Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-02-12

Disher rooster spises a cullud pusson
wusser'n pisen. an he'll spur you quicker
an nuttin'. You better stop trowin' after
disher rooster; eff Marse Sam ketch you
a-chunkin' him he'll lay his buggy whip
ODER you TO you know way You stan.
The two now drove the bird into the lock
OF the fence, where, armed with their hats,
they made rush at him. The angry cock
few at the runner, who ran, but Titus
made grab at the coveted treasure and
the bird few away, leaving his tail behind
him. The two now returned in triumph
10 the gold seekers.
Old Juba seized the feathers Now"
cried he, "w'ile bun desc yer fodder you
all kin tex it by tun to pray. Each man
pray so long as a fodder bun, Wen it bun
out dat pusson mus cen. Many prayers
is a great encouragement tub ebil sperits,
an so is bu'nt fedders."
Silas Chief Grand Lambkin was first
called on, and in some trepidation he be-
gan to pray and his feather to burn. "Oh,
Laud, we beseech thee tub perfect us frum
desc yer ebil sperits, we dat's found disher
great treasure, so dat eff we amt sole all
we had to buy it, leaseways ives lef all
Marse Sam Rodgers cotton a-wastin' in de
fell tell we fine''-
stop, suh," said old Juba: ''yo' fodder
dun out. Mex one"
Israel, one Of the Chosen Sons of Iden-
tity, began: "Oh, Laud. we baig Oh thee
help agin desc ebil sperits; let US not waste
our time liker we waste Marse Sans cot
ton OATS a-sheddin' ober de groun' Ticker
ontimely snow
''Yo' fodder dun bun," said old Juba;
"annuder one try"
By the time the ROSTERS tail had been
consumed some fifteen or twenty most
flourishing prayers had been nipped in the
bud. Some of the feathers being longer
than Others of course affected the length oi
the prayers which all were anxious to
make; SO il fell To the lot OF Eli, the last
man, to speak only while the last and
shortest feather burned In great excite.
ment he began. "Oh, Laudy' I.audyl'' he
cried, rs his feather began to tiz. "Lau-u-
dy!'
"Dey, it dun bun!'' broke in old .Tuba.
'Chuhr' muttered Eli, crestfallen; Il
nebber had no shown Dat leetle tail
fodder wunt with talkin' bout. Tain't
nuttin' but pen fodder nohow"
1T smell, said Juba, an mex sperits
swink"
In case these fragmentary petitions wer,
not successful old Juba supplemented
them by muttering divers incantations
against evil spirits, uttered in words of his
own invention.
The evening ceremonies being now over
the negroes commenced digging, and made
the dirt fly. No sooner was one man ex.
hausted than another took his place from
the ranks OF the anxious bystanders. As
they got deeper they rugged up a bucket
and sweep and lifted the earth with great
speed. While they dug old Juba continued
the fight against evil spirits by borrowing
Bible from Silas, which he set on A pile
of old horSeShoeS, after opening it and
laying wnlte stone across a page, and he
pretended To read in a mutterinx voice As
they dug.
Silas led the diggers; he had been seized
with a thirst for gold, and every time he
threw out shovelful of dirt he looked
anXiously for the coveted treasure. Under
his lead the Chosen Sons of Identify did
mighty deeds of valor. As he worked his
imagination TOOK fire, and
"Iuny goule yit, Silass" asked an ont
slider, anxiously.
Not yit," said Silas, but terrectlv hit'l
begin tub shine. | lows at least tub Git a
bushel, an when / does, de cotton fiel' III
know me no mo-. | gwinter buy Marse
Sam fas' boss an buggy an dribe roun'
same llker | wuz wife. I'll draw de reins
ODER FLYNN Bess an say, Git up, suhr"
AT the mere idea of this grandeur Silas
burst into joyous laughter, and without
thinking he spat, for he was a great to-
bacco chewer. Old Juba looked up from
the Bible he was pretending to read.
"Dey now! you gone an spit. Wha' you
spit fuh? Spittin' is a great encourage
ment TO ebll sperits-git outer dat hole,
sun, an git way frum huh"
SilaS sorrowfully arose and retired crest
fallen, and another man, with an empty
mouth, took his place.
As Siias retired from the scene he made
a vague ehor: To establish his present So
clal status Il WIZ a man who 'peared tub
be himself, an not anudder pusson." He
shook his head, he failed to recognize him
self and he went over that statement. II
an not anudder pusson; dat knows fur a
fac Here he met his wife, who had been
the witness OF his disgrace
You used tub be de lam -kin' But now
you's kin OBJ muffin"
Overwhelmed by this cutting remark.
Silas skunk away.
Old Jubs now formulated a new set of
rules and regulations under which they
were to act. They were not to speak while
at work, not within a certain distance OF
the excavation, neither should they chew
tobacco. They We're to work night and
day, nor could they stop work during the
time allotted them, lest it cause the evil
spirits to overpower the good spirits under
whose guidance he acted. These evil spir.
its had ii in their power to remove the
gold at any time they might gain the as.
cendancy.
All of this Information the negroes i'm
plicitly believed. and day after day the
work went on. After digging some ten
feet the gold seekers struck bed of rock.
and now their progress was slow. but they
stuck to it, nor could any one persuade
them that it was impossible for buried
gold to be hid in solid rock.
DE sperits tell Us dig" said they, and
dig they would, while the fast opening cot
ton shed ami wasted. 1t seemed to the ex-
asperated planters more than they could
stand.
The weather was hot and sultry, storms
had been frequent in the vicinity. and they
lived in constant dread that their time
would come next and their crops be ruin