The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-01-29
Doe PHEBE CARL.

Doc IhCDE IAN lie p. ....
Laws! that's Phebe Car'll Hain't
YOU never seed herpE I've knowed Phe-
be sence she was a little thing no big
germ Mis- Bes's baby She used to
think she had a hard time, poor girl {!
Wei, it scaS kind o. disceuragin- Old
man Car1i he had big family, and
Mis- Carl she never had no health; and
Phebe bein' the only girl, the heft O the
work fell onto her. I've seen that there
chill /. when1she WASN'T moreinf 10 year
old, puttih'out as big a days washin
as many a growed woman could do.
Mis- Carl had the cancer, and she made
a terrible sight o washin', so she did.
Then there wtis,six hulkin' fellows, and
menfolkS' washin' amt no light job,
now cantell vel OF course they wore
calico shirts and Overhalls, but they was
careless boys, all exceptin' Jake. Jake,
he was the proudest feller, an he must
have his starchedGwhite shirt for Sun
day and his linen coats in sammei, liked
up fit TO kilt Hit didn't do him no
good fer to fix up so fine, so it didn't.
He married the wrEthlessest girl of any
of the boys, and they didn't none, OF
'em GIT much fer to Dragon. = 81 =
Well, Phebe, she. done fer all of Fem,
and they lived in the shacklin'est cabin
down on that cross road, ,t'other side of
the ole sayiniilg The roof hit was
al'ays leakin5 and spilin' the beds,
and Phebe she'd have TO move her
mother round from one corner to the
other to keep her in the dry, and them
bic boys loafin' round up at the store
with their hands iiitheir pockets. Some
times they d git a days work to do,
chopin or haulip', but gner'ly they
didn't do much but lay themselves out
to sun-and spit Every one O. Shem
boys an the ole man caawed; and they
didn't have no manners when they spit,
and Phehei never could keep her floor
nor her quilt gFlean.. I've seed that girl
put out 4 5washin' o. quilts 'twould reach
from here toztlAe mills She WIS awful
industrious, and always a patchin' quilts,
so she was. She made ene. SNOWFALL and
one settia' -stinSas pertyias any quits Il
ever laid my eyes on: then she had two
log-cabins-One woolen and one cotton
and nine patches -Lawsi there was
no end toS-the quilts that girl didn't
make! But they never done her no
good. SRe1ieVer got none Of them, fer,
when Mis- Carl died, the Gle man, he
married ag'in and jes Kept every thing.
He married the trifin'e est ole thing in
the country that nobody didn't think
was scarcely decent; and fustv thing she
does is to up aud order Phebe out Of the
house. And Phebe she went, and said
she wouldn't 90 back there no more;
and nob5dy didn't blame her.
Two OF the boys got married before
their mother died; and the rest of 'em
they jus hung round like they always
done. eT
But Phebe, there wasn't no hang
round in her. Jake told her she might
come andtmaLe her home at his house,
and she did, apt laws if they didn't
work herl a JAKE s. woman she never
lifted finger if she could help it; and
it was Phebe this and. Phebe that, year
in and year out. The girl never went
nowheres, and she had less clothes than
any body | ever seedi Jake, he never
got her nothin' to wear, except linen,
suit onc't that he bought at the store
and brought home, and every body
thought he was goin' to make her
present of it. But, 10 and behold We!
when she. left,l he ups and makes her
pay fer it ) Ilda-teld him "Alister, I've
done your work fer nOthin', and you
hain't furnished me nothin' but vittles,
and now if YOU don't pay the store
keeper fer this, he Kin sue y0u fer it.
But she paidieritsaAdtslidn'tsay net3air'-
to nobody, out q, the 1--WE. dollars Abe
give her after she worked fer him five or
six months. VN.OQt JAZZ !
You see Abe's woman was one o. the
bed-fast kind, like the fust ole Mis- Carl.
She was reel pleasant woman when
she wasn't ailin'; but I've knowed her
to lay with thes bone-airysip'lis year
and fialf without never gittin' up out
O. her bed.
They couldn't git no help, and Abe he
couldn't a paid fer it eff they had got
it-workin' by days works, and not al
WAYS havin' Job; and they had three
children, so they had, and as sassy irats
as ever went gnYhipped, Abe'sy wife
couldn't do ndthin' cwith thefhsA and
there was the famsfy TO do fer, and NO.
body to do the work. ii
SO Abe he ups and goes fer Phebe
when his woman otis a bad{she cah'tH
help herself nos more. Aud 4notlhn'lll
do but Phebe must come TO his house.
He made such a pitiful mouth that
Phebe, poor thing, she eouldH'tsay nos
And that made Jake fahd his woman
mad, now tell vel u They'd been 80
used to have Phebe at their beck an
call, that it sotShaiI der any bof@selse
to git the use Of her. jake be did be-
have scandlous, so he did, He cllssed
and ripped around At her, and tole her
she needn't look 70 lhinlffer home no
more. She might go-to the porehouse
fer all o. him.