Beadle's Dime Novels No. 33: Maum Guinea and Her Plantation Children — page 119: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CONUNDIBUS. ON ALTIGATORS. 111 > de debbil widout he~been habin’ children. T’inks I, if he been habin’ children, I better kill ’em, else de family get so big dat ebery nigga’s house must have a debbil in it—yah! yah! yah!” Conundibus half-suspected his friend (John Cottontop, as he was called, from having something on his head that was neither hair nor wool, but looked like a black cotton ball) _ Knew that the apparition was not the devil, nor the old fabled cane-brake alligator, who was supposed to have haunted the swamps on the plantation for many a generation. Cotton- top was not considered remarkably brave; for he always would run at the cry of “alligator /” and would make others run;, yet, it was a fact, that John was one of the best alligator hunters on the place—that he killed more of “ the varmints,” and made more money from the sale of their oil and skins, than all the rest of the negroes put together. The truth in this case was, John had first run, as was his failing; but the thought of oil and hide always would give him courage again ; and, in this instanee, having caught a glimpse of the appari- tion before he ran, he had returned to bag his game in the usual way, by hitting it on the head from behind. — . Canundibus proceeded to narrate his adventure in obtaining the: nertloniae Bide see, darkies, de ‘alligator, which isn't so plenty as dey used tame nctnie. othe Sp Jotag--etety knows whar; but I believes,” he ¢ | a knowi of his : “ Your - what?” said . -Cottontop, pet interested in the deep insinuation of the philosophic Conundibus. connlicoooks.conn