 | XXIX. Ekkoes from Kentucky |  |
29. XXIX.
The Kentucky and Tennessee Elections. — The
Hopes of the Democracy of the former State.
— How they expect to hold it.
(Wich is in the Stait uv Kentucky),
August 16, 1867.
IT wuz a conjenyel party. Ther wuz me, and
Deekin Pogram, and Bascom, uv course, — for
it wuz at Bascom's, — and Capt. McPelter, and
Issaker Gavitt, and Joe Bigler, who wuz, naterally,
mischeevusly intoxicated. We hed met to rejoise
over the result uv the Kentucky eleckshun, and the
removal uv Stanton and Sheridan, and we rejoist.
We hed rejoist for several hours, when the Deekin,
— blessins on his frosty pow, — perposed that we
take one more drink, to wich we ackseeded with
alacrity. Ez Bascom handed back the Deekin his
change, the old man observed among it a most villainous
counterfeit ten-cent postal currency. “Bascom,”
sed he, in an injoored tone, “really I can't
take that — it's counterfeit.” “Certin 'tis, Deekin,”
a matter uv course, Deekin, I'll git it agin afore
to-morrer. It's evenchooally my loss, ain't it, ez
I git all the money that floats here? Carry it till it
comes around to me, Deekin, in the nateral course
uv evence. Let us bear each other's burdens, Deekin?”
And Bascom smiled sweetly onto him.
I don't know when I felt so happy. Kentucky
hed spoken. We hed elected Helm by a majority
of forty odd thousand, and hed with him elected
a strate State ticket, incloodin all the Congressmen.
The Ablishnists hed no show watever. The candidates
were strate Demokrats, every one uv em.
Sum uv em hed bin accoosed uv leanin towards the
Fedrel side, but they hed, by affidavits, proved theirselves
troo to the Democrisy. One candidate hed
bin charged, by a envious cuss, uv hevin furnisht
the Federal forces with hosses, but he indignantly
repelled the charge. His enemies brought forrerd
the documents, showin that he hed furnisht the
Fedral forces with hosses, and I trembled for him.
But he smilingly cum to the scratch. He hed contracted
to furnish em with hosses — he hed taken
their accursed greenbacks, — but wherefore? Wuz
it to benefit em? Wuz it to add to the resources
of the gorrila Linkin, or the reverse? Let the facts
ha! Did the Fedral offiser git em? He did. Did
he keep em? Alars! That nite John Morgan, who
seeled his devoshen to the Confederacy with his
blood, scooped em, and them hosses, which the Fedrals
paid for, did servis in the Confedrit army. He
wood ask his maligners whether it was sinful for a
troo Confedrit to take money uv the Fedrals for furnishin
supplies to the Confederacy? Hed these
hosses remained in the hands uv the farmers uv
Kentucky, John Morgan wood hev felt a delicacy
in takin em; ez the farmers hed hed valyoo receeved
he wuz free, and he took em. Sich reasonin cood
not fail to convince, and the candidate wuz, uv
course, electid. The shafts uv his enemies fell pintless.
Therefore I felt happy. The waves uv Ablishnism
rolled over all the other States, but against
Kentucky they struck harmless. Kentucky is a brite
oasis in the desert. Built onto Ham and Hager,
bleevin in the sooperiority uv the white race, and
that same race holdin in their hands the privilege
uv sayin who shood and who shood not vote, they
wuz safe. And we sot in silence, contemplatin our
happiness.
At last Deekin Pogram spoke. He sighed ez he
spoke. He hed heard uv Tennessee. He hed seen
the 'lection returns, and he wuz ez much afflicted
ez we wuz rejoist. “Wherefore,” sed he, “shood
we feel good, while our brethren in Tennessee are
wailin over ther woes? The nigger with us is in his
normal speer. Sence this eleckshen they bow their
heads in silence, and dodge by ez ef they were
afraid uv us, wich is a good sign. They hev lost
the airs they assoomed afore, and are more like slaves
and less like men. I hev twelve uv em a sweatin
on my farm, and four expatiatin the cuss uv Noer
in my kitchen. The men yield to the power uv the
stronger race, and the females bow meekly to ther
destiny. Tom, my oldest son, is happy, and stays
at home, and my other sons is ez contentid ez they
kin be. But it is not so in Tennessee. There they
are not normal. There white men bow beneath a
power they can't resist. There the nigger holds
up his hed, and the Confedrit white man sneaks.
