e down a fool 'cause I born on dat p'ticular April Fool
Day, 1852. When I gits through wid you, I wants you to say if dat
birthday have any 'fect on dis old man's sensibility.

"My pappy was name Dick. Him was bought by General Bratton from de sale
of de Evans estate. My pappy often tell mammy and us chillun, dat his
pappy was ketched in Africa and fetched to America on a big ship in a
iron cage, 'long wid a whole heap of other black folks, and dat he was
powerful sick at de stomach de time he was on de ship.

"My mammy was name Charlotte. Her say her know nothin' 'bout her daddy
or where he come from. One of my brothers is de Reverend Jackson C.
Evans, age 72. Richard, another brother, is 65 years old. All of us born
on de Canaan Bratton place. General Bratton love dat place; so him named
it proud, like de Land of Canaan.

"I help to bring my brother Richard, us calls him Dick, into de world.
Dat is, when mammy got in de pains, I run for de old granny on de place
to come right away. Us both run all de way back. Good us did, for dat
boy come right away. I 'members, to dis hour and minute, dat as soon as
dat boy got here, he set de house full of noise, a-cryin' like a cat
squallin'. All chillun does dat though, as soon as they come into de
world. I got one sister older than me; her name Jenny Watson. Her live
in a house on de Canaan place, callin' distance from where I live. Us is
Methodists. A proud family, brought low by Mr. Hoover and his crowd. Had
to sell our land. 'Spect us would have starved, as us too proud to beg.
Thank God, Mr. Roosevelt come 'long. Him never ask whether us democrat
or 'publican nor was us black or white; him just clothe our nakedness
and ease de pains of hunger, and goin' further, us goin' to be took care
of in our old age. Oh, how I love dat man; though they do say him got
enemies.

"My brother, de preacher, says dat occasioned by de fact dat de
President got a big stick and a big foot, dat sometime he tromp on de
gout foots of some of them rich people. Howsomever, he say dat as long
as de Lord, de Son, and de Holy Ghost is wid de President, it'll be all
right for us colored folks. It makes no difference 'bout who is against
de President. He says us niggers down South can do nothin' but be
Methodist, pray to de Lord, and shout for de President. I's goin' to try
to do some of de prayin' but dis voice too feeble to do much shoutin'.

"What kind of house us live in at slavery time? Nice plan