Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-04-25

while the grass and vines and moss
wer e%nveloping il. The boards of the
roof were warped, spongy and covered
with lichens. while the walls, made of
pine logs, were awry from tine decay
of the foundation, and the rude posts
of the vcranda were weather beaten
and far from perpendicular.
The girl and a man who had met
her at the landing turned al the
threshold Ia look back at me when
they heard my horses feet. | saw that
they were father and daughter; their
attitude and appearance told this.
Immediately the nan came toward
me and spoke In me in French. which
Was midway between that of New Or.
leans and the patois of the negroes.
He was very dark. almost black. with
wavy dead black heir and beard, but
his features showed little, if any. Afri.
can popularity. Looking over his
head at his daughter | saw that she was
a shade darker than he, and the negro
dash appeared TO have come into her
face with some emphasis, but not disa.
greeably.
In a moment | was a guest. Ny horse
was cared for by a lad, and | was vel
coined into the squat but spacious
house, where the first thing that at
tracted my eyes was a rack of a~ntlers,
upon which lay three long, heavy flint
lock guns, n of which was magnifi-
Gently mounted with silver. Skins
hung about the walls Of the hall or
were spread upon the floor, two of them
occupied by lank, long cared, ~snoozing
hounds.
An air of rude cleanliness that was
almost luxury ~pervaded the place, and
the voices coming from the adjoining
rooms were hauntingly sweet and rich.
| noticed that the doors. one on either
side of the passageway. were very wide
and stood open. giving into large. low
rooms, into one Of which | was con
Quoted by my dusky host.
sit down he said. aud left me. re-
turning a few minutes later with a
bottle of wine and IA cup of coffee.
While lac was out | glanced overt the
room. In one corner "A magnificent
mahogany four poet be"lstead. exqui-
sitely carved. and %curtaln"d with red
brocade, curious and old; in another a
low sofa of the same rich stuff. much
worn but still beautiful. aud over the
rude mantcl "A grimy. smoke dimmed
painting of the Virgin. were strangely
in contrast with the rough walls and
uneven board floor. to say nothing Of
the withe bott"med chairs ana the lit
tie home made cypress table. on which
burned All antiquatcd iron lamp. At
the one square window some tattered
but carefully darned heavy silk cur
tains rustled in the air that flowed
through.
How long have you lived herel' |
inquired, Involuntary, as | took the
cheer the man offered.
Il bayn yah wen is BON sab" he
answered, politely striving to mate his
English with mine.
you wcre bern here!'
AN my fahteran' grandfather, BON
yah, vas, sab, all BON YAH"
His story was a simple N when
presently he told it. An ancestor, he
was not sure Of the generation back,
had come from San Domingo, fleeing
from the awful instructions, and had
settled here on this very spot with his
slaves. Doubtless he had history sadly
mixed. but there was internal evidence
that the larger facD of the tradition
were well preserved and authentic.
Some one of the forefathers. proba-
bly, not the original Colon from San
Domingo, had been a great scholar, so
my host said. and had collected many
books and a few pictures during his an
nual visits To Paris and Avignon, the
real ancestral place Of the family.
He was varee supeyoo man, Eat an.
caystor. Yah, sab. varee supeyoo.'
He led me across the hall into an
other room; and. sure enough. there
were shelves of hooks, none of them
especially valuable, unless AN old edi.
ton Of Noltaire OF Of Rousseau or of
Fenelon could he so called; and there
hung some prints, once beautiful, but
now SO smoked with pine smoke hal
they were worthless. On a peg in the
wall, above the fireplace but below the
high mantcl, hung two long flint lock
pistols. the barrels of brass with bell
muzzles. and each having the fashpan
on top Of the breech, where the vent
was stopped with a small quill from a
woodpecker's wing.
When dinner was announced | was
shown into "A rear shed room, only half
Of which was floored. This was both
kitchen and dining room, the floored
part serving AS the latter. the earthen
part as the former; while through a
low window | could from my seat at
the Immediately tidy board look
right into a very dirty stable.
My host sat at the table with me:
but no other member Of the household
joined US. W. were served by a large.
stout, jet black negro woman, who
scarcely spoke during the meal. which
was homely, well cooked, savory, de-
licious.
We ate by the light of a curiousiron
lamp, whose oil had the singular fra
GRANGE Of candle berries. During the
meal two sweet and powerful voices
sang a song, the words OF which |
could not catch, some m playing the
air on a dulcimer that | had seen in
the library las ] may call it, and an
other joining in with a flute.
Denis ma negres singin' Eat song.
Yah, sab, my negres," said my host.
/ give his pronunciation of English