Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-02-12


Come down to Petes runnin' of wild
de squawkin' rooster"
Il didn' see Pete runnin' Off wild de
squawkin' rooster" said the witness.
Didn't yo' say" said the prosecutor,
dat de moon was a-shininT'
Yes. s.ts"
And yo' hearn de squawkin'?"
Yes. sab"
well, so on and tell de rest"
81 seen Pete a-comin' towards me-
"Well?"
Oats all seen"
DO yo' mean TO sey yo' dldn' see
Pete a-runnin' past yo' cabin?"
Yes. sab. l didn' see him"
why noty'
Oats what war gwine to tell you
when war tole to cut it out"
We'll, so on and tell it"
81 said de clouds was a-hoatin' ober
/ de face O de moon, obscurin' fus' de
mouf o de man in IL, den de nose and
arter that de eyes, and jist as II cob
cred de eyes Pete run by nah cabin
wild a squawkin' rooster In his arms"
And yo' seen him."
dat time de hull moon war cobered and
/ IT war da'k as a lump o. coal"
"Yo, honah," said the prosecutor, 81
tink l hab proved by de witness dat
| Pete stole de chicken"
How data" 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
wedder it war rooster or a hen. He
didn' know wedder in de moonlight de
/ tail feeders 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.
/ Howsomeber, 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 a man or a
woman. How'd he know it want
liant, 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 up1
De learned counsels losin' his bref,
and he's comm to de end O. his ora
shun."
Several darkies who were nodding
reused themselves, and the counsel for
the defendant brought his remarks to
a conclusion.
"Wha'for, yo' honah, I fink yo'
oughter instruc' de jury to bring in a
verdic' 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 whitewashing
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 fus'
to consider wedder de chicken was
stole; wedder, If 1t was stole, It be-
lOnged to Mart Stevens; wedder Pete
Davis done stole It Yo' mus take in
ter consideration il de moon was shin
in and wedder any niggah would steal
chicken in such a condition o. de
elephants; wedder Jim Frisbie's hearin'
a squawkin' chicken pOin' past him In
de dark, without SEEM it 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 we's att
The Judge desisted and told the jury
to go round TO the back of the meeting
house and bring in 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, It 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 a gander. Derefo, yo' konah, we
ask to be discharged dat we may pur-
sue our Urinary avercations"
"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 agwlne to do
TO- US cullud people. We brought in
de verdic' accordin' 10 yo' honah's in
structions, and yo' instructions was
accordin' 10 de law. But we didn' IN
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
well dat Pete stole de rooster, an OATS
all dere is about it."
That was the last white folks court