Old Josh in: "Pure Nigger," (-The Cemetary))1893: Part One))

Pure NIGGER


—Forward (a new Series)


A while back I wrote a dozen sketches called “Old Josh”, and got a lot of respectful feedback, liking the series. The story takes place in the 1800s, up to the turn of the century, around 1910, when the old man dies. Josh a Blackman from the south, taken out of New Orleans during a flood, at the age of ten, by Mr. Hightower, a white farmer from Ozark, Alabama, his mother whom perished in the flood, being the main reason. Thus, he is raised there, and has lived there ever since. The twelve to fifteen sketches or so, make up for a short novel at best. But here is another story. The language in itself, I learned in Alabama, in the back of shantytown, in Ozark, in l977 (some 30-years ago). The language is very distinct, and perhaps is embedded in the soil, of long ago, longer than they cared to tell me. It is the English language, adapted here, meaning, a dialect if you don’t mind, but sounds a bit different, or will once you read the story. You may find that several sounds in the same sentence seem familiar, don’t look for rules. If this offends you, then don’t go beyond this; the language is almost a chant here, as I remember it, and took notes on it, in which recently I re-found in my library, much of it.
Living in Alabama in the ‘70s, in this area and talking to the folks by the cemetery, they (the Negro, or black folks) were of an unusually breed indeed, in that themselves were of an unusually high type. Some had white and Indian blood in them. Here are some new sketches, done in the same format.

Old Josh was born in 1815, died in 1930, was born in Africa, and his mother was taken as a slave (when Josh was seven years old), they ended up in New Orleans.



Characters

Josh
Siles
Mr. Hightower
Jordon


-Contents

The Cemetery







The Cemetery
(Part One)) 1893))


(Josh and Siles, sitting on the small porch of Josh’s shanty, in the back of Mr. Hightower’s Mansion, Josh (in his late 70s) talking about his visit this evening to the folks whom live by the cemetery, with his son, while looking at the moon, and being scared by an old timer-friend, as he is himself an older, but seldom claims to be. His friend being in his 90s; in this community, there are many superstitions.)


Josh: “I been sittin’ on de rock lookin’ out to de cemetery jes as de moon was comin’. It was a nice, big, red moon. Look lik a ball er fire. An’ ya ‘gainst de moon dere was a dead spirittis snag on de top , an’ two limbs broke-off and day fall. I seen a frightening’ thing.”

Siles: “Why is you go to the Ozark Cemetery anyhow, dhe ole folks get the supersdition dhere, anyhow?”

Josh: “I see de sperrits snag on de moon and’ de man , old coot, he fighten’ me. Yessem, it was frightenin’. De spirrit, he done look like a buzzard, a natu’al bussard, dey is evil sperrits come to scare me. Ef you don’t believe me, you’ ant git to heaven, dem ole spirrits comes from de swamps, and New Orlens.”

Siles: “Pop, dey is no warnin’ here, an´t dhe ole coot is likene’ to your brother, an’ dont go on look’n’ to know too much ‘bout de spirrits, dey stay in de mind, ‘fore you know it, yous business is dhers.”



Note: Written 2-4-2007, second series. The first series “Old Josh” consisted of 17 Episodes. The second series “Pure Nigger,” (Old Josh and the Cemetery), will consist of about the same.