Читать книгу Nights With Uncle Remus: Myths and Legends of the Old Plantation - Joel Chandler Harris - Страница 4

"Demazana, Demazana, Child of my mother, Open this cave to me. The swallows can enter it. It has two apertures."

The cannibal's voice was hoarse, and the girl would not let him in. Finally, he has his throat burned with a hot iron, his voice is changed, and the girl is deceived. He enters and captures her. Compare this with the story of the Pigs, and also with the group of stories of which Daddy Jack's "Cutta Cord-la!" is the most characteristic. In Middle Georgia, it will be observed, Brother Rabbit and his children are substituted for the boy and his sister; though Miss Devereux, of Raleigh, North Carolina, who, together with her father, Mr. John Devereux, has laid the writer under many obligations, gathered a story among the North Carolina negroes in which the boy and the sister appear. But to return to the Kaffir story: When the cannibal is carrying Demazana away, she drops ashes along the path. Demane returns shortly after with a swarm of bees which he has captured, and finds his sister gone. By means of the ashes, he follows the path until he comes to the cannibal's house. The family are out gathering wood, but the cannibal himself is at home, and has just put Demazana in a big bag where he intends to keep her until the fire is made. The brother asks for a drink of water. The cannibal says he will get him some if he will promise not to touch his bag. Demane promises; but, while the cannibal is gone for the water, he takes his sister out of the bag and substitutes the swarm of bees. When the cannibal returns with the water, his family also return with the firewood. He tells his wife there is something nice in the bag, and asks her to bring it. She says it bites. He then drives them all out, closes the door, and opens the bag. The bees fly out and sting him about the head and eyes until he can no longer see. Compare this with the negro story (No. LXX.) of how Brother Fox captures Brother Terrapin. Brother Terrapin is rescued by Brother Rabbit, who substitutes a hornet's nest. This story was told to the writer by a colored Baptist preacher of Atlanta, named Robert Dupree, and also by a Henry County negro, named George Ellis.

Compare, also, the Kaffir "Story of the Great Chief of the Animals"[i_11] with the negro story of "The Fate of Mr. Jack Sparrow."[i_12] In the Kaffir story, a woman sees the chief of the animals and calls out that she is hunting for her children. The animal replies: "Come nearer; I cannot hear you." He then swallows the woman. In the negro story, Mr. Jack Sparrow has something to tell Brother Fox; but the latter pretends he is deaf, and asks Jack Sparrow to jump on his tail, on his back, and finally on his tooth. There is a variant of this story current among the coast negroes where the Alligator is substituted for the Fox. The Kaffir "Story of the Hare" is almost identical with the story of Wattle Weasel in the present volume. The story of Wattle Weasel was among those told by the railroad hands at Norcross, but had been previously sent to the writer by a lady in Selma, Alabama, and by a correspondent in Galveston. In another Kaffir story, the Jackal runs into a hole under a tree, but the Lion catches him by the tail. The Jackal cries out: "That is not my tail you have hold of. It is a root of the tree. If you don't believe, take a stone and strike it and see if any blood comes." The Lion goes to hunt for a stone, and the Jackal crawls far into the hole. In the first volume of Uncle Remus, Brother Fox tries to drown Brother Terrapin; but the latter declares that his tail is a stump-root, and so escapes. The Amazonian Indians tell of a Jaguar who catches a Tortoise by the hind leg as he is disappearing in his hole; but the Tortoise convinces him that he is holding a tree-root.[i_13] In the Kaffir story of the Lion and the Jackal, the latter made himself some horns from beeswax in order to attend a meeting of the horned cattle. He sat near the fire and went to sleep, and the horns melted, so that he was discovered and pursued by the Lion. In a negro story that is very popular, Brother Fox ties two sticks to his head, and attends the meeting of the horned cattle, but is cleverly exposed by Brother Rabbit.

There is a plantation proverb current among the negroes which is very expressive. Thus, when one accidentally steps in mud or filth, he consoles himself by saying "Good thing foot aint got no nose." Among the Kaffirs there is a similar proverb—"The foot has no nose,"—but Mr. Theal's educated natives have given it a queer meaning. It is thus interpreted: "This proverb is an exhortation to be hospitable. It is as if one said: Give food to the traveller, because when you are on a journey your foot will not be able to smell out a man whom you have turned from your door, but, to your shame, may carry you to his." It need not be said that this is rather ahead of even the educated Southern negroes.

