Beadle's Dime Novels No. 33: Maum Guinea and Her Plantation Children — page 32: what you’re looking at

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

= : 26 MAUM GUINEA. _ “Sent me out in de swamp, wid an ax, to cut some bark to make wash for Bill’s foreleg, which was swelled; and I found de right kind of tree, only der was a big black wine twisted around der trunk, w'ich I tought Td eut down; but w’en I teched it wid de ax, golly, didn’t it untwist itself mizhty quick time, and stan’ right up on its tail, and look me in de face, sassy! Yer see it was a snake, de biggest eber J see— w’en it stood up it was just my height, and as ugly as it was big. He look at me so wicked, golly, I tought my time was come. I couldn’ lif’ han’ nor foot, but jes’ look him in de eye; yes, sir ”"—mysteriously—“ dat snake was de debbil his- self, sure "nuff, and he put a spell upon me, so I couldn’ hdép myself. His eyes were as green as grass, and he winked at me so sassy—he did; you needn’ stick your tongue in yer cheek, ’Perion; if you’d been dar you'd see—and den he jes’ drew back a little, and I don’ know now how it happen, but de ax it flew up itself, for I couldn’ lif it, and hit him on de neck and cut his head cl’ar off. It was de debbil, sure ‘nuff, for he hollered ‘ouch! when his head fell off; but I didn’ stay to bury him, nor to get de bark nudder. Golly, I wouldn’ go in dat swamp ag’in for a silber dollah.” -“We's mighty glad you's killed de debbil, Jim,” said a shining, good-humored-looking fellow, the darkest of the group of mulattoes ; “’kase we all feel easy in our mind now.” They all giggled at this sally; nevertheless, three or four of them, with dilated eyes, stole furtive glances under the bed and into the corners of the room, as if they expected his majesty might still be alive and near at hand. “Somebody tell anodder story—suthin new, that nobody else eber heard,” suggested another. “ Don’ tell any thing skeery,” said July, creeping closer to “Kase might make July’s hair stand on end,” suggested COMIC OOOKSs Olin