e no trouble. Dem days, dere
warn't no fence law, and calves was jus' turned loose in de pastur to
graze. Da fust time I went by myself to drive de cows off to graze and
come back wid 'em, Aunt Vinnie 'ported a bunch of de cows was missin',
'bout 20 of em, when she done de milkin' dat night, and I had to go back
huntin' dem cows. De moon come out, bright and clear, but I couldn't see
dem cows nowhar--didn't even hear de bell cow. Atter while I was
standin' in de mayberry field a-lookin' crost Dry Fork Crick and dere
was dem cows. De bell was pulled so clost on de bell cow's neck whar she
was caught in de bushes, dat it couldn't ring. I looked at dem cows--den
I looked at de crick whar I could see snakes as thick as de fingers on
your hand, but I knowed I had to git dem cows back home, so I jus' lit
out and loped 'cross dat crick so fast dem snakes never had no chanct to
bite me. Dat was de wust racket I ever got in.

"Marse David and Miss Betsey tuk moughty good keer of deir Niggers,
'specially when dey was sick. Dr. Bynam Bell, deir oldest son, was a
doctor but Miss Betsey was a powerful good hand at doctoring herself.
She looked atter all da slave 'omans. For medicines dey give us asafiddy
(asafetida), calomel, and castor oil more dan anything else for our
diff'unt ailments.

"Marse David's nephew, Mr. Henry Bell, visited at de big house durin' de
war, and he was cut down jus' a few days atter he left us and went back
to de battlefield.

"Us had been hearin' fust one thing and another 'bout freedom might
come, when one mornin' Mr. Will Bell, a patteroller, come ridin' on his
hoss at top speed thoo' de rye field whar us was at wuk. Us made sho' he
was atter some pore slave, 'til he yelled out: 'What you Niggers wukkin'
for? Don't you know you is free as jay birds?' 'Bout dat time de trumpet
blowed for dinner and us fell in line a-marchin' up to de big house.
Marse David said: 'You all might jus' as well be free as anybody else.'
Den he promised to give us somepin' to eat and wear if us would stay on
wid him, and dere us did stay for 'bout three years atter de war. I was
burnt up den, 'cause I didn't have de privilege of ridin' 'hind Miss
Betsey on old Puss no more when she went to meetin'.

"Whar us lived, Ku Kluxers was called 'night thiefs.' Dey stole money
and weepons (weapons) f'um Niggers atter de war. Dey tuk $50 in gold
f'um me and $50 in Jeff Davis' shimplasters f'um my brother. Pa and Ma
had left dat money