try their patience out of all bounds would they tell my mother on me. I
never heard an infidel negro express his views, even if very wicked.
They had firm belief in God and a devil. I always liked their meetings,
their songs and shoutings. They always told me that no one could help
shouting. The first time I ever heard a white woman shout was in Northern
Texas, during the war. I did not wish the spirit to cause me to
jump up and clap my hands that way, for these impulses were not in my
carnal heart, so, for fear I should be compelled to do so, I held my dress
down tight to the seat on each side, to prevent such action. The negroes
are great readers of character; despise stingy people or those who were
afraid of them. These colored friends taught me the fear of God. The
first time I ever attended church, I rode behind on horseback, and
sat with them in the gallery. I imbibed some of their superstitions.
They consider it bad to allow a sharp tool, as a spade, hoe or ax, to be
taken through the house; to throw salt in the fire, for you would have to
pick it out after death. They would kill a hen if she crowed; looked for
a death, if a dog howled; or, if one broke a looking-glass, it meant
trouble of some kind for seven years. They believed that persons had
power to put a "spell" on others, would, if taken sick, frequently speak of
having "stepped on something" put in their way or buried in their dooryard.

There is no dialect in the world that has the original characteristics so
pleasing to the ear as the negro. There is a softness and music in the
voice of a negro not to be found in any other race on earth. No one can
sing a child to sleep so soothingly as a negro nurse. After I left Texas
and went to Medicine Lodge, Kansas, when I had a headache or was
otherwise sick, I would wish for the attendance around my bed of one of
the old-fashioned colored women, who would rub me with their rough
plump hands and call me "Honey Chile," would bathe my feet and tuck
the cover around me and sit by me, holding my hand, waiting until I