“What about your husband and the ‘forty acres and the mule,’ Aunt Matt?”
asked the ruddy-faced young man who had just arrived from the city to
visit his father and mother at the old home place on the farm.
“It’s fine weather, Mister Eddie, an’ de cotton an’ de corn is des
growin’ a inch or two ever’ night,” said Matt Tite, a tall, thin-faced
negress of the ante-bellum type, smiling.
“Don’t evade the question, Matt; tell these boys about Tite and the
carpet-baggers,” insisted the visitor. “Out with it, I want to hear the
story again.”
“Chile, ain’t you never gwine to fergit dat? I walked eight miles to git
here to see you, but ef I’d er knowed dat you wuz gwine to pester me
’bout Tite an’ de Ku Kluxes I sho’ wouldn’t a come.
“I’s done fergit de perticlers uv dat story.”
“You know enough to make it interesting; tell it.”
“Tite’s done fergit de forty acres an’ de mule, an’ ef I des wanter have
er fight, let me mention it in his presence.
“You know Tite wuz one uv Marse John Robinson’s niggers ’fo’ s’render.
Marse John wuz a powerful big man in dem times ef he is po’ now. He had
lots uv lan’ an’ niggers, an’ wuz mighty good to his slaves. Tite wuz a
good nigger, an’ Marse John làked him, an’ arter de war he stay on at
de ole place an’ seem satisfied till dem cearpet-baggers (dat’s what de
white folks called dem) fust come sneakin’ around, puttin’ de devil in de
niggers’ haid, promisin’ all kinds uv things, an’ given dem nuthin’ but
trouble.
“’Twuz soon arter s’render when me an’ Tite married. I had b’longed to
Marse Jeems Walkup, an’ a mighty good man, too, he wuz. When I marry Tite
I move to de Robinson place to live wid him, an’ we all git ’long fine
fur a while. Tite he wucked ’bout de farm an’ I hep ’roun’ de Big House.
Ole Miss Jane done say dat she been wantin’ me fur de longes’ sort uv
time.
“One night, when me an’ Tite start ’way fum de kitchen, I seed a rabbit
cross de road in front uv us, an’ I ’low right den dere wuz bad luck
ahead fur him an’ me. Ole Missus uster say ef a rabbit cross yo’ path
somefin’ bad woul’ sho’ happen to you.
“Sho’ nuff, chile, hit done come. Bad times ’gin on dat plantation an’
’roun’ dat neighborhood dat very night. When me an’ Tite git home dar
come ’long a strange white man, lookin’ lak er peddler, totin’ a police
on his arm. Comin’ nigh he say to me an’ Tite, ‘Howdy-do, Miss Robinson
an’ Mr. Robinson?’
“I look ’roun’ to see ef Ole Marses an’ Missus wuz dere, fur I knowed we
wuz no ‘Miss Robinson’ an’ ‘Mr. Robinson.’ But, bless yo’ sole, honey,
he wuz talkin’ to nobudy but me an’ Tite. I look at de man spicious lak
right den, an’ kinder git skeered. He ’gin to talk ’bout sellin’ us some
specs an’ julery, an’ sich lak, but soon he tell Tite dat he’s sont
dere fum de Norf to talk ’bout de comin’ ’lection. He ’low dat he’s been
heerin’ ’bout Tite, an’ tell him dat he’s one of de big niggers uv de
country ef he des only knowed it. Tite he say nuthin’ but de white man
des keep on an’ on.
“‘Yes,’ ’low de man, ‘dey tells me dat you’s one uv de mos’ prominent
cul’ud gentlemens in dis section uv de country. I knows dat’s so fur you
looks smarter dan de res’ I’s seed down here!’
“I seed Tite swell up a little when de man tell him dat. Niggers’ haids
des lak white folks’, dey gits mighty big sometime.
“‘Well, Mr. Robinson, dere’s a better day comin’ fur you an’ Miss
Robinson,’ ’clared de white man.
“‘I’s des fum de Norf, an’ come to fetch you good tidens. By dis time of
coase you knows who yo’ frien’s is. You had slav’ry; you’s gut freedum.
