perstitions of the Negro Race:

In interviewing the different negroes in this community I have not found
a single negro that could admit if I asked the direct question that they
are the least bit superstitious. The following story happened in my
experience with this race about ten years ago.

Fifteen years ago I purchased a farm from the estate of a gentleman that
had committed suicide. It seems as though the gentleman took his gun and
told the family that he was going to the tobacco barn to shoot rats.
This barn was located a short distance from the main dwelling on the
farm and then on the other side of this barn were three negro tenant
houses.

My first trouble with negroes superstition was to get a tenant to
inhabit the house nearest the barn. This cabin was in better repair and
larger than the other two cabins and the hardest thing to do was to get
a tenant or negro cropper to take this cabin.

They would give every excuse imaginable but the direct answer until
finally one man I was trying to make a trade with admitted that "De
cabin war ter clos ter de barn Mr. ---- killed himself in." Finally I
prevailed on this man to move in by giving him a different garden spot,
hog-pen and cowpen as these were still nearer the barn. In fact I moved
those buildings thinking I would have an easier time gettin a tenant the
next year.

Everything went along beautifully until time came to House the tobacco
and not a negro cropper would use this barn for his tobacco. So I had my
individual crop housed in this barn. As the type of tobacco mostly grown
at that time was bark fired someone had to stay at the barn night and
day to attend the fires and watch that a stick of tobacco did not drop
in the blaze and burn the barn and contents. As long as my husband or
myself stayed in or around the barn we did not have trouble with these
darkies but sometimes it to attend to other matters on this farm and had
to leave a hired negro in charge and as soon as we would get out of
sight of the barn the negro would desert his post. It became evident
that one or the other of us stay at this barn night and day until firing
season was over. The same thing happened when the stripping season
began. These conditions continued until a wind storm blew this barn
down. Still I hoard some of the negroes express their thoughts.

Mr. G---- sho had no tention of dat barn standing. I had the tenants
separate this lumber for different uses on the farm and th