en a white man named Billy Britt walked up and throwed a glass of
whiskey in Jordan's face and cussed him for being in de Yankee army.
Then a white man from the North named Pearson took up the fight and
him and Jordan jumped on Billy Britt, but de crowd stopped them and
told pappy to git on back to whar he come from.

He got elected a delegate at de convention and went on down to
Nashville and helped nominate Brownlow for governor. Then he couldn't
come back home for a while, but finally he did.

Old Master was uneasy about de way things was going on, and he come
out to de farm and stayed in de big house a while.

One day in broad daylight he was on de gallery and down de road come
'bout 20 bushwhackers in Sesesh clothes on horses and rid up to de
gate. Old Master knowed all of them, and Captain Clay Taylor, who had
been de master of de nigger delegate, was at the head of them.

They had Jordan Pyles tied with a rope and walked along on de ground
betwixt two horses.

"Whar you taking my nigger?", Old Master say. He run down off de
gallery and out in de road.

"He ain't your nigger no more--you know that", old Captain Taylor
holler back.

"He jest as much my nigger as that Taylor nigger was your nigger, and
you ain't laid hands on him! Now you jest have pity on my nigger!"

"Your nigger Jordan been in de Yankee army, and he was in de battle at
Fort Piller and help kill our white folks, and you know it!" Old
Captain Taylor say, and argue on like that, but old Master jest take
hold his bridle and shake his head.

"No, Clay", he say, "that boy maybe didn't kill Confederates, but you
and him both know my two boys killed plenty Yankees, and you forgot I
lost one of my boys in de War. Ain't that enough to pay for letting my
nigger alone?"

And old Captain Taylor give the word to turn Jordan loose, and they
rid on down de road.

That's one reason my stepdaddy never did leave old Master's place, and
I stayed on dere till I was grown and had children.

The Yankees come through past our place three-four times, and one time
they had a big battle jest a mile and a half away at Parker's
Crossroads.

I was in de field hoeing, and I remember I hadn't watered the cows we
had hid way down in de woods, so I started down to water them when I
first heard de shooting.

We had de stock hid down in de woods and all de corn and stuff hid
too, 'cause the Yankees and the Sesesh had been riding through quite a
lot, and either on