Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1850-06-27
house that she had ordered them built to warm

sroes dropped in from rhe heighboring planta-
ions, singing as they came, The driver of the
colored man, brought out baskets
Of corn in the husks, and piled it in heap; and
The negroes began to strip the husks from the
ears, singing with great glee as they worked,
keeping time to music, and now and then throw
ing in q joke and an extravagant burst Of laugh
Ter.
The songs were mostly ofa comic character
but one of them was set to singularly wild
and and plaintive air, which some of our musi-
clans would do well to reduce to notation The
words are these
"Johnny come down de hollow,
Oh hollow
Johnny come down.de hollow,
Oh hollow
De higger.trader got me.
Oh hollow
De speculator bought me.
Oh hollow
I'm sold for silver dollars.
Boys, 60 catch de pony.
Oh hollow.
Bring him round de corner.
Oh hollow
I'm goin' away to Georgia.
Oh hollow
Boys, good by forever!
Oh hollow
The song of "Jenny gone away" was also
given, and another called the monkey song,
probabably of African origin, in which the prn-
cipal singer personated a monkey, with all sorts
Of odd gesticuatious, and the other negroes goes
part in the chorus, Dan, dan, who's de dandy?'
One OF the songs commonly sung on these occa-
sions, represents the various animals of the
woods as belonging to some profession or trade
For example:
De cooter is de boatman.
John John Grow
The cooter is the terra pin, and very expert
boatman he is.
"De cooter is de boatman.
John John Crow.
De red-bird de soger
John John Crow
De mocking bird de lawyer
John John Grow.
i DE alligator de eawyer
John John Crow"
The allgator's back is furnished with tootI
ridge, like the edge of saw, which expl lins tn,
last line.
When the work of the evening was oyer. thu
negroes adjourned to a spacious kitchen. Ont
Of them took his place as a musician, whistling
and beating time with two sticks upon the floor
Several of the men came forward and executed
various dances, capering prancing, and drum.
ming with heel and toe upon the floor, with as
tonishing agility and perseverance,, though al
OF them had performed their daily tasks, and had
worked all the evening, and some had walked
from four to seven miles to attend the corr
shucking.
From the dancing transition was made to a
mock military parade, a sort of burlesque of oul
military trainings, in which the words of com.
mand and the evolutious were extremely ludic
rous. 1t became necessary for the commander
to make speech, and confessing his incapacity
for public speaking, he called upon huge blacl
man, named Toby, to address the company il
his stead. Toby, a man of powerful frame, 81,
feet high, his face ornamentcd with beard o
fashionable cut, had hitherto stood leaning
against the wall, looking upon the frolic with al
air of superiority. He consented, came forward
and demanded bit of paper to hold in his hand
and harangued the soldiery.
1t was evident that Toby had listened t.
stump speeches in his day. He spoke of tn
"Mojorty of Sous Carolina" de interests O
de state" ""de interests of de old Ba'nwel dis
trist," and these phrases he connected by va
rious eXpletives, and sounds of which we coul
make nothing. At length he began to falte
; when the captain, with admirable presence {
mind came to his relief, and interrupted and Gle
sed the harangue with an hurrah from the con
pany. Toby was allowed by all the spectator
black and white, to have made an exceller
SDepch Il Rrvant's etters