Donde Haley propone al pequeño para completar la
transacción económica y para subrayar: ¿Qué es Jim Crow? De la novela clásica
de Stowe, Uncle Tom´s Cabin.
"Well, I've got just as much
conscience as any man in business can afford to keep,—just a little, you know,
to swear by, as 't were," said the trader, jocularly; "and, then, I'm
ready to do anything in reason to 'blige friends; but this yer, you see, is a
leetle too hard on a fellow—a leetle too hard." The trader sighed
contemplatively, and poured out some more brandy.
"Well, then, Haley, how will
you trade?" said Mr. Shelby, after an uneasy interval of silence.
"Well, haven't you a boy or gal
that you could throw in with Tom?"
"Hum!—none that I could well
spare; to tell the truth, it's o,nly hard necessity makes me willing to sell at
all. I don't like parting with any of my hands, that's a fact."
Here the door opened, and a small quadroon boy, between four and five
years of age, entered the room. There was something in his appearance
remarkably beautiful and engaging. His black hair, fine as floss silk, hung in
glossy curls about his round, dimpled
face, while a pair of large dark eyes, full of fire and softness, looked out
from beneath the rich, long lashes, as he peered curiously into the apartment.
A gay robe of scarlet and yellow fabric, carefully made and neatly fitted, set
off to advantage the dark and rich style of his beauty; and a certain comic air
of assurance, blended with shyness, showed that he had been not unused to being
petted and noticed by his master.
"Hulloa, Jim Crow!" said Mr.
Shelby, whistling, and snapping a bunch of raisins towards him, "pick that
up, now!"
The child jumped, with all his
little strength, after the prize, while his master laughed.
"Come here, Jim Crow,"
said he. The child came up, and the master patted the curly head, and chucked him under the chin.
 |
| Granjeros en Alabama, 1937 |
"Now, Jim, show this gentleman
how you can dance and sing." The boy commenced one of those wild,
grotesque songs common among the negroes, in a rich, clear voice, accompanying
his singing with many comic evolutions of the hands, feet, and whole body, all
in perfect time to the music.
"Bravo!" said Haley,
throwing him a quarter of an orange. "Now, Jim," said his master,
"show us how old Elder Robbins leads the psalm." The boy drew his chubby
face down to a formidable length, and commenced toning a psalm tune through his
nose, with imperturbable gravity.
"Hurrah! Bravo! What a child!"
said Haley; "that chap's a case, I'll promise. Tell you what," said
he, suddenly clapping his hand on Mr. Shelby's shoulder, "fling in that
chap, and I'll settle the business—I will. Come, now, if that ain't doing the
thing up about the rightest!"
At this moment, the door was pushed
gently open, and a young quadroon woman, apparently about twenty-five, entered
the room.
There needed only a glance from the
child to her, to identify her as its mother. There was the same rich, full,
dark eye, with its long lashes; the same undulations of silky black hair. The
brown of her complexion gave way on the cheek to a perceptible flush, which
deepened as she saw the gaze of the strange man fixed upon her in bold and
undisguised admiration. Her dress was of the neatest possible fit, and set off
to advantage her finely moulded shape;—a delicately formed hand and a trim foot
and ankle were items of appearance that did not escape the quick eye of the
trader, well used to run up at a glance the points of a fine female article… (Excerpts from
Uncle Tom´s Cabin, by H.B. Stowe, in easier English)
Vocabulario
quadroon: the offspring of a mulatto and a white.
dimple: indentation in the cheek or chin.
chuck: pat or tap lightly.
Destacado
Jim Crow: (slang) negro. Llegó
a significar cualquier ley en EEUU que establecía diferencias entre negros y
blancos, como la prohibición de usar el mismo transporte público o tener
diferentes escuelas.
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