Chapter 5

Once Rastus got ta the point that he wuz well enough ta move around, I found out that he wuz right well educated on the subject of raisin' hogs. He had done that fer almost 12 years afore he and Martha had been sold by their owner, who needed money ta pay off some gamblin' debts. He said that he would love ta be able ta work with the hog farmin'. He thought that he could take it over completely an' leave me free ta concentrate on the sausage an' bacon business.

Hell, that was too good an opportunity ta pass up, so we enlarged the hog pen once again, an' I bought up half a dozen more sows. Not only could Rastus raise hogs, he could butcher them, too. The White kid what had been he'pin' me decided that he wanted the chance ta fight the Damyankees, soz he ran away ta join the Confederate Army. That left Rastus with more hog work than he could handle by hisself, soz I had ta go back ta work with the hogs. I needed more he'p around the place, but I'd be damned ifen I wuz gonna buy a slave.

Meanwhile, Jane, Martha, an' Inez were thicker than thieves. I didn't know what wuz goin' on, but Rastus an' I could tell that they wuz keepin' sumpthin' from us. Finally, I wormed it out of Jane: Martha wuz pregnant, an' she didn't know ifen Rastus or Jim Arthur wuz the father. Martha wuz afraid of what Rastus would say ifen the baby wuzn't his. Well, I stuck my nose inta somebody else's business, again, and told Rastus what the problem wuz. He blew his top, but with happiness. He didn't care who the father wuz, he wuz still gonna love the baby cuz it came out of Martha.

This wuz a great relief ta everybody, an' we all relaxed inta one big happy family. Cuz of what the neighbors would say 'bout niggers livin' in the house with White folks, we had ta fix up a place fer Martha an' Rastus ta live. We looked around, an' came ta the conclusion that we could fix a nice apartment in the barn, since we didn't need it so much, now that we wuz concentratin' on raisin' hogs. The barn wuz a sound buildin', and we could put in a floor an' some interior walls a whole lot cheaper than we could build a completely new house. Fer the sake of keepin' peace in the neighborhood, we let all our neighbors assum that Rastus an' Martha wuz still slaves, though Inez, Jane, an' I treated them as free as us.

'Bout the time we had the barn converted an' Rastus an' Martha had moved in there, Rastus cornered me at the pig pens and said, "I gots a real problem. I ain't gonna do nothin' what goes against yer wishes, since y'all has been so good ta me and Martha, but my conscience is killin' me. There's a runaway nigger hidin' in the barn, an' he's asked fer my he'p. I'll chase him offen the property ifen ya says so, but he do need he'p real bad."

"Shit, Rastus, I'll he'p anybody in trouble ifen I can. It don't make no difference ifen he's White, Red, or Black. What's the problem?"

"This here nigger ran away from his master cuz he wuz about ta cut the nigger's hand off. He accused the nigger of bein' a thief an' wuz gonna punish him by cuttin' off the nigger's left hand with a hand saw and cauterizin' it. The nigger run off the night afore it wuz 'sposed ta happen. He broke out of the shed he wuz locked in an' ran away as fast as he could. Now, ifen he's caught, they'll cut off his foot an' his hand."

"OK, ya tell the nigger that I'll hide him 'til we figure out what ta do. I ain't gonna turn him in, soz he kin keep hidin' in the barn fer now. Since Martha cooks in the kitchen in the house, she kin bring out food ta him when she brings out yer's. What's the nigger's name? It ain't important, but I would like ta know."

"His name is Josiah. He'll shore be glad ya're gonna he'p him."

"Ya tell him ta relax, an' we'll work sumpthin' out. I do want ta talk ta him, later."

I didn't have any idee what ta do 'bout Josiah, 'cept I knew that I wuzn't gonna let him be sent back ta a bastard what treated his slaves that way. I decided ta tell Jane an' Inez 'bout Josiah an' see ifen they had any good idees.

Jane didn't have much ta offer, but Inez said, "Why don't ya clean up a section of the barn an' use it ta make yer sausage. Ya kin use Josiah ta he'p ya with that. It ain't so complicated that he couldn't learn how ta grind the meat an' mix the recipe afore it's cooked. Ya kin fix him a place ta sleep in the barn loft, at least 'til it gits too cold. That way, he'd look like another slave ta any outsiders, an' he'd be safe 'til we could figure out a way fer him ta escape."

