El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-29
By Mrs. General George E. Pickett.
Specially Contributed to TIE Ell Pas0 Herald.
(Copyrighted.)


Will those of my readers VINO 90
not know the ways and hearts OF M!
colored people of the old south kindly
road first this preface in explanation.
or enuat as it may be, of my Oh
black mammy's origin of her race!
AS wrote I'm de Miz" memory TOOK
me back across the years to the tliHe
when life's water was wine, tlnteu
golden with the sunlight of morning,
%sparkling with the jewels of youth n
love. 1t made me a child again, look
ing up into the dear. dusky race Oh
that beloved black nanny, listening
with my unhurt, unclouded 1alth "
the folklore of her speculative MID
niobt race as she solved in her own
andom shadowy way the dim mystef-
les of creation, giving expression 70
thoughts that strike reason DUMP,
while her p~assiveness. obedience, wise
submission, loyalty and love made no
uuiritation of wrongs to right
There was no word held in more
re~verentiaI love and fear by the falth-
full southern slave than the one word
Master" The divided service OF CHS
soul was between his Master anu us
God. His religion, fraught with the
s~unernatura was as broad as the mar
row grasp of his poor mind could COM
mass. His conception of the greatness
of God was measured by his crude and
unframed brain. .
In his ewes the taking of a "chaw
of tobacco was a dignified, luxurious
custom. and one literally INDUCED in,
as a rule, by his paragon OF perfectlon'
the southern master.
To have said Lord" in speaking
of Him to little children, without the
prefix OF the word "Marser" CMaster),
would have been unwonted familiarity
with the omnipotent, all-wise all
merciful Great Being. Nor was the
old-time slave wanting in respect anu
reverence, in the frequent use Oh dis
name when speaking to those Of his
own age, always calling upon 1t TO
emphasize or verify a statement or eX-
press surprise
There was no want OF reverence IN
his comparison of his Heavenly Father
with his earthly master, and the rapt
copartnersnip which he conceived 70
exist between those two almost equally
sacred beings; but. instead thereof, a
sublime recognition in his simple
heart of the fellowship OF God and
man. and an intuitIve conception o.
two-ness as oneness of the incorl-
p~leteness of man apart from God-vef-
flying the poets thought:
so close IS glory % our dust;
So near as God to man"
Deed, Honey, hit am de gospel
trufe. leas wise OATS de way L yearn
hit tole, en- 1 haint nebber yearn nlt
'sputed. 'Tain't no use er deZe yer n,S-
gers bein' so a'rrified bout hit needef:
En- wat 1 yearn you gifts straight J1s
lax I yearn hit, en- a is-Dat eff
'twan't fer de wife folks dar wouldn
be no niggers (dat is, dar wouldn be
none ter year tell err.
.'Twuz a long time ago, way In de
beginnin', wen dar want no funda-
ment en- no plantations, en- dar raj
but lis only M pusson a nDln oDer
yer den, en- he wuZ Marse Jesus pa In
he, mum, want only de goodies en- dc
creates. de outlines mos s~urvigruses
but He wuz mos stronges, mos
swiffes' pusson ebber wuZ Ebbyting
den wuz His'n, en- dough He wuz dat
rich en- had so much persesshuns
b longin' ter i'm, he could tun his
nan en- mex anything He sot His mine
pom Ten mex hit out er nuttin', at
dat).
DE frs en- fo'mus' ting He next
dough wuz His bes', en co'se hit ought
ter be, wen you comes ter dat, kaze
'twuz His own home-Heaben.
After dat, He NEXT de earf en- de
sea en- all udt-lh uC III Gil 0NA
res'ed hisse'f de Sebenf day en- hallow-
ed hit.
But dar air nobody nebber yea-d
nuttin' tall bout dem things OATS IN
de Miz.' Fer, you see, 'twuz lax dis.
wen Marse Lord spilled anything he
wuz a mekIn' er, no matter wat-some-
ebber hit wuz. He flung hit ret smack
In the Miz,' kaze eff He hadn'. He
couldn' a SAID wen He wuZ dun en-
tnoo wild all His wuk dat He saw
'twuz good Well, hit wuz gittin
todes de een'd er de week en- moughty
nigh on ter Sunday, en- Marse Lord
gun ter study bout wat He wuz
gwine ter mex naix, en- a terminin' in
His mine vile He wuz a studdyin' dat
His last piece er wuk should outshine
all de udder pieces. Well, vile lie
wuz mekin' up His mine en- onder1
bout wa 'twould be, ne tuck de pail
en- went long ter de well ter draw some
water, wen jis' TO He lit de bucket
down., lo-en-beholes, He seed Hisssf
'fected. EZ oOn eZ ebber He got ODER
His 'mIraulon IN establishment at de
mougnty engagements en- grandnii-
cents er de handsome bufeful Election
dat He seed a layin' lar fiat on de top
er de deep, cool, smoobe water, He
stop s%tuddyin' en- low dat, ez long e2
He tu'n'L out SO many good jobs, He
b'leebed He'd try en- duplicate dat LAX
ness dat He jis' seed Elected er Hisse'f.
Den I s'pose He tink, too, wen
He look 'roun' i'm, en- seed all de Ian
en- chattle state en- yudder prop'ty dat
b'1ongs ter i'm dat hits a moughty po'
bee, dat doan' mex mo- honey dan he
wants fer hisse'f. But OATS needer yer
ner needer dar fer 'twan't mo- an
'cided tween Hisse'f en- His own mine
TO He stop foolin' en- lookin' at Hisse'f
en- tuck an drawed de water up quick.
en- went long in a trot en- ondo de