Old Josh (Three Episodes: 20, 21 & 22)
Old Josh, in:
Battin’ of an Eye (1905)
(Episode: Twenty)
Josh: Silas, I tells yu back in ’57 why de whip falls fur de slave was bad. Yu battin’ de eye yu gits de whip.
Silas: dey likes to hear yu groan—de white folks, yah?
Josh: Yessum, an’ dey wants to punish yu some more. Dey even hangs you in de cold cells in de winter, by you’ wrist—you’ foots jes techin’ de ground—de iron bars of de cell cold…
(Josh hesitates to talk more, a tear in his eyes, Silas, just listen as Old Josh, now 90-years old, babbling on, tries to ketch his breath: Josh rocking back and forth in his wooden rocking chair on his porch ((it is Spring)), Silas, sitting by his side his hands tied around his knees, pipe in his mouth.)
Josh: Yessem, all dey long night in de mornin’ taken down. Den they gives me bread and cold water.
Silas: Does yu have to work den?
Josh: All de dey long, den hung up again, to breaks you’ will. Dont laugh none, dis better to weep, Ole Hightower doesn’t knows des, he give me to de Ritt for de month, an’ he gits even wit me…! An’ I git de ringworram in de back of de neck…!
2-8-07
Old Josh, in:
Hollerin’ Like de Roster (1897)
(Episode: Twenty-one)
Josh: Bo Sam, an’ Messa Whitehead met together today, a funeral guine be tomorrow?
Jordan: Messa?
Josh: Yu knows Messa de white lady in Ozark, but Bo Sam he never come ‘round much so yous never met him, he wuh yu call a bad nigger, but he run into a badder white man—he lookin’ fur a fight every wey he go, an’ he found one he git no fun from…; yessum, I hears ‘bout it today, hes walkin’ down de street in Ozark an’ he stop to ask wuh de pool hall is from Messa, dey done moved it since last been in Ozark, dat a few year’ back…he got eyes liken de crow and walk like de rooster, he does, he stare at de white woman too long, dere ain’t no wild cat left in him I hears when de white men take him…
Silas: He wuz laughin’ pa, an’ every nigger in Ozark wuz puttin’ de eye on him…he foolin’ ‘round with de Amos wife too, tryin’ to anyhow… an’ who no who else?
Jordan: Dere Bo Sam he a hangin’ in de farm yard outside of town, none dem niggers got use fur him anyhow, Bo Sam, dey did hug him over at Fanny Lu Farm, he wuz a hollerin’ like de roster, and I run down to Smiley’s ‘efore de white folk think I he friend.
Silas: Yaw, dat dey way it is pa, attera while, things git quiet, Bo Sam gone, he a-hollerin’ like de rooster….
2-8-2007
Old Josh, in:
A Nescience for Huntsville, Alabama (1904)
(Episode #22)
(Old Josh went to Huntsville, Alabama once, I mean twice once, and folks kind of felt he was a nescience in their city the second time, stirring up trouble you could say, you could hear him talking down in the center of town, in a little park with the black folk, just a talking away about nothing or something, that didn’t take place, not then anyhow, but some 14-years earlier. He and Hightower went down to Huntsville, back in 1864, he was still a slave then and there was an incident, more like a tragedy, he knew of that had taken place in 1849, but it was old news. Josh is telling his sons about it now, in a conversation ((there is also a poem added here, one Josh had Granny write down, over at the Smiley’s Plantation right after he got back home from Huntsville)) :)
A Noose (Nuse) Fur Huntsville
Ain’t nobody can die twice,
Not even chllun, or de mice
Jes one time, dat all jes one time,
By de rope, lasso, nuse it will do
It will do effin yu puts it ‘round de neck,
Dat dont worry me none, dont fret me atall
I is from Ozark, not Huntsville;
An’ de white folk dey find another nigger
Down her to kill…in Huntsville—
Cuss eyes going home!
#1688 2-10-2007
(Well, as I was saying, this is what he was saying, in the park down in Huntsville, he made a joke of it, a poem as you can see, Mr. Hightower didn’t know about it, or else he would have put a stop to Josh’s inciting the black folks, as he had done in ’49, he must had remembered the poem.)
Silas: Wat happen pa, to gis yu to make such de poem?
Josh: I tells yu son, it’ true as de dey is long, dere wuz dis here nigger girl, ‘I guine take mi chance,’ she say, and talk to de white boy an’ she gits hanged. She talks to him for de minute, an’ de white boy say, ‘Whys you walk on des side of de street, an’ not on de other?’ an’ she say, ‘Cussin I get hanged if I does,’ an´ he laugh, cuss hes from de east, he dont know Alabama, an’ de black gal she say, ‘Yu-all leaves me ‘lone ‘efore dey comes an’ gits me.’ An’ de white boy say, ‘Who guine comes and gits yu?’
Silas: Wat dey do to dey white boy!
Josh: Dey beats him like de egg in de pot, liken hes de robber, dey do, an´ dey hangs de nigger girl.
Silas: Dats it pa?
Josh: Well, de nigger girl she say ‘Yonder dis away to de street…’ and he finds his way, an’ de white folks finds him. An’ he say, ‘Eyes from de east…from Minn-a sota, somethin’ ‘ like dat. Dat back in ’49, it wuz, den in ’64, I goes back to Huntsville an’ I makes dis poem, I done red to yu, an´ de white folks tell Mr. Hightower to gits dis nigger out of town ‘efore we hangs him for talkin’ like he doss, ‘tant no lie son, so he takes me out of town ‘efore dey kills me.
