time.

"I member when de Yankees come through. I wuz right to de old boss'
place. It wuz on de river side. Miss Jane Warner, she wuz de missus. De
place heah now--where all de chillun raise. Mr. Rhodes got a turpentine
still dere now--jes after you pass de house. Dey burn de ginhouse, de
shop, de buggyhouse, de turkeyhouse an' de fowlhouse. Start to set de
cornhouse afire, but my Ma say: 'Please sir, don't burn de cornhouse.
Gie it to me an' my chillun.' So dey put de fire out. I member when dey
started to break down de smokehouse door, an' ole Missus come out an'
say: 'Please don't break de door open, I got de key.' So dey quit. I
remember when dey shoot down de hog. I remember when dey shoot de two
geese in de yard. Dey choked my Ma. Dey went to her an' dey say; 'Where
is all de white people gold an' silver?' My Ma say she don't know. 'You
does know!' dey say, an' choke her till she couldn't talk. Dey went into
de company room where de ole Miss wuz stayin' an' start tearin' up de
bed. Den de captain come an' de ole Miss say to him: 'Please don't let
'em tear up my bed,' an' de captain went in dere an' tell 'em 'Come
out!'.

De ole Miss wasn't scared. But de young Miss May was sure scared. She
was courtin' at de time. She went off an' shut herself up in a room. De
ole Miss ask de captain: 'Please go in an' talk to de Miss, she so
scared'. So he went in an' soon he bring her out. We chillun wasn't
scared. But my brother run under de house. De soldiers went under dere
a-pokin' de bayonets into de ground to try to find where de silver
buried, an' dey ran 'cross him. 'What you doin' under heah?' dey say.
'I'se jes runnin' de chickens out, sir,' he say. 'Well, you kin go on
out,' dey say. 'We aint gwine to hurt you.'

'I remember when dey kill de hog an' cook 'em. Cook on de fire where de
little shop been. Cook 'em an' eat 'em. Why didn't dey cook 'em on de
stove in de house? Didn't have no stoves. Jes had to cook on de
fireplace. Had an oven to fit in de fireplace. I remember when my Ma saw
de Yankees comin' dat mornin' she grab de sweet potatoes dat been in dat
oven and throw 'em in de barrel of feathers dat stayed by de kitchen
fireplace. Jes a barrel to hold chicken feathers when you pick 'em.
Dat's all we had to eat dat day. Dem Yankees put de meat in de sack an'
go on off. It was late den, 'bout dusk. I remember how de Missus bring
us all 'round de fire. It was dark den.

'Well chillun,' she say, 'I is sorry to t