ther
look and make another guess. Seventy-five? You is growin' warm but
you'll have to come again!

"Bless your soul Marse Wood, you know what old Mudder Shifton say? She
'low dat: 'In de year 1881, de world to an end will surely come'. I was
twenty-five years old when all de niggers and most of de white folks was
believin' dat old lady and lookin' for de world to come to an end in
1881. Dat was de year dat I jined de church, 'cause I wanted to make
sure dat if de end did come, I'd be caught up in dat rapture dat de
white Methodist preacher was preachin' 'bout and explainin' to my
marster and mistress at deir house on de piazza dat year.

"I is eighty-one years old. I was born up on de Wateree River, close to
Great Falls. My marster was Ozmond Barber. My mistress was name Miss
Elizabeth; her de wife of Marse Ozmond. My pappy was name Jacob. My
mammy went by de name of Jemima. They both come from Africa where they
was born. They was 'ticed on a ship, fetch 'cross de ocean to Virginny,
fetch to Winnsboro by a slave drover, and sold to my marster's father.
Dat what they tell me. When they was sailin' over, dere was five or six
hundred others all together down under de first deck of de ship, where
they was locked in. They never did talk lak de other slaves, could just'
say a few words, use deir hands, and make signs. They want deir
collards, turnips, and deir 'tators, raw. They lak sweet milk so much
they steal it.

"Pappy care-nothin' 'bout clothes and wouldn't wear shoes in de winter
time or any time. It was 'ginst de law to bring them over here when they
did, I learn since. But what is de law now and what was de law then,
when bright shiny money was in sight? Money make de automobile go. Money
make de train go. Money make de mare go, and at dat time I 'spect money
make de ships go. Yes sir, they, my pappy and mammy, was just smuggled
in dis part of de world, I bet you!

"War come on, my marster went out as a captain of de Horse Marines. A
tune was much sung by de white folks on de place and took wid de
niggers. It went lak dis:

'I'm Captain Jenks of de Horse Marines
I feed my horse on corn and beans.
Oh! I'm Captain Jenks of de Horse Marines
And captain in de army!'"

"When de Yankees come they seem to have special vengeance for my white
folks. They took everything they could carry off and burnt everything
they couldn't carry off.

"Mistress and de chillun have to go to Chester to git a place to sleep