The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-11

suggest winding rivers. Where the ends meet and the wrapped pieces are tied together, and knotted they give a hilly, or mountainous, appearance to some of the sections and squares we name States and territories. How they smoothly wrap the entire head of hair is mystery othe writer. As a little | child. and carried by my negro nurse to the quarters, many a time I have stood. with admiring eyes, and watch ed some colored woman "wrop" her head. trying to catch on" to the turns of the wrist" etc, enabling her. with out mirror. to arrange her sair so cleverly not a strand was left to "kinK up or become cntangled in the breezes. l The hair Is wrapped sometimes once a week, sometimes once a month and careless ones permit one wrapping to serve for several months. One of the | amusing sights of the quarters Is to go on Sunday morning and see the weekly combng" and head cleaning" in progress-going on outside the cabin door, The little negroes. too. are lined up waiting patiently fur many to git thro'," and "Mammy's" head resembles the wild woman of Borneo as she has 1t ! combed out as straight for "the map" to be 'lald off. ."
 But. go back to our cotton picking.
  ing were small niggers scarcely taller than tho cotton stalk; there were those who declared "dey don seed de stars fall."
 In a big g-bodied wagon. that stood nearby ready to receive the contents of the baskets. was standing negro banjoist-"fur whar you finds de nig- ger, dars de banjo an de possum!- and two treaders, half-grown negroes, lvrr, I,,tty fro r1n compactly cotton emptied into the wag- on bed
 The gifted banjoist played old time tunes, the same he had picked from trembling strings in the evenings long ago, at corn huskings and merry Christina stide celebrations in the quar- ters. Now and then, after a lively eX ecution of ver-to-beforgotten melo- dies, he would strum a dreamy accom- paniment to some famous plaintive dia- lect ballad. as only an old time negro could do. What a magnificent voice he had! As his clear, strong notes. in strict and equal time, broke the still ness of the night and gradually died away on the whispering winds. marveled over its uncultured beauty and sweetness of expression. I thought how many struggling weak voiced mu- sicians-"profession almost 6 lNc tHe ilppc Ol t CIOWH OH uISH tO possess this cornfield negro's God given talent-a voice of It's wide range and singular pathos that had never been injured in the years he had used it nthe night air. often singing stead fly for several hours He continued singing selections that gave scope to his voice. disclosing melody. whether the song was one of comic verse or lines of mournful sweetness, yet no trace of huskiness in Ns untrained notes.
 Play Tune
 At the first sign that the moon wuz gittin' sleepy" the hands ceased pick ing. The wagon was filled with the fleecy staple, piled higher with tightly packed baskets. Still, there were huge banks, having the appearance of veri- table banks of snow. left at intervals about the fields. Row after row of stalks had been stripped by delft hands. grimly standing to cast a great black shadow over a goodly area.
 Just before stopping the boss and en- tertainer called out as a renewal of his invitation. and stronger proof of his gracious CD hospitality: All dem dat Is to de end uv dey rows, laid off to 'em: an all dem dat kin dance, doubt raisin' de projections uv de church. com to my cabin. Dem dat am wuk- ed, am Jtitled to dance an eat. Dem dat asdt wuked, dey conscious ought to pAtedly feet an tell 'em to go toth-