Yankee jumbles

Introduction

Thinking it possible that an apology may be due to the public for imposing upon them such a work as is to follow, a brief explanation is perhaps in order for doing so. The present generation talk of the great changes and improvements that have occurred in the last fifty years, which is about as far as the general public can make comparison. It is not the purpose here to review and recount the numerous inventions and discoveries of the last half century, but, to go back one hundred years and compare the customs and habits of the people with the present condition of the country, the character of its population, the way they lived and the various odd and quaint characters so common the early part of the last century. A brief notice of Indian remnants and last traces of negro slavery, a casual review of the social, religious, political and military habits of seventy-five to one hundred years past, it is hoped will furnish a few hours' enjoyment to peruse. The state of society and methods of living, the commencement of the nineteenth century were as different from the present as the use of the scythe and cradle were to the modern mowing machine and reaper. The percentage of men living whose memories run back approximately three score years and ten is very small, and rapidly growing less. It will be but a few yeai's iv Introduction.

when a large part of the precious information gained from reading this book would be lost, if the present is not employed to preserve such a heritage to the human race. Genealogies are mostly of local interests, unless the subjects are of world wide notoriety like Adam, Moses, Samson, Mark Twain, Carrie Nation and others of like repute. It is hoped this work will not be confined by lines of latitude or longitude, but that instructive food may be gathered from these pages in all climes, and light be shed to illumine a world lying in darkness. There is to be no windup with a wedding or funeral ; there are no tales of woe, intended to lacerate hearts or to fill eyes with scalding tears. While there may be many silly things to incur the disapproval of some, it is hoped there may be enough of interest to encourage the reader to give the work as a whole a merciful criticism. While some may enjoy this and others that, it must take its chances as did the specimen work of the painter, that pleased nobody and ever}'body.

It is the writer's firm belief that with the apparent lack in those times of what are now esteemed comforts and luxuries, people enjoyed more of life to the square inch than at the present day. Those who live in our back hill towns and valleys are to-day happier as a class, with less anxieties, rivalries, jealousies and perplexing cares than the residents of Fifth Avenue in New York, or the proud tenant? of Beacon Hill in Boston. With a comparatively now country covered largely with its virgin forests abounding in game, and streams alive with the choicest fish, with the finest sea food in

Introduction. v

abundance close at hand, a profusion of staple fruits and nuts, with a strong, hardy population of men and women, rearing large families to mingle, and looking out over a field offering new enterprises in every direction, there is little doubt that the opening of the nineteenth century had a greater measure of hope and enjoyment, than it is reasonable to expect with the crowded and conflicting interests that confront us at the threshold of the twentieth.

It is not presumed these tales will take a place in classical literature, as that is not the aspiration of the writer, or that Shakespeare, Milton, Holy Writ or Gulliver's Travels will be entirely discarded for the truths abounding in this volume. Like the ones mentioned there may be some clironicles that to those skeptitically inclined may look slightly fictitious. As we are told that variety is the spice of life, it is hoped the reader may find enough in the succeeding pages to relieve any charge of monotony, with the diversity of Indians, negroes, characters, history, biography, poetry, anecdotes and general assortment of subjects good, bad and indifferent to make up this conglomeration of "Sense and Nonsense."

YANKEE JUMBLES.

INDIANS.

During the first quarter of the nineteenth century there were a few straggling Indians left of the old tribes roving about the state, very few of them single, but generally an Indian with his Squaw, and frequently with some Indian boy with a bow and arrow. This boy served somewhat the purpose of a monkey with an organ-grinder to aid them in obtaining resources to supply themselves with rum, or cider, the more common drink of the day. This was done by standing up a stick about a yard long stuck into the ground a few yards off with a four pence, ha'penny, or nine pence, in the slot, and sometimes good luck of a quarter at perhaps a greater distance, which the youngster was to shoot at and knock out of the slot, thus winning the money. They were expert enough to hit the slot with more than half the shots they made.

When only the Indian and his Squaw were roving about, the Squaw always went ahead several rods. She stopped at the houses in quest of food, and to beg cider, and usually to offer for sale some fancy-made, or useful baskets. If any trade was negotiated or not, she usually got the food and cider, but Mr. Indian was alwavs- there with her in time to share it.

The only burden he tasked himself with was a good ax to come in service when they discovered in some swamp or wood-lot a black ash or oak tree suitable for basket splints.

In those times any man's liking for cider was likened to that he loved cider as well as an Indian.

