and me leave Marse John to sleep in de store
and to take care of de guns.

"De nex' mornin', polls open in de little school house by de brick
church. I was dere on time, help to fix de table by de window and set de
ballot boxes on it. Voters could come to de window, put deir arms thru
and tuck de vote in a slit in de boxes. Dere was two supervisors, Marse
Thomas for de Democrats and Uncle Jordan for de Radicals. Marse Thomas
had a book and a pencil, Uncle Jordan had de same.

"Joe Foster, big buckra nigger, want to vote a stranger. Marse Thomas
challenge dis vote. In them times colored preachers so 'furiate de
women, dat they would put on breeches and vote de 'Publican radical
ticket. De stranger look lak a woman. Joe Foster 'spute Marse Thomas'
word and Marse Thomas knock him down wid de naked fist. Marse Irish
Billy Brice, when him see four or five hindred blacks crowdin' 'round
Marse Thomas, he jump thru de window from de inside. When he lit on de
ground, pistol went off pow! One nigger drop in his tracks. Sixteen men
come from nowhere and sixteen, sixteen shooters. Marse Thomas hold up
his hand to them and say: 'Wait!' Him point to de niggers and say:
'Git.' They start to runnin' 'cross de railroad, over de hillside and
never quit runnin' 'til they git half a mile away. De only niggers left
on dat ground was me, old Uncle Kantz, (you know de old mulatto,
club-foot nigger) well, me and him and Albert Gladney, de hurt nigger
dat was shot thru de neck was de only niggers left. Dr. Tom Douglas took
de ball out Albert's neck and de white folks put him in a wagon and sent
him home. I drive de wagon. When I got back, de white boys was in de
graveyard gittin' names off de tombstones to fill out de talley sheets,
dere was so many votes in de box for de Hampton ticket, they had to vote
de dead. I 'spect dat was one resurrection day all over South
Carolina."

Project 1885-1
Folklore
Spartanburg, Dist. 4
Nov. 10, 1937
Edited by: Elmer Turnage

STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES

"I is gwine over to Tosch to see Maria. Everybody know Maria. She go by
Rice--Maria Rice. She sont fer me to cure her misery. First, I went from
my home in lower Cross Keys, across de Enoree, to see Maria. When I
reached dar whar she stay, dey tell me dat her daughter over to Tosch.
Done come and got her.

"A kind friend dat de Lawd put in my path fetched me back across de
Enoree and over to Tosch to Maria's gal's house. I is gwine st