To compare the negro stories in the present volume with those translated by Bleek[i_14] would extend this introduction beyond its prescribed limits, but such a comparison would show some very curious parallels. It is interesting to observe, among other things, that the story of How the Tortoise Outran the Deer—current among the Amazonian Indians, and among the negroes of the South—the deer sometimes becoming the Rabbit in the South, and the carapato, or cow-tick, sometimes taking the place of the Tortoise on the Amazonas—has a curious counterpart in the Hottentot Fables.[i_15] One day, to quote from Bleek, "the Tortoises held a council how they might hunt Ostriches, and they said: 'Let us, on both sides, stand in rows, near each other, and let one go to hunt the Ostriches, so that they must flee along through the midst of us.' They did so, and as they were many, the Ostriches were obliged to run along through the midst of them. During this they did not move, but, remaining always in the same places, called each to the other: 'Are you there?' and each one answered: 'I am here.' The Ostriches, hearing this, ran so tremendously that they quite exhausted their strength, and fell down. Then the Tortoises assembled by and by at the place where the Ostriches had fallen, and devoured them." There is also a curious variant[i_16] of the negro story of how Brother Rabbit escapes from Brother Fox by persuading him to fold his hands and say grace. In the Hottentot story, the Jackal catches the Cock, and is about to eat him, when the latter says: "Please pray before you kill me, as the white man does." The Jackal desires to know how the white man prays. "He folds his hands in praying," says the Cock. This the Jackal does, but the Cock tells the Jackal he should also shut his eyes. Whereupon the Cock flies away.

In his preface, Bleek says that the Hottentot fable of the White Man and the Snake is clearly of European origin; but this is at least doubtful. The Man rescues the Snake from beneath a rock, whereupon the Snake announces her intention of biting her deliverer. The matter is referred to the Hyena, who says to the Man: "If you were bitten, what would it matter?" But the Man proposed to consult other wise people before being bit, and after a while they met the Jackal. The case was laid before him. The Jackal said he would not believe that the Snake could be covered by a stone so that she could not rise, unless he saw it with his two eyes. The Snake submitted to the test, and when she was covered by the stone the Jackal advised the Man to go away and leave her. Now, there is not only a variant of this story current among the Southern negroes (which is given in the present volume), where Brother Rabbit takes the place of the Man, Brother Wolf the place of the Snake, and Brother Terrapin the place of the Jackal, but Dr. Couto de Magalhães[i_17] gives in modern Tupi a story where the Fox or Opossum finds a Jaguar in a hole. He helps the Jaguar out, and the latter then threatens to eat him. The Fox or Opossum proposes to lay the matter before a wise man who is passing by, with the result that the Jaguar is placed back in the hole and left there.

With respect to the Tortoise myths, and other animal stories gathered on the Amazonas, by Professor Hartt and Mr. Herbert Smith, it may be said that all or nearly all of them have their variants among the negroes of the Southern plantations. This would constitute a very curious fact if the matter were left where Professor Hartt left it when his monograph was written. In that monograph[i_18] he says: "The myths I have placed on record in this little paper have, without doubt, a wide currency on the Amazonas, but I have found them only among the Indian population, and they are all collected in the Lingua Geral. All my attempts to obtain myths from the negroes on the Amazonas proved failures. Dr. Couto de Magalhães, who has recently followed me in these researches, has had the same experience. The probability, therefore, seems to be that the myths are indigenous, but I do not yet consider the case proven." Professor Hartt lived to prove just the contrary; but, unfortunately, he did not live to publish the result of his investigations. Mr. Orville A. Derby, a friend of Professor Hartt, writes as follows from Rio de Janeiro:

Dear Sir—In reading the preface to Uncle Remus,[i_19] it occurred to me that an observation made by my late friend Professor Charles Fred Hartt would be of interest to you.

