Alabanta	•1 (1‘T:~~‘)~~9	Susie R. O ‘13rien~ ~ ~ ~ ..
	-~t-‘J~, I .	J ohii Morgazi Sm! th, ~. ~
		 Uncle Tom Baker,~	~
	.	~	~ t :







	~	I recollects about de slabery days,“ said. uncle Tom as ne whittled shavings from a soft piece of white pine. “I lived on a plantation down in Perry County an‘ I reniembers a story bout somp‘n dat happen to me a way back dar.~
III	was a water boy for fifty fiel‘ han‘s dat worked in de
~-— - ~ -~	) 4~iy~


sUn all day long, an ‚ I ha‘da carry many a bucket 4~ de ~
p t~ ~‘~/ ~	~	CI
da4~-was one fiel‘ ober4~i w~	mos1~ of dein was workin‘ • De
spring run down between some willow trees an‘ it was powerful

cool down dere in de shad.e. I use‘I~lie on de moss an‘ let
my bare belly git cool an‘ put my face in de outlet of de spring ~			„
an‘ let de water trickle over my haid. Jus‘ about de time I		‚
~its a little rest one of denj n1~ers would caii:Twater ~oy~
Ering dat bucketi~ Den I grab up de bucket an‘ rw~ back out			                                            S
indehotsun.	~

“One d8~~3T, on my las‘ trip, I was mighty tired an‘ I flop ~
I ~ ?~ ~


down on dat moss wid de swe&t a~dripoin‘ froni i~y body, an ~

I knowed lt I done fell slap to sleep. Then I woke up, it was a1nos~ä~rk, an‘ I couldn‘t hear de slaves a-sln~ln‘ in de fiel‘s, so I knowed dat dey had pone home. I shake my haid, an‘ look ~bout rue, an‘ my eyes came to res‘ on a little black bear cub a—drinkin‘ outen de sprin;. He so was a cute little boo~ar an‘ I made up my mind. rl~ht den to try an‘ kotch him. I was jus‘ a little nigger ‘bout ten year old an‘ didn‘t have no sense, but I