4

Alabama Life in a Shrimping and Oyster Shucking Camp 4

when she wanted us, she sold blow that old horn."

Joe paused a minute and a sad expression came over his face,
and said:

"I'll tell what happened one year before leavin' Louisiana.
I had a fine dog, part houn' and half bird dog. One day he an' my
boy lef' the house together an' after a while the dog come home,
an' it was a pity to hear that dog, an' we knowed somethin' was
wrong, an' shore enought the nex' day we foun' our boy drownded in a
canal. A dog has railly got sense, an' you can learn them just like
a person. I kept that dog thirty years."

"You know, there's times for all things. Lots of people don't
b'lieve in a lot of things, but don't never start anything on a
Friday, 'cause it's shore bad luck. Another thing don't never go
fishing on the decrease of the moon, 'cause fish wont bite on the
decrease, they seems kinda weak, but on the increase they bits
hard.

"I believes in dreams, too, for just as shore as I dream
it comes true. One time I bought my wife a sewing machine, an'
every night before the man would come to get the money on it, I
would dream about it, an' I knowed to git up and get that money,
so it would be there when that man came.

"Another dream that always comes true, was, when I dream of
silver money, the children would get lice in their heads. You
know where there's lots of children, they's always gettin' them.
We had ten children, five boys and five girls, but there is only
five living now."

Then he turned to the two women standing by the bad, and
said:

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