The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1901-07-27
THE AuTocRAT OF THE KITCHEN.

burg Progress, has been having 8
round with his cook. He lay in
bed the other morning after bis
Sunday of pious reflection, until
time to go into breakfast before
he learned that the autocrat of the
kitchen was late. That made the
editor warm just under that luxu.
RANT growth of whiskers, and he
vented his Indignation against the
cause of his woe in this wise:
i "This is Monday morning and
of course the colored cook did not
show up. She was out a little late
last night trying to get religion
and she did not got up with the
lark this morning. But she will
be around for that balance direc-
FLY.
1.-THE colored cook is the mosE
independent thing ON earth
unless it is the razor back sow.
She comes when she gets ready,
cooks as much and as often as she
pleases and steals and totes away
in her tin bucket all she can car
ry or all the bucket will hold.
She has seventeen other niggcrs
at the tips of her fingers to feed,
and twenty-five children to wear
clothes, She never eats a bite
where she is employed that
would appear like humbling her
self too much to the whitef0lks-
but loads her bucket to tho guard
rails andgoes out to feed the poor
and starvlng-and they are nume-
rous. The boss may growl and
the missus may whine, but the
stealing goes on ever more.
"The colored cook never takes
anything as gift. 1t is not her
nature. She does not know how.
If every night her bucket We're fill
ed by the lady of the house and
set on the table this colored cook.
would not take it there and then.
See would';wait until the, lady's
back was turned when she wonld
steal it. The white people arc
not only feeding some of the me-
groes some of the time, but they
are feeding all of the negroes all
the time.
''Then if you should have com
pany this colored cook strikes,
not for higher wages, for wages
are no object, but because she is
not "gwine to cook for all the
pore white trash in the country"
Then she proceeds to fill her tin
bucket full of grub, and, ce,at
putting numerous articles Of wear
ing apparel belonging to the white
folks under her apron she sails
forth into the world and soon finds
herself in the midst Of a very in
teresting cake walk.
"The colored cook controls the
balance of power. She works for
$6 per month, steals $50 worth Of
grub and old clothes, and cooks
whenever she feels like it. 1t
must not be limited that she is not
doing her duty or she will quit.
If the hint is not given she will
quit anyway, just to show that she
has that power. And she would
not sleep on the premises for ham
No, that would be humbling her.
self beyond endurance. During
all this she never loses her reli-
gion.
1.-THE colored cook is the great
est nuisance with which the coun-
try has to contend. She is the
most worthless high priced ami
NAL on earth. She will steal her
worth in grub in fifteen minutes
if the grub is on the place and her
fellow is standing 90 the outside
of the fence. Lying is one of her
trump cards and she plays moth
ing but trumps. And yet some
white women will hire her and beg
and persuade her to come and
cook when it is we'll known fact
that she will steal everything she
can get her hands on and not cook
fit for dog to eat"