out it. It jus'
kinda got aroun'. I picked out my mule. All o' us did.

"Times were mighty tough. Us thought us knowed trouble endurin' de war.
Um-m-m! Us didn' know nothin' 'bout trouble.

"Dey were so many slaves at McAllum's, dey had to thin 'em out. Mistis
put us out[FN: hired us out]. She sent me to Mr. Scott close to Scooba.
I were mos' a grown boy by den an' could plow pretty good. Come de
surrender, Mr. Scott say, 'Sambo, I don't have to pay yo' mistis for you
no more. I have to pay you if you stay. Niggers is free. You is free.' I
didn' b'lieve it. I worked dat crop out, but I didn' ask for no pay. Dat
didn' seem right. I didn' un'erstan' 'bout freedom, so I went home to my
old mistis. She say, 'Sambo, you don't b'long to me now.'

"Dey bound us young Niggers out. Dey sent me an' my brother to a man dat
were goin' to give us some learnin' 'long wid farmin'. His name were
Overstreet. Us worked dat crop out, but us aint never seen no speller,
nor nothin'.

"Den us went back to Stephenson's, where us were born, to git us age.
Old mistis say, 'Sambo, you aint twenty-one yet.'

"She cried, 'cause I had to go back to Mr. Overstreet. But I didn'. My
mammy an' me went back to McAllum's an' stayed until a man give us a
patch in turn[FN: return] for us he'pin' him on his farm.

"I know 'bout de Kloo Kluxes[FN: Klu Kluxes]. I seen 'em. 'Bout de firs'
time I seen 'em were de las'. Aint nobody know zackly[FN: exactly] 'bout
dem Kloo Kluxes. Some say it were a sperrit dat hadn' had no water since
de war. One rider would drink fo' or five gallons at one time--kep' us
a-totin' buckets fas' as us could carry 'em. It were a sperrit, a evil
sperrit.

"But folks dat aint acted right liable to be found mos' anytime tied up
some'r's: De Niggers were a-havin' a party one Satu'd'y night on
Hampton's plantation. Come some men on horses wid some kin' o'
scare-face on 'em. Dey were all wropped[FN: wrapped] up, disguised. De
horses were kivered[FN: covered] up, too. Dey call for Miler Hampton. He
were one o' de Hampton Niggers. He been up to somethin'. I don't know
what he done, but dey say he done somethin' bad. Dey didn' have no
trouble gittin' him, 'cause us were all scared us'd git kilt, too. Dey
carried 'im off wid 'em an' kilt him dat very night.

"Us went to DeKalb nex' day in a drove an' ask de white folks to he'p
us. Us buy all de ammunition us could git to take de sperrit, 'cause us
were a-havin' 'nother party de nex' w