Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1893-11-23
STORY OF A LONG SLEEP.
Ard tho Strange Disappearance of
q Watermelon.

noon In tho month of July. The mir
had been hot and su try, but light,
cool breeze had sprung up and ucca-
sional cirrus clouds ovcrsprcad the sun,
and for awhile subducd his iierccness
We were all out on the piazza Us the
coolest p}acc we could fnd-.my wife,
my sistcr-in-law and l. The only sounds
that broke the Sabbath stiffness were
tho hum OF an occasional vagrant bum
bleoce or the fragmcntary song Of
mocking bird in q ncighboring elm,
who lazily trollcd stavc of melody
now and then as n sample of what he
could do in the cool of the morning or
after n light shower, when the condi-
tions would be favorable to cxertion.
Annie" said. |, suppose to relieve
the deadly dullncss of the afternoon,
that we go out and pull the biz water
melon and send for Col. Pemberton's
folks to come over and help us eat it."
us 1t ripe yet?" she inquired slccpi-
~, brushing away troublesome fly
that had impudently settled on her
hair.
''Yes, think so. l was out yestcr-
day with Julius, and we thumped it
and concluded it would be fully ripe by
to morrow or next day. But think it
Is perfectly safe to pull it to-day"
"Wcll, II you're sure, dear, wen go.
But how can we get it up to the house2
It's too big to tote"
I'll step around to julius cabin and
nslx him to go down with the wheelbar-
row and bring it up" / replied.
Julius was an elderly colored man
who worked on the plantation and
lived in small house on the place,
few rods from my own residence. His
daughter was our cook, and other mem
bcrs of his family served us in differ
cnt capacities.
AS turned the corner of the house /
saw Julius coming up the lane lie
had on his Sunday clothes and was
probably returning from the afternoon
meeting ut the Sandy Run Baptist
church. OF which he was a leading MEM
Der and deacon.
JULIUS" l said, "wc are going out
to pull the big watermelon and we
want you to take the wheelbarrow and
go with us and bring it up to the
house."
docs yer reckon dat watermillun's
ripe VT, sah?" said Julius. Didn't
pear ter me it went quite PUNK enuff
yestiddy fer ter be pull befor' ter
morrer"
81 think it is ripe enough, julius"
"Mawning 'ud be better time fer
ter pull it, sab, wen de night air an
dc jews done cool it off nice"
Probably that's true enough, but
we'll put 1t on ice and that will cool it,
and pm afraid if we leave it too long
some one will steal it."
II specs dat's So" said the old man
with q confrmatory shake of the head.
"Yer takes chances wen yer pulls it,
en- yer takes chances wen yer dom.
Dey's lot err po' white trash round
heah wat ain none too good fer ter
steal it. seed some un 'em loafn'
long dc big road on mer way home fun
chu'ch jes' now. / has ter watch mcr
own chicken coop to keep CHICKENS huff
fer Sunday eatin'. I'll go en- git de
w'eelborrow.
AS the old man turned to go away he
began to lump and put his hand to his
knee with an exclamation of pain.
whats the matter, Julius2" asked
my wife,
Eyes, Uncle Julius, what ails you?"
echoed her sweet young sister. Ibid
you stump your toe?"
mo, miss, it's dat mis'able rheumatic.
1t ketches mo now an den in de lef
knee so can't hardly draw my BRET.
Oh, Lawdy," he added between his
clenched teeth, but dat do hurt! Ouchl
It's little better now" he said after q
moment, "but doan' b'lieve kin roll
dat w'celborrow out ter dc watermillun
patch en- back. Eff it's all de same ter
yo', sab, I'll go roun' ter my house en-
SEN Tom ter take my place, w'iles
rubs some minimum on my laig."
"That'll be all right, Julius" said,
and the old man, hobbling, disappeared
around the corner of the house Tom
was lubberly sleepy-looking negro
boy of about fifteen, related to julius
wife in some degree and living with
them.
The old man came back in about five
minutes. He walked slowly and seemed
very careful about bearing his weight
on the afflicted member.
II sent Liza Jane fer to wake Tom
up" he said. Hes down in de orchard
asleep under tree somewhat. 1t takes
q minute err SO fer ter wake i'm up.
Liza Jane knows how ter do it. She
tickles i'm in de nose or der yeah wild q
broomstraw Hollerin' doan' do no
good Dat boy is one err de Seben
Sleepers. He's wuss'n his gran'daddy
used ter be-"
WAS his grandfather deep sleeper,
Uncle Julius?" asked my wife's sister.
"Oh. vas, Miss Mabel" said Julius,
gravely. HE wuz monstus pow'ful
sleeper. He slep' fer mont once"
Dear me, Uncle Julius, you must be
joking" said my sister-ip-law, incredu-
lousy. thought she put it mildly.
''Oh, no, ma'am, ain jolsin' never
Jokes on serious subjec's. wuz dere
wen it all happen. Hit wuz monst'us
quare thing"
''Sit down. Uncle Julius, and tell us
about it," said Mabel, for she dearly
loved story and spent much of her
time drawing out" the colored people
in the neighborhood.
The old man took off his hat and
seated himself on the top step of the
piazza His movements were some
what stiff, and he was very careful to
get his left leg in comfortable po-
sition.
Toms gran daddy wuz name Slxun-
dus." he began "He had brudder
name Tushus en- ernudder name Cottus
en- ernudder name Squinchus." The
old man paused a moment and gave