polk Lore~ Polk Tales
pace 4 77
It had done tuck de letter over three weeks to git to her. Lone tore de I~arster had died he had ~ib up hope er gvvine to Arkansas. .~hen dat letter rive, maw lowed dat de Missus she tuck arid started to cryin‘. All dat day she cry and read it over an over. De very next morning she called up all us, I wuz born den, and maw lowed dat I wuz a carrin‘ a su~:ar tit in ray mouf arid dat I had de cooter bones round my neck. Course I disremembers all cept dat what I is been told over and over. ~Vhen maw and paw went out~.dar, dey had one little chile. He wuz six years ole when dey got back here. One had done tuck and died fore dey lef here. Den me and my sister, we viuz born in Miss.

	~Dat wuz one glad day ~er us, kaise Missus lowed dat she vvuz a ~wine back to her paw in Uriian. All de niggers, dey started to danciri~ and à holierin‘ like dey wuz wile. Maw lowed dat some roiks dat libbed three miles away tuck and come to see us. Some o‘ dem called us slackers, er sometin‘ kaise we wuz a leavin‘; but others, maw lowed, dat dey wished dey could go asfer as Georgia wid us. But I is nebber liked Geor~gia m~tself. Missus gib de orders ±~er us to begin packiri ‚ arid maw said dat de way dem ni~gers v~orked wuz a dyin‘ sin. De Missus, she sell her mules and other stock, kaise we wuz a gwine to ride all~ de way back on de railroad train. It had jus broke through to Mise. Some o‘ de oie niggers lowed dat dey wuz feered to ride on dem things, bein as dey wuz dr~wed by fire. Dey thought de debbil, he wuz a workin‘ in de inside of dem. Maw iow~d dat if de Missus wuz not feered she would nQt le. ~e Missus was feered bout dem dat wuz not swine to ride on de train, but when she lowed dat dey could jus stay in Miss. Maw said dat dey
X	~

nebber did hear rio mo‘ bout dem bein feered o‘ de train.