and laid 'em on coolin' boards 'til de coffins
was made, Dey put a suit of homespun clothes on de mens when dey laid
'em out. Dey jus' had a prayer when dey buried plantation slaves, but
when de crops was laid by, maybe a long time atter de burial, dey would
have a white man come preach a fun'ral sermon and de folks would all
sing: _Harps (Hark) From De Tomb_ and _Callin' God's Chillun Home_.

"Dere warn't no patterollers in town, but slaves had to have passes if
dey was out atter 9:00 o'clock at night or de town marshal would put a
fine on 'em if dey couldn't show no pass.

"De fust I knowed 'bout de war was when Marse Joe's brother, Marse
Bennie Carlton, left wid de other sojers and pretty soon he got kilt. I
was little den, and it was de fust time I had ever seed our Mist'ess
cry. She jus' walked up and down in de yard a-wringin' her hands and
cryin'. 'Poor Benny's been killed,' she would say over and over.

"When dem yankee sojers come, us warn't much skeered 'cause Marse Joe
had done told us all 'bout 'em and said to spect 'em 'fore long. Sho'
'nough, one day dey come a-lopin' up in Marse Joe's yard. Dey had dem
old blue uniforms on and evvy one of 'em had a tin can and a sack tied
to his saddle. Marster told us dey kept drinkin' water in dem cans and
dey called 'em canteens. De sacks was to carry deir victuals in. Dem
fellows went all through out big house and stole whatever dey wanted.
Dey got all of Mist'ess' best silver 'cause us didn't have no time to
hide it atter us knowed dey was nigh 'round de place. Dey tuk all de
somepin' t'eat dere was in de big house. When dey had done et all dey
wanted and tuk evvything else dey could carry off, dey called us Negroes
up 'fore deir captain, and he said all of us was free and could go any
time and anywhar us wanted to go. Dey left, and us never seed 'em in dat
yard no more. Marse Joe said all of us dat wanted to could stay on wid
him. None of us had nowhar else to go and 'sides nobody wanted to go
nowhar else, so evvy one of Marse Joe's Negroes stayed right on wid him
dat next year. Us warn't skeered of dem Kluxers (Ku Klux Klan) here in
town, but dey was right bad out on de plantations.

"'Bout de time I was old enough to go to school, Daddy moved away from
Marse Joe's. Us went over to de other side of de river nigh whar de old
check mill is. Dey had made guns dar durin' de war, and us chillun used
to go and look all through dat old mill house. Us played 'long de ri