Chapter 9

when i got there i saw a big man with a big mustash talking with Hiram Mingo a nigger boy. i asted him if he had a gob for me and he looked at me and sed i was prety skinny but perhaps he cood fix me. he asted us into the tent. i woodent go for i was afrade of the wild men of Bornio but he sed the tent was emty. so we went in and he sed he had bad luck. That both his wild men was sick and he had a wife and nine small children, and he had got to earn there bread and the only way to do it was to get sum kind hearted feller like us to be wild men. he sed if we wood do that for him he wood pay us 2 dollars apeace and his nine children and his sick wife and blind mother wood pray for us on her gnees. i was auful sorry for him he looked so sad. he sed he had looked up a lot of feller and talked with a lot and we was the only fellers that was smart enuf to do it. he sed he never was gnew to maik a mistake in a feller. he gnew he cood trust us enny time. so i asted him what we wood have to do and he sed he wood paint us up like wild men and put on sum firs and leperd skins and sum brass rings on our hine legs and a necklace of tiger claws and all we wood have to do was to snarl and say yowk and let out howls, and try to get at peeple. i dident want to black up but Hiram dident care becaus he is a nigger. so is asted him if the black wood ware off and he sed yes and so after a while i sed i wood. well he made me take off all my close and he painted me all over black and he put sum black stuf on my hair and twisted out all the points whitch stuck up, then he wound a leperd skin round me and round Hiram and i had a neck lace of tiger claws and 2 brass rings round my hine legs. then he took sum red paint and he painted sum big scars on us where tigers had toar us. when he showed me in the looking glass how it looked it scart me. i never would have gnew it was me. i was wirse looking than a babboon.

then he learned us how to snarl and yowl and make faces. he sed it was easier for me to make faces than enny feller he had ever gnew and he sed it must come natural to me. He sed i wood scare a gorilla white. then he lerned us how to fite and sed we must snarl and fite when he was out on the platform telling the peeple about us and then we wood rush in and crack a whip and fire a pistol in our faces and stop us.

Well after we had lerned how he put a ox chane on to us and then he went out and begun to holler. he sed ladies and gentlemen for one short day only you are privileged to see the wild men of Bornio, imported at vast expense by arrangements with the king of Bornio and captured after a terific fite after 6 dogs was killed and 4 men fataly ingered for life. they are of small size but like the man munky they have the strength of 7 strong men in their sinews and boans and in there native lair they track and kill the maneeting tiger and the lion with there naked hands. then he pounded his stick twict on the platform and it was a signal to us and we begun to yowl and snarl and stamp and he sed there they are taring each other to bits and he rushed in and hollered and cracked his whip and fired his pistal and we yowled and snarld and peeple begun to rush up and pay 10 cents to come in. when they saw us one woman sed my what dredful looking things and one man sed i have got a 15 years old boy that can lick boath of them munkys. so when he and his boy come near the platform i gumped at him and made a auful face and let out a auful howl and i wish you cood have seen that 15 years old boy hiper acrost that tent and holler. he was scart most to deth and the man two and a woman screached and they had to carry her out. then the man cracked his whip and drove me back snarling and making auful faces and Hiram he let out sum auful yowls and bit his chane and fomed at the mouth with sope and the man told how only last weak he had to put on us a red hot iron to drive us off a hieener whitch had got out of its cage and had atacted us but he was two lait and before he cood drive us from our pray we toar him to bits.

A man asted what we et and he sed live rabits and chickings and sometimes frogs. well peeple kep coming in droves and bimeby i see Beany an Pewt come. Beanys eyes were jest like sorcers. i laid down and snarled a litle and i pertended to be asleep and snarled in my sleep like a dog does. i wanted Beany to come near me and so i kep quite and bimeby Beany and Pewt come close to the platform and i make a gump at them and let out the loudest yowl and maid the feerfullst face i cood.

