up de railroad tracks an' toted off ever'thing dey couldn' eat. I don'
un'erstan' nothin' 'bout how come dey act lak dat. Us aint done nothin'
to 'em.

"Well things kep' gittin' worse an' worse. After de Surrender Niggers
got mighty biggity. Mos' of 'em was glad jus' to feel free. Dey didn'
have no better sense. Dey forgot wouldn' be nobody to take care of 'em.
Things warnt healthy an' my mammy an' me kep' close to de white folks.
'Course, Tempe she was grown an' could do what she please. She sho' done
somp'in' when she married Cal. Dat was de meanes' Nigger! He nail up a
board over de gate pos' what say, 'No visitors allowed'. Sho' 'nough
didn' no visitors want to go to his house!

"I don' know how come things got so unnatchel after de Surrender.
Niggers got to bein all kin' o' things what de Lawd didn' inten' 'em
for, lak bein' policemen an' all lak dat. It was scan'lous! 'Course, it
was de Yankees what done it. Dey promise to give ever'body forty acres
o' lan' an' a mule. A lot of 'em didn' have no better sense dan to
believe 'em. Dey'd go 'head an' do what de Yankees 'ud tell 'em. Well,
dey didn' give' em nothin', not even a rooster. Didn' give 'em _nothin'_
but trouble.

"I don' know how come Mr. Theodore Sturges' brother was a Yankee. But
after de Surrender he come to Mer-ree-dian an' got to be Mayor. Didn'
none o' de white folks lak dat. Mr. Theodore didn' lak it hisse'f, but
nothin' he could do 'bout it. Things got so bad de Kloo-Kluxes[FN: Klu
Klux] started ridin' at night an' sposin'[FN: disposing] o' bad Niggers.
Den one Satu'd'y night Mr. Theodore's big sto' got set fiah to an' de
Mayor he tried to blame it on de Kloo-Kluxes. 'Course ever'body knowed
de Yankees done it. You see de Yankees was a-tryin' to git de Gov'nor to
run de Kloo-Kluxes out. Dat was one awful fiah. Near 'bout de whole town
burnt up down town an' ever' nice white man was down dare a-fightin' de
fiah.

"Plenty o' Niggers was out, too, doin' devlishment. Three of 'em got
'rested an' dey had de trial Monday. In de meantime, all de
Yankee-lovin' Niggers had a big meetin' an' de loudes' mouf dere was dat
big buck Nigger Bill. He all time call hisse'f Dennis when he don' call
hisse'f Clopton. Here dey goes, all het up frum makin' speeches an'
a-drinkin', an' packs de courtroom full. When Mr. Patton got up on de
stan' an' say, he sho' done hear Bill Dennis say somp'in', Bill he
holler out, 'Dat's a lie!' Only he say a bad word dat I wouldn