bed. Dat wuz nine o'clock. [HW: New paragraph indicated]

De boss man looked atter us when we wuz sick. He got doctors. I had the
typhoid fever. All my hair came out. Dey called it de "mittent fever."
Dr. Thomas Banks doctored me. He been dead a long time. Oh! I don't know
how long he been dead. Near all my white folks were found dead. Mr. John
died outside.

Walton died in bed. Marster Joe Walton died sitting under a tree side de
path. Miss Hancey died in bed.

I 'member the day de war commenced. My marster called my father and my
two uncles Handy and Hyman, our marster called 'em. Dey had started back
to the field to work in the afternoon. He said, 'Cum here boys,' that
wuz our young marster, Ben Walton, says 'cum here boys. I got sumptin'
to tell you.' Uncle Hyman said, 'I can't. I got to go to work.' He said
'Come here and set down, I got sumptin' to tell you.'

The niggers went to him and set down. He told them; 'There is a war
commenced between the North and the South. If the North whups you will
be as free a man as I is. If the South whups you will be a slave all
your days.'

Mr. Joe Walton said when he went to war dat dey could eat breakfast at
home, go and whup the North, and be back far dinner. He went away, and it
wuz four long years before he cum back to dinner. De table wuz shore set
a long time for him. A lot of de white folks said dey wouldn't be much
war, dey could whup dem so easy. Many of dem never did come back to
dinner. I wuz afraid of the Yankees because Missus had told us the
Yankees were going to kill every nigger in the South. I hung to my mammy
when dey come through.

I thought Abraham Lincoln wuz the Medicine man, with grip in his han',
cause he said every borned man must be free.

I did not think anything of Jeff Davis. I thank de will of God for
setting us free. He got into Abraham Lincoln and the Yankees. We are
thankful to the Great Marster dat got into Lincoln and the Yankees. Dey
say Booker Washington wuz fine, I don't know.

The white folks did not allow us to have nuthing to do wid books. You
better not be found, tryin' to learn to read. Our marster wuz harder
down on dat den anything else. You better not be ketched wid a book. Day
read the Bible and told us to obey our marster for de Bible said obey
your marster.

The first band of music I ever herd play the Yankees wuz playin' it.
They were playin' a song. 'I am tired of seeing de homespun dresses the
southern women wear'.