his own property. Dey poured asafiddy
(asafetida) and pinetop tea down us, and made us take tea of some sort
or another for 'most all of de ailments dere was dem days. Slaves wore a
nickel or a copper on strings 'round deir necks to keep off sickness.
Some few of 'em wore a dime; but dimes was hard to git.

"One game us chillun played was 'doodle.' Us would find us a doodle hole
and start callin' de doodle bug to come out. You might talk and talk but
if you didn't promise him a jug of 'lasses he wouldn't come up to save
your life. One of de songs us sung playin' chilluns games was sorter lak
dis:

"Whose been here
Since I been gone?
A pretty little gal
Wid a blue dress on."

"Joy was on de way when us heared 'bout freedom, if us did have to
whisper. Marse Joe had done been kilt in de war by a bomb. Mist'ess, she
jus' cried and cried. She didn't want us to leave her, so us stayed on
wid her a long time, den us went off to Mississippi to wuk on de
railroad.

"Dem Yankees stole evvything in sight when dey come along atter de
surrender. Dey was bad 'bout takin' our good hosses and corn, what was
$16 a bushel den. Dey even stole our beehives and tuk 'em off wropt up
in quilts.

"My freedom was brought 'bout by a fight dat was fit 'twixt two men, and
I didn't fight nary a lick myself. Mr. Jefferson Davis thought he was
gwine beat, but Mr. Lincoln he done de winnin'. When Mr. Abraham Lincoln
come to dis passage in de Bible: 'My son, therefore shall ye be free
indeed,' he went to wuk to sot us free. He was a great man--Mr. Lincoln
was. Booker Washin'ton come 'long later. He was a great man too.

"De fust school I went to was de Miller O. Field place. Cam King, de
teacher, was a Injun and evvywhar he went he tuk his flute 'long wid
him.

"Me and my fust wife, Essie Lou Sutton, had a grand weddin', but de
white folks tuk her off wid 'em, and I got me a second wife. She was
Julia Goulder of Putman County. Us didn't have no big doin's at my
second marriage. Our onliest two chillun died whilst dey was still
babies."

Asked about charms, ghosts and other superstitions, he patted himself on
the chest, and boasted: "De charm is in here. I just dare any witches
and ghosties to git atter me. I can see ghosties any time I want to.

"Want me to tell you what happened to me in Gainesville, Georgia? I was
out in de woods choppin' cordwood and I felt somepin' flap at me 'bout
my foots. Atter while I looked down, and dere