Chapter XII: B. Randolph to V. Chevillere

"High Hills of the Santee, 18--.

"DEAR FRIEND,

"From the city of Savannah, I paid my first visit to our old
heathen dad, Neptune, and if first impressions of the sea were not
as common and as numerous as doggerel verses in a modern lady's
album, I might be tempted to become sublime for your edification.
I was rowed down from the city, in a beautiful boat made of a
single cypress, by the hands of the gentleman who was so polite as
to give me this gentle passage. By this you may know that they
take as much pride in their boats as the Venetians themselves. It
was beautifully painted, and rowed by eight well-formed negroes.
Inside of the seat at one end was a marooning chest, as they
called it, full of all kinds of liquors and cold meat, with the
necessary utensils for their use. The gentleman was an islander;
and during the few hours in which we were gliding over the
seventeen miles between the city and the ocean, he entertained me
with an account of his marooning expeditions. These are their
excursions upon the Sea Islands, for purposes of fishing and
hunting. These islanders are a peculiar, but delightful people;
however, I must not keep you too long in the sea-breeze; at some
other time, perhaps, I may indite you a history of these
hospitable and isolated gentlemen.

"When I left Savannah, I determined to pursue a different route
from the one by which I came. I therefore crossed the Savannah
river fifteen or sixteen miles above the city; I then crossed the
country in as straight a line as I could draw upon the map,
between the ferry and the high hills of Santee; and in a short
time found myself in as complete solitude as ever Crusoe
experienced upon his desolate island. Nothing was to be seen but
the tall and gloomy-looking pines, stretching away into the bosom
of the atmosphere, and the interminable sands which lay before me
as far as the eye could reach. Twilight presently came on, and
those horrible musicians, the tree-frogs, began to chirp and sing.
The dolorous note of the whippoorwill was heard, with a horn
accompaniment from the throat of a screech-owl. Here was a pretty
serenade for a man with his heart attuned for melody, and his
stomach attuned for a slash at a cold ham, for I had had no
dinner. I struck up an accompaniment from my own pipes, but I soon
found that the vacuum was too profound for a due modulation in
concert pitch with this sylvan band. I wished them all at the
d----l, with their shrill pipes and full crops, and set my horse,
or rather _your_ horse, at full gallop, in a vain effort to escape
from the intended honour; but the harder I rode, the more
enthusiastic they became. I soon made another comfortable
discovery; I found that I had been riding for the last two hours
in a perfect wilderness, in utter contempt of what two pioneer
wheels had made for a highway; nor could I tell the north from the
south, nor the east from the west, having foolishly enough turned
the horse round and round in order to gaze at the stars. 'Like
master like man,' my servant did the same, as if he could read in
the pine tops more than I could in the heavens. All my astronomy
had gone with my dinner; I could see nothing in the starry regions
but what is sometimes called the _Frying-pan_. Oh! the shades of
Thales of Miletus, who first imported astronomy into Greece! to
think that a bachelor of such heavenly arts could not look into
the face of the Frying-pan without thinking of grilled chickens
and rashers of bacon, and the crackling of fire, and the
sputtering of fat. I dismounted, and ordered Sam to do likewise,
and try to find me a piece of flint by which to strike a light; he
declared that he had not seen a stone or a rock since he came into
the Carolinas. 'So much for geology and astronomy,' said I. 'I
rader tink they all bad fur empty stumuck, masta,' said Sam,
considering himself privileged by the exigencies of the case.
'True enough, Sam,' said I, 'it would be an apt scholar that could
produce bread or a stone either by his learning, in our
circumstances.'

"As I mounted, Sam mounted, not a word more having been uttered;
he seemed to be aware of the fact, that language generally fails
with the food; a man's ideas in such a case run fast enough, but
they are all in humble life; below stairs, diving among pots, and
pans, and pantries, and receptacles for cold victuals. As the
ideas ran, so ran the horses, until the water began to splash our
legs from a thick bushy swamp, into which we found that we had
initiated ourselves. 'Now Sam,' said I, 'we are swamped.' Sam said
nothing aloud, but was evidently muttering something to himself,
being engaged, as I supposed, at his secret devotions, for you
must know that he would be a Puritan. Like most of his race,
however, he has more faith in the effect of singing hymns, than
devotions of any other kind. I saw that he was itching for a trial
at his usual relief in all his troubles. I therefore told him not
to suppress it on my account, but to give it free utterance; the
idea of it naturally excited ludicrous recollections of old Noll
and the veteran Rumpers, but Sam saw the new vein I had so
inappropriately fallen into, and therefore resisted his inward
strivings. I must say, _en passant_, that I think him honest and
sincere in his faith, I therefore do not ridicule him.

