The Tobacco Tiller: A Tale of the Kentucky Tobacco Fields — John Shaqi
The Tobacco Tiller: A Tale of the Kentucky Tobacco FieldsHackley, Sarah Bell
General
The Tobacco Tiller: A Tale of the Kentucky Tobacco Fields
Hackley, Sarah Bell
Kentucky -- Fiction; Tobacco farmers -- Fiction
"Yes, Lindsay," assented her father. A little pleased gasp escaped Miss
Lucy, but no one noticed it but little Mrs. Avery, sitting next her.
"Lindsay, he come by here this mornin' a goin' to my nephew, Simeon
Willises, and stopped a few minutes. He's lookin' mighty puny: said he
hain't felt well all this fall, not sence he got p'izened with Paris
green in Archie Evans' terbaccer last August. Archie, he would have him
to spray fer him, wantin' a man o' jedgement to do hit. Lindsay's been
plumb laid up fer about two weeks, he said. I told him he ort to 'a'
come here and staid while he wuz laid up, but he's been a stayin' at
Doggett's.
"He said he didn't allow to do no regular work this winter, and I put at
him to come and stay with us ontel spreng and holp the girls out. I told
him ef he'd jest come and stay, I'd give him his board, and his washin'
shouldn't cost him nary cent, and he agreed to breng his trunk and come
day after termorrer--Saturday.
"Lindsay's a mighty fine man--raised down hyonder whar I wuz, in Wayne,
though I never knowed him ontel he come to Simeon's to work. He used to
keep store down thar ontel he got burnt out, and sence then he's been a
croppin' in terbaccer part the time, and part the time travellin' around
fer his health, helpin' folks with their farm work and terbaccer when he
feels like hit."
"He's a mighty nice man," volunteered Miss Nancy: "Cousin Becky said
when he was workin' there, her stovewood box was always full, and when
she wanted to clean hit, she had to empty hit. They ain't many men
that'll do that!"
Miss Lucy said nothing, and the lights were too low for the warm color
in her face to tell any tales.
"Hit's a wonder, too," went on Miss Nancy, "he'd be so nice, bein' a
tobacco man: most them tobacco people are awful rough: they don't seem
to care for church goin' ner nothin' that way, and all their idy of
pleasure is crap shootin', and drinkin', and dancin' at them all-night
parties they have around among theirselves durin' the winter."
"Mr. Lindsay ain't no regular tobacco man, Nancy; he jest learned how to
raise hit when he was stayin' in Fayette," corrected Miss Lucy. "And
besides," she remonstrated, flushing at her own temerity, "I don't think
you ought to blame the tobacco folks so much; they don't have much
chance to learn refinement and genteel ways, but they ain't all rough.
Mr. Doggett's folks are as polite as anybody. And as fer goin' to
church, I reckon ef me and you was to work in the tobacco all day ever'
Saturday, we wouldn't feel much like dressin' up on Sunday. Some of 'em
ain't got suitable clothes to wear to church neither, and sometimes they
have to work on Sunday, too."
"It's hard for any one of us to put himself in a brother's place,"
remarked the minister gently. Miss Nancy said no more, and Mr. James
resumed his theme.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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