Dat’s not all, ef de ’Publikins gits in dis time you’s gwine to have some
uv dis lan’. Yes, you’s gwine to have forty acres uv lan’ an’ a mule to
wuck it wid. You, Tite Robinson, is to have de pic’ uv de lot fur you’s
gut so much sense.’
“Dat man sho’ did have a sharp tongue, an’ knowed how to please a nigger.
Tite’s eyes git mighty big while he talk ’bout de lan’ an’ de mule. But
all de time I wuz lookin’ at dat man an’ de way he dress. He look lak a
bad man. Me an’ Tite wuz not use to calls fum white men. No spectable
white person prowled ’bout ’mong de niggers lookin’ dat way. But ’t’wuz
none uv my bizness to meddle wid him an’ Tite. So I says nuthin’ an’ he
goes on wid his putty talk.
“After while he say to Tite: ‘Come inside an’ make a light; I’s gut some
pitchers to show you an’ Miss Robinson.’
“Dat wuz mos’ too much fur me, but I darsen’ cheep. Tite he goes in an’
lights de torch an’ de man he opens up his police an’ takes out some
pitchers. De fust ones had niggers wid chains on, an’ de overseer wid his
whup. Indeed, sir, dem pitchers had de po’ darkey in a bad place. De man
say dat’s de way it wuz in slav’ry time. Den he fotch out some wid Mr.
Nigger dressed up in fine clothes, wid yaller buttons, dis what de nigger
laks. Bless me, ef he didn’t have one wid Tite on a big chestnut hoss,
ridin’ ’roun’ de farm. It look so much lak de nigger dat I des laugh out
loud. An’ Tite he grin all over de face.
“‘Dat’s de way Tite’s gwine to look after de ’lection,’ said de man.
‘Dat’s ef de ’Publikins git in.’
“Chile, dat wuz a powful talkin’ man. His tongue go dis lak it wuz
loose at both een’s. When he shet up his police, after givin’ Tite some
pitchers to put on de mantel boa’d, he take de breff fum me by axin’ ef
he kin stay all night. Tite wuz so stuck on him dat he say ‘all right.’
So he stay, but slip out ’fo’ day nex’ mornin’.
“Dat talk an’ dem pitchers stir Tite all up. He’s not de same nigger no
mo’. De nex’ day he wuz mean to me, ’cause he seed fum de color in my eye
dat I lak no sich doin’s, an’ he had some words wid Marse John. ’Deed,
sir, he wuz des lak er stubborn mule. Nobudy coul’ do nuthin’ wid him. I
tole him dat he’d better quit foolin’ wid po’ white trash, fur you git
nuthin’ in dis worl’ ’cepin’ whut you wuck fur. But Tite he wuz done gone
’stracted on de forty acres an’ de mule. He des look at hissef on dat big
hoss an’ smile.”
“Matt, do you really think Tite believed he would get the land and mule?”
“Coase he did!” declared the old woman with considerable spirit.
“De same white man meet Tite an’ talk agin, but dat time I wuz away an’
hear nuthin’ uv it. Tite soon ’gin to talk ’bout callin’ a meetin’ uv de
niggers. Mo’ strange niggers dan I ever seed befo’ come dere to talk wid
him, an’ dey all act mighty bigity lak.
“Yes, sir, Tite wuz de big nigger in dem parts. Whatever he said de
’tuther niggers done. De ’lection come nigher an’ Tite gits mo’ triflin’
’bout wuckin’ fur de white folks. Him an’ Marse John had a dispute an’
Marse John knock him down wid a stick. Talkin’ woul’ do no good. De
crowds uv niggers kep’ gittin’ bigger an’ bigger an’ mo’ strange white
mens come to see Tite, an’ dey all’ers sneak in at night.
“De white folks lak Marse John and Marse Jeems Walkup ’gin to git tired
uv all dis foolishness. Dey hold a meetin’ demselves, at Marse John’s,
an’ ’scuss how to keep de cearpet-baggers off uv deyer farms an’ git de
niggers back to wuck.
“But, Lawd bless yo’ soul, honey, ’bout dis time Tite cut de highes’ buck
uv all an’ have Marse John ’rested an’ carried to town fur hittin’ him.
