The herald., 1898-01-16

by Mrs. Murphy IN her exact expreo-
sions and nannerisms:
"Yo' want me ter sing dat Dong7
Lawd bless yo. honey. Use rocked all
de babies asleep on his heah plantation
wfd dat same. Dar was Marse John
wen he war q Ill baby way back in
vargdnny. he woan' go sleep less I
sing Yankee He kick, an he yell an
holler. 'Manmy, sing Yankee twel !
JUS done had ter sing 1t. Waa, bme-
by, after we alls come down ter Kahn
tuck, long come de wah. an ole Marse
John he come in one day an me sex.
Nanny, dom want yer neva' to sing
dat song to ma chile no mo; dem
Yankees is debbils, an amt gw1ne ter
hev no sech songs sung on dds hean
plantashun.' An den I tu'ns roun' ter
i'm an SEE: Go long, honey; VINO yo'
talkin' to. chile; done rocked yo' 20
sleep wild dat song long befo' yo' was
bawn.' An wild dat he whdrl aroun' an
slam de do. an went on singin'
'Gawd bless dem Yankees Il set me
free,
Mos done toilin' now.
Gawd bless dem Yankees, we luv 'em
sweet,
Mos done toilin' now.'
An would yo' b'lieve 1t, honey, dat
song done turn de chile Yankee, an de
las I hu'd of i'm he war r1Inndn' TO
guv'nor UP in Massachusetts"
Mrs. Murphy's baptisn1al 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 swaying movement
of the whole body which adds to the
ryhthm of the song.
The anecdotes are mixture OF super
stTtton and darkey humor. usually
livened with suggestion of the negro's s
traditional thieving propensities.
Every black man or woman that
was ever born in the South" says Mrs.
Murphy, 'Shas implicit faith in the ef-
ficacy 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 a rival in the affections
of her beloved has recourse to this
method of Kidding herself of 't'other
dear charmer.' She secures the left
hind foot Of maiden rabbit, and takes
1t to a hoodoo docto- who says words
over it, sews 1T UP in a red flannel bag.
and returns 1T to the 1ovesick damsel
with directions to take cut the rabbits
foot after a certain number of days
and rub 1t 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 pow
ers of the rabbits foot are turned to
more practical account DIS shown in the
story of an old negro named Douglas
whom I considered an authority upon
the art of chicken stealing and whom
asked to tell me for the benefit OF
those Northern people UP there. just
how negroes steal chickens. The old
fellow was so much amused by the idea
that he could not speak for several
minutes. When he at last recovered his
breath, ne said: Wal, roney, dey am
free ways of stealin' chickens. Fus' an
fo'mos' yo' gifts yer rabbits foot. Der
eff yo' has large family, an de Lawd
hev call 'pon yo' ter fill many moufs
yo' takes erlong a big bag. After
dat yo' gifts a scantlin' an yo
sneaks out OBJ a dark night wher
dey amt no moon er shinin' twell dt
highest chickif,' coop. Dere yo' unlock.
de do wild de key which eva fo'sightet
niggaIh provides himself wifi. an der
you slips de scantlin' UP benin dc roos
an de chickin' he walks backwards ontt
de scantlin'-didn't yo' know dat
/ honey? Chickin' allus walks Backward
when he gifts walked UP at night
"'WeH,' said I, that's only one way
What are the other two?'
"'De secon' way he continued, AN
de bes' way ter ketch tukkies. Yo
les takes yo' scissohs an walks up t,
Mister Tukkie. an den yo' reaches ou
yo' long scissohs an ships off his heat
an dat tukkie amt gwine ter tel
no tales. An now go long chile. Da
am two ways, an I can't tell yo' n,
mo-. Kase de thu'd way am de bes
way, an dat aint gwine tell no maj
livin'.'
ANNIE LAURIE WOODS.
Copyright, 1898, by Bacheller Syndicate