The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-02-12
ABRAMS METEMPsYcHoSIS.
Changed by a Sad Accident From a Painter
Into Man.

Changed by Sad Accident From a Painter
Into Man.
Among the negroes of southern Ar
kansas there is a belief in the transmit
grafton of the soul, writes Opie P. Read
in the ArkanSaU IrGUeler. Their be.
lief, however, is different from the
metempsychosis of more enlightened
men, for instead of believing that the
soul of man after death enters the body
of an animal or bird, they believe that
the soul of an animal or bird after
death enters the body of a man-iD
/. short, every man represents some
animal, reptile or bird that lived years
ago.
Abram Carter, a very old negro, who
lives on the Sanders plantation, when
asked why he believed so absurd the
ory thus answered:
''Becaze it's de truth, sab. 1t amt
no yeresay wild me, Gaze knows it to
be er plum fack. Sometimes you call
er man er dog. Why? Gaze he acks
like er dog. Why do he ack like Ell
dog? Gaze he's got de soul o. er dog
dat mout a. lived er hunnud years
ergo"
''Does man ever know to what
animal his soul belonged in the past?"
''Oh, yas, sab, specially dem whut
hab got er powerful ricollecktion. ]
knowd er man-powerful smart man
he wuz, too-dat ricollecks might well
when he wuz er owl, flynn bout de
neighborhood.
''Do you remember what you were?"
''Jest ez well ez eff it wuz yistidy,
sah."
'What were you?"
81 wuZ er painter, sab"
ga pantherr'
''Yas, dat's whut I wuz. 1t WANT
fur from yere, down in de river bot
toms yander. | ricolleck playin' wild
my nanny, one o. de fines'lookin
painters dat dar wuz in de whole coun.
try. I had two brurs and one sister.
We lived in de holler O. er gre't big
cottonwood tree, an reckon we wu2
erbout ez happy ez any family O.
painters in de curmunity till grief come
ter us. One day nanny she tole US
dat, as times wuz putty hard, she
would halter go out an git suthin' fur
US all ter eat. She tole us dat er awful
monster called man had Jest come
round, an dat we must be keerful ter
stay in the holler tree lessen de man
would kill US. Wall, after NANNY
went erway my oldest brur he gunter
talk. Tell you whut les do, he says,
les go off down yander by de branch
an play whar de sun is SO bright Den
sister she say No, we mus stay yere.
You ricolleck whut nanny said.
OATS all right, my brur lowed Yves
been playin' 'roun' yere fur er mighty
long time an dar ain nothin' happened
yit.'
wall" the old man continued, after
slight pause, 1--WE went down by de
branch an 'gunter play in de SUM- De
day wuz beautiful an de dogwood was
in bloom an de wild plum bushes
blowed a bref O. sweetness. ALI at
once sister she say: Look yander.
Whut's dat?' I looked an know'd il
mus be er man, 'caze I neber seed
nuthin' like it befo' Oar he come
with suthin' on his shoulder. oh, look
at him. said brur. He amt so awful,
is he? Why, he couldn't hurt us eff he
wanted ter. He amt got but two legs
an knows he couldn't ketch us eff he
wanted ter. Nanny is awful skittish
to get skeer'd O. sich er thing. I'm
gwine up an take er good look at him.
Me an sister an my udder brurs tried
to 'suade him not ter, but on he went
WdICQ6u
outcome. 1t want long in comin'
De man he sorter jumped when he seed
my brur an snatched de thing often
his shoulder, hil it out an den dar
come er awful noise wild smoke. De
smoke crared erway, vile we crouched
down closer an closer, an den we seed
our brudder tumblin' over an over on
de leaves an blood spurtin' outen his
fr
hearted she wuz, too-jumped up an
run ter brur, an all at once de man he
snatched suthin outen his belt-didn'
know whut er belt wuz den-an' den
dar come ernudder noise almos' e7
loud ez de fust one. De smoke crared
erway an dar laid sister-dead. 1
yeard.e .er noise-I think l yeard it-but
den dar' wuz-wuz nothin'.
ut 'peared ter me dat l tuck er long
nap," the old negro continued, after a
pause. ''It 'peared ter me dat fur er
long time somebody wuz tryin' te1
wake me, but dat l wuz drowsy an
couldn' be woke. Den er light gunter
glimmer, sorter. All round me wuz
er awful dark night, an hir out my
hans toward de light. 1t growed
brighter an brighter, an all at once I
lay on er bed. yered er song,I yered
er banjo, an de Ii ght come in at de
winder. Er oman gethered me close
up ter her, an she sung er tune an !
dozed off ter sleep.
Il woke an den was rnnnin' roun
de yard wild nothin' on but er shirt.
De hens roun' de barn wuz er cacklin'
an L noticed dat de redbirds wuz
buildin' dar nests. Er man lifted me
up in his arms an er woman tole him
ter look lout, an all at once 1 went ter
sleep ergain. When 1 woke de hens
TsT slagn singh dn an de men w%a Ptchin n
thought, an den 1 knowd dat wuz er
boy, an would be er man. OATS de
truth" the old man added. II uster
be er animal, but now rs er pusson,
an when 1 quits bein' er pusson, de
lawd only knows whut rs gwine ter
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