The only Indians in the memory of the writer were Sobuc and Seqnonk. They were both innocent when not filled with cider or some stronger drink. On one occasion, Sequonk was discovered annoying a man's wife to make her draw him some cider. He had her backed into a corner of the room, keeping his arms spread on each side of her so she conld not escape until she should promise to draw the cider. Fortunately her husband unexpectedly returned and Sequonk took a well-deserved thrashing.

Sobuc was once employed to skin a dog that had been put out in the field; taking the butcher knife he went to skin the dog, and was gone for a long time, when he came back and complained of the job being unpleasant, and asked for a drink of rum to brace his stomach, when he would go back and give the finishing touches. Getting his rum he returned to his task, but being gone so long the man suspected the dog's skin was stolen, and going to investigate, he found the knife stuck in the dog's haunches, and the skin untouched.

They were about the only Indians that tarried over the territory occupied by some of their ancestors, but the stragglers with their Squaws were roving all over the state.

NEGROES IN CONNECTICUT.

Until nearly 1800 slavery had existed in Conned iciit, as the writer can iT'iiicmber some who had Ix-cii slaves, and many children and grandchildren of foniieislaves. These all proved to ho an honest and trnsty people, and of their posterity scarcely a remnant exists in the state. The negroes of the present day in our state are almost entirely importations from the South since the war. In certain ways they are a distinguishable type from the old stock of negroes. The old class settled more or less on farni.s. and were more generally mixed np in country than in town life. Many identified themselves with their former owners. They were of a very gregarious nature, fond of inusic, social occasions and dancing. As late as the middle part of the nineteenth century you would see an annual order published in several newspapers, noticeable by the picture of a militia man with his gun and accoutrements, underneath which you would read in large letters, "Attention, Battalion, Company so and so, you are hereby ordered to appear on such a day and date, at such a time and place designated, fully armed and equipped with side-arms (which meant the fair sex), for inspection and drill." This meant a general call for the colored community in all directions to gather at the time and place designated with all sorts of instruments of music, refreshments in the way of eatables and drinkables, with their wives and children, for a day of great enjoyment, and winding up with a dance at night, which to witness was worth a trip across the contineiii.

These dances, or heel and toe performances, on these festal occasions, might properly be classed under the head of genuine "shindigs," being well prepared for with full libations of cider-brandy and Santa Cruz rum during the day. Their programme was not made up of round dancing and quadrilles, as of later years, but of what was termed "country dances," such as Money Musk, Virginia Reel, or the Fisher's Hornpipe, and any style of music that would admit of a regular "hoedown." Their dancing, too, was no walking around through figures to display elegant dresses or to show off graceful movements, but it was a drumming of heel and toe and a twirling around of big wenches, who were whirled as if they were animated tops. Occasionally an interval would be given to a dozen or more of their experts, both young and old, in which a spirit of rivalry would be exercised to see which could cut up the greatest amount of capers on the floor. These interludes were many times performed for the edification of spectators.

An old negro fiddler of those early days, who frequently fiddled for such occasions, used to remark that after two or three figures the hall smelled like a boar's nest.

Such a condition may be the source of a conundrum that used to be put in the early burnt cork concerts. **Why is a negro never dead broke?" After many guesses, and being given iip, the reply was, "Because he always has a scent about him." After the smiles of the audience, some other member of the troupe would say the answer was not correct. Xot being able to guess why, the answer was, "The scent was not a good one."

For a long time, until recent years the colored community recognized the auihorily of one of tlieir number wliora they called "^Governor," selected for his wisdom and physical strength. Whether this test was made the same as with mules when brought together into an enclosure, settling the question of which is the best mule by several hours spent in kicking each other to ascertain which is the best kicker, is unknown. It does not take long for the best mule to develop, when he can walk serenely through the drove and all who have had a taste of his heels pass complacently out of his way.

So this "Governor" dictated from his headquarters which for many years was in the town of Derby, where these military demonstrations were to be performed.

This order of negroes having become almost entirely extinct, such a call for such a training has not been issued for nearly fifty years.

