HW correction: come back] to Raleigh he brung us niggers back
some candy. He went to Raleigh erbout twice er year. Raleigh wuz er far
ways from de plantations--near 'bout sixty miles. [HW notation:
check--appears to be about 40 miles only.] It always took Marse Frank
three days to make de trip. A day to go, er' day to stay in town, an' a
day to come back. Den he always got home in de night. Ceptn' [HW
addition: when] he rode ho'se back 'stead of de carriage, [HW addition:
an'] den sometimes he got home by sun down.

Marse Frank didn' go to de war. He wuz too ole. So when de Yankees come
through dey foun' him at home. When Marse Frank seed de blue coats
comin' down de road he run an' got his gun. De Yankees was on horses. I
ain't never seed so many men. Dey was thick as hornets comin' down de
road in a cloud of dus' [HW: correction "dust"]. Dey come up to de house
an' tied de horses to de palin's; [HW correction: dey was so many dey
was stan] 'roun' de yard [HW addition: fence]. When dey seed Marse Frank
standin' on de po'ch [HW correction: porch] wid de gun leveled on dem,
dey got mad. Time Marse Frank done shot one time [HW correction: "once
a"] a bully Yankee snatched de gun away an' tole Marse Frank to hold up
his hand. Den dey tied his hands an' pushed him down on de floor 'side
de house an' tole him dat if he moved [HW addition: a inch] dey would
shoot him. Den dey went in de house.

I wuz skeered near 'bout to death, but I run in de kitchen an' got a
butcher knife, an' when de Yankees wasn' lookin', I tried to cut de rope
an' set Marse Frank free. But one of dem blue debils seed me an' come
runnin'. He say:

'Whut you doin', you black brat! you stinkin' little alligator bait!' He
snatched de knife from my hand an' told me to stick out my tongue, dat
he wuz gwine to cut it off. I let out a yell an' run behin' de house.

Some of de Yankees was in de smoke house gettin' de meat, some of dem
wuz at de stables gettin' de ho'ses, an' some of dem wuz in de house
gettin' de silver an' things. I seed dem put de big silver pitcher an'
tea pot in a bag. Den dey took de knives an' fo'ks an' all de candle
sticks an' platters off de side board. Dey went in de parlor an' got de
gol' clock dat wuz Mis' Mary Jane's gran'mammy's. Den dey got all de
jewelry out of Mis' Mary Jane's box.

Dey went up to Mis' Mary Jane, an' while she looked at dem wid her black
eyes snappin', dey took de rings off her fingers; den dey took her gol'