Mules and Men

Leaving off where Chapter 4 ended, the workers continue to exchange stories instead of asking if there is work for them in the sawmill. The first two stories humorously detail how several enslaved people vie to outsmart each other and Ole Massa; neither story contains clear morals. The third story is also humorous and is about a man who smells so bad he makes a goat faint, but its teller specifies that it “ain’t no slavery time talk” (80). The next story is a two-part tale about John outsmarting Ole Massa twice: once by accidentally saying the correct thing after bluffing that he can tell fortunes, and the second time by enlisting the help of a friend to fool Ole Massa into leaving his property forever. This story concludes with the statement that John’s tricks are the reason that slavery ended in the United States. The following “lie” is a short, funny story about a Black man who uses a turtle as a pocket watch after being scammed out of a real watch by a white man. Larkins White tells the next two stories: The first concerns Ole Massa capturing Jack after he escapes; the second is about an enslaved man and his master who panic when they mistakenly assume they can hear God and the Devil “‘vidin’ [dividing] up souls” to send to the afterlife. In fact, they are listening to two people arguing over some spilled corn (87).

Some of the men become anxious about avoiding work for the day, but the others continue with three more stories. The first is about the “white man’s prayer” (88), wherein the local white people ask “Brother John” to pray to end the drought, and Brother John does so while claiming to God that he is white. This is followed by a short story about Ole Massa dropping a rock on the head of an enslaved person praying to God to kill all the white people. The chapter concludes with a longer tale about John saving Ole Massa’s kids from drowning in a lake. Ole Massa grants John his freedom but tries to swindle him into staying by telling John he loves him, but John runs all the way to Canada without falling for Ole Massa’s tactics.

After one more story, about a white man who outsmarts a Black man, the men are told that there is no work for them at the mill. The group decides to spend their day off fishing, and they begin to hike to the lake. Hurston is still with the swamp-gang, and several local women join. On their hike, the group continues to exchange stories. Although everyone agrees that spending the day fishing is a welcome treat, the purpose of the outing remains the exchange of “lies.”

Big Sweet tells the first story on the hike to the lake, prompted by the observation that there are no birds in the woods around them. Her “lie” is that mockingbirds go “to hell on Friday with a grain of sand in they mouth” because they want to save their human friend who was condemned to hell upon his death (94). This story leads to two other stories about intelligent animals: one about a catfish who kills a man because he always goes fishing on Sunday instead of to church; and another about how snakes become venomous after convincing God to give them a defense mechanism. There are several more informal stories about animals and agriculture exchanged as regular dialogue. This chapter concludes with several stories introducing the “Brer” animal characters, namely Brer Rabbit, Brer Dog, and Brer ‘Gator (an alligator). These characters are salient figures in Black American folklore, and they largely function as trickster characters, much like John. The title “Brer” is a truncation and regionalization of the word “Brother.” Each of the “Brer” stories in this chapter are explanatory and formulaically end by stating that the story explains why a certain animal behaves the way it does.

The group arrives at the lake after they exchange three more stories. Two are about Brer Rabbit and Brer Dog, who appear as oppositional figures and possess the stereotypical characteristics associated with their respective species. The third concerns an intelligent goat who eats a shirt and uses it to stop a train before the goat is killed on the tracks. At the lake, some of the people fish while telling stories. The dialogue moves fluidly between discussing stories and fishing tactics. 

Like in previous chapters, the stories here are not organized according to story type or message, but rather in the order they are told during conversation. There are several funny stories, including those about: John who does not want to “sprain Massa’s brand new gun shootin’ up hill wid it” (113); a man who saves his starving family by being so clever with his bullets that he kills too much game to haul back in his wagon; a hawk (representing the older people in the group) who argues with a buzzard (representing the younger people in the group) because the buzzard takes advantage of others instead of securing its own food; and a young man who becomes arrogant after he is educated and causes the family cow to run away with his father tied to its back. The rest of the “lies” are origin-style stories that explain why certain things exist. These include stories explaining why: “raw-hide” is used to makes whips for mules; tortoises exist; God invented butterflies; cats love fish and how this gets them into trouble; and why people can see a storm approaching over the water but not over land.

