licks; “Step right in
de tracks o’ voting marster. will
you? I’ll most kill you: dat’s what
Now you walk in deni
CHAPTKR I. leretly selling their cotton before in-
TUt creek CATCHES FIRE AND s[Krct(/rs could ascertain how many
unci.k zf.kk wants To movk. bales had been raised. This led to
One Saturday afternoon in No- the roads being watched and cotton
veml*er, 1HO4, a youth of fifteen confiscated, fighting sometimes re- \ 1*11 do!
was standing beneath a great pecan suiting lietween those in charge of.tracks back’ards to wliar you be-
tree that had begun to shatter its wagon trains and the soldiers. In gun to foller ’em. Wliar you dun
delicious nuts on the ground with case cotton was “pressed” for the been edgycate i. I’d lek to know?’’
every mild “norther-’ that came service in this manner, more than And the jxr/r little darkey had
down, a prophecy of coming win- half was taken, both as a fine and to carefully pick his way backward,
ter. Sitting at the root of the tree 3s a warning. Thus these trips to stepping in the same tracks, the
was an old negro man, busily en- Brownsville were not devoid of an same way. until he came to where
gaged in making cotton and corn element of danger and excitement, he began it. Uncle Zeke had al-
baskets for use on the plantation. This made Charlie all the moreanx- wavs told them that for a person to
The boy was intently watching! ions to go, but he hoped that L ncle walk behind another and step in
every white oak and hickory split Zeke would go along also. He had his tracks was the most unlucky
as the old inan matted and doubled j so long relied on the old negro that thing possible.
and plated them into the desired his heart almost failed him when} A rabbit crossed the road just
shape. He hail seen the old man the probability loomed up that after ahead of them, and the old negro
make humired*of baskets, for these > all Uncle Zeke could not go. ; halted, standing on one foot, just
two were together a great deal. I>e- j “Uncle Zeke,” said Charlie, as , ready to step, watching the rabbit
ing associates after that close fash- they sat on a bench tinder an 11111 • to set if it stopped and sat up and
ion known only to the companion- brclla china tree in front of the looked at them. It did. and the old
able ami teachable white boy ami cabin a few days after the above man was delighted, as this was, he
the philosophical, religions, honest conversation, “I think you had bet- said, the surest of all signs that
negro of the old days of slavery, j ter go along. It will be a good Charlie’s trip would lie a good one.
The old man, without raising hi* trip for you. You will get to see “Mawse Cliawles I heahvou
eyes, said: “Mawse Chawks, ol’ aml learn lots. Make up >»«r |gwiDter hey some o! dem pol’tish-
mistis say yo’paw cain’t come home mind to go.” junei* long. I»an’ vou hev no
no mo’ dis yeah, kaze he K winter. The old man slyly glanced at the truck wid .em IJat:s wbats de
tek de gunboat ro„n’to Awange, youth by his side. He knew that matter wid d.s country now. -Dev’s
on de Sabine nbber. Charlie was only pretending to be a]luz tcUi„’ de i*eepul bout t’r’ble
“Yes, Uncle Zeke. and you know indifferent: but he was too yvcB bcX(guhs what gwine to come a ter
where I ’m going, don’t you?” This trained to pretend to see this. ~»hc us. a„* dey de onliest ones w hat
can save us. I use to go to dem
, . Ica’becues and hear dem speakers,
ter ast you bout Mistis done see how I km go. You'll have Ike Ilav toJd awful things what gwine j
kinder hint roun dat she wants me an’ Mose an’ Macon an’ jc-rry. ruin dis countrv. , ‘meniber
to go down to Brownsville wid you Hhat II be drivin’ de oxen, an’
when »le waggins tek de cotton dar. I you’ll not need de ol' man: leest- ___
I tol’ her I reckon I hatter stay wise, not !ak yo' maw an* de chil- critter, kase dey all* sav he’s gwine
heal, an tek keer o’ her an dec hi!- 1„„ will. j u> Mng clamitieS on de
un an look a ter de nigguhs. Now. Charle knew that he could country. Doan’ you have no truck
Look at dat cotton still in de fiel . j never bjok U[wrtI tbc. neg,*** named - wjd kase y<m never know
Wbogwinter mek dem lazy mg- a, anything hut drudges, though when dey gwine to let dat tarriff
gufas pick it out an gin an hale it they were faithful and reliable, and j loose.”
dTeo^onv wiit LrKN*r 22* “M,M thi"k mak,,,g While the old man was fixing
I cain’t tra^frrout wi lTx 3 ^fida"t °* dthf in anv kind | some fly hooks to catch minnows
I Cain t be traipsin roun wid ox f 0( trouble, so he pleaded with the .