Battin’ of an Eye (1905)
(Episode: Twenty)
Josh: Silas, I tells yu back in ’57 why de whip falls fur de slave was bad. Yu battin’ de eye yu gits de whip.
Silas: dey likes to hear yu groan—de white folks, yah?
Josh: Yessum, an’ dey wants to punish yu some more. Dey even hangs you in de cold cells in de winter, by you’ wrist—you’ foots jes techin’ de ground—de iron bars of de cell cold…
(Josh hesitates to talk more, a tear in his eyes, Silas, just listen as Old Josh, now 90-years old, babbling on, tries to ketch his breath: Josh rocking back and forth in his wooden rocking chair on his porch ((it is Spring)), Silas, sitting by his side his hands tied around his knees, pipe in his mouth.)
Josh: Yessem, all dey long night in de mornin’ taken down. Den they gives me bread and cold water.
Silas: Does yu have to work den?
Josh: All de dey long, den hung up again, to breaks you’ will. Dont laugh none, dis better to weep, Ole Hightower doesn’t knows des, he give me to de Ritt for de month, an’ he gits even wit me…! An’ I git de ringworram in de back of de neck…!
2-8-07
Old Josh, in:
Hollerin’ Like de Roster (1897)
(Episode: Twenty-one)
Josh: Bo Sam, an’ Messa Whitehead met together today, a funeral guine be tomorrow?
Jordan: Messa?
Josh: Yu knows Messa de white lady in Ozark, but Bo Sam he never come ‘round much so yous never met him, he wuh yu call a bad nigger, but he run into a badder white man—he lookin’ fur a fight every wey he go, an’ he found one he git no fun from…; yessum, I hears ‘bout it today, hes walkin’ down de street in Ozark an’ he stop to ask wuh de pool hall is from Messa, dey done moved it since last been in Ozark, dat a few year’ back…he got eyes liken de crow and walk like de rooster, he does, he stare at de white woman too long, dere ain’t no wild cat left in him I hears when de white men take him…
Silas: He wuz laughin’ pa, an’ every nigger in Ozark wuz puttin’ de eye on him…he foolin’ ‘round with de Amos wife too, tryin’ to anyhow… an’ who no who else?
Jordan: Dere Bo Sam he a hangin’ in de farm yard outside of town, none dem niggers got use fur him anyhow, Bo Sam, dey did hug him over at Fanny Lu Farm, he wuz a hollerin’ like de roster, and I run down to Smiley’s ‘efore de white folk think I he friend.
Silas: Yaw, dat dey way it is pa, attera while, things git quiet, Bo Sam gone, he a-hollerin’ like de rooster….
2-8-2007
Old Josh, in:
A Nescience for Huntsville, Alabama (1904)
(Episode #22)
(Old Josh went to Huntsville, Alabama once, I mean twice once, and folks kind of felt he was a nescience in their city the second time, stirring up trouble you could say, you could hear him talking down in the center of town, in a little park with the black folk, just a talking away about nothing or something, that didn’t take place, not then anyhow, but some 14-years earlier. He and Hightower went down to Huntsville, back in 1864, he was still a slave then and there was an incident, more like a tragedy, he knew of that had taken place in 1849, but it was old news. Josh is telling his sons about it now, in a conversation ((there is also a poem added here, one Josh had Granny write down, over at the Smiley’s Plantation right after he got back home from Huntsville)) :)
A Noose (Nuse) Fur Huntsville
Ain’t nobody can die twice,
Not even chllun, or de mice
Jes one time, dat all jes one time,
By de rope, lasso, nuse it will do
It will do effin yu puts it ‘round de neck,
Dat dont worry me none, dont fret me atall
I is from Ozark, not Huntsville;
An’ de white folk dey find another nigger
Down her to kill…in Huntsville—
Cuss eyes going home!
#1688 2-10-2007
(Well, as I was saying, this is what he was saying, in the park down in Huntsville, he made a joke of it, a poem as you can see, Mr. Hightower didn’t know about it, or else he would have put a stop to Josh’s inciting the black folks, as he had done in ’49, he must had remembered the poem.)
Silas: Wat happen pa, to gis yu to make such de poem?
Josh: I tells yu son, it’ true as de dey is long, dere wuz dis here nigger girl, ‘I guine take mi chance,’ she say, and talk to de white boy an’ she gits hanged. She talks to him for de minute, an’ de white boy say, ‘Whys you walk on des side of de street, an’ not on de other?’ an’ she say, ‘Cussin I get hanged if I does,’ an´ he laugh, cuss hes from de east, he dont know Alabama, an’ de black gal she say, ‘Yu-all leaves me ‘lone ‘efore dey comes an’ gits me.’ An’ de white boy say, ‘Who guine comes and gits yu?’
Silas: Wat dey do to dey white boy!
Josh: Dey beats him like de egg in de pot, liken hes de robber, dey do, an´ dey hangs de nigger girl.
Silas: Dats it pa?
Josh: Well, de nigger girl she say ‘Yonder dis away to de street…’ and he finds his way, an’ de white folks finds him. An’ he say, ‘Eyes from de east…from Minn-a sota, somethin’ ‘ like dat. Dat back in ’49, it wuz, den in ’64, I goes back to Huntsville an’ I makes dis poem, I done red to yu, an´ de white folks tell Mr. Hightower to gits dis nigger out of town ‘efore we hangs him for talkin’ like he doss, ‘tant no lie son, so he takes me out of town ‘efore dey kills me.
posted by Dennis and Rosa Siluk at 8:23 AM
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