Short stories, American; United States -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
"Well, jes' den dey blowed boots an' saddles an' we mounted; an' de
orders come to ride 'roun' de slope, an' Marse Chan's company wuz de
secon'; an' when we got 'roun' dyah, we wuz right in it. Hit wuz de
wust place ever dis nigger got in. An' dey said, 'Charge 'em!' an' my
king! ef ever you see bullets fly, dey did dat day. Hit wuz jes' like
hail; an' we wen' down de slope (I long wid de res') an' up de hill
right to'ds de cannons, an' de fire wuz so strong dyar (dey hed a
whole rigiment o' infintrys layin' down dyar onder de cannons) our
lines sort o' broke an' stop; de cun'l was kilt, an' I b'lieve dey wuz
jes' 'bout to bre'k all to pieces, when Marse Chan rid up an' cotch
hol' de fleg an' hollers, 'Foller me!' an' rid strainin' up de hill
'mong de cannons. I seen 'im when he went, de sorrel four good lengths
ahead o' ev'y udder hoss, jes' like he use' to be in a fox-hunt, an'
de whole rigiment right arfter 'im. Yo' ain' nuvver hear thunder! Fust
thing I knowed, de roan roll' head over heels an' flung me up 'g'inst
de bank, like yo' chuck a nubbin over 'g'inst de foot o' de corn pile.
An' dat's what kep' me from bein' kilt, I 'specks. Judy she say she
think 'twuz Providence, but I think 'twuz de bank. Of co'se,
Providence put de bank dyar, but how come Providence nuvver saved
Marse Chan! When I look' 'roun', de roan wuz layin' dyah by me, stone
dead, wid a cannon-ball gone 'mos' th'oo him, an' our men hed done
swep' dem on t' udder side from de top o' de hill. 'Twan' mo'n a minit,
de sorrel come gallupin' back wid his mane flyin', an' de rein hangin'
down on one side to his knee. 'Dyar!' says I, 'fo' Gord! I 'specks dey
done kill Marse Chan, an' I promised to tek care on him.'
"I jumped up an' run over de bank, an' dyar wid a whole lot o' dead
men, an' some not dead yit, onder one o' de guns wid de fleg still in
he han', an' a bullet right th'oo he body, lay Marse Chan. I tu'n' 'im
over an' call 'im 'Marse Chan!' but 'twan' no use, he wuz done gone
home, sho' 'nuff. I pick' 'im up in my arms wid de fleg still in he
han's, an' toted 'im back jes' like I did dat day when he wuz a baby,
an' ole marster gin 'im to me in my arms, an' sez he could trus' me,
an' tell me to tek keer on 'im long ez he lived. I kyar'd 'im 'way off
de battlefiel' out de way o' de balls, an' I laid 'im down onder a big
tree tell I could git somebody to ketch de sorrel for me. He wuz
cotched arfter awhile, an' I hed some money, so I got some pine plank
an' made a coffin dat evenin', an' wrapt Marse Chan's body up in de
fleg, an' put 'im in de coffin; but I didn' nail de top on strong,
'cause I knowed ole missis wan' see 'im; an' I got a' ambulance an'
set out for home dat night. We reached dyar de nex' evenin', arfter
travellin' all dat night an' all nex' day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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