ey hung my gran'mammy an' gran'pappy. Dey hung dem bof
at de same time an' from de same lim' of de tree, but dat was way back
yonder befo' Mistah Lincoln come down here to set de niggers free. My
mammy wuzn' but six months ole den an' I wuzn' even bawn, but Aunt
Becky tole me 'bout it when I was ole enough to lissen.

"Dis ain' no nice tale you gwine hear. It's de truf, but 'tain't nice.
De fus' time I heard it I didn' sleep none for a week. Everytime I shut
my eyes I seed Marse Drew Norwood wid dat funnel in his mouf an' de hot
steam blowin' up like a cloud 'roun' his wicked face an' skeered eyes.

"Dey say my gran'pappy's Ole Marse was de meanes' white man de Lawd
ever let breath de breaf of life. His name was Marse Drew Norwood. He
was de riches' lan' owner anywhare 'roun'. He owned more lan' an' more
niggers den anybody in Person or Granville counties. But he didn' make
his money wid no farm, no suh, he sho didn', he made his money buyin'
an' sellin' niggers. He bought dem cheap an' sold dem high. He would
catch all de niggers dat run away from other plantations an' keep dem
in his lockup 'twell he fatten dem, den he would take dem way off down
in Georgia, Alabama or some place like dat an' sell dem for a big
price. He would come back wid his pockets runnin' over wid money. Some
folks say he stold niggers to sell, but nobody never could catch him.

"Marse Drew lived over here on de Virginia line 'tween Red Bank an'
Blue Wing. He owned lan' 'cross de No'th Carolina line too an' lived
close to Blue Wing. He treated his niggers so mean dey was all de time
runnin' off. If he caught dem he beat dem near 'bout to death. He did
beat Cindy Norwood to death one time kaze she run off to Marse Reuben
Jones place an' axed him to keep her. She got pizen in de cut places on
her back an' had fits three days befo' de Lawd took her. But Marse Drew
jus' laugh an' say he didn' keer; dat she wuzn' no 'count nohow.

"I ain't never seed Marse Drew kaze I was bawn way after de niggers was
freed, but dey tole me he looked like a mad bull. He was short wid a
big head set forward on his big shoulders. His neck was so short dat he
couldn' wear no collar; he jus' kept de neck bindin' of his shirt
pinned wid a diaper pin. De debil done lit a lamp an' set it burnin' in
his eyes; his mouf was a wicked slash cut 'cross his face, an' when he
got mad his lips curled back from his teef like a mad dog's. When he
cracked his whip de niggers swinged a