to de fiel' den--hadn' worked yet.

"Mr. Stephenson were a surveyor an' he fell out wid Mr. McAllum an' had
a lawsuit. He had to pay it in darkies. Mr. McAllum had de privilege o'
takin' me an' my mammy, or another woman an' her two. He took us. So us
come to de McAllum plantation to live. It were in Kemper, too, 'bout
eight miles from Stephenson. Us come dere endurin' of de war. Dat were
when my mammy marry one of de McAllum Niggers. My new pappy went to de
war wid Mr. McAllum an' were wid 'im when he were wounded at Mamassas
Gab Battle. He brung 'im home to die--an' he done it.

"Den de Yankees come th'ough DeKalb huntin' up cannons an' guns an'
mules. Dey sho' did eat a heap. Us hid all de bes' things lak silver,
an' driv'[FN: drove] de stock to de swamp. Dey didn' burn nothin', but
us hear'd tell o' burnin's in Scooba an' Meridian. I were a-plowin' a
mule an' de Yankees made me take him out. De las' I seen o' dat mule, he
were headed for Scooba wid three Yankees a-straddle of 'im.

"Times were tight--not a grain o' coffee an' not much else. When us
clo'es[FN: clothes] were plumb wore out, de mistis an' de Nigger wimmins
made us some out o' de cotton us had raised. My granny stayed de
loom-room all de time. De other winmins done de spinnin' an' she done de
weavin'. She were a' good'n'.

"De M & O (Mobile & Ohio Railroad) were a-burnin' wood, den. Dey couldn'
git coal. Dey used taller[FN: tallow] pots 'stead o' oil. De engineer
had to climb out on de engine hisse'f an' 'tend to dam taller pots. Dey
do diffe'nt now.

"Dey were such a sca'city of men, dey were a-puttin' 'em in de war at
sixty-five. But de war end 'fore dey call dat list.

"Mistis didn' have nobody to he'p her endurin' de war. She had to do de
bes' she could.

"When she hear'd de Niggers talkin' 'bout bein' free, she wore 'em out
wid a cowhide. She warnt a pow'ful-built woman, neither. She had to do
it herse'f, 'cause twant nobody to do it for 'er. Dey warnt nothin' a
Nigger could do but stan' up an' take it.

"Some folks treated dey slaves mighty bad--put Nigger dogs on 'em. All
my white folks were good to dey slaves, 'cordin' to how good de Niggers
b'haved deyse'fs. Course, you couldn' leave no plantation widout a pass,
or de pateroller'd git you. I aint countin' dat, 'cause dat were
somthin' ever'body knowed 'forehan'.

"Dey were a heap o' talk 'bout de Yankees a-givin' ever' Nigger forty
acres an' a mule. I don't know how us come to hear 'b