The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1893-12-08

al her children the one of whom sh,
talked most was little Georgietta.
You axed about my mahster. Wa'al
he wuzn' sech "A bad man. lie wuz
rich man an some said ruther a har,
man, but he wuz sort o Jolly an free
spoken'liSe. They useter call him Ol,
Hickory Dickory. lie wuz alluz a-ridin
abaout the kentry-fer he owned
heap O Ian along the eastun sho' an
rode all abaout the kentry ter look after
things Folks said tibet he owned S,
many slaves he didn't know his own
niggahs. They useter tell haow wher
he wanted TO light fun his boss tei
oversee some piece NV work. he'd call "a
some boy or man: Come we're, boy, n
hol my boss" Then he'd say: Whose
boy are We" Then, like S not, the MIR.
ger'd say: Yours, Mahs Tisdale.' an
then ole massa would throw him a ftp
penny bit, and he would raw -haw and
SO would all de col'ud folks that wuz a.
standin' about, because Mahs Tisdale
didn't know his own niggahs. Wa'al,
bimeby ole Mahs Tisdale. he died, n
everything wuz left in ole mistus'
hands. She KEEP things up mighty well
Ter woman. but tibet wuzn't allays
jest as ole massa, her husband. had
done afore her, N once n awilc she'd
sell some o. her slaves"
Did you know your old mistress
well. Aunt Elem"
Nv co'sc knowed her, n she
knowed me, n u talked ter me many a
time III tell We prcs'n'ly haow She
come ter my little cabin ter tell me
when we wuz all set free, by the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. Ye' see
after wuz grown up n married ter
Uncle Horace that's my husband)
didn't live in ole mistus' house. Did
tell We as my husban' wuz free man
FUN befoh we wuz married? Wa'al,
he'd bought his own freedom. a'am,
an wuz his own mahster Sometimes
ole mistus hired me out TO cook at the
hotel-fer cookin wuz my work
That's what my ole mother larn'd me
to do, fur back as / ken remember
They counted me a fustrate cook. too,
in those days, ma'am, n I cooked a
heap at the hotel. though we most GIN
erly said tavern then. I'd go and work
all day I the tavern n at night 90
home ter the cabin where we lived,
Horace an me an the chi'un-but fur
Their on, jest befoh the wah, Horace
mostly hired me To keep house fer him
an paid ole mistus jes' same S any
body. Mos all de zine " the wah wuz
hired this yer way by my husband.
Hn aa~f IL,
n could do "A sight NV work n could
pay ole mistus good price fer my
time
"Wa'al, de wah went on n on. an we
heard a heap er .alk 'baout freein' NV
the slaves an some said Z was a-comin
sho' an some said they guess we'd
wait awhile 'foah that dav come. But
at las we ali knew for sho' an sar-
tain that we wuz free. sho 'nuff. II every
body wuz talkin n a talSin', n won
derin' what d come mex. Den my ole
mistus she come to tell me / wuz
free. But o co'se he'd heard day or
two afoh abaout the proclamation-of-
emancipation. This last phrase pro-
nounced very slowly, but correctly, and
with the least perceptible straightcn-
ing of her person and lifting of her
CHM
"Wa'al, in comes Mistus Tisdale. a
lookin' purity black an sour-lilxe. !
nevah let on, but knowed her arran,
mighty well. | jes' busted cheer an
placed it fer her, an axed her to sit
daown."
THAT was very kind and polite of
you. Aunt Ellen
''Oh. know what's manners, ma am
doan' know how to read. n / doan
know how To write. not even my own
name. but. madam. ! knowed what
wuz belongin' to me in my own house"
(The dignity with which these last
words were uttered. and the substitn-
ton of madam" for the usual ina am, "
is utterly understandable, but was most
Right away seq she: Ellen, I'm
come to tell yo' that yore free Yo'
see. she he'd TO come an tell us, fer thet
wuz the law. De law 'bliged every
body who owned slaves to tell them
tibet they wuz free. n l s'pose she
thought ef she didn' tell me n all NV
us the law would git hol' NV her. Fer
We could see she didn' relish comm an
tellin' me any too we'll Then she sez'
An naow we've got we're freedom.
what We goin' 4 do. Ellen? I'd like I
know what yer a-goin' { do? ID We
think We kin take cab " yosefg
Then scz Z her: "Wa'al, mistus.
s'pects kin. N s'pects I'll keep
on a-sIingin' pots an kittles.
reckon ! kin do that jis' as well now,
that I'm sot free. as bfoh; and that's
what I've been at fur back ez kin
recollec'-a-slingin pots n kittles.
Bfoh could carry an iron pot ulster
push the kittlcs. one at time. across
100
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