Among the slaves in Connecticut were two negroes by the name of Chatham Freeman and Cato Barker, the former, I just remember, was always known as Chat and the latter Cato. Both were bom in Africa and captured by slavers when young and brought to this country. Chat claimed to remember distinctly the day he was stolen, and how he begged to be released to his mother, being only about five years old. He promised if they would let him go to bring his playmate Cato, which he did, expecting thereby to gain his own liberty, but failed to obtain the freedom of either. He used to tell that for awhile they expected they would be killed and eaten as he liad seen boys devoured by the cannibals, and cautioned Cato not to eat enough to get fat so that they would be in any condition for roasting, but after awhile he found that instead of being fattened they were more likely to be starved, and had to set their wits to work to satisfy their pangs of hunger. On board the ship were large coops of chickens which were so located that Chat could get to them occasionally, and bethinking himself (as many of his successors have), that there was a good relish to chicken, he would slip his hands through the slats and occasionally get a chicken by the head and choke it to death. This dead chicken being found in the coop the next morning, orders would be given to throw it overboard. Chat would make pleas to let nigger eat it, which the officers of the ship readily consented to, saying if nigger wanted to eat dead chicken let him have it.

Chat became quite a favorite aboard ship for his apt and cunning ways. After landing in this country he came into the possession of a family by the name of Yale, and Cato was bought by a Barker family in Wallingford. At the time of the Eevolutionary War one of the Yale family was drafted to go into the arm}', and as a substitute Chat's master promised him if he would take his son's place and serve until the end of the war he should have his freedom. This offer Chat accepted, and served until the termination of the war, after which he returned to Meriden to spend the rest of his days.

A slave girl by the name of Rhea obtained a warm spot in Chat's heart, and to obtain her freedom he served a socond term similar to thai of Jacob in obtaiuing Rachel. But there was no kind mother in Rhea's case to ainelioratc (Hiai's wailing years by the substitute from time to time of maid-servants as a reward for Chat's faithfulness and patience. After serving his time for Rhea, they were duly married and lived happily together to quite extreme old age. The fruit of this marriage was one daughter, wliose name was Katherine, who on maturity married a colored man by the name of Robert Prinn, the pair being familiarly known as Robin and Katy.

Chat used to entertain his friends by telling some of his army experiences, how when in battle the bullets would come flying through the air "whish, whish," "and make nigger dodge." '"When the bullets began to whish faster, some of the white men they dodge, too. General Washington (he said) would ride along and say, 'No dodgey on parade.' " Soon as the bullets began to come again nigger could not help dodging for all General Washington. Chat was an entertaining character with the farmers among whom he worked, usually taking his pay in some product of the farm. When they were measuring out grain on the barn floor, to pay him for threshing, when putting his grain in the measure Chat would begin to hop around on the floor so as to shake the measure down, always asking if they didn't want to see nigger dance? It was generally submitted to for the pleasure of seeing him take a double shuffle, in which performance he was quite expert.

Chat had a peculiar experience with a deacon who had volunteered to help him in the j)urchase of his sup2)lies under the pretence of guarding him against being cheated or being taken advantage of. One season after Chat had performed considerable labor for the deacon, he was to receive his pay in pork, which the deacon was to pack for him and deliver in Chat's cellar. When Chat began to use his pork, he found the first layer quite satisfactory, the next layer was very much poorer, and the third made up of feet, skirts, and hocks, and all the poor pieces of the hog, at which discovery Chat became very angry towards the deacon to see how he had deceived and cheated him in his representation of the quality of the pork, so the next morning he hurried to interview the deacon, and arriving at his house, he found the deacon just rendy to engage in family devotions, and without any hesitation or delay for the deacon's family devotions, he abruptly inquired of the deacon "where he expected to go to when he died?" The deacon replied that he hoped and expected to go to heaven. "No," said Chat, "Deacon Mitchell (which was the man's name), you will go to hell sure," and then came an explanation about the pork : "any man who packed pork in that way was sure to go to hell." As all slaves who lived in old orthodox families were taken into the church. Chat before the war was enrolled as a member in the same church in which the deacon officiated. Chat made the case so public that the church proposed to him that they have a meeting of the members for the reconciliation of Chat and the deacon, which meeting was held and the hatchet agreed to be buried, after which one of the members of the peace conference remarked to Chat as the diluculty between him and Deacon Mitchell was all settled, "and now yon promise, don't you, to forgive and forget all that has transpired?" Chat had a little impediment of speech in the way of stuttering and replied that "ho w-would p-promise to f-forgive Deacon Mitchell, b-but it w-was m-more than he was able to d-do to f-forget it."'

