I did some manful
howlin'. Dat howlin' sho brought de white folks. When dey see mah
distres' dey 'leased de rope an' I wuz saved. Dat is when I 'pealed to
Col. Baker for 'tection. He wuz mah frien' as long as he lib, and he wuz
a good frien' ob de South 'cause he saved lots ob white folks frum de
wrath ob de mean niggers."

(Note: The Col. Baker referred to was Cullen Baker, the leader of a
ruthless gang of bushwhackers that operated in this section shortly
after the Civil War.)

Doc Quinn tells a "ghost story" connected with the old church at Rondo,
built in 1861.

"De Masonic Hall wuz built up ovah dis buildin' an' ever month dey had
dey meetin'. One night, when dey was 'sembled, two men wuz kilt. Dat
sho' did scatter dat lot ob Masons and frum dat time on de spirits ob
dese men roamed dis chu'ch. Sometime in de dead ob night, dat bell wud
ring loud an' clear, wakin' all de folks. Down dey wud come, clos' like,
to de chu'ch,--but scared to go closer. Mr. Bill Crabtree, a rich man
an' a man whut wuz scared too, offered anybody $100.00 to go inside dat
chu'ch an' stay one hour. Didn't nobody need dat $100.00 dat bad!"

The old negro tells the following grave yard story:

"One dark, drizzly night, de niggers wuz out in de woods shootin' craps.
I didn't hab no money to jine in de game. One nigger say, "Doc, effen
you go down to de cemetey' an' bring bac' one ob dem 'foot boa'ds' frum
one ob dem graves, we'll gib yo' a dollar." I ambles off to de cemete'y,
'cause I really needed dat money. I goes inside, walks careful like, not
wantin' to distu'b nuthin', an' finally de grave stone leapt up in front
ob me. I retches down to pick up de foot boa'd, an' lo! de black cats
wuz habin' a meetin' ovah dat grave an' dey objected to mah intrudin',
but I didn't pay 'em no mind; jus' fetched dat boa'd bac' to dem
niggers, an'--bless de Lawd,--dey gib me two dollars!"

Superstitious Beliefs Among Negroes

Some aged Negroes believe that many of the superstitious ideas that are
practiced by their race today had their origin in Africa. A practice
that was quite common in ante bellum days was for each member of the
family to extract all of their teeth, in the belief that in doing so the
family would never disagree. Fortunately, this and similar practices of
self mutilation have about become extinct.

An old custom practiced to prevent the separation of a husband and wife
was to wrap a rabbit's forefoot, a piece of loadstone, an