The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-01-12

SINNER OOoD ye 6tAn uuT lOOkiu uhe iooi
De bride bit am silver, dc SADDLE am gold,
An Fse bOun' fur to 30 to AberhaIns fold
An I'll ride.
Yes will
An I'll ride right on to glory!
Use sunk my sins I'm do savin' pool.
An got on de back OF do Mefodis mule;
An here stick like big black leetz,
An I'll ride.
Yes will
An I'll ride right on TO gloryl
oh! come from dc church an de sunny school
| An see me ridin' on de Metodis mule
Dem Bapts..s aint got no sort ob show.
| An ! Il make dem Pistob!e bosses blow!
An IN ride.
| An l II ride right on to glory!
SATURDAY. was the negro's natural
holiday, and on that day Tallahassee
was full of them Of all classes. condi-
tons. colors, and sizes. Some crowded
the stores, some of them held impromptu
business meetings on the corners. Oc-
casionaly there was a quitting be-
| tween two stalwart ''coons" unduly
excited by cheap whisky. Among
others the political situation was dis
| cusscd with all the earnestncss and
solemnity of Old-time statesmen.
The negroes would spend their money
in very funny ways. for any article that
took their fancy. One OF them fell in
love with II large bottle of cucumber
pickles, price 81. 1t had some fancy
emblens on which pleased his artistic
eve so he bought it, and out OF curiosity !
f llowcd him to see what disposition he
would make Of the contents. He went
out under II tree in the public square,
deliberately sat down with his precious
bottle, uncorked it, and in the gravest
and most digniied manner imaginable
at every pickle it contained and then
drank the vinegar.
Hurt him? Why. certainly not! II
had no more effect on him than glass
of whisky would have on n professional!
drinker. and expect he is in Leon
county now ready ut any time to vote
for "dc good ole publican party"
Sometimes two odd lady friends would
meet unexpectedly and the following
conversation would cnsue:
With an elaborate bow. why, Mis-
Williams. Good mornin. ma am. how
is yer health dis mornin, ma'am?'
Right poorly, Nj : Brown, thank
YOU, ma am. Use done cot IA sort OF
MISERY on my back, but don COM
plain much, please God. How is you
and Elder Brown an de chillen,
ma ann
"Tollablc; only ,oliablc. Mis- Will
liams. Mr. Brown has a sorter risin
on his hand, but the doctor he tole him
to put arnachy on hit, an hits right
smart better now.
II s'pose you hecrd my darter Liza
gwinc get married neg MONTH
WHY. no Mis- Brown, you sprise
me! Who she gwine marry Mis-
Browne"
why, - gentleman who works on
Mai. G-'s plantation. Hes class
leader, too. an kin beat EN- all hoiier-
in in prayer | knows de Lord mus
hear him. Good-by ma'am, You mus
come an see us.
Thank you. | feel proud to do so,
Mis- Brown, ma'am.' And so they
separate, each to their little world.
What | Judged to be favoritc
amuscmont among them was TO catch
raj, saturate it with kerosene, set fire
to it and then turn it loose.
once saw the walters ut one of the
hotels have large rat, regular
veteran, which they tried by the ordeal
of fire in the rear of the hotel. After
soaking him thoroughly in kerosene
they set fire to him, and started him on
u run down the path. Barring the |
cruelty of it, the rat didn't make Il bad |
looking comet, and probably enjoyed
it himself after he got used to it. no.
ticcd one old gray-haired negro so
amused that he rolled over
on the ground in perfect paroxysm of
delight.
About Q o'clock one night was
strolling along one of the back streets,
when | heard the sound of music, both |
yo al and instrumental.
On turning the corner | saw an an
cient negro in company with small
boy sitting on the edge of the walk, |
The man was playing on Il banjo with
only two strings, and singing II song,
which run rs near rs ! can remember:
De rabbit am n cunnin' ting,
He hide heself in dc brar,
Til the broom-gruSs catch on tire.
Chorus, expressive of CONSERVATION
on the part of the lepus cuniculas:
Big eyed "A rabbit, boo
Big eyed rabbit boo, etc.
The negro very early in freedom
developed n surprising enthusiasm over
patent medicines, especially in the
shape of pills, and his faith in them
rose to the sublime. No matter what
allied him--oli- universal
"miscry,' cut finger, sore toe, or any
thing elsa dose of pills was the
first thought, a refuge in every storm.
The negro was always impatient of
results and preferred catharlic pills to
any other kind of medicine, and, as
most of his ills either arose from over
feeding or were imaginary, the pills
answered all purposes.
Martial music was the glory of the
negro, and never failed to touch his
heart. On Saturdays, when the town
was full of country negroes with their
wives and swcfthearts, cousins. uncles,
and aunts, let some dusky warrior
produce drum. take his position in the
middle of the road, strike up IA tune,
and II procession would soon be formed
stpadily for hoiIrs with M