The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1907-01-02

sot down and fgsered it out dat de
white folks had Gr bulge on all Older
races Il dat i; was no use to kick,
He ,e9t wanted room to lib and git
along. lie dent want to git in no.
boly's way. He kept to dat course for
three years and was a success. hev
heard a dozen white men speak in his
praise. About two years ago Brudder
Shutdown changed his mind. He reck-
oned de time had come to begin to
crowd to de front. He begun to swag-
ger and talk big and wear two watch
chains. and tonight he Jest imagines
dat he Is carryin' dis hull kentry on his
shoulders. You listen to what / say.
Oars a lion in Brudder Sundown's
path, and sooner or later we'll hear of
a calamity and set out to look fur de
remains.
II happened to be in Snyder's gro
Gerry a few evenings ago when Brudder
BrOmo Larkins walked In. l was dar
to bug a pound of brown sugar and a
quarter of a pound Of thirty cent tea.
l was dar to do it in my humble way
and not crowd anybody else. I was
talkin' wild de grocer bout de Pana-
nav canal and how it would benefit
the world at large when Brudder Bro
mo come bustin' in and ordered TO-
pounds of white sugar, half a pound of
de best tea, real lava coffee and a hull
sack of -four. He called de grocer Jim,
and he called me governor, and he
strutted up and down and told about
bein' out in de kentry to see a 200 acre
farm.
Was l 1 deceived: Was dat grocer de-
ceived? Was de lame woman who
came In wild a pitcher to buy a pint Of
milk deceived? No, sab. We all know
ed dat If Brudder Bromo's debts was
paid he wouldn't have 'nuff left to buy
a pint of peanuts. We knowed dat his
old boss has a mortgage on 1t and dat
all de furniture in his house was
bought on lie installment plan. We Jest
looked upon him as a wind bag and an
ass. l hain't gwine to say anything d.
rectly to him tonight, but I'm sayin'
dat some night when he's swellin' up
and down dc street and AKIN small
boys if dey hey seen anything of his
chauffeur and auto he will suddenly
bump into me. Two minits later he
will be on his way home on a board
and wonderin' whar he am at.
II wanted to find Brudder Down
right Johnson de odder day and AK him
II he had any coon grease to spare fur
my buteS. | knowed he worked in a
wood yard. and while l was on nv
way ober was fined by a white man.
l nebber .iine a white man OBJ my own
accord, but if dey jine me l feel duly
honored. 1t happened dat he was
gwine to de same wood yard. When we
got dar de boss happened to be out,
and Brudder Downright was so sham
ed OBJ bein' seen at work dat he began
to swell around and claim dat he was
de boss. He didn't want white folks to
know dat he labOred wild his hands,
He's behind in his rent, in debt all
ober and couldn't hold a funeral ober a
cat widout borrowin' de money. and
yet he felt dat 1t would degrade him to
be seen at work! I didn't glib him away.
but l know what dat white man
thought oh him.
II tell you, my friends. dat things
am gettin' what you might call bustif-
erous. De Guild man wants to git
ahead too fast. Bekase he's got his
foot on de ladder he wants to rush
right to de top at once. He wants to
swell out and to swagger and to be
what he can nebber be. He hain't de-
ce1vin' anybody. not wen hisself. He's
Jest playin' de fool, and If he keeps It
up a few years longer he'll rear de
reward. He'll come down Off de roof
wild n smash and a squash. and it will
be fifty years befo' he gifts ODER his
back ache" NJ. QUAD.