At the time of the publication of his Amazonian Tortoise Myths, Professor Hartt was in doubt whether to regard the myths of the Amazonian Indians as indigenous or introduced from Africa. To this question he devoted a great deal of attention, making a careful and, for a long time, fruitless search among the Africans of this city for some one who could give undoubted African myths. Finally he had the good fortune to find an intelligent English-speaking Mina black, whose only knowledge of Portuguese was a very few words which he had picked up during the short time he had been in this country, a circumstance which strongly confirms his statement that the myths related by him were really brought from Africa. From this man Professor Hartt obtained variants of all or nearly all of the best known Brazilian animal myths, and convinced himself that this class is not native to this country. The spread of these myths among the Amazonian Indians is readily explained by the intimate association of the two races for over two hundred years, the taking character of the myths, and the Indian's love for stories of this class, in which he naturally introduces the animals familiar to him. … Yours truly,

Orville A. Derby.

Caixa em Correio, No. 721, Rio de Janeiro.

Those who are best acquainted with the spirit, movement, and motive of African legends will accept Mr. Derby's statement as conclusive. It has been suspected even by Professor J. W. Powell, of the Smithsonian Institution, that the Southern negroes obtained their myths and legends from the Indians; but it is impossible to adduce in support of such a theory a scintilla of evidence that cannot be used in support of just the opposite theory, namely, that the Indians borrowed their stories from the negroes. The truth seems to be that, while both the Indians and the negroes have stories peculiar to their widely different races and temperaments, and to their widely different ideas of humor, the Indians have not hesitated to borrow from the negroes. The "Tar Baby" story, which is unquestionably a negro legend in its conception, is current among many tribes of Indians. So with the story of how the Rabbit makes a riding-horse of the Fox or the Wolf. This story is also current among the Amazonian Indians. The same may be said of the negro coast story "Why the Alligator's Back is Rough." Mr. W. O. Tuggle, of Georgia, who has recently made an exhaustive study of the folk-lore of the Creek Indians, has discovered among them many legends, which were undoubtedly borrowed from the negroes, including those already mentioned, the story of how the Terrapin outran the Deer, and the story of the discontented Rabbit, who asks his Creator to give him more sense. In the negro legend, it will be observed, the Rabbit seeks out Mammy-Bammy Big-Money, the old Witch-Rabbit. It may be mentioned here, that the various branches of the Algonkian family of Indians allude to the Great White Rabbit as their common ancestor.[i_20] All inquiries among the negroes, as to the origin and personality of Mammy-Bammy Big-Money, elicit but two replies. Some know, or even pretend to know, nothing about her. The rest say, with entire unanimity, "Hit 's des de ole Witch-Rabbit w'at you done year'd talk un 'fo' now." Mrs. Prioleau of Memphis sent the writer a negro story in which the name "Big-Money" was vaguely used. It was some time before that story could be verified. In conversation one day with a negro, casual allusion was made to "Big-Money." "Aha!" said the negro, "now I know. You talkin' 'bout ole Mammy-Bammy Big-Money," and then he went on to tell, not only the story which Mrs. Prioleau had kindly sent, but the story of Brother Rabbit's visit to the old Witch-Rabbit.

Mr. Tuggle's collection of Creek legends will probably be published under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, and it will form a noteworthy contribution to the literature of American folk-lore. In the Creek version of the origin of the ocean, the stream which the Lion jumps across is called Throwing-Hot-Ashes-on-You. Another Creek legend, which bears the ear-marks of the negroes, but which the writer has been unable to find among them, explains why the 'Possum has no hair on his tail. It seems that Noah, in taking the animals into the ark, forgot the 'Possums; but a female 'Possum clung to the side of the vessel, and her tail dragging in the water, all the hair came off. No male 'Possum, according to the story, was saved. Mr. Tuggle has also found among the Creeks a legend which gives the origin of fire. One time, in the beginning, the people all wanted fire, and they came together to discuss the best plan of getting it. It was finally agreed that the Rabbit (Chufee) should go for it. He went across the great water to the east, and was there received with acclamation as a visitor from the New World. A great dance was ordered in his honor. They danced around a large fire, and the Rabbit entered the circle dressed very gayly. He had a peculiar cap upon his head, and in this cap, in place of feathers, he had stuck four sticks of resin, or resinous pine. As the people danced, they came near the fire in the centre of the circle, and the Rabbit also approached near the fire. Some of the dancers would reach down and touch the fire as they danced, while the Rabbit, as he came near the fire, would bow his head to the flame. No one thought anything of this, and he continued to bow to the fire, each time bowing his head lower. At last he touched the flame with his cap, and the sticks of resin caught on fire and blazed forth. Away he ran, the people pursuing the sacrilegious visitor. The Rabbit ran to the great water, plunged in, and swam away to the New World; and thus was fire obtained for the people.

