, 1884-02-24
AUNT RACHEL'S STORY.

was ndimme and her strength undated.
She was a cheerful, hearty soul, and it was no
more trouble for her to laugh than 1t is for
a bird TO sing. She was under fire now, as
usual when the day was done. That is to
say, she was being chaffed without mercy,
and was enjoying 1t. She would let eff peal
after peal of laughter, and then sit with her
face in her hands and shake with throes Of
enjoyment which she could no longer get
breath enough to express. At such n mo
ment as this a thought occurred to me, and l
said:
Aunt Rachel, how is it that you've lived
sixty years and never had any trouble
She stopped quaking. She paused, and
there was a moment of dlence. She turned
her face over her shoulder toward me, and
said, without even a smile in her voice;
"Misto c. is you in 'arnestr
1t surprised me a good deal, and it sobered
my manner and speech, too. l said:
@Why, l thought-that Is, I meant-why,
you can't have had any trouble. I've never
heard you sigh, and never seen your eye when
there wasn't a laugh in it"
She faced fairly around now, and was full
Of earnestness.
"Has / had any troubled Misto c., Is
gwyne to tell you, den l leave 1t TO you. l
was bawn down 'mongst de slaves; I knows
all bout slavery, case I been one Of 'em my
own SET. Well, sab, my ole man-dat my
husban'-he was lovin' and kim to me, jist as
kind as you Is to yo' own wife. An we had
chil'en-seven chil'en-an' we loved dem
chil'en js de same as you love yo' chiPsn.
Dey was black, but de Lord can't make no
chil'en so black but what dey mother loves
'em, an wouldn't give 'em up, no, not for
anything dnt's in de whole world.
well, sab, 1 was raised in ole Fo'ginny,
but my mother she was raised in Maryland;
- -~,. A,InT aLn raa .rr{HI. Yrhnr ohafl 1ft
started Ny lan'l but she'd make do fur
fly. Whom she'd git into dem tantrums she
always had one word dat she said. Shed
straighten herself up an put her fists on her
hips an say, 4 want you to understan' dat /
WANT bawn In de mash to be fool'd by trash
rs one o. de ole Blue Hens Chickens, l is
Case you see, dat what folks OATS bawn in
Maryland calls deyselves, and dey's proud Of
it Well, dat was her word. i don't ever
forget It, beca'ss she said 1t so much, an be-
case she said it one day when my little
Henry tore his wristband and busted his
head right up at the top OF his forehead, an
de niggers didn't fly aroun' fas' enough to
tend to him. An when dey talk back at her
she up an she says: Look aheah,' she says,
Il want you niggers to understan' that l
want bawn in de mash to be fool by trashi
Is one o. de ole Blue Hens Chickens, 1 ir
an den she clar' dat kitchen an bandage up
de chile herself. 30 l says dat word, too,
when rs riled.
swell, bymeby my ole mistis she's broke,
an She got to sell all de niggers on de place.
An when l heah dat dey gwyne to sell us all
off at cotton in Richmon', oh de good gra-
ciousl l know what dat meant
Aunt Rachel had gradually risen, while
abe warmed to her subject, and now she tow
cred above Us, black against the stars.
"Dey put chains on us an put us on a stan
as high as dis ~po'ch-twenty foot high-an'
all do people stood aroun', crowds an
crowds. An dey'd come up dab an look at
US all roun', an squeeze our arm, an make
us git up an walk, an den say: Dis one too
ole, or Dis one lame,' or Dis ono don't
mount to much An dey sole my ole man,
an took him away, an dey begin to sell my
chil'en an take dem away, an begin to cry.
an dc ma say, tShst up 20 dam iub5sTin','
an hit me on de mouf wild his ham, An
when de las one was gone but my little
Henry, i grab him clost up to my breas' so,
an / ris up an says, You shan't take him
away I says; TT kill de man thai tetches
himr l says. But my little Henry whisper
an say, I'm gwine to run away, an den /
work and buy yo' freedom Oh, bless de
chile, he always SO goodi But dey got him
dey got him, de men did, but took and tear
de clo'es mos off Of EN- an beat EN- over de
eN@1 - e1J 1850 - AeI
too, but / didn't mine dat
HWell, dab was my ole man gone, an all
my chi'en, all my seven chil'en-an' six Of
'em l hain't set eyes on ag'in to dis day, an
OATS twenty-five year ago las Easter. De
man dat bought me b'long' in Newbern, an
he took me dab. Well, bymeby de years roll
on an de waw come. My master he was a
Confedrit colonel, an / was his family's cook.
So when de Unions took dat town, dey all run
IN -. 4 -. 5000 III Al
niggers in dat mons'us big house. So de big
Union officers move in dab, an dey ask me
would I cook for dem. Lord bless you, says
l, 'dat's what rs for
"Dey want no small fry officers, mine you,
dey was de biggest dey is; an de way dey made
dem sojers inosey roun'l De genn he tole me
to boss dat kitchen; an he say, II anybody
come meddlin' wild you, you jist make 'em
walk chalk; don't you be afearsd,' he say;
'you's 'mong fren's now.'
"Well, / thinks to myself, IL little Henry
ever got n chance to run away, he'd make to
de norf, o. course. So one day / comes In
dab whar de big officers was, in de parlor, an
i up an tole 'em bout my Henry, dey a-list-
enin' to my troubles jist de same as il l was
white folks: an / says: What l come for is
beca'se IL he got away and got up MORT wbar
you gemmen comes from, you might "a seen
him, maybe, an could tell me so as / could
fine him ag'in; he was very little, an ne had a
sk-yar on his lef wris', an at de top Of his
forehead Den dey look mournful, and de
gen1 say, How long since you los himT an
l say, Thirteen years Den de gen1 say,
He wouldn't be little no mo, now-he,s a
mani
u never thought O. dat beto'i he was only
dat little Teller to me yit- l never thought
bout him CROWN up an bein' big. But /
see II den. None o. de gemfnen had run
acrost him, 30 dey couldn't do nothin' for me.
But all dat time, do 1 didn't know it, my
Henry was run off to de MORT, years an years,
an he was a barber, too, an worked for his
SET. An bymeby, when de waw come, he
ups an he says: rs lone barberin', he says,
rs gwyne to fne old nanny, less'n she's
dead So he sole out an went to whar dey
was recruitin', and hired hissef out to de
colonel for his servant; an den he went all
froo de battles everywhAh, huntin' for his
ole nanny yes, indeedy, bed hire to fust
one officer an den another, till he ransacked
de whole souf; but you see l didn't know
muffin bout dis. How was / gwine to know iti
swell, one night we had a big sojer ball;
de sojers dab at Newborn was always havin'
balls an ~carryin' on. Dey had 'em in my
kitchen heaps o. times, case it was 20 big.
Mine you, l was down on such doin's; beca's.
my place was wild de officers, an 1t rasp me
70 have dem common sojers cavortin' roun'
my kitchen like dat But / Away stood
sroun' an KEEP things straight, 1 did; an
sometimes dey'd git my dander up, an dsn
I'd make 'em clar dat kitchen, mins 1 tel
voui
Dissolution OF Cop~artnersbip.
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