Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-20

| an hire somebody fer ter keep UNI wake.
! You all do mighty funny. Wuz You TOO
| skeered to look at de Creetur? Here's what
| 'uz des skcerd 'noEgh Ter look at it good.
| You call dat drea min. does you?''
The truth is the whole affair had been
| unusual, 50 unexpected and unique that it
| took its place in Sweetest Susans mind
! Well as in Buster Johns as sort of wax
| ing dream. But Drusilla had seen what
| she had seen. and. to use her own express
sion. she had looked at it mighty hard.
Buster John and Sweetest Susan We're
very shy in telling their experiences in the
| bubble to their elders. They had been
| laughed at on other occasions when giving
| hints as to what they had seen in the cOun-
| Try next door the world. and that faCs
made them somewhat doubtful aud timid.
! As for Drusilla. she had in the negroes an
| audience ready to welcome any statement.
| 10 matter how Wonderful. Words were IN
| able to convey to their minds a real COM
| Ireheusiop of what Druslla had seen but
| they knew it was something awful, and
| from that time forward they and all the
| negroes for miles around regarded Mr.. BoDS
and his sister as cOniurcrs in active prac-
| tfce. In q way this notoriety helped Mr..
| Bobs for no negro refused to work for him
when requested. But no negro would re-
| main near his house at night. This, how
| ever. did not greve him to any great eX-
| tent.
| In the south December is usually marked
| by very fair weather. the mornings cool
! and crisp. and the afternoons warm and
| ba!my enOuPh to invite the hooking birds
| TO sing The December following Sher-
| mans march to the sea was no exception.
and as the holiday seasons drew near Bus
! ter John and Sweetest Susan heard hints
| to the effect that some of their grandfath-
er's kinsmen and friends intended Ia as
| eembe at the AEerCrOmhie place and in
| dulge in an old-fashioned fox hunt. 1t
| might be thought that all the able-bodied
men of the region were fighting: but war is
never so exacting that it sweeps everybody
into the RANKS. and there were many men
| exempted from transcription either by their
occupation or by their age.
The news of the fox hunt was not partc-
ularlV interesting to Sweetest Susan, but
Buster John was stirred by il. He Won
| dered why it that he should be too
young to go fox hunting and the more he
| thought about it the stronger grew the
| conviction that youth is a hardship invent
| ed to punish children. His views in that
| respect underwent a great change some
| years later, but at that particular time he
| was quite sure that youth was something
that had to be endured. only because there
was no help for it. His mind was full of
| fox hunt, and he sought information on the
matter whenever it was to be found; Old
| Fountain was authority on the subject,
! so Buster John was told, and the youngster
| lost no tine in questioning the negro.
Uncle Fountain" he said on the first oc-
| casion that presented itself; they say
there's going to be a big fox hunt here
| Christmas week.
Il hear UNI sesso,'' replied Fountain.
| well. let UNI hunt eff dey will; [ done had
|
| fun here a right smart; an when dey got
| in de notion. nobody couldn't do notbin fer
| UNI but Fountain. 'Twuz Fountain here
| and Fountain dar. twel some ere de quail
| ity, new Ter de place, would up an AK eff
| all de niggers on de plantation is name
| Fountain. Yes-yes, suh-i see myself now
| havin de mommock made fer de dogs, corn
! meal Stewed thick, wild a han full er crack
| Inns flung in; an den de mex mornin', TO
| de day, de cry would be fer Fountain; an
nothin' mus do, but Fountain mus strad-
die a mule-or Puss,, de pacin' mule-an' &c?
| long wild UNI. I had Inns in dem days, an
| lungs, eff you'n believe me. Yes-yes, sub
1 wuz soople fun de word go-work all day
| an frolic all night"
| Oats So said Big Sal, lifting her sad
face and looking at the children.
| II member one time" Fountain contin-
ued dat l went long fer ter look after de
| little marster-" He paused and began to
pick at patched place on his knee. and
| Big Sal drew a long breath. Now, dar
WIZ chap fer you" he exclaimed, en-
Enthusiastically "Dey say he died kase he
| wuz puny; but don't you blteve it. He died
kase his heart an his head wuz too big.
Dey tuck in all dat he yever seed, er heard
| er drempt bout No human bein' could
| go thoo life wild kinder head an heart;
| it's agn' natur'.'
Oats de Lords truf!" cried Big Sal.
| The children knew, of course, that the
| reference was to little Crochet, dead long
| ago and so they sat silent and thoughtful.
| "Yes-yes, subj member de time des ez
we'll es eff 'twuz yistiddy, maybe better.
We put out, We did, bout light, an TO We
| went mile up jumped a gray-de reds
| hadn't come in den-an' here dey had it
| 'roun' an 'roun' same ez chasin' rabbit.
| I wuz ter take keer er de little marster,
| but. bless yo soul, he amt gi' me time
| ter do dat. I alters shill blieve dat him
an dat gray pony had some deep pardner-
| ship wild one anudder, bekase eff 1t hadn't
| been fer dat de little marster would "a
! been drug out de saddle whilst dey runnn'
| through de scrub pines an de black jacks.
| Dey went skeetin' here an dar, an when
| de dogs ketched, dar wuZ de little marster
| an de pony right in 'mongst UNI. Hits so,
| ez sho I'm a-settin here
| PART VII.
Fountain paused and sighed, then he went
on: II speck my blood II be het up eff
| hear de horn a-blowin' and de dogs
a-yelpin', but I'm lots too old fer dem