The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-07-02
IN THE DOOR.
The Old Negro Mother Had no Idea of
the Flight of Time and After Half
Century of Waiting Still
Looked for Her
Girl


Century of Waiting Still
Looked for Her
Girl.
How odd it will sound after awhile
to hear some one say: 81 saw a hui
man being placed upon a block and
sold to the highest bidder" And yet
many of us have seer this. But how
dreamy and shadowy it seems, away
back yonder in that past that the
thrill of childhood makes hallowed.
The world is swift and in the feverish
lull that comes at nightfall we can hear
a cry of distress-We know that life is
full of greed, and that men trample
upon the weak and forget the dying
in their race for the dollar, and yet we
must acknowledge that the world is
better than it was when a human be-
ing was placed upon a block and
sold.
Some time ago, while in Texas, I
heard a story that affected me greatly.
l was at a farmhouse, sitting on a
porch amid an ENHANCEMENT Of morn
ing glory vines. An old negro woman
came out of her house and stood upon
the steps, and, shading her eyes with
her hand, looked down the road. "No,
da amt in sight yit," 1 heard her say.
"Who is not in sight3" I asked.
claw me, is you listenin' ter my
foolishness3 You mustn't pay no
'tention ter me, chile. An I know
you'd laugh at me eff I wuz ter tell you
who I wuz lookin' fur"
mo, 1 wouldn't"
''Sho huff, now7 Wall, I amt tole it
in so long dat I would jess like ter tell
it ergin."
1 assured her that I would not laugh;
and urged her until she told me the
following story:
81 wuz er livin' erway back yander
in Tennessee. Ole mars an ole miss
wuz POI folks, anil wanter tell you dat
it wuz allus bad ter blong ter POI PEG,
pie, fur you didn't know how soon
dad halter sell you. Niggers wuz jes
like any uder property, ami didn't
make no diffunce how much dar
owners wuz 'tatched ter 'em, wy some
times da had ter glib EN- up jest de
same. Ole mars an ole miss wuz
monstus kline ter m~e-doan' blebe da
ever did whup me-but o'cose 1 had
ter work hard an dat wuz ter be
'spected, fur da wuz POI. Da owned
one uder niger, or greet big bench
laiged teller named Ben. An, ez I
growed up, da wanted me ter marry
Ben. I didn't like dat niger, he
want my style er tall, an 1 tole ole
miss that he want. 1 tole her dat she
had dun raised me so particular dat I
wUzmighty keerful who married, but
ole miss KEEP on er sayin' dat I oughter
marry Ben. An dat trifin' niger
hung roun' my cabin do most all day,
sometimes DER Sunday, er Begin me
ter marry him. But I aIlus tole him
dat I wouldn't. Huh, I tole him dat
he didn't walk ter suit me- I didn't want
er pusson dat went er wabblin' er long
like him. He put me in mine O. er
wagin' dat didn't track. I ulster tell
him ter git outen my way ur I'd scald
him, but de rascal knowed dat I
wouldn't do dat, an so he KEEP on er
hangin' roun' de do. Ole marster he
tuck it inter his head dat I must marry
Ben-1owed one day dat I wuz old
ernuf ter marry an be with mo- den
de simple work 1 wuz doin'. Wanted
chillun, doan you see-mo' niggers,
you understan'. o. cose da could or
made me marry him any time da
wanted ter, but da didn't like ter dc
dat. Ole mars an ole miss had Ell
daughter, de puttiest lady you cher
seed, named May. I dubbed her an she
dubbed, me an she wuz all time tellin'
me dat she didn't blame me, dat she
wouldn't marry Ben nuther eff she wuz
in my place. An I ulster tell her dat ]
neber would marry Ben till she tole
me ter, but I know'd dat she would
neber tell me. Wall, one night Miss
May she come out ter my cabin 81
cryin' fifteen ter kill herself, an she tole
me dat I would halter marry Ben
said dat eff 1 didn't da would halter sell
me. 1t wuz or awful blow, l tell you.
but 1 tole Der dat I would. Wall, de
made me er nice dress-Miss May made
it herself, an 1 ricolleck dat she cried
ober tan da put it on me an de
stuck some dogwood blooms in my
h'ar, an so l wuz married. l nebel
could larn ter like Ben, but I did wor