teams an’ leave all dis lieah to do.” Lid f r _ ion„ tiric 1th v nt P th branch and
The oldman raised himself „P. I !”c." yl+JZas J J?™ "“r * *** °f COtton the
threw down the splits and looked briskly ask him- “Mawse Chawles d hand* had put on a wagon
around over the cotton intrh Inck , , , , H*' ***** whi,c the>' with a load
around mer the oott patch back wh,.t vo„ dun Wid <lem lucky stone* to t,R. g|n bouse Thev noticed
I g.v you outen dat h,g gaspergoo’s . tba, the ^ „„ the water> which
hed What I cotched in de creek !ast Unc!eZeke called "peacock scum,”
-cak because it was irridescent. like the
“Oh, l ncle Zeke. you don't. leathers of a peacock, seemed to
vmptitti inti, Ukc creek a few baa- [ "*"K ."** **““ l"cl‘ in i'* «•*» <*»
.1 1 i„, ..1________,_______,i_ carr> 'ng those things around in and ran from under several places
your pickets, do you f fieneath the sandv loam bank of
“Huh! Wbat s dat
with an air of great inipirtance. (answered: “Um much b’ceged toj
"\as, suh. An dat what I wan- f yon, Mawse Chacvlse, but I d«/an’,
country.
Mawse Henry Clay speakin’ ’bout
de tarriff. Dat must be a monstus
of his cabin. It was a typical ne-
gro cabin marie of logs, and w ith a
stick-moss-and-mml lean-to chim-
ney. It sat close to the bank of a
branch of never-failing water that
dred feet below, close to where the
latter joincil the San Jacinto river.
I ’ncle Zeke was the philosopher and
privileged character at Kim Shade,
the plantation of Captain William
Kendall, and the youth was the
Captain’s oldest boy, Charles,
Capt. Kendall had offered his ser-
vice to It s State when war w as de-
Iwmntc the branch.
tell you. boy, ef you’se dun frowred
dem lucky stones away, you doan*
leave dis place til! I dun cotch an-
uder gaspergoo—an* dey's mighty
skace now.
Young Men Wanted
To Prepare For
Telegraph Service
READ WHAT RAILROAD SUPERINTENDENTS WRITE US:
YV. H. H. Hall, Supt. M., K. & T. R. R.. Denison, Tex.—“We are abort
of operators anrt have been for some time.”
K. B. Hhar.kelford, Supt. La. Western R. R., LaFayette, La.—“Com-
petent and experienced operators are always in demand in our terri-
tory.”
Jno. D. Finnegan, Supt. St. L., B. & Mex. R. R., Kingaville, Texas—
"The demand for telegraph operator* is perpetual. Shoutd you
have any students at the present t*me, whom you can recommend,
we will be glad to hear from you.”
J. Munday, Supt. T. & B. V. R. R., Teague, Tex.—“I will lend you all
the assistance I can in your undertaking. Will be glad if you will
let us know when you have competent young men wishing em-
ployment.”
J. YV. Robbins, Gen. Mgr. C. R. & G. S. R., Ft. YVorth, Tex.—“I hear-
tily endorse the schools in general, and will lend encouragement to
any of your graduates when conditions make it possible ”
R. B. Ayres, Supt. T. & P. R. R., Texarkana, Texas—“There is always
a demand for eflicient and sober telegraph operators.’
A. D. Bethard, Asst. Gen. Mgr. M., K. & T. R. R., Dallas, Texas—
•‘For the past several years the demand for operators has exceeded
the supply.
E. M. Alvord, Gen. Supt. M., K. & T. R. R., St. Louis, Mo.—“The
present demand for operators is greater than the supply. Good op-
erators can always command a position.”
J. A. Hiliis, Asst. Supt. T. A P. R. R., Ft. YY’orth, Texas—“A good op-
erator who wants to work can easily find a position.”
F. A. Lewis. Supt. S. A. & A. P. R. R., San Antonio, Texas—“Such a
school as you are conducting, I would consider of very great benetit
to railroads. There is always a demand for telrgraph operators.”
J. YV. Maxwell, Gen. Mgr. St. L. S. YV. R. R., Tyler, Texas—"Were it
not for the assistance and benefit they are receiving from the good
work you are doing, railroads would themselves be forced to con-
duct telegraph schools to keep the supply of telegraph operators
up to the demand.”
F. B. Degarmo, Supt. K. C. S. R. R., Pittsburg, Kans.—“The demand
for competent and reliable telegraph operators is in excess of the
supply.”
H. L. Reid, Supt. R. I. K. R.. Dalhart, Texas "Your school is doing
a great work for the railroads in furnishing competent telegraph
operators.”
A. S. Johnson, Supt. G.t H. A S. A. R. R., Houston, Texas—“Chances
for employment in this branch of service is very good. I do not
think any young man would make a mistake in acquainting him-
self with a knowledge of telegraphy.”
F. A. Lister, Supt. G. H. A H. R. R., Galveston, Texas—“There is
plenty of room in the railroad service for all the operators you can
turn out.”
