, 1886-01-08
PLANTATION NEGROES,
UNCLE REmus' LITTLE BLACK DOG
THAT LlPT UP IN DE ELEMENTS.


Inever saw q plantation negro, old or
young, who would admit that he had
never seen a -ha'nt" OF @speerit." Some
negroes have claimed to be in the habit
OF converting with the @ha'nts" they met,
but the great majority are anxious to
have 1t understood that the sight demor
allied them. With the plantation ne
groes the myth OF the Wehr-wolf takes
the shape of a little black dog, generally
headless and harmless, except that It's
appearance is usually regarded as tho
precursor OF some misfortune.
Il 'uz gwine long" said Uncle Remus,
on one, occasion, zen arter while IL seem
like l kin year sump'n n'er trottin' long
behime me. But ! des keep on, en- den 1t
seem lii de trottin' gwine on right by de
side err me. / keep on, / did, en- den 1t
seem like de trottin' gittin' ahead or me,
en- den l look down, en- dar wuz de little
black dog tippin' long same like he
gwine long wild me. He amt had no
head, yit look like he tongue hangin' out;
he amt got no head, yit look like he eyes
a-shinin'; he Amt got no head, yit look
like he years a-fioppin'. / glance at i'm,
/ did, en- l say ter myself
@I lay / got you nowi' en- wild dat, 1
fotch I'm a wipe wild my walkin' cane, On
-Rtnttfmenhl
I'm a-tellin' you de natal trufe-dat
ar w~alkin'-cane went spang through i'm
bidout tetchin', en- part un i'm few one
way, en- part flew de yuther, en- dey sorter
wobble about, dey did, en- bimeby dey
come terge'er, en- den, wen dey do dat,
dey lipt up in de elements, en- make der
disappearance"
FOLKLORE OF PLANTATION NEGROES.
II Ia iunnOaafhla ~ haar fha nanrOaa tall
of their relations with disembodied
spirits without recalling TO mind Shake
speare's "affable ghost" The ghosts the
negroes see are all affable and familiar.
When n little child is heard talking to it
self at play, the negroes insist that 1t is
conversing with spirits.
When grown persons are heard talking
to themselves, they are told that they
owe Satan a days work.
II the sun shines while Il Is raining. 1t
is a sign that Satan is whipping his wife.
1t is a bad sign for a cat to get in a
cradle.
1t is bad luck for a deformed cat to be
born on the place unless It is drowned at
once.
When a dog dreams before the fire, II
Is a sign that a witch Is trying TO get in
the house. The way to keep the witch
out is TO throw a little salt in the fire.
A horseshoe nail stuck in a crack Will
keep witches out.
II sparks fly out from the fireplace, it
1t a sign that your enemies are ~conspiring
against you.
strangers are coming.
II a twig or bush gets caught in a
woman's dress, and is dragged after
her, 1t is a sign that she has a sweet
heart.
To extend this list would take us from
realms OF folklore into the region Of ION
sense. There Is scarcely an incident or
an accident hat is not accepted by the
negroes as a sign or an omen of some
kind, and when l say negroes, l mean, OF
course, the old-time plantation negroes.
NOT AN IGNORANT, GRowN-UP HILL
Those closest to the negro seemed to
think that he was a mere ignorant,
grown-up child. They failed to give him
credit for any sort Of shrewdness, or for
any Of the wisdom that IL necessarily a
part OF all human experience. A great
majority Of the whites deceived them
selves with the idea that the negro had
no conception Of freedom and no desire to
be free; they deceived themselves with
the belief that the negroes had no idea of
their power n opportunity when the
great majority of the white men OF the
south were in the army. 1t is a matter
of history that, at one period during the
war, the white women and children,
their homes and their treasures, were
practically left in charge Of the negroes.
The negroes f~aithfulness at that period
n under those circumstances has no
parellel.
But It ought to be said here that h
plantation negro was a great dissembler.
"Hypocriter would be too strong a word
to apply to him; for there was nothing
malicious in his assembling. His fear
Of ghost and "ha'nts" was for the most
part a pretence, but It was a pretence in
sisted on with such dramatic accompani-
ments as to give 1t the appearance of a
vivid reality.