Madisonville High School - Annual Yearbook (Madisonville, OH)

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me, too, I had ter be sure an' bring Mister Stiff up dar whur dey wuz fer dey were gwine ter begin right aWay, an' lawsy, ef dey- didnit begin ter sharpen them long knives of Doctor Samls before I could git away from de oiTice. It jist made de creeps run up anI down my'spine, for I thought maybe day might not wait but begin on me, them boys were so keerless like sometimes, Ispecially when dey wuz wit Doctor Sam. Well, I walks out kinder slow like, fer it wuz powlfu' dark an, I wuz beginning ter feel a little shaky like. All de folks had gone ter bed by dat time, fer de boat never got up Itill long abouts twelve or one dclock then ef de river wuz full oI ice like it wuz dat night. When I got down her do warf, sure enough der wuz ole Mister Stiff anI he looked like a giant, he wuz so big an' fat. Finally I got ter wondering if I could git him up dar all right without bruising him, for dey said ef he wuz bruised a least bit I would only git fifteen dollars .instead of twenty-live. Your mammy loved to dress those days an, she wuz a fine-looking gal, even of she is so big anI cross now, anI I wanted ter give her dat money ter go an' git one of them new dresses dat wuz up than- in ole Captain's window. I picked him up, but oh, my gracious, I never felt a barrel of flour heavier dan dat ol stiff. You know how steep ant rough dat ole place is down dar. Well, when I had iim ibout half way up, I jist sorter hiled him up a little on my shoulder, fir he wuz awful hard to carry ant he wuz slipping off, anI den I started up de hill again. Now, chilluns, pay strict ltention to what I says and Willum Hen, you jist stop pullin' Judy's hair, you rascal. 63 Well, sir, that ole stiff jist reached down an grabbed me by the legs. Did I drap him? Well, you know how ole Maude does when you lazy chilluns tries to get on her when she thinks it is Sunday anl she has a right ter rest jist same ez humans; you know she kinder draws all up together an' den you does-well, I jist drew up as much like Maude ez I could an, I flung that stijf clean over my head on them rocks ant ice anl den I jest stood an looked at him ltill he gave a great big moan which jist about skeered me to death, ani den I commenced ter run. No, 110 race horse could have caught me den. HYes, Judy, I ran faster dan that ole gray horse you heard 'bout at school, when its master wuz running away from the witches, for didntt I think Mister Stiif wuz mad anI wuz going to ketch me sure? Yes, Willum, I ran faster dan dat night when I had de chicken coop strapped on my shoulders, thinking it wuz full of nice, young chickens an, wonderinI how mammyId fix them fer dinner, anI when it wuz only stuffed wiI hay anl as I wuz leavirf the chicken yard Master Ray set fire to the hay. Yes, I ran that night too anl had te jump in de river to put de fire out fer I coulant git the straps undone. It seemed like when I got in de water wiI that coop on my back, I surely never would get out, but at last one of the young men who had been across de river to see his sweetheart, no you neeant know his name, saw me anr I thought he'd die a-laughing at me, but he got a boat anI rowed out anl cut de straps an' dat coop jest sank ter de bottom oi de river an' made a terriable noise, jest like some awful monster; then he took me ashor but jist ez I wuz gitting out I met Master Ray, but he

