Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 April 1893 — The Roustabout’s Cues. [ARTICLE]

The Roustabout’s Cues.

A pleasant feature of the sugar business of the bouts in the South is the songs of the men as they yrork. A long skidway or slide is arranged from the top of the bank to the boat, and the barrels or hogsheads are thus slid on board. The man at the top will sing, as each barrel is started on its way, a sort of notification to “look out beiow,” and the man on the boat will answer in a way that means “let her come.” The most striking words I caught were; Bar’l, bar’l, here goes bar’l,” Here goes bar’l, all full sugar,.’ “Tell de troof, black man, tell de truth down dar,” “I’ll ax my wife if she'll go to town Sunday,” “Sugar, sugar, dey ain’t nuffin’ like sugar,” “When a mule kik yer, hit ’im in de eye,” “Never steal sugar; go an’ ax the boss,” and perhaps twenty other impromptu phrases, njany of which I oould not eatch When some of the plantation hands can be spared they will ship for a trip of three or four days. If the man be married the leave-taking is some times pathetic, yet ludicrous, and if he returns all right he is as much an oracle to some of the plantation hands as is a man who has been around the world. On a recent trip the boat was ready to back out from a plantation landing and seven colored girls and women stood in a row waving their adieus to those on board. One of the roustabouts started at the end of that row and kissed every one of those women. The mate called out to him to hurry up. When he got aboard the mate said, “Why didn’t you hurry?” He replied. “I did hurry up as fas’ as I could. I couldn’t kiss ’em all ter wunst.”—[St. Louis Globe-Democrat