The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1888-11-30
Written especially for this paper.
DlNAH'S "FANkSGlViN',"
A Story of the South.
MATTE o. CAMPBELL.

MioSUr, 1 uCUUCI . SOt uO oCCh app . .
dose yere Sweetin's sen 9 | kan member
cheap, missus."
well! / will take a few; just empty
them into this basket"
"a nebber lax to do no beggiL', but 1t
'peared lax yO' boun' to buy jes' a few,
dis maw.n. Yo' see my LII g%ran'chile,
wpts been ailin', hes plum sot her heart
on havin' chicken fO' dinnah a-Fanks-
givin', an ole Tom jes' a SPLEEN to
please her. She jes' de %sunshin'est chile
when she feel good yO' ebber did see, but
when she gifts de mizry in her po' iii back
dey Amt no use ter try to mex her TO. get
hit; she don't nebber say much, missus,
but hit nigh bout bricks ole Toms heart
to see her lay dere Sd quiet lax, wiz nuf-
fin to say an her po' III face all drawed
out o. shape wiz de pain"
l could see that the old mans thoughts
were with her, but he recollected himself
and drew his hand across his eyes with q
shame-faced expression.
''N here do you live, Uncle?'
"'Bout a mile f'om yere, missus, down
on de line road-jes' de aige Oh de town"
l remembered having seen a little howell
there, and wondered how a family could
exist in such a tumble-dOwn cabin, espe-
cialIy when the nipping frosts reminded
one of the bleak months to come.
81 think l shall send down for more Of
the Sweetings in a few days, Uncle" [
said, succumbing 10 II of those fits Of
philanthropy which. alas! often left me a
victim to designing tramps. Can you
spare me a few more?"
Law, yes, missus, dere's mo on dat
tree dan yo' family cud u Q all de fall.
Yo' kan hab mr. dan yo' wants" And
the old man went off witha beaming face.
Two days before Thanksgiving l re-
mem5ered my pro Use.
Istopped the carriage a little way from
the old one-story structure, and making
my way through the cleanly-swept patch
of door-yard, knocked lightly at tie door.
"Cole in" said a piping voice,
and L Unattached the broken
door and entered. A Little, thin, colOred
girl lay on a rudely constructed couch,
half-chair, half-Sed. The nimble fingers
| stopped in their work of picking over"
a few raisins and dried c%urrants.
II came TO see about the Sweetings. Is
Uncle Tom at home?"
The thin face lighted up suddenly.
"No! Missus, but | ken tOIe yO' wha'
,ley is; he done got 'em ready, kase he
thought yo' mout come. Oh. Missus, we
kan hab a chicken, now! l war lone 'fraid
sompin' Eout happen dat yo' cuddent
Ome."
$50 you are going to have a Thanks
| giving dinner.!'I asked.
'Yes, Missus, eff we don git d%is'pinted
noways. as year we had TO spen' all
our money we had save up for wood, kase
he cuddent git no job ochoppin. Won't
yo' TEX a cheer, Mjssus.'"
l did so, and looked about the little
room, noting the results of pitifui at
tempts TO mex it look lax white folks
houses" A little shelf which ha e i
IDENTIFY been put up by unskilled hands
| was draped with a gayly-colored circus
poster; the floor was bare except for a
few old, faithfully-WaShed scraps of car
| pet placed here and there; while a barrel
| had been festooned with scallOped Jews
papers, which digniied it to the position
| of a work-stand. A braided rug, partly
finished, lay upon it, while Dinah gave
her undivided attention 10 the small bat
glorifed preparations for the Franks
| givin' dinnah."
'Oh. yes. Missus, 1 has Len arnin' a
little money, toe. Uncle Tom lie wuk
hard, an fink he arm all de money fO'
| Fanksgivin', but Dinah Fan 10 braid
rugs an now she got twenty cents done
saved up. 1t meks de mi ~ in de back
a little mite wusser, but we got to have
what right to go wiz de chicken, Mis-
sus.'
Would you like to take a ride on
Thanksgiving day, Dinah?" l asked sud-
denly.
$50, de, lam, Missus! Wouldn't Il
but here the thin little face fell,
s'Who'd get de d%innah:"
"Youll never find out what a good
cook Uncle Tom is, if you don't let him
/ get dinner alone, sometime, " L said, light
ly, we'll knowing that the poor little soul
! could never get far from her couch unless
Uncle Tom carried her.
Early on Thanksgiving morning L
drove to the shabby little house once
more, where Uncle Tom wrapped poor
little Dinah carefully up in a blanket and
put her in the carriage.
"Oh. how NIGEL 1t S most like Heben"
she whispered, as she leaned back among
the soft cushions. She did not speak again
until she found herself in Lulu S nursery.
Then her eyes closed, and the tears
streamed down her cheeks while she muir
INJURED softly to herself. l think she
must have been praying.
l was afraid so much happiness would
hurt her. The goo / doctor whom | asked
to examine little Dinah's back that morn
ing shook his head and expressed but lit
tie hope for her case. 'tBut, he added,
from lis face, ''if you nave set your heart
on curing all manner of crippleS, | sup
pose l shall have to humor you and do the
best l can
Itook heart at thi and went back to the
nursery to find that Lulu and the nurse
had not been idle. Little Dinah was fast
being clothed in soft, warm carmen S
which had once been Lulu's, while her
eyes shOne with delight. 1t was evident
| that she was becoming somewhat accus-
toned to her surroundings.
When she was rested and had begun to
wonder how uncle Tom was done gittin'
long wiz de cookin',' we drove slowly
back. Dinah's head was fairly buzzing
with ''what uncle Tom would nix TO see
her rugged out dis-a-way," but when
we carried her gently through the
doorway and she was fairly on
the old couch once more, she was again
bereft of speech, for there. in the middle
of the room, stood the table loaded with
such eatables as Dinah had never dreamed
OF, and we left Uncle Tom to unravel the
mystery for her, while we went home to
our own ''Fanksgivin' :" with full hearts.
If you should see Dinah now, you would
scarcely know her. She can run and play
almost as we'll as any little girl and her
taste for household neatness and decoration
has unlimited scoop.-at least, it seems so
to her-in the gardeners house at the end
Of the lawn. Uncle Toms chief delight
Is to watch her playing about him as he
works in Miss Lulu's gyaden."
A Matter of Principle.
"Say. pa" said Willie, after an exciting
interview with his father, in which the
| uestures WARE far more imnreSsixa than