"We waded through the black regions of this little pandemonium for
some three-quarters of a mile, before the dry sand again greeted
our hearing. The Frying-pan still stared me in the face, and the
sylvan band still plied their pipes. We had not proceeded far by
land before we came directly against a fence. I was truly glad to
see it, for I was sure it must lead to some inhabited place, and
accordingly ordered Sam to let us into the field, which we found
to be an immense plain covered with cotton,--the most beautiful of
all crops. We rode between the rows, for many a weary foot, until
at length the glimmering of many lights greeted our longing eyes.
We made directly for them, and soon stood in the midst of an
immense negro quarter. On inquiring whether their master's house
was near at hand, we found that it was many miles distant. The
overseer's house, they told us, was not more than half a mile off;
but to these animals I have always had an utter aversion. I
therefore bought some fodder for the horses, and two fowls for
ourselves, from the _driver_, who had the privilege of raising
them, and employed his wife to pick and grill them upon the coals,
and a delightful and savoury prelude they soon sent up to my
famished senses; a heartier or a sweeter meal was never made than
I thus took; a fowl seasoned with salt, and a large pot of small
homminy, served direct to my mouth from a large wooden spoon,
without the cumbrous intervention of plates, knives, and forks.
Our meal being finished,--for you must know Sam and I dined at the
same time and from the same table, which was none other than the
ground floor, covered with the head of a barrel,--hunger is a
wonderful leveller of distinctions,--as I was saying, our meal
being finished, a goodly number of the more aged, respectable,
and intelligent blacks of the quarter assembled to entertain us,
or be entertained themselves, I scarcely know which. Many of these
negroes, I found, were born in Africa, and one poor tattooed
fellow claimed to be of royal blood. He told me that his father,
the king, had a hundred children. I asked if any of those present
could write; they replied that there was one man in the quarter
who could write in his own language, and several of them went out
and brought in a tall, bald-headed old fellow, who seemed to come
with great reluctance. After being told what was desired, he
acknowledged to me that he could write when he last tried, which
was many years previous. I took out my pocket-book, tore out a
blank leaf, and handing him a pen from my pocket inkstand,
requested him to give me a specimen. He took the head of the
barrel on his lap, and began, if I recollect right, on the right
side of the page; the following is a fac simile of his
performance:

"The following is a liberal translation into English:--

"'In the name of God the merciful! the compassionate! God bless
our Lord Mohammed his prophet, and his descendants, and his
followers, and prosper them exceedingly. Praise be to God the
Lord of all creatures! the merciful, the compassionate king of
the day of judgment! Thee we adore, and of thee we implore
assistance! Guide us in the right way, the way of those with whom
thou art well pleased, and not of those with whom thou art angry,
nor of those who are in error. Amen!'

"The original is written in Arabic. The old fellow's name is
Charno, which it seems he has retained, after being enslaved,
contrary to their general custom in that respect. I became quite
affected and melancholy in talking to this venerable old man, and
you may judge from that rare circumstance that he is no common
character.

"I now fixed my saddle under my head in a cotton shed to rest for
the night; but, weary as I was, I could not directly get to sleep
for thinking of sandy deserts, old Charno, chicken suppers, negro
quarters, and Virginia Bell! You see she is still the heroine, let
my wanderings lay the scenes where they will.

"I have no doubt but you will say, on the reception of this
letter, 'Well! I thought Randolph would run his nose into all the
out-of-the-way places in Carolina,' I plead guilty! I have a sort
of natural instinct for unbeaten paths, and the one by which I
arrived at Belville shall be given in my next; until then, fare
thee well.

"B. RANDOLPH."