The student of folk-lore who will take into consideration the widely differing peculiarities and characteristics of the negroes and the Indians, will have no difficulty, after making due allowance for the apparent universality of all primitive folk-stories, in distinguishing between the myths or legends of the two races, though it sometimes happens, as in the case of the negro story of the Rabbit, the Wildcat, and the Turkeys, that the stories are built upon until they are made to fit the peculiarities of the race that borrows them. The Creek version of the Rabbit, Wildcat, and Turkey story is to the effect that the Wildcat pretended to be dead, and the Rabbit persuaded the Turkeys to go near him. When they are near enough, the Rabbit exclaims: "Jump up and catch a red-leg! jump up and catch a red-leg!" The Wildcat catches one, and proceeds to eat it, whereupon the Turkeys pursue the Rabbit, and peck and nip him until his tail comes off, and this is the reason the Rabbit has a short tail. The Creeks, as well as other tribes, were long in contact with the negroes, some of them were owners of slaves, and it is perhaps in this way that the animal stories of the two races became in a measure blended. The discussion of this subject cannot be pursued here, but it is an interesting one. It offers a wide field for both speculation and investigation.

The "Cutta Cord-la" story (p. 241) of Daddy Jack is in some respects unique. It was sent to the writer by Mrs. Martha B. Washington, of Charleston, South Carolina, and there seems to be no doubt that it originated in San Domingo or Martinique. The story of how Brother Rabbit drove all the other animals out of the new house they had built, by firing a cannon and pouring a tub of water down the stairway, has its variant in Demerara. Indeed, it was by means of this variant, sent by Mr. Wendell P. Garrison, of "The Nation" (New York), that the negro story was procured.

In the introduction to the first volume of Uncle Remus, a lame apology was made for inflicting a book of dialect upon the public. Perhaps a similar apology should be made here; but the discriminating reader does not need to be told that it would be impossible to separate these stories from the idiom in which they have been recited for generations. The dialect is a part of the legends themselves, and to present them in any other way would be to rob them of everything that gives them vitality. The dialect of Daddy Jack, which is that of the negroes on the Sea Islands and the rice plantations, though it may seem at first glance to be more difficult than that of Uncle Remus, is, in reality, simpler and more direct. It is the negro dialect in its most primitive state—the "Gullah" talk of some of the negroes on the Sea Islands, being merely a confused and untranslatable mixture of English and African words. In the introductory notes to "Slave Songs of the United States" may be found an exposition of Daddy Jack's dialect as complete as any that can be given here. A key to the dialect may be given very briefly. The vocabulary is not an extensive one—more depending upon the manner, the form of expression, and the inflection, than upon the words employed. It is thus an admirable vehicle for story-telling. It recognizes no gender, and scorns the use of the plural number except accidentally. "'E" stands for "he" "she" or "it," and "dem" may allude to one thing, or may include a thousand. The dialect is laconic and yet rambling, full of repetitions, and abounding in curious elisions, that give an unexpected quaintness to the simplest statements. A glance at the following vocabulary will enable the reader to understand Daddy Jack's dialect perfectly, though allowance must be made for inversions and elisions.

B'er, brother. Beer, bear. Bittle, victuals. Bret, breath Buckra, white man, overseer, boss Churrah, churray, spill, splash Da, the, that Dey, there Dey-dey, here, down there, right here Enty, ain't he? an exclamation of astonishment or assent Gwan, going Leaf, leave Lif, live Lil, lil-a, or lilly, little Lun, learn Mek, make Neat', or nead, underneath, beneath Oona, you, all of you Sem, same Shum, see them, saw them Tam, time 'Tan', stand Tankee, thanks, thank you Tark, or tahlk, talk Teer, tear Tek, take T'ink, or t'ought, think, thought T'row, throw Titty, or titter, sissy, sister Trute, truth Turrer, or tarrah, the other Tusty, thirsty Urrer, other Wey, where Wun, when Wut, what Y'et or ut, earth Yeddy, or yerry, heard, hear Yent, ain't, is n't.