Yes, sir, a man wid blue suit an’ brass buttons come an’ git Marse John
an’ take him to Charlotte ’fo’ dat Freedman’s Bureau. You orter heerd de
niggers an’ white foks cryin’, an’ seen ’em takin’ on when de officer
driv’ off wid Marse John. Ole Missus took it mighty hard, so she did, an’
I wuz des as mad es I coul’ be. I knowed dat de devil wuz to pay den, fur
de white foks wuzn’t gwine to put up wid no sich es dat. Deyer day wuz
comin’ agin.”
“Did they put Grandpa in jail?” asked one of the excited children.
“No, honey, but dey mos’ done it. Marse John come back de very nex’ day,
but he wuzn’t de same man. He done gut mad an’ all de res’ uv de white
foks wid him. ’Deed, sir, dey wuz tired foolin’ wid dem cearpet-baggers,
an’ Marse John make Tite git out uv his house de fust thing when he come
back, an’ to tell de truf I didn’t blame him one bit, fur dat nigger wuz
des so mean dat nobudy coul’ git on wid him. Ole Miss Jane wuz pow’ful
sorry fur me but I had to go wid Tite. We rented a house fum a town man,
an’ move in. We wuz back fum de road an’ ’way fum de white foks. I never
seed sich a nigger es Tite; every day he wuz wusser dan de day befo’. Fum
’sociatin’ wid dem cearpet-baggers he gut high up. Dey done fill his ole
kinky haid wid highferlutin’ talk an’ idees. Every udder night he wuz at
some nigger meetin’, stayin’ till ’fo’ day in de mornin’. You woul’ never
know when an’ where dey wuz gwine to meet but dere wuz all’ers lots uv
’em dere. Sometimes dey’d meet at my house an’ it woul’n’t hold ’em all.
De way dem niggers talk when dey meet I des knowed somefin’ bad wuz boun’
to happen.
“Now an’ den, when Tite wuz off politicin’, I woul’ slip off an’ go see
Miss Jane, an’ hear whut de white peoples wuz doin’. Den I beg Tite
to let politicin’ ’lone an’ stay at home, but, no, sir, he knowed his
bizness. His haid wuz sot on dat forty acres an’ de mule, an’ I coul’n’t
do nuthin’ wid him.
“One day Miss Jane read fum de paper whut de Ku Kluxes wuz doin’ to
niggers down in Souf Careliny. You know where ’tis: des over de line down
here ’bout three mile? De piece say dat dey wuz comin’ dis way. She ’low
dat de doin’s uv mean niggers wuz gwine to fetch ’em here.
“An’ let me tell you, chilluns, it wuzn’t long ’fo’ dey come an’ putty
nigh skeered de niggers to deaf.
“But, ’fo’ dey come Tite done run plum mad on de subjec’ uv de ’lection.
I beg him to stop dat foolin’ an’ go back to wuck, but he des go on lak
he never heerd me. Why, honey, de fool nigger done ’gin to think he’s
gwine to be Gov’ner. De wust ain’t come yit, fur one day a white man come
’long an’ giv’ Tite what he say wuz a deed fur Marse John’s mill place.
Es he giv’ de paper to Tite he say: ‘Mr. Robinson (talkin’ to nobudy but
Tite), here’s de deed to de mill place an’ you kin have it surveyed as
soon as you laks, fur de ’lection is mos’ here an’ ’twon’t be long ’fo’
you kin git dem forty acres an’ de mule.’
“Tite, he take it an’ hide it under a rock. I seed him lookin’ at it, des
lak he coul’ read, when he know he don’t know B fum bull-foot. One day,
while Tite wuz in Charlotte, I slip de deed out fum under de log where he
hid it, an’ took it over to Miss Jane an’ she say it read lak dis: ‘Es
Samson lifted de serpent out uv de wilderness so I lifted dis po’ nigger
out uv $5.’
