The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-05-18
CHRISTMAS NIGHT.
UNCLE TONY EXPLAINS A BIT OF
NEGRO FOLKLORE.
4 Roaring Fire in the Cabin Fire-P1acS
-''Dey Done 1t Back Eander''-
What "Buh Jim" Saw
Christmas Night.
philadelphia Times.l


Christmas Night as often as it returned
found Uncle Tony and Maum Chloe en-.
pertaining their friends and kin. Supper
was long over, but a side-table was still at
hand, on which were set out a great pan
Of parched ground-peas, a plate Of mo-
Iasses candy and huge jug of sugar-cane
beer The cheerful room Of the cabin
was lighted fiaringly by the great roaring
pine-knot blaze in the cayernous fire place,
about which in an immense semicircle the
company sat
"Dey tells me, spoke up Uncle Peter,
a near neighbOr who, together with his
wife, Aunt Calline (Caroline), was much
esteemed by both host and hostess, "dey
tells me dat eve'y Christmas Night de
COWS an de caves an all de creatures gifts
down an says dar pra'rs-so 1 hearn tell
deze many yare. Whuh yer tink 'bou
dat b. L Tony?"
@Dat wat l yeh u,n say, said Uncle
Tony, adjusting his pipe and gazing seri-
ously into the fire. There had come
hush among the cracking ground-pea
shells, indicative of quickened interest
mans opinion. Oats wat 1 yeh UNI
say, Buh Peter Some says hits so
some says hit amt so. But eff yer ak me
fer de troofe halter tell yer up'n down
far an squar' dat eff dey don do it deze
days dey sho1y done it once. Yesser-
,
Wen dat Tinker Tony2" asked cho-
rus of young men and women.
"Fo' any yer all 'uz bawn-'way back
yander gwine on fifty yare, was the i'm
pressiN reply. Now, look yuh, he con-
tinued dish yuh W.T. gwine tell / aim
see mersef. But my Brudder Jim he see
It, an OATS 'nuf fer me. l let yer know
Buh Jim ain no lynn niger, an eff 'uz
Twin an right yuh dis minute he'd be
willin ter kiss eve'y Bible twix' dis an
Baltimo' on de homes fack er de case.
Uncle Tony paused long enough to
make sure that no one would have the
face to hazard an objection to such I'M
impeachable testimony, and then pro-
ceeded:
well, Buh Jim say he 'uz out a. possum
huntin' on a Chris'mus Night an come
long home 'crost e mawsters fier an pass
thoo de cOW-pen, bout ID o'clock. Buh
Jim say e aim mon put e foot cen dat
cow.pen TO e gun ter git scared. Hesay
e feel lack sperrits mout be floatin' all
'roun' i'm cen de dark an"
"Oh, yes, my Lawd, murmured Maum
Chloe, turning up the whites of her eyes
"An' e tuck'n git cole all down e back
an shuck an shiver lax wen foxes has de
chill I'M fever. Buh Jim say e ain gone
hafe 'crost dat cow-pen, TO 10 an behOle
e notice sup'n cu'ous bout dem cow, an
e git scared wusser mo'ner wusser. Mebby
}
hope ter drap dead de mex minute eff
eve'y las one er dem COW want down on
dey knees wild dey nose plntin' up tod's de
skyI
an wen Buh Jim look at it e known
right off dey 'uz at der pra'rs, lax C hearn
foxes tell about. Buh Jim no coward,
but e say de Lawd only knows how many
sperrits mouter been creepin roun' 'mogst
dem fence ccrnders, and e DIES broke and
run fun dem diggings-one scared niger
fer truel"
"Wel. fer de Lawd's sake!" cried
Uncle Peter, and ordinations of awed
surprise went round the room.
81 aim ter set up dis Wy night an see eff
dey duz it sho' -nuf, announced Aunt
Calline "Ef / live an nutt'n happen /
gwine ter see dish yuh funny khye-in' on
wild my own own eye.
Several others declared their intention
of doing likewise with the characteristic
"Me, too, whereupon Uncle Tony re
marked:
II won promise you, yer see, nutt'n;
member dat, now All l say is, dey
lister do it. Dey done it way back yam
der, dat time wen de stars fell. Dat I
sticks ter