Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1889-05-22
UNCLE ABEL.
The Pathetic Story Told By a
Florida "Cracker."

Itwas mid-winter-January but in South
Florida the Frost King had far too many
enemies to admit of his reigning. The road
from Tampa to the inland town of Barlow
stretched out in the warm winter sunshine,
not, SlnuOuS and sandy. A gentleman rid
ing leisurely along the road smiled to him
self as he came upon sudden turn where
tree had fallen across the road, and it
being no ones business to remove the
trunk, a sharp detour had been made At
this point the monOtonOus pines gave place
to stretch of beautiful ''high hammock,
country, and he spied a narrow winding
path leading from the road into very
thick part of the hammock Into this leafy
path he turned, idly wondering where it
led. Many sharp turns it made, and, final
ly, as it swept around a large bunch of pal
metto, he found himself at the very gate of
some ones homestead, and face TO face with
strange figure.
A heavy beard proclaimed the figure to
be that OF man, but the iron-gray hair
was "roached" from the forehead in a by-
gone schoolgirl fashion, and confined by
a genuine round comb, from which it fell
to the shoulders in loose ringlets Small
gold hoops were in his ears, and a huge
bandanna was pinned about his throat with
an immense old-fashioned brooch The man
wore loose, short trOwsers, that reminded
one forcibly of the ''divided skirt so ar
IDENTITY urged upon femininity by dress re-
formers, and shining brass spurs were at
tached to his boots.
The native leisurely surveyed the horse
man, and twinkle revealed itself in his
shrewd, brown eye as he noted the stran-
gers evident confusion. He had been fan
ming himself with his palmetto hat, but now
he put it on aslant as he said, cordially:
"Howdy, Yank? I'm glad to see We.
Won't ye light and come in for spell!"
~ would like drink" the stranger re-
piled; land yonder old live oak looks in
viting. My name is Rawson,'' he added, as
he led his horse to the gate.
"And I'm Abel Hammond; or, if We will,
Uncle Abel. Hyer, Sed"-toa lad who ap-
proached-''you tend to the gentleman's
critter." Then turning to lead the way to
the large live oak which had attracted the
strangers attention, he continued in the
drawing tone peculiar to all the ''crackers,"
as the native whites of the Florida back
woods are called, saying:
"Ye found it purity middling hot, reck-
on; these yer piney woods amt much for
shade, and this white Fluridy sands nigh
about as hot's the sun, onct it gifts het up
real good"
Two tall, straightforward, hide bottom
chairs stood under the tree, while hanging
close to the trunk on low limb was a Gu
rious earthenware vessel with a gourd
swinging beside it.
"Have chair and drink from the mon
key" said Uncle Abel, proceeding to pour
out gourdful of beautiful, clear water from
a small spout near the top of the vessel
His guest evidently appreciated the good
qualities of the monkey, for he filed the
shining gourd again, inquiring as he did so
If Uncle Abel was Floridian
"a Flureedian! Yeh, I'm a genuwine
cracker. born and raised in Fluridy. Some
OF these yer consarned eejits, they kicks
agin being called crackers, but if you'll
show me why 'Flureedian' is such mighty
sight genteeler'n cracker, I'll show you a
nlght-bloomin' jasmine that forgits to go to
sleep in the daytime
This poetic wager from such a decidedly
prosaic source brought slightly surprised
smile to the strangers lips, which Uncle
Abel Immediately noted
"Yer smiling, see. Ye think it's Gurus
that such an ole coon as me 'ud know any
thing bout flowers. But, law bless vel I
can tell jest wher yen find the biggest,
bluest vilets an the sweetest weeny white
uns; where the jasmine and hawblooms
grow thickest, jest when the sWeetgum and
maple commences to red, and where the
wild grapes git ripe the quickest.
How'd come to know all thiss Well,
rntell We. Have you got little girl to yore
place, with hair jest like sunshine, and eyes
like the skye Ye havel shake, strangeri
I'm glad to see We. But-then-yOre little
girl-ain't-blindi There-beg yore pardon
but the SUMS so bright it kind o. makes
my eyes weaken. Reckon I'll change my
seat.''
After the vigorous use of a large bandan-
ma, Uncle Abel tilted his broad -brimmed
hat slightly over his eyes and went on:
''Yehl my little Sudie's bright eyes, that
look jist like they could see thro' the out
side and lock right at yer soul-they can't
never see nothing, 'cepting what her ole
dad talks to her about, and then she savs
she sees it in her head
Here he rose aud helped himself to a lib
eral gourdful of the cool water, aud the
guest took opportunity to inquire If his
httle daughter had always been blind.
mo, she warn't allns blind: 'tvar done
when she were only two year old; shell be
seven, come next August. Ye see. nigh
ABOUT every body had a bunch of cattle
ranging IN the woods then, aud every win
Ter they'd set the woods afire and burn the
Dry grass. SOS. come spring, the new grass
I'D be good grazing. That's wnere ali the
nowers Is gone 10. Folks come down from
up country, aud every last one on 'eln saws.
30 THIS Is The Land of Flowers Huh. /
don't see many AS if flowers could bloom
and have to fight FIRE every year! Why, it's
As much as this yer old tough wire grass
can do to stand the firesl
But We're g0inl 10 tell re ABOUT nv lii
- - 1trt'a avna- which twas all aIong of these