“Tite done giv’ de man $5 fur drawin’ de deed, an’ he sho’ did think it
wuz er deed fur de mill place, an’, ’cordin’ly, he an’ another nigger
sneak down one day, while Ole Marster wuz in Souf Careliny, an’ lay off
whut he want an’ put up rocks to mark de corners. Soon after de ’lection
Tite an’ de yudder niggers uv de Robinson settlement wuz to go to town
an’ git de mules an’, bein’ as Tite wuz a leader, he wuz gwine to have
a fine hoss to boot. De cearpet-baggers done tell dem dat dey woul’ have
several thousan’ mules fur de niggers in de county. ’Fo’ dat, one night,
Tite done come in wid a long coat wid shiny buttons, an’ a stovepipe hat.
You orter seed dat nigger how he swell ’roun’ ’fo’ me, but de mo’ he git
fur nuthing de mo’ trouble I seed fur him. I ’spect’d trouble every day.
It des look to me lak de worl’ wuz comin’ to de een. All de time Miss
Jane kep’ tellin’ me ’bout de Kluxes comin’ nigher. An’, bless yo’ soul,
honey, one mornin’ all de niggers ’long de big road wuz stirred up ’bout
er percession dey had seed de night befo’. Dey say dat de bigges’ men dey
ever see come ’long ridin’ camels lak dey have in de show. Whutever it
wuz didn’t make no fuss but move easy des lak a cat after er rat. De mens
coul’ stretch deyer necks way up in de trees, an’ drink a whole bucket uv
water at a time.
“’Fo’ de day passed we heerd ’bout de same crowd goin’ to ole Joe Grier’s
home an’ takin’ him out an’ beatin’ his back wid a buggy trace. Yes,
sir, dey say it wuz a shame de way dey do dat nigger, but he’d been
medlin’ des lak Tite. Dey kotch him makin’ a speech at one uv dem nigger
meetin’s an’ dey bus’ his high hat (one lak Tite’s) all to flinders. An’
dey say when dey lef’ dere dat ole Tite Robinson wuz de nex’ nigger dey
woul’ git. When Tite hear’ dat he git sorter shaky, but ’low, big lak,
dat dey wuz foolin’ wid de wrong nigger. He make out lak he’s gwine to
fite.
“Dat very night Tite wuz gwine to have a big meetin’, de las’ ’fo’ de
’lection, at Pineville chuch. It wuz to be de bigges’ uv all but when de
niggers hear ’bout de Ku Kluxes dey gut skittish ’bout gittin’ out after
dark. Tite an’ de rest uv de ringleaders went but dey didn’t have much
uv a crowd. De pews uv de chuch wuzn’t full lak dey had been. Yes, sir,
de audience wuz rather slim fur de ’casion. But Tite wuz dere in all his
glory, an’ de boss dog uv de yard. Howsomever, when he lef’ home dat
night he wuz sorter quiet lak. He ’peered to be a little oneasy. I wuz
monstrous anxious ’bout him fur I knowed de Kluxes wuz in de lan’. I
didn’t want Tite to git hurt but I didn’t care much ef de Kluxes skeered
dem fool idees out uv his haid, so he coul’ have some sense once mo’.”
“Did they get him, Aunt Matt?” asked a small boy who had become
thoroughly interested.
“Honey, dat’s de night de devil broke loose,” said Matt. “I des felt lak
somefin’ wuz gwine to drap, an’ sho’ nuff it did.
“Soon after Tite lef de house de elements gut wrong. De clouds gather’d
thick an’ hang mighty low in de Wes’. I coul’ hear de thunderin’ an’ see
de lightnin’. I never seed sich a dark night. But, after de bigges’ rain
dat I ever seed fell, de clouds ’clare ’way an’ de moon come out.
“When Tite wuz gone an’ de rain wuz over I went to sleep an’ knowed no
mo’ till I heerd peoples talkin’ an’ cussin’, an’ it soun’ des lak dey
wuz outside my do’. It wuz den after midnight, I spec’. I coul’ hear de
low whisperin’ voices on fust one side uv de house, den de tuther. I
heerd horses movin’ ’bout, an’ den I knowed dat it wuz de Ku Kluxes. I
heerd one man say: ‘Well, we’ll go in here an’ see ef de black rascal’s
come yit. But I don’t see how he coul’ uv haided us off.’
“’Bout dat time dere wuz a tap on de do’, an’ a call, ‘Matt, open de do’.
