went on, sayin' I his nigger
and wasn't gwine 'way off to Arkansas.

"Ole mars, he knowed my mammy and pappy, dey wasn't gwine be satisfied
widout all dere chillun wid 'em, so en course I was brung on too. You
see, ole mars and he fambly, dey didn' come and we was sont under de
oberseer what was name Jim Lynch and us come on de train to Memphis and
dat was when I got so skeered 'cause I hadn' nebber seen no train 'fore
den an' I just hollered an' cried an' went on so dat my mammy say if I
didn' hush up she gwine give me to de paddy rollers.

"Dey put us on de steamboat at Memphis and de nex' I 'member was us
gittin' off at de landin'. It was in de winter time 'bout las' of
January us git here and de han's was put right to work clearin' lan' and
buildin' cabins. It was sure rich lan' den, boss, and dey jus' slashed
de cane and deaden de timber and when cotton plantin' time come de cane
was layin' dere on de groun' crisp dry and day sot fire to it and burned
it off clean and den planted de crops.

"Ole mars, he would come from Alabama to see 'bout de bizness two an'
three times every year and on some of dem 'casions he would bring Mars
Jeff wid him and Mars Jeff, he allus nebber failed to hab somethin' for
me, candy and sich like, and dem times when Mars Jeff come was when we
had de fun. Us just run wild playin' and iffen it was in de summer time
we was in de bayou swimmin' or fishin' continual but all dem good times
ceasted atter a while when de War come and de Yankees started all dere
debbilment. Us was Confedrits all de while, leastwise I means my mammy
an' my pappy and me an' all de res' of de chillun 'cause ole mars was
and Mars Jeff would er fit 'em too and me wid him iffen we had been ole
enough.

"But de Yankees, dey didn' know dat we was Confedrits, dey jus' reckon
we like most all de res' of de niggers. Us was skeered of dem Yankees
though 'cause us chillun cose didn' know what dey was and de oberseer,
Jim Lynch, dey done tole us little uns dat a Yankee was somepin what had
one great big horn on he haid and just one eye and dat right in de
middle of he breast and, boss, I sure was s'prized when I seen a sure
'nough Yankee and see he was a man just like any er de res' of de folks.

"De war tore up things right sharp yit an' still it wasn't so bad here
in Arkansas as I hear folks tell it was back in de yolder states like
Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. De bes' I riccolect de Yankees come in
here 'bout July o