The National tribune., 1897-04-29

90 MANY hev bin a-pesterin me to rits
y nah pussonal reisolekshuus of de greas
wah dat I hev at last konkluGed tub do
hit Tub begin with, kin say dat hooked
iongah and hardah dan any udder man, vita
er blak, in nah abm Of de sarvis Udder
men, who had MT de luv fer de perfeshun,
er wuzn't suited tub hit, desarted hit afteh
awhile and dropped tub teamsters, host!ers,
and soljers, but stuck tub nah kittles and
pans till Appomatoks.
1 begun by hooking fer high private in
de rear rank, and when the wsh ended wuz
Chief of de Staff at Kore Headquarters. Ds
very biggest men Of de wah hey ct leg tim
Der from NAH studio, and bin mitey glad tuh
git hit tuh. Beed dey wuz.
You will motifs dat / spell difruutly from
most pepl. / hev nah reezuns. Sum foxes
uze tub many letters in spelin dare words,
and sum tHh fu. / uze jest enuf, and no mo,
bekaws hit kost me like so tuh learn nah
letters, and L haint nun to waste, like rich
foxes, who go tub koliej and learn mo dan
dey knows what tub do wild. Nah prinsipl
hez always bin tuh max little go long
ways. 1 larned dat in de army. By being
keerful wild NAH letters I always hey enuf
fer whatever l want tuh rite.
wuz born at Richmond, HaxalPs Land
ing, Newport News, and all long de James
River. Nah muddah wuz den wukiug on o
pakket-boat which made fast time, and nah
birthplace wuz sorter permiskus-like.
My mastah tux her home to wuk on de
fahm, and / don't rekolekt much mo till
one day the whole earth seemed tub turn
blue. There wuz mo men in new blue cloze
on our place than would make 40 cirkus
krowds, and the uddah places he'd just "a
many as ourn. I never dreamed there wuz
hat so many men in the whole world, and
Baltimo City besides. 1t wuz like every
blade of grass had suddenly blOssomed
blue coat, with man in il.
This is wah, sho' enuf,n SEE my nanny,
with her teeth a-chatterin. 1.-THE Yankees
hez kum."
But L wuzn't skeered mite. / stood by
the gate and watched EN-, with my izs ca
big ez sassers. only wanted mo- ize to see
EN- all.
Bime-by tall, red-hedded man SEE:
Hesh. Snowfall, KUN long and karry
dis haversak for me. It's gittin tub heavy
under dis hot sun. It's enuf for me tub
karry my bedroom and q gun wild 40 rounds.
don't like tub harry de grub for a boardin-
nous. Be mitey keerful of it, an keep nigh
me, for Phi want supper tuh-nite."
thought den had tub do just ez a white
man sed. Lord, but hev learned lots since
den. So trotted along and toted de grub
bag, doe my nanny skreamed.
Bime-by de men got tub marehin dis way
and dat, all mixed up, and lost sight Of
nah red-hedded man, tho I tried hard tub
keep a-nigh him. Presently see red-hed-
ded tall man, and I run up tuh him. re-
kollekted afterward dat he didn't seem tub
kno me at first, but ez soon ez / menshuned
dat / he'd the vittles all right, he knowed
me well, and told me not tub git lost again.
l staid kl0se tub him till mite, and he set
down TO supper, and seemed tickled most
tub death over what he found in the hayer-
SAX. He called his friends tub him, and dey
ct up everything silk and klene, eksept what
dey give me, which wuz plenty. It.wuz
the first time 1 he'd ever tasted Yankee Wit
tells, and my but dey did seem good.
Wed skacely dun eatin, when up kum
the udder red-hedded man, very mad and
very hongry. I knowd him the minnit dat
/ set ize on him, and dat the udder man
wuzn't him.
"Heah, yuh little niggeh," he sed, eI've
been lukkin fur ye all over camp. I'll learn
yo tub steal my grub" and wild dat he ups
and hits me a kip dat sends me turning q
bubble summerset.
Stop httin dat little niggeh; he's my
kook," SEE the udder man. Den dere WIZ a
skrap. I tell yuh, but de man who'd he'd his
supper licked the man who hedn't, an
stade wild him.
Dis is how 1 begun de kookin perfeshun