" BRER RABBIT . . . SOT UP AN Cfritum PLANTATION PAGEANTS % JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS ILLUSTRATED BY E. BOYD SMITH McKINLAY, STONE & MACKENZIE NEW YORK 49988 COPYRIGHT, 1899, 8Y JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS AND HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED "PS 1 1*0. .5 CONTENTS CHAP. PASS I. AFTER THE WAR 1 " II. A VISIT FROM AUNT MINERVY ANN . . 18 * III. A STRANGE WAGONER 39* IV. SWEETEST SUSAN'S STRANGE ADVENTURE . 55* V. A VISIT TO BILLY BISCUIT . . . . 73 VI. MR. BOBS AND HIS BUBBLE .... 90" VII. A TALK ABOUT Fox HUNTING .... 109* VIII. OLD SCAR-FACE, THE RED Fox, DOES SOME BRAGGING 123 IX. BUSTER JOHN SEES HODO 138 * X. HODO GETS HIS BLOOD UP .... 156 * XI. CAWKY, THE CROW 173 XII. THE STORY OF MR. COOK . . . . 191 , XIII. FLIT, THE FLYING SQUIRREL .... 210 * XIV. THE DIAMOND MINE . . 228 * PLANTATION PAGEANTS. AFTER THE WAR. GENERAL SHERMAN had done the best he could for the Abercrombie place. He had waved his hand, and grim War shrunk away out of sight ; he had given a signal, and all the mules and horses and live stock that had been taken away by the foragers were returned in a jiffy ; he had lifted his finger, and a cordon of soldiers was placed around the house and the outlying buildings. Everything was in its place; so far as the eye could see, war had forcibly taken no tolls from the plantation. Nevertheless, when, on a misty morning in No- vember, the Federal commander bade the place good-by, and pushed his army southward along the Milledgeville road, he left the plantation in 2 PLANTATION PAGEANTS. very bad shape, so far as Buster John and Sweet- est Susan were concerned. Something was want- ing the place was n't the same. The silence that fell upon everything, when the army clink- clanked out of hearing, was something terrible. The horses and mules stood under the big shed and shivered dumbly ; and the cattle huddled to- gether on the western side of the gin-house, for the wind was from the east, and blowing with a penetrating moisture that was more than cold. There was no gossip among these animals that people think are dumb. They had been badly frightened by the hurly-burly that beset them; they might talk about it after a while when the sun shone out, or when the grass came; but meantime the east wind was blowing, and no matter how intelligent an animal may be, he can never tell what that wind will bring when it has begun to blow. Now the grass-eating animals know very well when a storm is coming. The flesh-eaters merely grow frisky and have a frolic ; but the grass-eaters make for shelter, and if they have a home to go to, they go there; but the east wind well, that is their problem, as it was Aaron's, only the son of Ben Ali never allowed it AFTER THE WAR. 3 to blow on the back of his neck ; so that when other people were going about complaining of rheumatism or neuralgia, or were in bed with pleurisy or pneumonia, the son of Ben AH was usually on his feet and in fairly good health. Well, on this remarkable day, the animals in the horse-lot and in the pasture were quiet and morose. They had been shaken up in the first place with their strange experiences, having been driven helter-skelter two or three miles from home in the wind and mist, and helter-skelter back again, with drums beating and bugles blowing, and nobody to explain it all. Old June, the milch cow, thought she had lost her calf, but after a while she felt it running along by her side, and it was standing under her now, a shiv- ering, shaky, shaggy thing that looked more like a ba-ba-blaek-sheep than a respectable calf. Anyhow, they all stood on the sheltered side of the gin-house, and were very quiet, as the steam rose from their backs and the fog issued from their nostrils. They were not in a playful mood, and there was nothing about them to interest Buster John and Sweetest Susan, when later in the day these young adventurers paid them a visit 4 PLANTATION PAGEANTS. of inspection. Old June moaned at them in a familiar way, but that was all the welcome they received. " I don't believe they Ve been fed," said Sweet- est Susan with a sigh. " Why, of course not," exclaimed Buster John ; " Aaron can't do everything." " Where are Simon and Johnny Bapter and the rest?" the little girl asked. Sure enough, where were they ? Where were all the men and women, and the boys and girls, who used to make the negro quarters gay with laughter ? Where was old Fountain ? Yes, and where was Drusilla ? This was the kind of day when there should be a fire blazing on the hearth of every cabin, if only to keep out the dampness ; but smoke was coming out of only one chimney, and even that was not a free and friendly smoke. It was a thin, wavering ribbon of blue, hardly vis- ible until the wind