and was de apple of my mother's eye.

Father knowed a man that stole his Master's horse out and rode him to
a dance. For some reason de horse died. De poor man knowed he was up
against it, and he let in to begging de men to help him git de horse
on his back so he could put him back in his stable and his Master
would think he died dere. Poor fellow, he really did think he could
tote dat horse on his back. He couldn't git anybody to help him, so he
went to the woods. He was shot by a patroller 'cause he wouldn't
surrender. Dey captured him but he died.

Paul Castleberry was a white preacher. De colored would go to church
de same as de whites. He give de colored instructions on obeying
Masters. He say, "while your Master is going f'om pillar to post,
looking after your intrusts, you is always doing some devilment." I
'spect dat was jest about de truth.

My sister played wid Miss Millie's little girl, Mollie. De big house
was on a high hill and at de foot of de hill. Nearly a half-mile away
was a big creek wid a big wooden bridge across it. Soldiers come by
ever' few days, and you could hear deir horses when dey struck de
bridge. Sister and Mollie would run upstairs and look down de hill,
and if it was Confederate soldiers dey would run back and tell Miss
Millie and dey would start putting out de best food dey had. If dey
saw Yankee soldiers, dey would run down and tell 'em and dey'd start
hiding things.

De Yankees come through dere and took ever' body's horses. Lots of
people took deir horses and cows and hid 'em in some low place in de
deep wood.

Miss Millie had a young horse and she had 'em take him to de wheat
field and hide him. De wheat was as high as he was. De Yankees come
by, and a man had stopped dere just before dey come. He was riding an
old horse, and he was wearing a long linen-duster--a duster was a long
coat dat was worn over de suit to protect it from de dust.

Dis smart-aleck hid behind de house and as de soldiers rode up he shot
at 'em. Dey started shooting at him and he started running, and his
coat was sticking straight out behind him. De soldiers surely wasn't
trying to hit him, but dey sure did scare him plenty. Miss Millie was
certain dey was going to find her horse but dey didn't.

Master John Rogers was good to all his slaves, and they all loved him
and would a'died for him. One day he was sitting in his yard and
Mollie come running down stairs and told him de Yankees was coming. He
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