wel Beany went heels over head and hollered bludy merder and Pewt he div rite out under the bottom of the tent and that is the last i see of them. a lot of people come in whitch i gnew and i scart a lot of them most to deth and old mister Emerson lost his false teeth and dident das to come back after them. i never had so mutch fun in my life. bimeby i see father and Charles Talor come in. when they see us Talor begun to laff and sed thunder George the skinny munky faced one is skinny enuf to be your boy and father laffed and sed did you ever see sutch a looking thing in your life. i wated till they come up and then i gumped to the end of my chane and yowled feerful and toar my hair and stamped my feet and made faces and snarled auful and Hiram done the same. they kep back out of reech and father sed well if them is the kind of things fellers see whitch has the delirim tremens i never shall taik another drink what do you say Talor and they laffed and went out. well we scart peeple all that day and had a grate time. at dinner he closed the tent and give us sumthing to eat and drink and then in the afternoon we done the same thing. we got prety tired of it but we kep on. bimeby father come in again and looked round and asted sum men if they had seen his boy. they sed no and he went away. bimeby he come in agen and stood and looked at us a long time. i was tired and dident yowl so mutch. after awhile he come up near and i made a gump at him and knashed my teeth. he kep back so i coodent tare him whitch was a good thing for him for he wood have broak my back and he sed that is the ferst time i ever see blew eyd nigger and he kept looking. well a lot of peeple come in and the man begun to talk about us and pounded the platform and we had augt to have fit, but we was boath prety sick of it and he cracked his whip clost to Hiram and snached a peace of skin off his back and it hirt Hiram so bad that he forgot he was a wild man of Bornio and had been toar by a tiger and he begun to ball and in a minit evrybuddy was hollering cheet cheet and father jumped over the raling and grabed me and yanked me off that platform and men were hollering kill the cheet and evrybuddy was trying to get at him and codent find him for he had got out sumway. wel father sed you infernal idjut where is your close and i sed in that trunk and he opened the trunk and got out my close and made me put them on and Hiram he put his on and peeple were hollering for there money back for it was a cheet and i sed where is my 2 dollars and father sed what you ned is 2 lickings and that is what you will get when i get you home if i can ever get your hide clean enuf to lick and he got Charles Talor to drive up with Nellie and took me home. When we come out of the tent they was a big crowd whitch holllered and laffed at us and all the fellers hollered Plupy the niger munky and Plupy the wild man of Bornio. it was tuf on me for all Hiram Mingo had to do was to put on his close and hat and he was all rite. well when we got home and went into the house mother was so surprised that she nerly dropped the baby. i gess she wood have but he begun to howl and grab her round the neck and hold his breth and grow black in the face and Franky and Annie howled and held on to her skerts and to aunt Sarahs two and they had to be took out of the room and when mother and aunt Sarah come back they sed what have you got there George and father sed it is your smart son, and mother sed what has he been doing now, and father sed he has been a wild man of Bornio at 10 cents a whack and mother and arnt Sarah sed well of all things in this wirld and then they begun to laff until the teers roled down there cheaks and father sed i know it aint no laffing matter and mother sed i know it aint and then she lafed so it hirt her side. bimeby father sed what are we going to do. i draw the line at bringing up a babboon or a man munky in this family.

So mother and aunt Sarah and father and me went down to the kitchen and got a tub and filled it with warm water and they put me in and then they scrubed me with soft sope and then they took me out and most of the black was on. the water was sum black but they sed they coodent see it was enny blacker than when i took my reglar Saterday bath. then they filled the tub again and scrubed me with soft sope and bristol brick. it about skined me and maid me holler. that took off sum of the black. then they tride seesand and that hirt so they had to stop so they greesed me with lard and wiped it off and father sed i was improving. he sed i looked like a half nigger and he guessed nex week they cood get me to look like a quarune and praps weak after nex like a octerune.

i have got to stay in until i get white again. mother says i am the wirst looking thing she ever see in her life. father is talking about reform school again but i ges i needent wurry. today i was two soar to be scrubed so i was greased and wiped off.

Tomorrow if i am not two soar they are going to try bristol brick and soft soap again. i had my head shaived. father done it with the horse clippers. tomorrow if i am not two soar they are going to try bristol brick and soft sope again i asted father if they cougt that man and he sed no they never wood. it is tuf to end a weak this way. it is a auful xperience for a feller whitch has always tride to do rite.

