The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1900-03-29
Negro Heass~ivs

q o9aatty lod., ere the negro women dos
4 fouib, the tisli ~oftors who keep hon
against odds. yet schievt efedisble
. salis | couldnt SET hold OF no jar D.
. notbin 10 pal up peaches 10 dis year. b.
4 l'as got pretty near bushel OF Gu, app
4 40 pescb dry and s,ow cay 10 bags,
cabin housewife ~ill tell You
= Them hans sn side, up thtrtf II
eoss on, All both oi 'em i, from de shots
what / raise on home vicIusls sni lesvini
, Dey never tafn ou, 10 lard worth caubtiE
bnt De meat is sweet.
Another time she will show you ht
tQnilts, ,iI or seven Of them folded ava
neatly. one spieoe for each Of the children
as she says. When do yon DO yonr se'
ioe you SAX her.
Mostly 10 de night time, when de eli
len is ont de way sn Dc mems /, ley dow
or sone buntin.
But you have no lsmpi
No. bu, | keeps good iurn OF is
splinters ~ pine nots bsndy, sn de.
msk,s good bl q to see by. Days vhti
does halt task IN de held ! works bon
de house 10 de afternoon, bui dtrs's d,
washin TO DO sD de pstebin and sctubbit
40 one l'iua 40 snudder Dau, IL hsl
new cloth. makes breeohes or irock. one
Dsre's always sewin wsitln.
How DO you msnsee about the cooking
when you are so busy 10 the aeldS she /,
asked.
mo tly makes de children q viirsboui
or some bread fore start out 10 de morn
10. 40 every night fore lay down l slip
some taters 10 de ashes TO done slow for
dem Den seu'slIy don't cook no more
TIL come ont de field at sundown. When
| get chance. does make cake sn sweet
eued bread il eggs il plenty.
Bot you sell your egssp
Yes, Dey mostly goes Tor SEWN thread,
sometimes for q little sug,r aud coffee or
may be kerosene, lslvsye keeps bottle
OF kerosene bsndy. cause it 90 good to
drink Tor misery 10 de bead or to rnb With
when your iints Is painful
does make sharp money ont OF 10y bat
ter, too, when the COW ain'i gone dry, she
adds.
Tue sversge negro farmer who plants
bis little one horse or tsU horse acreage
that lie rents barely makes enough income
to keep body aud soul together 10 The
flush haI veft season he earns the equiva
lent OF 40 cents day. His vile according
to her Interpretation, has to 'surn swift
10 order TO make things hold out Sbe
buys be little as possible aud makes use OF
such resources Us are at hand. Even food
for the COW has 10 be considered. ss is
evinced by the golug dry.
IL we could make out to gi' Sock q
mash OF cooked peas night and morriD,
she would keep mp her milk oil de year,
says Socks mistress, bnt We cane do dat
nor rent no good pastur' Ian neider, an in
de winter de grass what's GROWN in spare
Ian siL't much. You see We got de u ule
TO feed too. Thus she tells Of her simple
needs. The negro housewives broom Is
u ade Of broom straw gathered from the
fields and bound securely with strips OF
homespuu. The scrubblng brush, thst
plays an important part iD the week
~ cleaning up, is made Of shucks from
the courthouse pegsed into q piece OF
board with q long handle TO it. BY cut
ting of the necks OF the gourds thst grow
each year under the caves large bowls are
made, to hold anything that needs to be
kept over 10 the wooden cupbosrd. For
cooking conveuiences there are only the
crane in the open chimney place and the
heavy lidded oven, skillet aud big mouth
ed pots, which are lifted about. 20 matter
how hot OF how II they msy be, by
bent poker or s,oul, knotted stick.
The mistress OF the cabin hoes her bali
acre task each day. Sac helps With esth |
department OF the tisld work, from getting |
the ground resdy Tor the seed in the carly
spIiog 10 the harvesting 10 autnm. Macy
Of these women plow as w,l and bsve
little aide crops u Zoe OF cotton. Nearly
all have young children.
A good many nesroe, are shiiiless end
irresp onsible, some are dirty, Int ma
lori,y OF the wives and mothers on the plan
.atious are smbiiions and nske q brave
effort TO put the bsst foot forward and
keep tbings shipsh,pe. They rival each
other ut raising turkeys sld chickens. and
will walk miles bunting up some secretive
guinea hens meet or searching for
missing duckling thst has strsyed oi from
the brood. The sewing that they do 10
crude. Some OF the quilts that they sre
30 proud oi look erotesque enough because
Of insccnrscy in the cutting sud carrying
ont OF the pattern. but they are 9 monn
ment TO the patience and induttry OF the
makers, when one thinks how rough and
sosrss from hard labor are the hands that
v ield the clumsy scissors, big needed and
coarse ball thread With which they sre
made. The garments they make are cot
Dot on the original scale, With little regsr3
Ior D., bnt the stitches bold firmly. and
he forms, large md smsll, that wear the
,loibes are 80 well knlt and lusty tbst the
soon fall into shape. The patch
ne done by these women may be clsssed
Is 90 art Every possible economy 10
prsc,iced 10 these homes. One set Of
,noo,hips irons often does the ircniog Tor
. whole nsishborhood, snd the s,srch that
,,,ffsu. the 90 to meeting pstiicosts aud