, 1889-01-24
A SOUTHERN SKETCH.

In the good old days of slavery,
when | was n boy, my father owned n
negro named Granville, so named
from Granville county, N. c., where
both he and my father were born.
This negro was called Gran" for
short 1--WE had no for negroes
in those days.. l called him "Uncle
Gran and he called mo Little Mars
ter"
| wish ! could describe old Gran to
you ms ! knew him then, but / know /
can't do him justice. His frame was
large and u%ngainly, and he was the
most unwieldly looking mass of hu-
mnnity | ever saw. But in n puncheon
tloor dance, when the pattcrs and
singers started up the old plantation
negro rhymes no negro could wing
higher from the floor, nor last longer
in the dance than old Gran, and when
he had danced down all his partners,
and the singers changed to Juba, Gran
was always equal To the occasion,
changed his step and branched out rs
if he mad just begun.
In addition TO all this, as Uncle Re.
mus said about "Brer' Rabbit" he
could blow n lonesome chune on dc
quills"-his strength was equal TO his
size, and at log rolling in the new
ground Gran was always at the butt
cut of the log.
Grams foot ahone, If properly and
infinitely described, would Gil a book.
l Will not attempt to say how largo it
was, but his track in the mud looked
as much as if a pig Ind wallowed
there as it did like the print Of a hui
man foot. You could not tell by his
track which way he was going, for
there was rs much of his foot behind
his ankle ms before it, He eve had
on a pair of socks until the day Of his
burlal-scldom ever wore n pair of
shoes, and when he did, he had tho
back of them mashed in and n couplo
of shoe rags stuck in them for socks.
l recollect on ono occasion he had
an order on n store neal by for 50 In
trade, and when Gran, with his black
skin showing through his ragged shirt,
walked into the store and laid his
order on the counter Mr.. Crump said
10 himi
Gran, what do you want for this
order1"
Bacon, sahi Bacon, sahi Bacon,
Mister Crump, TO de very last cent"
From the looks of that shirt of
yours, Gran, you had better take part
shirt and part bacon" said Crump.
Oats all %'zactly so, Mister Crump,n
said Gran, rubbing his hands over the
holes his shoulders were shining
through. Oats all 'zactly so, sab;
but / tells yer what's de fact, Mister
Crump, when ! calls on desc shout
ders for credit l always gifts il, but
when l axes desc bowels for credit dey
always calls for dc cash. I'll take ali
bacon, sab"
But Grams great forte was 'possum
hunting, and he was n noted hunter.
He had a dog named Ring, TINT was
never known TO open on any trail but
that OF q 'possum- Rabbits, coon, deer
or any other "varmint" that prowled
the woods could play along in front of
Ring when he was on n hunt, but he
did not even give them a passing So
Lutte. Next to himself Gran loved
Ring, and he would often look fondly
at King and say TO me;
Little marster, yer sec dat dog
Ringi / fetched dat dog up from a
puppy, and l done trained him SO no
kind of varmint track have any feet
on King 'ccpt it's 'poSsum. Nothin'
never bodder Ring when he's huntin'
'ceptin' tbs 'hants,' and when Ring
and me is out in the swamps a huntinP
and l gins TO feel de hot puffs of ar
BLOWN in my face, and Ring he gins
TO whine roun' and pear like he feared
to go out and hunt ] knows right den
dat 'hants' is walking bout, and dere's
no use huntin'. So | jest shoulders
my ak and puts back to dc quarters"
This was all Bible talk TO me then,
for | believed every word Of ii, and /
haven't exactly gotten over il even to
this day. Many a Saturday night
when the first frosts of winter had
ripened the persimmon crop and the
woods were full of fat 'poSsums, has
old Gran come up to the ''grit house"
or white folks house" as the planta-
ton negroes called residence, and
beckoned ME out
Little marster, " he would say, look
ing up at the clear, starry heavens,
de wind sets jes right tonight and
and de moon amt gwine 10 rise till
Jes fore day. Best night in de world
for 'possums, for dey always prowls in