time masters suffered as well as their slaves, for many of
their sons went gaily forth to battle and were never heard of again.
Simpson Rigerson, son of "Marse" Jesse Rigerson, was lost to his
parents. A younger son, who lost his right hand while "helping" feed
cane to a grinder, is the only member of the family now living.

Sorrow did not break this slaves group and they soon learned to sing
away their troubles. One song which gives some light on their attitude
toward the government went as follows:

I. Jeff Davis rode the gray horse
Ole Lincoln rode the mule
Jeff Davis is the gentleman
Ole Lincoln is the fool

Chorus:

I'll lay ten dollars down
I'll count it one by one.
I'll give ten dollars to know the man
Who struck Peter Butler's son.

II. I lay down in my bed
I lay down in no dread
Conscript come and took me
And dragged me from my bed.

III. I went down a new cut road
She went down the lane
I turned my back upon her
And 'long come Liza Jane.

After freedom was declared, Bryant Huff's family moved several miles
from the Rigerson plantation to one owned by an elderly woman. They ran
from a mean master but their flight was a "leap from the frying pan into
the fire", for this woman proved even worse than their former master. At
the close of the war the K.K.K. was very active and their fearful
exploits made them the terror of the slaves. A band of the latter was
organized to attempt to curb the K.K.K. activities. Neither gang knew
who was a member of the other, but their clashes were frequent. One
night the K.K.K. appeared at the Huff cabin and when admitted took the
father, an uncle, and a man named Mansfield from the house. After
forcing the father to break a gun which he had borrowed from Mr.
Rigerson, they beat him so brutally that his arm was broken. The uncle,
a minister who preached a type of doctrine that they liked, was
unharmed. Mansfield, accused of being a member of the anti-K.K.K. gang,
was beaten unmercifully. While this was being done, two members of the
gang returned to the house where they searched the back room (men slept
in the front room, the women and children in the rear) to see if any
adults were secreted there. The small boys under the bed said "Don't
harm us, we're only children". After this outrage, done at the request
of the mistress, the Huff family moved