~	65
38.

	“Dey uster do niggers prett~y bad erbaut dat funerals. Wen a niggar


did die why de rest of de niggers hed ter work en one nigger made de box whiler ernother nigger dug de grave en the nigger war jes civered up en den on de Fourth Sunday in August ebery year all de colored folks would take a basket dinner ter de church en each family dat had buried a nigger would pay de preacher ter preach the sermon foh dat darkie dat died. We ate dinner en supper at de church en sometimes the funeral foh some b de darkies wculdn‘t gît preached till next August. We went to dis funeral why we had big time talking wid our neighbors on of de dead. ~

	“Dogs howling rneand bad luck if he howls under de house why someone is goin ter die.

	“If er owl come around de house on holler a death will happen inde family fore de next day.

	.	nI remembers I wat a sitting in do house en er peokerwood war a pecking on de‘ house “Pure bad luck.“

	“I was working once foh Mrs. Shelton won a little wren kept trying ter


git in de house an I kep a shosin hit erway wen he got in somehow joe as soon as hit did Mrs. Shelton called me en I had a telegram from Chicago my neice war dead. She by dat I nos dat am bad luck. I dont 11ko wrens any how.

	t‘vrenn a cow loses hits cud, jod giv hit an old dirty dish ra~ en den de cow will ding her cud again.

	‘Sametinios a oow~ gits sieh en lay down en if you will fell her tail on de end it is all soft, ‘Dat cow hot holler tail, en less you split dat tail en fill de holler wid salt den bind hit up dat cow will sholy die.“

	“I asked Mary if she was superstitious and she said ‘no‘, cos niggers are edicatted ûese days en dey don believe in all dat tom-foolery. Dey rteber w . if de white folks did not tell us all dat rot.“ Mary