The group head back to town after they have caught a good deal of fish. A few more stories are exchanged as they gather their belongings and hike back. One “lie” is about why the lion was the “King of de World” until John tricked a lion and a bear, claiming the title of King of the World for humans (131). The other stories offer anecdotal advice about how to best eat fish, warm oneself in front of a fire, and cool off on a hot summer day. When the group gets back into town, they plan to meet at the “jook,” a house or meeting hall where blues music is played.

As darkness falls, three mysterious figures—one man with two women—emerge from the railroad tracks. They are a group of traveling preachers who sing and preach for the locals in exchange for small monetary donations. The man sings a sermon about Genesis 2:21 from the Bible about the creation of man and woman. He encourages the locals to act with religious integrity as equals between “Male and female like God made us / Side by side” (142). Hurston notes that the preacher’s speech uses more standard grammar at the beginning and transforms into vernacular as the song goes on. After the sermon, the locals give a “sparse contribution,” and the three preachers leave along the railroad tracks.

The residents of Loughman are at the jook celebrating after the traveling preachers have left. There is music, dancing, gambling, and homemade liquor. Hurston watches several games of “Georgia skin,” a card game that involves betting against the dealers. Two women, Ella Wall and Lucy, arrive and begin to taunt Big Sweet and Hurston. It is suggested that Ella and Joe Willard—who is in a tumultuous romantic relationship with Big Sweet—are having a romantic affair. Big Sweet explains that she will protect Hurston and threatens to kill both Lucy and Ella. Tensions mount when Ella goes to say hello to “Lots-of-Papa Joe Willard,” calling herself “his weakness” (151). Big Sweet threatens Ella with a switchblade, and the Quarters Boss, who has been eavesdropping the whole time, intervenes. He forces Ella and Lucy to leave, and the Loughman locals rally around Big Sweet. There is more music and dancing to celebrate her courage.

At the next pay night dance, Lucy attempts to attack Hurston again, so Hurston decides to leave Loughman. Cliffert Ulman provides Hurston with “the last Loughman story” before she leaves (155). It is about Jack and the Devil: Jack challenges the Devil to a contest of strength by threatening to throw the Devil’s hammer into heaven. The Devil decides to forfeit the contest because he “left a whole lot uh [...] tools up dere when” God cast him down to hell and does not want to lose his hammer too (156). Thus, Jack fools the Devil and wins the contest by default.

Hurston leaves Loughman and travels to the nearby towns of “Mulberry, Pierce, and Lakeland” in Polk County (157). These are company towns like Loughman, though the dominant industry in these localities is phosphate mining. Hurston notes that Pierce is an especially nice town, as the operating mining company provides much cleaner living quarters and ensures access to infrastructure.

Hurston collects the following “lies.” Origin stories concerning why: the porpoise’s tail is “on crossways,” meaning that it has a tail that moves up and down rather than side to side like a fish; the dog hates the cat; the Devil invented the phrase “unh hunh” (meaning yes); there are so many storms and mosquitoes on the East Coast; and why there are “squinch owls,” or screech owls. There are also two funny stories: A farmer courts a woman by taking her across the countryside claiming “all of these are mine” while stroking his beard (169), insinuating that “these” refers to the properties when he is really referring to his beard; and a man is driven to madness when he learns that his mule and dog can talk. There are also three stories that center around distinct figures. Big Sixteen’s story is about how he captures the Devil for Ole Massa but is doomed to roam earth after his death because he is “too powerful” for heaven and hell. There is a story about Raw Head, a hoodoo conjure doctor, who competes with the Devil to break up a marriage; the Devil must enlist a woman’s help, and although she successfully ruins the relationship, she is banned from hell for being too clever. Finally, there is a story about High Walker, a man who can summon “bloody bones” from the graveyard, who is killed by a white man after he fails to perform magic. 

Big Sweet invites Hurston to return to Loughman for Cliffert’s wedding. She returns, and the wedding is a grand celebration like the pay night dances on a greater scale. After much dancing and revelry, Lucy arrives unannounced to attack Hurston. A knife fight ensues, and Hurston flees town immediately.