The hounds do not
bite the negro, like we used to hear about, but they just follow him
till he is treed, and then they bark, as much as to say: "Ah, there, Mr.
Nigger, you just stay where you are till the sheriff comes to fetch
you," and Mr. Negro just turns pale and stays on a limb till the sheriff
comes with his lynching tools. When the sheriff pulls a gun the negro
confesses right there, and the deputy sheriff brings the rope.
I asked the boy if the hounds would trail a white man without hurting
him, and he said if you put anise seed on their shoes the hounds will
trail 'em all right, so we put up a job to have some fun. The boy gave
me some anise seed, and told me to put it on the shoes of anybody I
wanted trailed, and after they got out in the woods he would put the
hounds on the trail, and the people would have to get up trees, or have
their pants chewed, but the dogs would not hurt anybody.
Well, it made me laugh to think about it. I went to pa and told him his
shoes were all covered with red Virginia dust, and I took my
handkerchief and dusted them off, and made him hold up his foot like a
horse that is being shod. Then I put a handful of anise seed around the
sole, and in his shoes. He said it was mighty kind in me to do it.
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