An Incident¹

When the United States vessels were on their way to attack Fernandina, Florida, they picked up a contraband who had ventured to sea in a small boat to notify them that the rebels were deserting the place. While questioning the black, some of the officers of the Alabama remarked that he should have brought them newspapers to let them know what was going on. "I thought of dat," replied the contraband," and fetched a Charleston paper wid me," With this he put his hand in his bosom and brought forth a paper, and with the air of a man who was rendering an important service, handed it to the circle of inquirers. They grasped it eagerly, but one glance induced a general burst of laughter, to the profound astonishment of poor Cuffee, who, it seems, could not read, and imagining that one paper was as good as another, had brought one dated 1822. It is a little odd that this paper, which had floated so long down the stream of time, contained an article in favor of negro emancipation.