One year the crops were very poor and Chat raised scarcely enough to carry him through the winter and tried to purchase of several neighbors enough to piece out his supplies, but nobody seemed willing to sell. At last he appealed to a man by the name of Yale, known as Uncle Isaac, but Uncle Isaac had no corn to sell ; then Chat said to Uncle Isaac, "Supposing you hadn't anything to eat, and you couldn't buy, borrow or beg, would you consider it wicked to steal?" After Uncle Isaac reflected on that question a few minutes he decided to sell Chat enough to help out his wants.

As Chat served as substitute in the Revolutionary War, he became entitled to a regular soldier's pension of $96 a year. One year on receipt of the $96 in silver he put it in a bag. On his return home he laid this bag down by the side of a curbless well while he stopped to get a drink of water. Abel^ a brother of the Isaac Yale who sold him the corn, was nearby, with whom Chat engaged in a short conversation, during which an old sow (according to the usual custom running at large) discovered the bag of silver dollars in which the pension was put and tried to satisfy her curiosity by rooting it over, in doing which she rooted it into the well. The jingle of the money attracted Chat's attention and the man with whom he was talking, who went at once for the rescue of the money. x\fter a long effort spent with poles and pails and various other devices they succeeded in recovering ninety-four of the silver dollars, the other two remaining a loss, still probably in the bottom of that well.

Chat's daughter, Katy, was a member of the Baptist Church, On the road to town from Chat's home lived a woman known as "Old Chicken," and as "Granny Guy," who was also a member of the same church. In those times it was customary for the sewing societies to be held at the residences of the families belonging to the church, and all who were so circumstanced as to be able to accommodate a liberal attendance were expected to take their turn in having the society at their house.

This Granny Guy was an eccentric character and lived in rather a shiftless, untidy manner, but had a reputation for a great deal of low cunning and diplomacy, so one day when Katy was on her way to market the Granny called her in for an interview. She said, "Katy, you know you and I both belong to the same church, and other people have the sewing societies at their houses. Now I have been thinking it over that perhaps we were not doing our duty as Christians, and, knowing that you could not very well have the society at your house, I have thought that we might join together and have it here as yours and mine." The plan looked plausible to Katy and from a sense of Christian duty she fell into the trap. The plan was for Katy to come and help Granny put her house in order for the occasion, which Katy consented to do and spent several days in cleaning out all the dirtv and filthy holes with which the

Yankee Jumbles. ir

Cranny's hoTi?e abounded, and after getting everything once more in respectable shape, with enconragemep.t constantly held out of the credit it would be to thern. the whole scheme ended and the society was never held at the Granny's house. This same Granny frequently complained of lack of attention from her minister and of some of her neighbors, and at times on retiring to her bed, she would write on the floor, "I died in a fit," to give evidence of her neglect by friends. One morning her minister made her a brief call while she was preparing her breakfast, which consisted of buckwheat cakes. The minister seeing she was about taking her breakfast, excused himself as soon as he reasonably could on that account. As he was about to depart, Granny said, "Why, parson, you are not going without praying with me, are you?"' "Oh, certainly not, certainly not. Sister Guy," turning back from the door to perform his parish duty. After reading a brief portion of the Bible, as he was about to kneel in prayer, the Granny remarked that as she had just got her cakes fried, she thought she would eat them while they wore hot, and he could engage in prayer at the same time, which arrangement was conformed to, he praying while she ate her slap-jacks.

One amusing feature connected with Katy was her ailments. For several years she was somewhat disabled from performing much labor, her trouble being generally described by Eobin as "wandering gout." As Robin worked and visited about the neighborhood, people would invariably inquire how Katy was? Robin would describe her pains and troubles as best he could and return the compliment, inquiring for the neighbor's health. The neighbor would have pains in the chest, in the side, weak back, headache and various other complicated troubles, and as each one was named over, Eobin would say, "Yes, Katy is just so, Katy is just so." Calling on another neighbor and inquiring after her health, the next neighbor perhaps would be troubled with dizziness, nausea, crick in the back, limbs paralyzed, and so on, to every one of which ailments "Katy was just so," and so it would go ; no matter how many pains or aches would be enumerated, Katy was always "just so."

The other boy, Cato, captured with Chat, assumed the name Cato Barker from his owner, but was always known as Cato. After obtaining his freedom, Cato married a wench named Mary, who evidently did her full share of the courting. After living some years with Mary, and having no olive branches added to their household, Cato became dissatisfied, and found out that Mary was much older when he married her than she represented, as was evidenced by her having lost most of her teeth, as he claimed, so Cato's affections grew cold towards Mary, and he never shared his bitter bottle nor any other thing which he esteemed to any extent with Mary, who, more or less from his neglect, after a few years died.