There the abnormal nigger hez a vote, and the
white man, who follered his State, is disfranchised.
My God! how kin a man be happy under sich circumstances?
How kin a Dimokrat rejoice when
jist across the line he sees Liberty weepin, prostrate,
becoz uv his deprivashen uv the rite uv suffrage?”
He cood feel good over Kentucky, but he wept
over Tennessee.
Bascom remarkt that he, too, felt for Tennessee,
but he wuz consoled. Kentucky hed proved troo,
and Johnson, one worthy son uv Tennessee, hed
removed Stanton! Wat more cood we want? Kentucky
hed gone Dimocratic, and Johnson hed removed
Stanton —
“And Tennessee hed elected Brownlow, and
Johnson hez appinted Grant,” whispered Joe
Bigler.
“And,” spoke up McPelter, “and Sheridan is
removed.”
“Troo! Troo!” retorted Bigler, “and put
Thomas in his place. The man who whaled us
in the Shenandoah Valley is deposed to make
room for the man wat whaled us in Tennessee.”
This bit us. This griped us. This is wuss nor
a cathartic to us. Ef Kentucky is oil, Tennessee is
aquafortis. Ef Stanton is soothin, Grant is pizen.
Wherin are we better with the one than with the
other? is a question wich we askt ourselves over
and over agin.
But we felt good after all. Tennessee is to the
lining to it. Ef no Confedrits wuz allowed to vote
in Tennessee, thank the Lord no other kind wuz
permitted to hist in ballots in Kentucky. The troo,
sterlin Democracy uv Tennessee may suffer, and it
is probable that they will suffer. There the Ethiopian
votes by State law, but Kentucky is herself
alone. Kentucky will never be so afflicted. Kentucky
hez yet the makin uv her own laws. She
will let them vote ez she sees fit, and none others.
Relyin on Ham and Hager, she will deny the niggers
that rite, and will keep the power in her own
hands. Congris dassent interfere. Thad Stevens
may howl, but he's lost his holt. Congris dassent
make a law prescribin the rite uv suffrage, and sayin
who shel and who shel not vote, for Congris is Conservative.
Thad Stevens may shreek, but Congris
ain't eddicatid up to the pint uv keepin within hailin
distance uv ther own principles. Congris hed ruther
see them wich adhered to the forchunes uv the Federel
Government sunk than to exercise its power, for
so far the matter hez bin left to the States. Likewise
wood it ruther see every nigger in Kentucky,
no matter tho they wuz all survivors uv Fort Piller,
redoost agin to ther normal condishen ruther than
give em the means uv pertectin themselves. The
a nigger in Kentucky forever, becoz it alluz hez
bin so. Bless the Lord! That idea uv holdin to
form and clinging to precedent is our salvashen. I
begged em all to dismiss ther fears. Ohio is hagglin
and bogglin ez to whether it will give her niggers
the ballot; and ef she refooses, how kin she
interfere with Kentucky? Congris dassent mix in
the matter, for half the men that's sent to Washinton
hev a greater fear uv shadders than they hev uv substance,
and they sleep with that old hag Precedent,
when they mite ez well repose in the arms uv the
virgin Progress. They've got holt uv the tail uv an
idea that's too big for em, — they can't manage it
from that end, and they're afraid to ketch it at the
other.
We shell do well for a long time. We can't
afford to shed tears over Tennessee — let us thank
the Lord that Kentucky is safe. Here we kin flog
our niggers, — here we shel hev the Institooshen in
sperit, ef not in name, — here Dimocrasy kin flourish,
ef nowhere else. Let us be thankful that it is
ez it is. Let us praise the Lord for a Congris that
acted ez a drag on the sperit uv the times, and hedn't
pluck enuff to do all that the people wantid. Let
us praise the Lord for the conservatism wich woodent
leavin it to us who know so well who to give it to,
and who not. So long ez we're left to ourselves,
so long will Kentucky be troo to Dimocrisy.
They felt encouraged, and the convocation broke
up feeling good.
(Wich is Postmaster).
| XXIX. Ekkoes from Kentucky | |