The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1913-03-18

dat time de hull moon war cobered and
1t war da'k as lump o. coal"
''Yo, honah." said the prosecutor, II
fink l hab proved by de witness dat
Pete stole de chicken"
How datT cried counsel for the
defense.
"Didn' Jim Frisbie swar he hearn de
chicken squawkin'?''
yes, but he didn see Pete Davis
carryin' de chicken, and he didn' see
de chicken nudder He didn' know
wsdder it war rooster OF a hen. He
didn' know wedder in de moonlight de
tail fedders war green or blue, cause
de cloud cobered de moon, and de moon
didn' shine. He didn' know wedder de
chicken war red or de comb war red.
H0wsomeber, he didn' know wedder it
war Pete Davis a-runnin' or some I'd
der niggah, and he couldn' see which
way he war runnin'-wedder 1t war
from de coop or towards de coop. And
he couldn' tell wedder he war white
or black. wedder he war man or a
woman How'd he know 1t want
ha'nt, like to know? He didn' know
muffin at all about 1t no mo- NJ
''Will de gentlemen O. de jury" In
terrupted the judge, please wake up?
De learned counsePs losin' his BRET.
shun."
Several darkies who were nodding
reused themselves, and the counsel for
the defendant brought his remarks to
q conclusion.
"Wha for, yo' honah. l t'ink 20
oughter instruc' de jury to bring in
verde dat day hain't no evidence dat
Pete Davis stole Mat Stevens roost
ali; dat it might a. been some udder
mans roostah Pete stole or 1t might "a
been some udder pusson dat stole
Pete's roostah, SEEM dat de moon war
a-shinin' when de fus' squawkin' war
hearn, and de cot knows dat no niggah
hain't gwine chicken stealth when de
moon is a-shinin'; Consistently dere
hain't no reason to suspec' dere war
any roostah stole at all"
Zone wo'd mo- - the prosecuting at
torney was beginning when the jury
man who had the Job of withdrawing
to do protested, declaring that If the
case were not given to the jury at once
he would leave it Therefore the Judge
gave the following instructions:
Gentlemen O. de jury, yo' hab fug
to consider wedder de chicken was
stole; wedder, IL 1t was stole. it be-
longed to Mart Stevens; wedder Pete
Davis done stole it Yo' mus take In
ter consideration If de moon was shin
in and wedder any niggah would steal
chicken in such a condition o. de
elephants; wedder Jim Frisbie's hearin'
squawkin' chicken goin' past him in
de dark. without SEEM 1t or who had 1t,
proves dat Pete Davis stole it; wed
DER
"Yo' honah," interrupted a juryman.
''ef you glib us any mo- we won't know
whar Yves at"
The judge desisted and told the jury
to go round to the back of the meeting
house and bring in a verdict. They
did so and after half an hours de-
liberation, returned. and the foreman
said:
please yo' honah. there amt any O.
us niggahs know wedder Pete stole dat
chicken or wedder de chicken stole
Pete. We don't know wedder. when
Pete run by Jim Frisbie,s cabin. 1t was
Pete dat was squawkin' or de roost-
er. We don know wedder 1t was a
rooster or a hen. Mebbe 1t war a
goose. and like enough it might "a
been gander. Derefo'. yo' honah. we
ask to be discharged dat we may pur-
yue our Urinary avercatons."
"Yo' a. discharged said the Judge.
And now, yo' honah, de jury wants
to make an observation It's about
white folks laws. De jury DON reckon
dat white folks laws agwine to do
TO us cullud people. We brought In
de verde accordin' to 20 honah's In
structions, and yo' instructions was
accOrdin' to de law. But we didn' I'M
derstand de law or de instructions.
OATS de reason we brought In de YER
die dat we did But widout de law
or de instructions we all know right
we'll dat Pete stole de rooster. an OATS
all dere Is about it."
That was the last white folks court
held In that region.