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1- o 0.0 0 Q .. IIAN ADVENTURE OF BUZZ HEN, AN OLD KENTUCKY DARKEY N a little Kentucky town on the Ohio River, there are few people who have not lived there or Whose grand- parents had not lived there since the town was first settled. All the people seemed to know each other and so it hap- pened that several young doctors, representing the oldest and best families there, were sitting in an office near a red-hot stove one evening in the latter part of January. They were laughing and talking, and, at last, the one they called Doctor Sam, whose office they were occupying, suggested that they play a prank on a young negro, who was always boasting that he was not afraid of anything, not even a ghost. This is how the story is told by the negro some time later to his children, when they had asked him to tell a story. ' I So you wants me to tell you that story I promised you last night? Hm, well, I suppose I must, so jist draw up your chars ant git comfortable; now be sure you keeps quiet. IiYes, Judy, you kin sit on de iioor dar, but hush, I'se gwine ter begin now. IIOne cold Winter night, when do thermometer wuz most down to freezin' ani de groun' wuz kivered wii snow which wuz most ez bad ez ice, young Doctor Sam told me ter go down an' meet dat up boat. 62 ItNo, Willum, the bus didn,t run everyday den an' ,sides Whoid ride nine miles in a bus when it wuz so cold ant When de wind made sich awful sounds ant de old bus wud rock jist like a cradle when some one is pushin' it? Yes, de sounds wuz enough ter make a niggerts hair 'come straight, 'specially down yonder in Ghostsi Hollow, Where ole Master John wuz killed. ISides, honey, you could come down on the big boat an' git a good dinner, an' if the Captain wuz in a good humor, he'd let a nigger jig sometimes an' sing too an' earn a quarter easy like you know. ttWell, dey told me ter go down an' git what dey calls a stiff. Datis a dead pusson, yer know, ant dey wanted me ter git him sots dey could 'speriment with it. Dey called me in tbout four oIclock ant told me ter go home an git supper an' then ter come back Ibout six. Well, When I went back dey were solemn like ant asked me ef I'd be afraid, ant I told tem no indeed, an' Pd sure go down jis ez soon ez I heard de whistle blow sois I'd be oh time. Dey kept me until de boat pulled out ant den told me ter go, but I must be veri keerful ant not let anyone se me fer you know there wuz lots 0, no-count niggers down on de warf an, ef dey had seen me dey could have took de job from me an' I wouldnit git the twenty-five dollars dat Doctor Sam ant his friens promised me. Dey told

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niver says dat I must pay for de coop, but jist asks me how I liked de chicken dinner. Where wuz I now, I kin hardly recollect, you chillun do 'sturb me so an' git me so flustrated its a wonder I ever tell you a story, an, When you do 'sturb me I jist naturally git interested in the thing you ask me about an' forgit about de thing I commenced on. Do you Imember where I wuz? When I wuz talkin' about runnin ! Oh, yes, I remember now. Well, when I heard dat stiff groan, I ran anl it; didn' take me any time ter reach dat office. Yes, der dey all sat, so I thought. Did I stop to knock? No sir-ree! I jist busted in dat door an' you orter have seen them jump. But I knowed no more for a long time afterwards, but when I came to der dey wuz sitting tround me. I thought my time had come ez I hadn't brought dat stiff an' I thought dat maybe dey wuz gwine ter 'speriment on me. Well, sir, I jist began ter pray anl beg Iem to wait a little while e2. I wuz sich a no-count, wicked nigger anI that ef I should die I would most certainly go ter torment, but ef dey would only waits 'till next time I would try an' be ready. You orter have heard them laugh. I oouldnlt speak another word fer I had heard dat doctors an' do people dey Isociate with wuz sich cruel pussons at those times, always laugh anl joke before they begins on a pusson, an, off I went again. When I come to the next time there sat your mammy anl she told me dat de young men had played a mighty good joke on me an' I deserved every bit of it for I wuz always sayin I wuant afraid of anything anI I orter have noticed Doctor Sam wuznlt dar when I started out, fer he wuz 64 up to most anything those days; an' I orter have knowed he wuz up to something, but she wuz right glad I had been skeered; now maybe I woulant boast so much. uShe told me the stiflI wuz Doctor Sam hisself anI When I gave him dat hike up, I jist nearly killed him, I hurt him so. Well, he thought he would have some fun with me, never thinking I would drap him or throw him over my head. He wuz in bed for nearly a month afterwards, fer you know it wuz some time 'fore they could git any sense out of me an' by dat time I reckon he wuz nearly frozen, it wuz so cold, anl he wuz unconscious when they found him. His head wuz hit so hardden too he wuz all tied up in sacks and ef he had wanted to he coulant hav gotten out. How did he grab me? Why, they had cut holes in de sack so's his arms wuz out; den dey put sacks on his arms and he coulant git 'em off an' he couldnlt walk for his feets were in sacks too. When he got well he said he wuz gwine ter git even wil me Idey all wuz in faco an? I wanted ter go lcross de river but your mammy said I had ter stay right dar anl face de music. So one night Mister Sheriff anl them young men knocked at my door. I heard 'em cominI an' I jest sat dar an' didn't move, not even when dey comed in. Mammy gave them chers anl' Mister Sheriff said, Now, Hen, are you going to behave yourself anI not go after any more stiffs er steal any move chickens? I told him I would go ter work, anl den dey told me I had ter bring your poor ole mammy anI come with them. Dey took us up a square er two 'till we comes to this here house; den Mister Sheriff gave me a big paper arr told me