New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-01-25
GEORGIA SKETCHES.

Nov is de students out in de day-timeY
..no,, tolls me So chile-dey's ont ali tines
NAV! What does de students want mid
folkses"
u dunno, pig" ("pig" was a gentle name
when Diana called Korpanny by II, and ca
ressng). "dcy makes oil OF 'em, dey tells me-"
"What for, NAV"
"To drink coot; dey makes de oil you
drinks out O. live folks's bodiesm
"Dianan Icalled, severely. Diana. come
here 70 me. What are You telling Kernanny 2
"Niss Jasmin. it's bout desc here medical
studentses at the college. You done heard
what dey does to folks"
~ have heard some talk of it, and that
there was big scare among you all, but l
hardly can believe it. What do you really
think the students doF"
Miss Jasmin," Diana said solemnly and
slowly, leaning with one elbow on the mantel-
niece and one foot (wearing a mans old shoe)
stuck out toward the fire, while her serious
face was turned over her shoulder toward me,
"Miss Jasmin, dey takes folks wherever dey
kin ketch 'om. an puts stckln plasteIs over
der mouf so dey cant holler, an carries EN- to
de college, an cuts en- up. Doy does co H.
Miss Jasmin. An de wors' of it Is, dey amt
,fraid TO take nobody. 'T8int ony 1'HgeTS'
but it's white folks, too. Dere's itch man
son missin' off'n Marctta-st., an nobody never
will fin him twell de Judgment. An deTeS
a whole family O white folks-po' white folks
is disappeared; widow oman and her
three chillun-gOne clean out dc way. An as
10 nicgers-why, it's done broke mp coin to
church. an eve'ythin. Law, Miss Jasmin, its
eittin' time 10 be skecrcdw
Diana. don't you know any better than
that 2" queried.
.'Who7 Miss Jaemin, done tole de tiuf.
Dom you b'lieve dey does itf'
"Do what, Diana Make oil of people q
"Wen dom dey, Mss JASMINE Dey tells
me dey dOes-dis here castor oil what you
takes for med'cine-ain' it made out o live
folksesf'
Diana! Why, don't You know there IS
bean called the castor bean, and the OIL takes
its name from the bean they got 1t iIom
That oil is made out of beans, and nothing
else. Now, Diana, want to explain this
scare to you. I've heard all about how it came
mn. and some people just laugh at it and say
it will do you all good and keep you at home
nights, and they won't tell their servants any
better Now, do you want to know the truth
"Yes'm, course l does"
DWELL. as 1 understand it, this is it. You
know there is a new medical college here.
Well. the students want to be doctors Now,
a doctor has to know what people are like in
side. Sometimes a sick person dies, and the
doctors don't know what killed him and they
cut him open and find a terrible sore here, or
sign of poison there. They have TO learn how
people are, so as to cure them Now ii some
countries. | believe the doctors and students
are given the bodies of all men who are hanged
for certain crimes; and in this country they
get them in different ways. Sometimes they
steal out of their graves persons who have just
been buried; and the way all this scare came,
a man up here in Chattanooga got 10 stealing
dead bodies and sending them to this college,
and he was found out, and people were furi-
Gus, and it was in the papers and made great
talk. / heard Of a lady who was so afraid they
had stolen her little boys body that she had
his grave opened herself, to be sure he was
there. where she had laid him.
"'Pears like I'd La had dat grave dug deeper
and put him whay dey was safe nor to git him,
'essn dey worked twell daylight" Diana said.
"Weu, after all this was in Tie paper, there
came another scare nearer home-at Marietta.
Here's where the name Of a negro first comes
in. They say the negro porter Of this college
helped a man to steal some bodies there"
Dead ones, Miss Jasmin Z"
"Of course. dead. And that negro is ac-
cused of this, and some people believe he is
guilty and some don't have talked with
very clever lawyer, who is going to defend
hm before the court, who says lie IS innocent.
Wen, the scare came from tins. You dalhles
got it started that they took live people
"Mlss Jasmn '-eagerly-" Miss JasmlD,
femme tell You. Dey say dere was two men
goin' down de street one dark night, an dcy
saw a man wild bundle o sOIApn an soons
be saw dem he commenced staudn' 1t mp aglnst
de fence, an sayin', 20, come now, stan up;
don be 50 drunk; he a man, ole fellcr; stan
up, tell YOU an dcy thought that 1t was
drunken man shore nuii, an dey startd to cross
de road to have a laugh at him, an dc man
tux to his heels au' run, an dey come up 10 dc
drunk man whar be lay, an Miss Jasmin, fore
gracious dey say It was a dead man wrapped
III sack, an hardly cole yit"
" With a sticking plaster over has MOUTH
% dunro, IN. Law! Miss Jasmin, how kin
yOu laughl Miss Jasmin. Of I was to 90 cross
de road some dark night to see Charlotte, au'
dem studentses Was to grab me. you'd never
know no more bout it! You'd jes' know your
cook was urfssin', an you never would know
what got me"
But, Diana, dOn't you know they wouldn't
dare to murder people 10y wholesale in that
way Don't you know they would be hung if
they killed the smallest child? But 20 away;
might collect together all the negroes in this
neighborhood, and talk solid sense to them by
the hour, and give them NY word and honor
as lady, they wouldn't believe word said y
eyes m Miss Jasmin we ,vorId bii.