Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-09-25
EXTRAORDINARY MEMORY.

An Old Negroes Method of Counting
Eggs Not to BE Commended.
Old Nose, who sells eggs and chick
ems on tho streets of Austin for q liv-
ing. is as honest an old negro as ever
lived, but he has got the habit of chat
ting familiarly with his customers.
hence he frequently makes mistakes in
counting out the eggs they buy He
carries his wares around in a small
cart drawn by a diminutive donkey.
He stopped in front of the residence of
Mrs. Samuel Burton. The old lady
herself came out to the gate to make
the purchases.
.'lIavc you got any eggs this morn
ing. Uncle Mose:9" she asked.
"Yes, indeed l has. Jess got in ten
dozen from dc kentry."
"Are they fresh?"
II guantees 'cm. I knows dey am
fresh Jess de same as eff l had lad 'em
myself
"I'll take nine dozen. You can just
count them into this basket"
"All right. num-" he counts, "one.
two, free, foah, five. six. seben.
eight, nine, ten You kin rely on dem
bein' fresh. How's your son coming
on at de school. He mus be mos
grown"
. "Yes, Uncle Nose, he is a clerk in
bank at Galveston"
''Why how ole am dc boy?"
HE is eighteen"
'You don't tole me so. Eighteen
and getting a salary already. eighteen
(counting), nineteen, twenty, twenty
one. twenty-five, twenty-free, twenty
foah, twenty-five. and how's yore gal
comm on. She was mos growed up
de las time I seed her"
''She is married and living in Dali
las"
..Wall. I declar'. How de time
scoots away! An you says she has
c%hildruns? Why how ole am de gal?
She must be jess about"
''Thirty-three."
cam dat SO, (counting), firty-free,
firty-foah. firty-iive, firty-six, firty-
seben, t%irty-eight. firty-nine. forty,
forty-one, forty-two, forty-free. Hit
am so singler. dat YOU has SIGH old
childruns. l can't bleeve you has gran
childruns. You don't look morte den
forty yeahs old. yerself."
Nonsense, old man, l see you want
to flatter me. When a person gets to
be i%ifty-three years Old"
''Fifty-free? I jess dun gwinter
bleeve hit, fifty-free. tifty-foah, fifty
five, tifty-six-I want you to paw ten
shun when I counts de eggs, so dar'll
be no mistake-ffty-nine, sixty, sixty
ono civtv-fuo oipty, froo c;vf,, fooh
Whew. Dat am q warm day. Dis am
de time ob yeah, when l feels Use get
tin ole myself. l amt long fer dis
world. You comes from an ole family.
When yore fodder died he vas sebenty
years OLE"
''Scventy-two."
..Dat's old, suah. Sebenty-two,
sebenty-free. sebcnty-foah. sebcnty.
five, scbenty-six, sebenty-seben, seben.
ty-eight. sebenty-ninc-and your mud
der? She was one Oh de noblest look.
ing ladies l ebber see. You reminds
me oh her so much. She libbed tc
mos q hundred. I blceves she was
done pass q centurion whom she died
mo, Uncle Nose, she was only
ninety-six when she died"
"Den she warn't no chicken wher
she died. l know dat-ninety-six,
~ninety-seben. nincty-eight. ninety-ninc
one hundred, one. two, free, foah, five
six, seben, eight-dar lOS nice fresh
cggs-jess nine dozen, and here an
one noah egg in case J. has discounted
myself"
Old Nose. went on rs way rejoicing
A few days aftcrward Mrs. Burton sale
to her husband:
81 am afraid we will have to dis
charge Matilda. I am satisfied sh,
steals the milk and eggs. I am posi-
tive about the eggs for l bought thon
day before yesterday. and now abou
half OF them are gone. stood RICH
there and heard Old Nose count then
myself and there were nine dozen."-
Cor. 1eras Sit1ings.