The trick of adding a vowel to sound words is not unpleasing to the ear. Thus: "I bin-a wait fer you; come-a ring-a dem bell. Wut mek-a (or mekky) you stay so?" "Yeddy," "yerry," and probably "churry" are the result of this—heard-a, yeard-a, yeddy; hear-a, year-a, yerry; chur-a, churray. When "eye" is written "y-eye," it is to be pronounced "yi." In such words as "back," "ax," a has the sound of ah. They are written "bahk," "ahx."

Professor J. A. Harrison of the Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, has recently written a paper on "The Creole Patois of Louisiana,"[i_21] which is full of interest to those interested in the study of dialects. In the course of his paper, Professor Harrison says: "Many philologists have noted the felicitous [Greek: aithiopizein] of Uncle Remus in the negro dialect of the South. The Creole lends itself no less felicitously to the récit and to the conte, as we may say on good authority. The fables of La Fontaine and Perrin, and the Gospel of St. John have, indeed, been translated into the dialect of San Domingo or Martinique; lately we have had a Greek plenipotentiary turning Dante into the idiom of New Hellas; what next? Any one who has seen the delightful 'Chansons Canadiennes' of M. Ernest Gagnon (Quebec, 1880) knows what pleasant things may spring from the naïve consciousness of the people. The Creole of Louisiana lends itself admirably to those petits poèmes, those simple little dramatic tales, compositions, improvisations, which, shunning the regions of abstraction and metaphysics, recount the experiences of a story-teller, put into striking and pregnant syllabuses the memorabilia of some simple life, or sum up in pointed monosyllables the humor of plantation anecdote." Professor Harrison alludes to interesting examples of the Creole negro dialect that occur in the works of Mr. George W. Cable, and in "L'Habitation Saint-Ybars," by Dr. Alfred Mercier, an accomplished physician and litterateur of New Orleans. In order to show the possibilities of the Creole negro dialect, the following Conte Nègre, after Dr. Mercier, is given. The story is quoted by Professor Harrison, and the literal interlinear version is inserted by him to give a clue to the meaning. The Miss Meadows of the Georgia negro, it will be perceived, becomes Mamzel Calinda, and the story is one with which the readers of the first volume of Uncle Remus are familiar. It is entitled "Mariage Mlle. Calinda."

1 Dan tan lé zote foi, compair Chivreil avé compair Dans temps les autres fois, compère Chevreuil avec compère

2 Torti té tou lé dé apé fé lamou à Mamzel Calinda. Tortue étaient tous les deux après faire l'amour à Mademoiselle Calinda.

3 Mamzel Calinda té linmin mié compair Chivreil, cofair Mlle. Calinda avait aimé mieux compère Chevreuil, [pour] quoi faire

4 li pli vaïan; mé li té linmin compair Torti oucite, le plus vaillant; mais elle avait aimé compère Tortue aussi,

5 li si tan gagnin bon tchor! Popa Mamzel Calinda di li: il si tant gagner bon cœur! Papa Mlle. Calinda dire lui:

6 "Mo fie, li tan to maïé; fo to soizi cila to oulé." Landimin, "Ma fille, il (est) temps te marier; faut te choisir cela tu voulez." Lendemain,

7 compair Chivreil avé compair Torti rivé tou yé dé coté Mlle. C. compère Chevreuil avec compère Tortue arriver tous eux de côté Mlle. C.

8 Mamzel C., qui té zonglé tou la nouite, di yé: "Michié Chivreil avé Mlle. C., qui avait songé toute la nuit, dire eux: "Monsieur Chevreuil avec

9 Michié Torti, mo popa oulé mo maïe. Mo pa oulé di ain Monsieur Tortue, mon papa vouloir me marier. Moi pas vouloir dire un

10 dan ouzote non. Ouzote a galopé ain lacourse dice foi cate dans vous autres non. Vous autres va galopper une la course dix fois quatre

11 narpan; cila qui sorti divan, ma maïe avé li. Apé dimin arpents; cela qui sortir devant, moi va marier avec lui. Après demain

12 dimance, ouzote a galopé." Yé parti couri, compair Chivreil dimanche, vous autres va galopper." Eux partir courir, compère Chevreuil

13 zo tchor contan; compair Torti apé zonglé li-minme: son cœur content; compère Tortue après songer lui-même:

14 "Dan tan pacé, mo granpopa bate compair Lapin pou "Dans temps passé, mon grandpapa battre compère Lapin pour

15 galopé. Pa conin coman ma fé pou bate compair Chivreil." galopper. Pas conner (= connaître) comment moi va faire pour battre compère Chevreuil."

