Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-13

elders to sit around the fires and gossip,
relating quaint anecdotes and telling IN
all seriousness strange, incredible tales.
A GanjoIst had put in an appearance,
and, after stunning for hours upon his
instrument to rapid measures suited 10
the double shuffle," the "bdck-step,'
ETC., in which Outlandisn dances all In
dulged with that abandon aud intensity OF
enjoyment characteristic OF African lesti-
vities, yielding TO persuasion. the musl'
clan sang In a pleasing voice several Old
time plantation songs, one about COTTON
eye Joe;" another beginning:
my ole insists promis me
Wen she die she set me free
and many verses of "Old Napier" the
subjoined being the only two can recall:
"Old Napier come ter my house.
fought g wanh ter see me;
But wen come ter fine out
Done 'suade my wife ter Leah me,
on, webs ole Napier, yOOnkee yoonkecf
Webs ole NApper?-gOne away!
''Ef could cotch dat niger
Dat blasted cussed Napper
I'd fling I'm cen mortar
An poun' i'm up ter pepper!
oh. VEINS ole Napier, yoonsee, yoOnkeef
VEINS ole Napperf-gone away"
At one of the fires sat Uncle Tony and
his wife, their friend, Aunt Ca'line, and
others. And just now young woman
named Dhsey had the floor.
Il met DAN taller-iace' BucKra boy, Ben
Mathis, down de road dis mawnin'." she
said addressing Aunt Ca'line, "au' e toe
me a tale. IL say one time a edicated
niger an a unedicated niger went a
fishln', an de unedicated niger cOtch "A
great big fish an de edicated Niger dina
cotch nutt'n but lilly BUSY one. An bime-
by dey 'spute wild one 'nudeer bout how
dey gwine 'yyide de game-'caze bote NV
.IsaFna a 4ial, s.At "a,
ger say, cO'se dab big fish hls'n, an %
'splain it dis er way.
"Ought's a ought. an fgger's figger
Dis yuh big fish b long ter dis Niger.
'An' den de uredcated niger say.
Oily! is dat SO, shO-nGt? Well. 1 reck'n
dab big fish mus be yo'n den. Oh-y /
wish l was educated lax you is! An de
edicated Niger up'n tote de big tsh If
home"
Tney all laughed at this, but Aunt Ca
line was quick 10 say: 81 donh b'lieve
dass so now. Dan uredicaled Niger
muster ainh had de sense e 'uZ bOTned
wild, of dat de way e do. SbO0l Dab
Buckra boy DIES say all dat ter mex out
lax US black foxes is foolish"
81 know'd dat" Dilsey declared, "an' l
up'n tOle im-
''Shoo! oh, shoe! niger darky-shoe!
don't drink tea an don't drink coffee,
az y NAAiJ -NHiiJ WIN a b4dth nlEkCI
darky"
Which curious rigmaroe no doubt eff
tectually squelched the offending taller
face Buckra hoy" | am well aware that
this Will strike the reader as incredible
nonsense which undoubtedly it Is }. but 1
am ready to assure him with all due
soIemnlty that l have often heard the
above recited with much vain glory and
satisfaction by Dilsey, or SilVey, or jimmy
Gas tine case might be) when provoked by
white children, who We're OF course
covered with shame by the sweeping con-
domination 1t involved. Why, when APP
plying this remarkable piece Of invective
70 representatives of the white race, they
never substitute for the closing line
something like, Il don't dilly-dally wild a
taller face Buckra," and thus say what
they mean WAS ever dark mystery, and
as such We will have TO leave it.
No dusky company OF this sort could re-
main together long without some refer
ence 10 ''sperits," and in the course of the
evening Uncle Tony was induced to re-
peat his remarkable and oft-told story of
how he once freed ghost, and to continue
with some interesting remarks on the
subject OF "sperits" in general.
"1ou let Buckra people fool you, ter
mex you tink der ami no SIGH Ting es
speritsW said the old man IN solemn
warning, when some one made reference
10 the prevailing unbelief on this subject
in that quarter. Dem sperits is den, |
tell yer-an' mon dat, people Kin see um
sometimes, speshly desc yup people wut
horned wild a caul."
"Unker Tony" said Dilsey, "'spose'n
Puz ter meet up wild sperit-wut mus
dOW
"Mek out lax yer aiuh scared an 90
right on-dass de way ter do. Tell i'm,
'Howdy = an gie lin de road. AM lemme
tell yer. be mighty particular not ter run
'ginse i'm wutsomeVer you mer do"
''l'eople sees de sign er sperits heap er
times wen dey donh know IT," continued
Uncle Tony. "1ou better look out wen
yer gwine long de road cen de night time.
an feel warm BRET tech yer on de back
er yer neck-dass spirit. You better
look out wen Yer gwine long on a moon
shiny night am see rabbit Jump I'D an
run cross de ROAD right by yer-don't you
run at i'll Dass spirit, sun. You better
be particular wen yer run upon a blncI,
cat cen a dark place am sec e eyeballs
shine same as balls or fre-dass
speritV
81 never know'd dey come-lak rabbits"
said Aunt Ca'line; "but / know'd bout
dem 'ceItful.leokin' black cats. Laws-a.
mussy! hit mex me 80 scared dunno wut
ter do, wen run up on one dem cats way
OF tum de house."
"Dey comes lax rabbits. an cats, an
dogs, am l dunno wut ALL" said Uncle
Tony. Eyes, suh--an' one time | yehd
tell er one oomin' lax a deer. Dey tell me
nobody could Kill dat deer. Dey shoot at
IL an shoot at it--git right close upon it,
an shoot at It, but hit 20 right on des
same es eff der VAIN no bullets cen de
whole country. An yeh um say bimeby
dey went ter ole kuDjun black man bout
dat deer, an % tOle um ter moul silver
bullet an try dat. An dey done dat, an
sub, mex time dey shoot at dat creeter
right deb cen de open woods cen de broad
open day, hit wanDish awayw
And 1 might add here, that IL is lust
possible that some such legend as this
was concerned with the orr gin of the pre-
vaillng custom, among negro slaves in
the south, OF wearing one or more pune
tured silver dimes about the neck ss a