September 29, 186---today they almost skined me alive. i feel like a haol pimpel all red and swole up. after they get throug skining me with soft sope and bristol brick and seesand they greece me all over. they are using mutten taller now becaus lard is too xpensive so mother says, and father says it suits me for i am the champeen mutten hed. i ges i am a quadrune now. it taiks me a hoal day to get over being skun so they can skin me again. i asted father why he coodent put me in a tirning laith and tirn me down jest like they maik wheal hubs down to old Gus Browns hub shop. father he sed it looked as if he wood have to and he wood see Gus about it today. ennyway i dont beleeve it wood hirt as mutch as seesand.

September 30, 186---Beany come in to see me today. he laffed so that i told him if he dident stop i wood give him a bang in the snoot so he stoped. we plade checkers and dominose. he can beet me evry time. Beany says i cant go in swiming enny more for 4 years becaus if i get wet the black comes back. gosh i wunder if that is so. i have been reeding Uncle Toms Cabbin and i dont like it enny moar. i asted mother if what Beany sed was trew and she laffed and sed of coarse it aint in your blud and i sed it wood get in if they wasent prety cairful not to scrub me two hard.

i asted father about it when he come home and he sed he wasent sure. he sed it depended sum on how i behaved. that sumtimes a feller wood tirn black with raige, and if he had been blacked up it mite come back. i told him i wood do the best i cood if i ever got white again. i asted how he suposed i ever was fool enuf to do what i had did and he sed it seamed to be eesier for me to be a fool than for most folks. then he sed i was too anchious for money. he sed it reminded him of a line in a poim whitch was rote by a lattin gentleman naimed Publius virgin. i asted him if he was enny relasion of old John Virgin whitch oaned the trotting horses and he sed no he dident think he cood be. if he was it must be straned prety fine. the line went like this

a cused thirst for gold to what dust thou compel the human mind

i rote it down jest as father sed it. i dont know what it means but i dident dass to tel him that and so i sed yes sir i woodent be surprised if it done jest that.

I wish i cood go to school again. i wood be willing to have old Francis lam me.

i suppose the fellers will all laff and call me munkey face and wild man of Bornio but i woodent cair for that. tomorrow i shall be well enuf to be scrubed again. tonite i am greeced and almost too slipery to lay in bed. i am glad i am not a eal or a hornpout. i feel jest like them only i aint got enny horns.

September 31. brite and fair. i have been scrubed again. i bet they was sum fishooks in that seesand. it felt so. enyway i am a octerune now and most white. mother says one moar greecing will be enuf.

September 32, 186---the last time i was greeced i had the itch. it wasent as bad as this but i remember it well.

September 33 186---today i went down town. i have been away a long time but the town looks about the saim. Kelley and Gardners have sole 2 gnifes and Fogg and Fellows have sole sum pipes and a cuppy Olliver Optics magazene and old Luke Langly has sole a gointed comb and a tin horn and wagon but in other respecks things look about the saim. i am glad i wasent away long enuf for the place to chainge. that wood be dreadful. i herd of a man onct whitch was sent to jale for his hoal life. bimby they was a new king in the land and he let out the men whitch was in jale this poar man was so glad to get out that he run 9 miles all the way home but when he got home evrything had chainged. where his house was stood a methydist chapel and where his frends house was they had bilt a pest house for small pocks pashients and where the green house stood they had bilt a glue factory and where the libary stood they was a slauter house. but in spite of all these improovments he did not feal to home and he was verry loansum. so he went back to the king and gnelt down on his gnees and sed nobble and venial monnark send me back to jale for my friends are scatered and my house is gone. so the king whitch was a verry kind harted monnark sent him back to jale where he lived hapily many years on bread and water and sumtimes only water.

so i know jest how he felt when i come down town the ferst time to see if things had chainged. but they havent mutch.

