Joel Benton (Poet)
1894
The Kodak Fiend

Magazine page
Google Books
1894, Century Magazine, p. 144, [Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore], 1894?, The Vancouver centenary and the discoverers of Pacific America, p. 800
 
The Kodak Fiend
 
Oh, doan' go out, 'Lias, doan' go out.
For Ue Kodak fiend; he 's all about ;
 
You know yo' features mighty plain,
An' he haunt tie street an' de meader-Iane,
 
He sets in de kyar w'en de kyar goes by.
An' de railroad one, he 's mighty sly;
 
He doan' care w'eder you clean or not,
An' he 'll take yo' rags right on de spot.
 
Ef he do it now wid yo' 'lasses face,
I tell you, 'Lias, you 'll be 'n disgrace.
 
No, doan' go out, 'Lias, doan' go out.
For de kodak fiend; he's all about ;
 
He come down hyar de oder day,
An' he tuk dis shanty w'en I 's away;
 
An' he drove in front de goats an' geese,
An' de ole lame sheep, wid his thick black fleece;
 
De hats in de window an' rags he got,
Wid his hoodoo gun, f 'om de meader-lot.
 
Oh, de kodak fiend;, he 's sly an' mean.
An' you can't go out near his machine.
 
Or he 'll take you down wid yo' kinked-up hair.
An' yo' dirty clothes, and yo' feet all bare.
 
He's got de meander, de bridge an' stream,
An' de boss's mule an' d' ole ox-team;
 
An' I doan' now reckon a single spot
Dat he has n't look' for, an' has n't got.
 
W'en yo' Uncle Mose' rode on de mule,
An' brought de chil'en home f'om school, —
 
Wid six 'pon de small mule's holler back, —
De kodak fiend; went 'long his track.
 
An' just 's dey reached de ole stone wall,
He sot 'is gun, an' he tuk dem all;
 
An' I hear he call his hoodooed thing
"De School-Out, Mule-Back Blackberry Siring."
 
So I tell you, 'Lias, 't ain't safe any more
For 'spect'ble folks to go out-door;
 
'Nless dey go in de edge of night,
W'en de sun an' de gun is out o' sight.The Kodak Fiend, <|footnote|source_01||>
 
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