The times., 1898-01-09

John he come in one day an he sez.
Nanny, L don want yer neva' to sing
dat song to ma chile no mo-: dem
Yankees is debbils an / amt gwine ter
hey no Sech songs sung on dis heah
plantashun.' An den l tu'ns roun' ter
him an ! seq: 'Ge long, honey; who go
talkin' to- chile: / done rocked yo' to
sleep wild dat song long befo' yo' was
bawn. An wid dat he whirl aroun an
slam de do, an / went on singin'
Gawd bless dem Yankees II set me
free
Mos done toilin' now.
Gawd bless dem Yankees. we luz 'em
sweet.
Mos done toilin, now
An would yo' b1ieve it, honey, dat
song done turn de chile Yankee. an de
las / hu'd of i'm he war runnin' fo'
guy nor up in Massachusetts"
Mrs. Murphy,s baptismal songs are
weird and mournful in the extreme. One
of them is,
-Heah goes de baby. oh. yes.
Bright shines de day"
This is sung with a swaying move
ment of the whole body which adds to
the ryhthm of the song.
The anecdotes are a mixture of super
stition and darky humor usually
hvened with suggestion of the negro's s
traditional thieying propensities
Every black man or woman that
was ever born in the South, says Mrs
Murphy. has implicit faith in the ef-
hcacy of the rabbits foot in regulating
all departments of human affairs from
the curing of a sore toe to the adjust
ment OF love affair. Down in New
Orleans, for example, where hoodoo
doctors still flourish. the lovesick mai
den who fears rival in the affections
OF her beloved has recourse to this
method of ridding herself of 'tother
Gear charmer- She secures the left
hlnd foot of maiden rabbit, and takes
1t to a hoodoo doctor who saws words
over 1t, sews ii up in a red flannel bag.
and returns it to the lovesick damsel
with directions to take out the rabbits
foot after certain number of days and
rub IL on the suspected rival, whose
chances TO win the mutually beloved
are then and there shattered beyond
hope of recall.
Another instance in which the now
ers Of rabbits foot are turned to a
more practical account is shown in the
story OF an old negro named Douglass
whom | considered an authority upon
the art of stealing chickens, and whom
L asked TO tell me for the benefit of
those Northern people up there just
now negroes steal chickens. The old
fellow was so much amused by the
idea that he could not speak for sew
eral minutes. When he at last recoy-
cred his breath, he said: Wal. honey.
dey am free ways Of stealin' chickens
Fus' an fo'mos' yo' gifts yer rabbits
foot. Den ef yo' has large family
an Lawd hey call pom yo' ter fill
many moufs, Soa take along big bag.
After dat 20, gifts a scantlin an yo'
sneaks out gob fao dark night when dey |
ain no moon er ,shinin' twell de nigh |
est chickin' coop. Dere yo' unlock. de
do wild de key which eva fo'sighted |
Niggah provides himself wifi. an den
fou slips de scantiin' up benin de roos'
an de chicken he walks backwards
into de scantlin--aidn.t yo' know dat.
honey? Chicken -allus walks back
va ds when he gifts walked up at night
Well said /. that's only one way.
What are the other two?
De secon' way he continued am
lie bes' way to ketch tukkies. Yo' jes'
axes yo' scissohs an walks up to Mis-
er Tukkie, an den yo' reaches out yo
ong scissohs an. snips off his head
IN dat tul1kie amt gwine ter tell no
ales. An now go long chile. Dat am
wo ways, an can't tell yo' no mo.
Case de thu'd way am de bes' way. an
lat l amt gwine tell no man liyin'.'