on de "railroad system." When de runaway
niggers got to de North dey had to go in de army, and dat boy from our
place got killed. He was a good boy, but dey jest talked him into it.
Dem railroaders was honest, and dey didn't take no presents, but de
patrollers was low white trash!

We all knowed dat if a patroller jest rode right by and didn't say
nothing dat he was doing his honest job, but iffen he stopped his hoss
and talked to a nigger he was after some kind of trade.

Dat other black boy was hoeing cotton way in de back of de field and
de patroller rid up and down de big road, saying nothing to nobody.

De next day another white man was on de job, and long in de evening a
man come by and axed de niggers about de fishing and hunting! Dat
black boy seen he was de same man what was riding de day befo' and he
knowed it was a underground trick. But he didn't see all de trick,
bless God!

We found out afterwards dat he told his mammy about it. She worked at
de big house and she stole something for him to give dat low white
trash I reckon, 'cause de next day he played sick along in de evening
and de black overlooker--he was my uncle--sent him back to de
quarters.

He never did git there, but when dey started de hunt dey found him
about a mile away in de woods wid his head shot off, and old Master
sold his mammy to a trader right away. He never whipped his grown
niggers.

Dat was de way it worked. Dey was all kinds of white folks jest like
dey is now. One man in Sesesh clothes would shoot you if you tried to
run away. Maybe another Sesesh would help slip you out to the
underground and say "God bless you poor black devil", and some of dem
dat was poor would help you if you could bring 'em sumpin you stole,
lak a silver dish or spoons or a couple big hams. I couldn't blame
them poor white folks, wid the men in the War and the women and
children hongry. The niggers didn't belong to them nohow, and they had
to live somehow. But now and then they was a devil on earth, walking
in the sight of God and spreading iniquity before him. He was de
low-down Sesesh dat would take what a poor runaway nigger had to give
for his chance to git away, and den give him 'structions dat would
lead him right into de hands of de patrollers and git him caught or
shot!

Yes, dat's de way it was. Devils and good people walking in de road at
de same time, and nobody could tell one from t'other.

I remember about de trickery so good 'cause I