, an' he was
good an' kind to 'em, but when dey didn' do right he would whip 'em, but
he didn' beat 'em. He niver stripped 'em to whip 'em. Yes ma'm, he
whipped me but I needed it. One day I tol' him I was not goin' to do
whut he tol' me to do--feed de mule--but when he got through wid me I
_wanted_ to feed dat mule.

"I come to live wid Marse Murry 'fo dar was a town here. Dar was only
fo' houses in dis place when I was a boy. I seed de fust train dat come
to dis here town an' it made so much noise dat I run frum it. Dat smoke
puffed out'n de top an' de bell was ringin' an' all de racket it did
make made me skeered.

"I heered dem talkin' 'bout de war but I didn' know whut dey meant an'
one day Marse Murry said he had jined de Quitman Guards an' was goin' to
de war an' I had to go wid him. Old Missus cried an' my mammy cried but
I thought it would be fun. He tuk me 'long an' I waited on him. I kept
his boots shinin' so yer could see yer face in 'em. I brung him water
an' fed an' cur'ied his hoss an' put his saddle on de hoss fer him. Old
Missus tol' me to be good to him an' I was.

"One day I was standin' by de hoss an' a ball kilt[FN: killed] de hoss
an' he fell over dead an' den I cried like it mout[FN: might] be my
brudder. I went way up in Tennessee an' den I was at Port Hudson. I seed
men fall dawn an' die; dey was kilt like pigs. Marse Murry was shot an'
I stayed wid him 'til dey could git him home. Dey lef' me behin' an'
Col. Stockdale an' Mr. Sam Matthews brung me home.

"Marse Murry died an' Old Missus run de place. She was good an' kind to
us all an' den she mar'ied afte' while to Mr. Gatlin. Dat was afte' de
war was over.

"Whil'st I was in de war I seed Mr. Jeff Davis. He was ridin' a big hoss
an' he looked mighty fine. I niver seed him 'ceptin he was on de hoss.

"Dey said old man Abe Lincoln was de nigger's friend, but frum de way
old Marse an' de sojers talk 'bout him I thought he was a mighty mean
man.

"I doan recollec' when dey tol' us we was freed but I do know Mr. Gatlin
would promise to pay us fer our work an' when de time would come fer to
pay he said he didn' have it an' kep' puttin us off, an' we would work
some more an' git nothin' fer it. Old Missus would cry an' she was good
to us but dey had no money.

"'Fo de war Marse Murry would wake all de niggers by blowin' a big
'konk' an' den when dinner time would come Old Missus would blow de
'konk' an' call dem to dinner. I got so I could