Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-12-01
Long the Jeems River.

10 the Editor OF The Times Dispatch:
O., " IT, oi, G.d friend from the banks
Canal showed me his new scrap book
IN which are pasted the publications OF
by the darkies principally 10 de war"
ana by white people too. and the graz
Trying results AS some half dozen or
more have given The Times Dispatch
have whet his desire for more.
70 says aSc he: III does ny old heart good
these long years. Some remember ,em
one WAY and some another. but they
all point one way"
He wore satisfying smile when no
read Mr.. Duval porter's COMMUNICATION
IN t1-dnya issue, and asked il rcck-
any Of the words TO Run Niger. Run.
de Pntrollcr Ketch You?
He asked that write IL "patroller."
like Mr.. Porter says he heard it. All
can remember. says he. of the song
goes this way. and he picked it off with
the banjo:
AS I was Eoin' cross de field
Black snake hit me on dc heel;
l turn'd around TO do my bess
An stuck my haid in hornets ness.
Chorus:
Run. Niger. run. de patroller ketch
Run. niger. run, its all broad day:
Run. niger. run. dc patroller ketch
you.
Run. Niger. run. its all broad day.
Some folks say Niger don't steal,
l caught one in my corn field.
Kun, niger, run, etc.
Anybody who has got any dance in
their bones at all is bound to pat his
foot when he hears that song sung
and picked on the banjo" he remark-
cd.
You know told you" he went on
dancing frolics. corn shocking frolics.
log rollings. and SO on. told you
what l told young man who didn't
know what corn shuckimg was. Now.
another asked me what a log rolling
was. said he had heard of political
lex rollinEs, hut didn't know OF any
thing you got either to study it out
or ask somebody who does know. SO
tod him that way back yonder in
the SOS and before. many people.
ground, that is. cut down the trees. cut
them into logs, then roll the logs up
into big piles. set fire to them and burn
EN- up: they would make a neighbor-
mood frolic OF 1t, same as they did at
corn Stockings, having something to
eat and sometimes something to drink.
too. Some called them cutting bees,
and. let me tell you, that the man
who could cut deeper into his side OF
the tree in cutting it down was ono
who had something to crow over.
When IL big tree fell with a powerful
noise yell would go up you could
hear for miles. Well. sir. ali that is a
thing OF the past. as the trees are now
sawed down and sawed up. and no
more burning up in the new ground, AZ
they are sold for timber and used for
fire wood. So now log rollings' Is
a thing no more and Will soon be for
gotten Just like the old songs. Liza
Jane Run. Niger, Rum Chicken in
de Bread Tray and lot Of others that
l want the words to-"
THAT reminds me-. he said, that
there is man from Dnwiddie Coun-
ty who says there were plenty of folks
round the courthouse and the cross
roads and Darvills and the Five Forks
that knew all of these old songs Well,
] hope they will send the words to The
Times Dispatch like SO many in other
places have done"
Somehow ! can't argue with that
Dinwiddie man. He told me that Din
widdie was ahead OF all the counties
In the State in everything you might
mine to name. When l aske him how
about mountains. he said they had
them too. long time ago, and it was
the first county to push them down
into China. / wish they would push
ME some words TO the old darby songs.
S. =.