The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1888-06-08
as Samantha Mr.. Pauley's

WIG
"Who? Oh, yes, Smahiy-yes
she's Cajer's wife. | rechin you
'uz meyer in these parts, mucI
stranger, er you'd heered abou
Smanthy. You see it 'uz this hyai
way with her; she wuzn't likt
Cajer, fer be alluz said he didn'
keer whether the leaves on tht
trees 'uz green or blue, eff he coult
raise a crap o. corn TO snit him
an eft the rocks wanted TO big an
have moss ON 'em. an little crick:
o. water a tumblin' down over 'em
he Flowed it made no difference tc
him so they wuzn't in the way o
werkin' his claim.
"But, ez | 'uz a sayin'. Smanthy
wuzn't like Cajer. She 'uz alIuz a
taikln' about the hills bein' SO
purity an green in the spring o. the
year, an she'd nigh Almost take fit
about a little spring o. clear like
water a runnin' over the rocks er
tricklin' out from under the roots
o. tree. Seemed like she 'uz sort
o. weakly, too, an not peart an
rugged like Cajer's side o. the fam
bly,. Many a time I've seed her
go down to the spring below them
trees you see over thar war the
smoke is, an set down on asrock
am jest set an look up hyar at this
hill without sayln' word fer some-
times half an hour, in the evenin'
when the sun uZ a-shinln on the
top, the way it is now, an ever'-
thin down yander in the holler 'uz
still an sort o. dark like. She set
heap O store by flowers, too, an
when the ohny-jump-ups an dan
dylions hegun to come out an the
weather w a gittin' warm she'd
go up in the woods an gether all
she could carry.
"Cajer, he used to low some
times that Smanthy ort TO be a.
doin' somethin' to help take keer
O. the children, Stead o. traipsin
around the timber; but she'd only
sort o. smile like, am say the best
o. her life 'ud be a-lackin' eff she
couldn't see the purity things that
'uz so common ever'wheres.
"Well, one day, about fifteen
years ago. Cajer'd gone down to
the diggin'S TO git a grist o. corn
ground fer to make cOrn-bread, an
Smanthy got the cabin redied up
an went up the hill behind the
truck patch an into the woods, to
look fer flowers am to see what the
children 'uz a.doln'. When she
got up thar about forty rod, she
could smell somethin' a-burnin',
au' purity soon she heerd the chill
dren a-screamin' like benz killed.
She run up the hill through the
bushes AN turned around the pint
of sort o. offshoot o. the bluff, an
then she seed what uz The matter.
They had made fire in the leaves
that laid on the ground thick over
winter, an 1t had spread out and
got clean around 'em, an when
see 'em, it 'uz a-burnin'
urble fierce an gettin' closier to
EN- ever mint, She never stop
)ed her runnIn', but jes' went tear
n right through them blazes ten
DOT high, an grabbed the two
am held 'em clost agin
er breast an bent her head down
yer 'em like, an run out to a safe
lace. Then, without sloppin' to
AXE breath, she run back agln--
er the fire 'uz a-drOrin' up into a
lIghty small ring by that time
n grabbin' the other one o. the
lildren up, she hugged 1t clost,
n sort o. wrapped her dress {
round its head, an then run out
18th 1T.
"When they started down TO the
lbin, Smanthy made the children (
ad her, she 'uz burnt that bad,
y seemed like she couldn't see o
cry well, fer she KEEP a stumblin'
y askin' the oldes' gal which way S
go.
"Along in the evenln', Oajer, ne A
me home, an went in the cabin
lngrY as houn', but supper v
lZn't ready, not even a fire burn
in the stove. He 'uz powerful @
xed, an axed whar Smanthy
~. The children SAID she 'us a X
sittin' down TO The spring. He
an went a tearin' down thar, B
rty mad, an thar she set on
e rock cryin' soft, an tryin' to 5;
)k up hyar at the sun a shinin' 5!
the top o. this hill. She heerd
n a comm, an sez she, kind o.
let like, afore he could open his CT
'uth: 'Osjer,' sez she, I'm that as
rnt that Pm blind, and can't bI
; the sunshine mr. the flowers
! the children no mOre.' Anthem
3 bust out cryin' like she'd die. OF
'Cajer went back to the diggin's ui
got the doctor, an he tended W
her fer nigh onto six months. W
II face 'uz allus kind o. smooth bl
Q an white, an her eyes 'uz blue
big an looked plumb through
feller, afore that; her hair 'uz j
t o. cribkly, too, like the shaller q
rter in the crIck whar it runs a
if; but when she got we'll, they ii
big scars all over her face. an Il
r hair 'Uz ez stiff au' straight ez b
re, an the wust thing 'uz that cS
; 'uz that blind that She could oI
tell whether it 'uz day er night. Je
After that It seemed like she b
sort O. stupid, an nothin' Oaier to