man, but he spring up 'bout
eighteen feet high all of a sudden. Another say he so thirsty he ain't
have no water since he been kilt at Manassas Junction. He ask for water
and he jes' kept pourin' it in. Us think he sho' must be a spirit to
drink dat much water. Course he not drinkin' it, he pourin' it in a bag
under he sheet. My mama never did take up no truck with spirits so she
knowed it jes' a man. Dey tell us what dey gwine do iffen we don't all
go back to us massas and us all 'grees and den dey all dis'pear.

"Den us move to New Prospect on de Pacolet River, on de Perry Clemmons'
place. Dat in de upper edge of de county and dat where de second swarm
of de Klu Klux come out. Dey claim dey gwine kill everybody what am
Repub'can. My daddy charge with bein' a leader 'mongst de niggers. He
make speech and 'struct de niggers how to vote for Grant's first
'lection. De Klu Klux want to whip him and he have to sleep in a holler
log every night.

"Dey's a old man name Uncle Bart what live 'bout half mile from us. De
Klu Klux come to us house one night, but my daddy done hid. Den I hear
dem say dey gwine go kill old man Bart. I jump out de window and cut
short cut through dem wood and warn him. He git out de house in time and
I save he life. De funny thing, I knowed all dem Klu Klux. Spite dey
sheets and things, I knowed dey voices and dey saddle hosses.

"Dey one white man name Irving Ramsey. Us play fiddle together lots of
time. When de white boys dance dey allus wants me to go to play for dey
party. One day I say to dat boy, 'I done knowed you last night.' He say,
'What you mean?' I say, 'You one dem Klu Klux.' He want to know how I
know. I say, 'Member when you go under de chestnut tree and say, "Whoa,
Sont, whoa, Sont, to your hoss?" He say, 'Yes,' and I laugh and say,
'Well, I's right up in dat tree.' Dey all knowed I knowed dem den, but I
never told on dem. When dey seed I ain't gwineter tell, dey never try
whip my daddy or kill Uncle Bart no more.

"I ain't never been to school but I jes' picked up readin'. With some my
first money I ever earn I buy me a old blue-back Webster. I carry dat
book wherever I goes. When I plows down a row I stop at de end to rest
and den I overlook de lesson. I 'member one de very first lessons was,
'Evil communications 'rupts good morals.' I knowed de words 'evil' and
'good' and a white man 'splain de others. I been done use dat lesson all
my life.

"After us left de Pacolet River us