Parker Chamberlain; brings to his readers every Childs Secret wish, a treasure hunt set to a historical background of southern plantations; legends, and the oldest Plantation in Mississippi Winsor Ruins; this story has the flavor of Mark Twain's Huckel Berry Finn; a drop of Edgar Allen Poe's Darkness in Fiction. Parker Chamberlain in his author's word utilized Julia and David green a living examples that down line slave descendents have obtained A unique place in American Politics and the communities in the state of Mississippi. The honorable David Green was elected to the office of State Representative for District 96 and is a graduate of Al Corn State University, this university was established by the Mississippi Legislature in 1871 he is a first graduate from this university as a down line slave descendant to be elected to public office to service the community as from the very legislative body that chartered the first and largest black university in the history of the state of Mississippi since the civil war, this has never been possible before the 1963 and 1964 voting rights act was approved by John F. Kennedy and the congress of the united stated; these leaps and bounds, in social and political change that began with the emancipation proclamation form the 1800's thru the 1900's, brought political change and self realization to the Negros, that education was not just a dream, but a doorway that accessed the stair well to power in America; a clear message Unlocked by President Kennedy in the 1963 and 1964 Voting Rights Act, to young Black Americans that a turning point has been achieved. It began with 40 acres and a mule and has climaxed at the 44th president, a Black American; Barock-O-Bama, proof positive that America has reached her turning point. Envoked by Dr. Martin Luther King I Have a dream, America Experience not a Fiction, but a true story of his families American experience. Touched by the divine t

Dead Men Dwarf at Winsor Ruins

By Parker Chamberlain

Trafford Publishing

Copyright © 2012 Parker Chamberlain
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4669-4592-0

Chapter One

Loons Treasure Hunt

Uncle Guy was outside waiting for us at his house on the South side of Winsor Plantation, which is now Alcorn State University. His house was located in the middle of a cornfield. The university provided him with a home, as he worked for the university as a crop inspector for the Agra-Business department. We arrived in the back of a 1954 Chevy pickup truck. Cousin Loon was a stringy looking eleven year old with buck shots of hair that were a quick reminder of her temperament. Loon was the sister of James Banks Jr., lovingly called Old Mann, his brother, Will Banks was nicknamed Winky. These were my childhood playmates that formed a large part of my country escapades, drawn to a backdrop of river towns, beginning with Port Vicksburg, Port Gibson, Lorman, Port Rodney and Fayette, Mississippi. My hometown of Vicksburg taught me city living and other late twentieth century ways, merging with an eighteenth century mist of social oppression and social change

Loon, Old Mann, Winky, my sister V (who we called Nasa) and I (given name Parker, but called Bredear) were piled in the truck telling jokes and poking fun for thirty-five miles to Uncle Guy's house. As we banged and clattered down the potholes, Loon's buck shots were making a swishing sound as the wind passed through her hair, giving her the look of Medusa, the fable Greek goddess, to look at her would turn you to stone.

We spent many moments teasing Loon calling her Stone face. We arrived with chattering teeth and vibrating lips from the potted, potholed, gravel road, the truck came to a smooth stop, Gramp's door cracked open and we hopped out. The smell of fresh cooked bacon, eggs and the aroma of corn and sweet onion filled the moist morning air.

Two blue tick hounds named "You Know" and "I Know" greeted us with growling and howling as we approached the front steps, we were soon reminded that strangers must not go into the house until invited.

They took great joy at nipping at our heels and toes, if we attempted to enter Uncle Guy's house without escort. We all peered at the shotgun house with a large white picket fence, red, white and blue windmills lazily spinning in the wind and four large birdhouses swaying on long poles.

We received warm hugs as we approached the steps by Aunt Nunny Lee, a narrow wisp of a woman with big, round green Cajun eyes. Skinny as a rail, she welcomed each one of us children into her living room. It was a place of beautiful shelves of angels, Aunt Jamima ceramics, and nursery rhyme ceramics. Little Jack Horner, eating cherry pie, Pus in Boots, Little Boy Blue, Hey diddle, diddle the Cat and the Fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon, and may others filling each corner of the room. In the center of the room was a black Ben Franklin wood burning stove, well maintained and quiet for mid June.