We want to see if Tite’s in dere. We won’t hurt you ef you let us in, an’
ef you don’t we are comin’ in anyhow. We’ll break de do’.’
“I wuz wide awake but say nuthin’.
“‘Matt! Matt! Don’t you hear?’ I coul’n’t tell de voice but I knowed ef
I didn’t open de do’ dey woul’ break it down; so I open it an’ git back
in bed. When de do’ come open it peered to me lak I seed a whole lot uv
hosses in de road an’ lots uv men in de yard, dressed in red shirts an’
had on dese here false faces. I wuz skeered an’ den I wuzn’t, fur de man
whut do de talkin’ had a mighty fermilyer lak voice to me, but I des
coul’n’t say who’s it wuz. Dey peered to b’lieve me when I told ’em dat
Tite wuzn’t dere, but dey searched anyhow to make sartin’.
“After dey can’t find him an’ dey start out de man what spoke befo’ say:
‘Well, Matt, we give de ole devil a good run, an’ would’ve swung him up
ef we’d ketched him, but it’s late now an’ we’d better go.’
“Den I say: ‘Please, marster, don’t kill him fur he’s des gone crazy
’bout dis here ’lection bizness what dem strange white foks put in his
haid. Don’t, boss man, fur my sake, kill de ole nigger. He’ll come
right. I’s tried to git him to stay at home. Now des let me try him one
mo’ time. Ax Marse John Robinson an’ Marse Jeems Walkup ’bout Matt. Dey
knows me. I’s been good since s’render, an’ I’s tried to make Tite behave
hissef. So, Mister, won’t you let him off dis time?’
“De same man what spoke befo’ ’low: ‘Well, boys, I b’lieve dis is a good
nigger, an’ on her ’count we’ll let de Parson ’lone fur a few days an’
see. Ef we hear uv any mo’ uv his doin’s, ’citin’ de niggers an’ makin’
speeches, we’ll do him des lak we did Ole Joe Grier, or wuss. Ef he
hadn’t run lak er deer t’night, we’d broke his neck. Let’s go back to
Souf Careliny, an’ res’.’
[Illustration: _Tite; riding a Democratic Ox._]
“Dis said, dey rode off. I wuz skeered dat Tite wuz daid, an’ coul’n’t
sleep no mo’ dat night, but wuz too bad ’frighten’ to git up.
“Way in de mornin’, toge day, when all gits quiet, I heered a soft knock
at de do’. I knowed it mus’ be Tite, so I gits up an’ opens it, an’ sho’
nuff it wuz him.
“Honey, you woul’n’t knowed dat nigger. He wuz wet an’ muddy fum de
bottom uv his feets up. He wuz bare haided an’ his clothes all tore.
But, bless yo’ soul, chile, he wuz glad to git home. When I open de do’
he say, ‘Let me in, ole ’oman, fur I’s mos’ daid. De Ku Kluxes is been
runnin’ me all night. Don’t make no fuss, but lem’me in.’
“Skeered as I wuz when I seed him I had to laugh. He look’ des lak
a frizzly chicken wid de feathers turned de wrong way, an’ wuz des
tremblin’ lak a leaf. Ever time I move my foot he jump lak he wuz hit,
but when I tell him what de Kluxes say to me he ’clare, ‘Thank Gawd,
Matt, ef dat be so I’s yo’ nigger so long as I live. You ain’t gwine to
ketch me foolin’ wid po’ white foks an’ politics no mo’. Dis is my las’
time. I’s never been so skeered since de Lawd made me.’
“Yes, sir, an’ dat wuz his las’ meetin’, an’ when dem cearpet-baggers
come sneakin’ ’roun’ at night he made me drive dem way des es same as ef
dey had pizen. He went straight to wuck an’ fum dat day to dis he’s been
quiet on politics.
“But it wuz a long time ’fo’ I knowed what happened at de chuch dat
night. Tite woul’n’t never talk ’bout it. Miss Jane heered all de fac’s
an’ tell me.
