The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1905-12-15

| How hard the battle goes, the day. how long
Faint not, fight on. Tomorrow comes the
song.
-Maltbie d. Babcock.
The Mississippi Show Boat.
A long quavering sound floated across
the wood, d bottoms at Sterling. Arkan-
sas. over the levee to the ears of the
hoers in the cotton fields Instantly the
workers stopped and held their ears to
catch the sound again. 1t came quickly,
a vailing, tremulous falsetto tone, which
lasted half minute, dying away in a
cry like grief. Time and again the sound
came, always sad and mournful, in keep
ing with the great Mississippi bottom
lands, and with different notes as of a
giant bird floating on the current.
"Pcahs lax store bot come in," one
darby said to his mate in neishboring
row.
Tits seo." was the answer. John
sins, Brook s-who you all s'posen hit
i,?"
"Mabbe hits IIull's whiskey bot?
Law. l hope tain't-somebody II
shore git shot up"
"Theh's man comm oven the levee-
law but vain he gim-b unxious!"
Over the levee came figure, a man
most marvellously dressed. His coat
was a cutway of scarlet; his waistcoat
was blue, with buttons of far-f 4shing
glass, and his knickerbockers were white,
with side stripes Of gold and knee bands
of silver. His stockings were red and
white checks, and his shoes Oxford tans.
When the sunlight flashed on this gor-
geous figure, men, mammies and pickan-
innies for a mile round stopped their
work to see as they had done to listen
few minutes before. The radiant one, as
if approaching the vantage point of the
levee top-by far the loftiest ground for
fifty miles around, paused, and turned
from side to side slowly with the should
ders-back pose. Then the glass buttons
flashed, and the sun splashed on the sleek
scarlet coat.
"LawseI Lawse" murmured the
workers, letting fall their hands and their
lower jaws. "Lawsel peahs lax his the
angel Gabriel-Lawse! The strange
figure lifted shiny tube four feet long
to his lips-then the weird noise which
had been heard before was repeated.
Negroes in the distance. who did not
have clear view of the figure were in
clned to be frightened, but those in the
field near him, seeing that the man was
summoning them to listen, started to-
ward him, having left their hoes where
they had been working.
A man on horseback, seeing that the
workers had "broke" for the levee. came
galloping along the road at the foot of
the dirt bank, and, stopping before tie
horn blower, demanded:
what you all stopping the work foh?"
"Suh, Ahm from the Sacred Cor cert
bo't-we lowed to give show 'yeIe to-
night"
THAT so? Well, you all needn't to
stop them niggers workin'. I'll tell 'em.
You got place foh white people, too?"
"Yasseh, we got the largest, bestes'-"
"All right, I'll send a niger to let the
neighbo'hood know-on'y we caynt let
the work stop now"
"All right, sch, we'll be plumb grateful
to yo"
Then the man in colors went back to
the river. while the plantation master
turned the workers back to their hoes.
telling them there would be show at
the landing that night The workers on
the near acres shouted the word to those
on the further ones, until the news had
travelled back to the swamps, three
miles distant, and up and down the
road, no one knows how far.
Soon after six o'clock the field work
ceased, and wreaths of blue smoke ap-
peared from the widely scattered white
washed negro cabins. Pigs gathered
under the porches, and squealed, while
chickens, sure of a feeding flocked. to the
steps leading up to the doorways, noisily
clucking and Tapping their wings. Not
long afterwards the horn of the show
boat man bade the people. Not to for
get-forget-Never forget-forget--come
and seel'
First of all the pickanianies went over
the levee, and followed the landing trail
to the eddy. Then came the grown-ups,
and last of all perhaps dozen whites,
who drove down in handsome light
wagons, glad of an opportunity to break
the monotony of plantation life.
In the eddy was moored giant cabin
boat. 1t was one hundred feet long
twenty feet wide and painted white. The
cabin was seventy five feet long. On the
rounded roof was piled an assortment OF
junk, including rusty iron scrapers from
a deserted levee camp, boxes above which
showed the necks of empty bottles, and
on the hogchains-iron rods which
strengthen the craft-were several bee
hides. Letters two feet high along the
cabin announced THE Sacred Concert
Boat"
The showgoers went aboard on &
gang plank three feet wide, and at thu
cabin door bought tickets of admission
for 25. Is and 10 cents each depending
on the locat of the seats. The tickle
seller was in little room, and took tn,
money through little window IL inches
square. On the little shelfbefore him un
seen by the ticket purchasers, was /;
hugh revolver, right where he could seiz
the grip with the least difficulty.
A young white man took the tickets
and pointed the way to the holders O
the pasteboards. The plantation maste
recognized him as the one who had com
to the levee so gorgeously dressed Garlic
in the day.
The theatre was a fiat floor, on whicI