seized it and tore it to tatters. " I don't know what you are going to do," said Sweetest Susan, " but I am going to find Drusilla. I have n't seen her since last night." Sweetest Susan went toward the negro quarters, followed by Buster John, and as they went along OLD JUNE . . . THOUGHT SHE HAD LOST HER CALF AFTER THE WAR. 5 they were even more and more impressed with the silence that had fallen over everything. On all rainy days, except this particular day, so far as they could remember, they could n't go within a quarter of a mile of the quarters without hearing singing and loud laughter, or the sound of negroes scuffling and wrestling. But now the whole place seemed to be deserted. Big Sal's cabin was the first they came to. The door was open, and they entered. For a moment the interior was so dark that they saw nothing, but presently they could see Big Sal sitting on the floor, carding out her gray hair. Usually she wore it in wraps, but they were now untwisted, and, as she carded them out, they stood at right angles to her head, and gave her a very wild and ferocious appearance. She neither turned nor paused in the carding when the children stepped somewhat timidly in the door. People said she was sullen ; but she was very sensitive and tender-hearted, and always famishing for some one to love. The negroes thought she was both cruel and suspicious, and Buster John and Sweetest Susan were somewhat doubtful about her. For a woman of sixty years, who had known hard work, and trouble with it, she was well preserved. 6 PLANTATION PAGEANTS. "Aunt Big Sal," said Sweetest Susan, " where is everybody?" " Gone, honey, de Lord knows whar ; gone, honey, de Lord knows how." She turned as she spoke, and her hair bristling out gave her countenance such a wild aspect that the children involuntarily shrank back. They had never seen her with her hair down before. She raised her hands. "Be afeard er any an' ev'ybody, honey, but don't be afeard er me ! Dodge frum one an' all, but don't dodge frum me. Not frum me ! No, my Lord ! " " Are they all gone ? " asked Buster John. " Mighty nigh all, honey ; mighty nigh all un um. Dem what went wuz big fools, an' dem what stayed may be bigger ones, fer all I know. I 'd 'a' been gone myse'f, but I went 'roun' yander in de grave-yard, whar dey put dat cripple chile, an' sump'in helt me. I could n't go 'way an' leave 'im." She was speaking of Little Crotchett, who had been dead and buried these many long years. u Why did they go ? " inquired Sweetest Susan. " Huntin' freedom," responded Big Sal. " Yes, Lord, huntin' freedom ! I hope dey '11 fin' it; dat I does." AFTER THE WAR. 7 " Grandfather says all the negroes are free now/' said Sweetest Susan. " Did he say dat ? Did he say dat wid his own mouf ? Well, I thank my stars ! I 'm free, den! Me an' all de balance ! " " So Grandfather says," remarked Buster John. " Well," said Big Sal, " ef I 'm free, I better y get up frum here an' go ter work. What does Marster want us ter do ? I 'm gwine up dar an* ax 'im." The children went to the other cabins and found them empty, but in Jemimy's house they found Drusilla crying. You may imagine Sweetest Su- san's grief when she made this discovery. Dru- silla was ready with her tale of woe. " Mammy walloped me kaze I won 't go off wid de balance un um," sobbed Drusilla. " She say ef I stay here she got ter stay. I tell her I '11 do anything but dat ; I '11 tell lies, I '11 steal, but I won 't go off frum here ; dey got to kill me dead an' tote me. An' den mammy walloped me." " You need n't ter b'lieve a word er dat ! " cried Jemimy, who came in at that moment. " I tol' dat gal it would be better for we all ter go ef we wan ter be free sho 'nuff, an' wid dat she 8 PLANTATION PAGEANTS. fell on de flo' and 'gun to waller an' holler, tell I 'bleege to paddle 'er. I don't wanter go no wuss 'n she do, but dey say dat if we don't go 'way from whar we b'long at, we never is ter be free. Dat what de niggers on de nex' plantation say. I wuz born here, an' ef dis ain't my home, I dunner whar in de roun' worl' I got any." There was a break in Jemimy's voice as she said this. Buster John paid no attention to it ; but Sweetest Susan went close to her and leaned against her, and the negro woman put an arm around the child. It was as if a tramp steamer had thrown out an anchor within sight of the lights of home. " Who cooked breakfast this morning ? " asked Sweetest Susan. " Me," replied Jemimy. " I know'd somebody had ter cook." " I thought so," said the child. " The biscuits were mighty good." It was some time before Jemimy said anything. She rose and pushed the child from her, remark- ing : " I dunner what come over me, but ef I set here wid my arm 'roun' you, an' you talkin' dat away, I '11 be boo-hooin' 'fo' I know myse'f . Git up frum dar, Drusilla, 'fo' I break yo' neck ! " AFTER THE WAR. 9 Before Drusilla could make any preparation to rise, there came a loud rap on the door-facing. "Nobody but old Fountain," said the new- comer ; " old Fountain, as muddy as a hog, and harmless as a dove." Harmless or not, he was certainly muddy. As he came in, the legs of his pantaloons, rubbing to- gether, sounded as if they were made of leather. His coat was full of red mud, and mud was on his hat and in his hair. " Whar is you been ? " asked Jemimy. " Fur enough ter go no furder," responded old Fountain, shaking his head. " I went a-huntin* freedom. De kin' I foun' will las' me a whet ; I promise you dat." " You don 't tell me ! " exclaimed Jemimy. " I does," said Fountain, " an' I could tell yo' lots mo' dan dat ef I had time. Dey sot me ter work liftin' waggin wheels out er de quagmire, an' den a driver rap- jacketed me wid his whip well, you see me here, don't you ? An' ef we 're bof e alive, you '11 see me here ter-inorrow an' de day after." " An' dey wa'n't no freedom dar ? " questioned Jemimy. She spoke under her breath, as if afraid to hear the answer. 10 PLANTATION PAGEANTS. "I won't say dat," replied Fountain. " Fer dem dat like de kin', 'twuz dar. Some mought like de change, but not me. I bless God fer what I seed, but I seed 'miff. I went, an' I come." <( Why n't you stop an' wash de mud off in de branch ? " Jemimy asked presently. " No, not me," Fountain replied, still shaking his head. " Ter stop wuz ter stay. I know'd dey wuz a branch at home ; an' mo' dan dat, a spring. De idee wuz ter hurry back an' see ef de natchel groun' had been left ! " " I b'lieve you ! " sighed Jemimy. " I come mighty nigh gwine myself." " You 'd 'a' been sorry ! " exclaimed Fountain ; " you 'd 'a' been sorry plum ter yo' dyin' day. You see me?" Jemimy nodded her head. " Well, I been dar. I been right wid um. You can't call it freedom atter you wade thoo dat mud an' water." Some one else came to the door. " All eyes open ! " cried the newcomer. It was the refrain of hide-and-seek, and the children laughed when they heard it. They knew the voice of Johnny Bapter. " All eyes open ! " he persisted. " I 'm It. Ten, ten, double-ten, forty-five, fifteen ! All eyes open ? " AFTER THE WAR. 11 With that Johnny Bapter walked in. He was a thin-looking negro, with a long face, and a mouth that was always laughing. He would have been very tall, but he stooped a trifle, and there was a limp to his walk. One of his feet dragged slightly, but he was nimble as a squirrel for all that. His clothes were wet, but not muddy. He hit his wool hat against the side of the chimney, and it left its damp print. He looked at the chil- dren and pointed to the wet place. " I tuck its dagarrytype," he said. Johnny Bapter had once lived in town, and his adventures there, as he made them out, would have rilled a book ; and, at times, they were interesting. " I hope you-all been well," said Johnny Bap- ter ; " I 'm sorter middlin' peart myse'f ." " Whar you been ? " asked Jemimy. " Kinder see-sawin' 'roun', follerin' de ban's, an' keepin' off de boogers." " You did n't go wid urn ? " " No 'm ; not me ; I seed dey had plenty com- p'ny. Mo' dan dat, I seed um hit ol' man Foun- tain dar a whack er two, an' I 'lowed dat ez dey done come dis fur an' nobody ain't hurt um, maybe dey 'd git 'long all right. Dey ain't offer 12 PLANTATION PAGEANTS. me no money fer ter go 'long and take keer un um. I wuz over dar at de camps las' night, an' I see niggers fightin' over scraps an' I hear chillun cryin' fer bread after de lights done put out. So wid me, it wuz Howdy, and good-by, and I wish you mighty well. What mo' can a nigger do ? " " Dat 's so," sighed Jemimy. " Whar de bal- ance er our folks ? " " Oh, dey '11 come back in de due time," said Johnny Bapter laughing. " One '11 turn back at one branch, an' one at anudder ; an' dem what don't turn back at de branch will sho turn back at de river. Dey '11 all be home 'f o' de week 's out." Buster John and Sweetest Susan listened to all this, but said nothing. Their minds hardly sped the problem with which the negroes were wrestling. They were free, if they went away. r ould they be free if they stayed? It was a serious matter. " What dey gwine do when dey come back ? " Jemimy asked. " Work," exclaimed Fountain. " Yes, Lord ! work fruin sun-up ter sun-down." " An' dey free too ? " suggested Jemimy. She wanted to get at the bottom of the matter. AFTER THE WAR. 13 Johnny Bapter laughed. " Why, in town whar I stayed, de free white folks work harder dan niggers. De clerks in de sto' come rushin' ter dinner, an' dey 'd fling der hats on a cheer, snatch a mouffle er vittles, an' rush out wuss 'n ef de overseer wuz hollerin' at um." " Is dat so ? " replied Jemimy.