“It wuz lak dis. You’s been to Pineville chuch--I mean de col’ud
chuch--de one dat sets on de big hill. At de time when Tite wuz flyin’
so high no white pusson lived close to de chuch. All de lan’ ’bout dere
wuz in woods. De chuch is gut two do’s, one in de side an’ one at de een
where de pulpit is. It wuz a good thing fur Tite dat de een do’ wuz dere.
Dat’s all dat saved his life.
“Tite an’ his niggers wuz at de chuch dat night an’ had de meetin’ gwine
at nine. De onlies’ lamp in de house wuz on de pulpit. Tite wuz de fust
speaker fur de ’cassion. He wuz to stir up de niggers fur de ’lection
day. Dem cearpet-baggers done told him what to say.
“De niggers all holler fur Parson Robinson an’ Tite step up in de pulpit
an’ take off his stovepipe hat, set it on de table, button up his long
coat, an’ start off lak dis: ‘Gents an’ Feller Citizens: I’s come here
to-night to tell you dat de nigger’s ’bout to git what b’longs to ’em. De
white foks is been on top long ’nuff. Ef de ’Publikins wins dis time ever
nigger in dis house is gwine to git forty acres uv de bes’ lan’ in dis
kermunity an’ a mule to wuck it wid.’
“‘Fur nuthin’, Mr. Robinson?’ ’low’ Ole Tom Moore.
“‘Yes, Mr. Moore, fur nuthin’, fur it b’longs to ’em. Dat’s de truf. I’s
done gut de deed fur mine, an’ all I’s gut to do is to move on after de
’lection, an’ go to town an’ git my mule.’
“‘Dat’s de truf,’ shouted Ole Bill Davis, a deekin in de chuch.
“‘Tell it to ’em, brother! Come on wid some mo’ lak dat!’
“‘Dat’s whut we wants to heer,’ said de crowd.
“Tite went on: ‘But on de yudder han’, ef de Demmycrats gits back in
power, de las’ one uv you will go bac’ in slav’ry. De overseer wid his
whup will be back. Mark whut I say fur it’s de truf!’
“‘We know it, Parson, tell it des lak it is!’
“But, bless yo’ soul, honey, dis is where de speakin’ wuz out. While
Tite wuz soarin’ high ’mong de clouds, ’bout a dozen great big mens, wid
masses on deyer faces, an’ red shirts on deyer bodies, sprung up des lak
fum de yearth an’ march down de middle aisle uv de chuch an’ take seats
on de long bench in front uv de pulpit. Nobudy but Tite say nuthin’,
an’ he chatter des lak he’s crazy. His voice trem’le so it almos’ shake
de house. At fust his tongue mos’ stop, but when he seed de strange men
cross deyer legs an’ look up at him, he say dat he’s gut nuthin’ ’ginst
de white foks, an’ he seed no use in freedum nohow.
“Dere wuz a little shufflin’ in de back uv de buildin’. It wuz Tom Moore,
Bill Davis an’ other niggers pilin’ out.
“’Bout dis time come de straw dat broke de camel’s bac’. De big mens
uncross deyer legs, all at one time, an’ each one pull out a long knife
an’ a whit rock an commence to sharpen de blades, des lak dey wuz fixin’
to kill hogs. De shinin’ steel dumbfounded Tite. Big draps uv sweat come
out on his haid. When de red shirt mens see how skeered de po’ nigger is
dey soun’ deyer blades on de rocks an’ Tite mos’ jump out uv his skin. He
fust look at de mens an’ den at de bac’ do’. His tongue done stick to de
roof uv his mouf, but he muster up courage to say: ‘I see dat you darkies
didn’t fetch no water fur me to drink. I can’t speak widout water, so
I’ll des git a little at de well.’
“Dis said, Tite dash out de back do’ widout his hat an’ de Ku Kluxes give
a wild Injin yell an’ charge out de side do’.
“But, chile, you can’t ketch a skeered nigger, an’ it’s no use to try.
’Fo’ de Kluxes git started Tite wuz gone.
“Tite never did git de forty acres an’ de mule. Ef he did I never seed
it, an’ I’s been livin’ wid him ever since.”
Later, when Grover Cleveland ran for President, Tite rode in a Democratic
procession, mounted on an ox, and wearing a Cleveland hat.