El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-04-16
HE LOVED THE NEGRO

HE LOVED THE NEGRO
"I hev thu mos passable sheepshaed
yuh evan tasted" said Uncle Reuben as
he snoothed the cloth and put down the
condiments "Will yuh hev someS"
OF course when Uncle Reuben, cook and
judge, says thing of that kind you al
ways take what he prescribes. So I Or
dered the sheepshead, and Uncle Reuben
went to the kitchen to prepare it. When
the fra was hot and the fish was cooking,
he came back to me in his old way and
sat down on the other side of the table,
| "Doin uh powah Nv lynchin down than
these days, i" he said.
''Sw seping some Of 'em off, Uncle Reu
benz
Didn't nevah tell yuh bout tha' time
| they lynch Jene? Didn't nevah tell yuh
bout tha'? Oh tha' was uh time. Yuh
see, Jene was thu meanes' niggah in west
Ten se,. Evahbody say tina bout him.
He was too mean faw thu buzzads tub pick,
| an tha's sho' bad Jene was one Nv us
tha' is, he was one Nv thu family, an
raised in thu house wiz thu othah good
niggahs, but Jene was mean lax nobody I
knows.
Somehow, Miss Cha'ity think a whole
lot Nv .Jene, an she try all she kin tub
make him good. But Jene is JUS so nachul
bad he kahn be made good. Miss Cha'ity
she try an try an do all she kin, but Jene
kahn be saved. He des simply aim no
good. He got mixed wiz uh bad bunch,
an bimeby he gifts intuh balm burnin
crowd. Yuh knows bout balm hurnersf
Thex.s sho' bad folks. Jene got mixed
wiz 'em, as I'm sayin, an than was hahd
times faw uh niggah.
"Thah was des one thing tha' KEEP Jene
fun bein hung, an tina was thu love what
Mistah Harry had faw him. Yuh see,
Jene took keer Nv Mistah Harry and Mis-
tab Harry, bein uh gemmen, was pow
full fond Nv Jene. He save Jene's life
onct.
zone night all thu folks they's settin
out on thu front po' CHI talkin when uh lot
Nv men they rid up tub thu front gate an
ask faw Marse Tom Baxtah. Marse Tom
was settin wiz thu folks an not thinkin
nothin wrong, an Mistah Harry, whut
wa mt mo- an 10 yeahs old, was settin by
Marse Tom. When thu gemmen rode up
tub thu big gate, Mistah Harry he got all
tub onct interested. Marse Tom he 60
down tub thu big gate tub see thu gem
men, an Mistah Harry, bein small an not
much noticed, followed long aftah him.
When Marse Tom met thu gemmen, they
say they want Jene.
"'Wha' faw, say Marse Tom.
'Faw burnin uh balm, say thu gem
"'Jene been burnin uh bahn?' say
Marse Tom.
can when thu gemmen they say yes
Marse Tom he kindah mournfu1 LAX say,
'Gemmen, I reckin yuh have tub take
him.
Little Mistah Harry he hearn tina an
he slip away FUN thu crowd an he go rum
min todes thu house. He KEEP goin roun
tub whah thu niggahs live, an he see Jene.
Soon as he see thu niggah he say, 'Jene,
they's done come faw yuh, yuh bettah run.
Take ma yellow pony an git outen thu
county
"Jene he's so skeered he dom know
whut tub do, an fO' he kin git outen
sight, 'roun come Marse Tom.
HE says, 'Jene, yuh been mighty good
tub Harry, an I want tub save yuh, but
youse uh bad niggah an evahbody knows
bout it. Eff save yuh fun thu mob, will
yuh do whut say?'
'Uv cose, Jene was willin tub do any
thin tub git away. So Marse Tom he go
he say: 'Gemmen, Jene is up at thu house.
Yuh kin git him eff yuh wants him. Yuh
knows done raised Jene in this family,
an kindah hate tub have him hung
Now, eff I promise yuh tina will take
Jene outen thu county tuhnight an tina
he won nevah come back no mo, will yuh
let him go?'
swell, than was uh lot Nv talk, an bime
by thu leadah he say: 'Mistah Tom, We'll
take yo' word. Eff yuh' IL move him intuh
Arkansaw an promise thu county he'll stay
than, we'll let him off on yo' account
Marse Tom he Civ his word, what was LAX
uh bond in tha' county, an thu mob they
rode away.
"Putty soon Marse Tom he KUN down
tub thu stable and he say, Saddle up
Queen an Night Them's thu bes' two
I,<- IT, hob Wk,oy1 Git
'em saddled, he say, 'Whah's Jenef' Evah-
body go lookin faw Jene. We kahn fin
him nowhah. Marse Tom he's sho wor-
ried, kase he done said he'd move him out
en- thu county. Than was thu bosses sad
died an Marse Tom all ready, but than
want no Jene. We look an look an we
dom fin him. Marse Tom is des ready tub
cuss when somebody say, 'Whah's Mistah
Har'y?'
'Marse Tom he kindah think uh little
an then he walk intuh thu big house kin
dab slow, lax he dom wan tub go. Whut
yuh reckin? Marse Tom he went right
on tub whah Mistah Harry bin sleepin
sence he was big 'nough tub sleep by his
SET an than they was, Mistah Harry, white
an sweet, uh lyin in bed wiz his arm 'roun
tha' wuthless niggah Jene, an Jene uh
snor1n lax uh sick boss.
''Marse Tom he look at 'em lyin than SO
still, an then he kindah wipe his eyes an
he grab Jene by thu arm an pull him out
en- thu bed 'Jene,' he say, 'yuh mus
come wiz me- An he TUX Jene an he put
him on Night an he TUX him away.
"It was mighty late when Marse Tom
come back, an thu bosses was all covered
wiz sweat LAX they's bin uh long way.
Marse Tom didn' hev nothin tub say mon
tub keep thu HOSES dry, an his face was
mighty white when he walk up todes thu
big house. All us niggahs is tremblin an
worryin kase we didn't know whut time
we mightn' go intuh Arkansaw ourselves.
We dom know bout tina, but anyhow we
dom see Jene no mo-.
"Nex' mawnin Mistah Harry he wake
up an take uh look 'roun, an he dom see
no niggah- He git outen thu bed an he
go lookin faw Jene. He look down in thu
cabins and he look in thu balm. He look
all ovah thu place an he dom see no Jene.
Then he TUX thu dinnah horn-Jene could
allus heah uh dinner horn furthah than
any niggah on thu place An Mistah
Harry, he blow an he blow, but he dom
heah no Jene answerin tub his call. Then
he come down whah us niggahs is Twin an