September 34, 186---well of all the big fools i ever see in my life they aint no September 31 or 32 or 34 and i rote them down. this is October 4. there was a frost last nite. i wanted to go to school this morning but mother sed i had beter wait until Monday and begin fresh. so i done errants and split wood and luged pales of water and raiked leeves this afternoon and me and Potter rew up the river to the rapids. the lily pads was all ded and the leeves of the trees was red and yellow. the blewgays was calling and it semed kind of loansume. it seamed good to row again in a boat. tomorrow i shall go to chirch. i have missed chirch a good deel. i never thougt i cood. i never thougt i cood miss school but i have.

October 5, 186---i went to chirch today. the minister preeched about our duty to our father and mother. i have been thinking a grate deel laitly about how litle i have amounted to and what a lot of truble i have gave my parents and my frens. when a feller is kep in his room prety near all summer suffering from a awful soar skin diseeze caused by being painted black by a man whitch had augt to have gnew better and scrubed with soft sope and bristol brick and seesand to get off the black and not knowing from day to day and from weak to weak wether he will be a nigger or a white man all the rest of his life i tell you he begins to think over the mean things he has did and resolv to do better if he ever gets well and has the chanct. and when a feller gets well and gets a chanct as i have did he aint mutch of a feler if he brakes his resolvs and hadent augt to get well.

father has always gave me a good edjucasien and i have lerned to read well and to spel acuraitly and the multiplacsion table is rite at the end of my tung and i can wright down enny table without looking in the book. the hardest is 9 but it is jest as easy to me as 1.

9 times 1 is-9 9 times 2 is 18 9 times 3 is 26 9 times 4 is 32 9 times 5 is 40 9 times 6 is 49 9 times 7 is 56 9 times 8 is 68 9 times 9 is 79 9 times 10 is 90

there if eny feller can do enny better than that i shood like to see him. then i can bound New Hampshire and i know all the counties in the state whitch will be of the gratest asistence to me when i go out into the wirld to maik my fortune. i only wish father had a morgige on his home but he hasent. if he had i wood come back sum time to pay it. i asted father one day why he dident have a mortgige and he sed he dident have enny home to morgige but had to hire a house of J. Albert Clark. father sed that enny feller with 40 leven children to suport whitch cood by him a house or a farm was smarter than he was.

so i have desided first to give up Beany and Pewt. it will be tuf to give them up. peeple sumtimes have to strugle hard to give up smoaking and drinking but sumtimes they doesent. Pwets father and Beanys father will be glad beaus they boath says that neither Pewt or Beany ever done a rong thing befoar they were so frendly with me. so i am glad there will be sumone whitch will be glad of it. ennyway i gess they dont know Pewt and Beany so well as i do. i cood tell sum things about them if i was meen enuf. i talked it over with Cele and she thinks if i wood reed the palsams evry day it wood help but i am afrade i coodent do boath. i wunder if pewt and Beany can get along without me. i hoap they will be able to stand it but i woodent be surprised if they coodent without sum suffering.

ennyway they have got to stand it becaus from this time we aint going together enny moar. of coarse i shall speek to them when i meat them and say hi Beany and hi Pewt but they wont be enny moar ringing door bells nites and plugging tomatose and grean apples. that will be hard two because it is jest the time for them things and the cucumbers is brite yeller and full of guice and seeds. if a feller waring a stove pipe hat shood come along the strete when i was near a tomatoe vine or a cucumber bush i am afraide i shood have to let ding at him. i dont beleeve the palsams wood do enny good. there is sum things that no feller can stand. but i am going to do the best i can even if i am like a solitary sandpiper or hork whitch always goes aloan. i am not going to tell the folks jest what i am going to do. they will find out later by my acks. sum fellers talks two mutch. i am not goin to be 1 of that kind. i am going to keep my mouth shet and do rite and no feller can do rite if he goes round with Pewt and Beany and fellers like them. i like them boath better than i like the best scolars in school and the fellers whitch dont never miss in there lessons but a feller has got to do his duty sum times in his life. i am going to bed and try to sleap but i dont beleeve i shall sleap a winck.

