lluns enduring de time of
de Civil War fer you. When dese poor white men went to de war, dey left
deir little chillun and deir wives in de hands of de darkies dat was
kind and de rich wives of our marsters to care fer. Us took de best care
of dem poor white dat us could under de circumstances dat prevailed.

"We was sont to Sullivan's Island, but befo' we reached it, de Yankees
done got it and we won't 'lowed to cross in '64. But jes' de same, we
was in service till dey give Capt. Franklin Bailey 'mission to fetch us
home. Dar we had to git 'mission fer everything, jes' as us niggers had
to git 'mission to leave our marster's place at home in Union County.
Capt. Bailey come on back to Cross Keys wid us under his protection, and
we was under it fer de longest time atter we done got home.

"Fer 65 years I been licensed as a preacher, and fer longer dan dat I
been a member of Padgett's Creek Baptist church. Mo' work I does, mo'
work I has to do. You know how to pray. Well, you does not know how to
make polish out of pinders.

"I ain't ed'icated yet, but even Lige what teaches school out to de Keys
(de big black school), dat big black buck dat teaches de chilluns deir
'rithmetic; even he couldn't do dis here one. A heap of ed'icated folks
can't give it. Here it is: 'What's de biggest figger in de figger ten?'"

With his old black, rough and gnarled forefinger he drew on the table
the figure 1. "Now you see dat? Dat's de figger 1. A naught ain't
nothing by itself or multiplied by other naughts; but set it down in
front of de figger 1, and it takes on de value 9. Dar you is got
ten--one and nine is ten. Dat naught becomes something. I is old, and I
ain't had narry bit of schooling, but I likes to be close to de orchard,
and I knows it's dar by de smell of it. Dat's de way I is when I gits
along side ed'icated folks--I knows dat dey is.

"It's like dat sum dem scholars couldn't git; standing alone dat naught
ain't worth nothing, but set it up against dat which is of value and it
takes on value. Set a naught ag'inst dat which is one and you has ten;
set up another naught dar and you has a hundred. Now if somebody was to
give me a note worth $10, and I found room to add another naught along
side of de first; den dem two naughts what ain't worth nothing by
deirselves gives de note de value of $99 if dey is sot along wid de one.
Ed'icated folks calls dat raising de note. I is ig'nant and I calls dat
robbery. And dat's like you