The morning times., 1895-07-21


few heavy whifls at his blackened pipe
and replied:
Yes, sab, dat / will Boss, de signs
Ise wine ter tell yer bout is Jess as true
as de Gospel in dat gud ole book. OATS
true, sab, dat's true. Now, dar's de
crow. dat black bird dat makes SO much
plunderation IN de co'nlIeld. Boss, when
yer see hin a-flyin' to &c norf IN de day
time den lookout fer rain an wind bcfo'
nighttime OATS shuah sign. Den. az in
when yer So" de crow roostin' ON de groun'.
dat means dat de crops are = wine Ter TaIl,
for shuah. cat same Sras0n. De crow am
gittIn' down low, you See, SO he KIN Kit
ter work a-fccdin' bright an early III Dc
mornin' He knows de crops amt gwine
ter be dar Ter long. an he wants ter make
sun while de hay shines.
WHITE CROW DANGEROUS.
But de white crow, sab. dat white crow.
he is wuss den all de oddeT crows. He aIn
mighty sea 'ce. but when yer duz SEE hImdere
am shuah ter be death ia Yer family !
ousarved a white crow once wId lgt
oh oddeT crows, an de- very next week my
sister, she dun loss one Oh dc babies wld
de measles DE chile had de measles Ocio'
! seed dat crow. but ef l hadn't seed de
white bride dcbbIi's angel, We calls
him-wny. dat chile would D. Twin now
DE 'possum is likewise a sign OBJ death
when lie cluu's Igh up on de gum tree We
used ter say down south waeu We seed dc
'possum a-sw!ngiu' on de linn oh q gum
tree. jes' like bird
'' 'PoSsum's high,
But he's swIngin low,
An n YOU die
He's tUle yer SO -
After refllling his pipe, Uncle Jasper
continued:
The gray heron is anudder sign Oh death
or disaster, dat is If de heron Gums an lights
near yer house IN dc night time Dey don't
do dis gin nralIy. but when dey duz yer had
better 20 an make fr'enss' lid de cottiD
maKerso yerkin goan' git a box at aFeason-
abul figgeT. Ef COW lows in de middle
ob de mite or de dog howls, dere is suah ter
BE- death in de family. Ef yer see a wood
packer peckin' on de grOun' inSte'd oh on
de tree. look out fer big win sto'm an
mebbe thunder an lightnin'. De same case.
sab, eff yer hvar de pine trees singtn de
song. 'Wind-e-e. wind-e-e, oh. wind-c-e.
Boss, l reckon yer nebber see a drake
whippin' one OBJ de she ducks, Dey don't do
it often but ef ehbeT yer duz see one, Jes'
member dat ole plantashun song
AS suah is yo' is bon
Ell de he drake fite wild de duck,
Yeru git news OBJ some good luck
Yer'n git news oh sum good luck
BsfO' de brake oh dawn.
This the old man sung in true camp
meeting tune and rhyme, and bidding The
Times man good day as il was his dinner
time, hobbled into his little hermitage.
WHAT OTHERS THINK.
a tour was then made among the older
colored people ON the commons in North
east Washington and number were in
terviewed. 1t was found that some Of the
other superstitions OF the Southern negroes
are picturesque and beautiful, and not
few OF them are pathetic, while Others
are strangely weird and uucanny. When
the pines are murmuring their saddest
reuuiems, the old darkieS listen with awe.
They hear distant voices gently singing to
them about the beauties OF that 'far-away
home OF the SOUL The sad cry OF the
whip-o'-wiIl, repeated thrice IN succession,
tells them that another soul in their
vicinity has passed away The re-eChoing
hooU OF tle owl Tornls code OF weird
signals. which they can readily translate.
while the shrili piping OF the night hawk,
as he darts through the grim, black forest,
or skins over the water lily crested Swamps
in search Of its prey, tells the old negro II
his days are to be long or short.
The plaintive cry of the blue heron, which
is seldom heard, is sure sign OF good
luck. as is the repeated barking OF the gray
fox on a moonlight night.
On the desOldte Southern Sea coast there
are many beautiful supe rStitionS. On
stormy nights there is a belief that the
ghosts OF Seamen, who lost their lives on
old Atlantic. ride upon the great foam
crested breakers that come tumbling and
tossing in upon the sandy beach The
negroes say they have often seen the yapory
forms of sailors astraddle of incoming break
ers, their shrOuds Tapping in the bowling
gale and their forms appearing weird and
gaunt in the Illumination made by the vivid
lightning flashes. You might as well try
to make a pug dog pull a Carolina OK cart
as to induce the average coast negro TO go
.eut upon the beach on stormy night.
SOME COAST SUPERSTiTIoNS.
One of the prettiest superstitions on the
southern coast is that in reference to a
mirage Immediately upon seeing such a
phenomena the negro makes haste to tell
his family and friends that he has seen IN
the sky the ship that is going 10 bring him
prosperity. A waterspout seen off shore
betokens the coming of Il plague. To have
dead shark wash in near ones residence
is a forerunner of evil To see sea gull
alight on the limb OF a tree-something
that rarely occurs-fneans IN the mystic
language of the south coast that the one
who first sees the sight has secret enemies
who are seeking his or her life or property.
The proper thing to do then is to procure
gun ana ShooI tne lil-oueneu DHu' IL
possible Should the gull be killed the
| charm is broken and there is no danger to
| be feared.
The negroes of North and South Carolina
are great believers in spooks and other
| supernatural beings. A house that has the
| reputation of being haunted is n continual
| source of dread to them and nothing would
| induce them to go within rifle shot of the
| structure after nightfail. Numerous farm
in how r1uh hljcIy rod
| that their residences and outhouSes were
II. Franc & Son are clearing out all their
| 75c., S1.00, SIPS. and $1.50 hats at