"You ain't goin' nowhere."
Through Marse Harris I obtained a copy of a letter written by a negro
named Walter to Mr. W.H. Reeve of Vicksburg. Walter had looked out for
Mr. Reeve's live stock during a flood, and had certain ideas about what
should be done for him in consequence. I give the letter exactly as it
was written, merely inserting, parenthetically, a few explanatory words:
_Mr. H W Reeve an bos dear sir I like to git me a par [pair] second
hand pance dont a fail or elce I will be dout [without] a pare to
go eny where so send me something. Dont a fail an send me a par of
youre pance [or] i will hafter go to work for somebody to git some.
I don't think you all is treating me right at all I stayed with
youre hogs in the water till the last tening [attending] to them
and I dont think that youre oder [ought to] fail me bout a pare old
pance_
WALTER
Though I cannot see just why it should be so, it seemed to us that the
Vicksburg negroes were happier than those of any other place we visited.
Whether drowsing in the sun, walking the streets, doing a little stroke
of work, fishing, or sitting gabbling on the curbstone, they were upon
the whole as cheerful and as comical a lot of people as I ever saw.
"Wha' you-all goin' to?" I heard a negro ask a group of mulatto women,
in clean starched gingham dresses, who went flouncing by him on the
street one Saturday afternoon.
Pages:
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508