“Yer forecisters,” explained Daddy, “is dem uv yer _way back folks,_
wat’s born’d fo’ you is yerse’f, an’ fo’ yer pa is. Now, like my ole
marster, yer pa’s gran’pa, wat riz me in ole Furginny, he’s you
chil’en’s forecister; an’ dis nigger wat I’m tellin’ yer ’bout’n, he
waz my _fuss forecister;_ an’ dats’ de way dat I’ve allers hyearn dat
he come ter be black, an’ his hyar kinky; an’ I b’lieves hit, too, caze
er nigger’s de sleepies’-headed critter dey is; an’ den, ’sides dat’
I’ve seed er heap er niggers in my time, but I ain’t nuber seed dat
nigger yit wat’s wite, an’ got straight hyar on his head.
“Now I ain’t er talkin’ ’bout’n _murlatters,_ caze dey ain’t no reg’lar
folks ’tall; dey’s des er mixtry. Dey ain’t white, an’ dey ain’t black,
an’ dey ain’t nuffin’; dey’s des de same kin’ er _folks_ ez de muel is
er _horse!_
“An’ den dar’s Injuns; dey’s ergin ernudder kin’ er folks.
“I usen ter hyear ’em say dat de deb’l made de fuss Injun. He seed de
Lord er makin’ folks, an’ he ’lowed he’d make him some; so he got up
his dut and his water, an’ all his ’grejunces, an’ he went ter wuck;
an’ wedder he cooked him too long, ur wedder he put in too much red
clay fur de water wat he had, wy, I ain’t nuber hyeard; but den I known
de deb’l made ’im, caze I allers hyearn so; an’, mo’n dat, I done seed
’em fo’ now, an’ dey got mighty dev’lish ways. I wuz wid yer gran’pa at
Fort Mimms, down erbout Mobile, an’ I seed ’em killin’ folks an’
sculpin’ uv ’em; an, mo’n dat, ef’n I hadn’t er crope under er log, an’
flattent myse’f out like er allergator, dey’d er got me; an’ den,
ergin, dey don’t talk like no folks. I met er Injun one time in de
road, an’ I axed ’im wuz he de man wat kilt an’ sculpt Sis Leah, wat
usen ter b’longst ter yer gran’pa, an’ wat de Injuns kilt. I axt ’im
’ticklur, caze I had my axe erlong, an’ ef’n he wuz de man, I ’lowed
fur ter lay him out. But, bless yer life, chile, he went on fur ter
say,
“‘Ump, ump, kinterlosha wannycoola tusky noba, inickskymuncha
fluxkerscenuck kintergunter skoop.’
“An’ wen he sed dat, I tuck’n lef’ him, caze I seed hit wouldn’t do fur
ter fool ’long him; an’, mo’n dat, he ’gun fur ter shine his eyes out,
an’ so I des off wid my hat, an’ scrape my lef’ foot, an’ said, ‘Good
ebenin’, marster,’ same ez ef he wuz er white man; an’ den I tuck thu
de woods tell I come ter de fork-han’s een er road, an’ I eberlastin’
dusted fum dar! I put deze feets in motion, yer hyeard me! an’ I kep’
’em er gwine, too, tell I come ter de outskirts uv de quarters; an’
eber sence den I ain’t stopped no Injun wat I sees in de road, an’ I
ain’t meddled ’long o’ who kilt Sis Leah, nudder, caze she’s ben in
glory deze fifty years or mo’, an’ hit’s all one to her now who sculpt
her.”
But now, as it was getting late, Daddy said he was afraid to stay out
in the night air, as it sometimes “gun him de rheumatiz,” and wound up
his remarks by saying,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account