The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1883-04-12
JACKSON, OHIO, THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 1888.
dispatching a large gingercake.

|, Gle EZeKlel stopped SnOrG Will UdGeu
breath and stared straight before him.
His audience involuntarily followed
the direction Of his eye, and beheld a
sinister-looking mulatto, short and
thick-set, with CLASSY blush eyes. A
general scrimmage ensued. With one
accord they turned about and fled
precipitously, with many exclamations
Of terror and dismay.
Ebenezer-for this was Ebenezer-
watched the retreating figures with a
bitter scowl; then turning, glared
upon Ezekiel; who, having realized,
he thought, the full extent of possible
harm, turned upon his prosecutor a
face that, thou gh haggard, had in it
neither fear nor appeal. Both men,
without advancing, stood intently
looking at each other till Ebenezer,
with muttered curse, turned sullenly
and walked slowly in an opposite di-
rection.
Approaching night now made me
feel the Importance of reaching my
destination. The circus was over, and
the stores and stalls mostly deserted.
Men and women were busily finding
their respective places in the different
conveyances, every one of which con-
tained about dozen occupants, having
each in charge his personal purchases,
the weeks rations, and generally sew
eral small darkies, all Of which COM
bined to fill the vehicles to what
seemed their fullest capacity; but l
was afterwards assured that, probably,
no driver there would have refused
stranger a seat. One old man near
me was hitching up his team, two
horses, looking among their less for
tunate fellows remarkably fat and
we'll cared for. l approached him,
asking at venture if he could direct
me to my friends plantation.
He replied with alacrity that he
"b'longed dar"
When | told him that | was going
to visit his young master and would
pay literally to take me thither, he
refused the recompense and begged
me, as if [ were conferring a favor, to
''git right inter de wagin," adding
apologetically that he Flowed Mars
Henry didn't spec me or he'd come
hisself an fotched de kerridge."
Our wagon was soon comfortably
full and started off at an easy jogging
pace; but we stopped before long to
take in another traveller, who, was
not sorry to observe, was Uncle
Ezekiel. I discovered that he was
among friends, members of his former
flock, who still clung to him. Our
horses were in much better condition
than their fellows, yet many of the
latter, flying like spectres, passed,
leaving us far behind. One ambitious
driver shouted as he sped by, just
grazing our wheel, Hello, Jerry,
gwine ter de graveyard"
Jerry retorted with spirit something
that sounded like prediction that the
questioner's "old hoss gwine ter de
graveyard fo' he git his crop in"
Uncle Ezekiel took little part in
the conversation, and in my subse-
quent acquaintance with the old man
l discovered that he never engaged in
mere desultory chatting with his race.
He scorned all familiar topics, and
only broke his grim and apparently
disapproving silence when an oppor-
tunity for giving instruction presented
itself. For such emergencies he was
always ready, and to a good listener
he opened his heart.
AS we entered Red Oak swamp,
mentioned before as associated by
Uncle Ezekiel with the Red Sea, the
marshy ground was radiant and dane
ing with that accumulation Of incan-
descent gases known as the Will O.
the Will, or Jack O Lantern. This
phenomenon, always seen to advantage
in swampy districts, owing to recent
rain must have been even finer than
usual tonight, for there were on all
sides such CALCULATIONS as ''look dar"
''see dat!'
Uncle Ezekiel did not join in the
common excitement. It was not un-
til silence reigned again that he re-
marked casually, ''Sorter hard on him
nights like dis, dats er fac"
This arrested my attention momen-
tarily. Here was an explanation of
this ignis fatuus more fanciful, per-
haps, than science affords. The other
travellers were all attracted by the al
lusion to the Jack O Lantern, and
begged timidly and deferentially, as
beftted them when addressing so
great man, that he tell 'w' at de mat
ter now wild Jack O Lantern?'
Uncle Ezekiel, however, not deign-
ing to appear influenced by the curios-
ity of the common herd, ignored the
question altogether, and shaking his
head, said in a low tone, as if to him
self, Nights like dis he go moughty
nigh 'stracted," thus increasing, as
half suspect he intended, the impor-
tunities for the story. | added mine,
observing with pride that Uncle Eze-
kiel accorded them great weight,
glancing toward me and touching his
dilapidated hat with simple courtesy,
that had in it a real dignity. Soon
after he begun in orthodox story fash
ion.
"Wonst der wus er hunger wat
lived 'roun' yere,' shaking his head at
the word hunger, and rubbing his
forehead with his bandana handker-
chief, "Dis hunger worked spells on
er right smart Nv people. Eb'nezer
warn't nuthin' side NV him; Eb'nezer
spells wat he works amt nuthin' side
Nv hisn."
There could be observed here a grim
satisfaction that Ebenezer, though his
arts had succeeded so disastrously well
in Ezekiel's case, had been beaten on
his own ground, "Oh! he lows ter
dot, he lows ter dot, but he cayn't,"
continued Uncle Ezekiel, hurriedly,
as if vague idea had occurred to him
that the fact might palliate Ebene-
zer's heinnnsness