and black, but de Lord was mindful of his own.

"I knows nothin' else to tell you, 'less you would be pleased to hear
'bout what de cyclone did to my old missus and de old Sterling house.
Somewhere 'bout 1880's one of them super knockshal (equinoctial) storms
come 'long, commencin' over in Alabama or Georgia, crossed de Savannah
River, sweep through South Carolina, layin' trees to de ground, cuttin'
a path a quarter of a mile wide, as it traveled from west to east. Every
house it tech, it carry de planks and shingles and sills and joists 'way
wid it. De old Sterling house was in de path. Dere was a big oak tree in
de front yard. Old miss and her son, Robert, was dere and Miss Heppie, a
granddaughter, was in dat house. De storm hit dat house 'bout 9 o'clock
dat night and never left a bit of it, 'cept some of de bricks. Some of
de logs and sills was found de nex' day over at de other side of de
railroad track. Some of de planks was found six miles east, some of de
shingles across Catawba River, 25 miles east, and curious to say, de
wind blowed old miss against de big oak tree and kill her. It blowed
Miss Heppie in de top of dat tree where she was settin' a cryin' and
couldn't git down, and it never harm a hair of Marse Robert's head. Him
look 'round for Miss Heppie, couldn't find her, went off to get help,
and when they come back, they have to git a ladder from old Mr. Bob
Mobley's house to git her down.

"Well, here comes my daughters. I hear one outside but I bet you don't
hear a thing. Dats deir steps I hear. Glad for you to meet them. They is
mighty fine gals, if I do have to say so. They come up wid good white
folks, de Mills'. Marse Jim Mills have family prayer in de mornin' and
family prayer befo' they go to bed. Dat was de fust thing wid him and de
last thing wid de Mills' family. If all de families do dat way, dere
would be de answer to de prayer, 'Dy kingdom come, Dy will be done, on
earth, as 'tis in hebben'.

"Well, give me my stick. Here they is. I bids you goodbye and God bless
you."

Reference:

Personal interview with Aunt Dolly Haynes, age 91
Arthurtown, S.C.

AUNT DOLLY HAYNES
EX-SLAVE, 91 YEARS OLD, ARTHURTOWN S.C.

"I nebber wuz no rockin' chair setter. I ain't nebber had no time to set
down and do nuthin'. I wuz born at Euta, South Carolina. We belong to
Marse Charlie Baumer. My Ma died and lef four motherless chillun but de
missus wuz mighty good to us--call us her chil