The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1901-11-26
MARSE CLAIB'S SAD
THANKSGIVING
A Story Of the South.

"Look-a-year, niggerl W'ut you
mean by AKIN Marse Claib sich er fool
question? Amt yer hbed in dis wurP
long enuff fer ter hab some sense?
OATS jes' lax er edjercated nigger,
anyhow; yer amt got de sense Nv q
mool, an eff 1 wuz yo' NAV I'd put yer
ter p. p.oughin', whar yer b'longs. tole
her she'd ruin yer ef she sent yer up
dere ter Atlanter ter school. An yer
amt got no better sense dan ter go ak
Marse Claib why 'twuz he don't nebber
hab no Thanksgibin' dinner lax udder
foxes.
"W'ut'd he say when yer axed him?"
and Black Lu fixed her fierce eyes
threateningly upon her offending
grandson, while she waited for him to
answer the question with which she
had closed her scathing rebuke.
He didn't say nothing; he just look
ed funny and pale and then walked
of !" answered the offender, who had
evidently violated some sacred Law by
asking his grandmother's old master
about Thanksgiving, to judge by the
severity of the old negress.
He was Black LUIS daughters SOD,
and had been for two years at Clarke's
University, colored educational insti-
tuition at Atlanta, Ga. This fact coup
led with the fact that he was mulatto
made old Lu despise him. She, her
|, self, was as black as the bottom OF
well. and prided herself on her pure
African blood. She hated yellow Ne
groes and educated Negroes, and SEEM
ed glad to have an excuse to pour q
TRADE of abuse on this particular one
of her monerel posterity, who had come
home for the Thanksgiving holiday,
which, falling on Friday, gave him
three days from school.
SAN whuffur you 60 AK him dat?"
she continued; her wrath getting more
thunderstormlike with every word. 1t
was wash day and and she was washing
| in tub on q bench outside her house,
while near by two pots with clothes
were boiling on fire.
81 just wanted to be friendly" her
grandson answered penitently. "When
| l got of the train and saw him at the
station, I said 'howdy', and then we got
TO talking. and asked him why 1t was
he didn't never have no Thanksgiving
now."
"Sholy, sholy, dere amt no bigger
fool dan you in all dis wurl," Black Lu
remarked with deep conviction, shak-
ing her head solemnly and for mo-
ment stopping her work of rubbing the
clothes in the tub. Here you is gwine
on nineteen an been libin' on Marse
Claib's place for yer whole lifetime an
amt larnt no better dan ter ak him
erbout sumpin dat's already done bruk
his heart. Co'sen he turned white an
walked off,
"Ain't yer maw nebber tole yer
erbout Miss vi'let, Marse Claib's
'dopted gal, w'ut he dubbed better dan
|anyfing else 'cep'n his own boy, Bob
Lee, w'ut IL named after de man Marse
lClaib wuz in de war wid?" old Lu ask
ed again, addressing herself to the SAT.
from colored student OF Clark's Univer-
sity. swell, now, Use gwine ter tell
Iyer bout dis SOS yer won't go snaffJ-
cootin' round an er maxim fings wuss
dan dey is. Yer see it uz 'leven years
Iago on Thanksgibin Day an Marse
lClaib he aint nebber got ober it an
dat's why he amt hab no kinder terdoo
lnow lax everybody else. He amt got
muffin fer ter be thankful fer; dat mar
Iain't.
"Marse Claib uster be the riches
m an in Barlow County, an his lam rur
FUN Jeamses Mill back ter Painters
Greek. Dat w long fore de wah. He
los neahly eberyfng he hab in dc
wurl' while he wuz off er 6ghtin' de-
Yankees. an his wife, Miss Elma, she
, died de night TO- Atlanter wuz burnt
: Free er fo' days 'fo' she died Gin'ra
. Scorfel', er some sich er name, come
erlong an sot bout leven hundred
bales er cotton afah, w'ut b'longed Il
Marse Claib. But Lawsy Massey me
when dat Gin'ral Scorfel' ne hear da
Mis- Elma so awful sick, he make ou
like he mighty sorry bout de carryins
on er his sojers an'he put er whole lo1
NV 'em round de house ter keel
lt'uthers FUN 'sturbin Miss Elma.'
: "But you amt telling me why Mr.
+ Reeves don't have no Thanksgiving
, dinner, and why such little question
bothers him so swfvl much" inter
. rupted the colored college boy.
IL You'se de banginest niger Ts
{ ebber seed. Can't you wait till Ps
!" able ter git ter de pint? Use bleed
ter tole yer dis SOS yer'll know how te
understan' de rest," said old Lu, mucl
enraged at the interruption.
"When Marsc Claib come home b.
done shot full er bullet holes an he u
awful weak an trembly. He sot dow
on de do step and cried erbout Mis-
Elma fer er whole hour an den h
J. went ober an lookt at de place whu
= she uz buried. When he git back b
; axed me: Aunt Lucindy, where
/. Tom?' dat w his boy, an say: Il
a b zen takin' good keer er him. ar
!, Marse Claib he mos went crazy " he
: he saw dat boy who uz gwine on si
l.. sngt ~