The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1907-05-30
After Many Years
Now, Miss Jinney, you is alus want

Now, Miss Jinney, you is alus want
in story about dem tryin' times in
Ole Caroliney, an is jes don tole We
all knowed ODER and ODER agin''
And our own colored cook, 'Tilda Jack
son, knocked the ashes out of her pipe
on the hearth of the kitchen range, which
to us children was a preliminary sign
that old 'Tilda held in reserve one of her
"reminiscences Of her life on the Old Car
ter plantation, near the city of Charles
ton, and of the Civil War.
We children, my sister and /. used
to love to steal down to her especial do
main in the cleaning, and tease for q
story of that enchanted land of flowers,
the Carter place. and of which tie old
negress was an eye witness
Refillng her pipe, and settling herself
in her easy chair, she continued:
II jes' done recolmember one moih oh
dem yarns, but it's erbout how M. ole
missus KEEP Decoration Day all by her
lone self, an how she done put posies on
one grave fur fifteen long years afore
she found out who de poah young fella
vas"
Here old 'Tilda stopped and lighted
her pipe, pulled away with a retrospective
glance at us two girls, as we crept closer
to this oracle in ebony, and, having slim
ulated our curiosity, she continued:
"Wal, jes' couple o. days after dat
ere big fight at Charleston my ole man,
Lige Jackson, he was down back o. de
! field a cuttin' bresh, an all at once l
seen him drop the ak an start fur de
house on a rIn. An l was dat scarf /
let de soap boil over, case l was maxim
soap out in de yard, an was bound dat
snake had bit him, or he had got lick
wild de ax-fur Lige was de LATEST niggah
In de whole kentry. an l knowed some
thing had happened when l seen him git
such move on to him. An shore
enough, when he came UP, all out of breif,
knowed it was time to git scarf, an
says he: ''iTldJ, tell de missus dar's a
sojier lynn down dar back OBJ de fence,
by de run, an ] reckon he Is powful bad
hurt, case he's a grownin' an done seem
to sense notin'.
"Wal, my missus want berry ole in
dem days, but she was JUS done fading
lake putty posey, along OBJ dat dread
| full wah, expecting % heah dat de cunnel
was killed, an all de oder trouble erbout
de niggas gittin' free, wild de place half
woked an fust one army takin' rations
and den de oder till it pears like day
wasent much lef'. Wall, jis pulled de
stick from under dat soap kittle an run
round to de front porch, whar missus
was sittin', an tole her what Lige seen.
She got right up an made Lige an ole
Minkey, de coachman, go and brung dat
pooh fellah to de house. She an me a
6xin' up bed fur him while dey is gone.
"Byenby dey toats him in an lays
him in it. He was outen his hade lake
an missus send right off fur doctor,
and he foun' he was shot in de side, de
ball goin' roun by de spine, an he say
dat air pooh boy dun got he death blow
and de doctor reckon he was elder sho;
while on picket duty or bad dropped be-
hind when he dun got hurt, while de army
marched on an lef' him. Anyway. dar
he was, an he doant know nobody mel
nothing, an de doctor say he was par
Used, so he couldent even move his pool
tongue.
"Wall, missus an me nussed him till
we both pretty nigh dun drop In oul
tracks fur a week. Den at las he dur
went home to glory, as de sun was set
| tin lake in sea Of fab.
''But jis' afore he breaved his las he
kinda com'd to his senses, an KEEP q
lookin' at missus-an' he try'd so mighty
hard to speak an was dat distressed
case he couldn't, de big tears roll outeu
| his handsome black eyes an roll down
his cheeks Dat was as white as de sheet
an se sweat lay SO cole an thick on bis