16 Dan tan cila, navé ain vié, vié cocodri qui té gagnin Dans temps cela en avait un vieux, vieux crocodile qui avait gagné

17 plice pacé cincante di zan. Li té si malin, yé té pelé li plus passé cinquante dix ans. Lui était si malin, eux avaient appelé lui

18 compair Zavoca. La nouite vini, compair Torti couri trouvé compère Avocat. La nuit venir, compère Tortue courir trouver

19 compair Zavoca, é conté li coman li baracé pou so compère Avocat, et conter lui comment lui embarrasser pour sa

20 lacourse. Compair Zavoca di compair Torti: "Mo ben la course. Compère Avocat dire compère Tortue: "Moi bien

21 oulé idé toi, mo gaçon; nou proce minme famie; la tair vouloir aider toi, mon garçon; nous proche même famille; la terre

22 avé do lo minme kichoge pou nizote. Mo zonglé zafair avec de l'eau même quelquechose pour nous autres. Moi va songer cette affaire

23 To vini dimin bon matin; ma di toi qui pou fé." Toi venir demain bon matin; moi va dire toi que pour faire."

24 Compair Torti couri coucé; mé li pas dromi boucou, Compère Tortue courir coucher; mais lui pas dormir beaucoup,

25 li té si tan tracassé. Bon matin li parti couri lui était si tant tracassé. Bon matin lui partir courir

26 coté compair Zavoca. Compair Zavoca dija diboute apé côté compère Avocat. Compère Avocat déjà debout après

27 boi so café. "Bonzou, Michié Zavoca." "Bonzou, mo boire son café. "Bonjour, Monsieur Avocat." "Bonjour, mon

28 gaçon. Zafair cila donne moin boucou traca; min mo garçon. Cette affaire cela donne moi beaucoup tracas; mais moi

29 cré ta bate compair Chivreil, si to fé mékié ma di toi." crois toi va battre compère Chevreuil, si toi fais métier moi va dire toi."

30 "Vouzote a pranne jige jordi pou misiré chimin au ra "Vous autres va prendre juge aujourd'hui pour mesurer chemin au ras

31 bayou; chac cate narpan mété jalon. Compair Chivreil a bayou; chaque quatre arpents mettez jalon. Compère Chevreuil va

32 galopé on la tair; toi, ta galopé dan dolo. To ben compranne galopper en la terre; toi, tu va galopper dans de l'eau. Toi bien comprendre

33 ça mo di toi?" "O, oui, compair Zavoca, mo ben cela moi dire toi?" "O, oui, compère Avocat, moi bien

34 couté ton ça vapé di." "A soua, can la nouite vini, écouter tout cela vous après dire." "Le soir, quand la nuit venir,

35 ta couri pranne nef dan to zami, é ta chaché aine dan toi va courir prendre neuf dans tes amis, et toi va cacher un dans

36 zerb au ra chakène zalon yé. Toi, ta couri caché au ra herbe au ras chacun jalon eux. Toi, toi va courir cacher au ras

37 la mison Mamzel Calinda. To ben compranne ça mo di toi?" la maison Mlle. Calinda. Toi bien comprendre cela moi dire toi?"

38 "O, oui, compair Zavoca, mo tou compranne mékié ça vou "O, oui, compère Avocat, moi tout comprendre métier cela vous

39 di." "Eben! couri paré pou sové lonnair nou nachion." dire." "Eh bien! courir préparer pour sauver l'honneur notre nation."

40 Compair Torti couri coté compair Chivreil é rangé tou Compère Tortue courir côté compère Chevreuil et arranger tout

41 kichoge compair Zavoca di li. Compair Chivreil si tan sire quelquechose compère Avocat dire lui. Compère Chevreuil si tant sûr

42 gagnin lacourse, li di oui tou ça compair Torti oulé. gagner la course, lui dire oui tout cela compère Tortue vouloir.