The young man who reads the above convincing extracts
from letters written us by railroad officials, and doubts getting
a situation, after being instructed and trained by us, is cer-
tainly entitled to be called a “DOUBTING THOMAS.”
We have been educating and training young men for the
railway telegraph service for the past TWENTY-TWO YEARS.
A large per cent of the telegraph operators in Texas and ad-
joining states, who are receiving from $75 to $150 per month,
got their start through us, many of whom came from the
farm, whose education was limited to reading and writing.'
Telegraph operating is not difficult to learn. It is very
simple—all practice. We will guarantee to teach any young
man and place him in a position in from 3 to 5 months time.
WRITE for PROSPECTUS, which gives FULL INFORMATION
(In writing, please mention this paper.)
Dallas Telegraph College
DALLAS, TEXAS
< TO BK CONTINUED>
How’s This?
We offer one hundred dollars re- j
ward for any case of catarrh that J
H-nre dal w-anx k sum “J *■«« ™auu mai
■ 1 ^*^COC. . , [cannot he cured by Hall's Catarrh
bin cumin on dat branch an' runin"
Cure.
F. f. Cheney & Co.,
Hide creek." And the old darkey | Toledo, O.
c am , an had been placed in com- peered over his rusty spectacles at We. the undersigned, have known
man o a gun >at in the navy on tbe as A wondering if he had F. J. Cbenev for the last 15 years.
coast. During the war taken leave of his senses. iand believe him perfectly honora
. . | We in all business transactions and
Charlie ran hs* hand*, into his financially able to carryout anvob-
fwx-fcet and bright onl two little ligations made by their firm,
pieco ol q-mc found in the head* We* & Truax. Wholesale Drug- /|\
of ^ome fish, and said: “Oh. here Tolwio. ° - M aiding. Kin- /j\
,, ,. , ... , , nan & Marvin, Wholesale Drug- i|i
they are. I ncle Zeke. I was only gL<s Toledo, O. ^
br-ling you. I had them with hr- Hall's Catarrh Cure is taken in ^
on the Koval Yacht at the battle of ternally. acting directly upon the
the Texas
his wife and children, as well as all
he possessed, were left to the faith-
ful cart- of the slaves, as were the
home of so many Confederate*.
Uncle Zeke »a> bv common con
sent chief factotum about the place
and was implicitly obeyed, next to
the owner or his wife.
It was the custom for negrot- to
lx- known In- the names of those
who owned their mothers, but 1 ncle
Zeke was never known by am other
name until he had to have one fixer!
| TEXAS STEAM *
LAUNDRY
H. L. Koenecke, Agent
Cleaning Dyeing Pressing
<'.lives?, ,n.
“I»at*s right, honey: dal's right1
I done top yo' maw dat miffin'
!gwinter hurt v<»u Jmra dar. kase I
J 'tender! to fix vou *0'* you'd be
cha mtrl gainst dem Yankee*. An'
l»k*od and mucous surfaces of the
system. TestinKmials sent free.
l rice 75c js-r bottle. Sold by all iX
druggists. 1 ™
Hall's Family Pills are the best1
It you want to raise a good gen-
tip to put on deeds atter the war.
He was always simply Uncle Zeke. ** ' ‘ 3 ,Um h *r ctair!i an ha*k 1,e dilsPos*ri«*> horse, breed to our
The Confederate government harl *n "!a! ^ ’ro"1 W <1 «■!- (;trn,1n C°ach Horse (Sieger >.
passerl a law requiring planters loi’ht:r *“'• rattlesnake de on em? " Wc will stand him this season at
And the old negro got up and the Lwi* Humtith residence for
looked drear; on the buy with )«nd $15 per season or $25 insured,
pnde. <»erm an Coach Horse Co..
The next Monrlay Charlie an. i ^ ladrang?. Texas.
Laundry called for and delivered f
1
AUGUST STREITHOFF
turn over to the
of their cotton
government hah
or halt «»f the pro-
ceeds it sold from the farm-. In
Texas the cotton was taken t>>
Stases. Tinware and House Faraiihint
Brownsville and run acre*- the K:<. M tbe cab*n am! 1 nclr Zekr Thev Are All Praised.
Grande into MaUroora*. t,n the, ”,lal U> a *»% Char j By , havt. lound
most part, though s.,me rd it was %‘ho *■* dricv^d in **»:l your Hunt's Lightning Oil to be a
tv«kp.,nm.. ot .h..<nivk, *-j,0- Chawl^ .low,. ,„d |
Goods
(North Side Pvbiic Square.)
fori fa the Ua line, sack as roofinj.
yatferlai. etc., at Moderate prices
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La Grange Journal. (La Grange, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 24, 1910, newspaper, February 24, 1910; La Grange, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1004652/m1/2/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Fayette Public Library, Museum and Archives.