There was a cool breeze blowing through the back door past the McCormick wood range carrying with it the smell of fresh fried bacon, and other goodies that had flooded our senses before our entry.

We were anxious to get outside to play and find the barn to see what adventures were waiting to be found or what treasures were hidden in the woods and forest beyond the boundaries of the tree line and corn fields.

"You guys want breakfast?" asked Uncle Guy.

With big smiles we spoke all at once, "yeah, we're starved!" We all headed for the kitchen table, set in a red and white checkerboard square tablecloth. Breakfast was Deep South grits, eggs, bacon, biscuits, coffee, buttered toast and fresh cut roasted corn.

"While you fellas are out playing, stay away from the Winsor Crossing, don't get on the old bridge and don't go near the plantation ruins. There have been some strange happenings going on down there, sink holes and animals disappearing.

I lost four cows and three pigs to those ruins. So, stay away! You can play anywhere else but watch for snakes, `cause this is Copper Head and Rattlesnake country," exclaimed Uncle Guy.

As we all laughed Old Mann said with his snaggle tooth grin, "we be snake killa's!" Loon danced on her stick legs a two step gig with her buck shots and tiny red barrettes jiggling looking like a pixie, she cried out, "we be snake killa's!"

Winky followed Loon's two step gig exclaiming, "we be treasure hunta's and snake killa's!" Round and round they danced until everyone laughed at the sight. They looked like two skinny little monkeys dancing.

Belly whopping laughter erupted and we ran out the back door towards Big Red, the barn, our favorite meeting place to plan our treasure hunts. From the top of the barn, we had the perfect view of any person approaching Big Red.

1 Loon said, "Winsa is supposed to have Dead Man Gold hid by the Lod Winsa himself. My Pappy says he killed ten black slaves to protect his treasure until he come back to claim it. Pappy says Lod Winsa said, `in the blood of all you does you swear to protect all my holdings in life and death to use the demon power in creation any means necessary until I Lod Winsa call you back and release you.' `Ye-sa Lod Winsa,' the slaves replied. With ten shots, all ten were laid clockwise around the treasure and each sprinkled with white devil dust so the ten souls belong to him and all his kin."

Nasa asked, "Loon, is you crazy?! You expect us to go up against dust devils and the likes to find this treasure?"

Winky's eyes were as big as marbles and shaking from fear, his voice whispering, "two years ago, me and Pappy was looking for Unca Guy's cows and stumbled on to the old grave of dead Bon Jim, Lod Winsa, the master in charge of all slaves. We found his name carved in the Dwarf Tree on the south forty acres of the plantation. Pappy looked around and found nine broken swords stuck in the ground with only the handles sticking up in a circle."

Winky's eyes had grown to the size of balloons now and his voice sunk lower, "Pappy started to dig at the first sword, he got ten shovels of dirt moved, and then all of a sudden there was whistling and howling at high speed through the air as though being hurled by a million rock slingers. The Dwarf Tree itself climbs, twisted clockwise at the base which was eight feet thick, the limbs cracked and popped twisting upward and it began to lean all the way over the grave site. Pappy looked at me and said `we's found it and no matter what you see or hear don't pay it no mind; the evil spirits are just trying to scare us away.' Pappy looked back in the hole he was digging and screamed, `O Lod, there's a zillion spiders and snakes down here!' He hopped sideways out of the hole, I looked behind me and there was a big 2,000 pound Black Angus bull with blood red eyes and blood dripping from his mouth with fire surrounding him. Pappy's feet was spinning, so was mine and we ran so fast the soles of our shoes came off."

There was loud roaring laughter from Loon, Nasa, Bredear and Winky. Old Mann was belly laughing and rolling on the barn floor.

In defense Winky said, "Pappy was running so fast he jumped three barbwire fences. We looked back and the black bull disappeared and there was no stopping Pappy or me from running like crazy. When we got across the field and stopped to catch our breath Pappy said, `"look, we saw a swarm of little white balls of light the size of golf balls moving in a circle around the Devil Tree." Pappy and I hobbled toward home with swollen feet, scared as rabbits. Pappy said, "boy them spirits is bad, they are more powerful than...