43 Landimin bon matin, ton zabitan semblé pou oua Lendemain bon matin, tous habitants assembler pour voir

44 gran lacourse. Can lhair rivé, compair Chivreil avé grande la course. Quand l'heure arriver, compère Chevreuil avec

45 compair Torti tou lé dé paré. Jige la crié: "Go!" é yé compère Tortue tous les deux préparés. Juge là crier: "Go!" et eux

46 parti galopé. Tan compair Chivreil rivé coté primié partir galopper. Temps compère Chevreuil arriver côté premier

47 zalon, li hélé: "Halo, compair Torti!" "Mo la, compair jalon, lui héler: "Halo, compère Tortue!" "Moi là, compère

48 Chivreil!" Tan yé rivé dézième zalon, compair Chivreil Chevreuil!" Temps eux arriver deuxième jalon, compère Chevreuil

49 siffle: "Fioute!" Compair Torti réponne: "Croak!" Troisième siffler: "Fioute!" Compère Tortue répondre: "Croak!" Troisième

50 zalon bouté, compair Torti tink-à-tink avé compair jalon au bout, compère Tortue tingue-à-tingue avec compère

51 Chivreil. "Diâbe! Torti la galopé pli vite Chevreuil. "Diable! Tortue là galopper plus vite

52 pacé stimbotte; fo mo grouyé mo cor." Tan compair passé steamboat; faut moi grouiller mon corps." Temps compère

53 Chivreil rivé coté névième zalon, li oua compair Torti Chevreuil arriver côté neuvième jalon, lui voir compère Tortue

54 apé patchiou dan dolo. Li mété ton so laforce après patchiou! dans de l'eau. Lui mettre toute sa la force

55 dihior pou aïen; avan li rivé coté bite, li tendé dehors pour rien; avant lui arriver côté but, lui entendre

56 ton monne apé hélé: "Houra! houra! pou compair Torti!" tout monde après héler: "Hourra! hourra! pour compère Tortue!"

57 Tan li rivé, li oua compair Torti on la garlie apé Temps lui arriver, lui voir compère Tortue en la galerie après

58 brassé Mamzel Calinda. Ca fé li si tan mal, li embrasser Mlle. Calinda. Cela faire lui si tant mal, lui

59 sapé dan boi. Compair Torti maïé avé Mamzel Calinda s'échapper dans bois. Compère Tortue marier avec Mlle. Calinda

60 samedi apé vini, é tou monne manzé, boi, jika samedi après venir, et tout monde manger, boire jusqu'à

61 y tchiak.[i_22] eux griser.

It only remains to be said that none of the stories given in the present volume are "cooked." They are given in the simple but picturesque language of the negroes, just as the negroes tell them. The Ghost-story, in which the dead woman returns in search of the silver that had been placed upon her eyes, is undoubtedly of white origin; but Mr. Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) heard it among the negroes of Florida, Missouri, where it was "The Woman with the Golden Arm." Fortunately, it was placed in the mouth of 'Tildy, the house-girl, who must be supposed to have heard her mistress tell it. But it has been negroized to such an extent that it may be classed as a negro legend; and it is possible that the white version is itself based upon a negro story. At any rate, it was told to the writer by different negroes; and he saw no reason to doubt its authenticity until after a large portion of the book was in type. His relations to the stories are simply those of editor and compiler. He has written them as they came to him, and he is responsible only for the setting. He has endeavored to project them upon the background and to give them the surroundings which they had in the old days that are no more; and it has been his purpose to give in their recital a glimpse of plantation life in the South before the war. If the reader, therefore, will exercise his imagination to the extent of believing that the stories are told to a little boy by a group of negroes on a plantation in Middle Georgia, before the war, he will need neither foot-note nor explanation to guide him.

In the preparation of this volume the writer has been placed under obligations to many kind friends. But for the ready sympathy and encouragement of the proprietors of "The Atlanta Constitution"—but for their generosity, it may be said—the writer would never have found opportunity to verify the stories and prepare them for the press. He is also indebted to hundreds of kind correspondents in all parts of the Southern States, who have interested themselves in the work of collecting the legends. He is particularly indebted to Mrs. Helen S. Barclay, of Darien, to Mr. W. O. Tuggle, to Hon. Charles C. Jones, Jr., to the accomplished daughters of Mr. Griswold, of Clinton, Georgia, and to Mr. John Devereux, Jr., and Miss Devereux, of Raleigh, North Carolina.

J. C. H.

Atlanta, Georgia.