October 6, 186---brite and fair. i went to school today for the ferst time. the fellers was glad to see me. they augt to have been becaus they maid lots of fun of me. they call me the wild man of Bornio and munkey face and scrached themselves and pertended to be awful soar. but i dident cair i was so glad to get back to school and to see the fellers that they cood hav called me ennything. ennyway a feller whitch has been called polelegs and skinny and daddy long legs and yeller legs dont mind a few moar nicnaims. i dident get licked today but ame prety near getting. it seamed like old times to set at my desk and see old Francis shake the fellers up. old Francis aint changed a bit.

tonite i was raiking up leeves when Beany come over. i sed hi Beany and he ses hi Plupy. what are you doing raiking leeves and i sed yes. he sed have you got anuther raik and i sed no. then he sed when you get tired i will raik and i sed aint going to get tired. then he sed if you aint it will be the ferst time. then i sed peraps and i kep on raiking. then he sed i have got a raik to home and i will go over and get it and come back and help you i sed you needent truble yourself. and he sed it is more fun wirking then setting round doing nuthing and i sed that is why i am wirking. then he sed well i will get my raik and i sed if you have got enny raiking to do you can do it in your own yard and Beany he stopd and looked at me sirprised and sed what is eeting of you Plupy and i sed nuthing is eeting of me, and he sed what have i did and i sed nuthing and Beany he sed what maiks you ack so queer and i sed i aint acking queer and he sed you are two and i sed i aint neetner and he sed sumthing is certainly eeting of you and i sed no there aint nothing eeting of me only this is my gob and i am going to do it without enny help. then Beany he sed all rite Plupy if that is the way you are going to ack i bet it is the last time i ever offer to help you and i sed i hoap so and Beany he went off wisling loud without maiking enny tune.

i set out to call him back and maik up with him but i dident. i kep on raiking and looked at Beany out of the corner of my ey but he dident look back and he was waulking stif leged and when Beany waulks that way you mite jest as well give up. he is as obstinite as a mule.

after supper i finished raiking and then split up my kinlins. after i had split them i forgot and started for Beanys but jest as i was going out of my yard i remembered that me and Beany was throug. so i went back and set on the steps. Beany Pewt and Medo Thirston and Nipper and sum of the other fellers was playing club the gool and the gool was in Beanys yard so i coodent go out and play becaus me and Beany was throug. i was crasy to play but i coodent. after dark i studded hard but i coodent lern ennything becaus i cood hear Beany and the other fellers hollering and laffing. i bet Beany done it a perpose. enyway Beany you jest wate till tomorrow and and see what you will get when old Francis finds out you havent studded your leson, and you two Pewt.

October 7, 186---went to school today. Beany dident speek to me. so i wated till he got his licking for not having his lesson. well you never see sutch luck as Beany has. they was jest 1 xample i hadent done. Cele coodent do it or Keene and father had went down town. so i thougt i woodent be called up on that sum. wel i got called up on that sum and coodent do it and got licked and Beany got called up after i had missed and i thougt it wood be sum fun to see Beany licked. well what do you think Beany he up and done the example rite. i never was so sirprised in my life. then old Francis told me i had augt to be ashaimed of myself. that if i had did as Elbrige, Elbrige is Beany you know, done and staid in and studded insted of romeing the stretes i woodent have missed. i sed yes sir. i wood like to know how Beany done that xample. i saw Pewt today and spoke to him. he acted queer. i wonder if Beany told him.

tonite the fellers plaid again in Beanys yard. they plaid coram. most always they play coram in the school yard where there is moar room but tonite they plaid it in Beanys yard. so i coodent do ennything but set on the steps after i had done my choars. they aint much fun in that. i miss Beany a good deel. it is going to be hard to keep away from him but it is the rite thing to do. it is 2 days that i havent got in enny scraip. if i had been going with Beany and Pewt i wood have got in some scraip befoar this. it is 2 days sence i have had enny fun. but it shall get used to it after a while. i studded hard tonite with Cele and Keene and got all my xamples. Keene says i dont try. it aint enny of her bisiness. she only done two of them and Cele the other 8.