The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-06-11
The Job Uncle
Ben Did
By SADIE OLcoTT

sASSAS "u1LO Shllu vi
4 septuagenarian negro in Alabama,
were you In the war between the
states?'
Yes. honey, ! war in de wah. Least
Always ! var dar."
did you kill anybody. uncle?"
mo. | didn't kill nobody. but | saved
somebody's life"
How was that? Tell me about it."
well. honey, when de wah broke u
all de niggers on de ole plantation"-
"Why do you say the old planta.
tion?'"
Case de plantations nov amt what
dey was den. Now dey all cut up.
some of 'em owned by de niggers.
Den dey wah big and lots O niggers on
EN-. AS l wah a-sayin'. honey. most
all de niggers wo'kin' on de ole planta.
ton dug out 'cept me. My mars, yo'
great-grandpop, wah mighty kind to
me. and l wasn't a field hand. did
jobs about de house. | wah a carpen
ter and could make anything dat wab
needed on de premises.
"Yo' great-grandpop went Off to de
wah. and yo' %grandpop went off to de
wah. De Yankees cum down hyer and
took possession. De ole plantation
didn't look like it did no mo- after de
Yanks cum. Dey used up de fences TO
frewood and of all de stock.
"Yo' grandpop wah gwine to marry
20 grandma bout dat time. 70
grandpop when he went to de wah
lef' Missy Lucy what he war gwine to
marry with his mudder. One day when
de Yanks war hyer yo' g%randpop.
Marse Edward. cum through de lines
TO- to visit Missy Lucy. Ee wah Dress
ed in common folks clothes. case he
had no business. bein' an ossifer in de
south'n army. to be in among de
Yanks. While he wah visitin' his ma
and his sweetheart one O. de ole plan
tation hands cum in and said dat some
body tole de Yanks dat he war dab.
Dey wah comm some time in de night
to take him.
"Marse Edward wah cotched like a
'possum In de trap. He dassen't light
out, TO- de Yanks had cum dat day and
camped all about. and he dassen't stay
where he wah. Yo' grandma sent TO-
me and she says. says she:
"'Ben. Marse Edward come hyer to
see me. Ef de Yanks cotch him hyer
dey hang him TO- a spy. Can't 20
make somep'n what he kin hide in dat
dey won't suspect
Il scratched my head and done a lot
O. thinkin'. Den I said. Il don't know.
missy. wot I kin do unless I make a
double bottom to de wood box. wha he
kin crawl in
"'De berry ting said missy. and l
went to wo'k right of. De wood box
wah in de kitchen and wah a great big
I'm. cut up some boa'ds and put in a
bottom high 'nough TO- a man to lay
down under. leabin' plenty O. cracks
TO- breathin'. I hadn't mon got 1t done
when Miss Lucy seen de Yanks sur
roundup de house. Marse Edward got
In under de wood. and dere wah a loud
rap at de do. Missy tol' me to go to
de do. and l went.
"'Who dah?' l axed.
"'Open de do right off, said a man.
l opened de do, and without askin'
leave dey scattered all ober de house,
lookin' TO- yo' grandpa. Marse Edward.
Dey sarched from de garnet to de GEL
Ter. lookin' into de closets and under
de beds and in de cubberd in de dinin'
room. When dey cum to de kitchen l
wah dar. and l had de lef' hand corner
OBJ my right eye lookin' right at 'em.
De rest OBJ my eyes vas on de wood
box. Dinah wah cookin' de supper on
de stove. Seem an ossifer lookin' at
de wood box. l vent to de stove. pulled
open de do and says to Dinah:
"'Wha To- you let dis fire 60 out?'
And l goes to de wood box and throws
up de lid, and l TAX out an armful o.
wood and puts it in de stove.
"Ef dat ossifer had any idee dat any.
body war hidin' in dat wood box l put
it out OBJ his head right of. De ossifer
KEEP right on a-huntin', gwine down
celler.. After huntin' all ober de house
he comes up to me- and he say:
"'Yo' niggers know yo' own folks.
don't yo?'
Reckon l says, with a wink in de
lef' hand corner oh my right eye.
"'Den tell me whar de spy is hidin'.'
II put my mouf down close to he
year, and l says softly:
"'Look in de smokehouse.'
with dat he drawed off he men
from de house. and l reckon he went
out to de s~mokehouse. TO- didn't heah
nothin' mo- from him.
when de Yanks had gone away we
uns had a con'ul'atiOn how Marse Ed
ward gwine to git out O de trap. De
way he done it var to rub he face with
SCOT. and Missy Lucy she kinked he
hair with her curtin tongs. and he put
on darky clothes. and he jist walked
through de Yankees as ef he war as
much a Yankee as any oh 'em. Mex
day he rode into de Yankee lines under
a white flag with some south'n prison
ers.
WHO d'v' S'DOSo war do fuSt Yankee