The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-12-10


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
fer a woman. but tibet wuzn't allays
Jest as ole massa, her husband. had
done afore her, n once n awile she'd
sell some o. her slaves"
did you know your old mistress
well, Aunt Ellen?"
"'V co'se ] knowed her, n she
knowed me, n z talked ter me many a
time. I'll tell We pres'n'ly haow she
come ter my little cabin ter tell me
when we wuz all set free, by the
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. Ye' see
after wuz grown up'n married ter
Uncle Horace Chats my husband) l
didn't live in ole mistus' house. Did
tell We as my busban' wuz a free man
FUN befoh we wuZ married? Wa'al,
he'd bought his own freedom, ma'am,
an wuz his own mahster. Sometimes
ole mstus hired me out to cook at the
hotel-fer coollin' WIZ my work.
That's what my ole mother larn'd me
to do, fur back as | ken remem Der.
They counted me fustrate cook, too,
in those days, ma'am, n l cooked a
heap at the hotel, though we most GIN
erly said tavern then. I'd go and work
all day't the tavern n at night 60
home ter the cabin where we lived,
Horace an me an the clail'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 time " the wah l wuz
hired this yer way by my husband.
He wuz smart man in dose days,
n could do sight NV work n could
pay ole mistus good price fer my
time.
"Wa'al, de wah went on n on, an we
heard heap er :alk 'baOut freein' Nv
the slaves an some said t was a-comin'
sho' an some said they guess we'd
wait awhile 'foah that day come. But
at las we all knew for sho' an sar-
tain that we wuz free, sho huff, Il every
body wuz talkin n talkin', n a won
derin' what ID come mex. Den my ole
mistus she come to tell me | wuz
free But o. co'se he'd heard a day or
two afoh abaout the proclamation-of
emancipation" This last phrase pro-
nounced very slowly, but correctly, and
with the least perceptible straighten-
ing of her person and lifting of her
chin
"Wa'al, in comes Mistus Tisdale, a
lilo
nevah let on, but knowed her arrant
mighty well. ! jes' busted a cheer an
placed it fer her, an axed her to sit
daown."
THAT was very kind and polite of
you. Aunt Ellen.
ooh, l know what's manners, ma'am
] doan' know how to read, n l 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 substitu-
ton of madam" for the usual "lna'am,"
is utterly indescribable, but was most
impressive.)
Right away sez she: Ellen, I'm
come to tell yo' that yore free Io'
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 / s'pose she
thought eff 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 well. Then she seq;
An naow we've got ye're freedom,
what We goin' t. do, Ellen? I'd like t
know what yer a-goin' t. do? d. ye
think We kin take cab " yosef%
'sThen / SEE t. her: "Wa'al, mistus,
1 s'pects kin. N l s'pects I'll keep
on a-slipgin' pots an kittles. 1
reckon / kin do that jis' as well now,
that I'm sot free, as b'foh; and that's
what I've been at fur back ez / kin
recollec'-a-slingin pots m kittles.
B'foh l could carry an iron pot ulster
push the kittles one at time, across