Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1909-03-28

lens began to taste OF the bitterness
of life.
Prior to This time She and her two
remaining unmarried daughters. LOui
I siana and India. had taken in washing
. only to get kid gloves and silk wells
ana other Sunday tinery, but while
Jack son was paying for the Irvine bin
der and The fodder shredder he had
been persuaded to buy on the inSta!
nent plan. Bithy found il necessary to
take in washing TO buy their every
day clothes. She saw the prospect OF
owning a home OF their own lifted
further away, for there was no money
to be saved while Jackson owed OH
the macines bu: she consoled herself
with the thought that after while
Jackson and tn" BOYS, Nath and lobe
could lay by the money they earned
cutting grain. crops and shreddine fod
der tower the rent of the hOrse). and
could save in addition the money
which they obtained for the yearly
corn crop they raised on Mrs. Della
kavanaugh's farm TO apply to the
coveted home. But about the time the
binder and the shredder were paid for
and Bithy breathed sign Of blessed
relief, Jackson fell under the spell OF
Big Susan.
That summer Dick Ballard. white
man, owning thraShing machine,
several times called on Jackson to join
his crew of wOrkmen and 10 loss tn"
men in n; absence.
This taste OF authority went to
IacksOn's brain. Amid tn" enjoyment
of being commander in-chief of 30 or
more men CT his color came the entic-
ing thought of the grandeur that
would be his port ion We're he solicited
to come from farm to farm of the
white folks with his own thraSher
Jackson threw past experience" vii
machinery. thoughts of the long-dcsr-
ed homc-crerything- the winds.
and sought ont Will Embry. 1t was
a proud dav for him when the freight
train pulled into Flamdcn with the 81
COO thrashing machine on board but a
sad lay 70 patient Bith: and she and
Jackson had hard words. when the
thrasher was run under the shed
Bunk Hickman stood watching the
instalment of Big Susan nhe name
with which Jackson lovingly christen-
ed the iron MASTERY. his black face
shining with admiration but LOui-
siana. upstairs in the loftroom. peeped
from the little window with stream
ing eyes. Her prophetic vision saw
yet harder times at the washtub for
herself and her mother. the frustra-
ton of midas plans to 90 to Berea to
school india who washed clothes at
night that she might attend school in
fHoI h@ l~cx ~tN<
of her marriage to Bunk.
Il ain gwine leave NANNY to kill
herself a wuckin' TO keep starvation
offen de family-naw. | amt! Bunk
he's plumb fool for standin' grimm
over dat whut's gwine separate u.s.
she thought resentfully. wipine the
vet from her thin yellow cheeks.
For a few weeks Big Susan was 2
source of JOY to Jackson and his sons
Lame Tobe ran the engine: Nath at
tended the separator and Jackson. full
OF houndless energy .,nd the pomp
of power. was the noisy commander
in-chief of the forces.
Every thrasher must have its cook
wagon and its cock. Jackson had not
considered the matter of feeding. but
the best portion of the hog meat he
had hung in his meathouse the winter
before. and. in addition beef and eggs
that he had to buy. and all Bithy's
leans. cabbases and tomatoes she
had been wont to sell in town went in
10 the stOmachs of Big Susan's ser
wants.
Another thing that shortly began to
disturb JacksOn'S equanimity was the
payment of the hands. Not satisfied
with Jackson's anC his sons estimate
of the number of bushels OF grain
thrashed al each farm-on the basis of
which the hands received their pay
they demanded that Jackson hire a
white man to do his calculating An
other big hole in the earnings Of her
majesty
In the middle of the third summer
OF Big SUsan's dominion there came to
be many rival threshinS machines in
the county: there was more tobacco
and less grain raised JackEo.t vas
forced to go anywhere he was called
whether the crop was a large or a
small one, and over rough or smooth
| roads One afternoon in August he
undertook to make nigh cut to an
cats field and drove he machine up a
cliff road
II took the better part OF the corn
crop Of that wear to pay the SO" the
cost Of the new wheel bought to re
place the one that crushed down
Jackson had to sell his FLY 10 meet
the pa .;mcnts due at the end Of the
year and his potatoes scarcely paid
for the leather betting bought to re
place the one stolen IN night ny
seekers Of sole leather.
At the end Of Susans sixth season
two separstors each costing his
sum. had worn out in her service
while she herself. according TO lobe
had got 50 fur along she was be
ginnin' TO be alius out o prepare.
The negroes coulj find plenty Of other
work in the thrcshing season. Jack
son began TO find il difficu!; TO secure
aid. often he had to humtfe himself
he, GCfd ~