The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial IssueVarious
History
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue
Various
African Americans -- Social conditions -- To 1964; Civil rights movements; Martin Luther King, Jr., Day; United States -- History
"W'en Tenie got quiet' down, so she could be 'lowed ter go 'roun' de
plantation, she up'n tole her marster all erbout Sandy en de pine-tree;
en w'en Mars Marrabo hearn it, he 'lowed she wuz de wuss 'stracted
nigger he eber hearn of. He didn' know w'at ter do wid Tenie: fus' he
thought he'd put her in de po'-house; but finely, seein' ez she didn' do
no harm ter nobody ner nuffin', but des went roun' moanin', en groanin',
en shakin' her head, he 'cluded ter let her stay on de plantation
en nuss de little nigger chilluns w'en dey mammies wuz ter wuk in de
cotton-fiel'.
"De noo kitchen Mars Marrabo buil' wuzn' much use, fer it hadn' be'n put
up long befo' de niggers 'mence' ter notice quare things erbout it. Dey
could hear sump'n moanin' en groanin' 'bout de kitchen in de night-time,
en w'en de win' would blow dey could hear sump'n a-hollerin' en sweekin'
lack hit wuz in great pain en sufferin'. En hit got so atter a w'ile dat
hit wuz all Mars Marrabo's wife could do ter git a 'ooman ter stay in de
kitchen in de daytime long ernuff ter do de cookin'; en dey wa'n't naer
nigger on de plantation w'at wouldn' rudder take forty dan ter go 'bout
dat kitchen atter dark,--dat is, 'cep'n Tenie; she didn' pear ter mine
de ha'nts. She useter slip 'roun' at night, en set on de kitchen steps,
en lean up agin de do'-jamb, en run on ter herse'f wid some kine er
foolishness w'at nobody couldn' make out; fer Mars Marrabo had th'eaten'
ter sen' her off'n de plantation ef she say anything ter any er de
yuther niggers 'bout de pine-tree. But somehow er nudder de niggers
foun' out all 'bout it, en dey knowed de kitchen wuz ha'anted by Sandy's
sperrit. En bimeby hit got so Mars Marrabo's wife herse'f wuz skeered
ter go out in de yard atter dark.
"W'en it come ter dat, Mars Marrabo tuk 'n' to' de kitchen down, en use'
de lumber fer ter buil' dat ole school-'ouse w'at youer talkin' 'bout
pullin' down. De school-'ouse wuzn' use' 'cep'n' in de daytime, en on
dark nights folks gwine 'long de road would hear quare soun's en see
quare things. Po' ole Tenie useter go down dere at night, en wander
'roun' de school-'ouse; en de niggers all 'lowed she went fer ter talk
wid Sandy's sperrit. En one winter mawnin', w'en one er de boys went
ter school early fer ter start de fire, w'at should he fine but po' ole
Tenie, layin' on de flo', stiff, en cole, en dead. Dere didn' 'pear ter
be nuffin' pertickler de matter wid her,--she had des grieve' herse'f
ter def fer her Sandy. Mars Marrabo didn' shed no tears. He thought
Tenie wuz crazy, en dey wa'n't no tellin' w'at she mout do nex'; en dey
ain' much room in dis worl' fer crazy w'ite folks, let 'lone a crazy
nigger.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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