The Conjure WomanChesnutt, Charles W. (Charles Waddell)
General
The Conjure Woman
Chesnutt, Charles W. (Charles Waddell)
African Americans -- Fiction; Southern States -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
"'Well,' sez Mars Dunkin, sezee, 'I fotch dis nigger ober ter Mistah
McLean fer ter pay a bet I made wid 'im las' week w'en we wuz playin'
kya'ds te'gedder. I bet 'im a nigger man, en heah 's one I reckon'll
fill de bill. He wuz tuk up de yuther day fer a stray nigger, en he
could n' gib no 'count er hisse'f, en so he wuz sol' at oction, en I
bought 'im. He's kinder brash, but I knows yo' powers, Mistah Johnson,
en I reckon ef anybody kin make 'im toe de ma'k, you is de man.'
"Mars Johnson grin' one er dem grins w'at show' all his snaggle teef,
en make de niggers 'low he look lack de ole debbil, en sezee ter Mars
Dunkin:--
"'I reckon you kin trus' me, Mistah Dunkin, fer ter tame any nigger wuz
eber bawn. De nigger doan lib w'at I can't take down in 'bout fo' days.'
"Well, Ole Nick had 'is han's full long er dat noo nigger; en w'iles de
res' er de darkies wuz sorry fer de po' man, dey 'lowed he kep' Mars
Johnson so busy dat dey got along better 'n dey 'd 'a' done ef de noo
nigger had nebber come.
"De fus' thing dat happen', Mars Johnson sez ter dis yer noo man:--
"'W'at 's yo' name, Sambo?'
"'My name ain' Sambo,' 'spon' de noo nigger.
"'Did I ax you w'at yo' name wa'n't?' sez Mars Johnson. 'You wants ter
be pa'tic'lar how you talks ter me. Now, w'at is yo' name, en whar did
you come fum?'
"'I dunno my name,' sez de nigger, 'en I doan 'member whar I come fum.
My head is all kin' er mix' up.'
"'Yas,' sez Mars Johnson, 'I reckon I'll ha' ter gib you sump'n fer ter
cl'ar yo' head. At de same time, it'll l'arn you some manners, en atter
dis mebbe you'll say "suh" w'en you speaks ter me.'
"Well, Mars Johnson haul' off wid his rawhide en hit de noo nigger once.
De noo man look' at Mars Johnson fer a minute ez ef he did n' know w'at
ter make er dis yer kin' er l'arnin'. But w'en de oberseah raise' his
w'ip ter hit him ag'in, de noo nigger des haul' off en made fer Mars
Johnson, en ef some er de yuther niggers had n' stop' 'im, it 'peared ez
ef he mought 'a' made it wa'm fer Ole Nick dere fer a w'ile. But de
oberseah made de yuther niggers he'p tie de noo nigger up, en den gun
'im fo'ty, wid a dozen er so th'owed in fer good measure, fer Ole Nick
wuz nebber stingy wid dem kin' er rashuns. De nigger went on at a
tarrable rate, des lack a wil' man, but co'se he wuz bleedzd ter take
his med'cine, fer he wuz tied up en could n' he'p his-se'f.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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