Cato had a cabin and several acres of land, and near his cabin was a very large natural apple tree, which was a profuse bearer of apples of good quality and long keepers. This tree was grafted from for a good many years, for quite a section around about, and the name of the Cato apple became as familiar as a Greening or Baldwin. Cato's resources were not very large, and in raising a pig he was as limited in his supply of food to the pigs as he was to old Mary his wife, and would always complain how '•ral)bcnus" the pig was, would eat a whole green pumpkin at a time and would still squeal and not grow any. When he came to kill him ihe had not learned the philosophy of sticking a pig so as to cut his jugular vein, and he thought that stabbing him in the side would perform the execution just as well, so he would take it down and stab him anywhere in the belly, and the pig, he said, would squeal the same as he did in the pen, and got up and run. After several attempts by stabbing him, he put an end to that exercise by putting him in a tub of scalding water, drowning him and scalding him at the same time.

After old Mary's death, another wench, known as Nab Griffin, having an eye on Cato's estate, coaxed him into another matrimonial alliance. Nab began to be a terror to Cato, and soon began to tease him to make his will in her favor. After haunting him beyond all endurance, Cato consented to make his will in accordance with her wishes. Going with Nab to a justice of the peace in the neighborhood, he informed the justice that he had come to make his will. Justices in those days were called squires, so the squire asked Cato what disposition he wanted to make of his property. Cato stated that his house and land he wished to give to his dear wife Abigail, and after adding several other small bequests of different articles, called on the squire to read it over. The squire read the different bequests all through down to the point of signing the will. Cato said : "That's all right, squire ; done pretty well, squire, done pretty well," and got up to go. "Well, but," said Nab, "you haven't signed it yet, Cato." "Well," said Cato, "done pretty well this time, done pretty well ; I'll come again." But Nab repeats, "You haven't signed it yet, Cato ; the will isn't good for anything until you sign it." Cato repeated that it was all right; had done pretty well this time, and would come again, all the time moving off, and Nab had to go off with him, cursing and scolding him as they returned home. Every few months they would return to complete that will; the squire would get out the same copy, read it over as before, Cato would pronounce it all right, with the same assertion that they had done pretty well that time, he would come again, and start for home. After all the attempts of that kind that were ever made, the will was never signed, and Cato's estate reverted to the town.

An old darky by the name of Moseley, who prided himself as Col. Abel Pomp Moseley, used to work about among the different families, and was a first-class cider drinker. When well filled with this beverage it was a great pleasure to him to enumerate his names, making up the diversity of A. P. Moseley, Abel Pomp Moseley, Col. A. P. Moseley, and so on, with a dozen or more variations. It seemed to be a great satisfaction to him that he had such a diversified name. When he we'nt to hoe corn he always placed the jug of eider in the middle of the field to insure a drink on every row.

Another descendant of the old slave stock was Philip

Samson, of Watcrbury, Conn., a very honest and trustworthy man, difficult to engage in a quarrel, or to anger in any way, but in case he were so disposed, would have been a very dangerous antagonist. He used to put his hands at each end of a barrel of flour and raise it up to his breast, turn the barrel up endways and balance it on one hand. A conceited follow, doubting Samson could throw him in a "collar and elbow" wrestle, challenged him for a hold. Samson took hold of him, lifting him up at arms' length, and held him nearly a foot above the ground, kicking the air for the crowd to laugh at for some minutes, then swung him around like an empty pair of pants, finally putting one arm around him, laid him softly on the ground as a gentle nur^e would a baby.

A funny old darky was Jim Eobinson, who lived on the mountain between Meriden and Middletown, in a group of huts known as Fiddle City.

On town meeting and training days Jim was always the center of a circle of men and boys, listening to his stories and laughing at his mimicry. One day he put a drove of mules into utter confusion by his deceptive he haws, as they were passing through town. He used to tell of once being on a wolf hunt on the mountain when they found a big hole in which his party felt quite sure was a nest of young ones. One nigger decided to crawl in and get the young whelps, but when he got to them they raised a cry that the mother wolf heard, and came rushing past them and into the hole after the intruder. As she Avent in another nigger grabbed her by the tail and held on. The nigger inside became blinded, and sung out, "What's that darky the hole so?" To which the holding nigger replied, "Gorry, I guess you find out if this tail comes loose." Jim soon got hold of the wolf's hind leg and the whole litter was captured.