Part 23 (2/2)

”Your name is Gallus?” I said.

”Yes, sah,” he replied, his mouth stretched from ear to ear. ”Folks done got so dey call me _uncle_ Gallus nowadays.”

”You have been a slave all your life, I understand?”

”Yes, ma.s.sa, eber sence I war knee-high to a hopper-gra.s.s. I'se done a mighty sight o' wu'k, too, 'kase I wus allus as big an stout as a sixty-dollah bull, an' I could stan' mo' hard-fisted labor dan any o' de udder n.i.g.g.ahs on de plantation. But sence I been wid Ma.s.sa Morton I ain't had nuffin' to do skursely, an' it seems as ef I'se gwine to git pow'ful lazy fur de want o' wu'k. H'yah! H'yah!”

”What is your native State, Uncle Gallus?”

”Ole Virginny, sah.”

He held his head a little higher, and sat a trifle more erect as he said this, showing that inordinate pride in his State which I had so often noticed in other Virginia slaves, as well as in Virginia masters.

I asked him if the Mortons had offered him his freedom since the breaking out of the war. He shook his head and gravely replied:

”Dey hain't been nuffin' said to dis pusson on dat 'ar subjick, but I knows dey'd gimme my freedom in less'n twenty-fo' hours ef I done ax 'em fur it.”

”Then you don't want to be free?”

”Oh, yes, I does, ma.s.sa; yes, I does, fur sho'. But Ma.s.sa Link.u.m an' de Yankee boys am gwine ter fetch dat aroun' all right by'm-bye. Bress your soul an' body, I can't b'ar fur to run away from missus an' ole ma.s.sa, 'kase dey's been so good an' kyind to me; an' I'se done tuk an oath dat I won't leave 'em till dey gimme leaf. When missus goes back down Souf I'se gwine ter go wid her, ef she don't tole me to stay heah. It won't be long, nohow, 'kase de time am soon comin' when de darkies will all be free.”

”Your mistress intends to return to the South, then?”

”Yes, sah; we'll soon be off now, ef de good Lo'd will let us. Ma.s.sa, he's in Richmond, an' he hab done sent fur de family.”

”Is Mrs. Morton in communication with her husband?”

”Spec' she is, sah. She writes letters, an' _gits_ letters. She has ter be sorter keerful like, for dese 'yah Yankees is got eyes like a cat, an' kin see fru a stun wall in de dark.”

”Do you know whether your mistress writes to any one besides her husband?”

Uncle Gallus leaned back in his chair, and looked at me somewhat suspiciously, the whites of his eyes s.h.i.+ning like polished china.

”'Deed, sah, I doesn't know whedder she dusdo, or whedder she doant,” he said, hesitatingly. ”Please, ma.s.sa, doant ax dis chile any mo'

questions. My missus is de bes' woman in de wu'ld, and nebber didn't do nuffin' wrong in all her bawn days. Ole Gallus wouldn't say nuffin' to bring trubble on her for fifteen cents,” he added, earnestly.

I quieted the fears of the faithful old man by a.s.suring him that I meant no harm to his mistress, and that I had no doubt she was the good lady he represented her to be. Satisfied with the result of my investigations, I permitted Uncle Gallus to depart, first charging him, however, to say nothing to any one concerning my interview with him. He promised secrecy, and bowed himself out with all his teeth visible, saying, as he went:

”Fo' de Lawd, gemmen, I'se hopin an' prayin' de No'thun folks will be de top dog in dis wrastle, an' ef eber dis n.i.g.g.ah hes a chance to gib yu'uns a helpin' han', yu' kin bet a hoss agin' a c.o.o.n-skin he'll do it; but I hope an' trus' my missus not be boddered.”

Nevertheless, I had learned enough to bring me to the decision, that Mrs. Morton's house must be searched, and under orders of the Secretary of War, I sent three of my men to No. 288 ”I” street, to perform this unpleasant task. The operatives chosen to make the search were W. H.

Scott, John Scully, and Pryce Lewis. Mrs. Morton received them very civilly, and told them they were at liberty to make a thorough search of the premises, which they immediately proceeded to do. They had instructions to read all letters that were found, but to keep only those that were of a treasonable nature, and in no case to destroy any property or leave anything in a disordered condition. These instructions were obeyed to the letter. Boxes that were packed ready for s.h.i.+pment were all carefully repacked and closed after they had been examined by my men, and when the operatives departed, they left no traces of their search behind them. Their polite and considerate conduct won for them the good will, not only of Mrs. Morton herself, but also of her daughter and two sons, who expressed themselves as being agreeably surprised, for they had been informed that the men from the Provost-Marshal's office were a set of ruffians, who did not scruple to break up boxes, and litter the house with their contents, and that their conduct towards ladies was insulting in the extreme. They even went so far as to a.s.sure the operatives, that if any of them should ever be taken prisoner and brought to Richmond, they would do all in their power to secure kind treatment for them.

Among the letters that were found, two of them were from ex-Governor Morton, to his son and daughter, requesting them to come to him at Richmond; but nothing of a criminating character was discovered, and the family were not subjected to further annoyance.

Some two weeks afterwards, when John Scully boarded a train for Baltimore, whither I had sent him with a message to Webster, he chanced to meet Mrs. Morton and family in the car which he entered. They were departing from Was.h.i.+ngton, having been required to leave the North, by the authorities, who furnished them a safe pa.s.sport to Richmond, and they were accompanied by the faithful Uncle Gallus. They recognized Scully, and greeted him with cordial courtesy, the eldest son rising in his seat to shake hands with him. They told him that on arriving at Baltimore, they were to take a flag-of-truce boat to Fortress Monroe, from which point they would continue their journey to Richmond. Scully as a matter of policy, gave them distinctly to understand that he had quitted the government service and was returning to his home in the North.

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