'd been with him maybe I could save his life.

"My company am moved to Birmingham and builds breastworks. Dey say Gen.
Lee am comin' for a battle but he didn't ever come and when I been back
to see dem breastworks, dey never been used. We marches north to
Lexington, in Kentuck' but am gone befo' de battle to Louisville. We
comes back to Salem, in Georgia, but I's never in no big battle, only
some skirmishes now and den. We allus fixes for de battles and builds
bridges and doesn't fight much.

"I goes back after de war to Memphis. My mammy am on de Kilgore place
and Massa Kilgore takes her and my pappy and two hundred other slaves
and comes to Texas. Dat how I gits here. He settles at de place called
Kilgore, and it was named after him, but in 1867 he moves to Cleburne.

"Befo' we moved to Texas de Klu Kluxers done burn my mammy's house and
she lost everything. Dey was 'bout $100 in greenbacks in dat house and a
three hundred pound hawg in de pen, what die from de heat. We done run
to Massa Rodger's house. De riders gits so bad dey come most any time
and run de cullud folks off for no cause, jus' to be orn'ry and plunder
de home. But one day I seed Massa Rodgers take a dozen guns out his
wagon and he and some white men digs a ditch round de cotton field close
to de road. Couple nights after dat de riders come and when dey gits
near dat ditch a volley am fired and lots of dem draps off dey hosses.
Dat ended de Klux trouble in dat section.

"After I been in Texas a year I jines de Fed'ral Army for de Indian war.
I's in de transportation division and drives oxen and mules, haulin'
supplies to de forts. We goes to Fort Griffin and Dodge City and
Laramie, in Wyoming. Dere am allus two or three hundred sojers with us,
to watch for Indian attacks. Dey travels on hosses, 'head, 'side and
'hind de wagon. One day de Sent'nel reports Indians am round so we gits
hid in de trees and bresh. On a high ledge off to de west we sees de
Indians travelin' north, two abreast. De lieutenant say he counted 'bout
seven hundred but dey sho' missed us, or maybe I'd not be here today.

"I stays in de service for seven years and den goes back to Johnson
County, farmin' on de Rodgers place, and stays till I comes to Fort
Worth in 1889. Den I gits into 'nother war, de Spanish 'merican War. But
I's in de com'sary work so don't see much fightin'. In all dem wars I
sees most no fightin', 'cause I allus works with de supplies.

"After dat war I goes