"Inez, ya're a genius! I'll go tell him what we'll do right now. That should make him feel a hell of a lot better." Jane nodded her agreement, an' I went out ta talk ta Josiah an' Rastus.

When I got out ta the barn, Rastus rustled up Josiah an' we went inta Rastus' apartment ta talk. The first thin' I said wuz, "Josiah, how old are ya. Ya looks like a boy ta me."

"Massa Jeff, I's 'bout 16 years old, far as I kin tell. At least, that's what the slave auctioneer told my last master when I wuz sold."

"OK, Josiah, ya understand that ya has ta act like ya're my slave whenever we has visitors?"

"Yessir, Massa Jeff, I understands that. Ta keep from makin' a mistake by accident, I'll call ya Massa Jeff all the time, if it's all the same ta ya."

"Yeah, that's a good idee. Did Rastus tell ya what we has in mind fer ya ta do while ya're around here?"

"Yessir, Massa Jeff. He said ya wants me ta learn the sausage business an' he'p ya make the sausage what ya sells ta yer neighbors. I'm right happy ta hear that, cuz it means that I'll be learnin' a trade what I kin use the rest of my life. It shore is kind of ya ta treat me that way."

"I'm glad ya feel that way 'bout it, Josiah. It shore makes things a hell of a lot easier. I figure ya been hidin' up in the barn loft. Is that right?"

"Yessir, Massa Jeff. When I showed up yesterday, Rastus hid me up there an' I's been there ever since. It's a mite hot in the day time, but it ain't bad at night. I 'spect things would turn around in the winter, but I kin make out."

"That won't be necessary, Josiah. Me an' Rastus an ya will put in a regular room up there fer ya ta live in, summer an' winter, ifen ya're here that long. When we gits that done, we'll convert one end of this here barn inta a sausage factory. Ya'll spend most of yer time in the barn, one way or 'nother. That way, won't no nosy neighbor see ya enough ta know whats goin' on. That OK with ya?"

"Oh, yessir, Massa Jeff. That's jus' fine with me. I ain't interested in makin' no special show of myself, 'specially not now. I'll do whatever ya say."

"Tomorrow, me an' Rastus will visit the sawmill ta pick up what we need ta git started. I 'spect we'll need ta make several trips ta git all what we need, but the first trip will git us started."

We climbed up inta the barn loft ta figure out how much lumber we needed ta git started. It looked ta me like we'd need ta take two wagons ta the sawmill, soz I'd drive one an' Rastus would drive the other. I wanted ta git some tar paper from town ta seal off the outer wall ta keep the wind from whistlin' through the cracks when winter comes, but I kin wait 'til Saturday ta pick that up.

With three of us workin', we had the room build in the loft all finished within a week an' were ready ta start on the sausage factory. If we could work as fast on the factory as we did on the loft, I figure that the factory would be ready ta go in 10 days. All of us wuz lookin' forward ta it. I wuz beginnin' ta think that I'd need ta figure on buyin' even more hogs from other people ifen my plans really took off. That Josiah is shore a hard worker, an' I am very lucky ta have him workin' fer me.

I swan, I think that 'most everybody in the county is buyin' Burnside's sausage. Inez an' Martha have been doin' a "land-office business" ever since they started sellin' our sausage at the farmer's market every Saturday. Lately, I've had ta send Rastus inta town with them ta act as a guard. They've been carryin' $40-50 home every Saturday evenin, lately, an' that's a big temptation fer a road agent. Rastus carries a stout cudgel where everybody kin see it, but he also carries one of them Starr DA pistols under his shirt in case he needs it. He's had enough practice with it ta be a passable good shot, though he'll never be a quick draw artist the way he has ta keep it under his shirt. Inez also carries a Colt out where everybody kin see it ta cover fer Rastus ifen he ever has ta shoot anybody. Martha keeps an Arkansas Frog Sticker handy too, just in case. With the three of them armed like that, it'll take more than one bandit ta git away with robbin' that determined crew.