place and on Sunday us all go to church,
and Massa John do de preachin'. Dey rides in de buggy and us follow in
de wagon. De white folks sets in front de church and us in back.

"I can't tell you how long us stay at de college, 'zactly, but us moves
to Warm Springs to take de baths and drink de water, in Scott County.
Dat two, three years befo' de war, and Massa John run de hotel and
preach on Sunday. I think dere am three springs, one sulphur water and
one lime water and one a warm spring. I does a little bit of everything
round de hotel, helps folks off de stage when it druv up, wait on table
and sich. When I hears de horn blow--you know, de stage driver blow it
when dey top de hill 'bout two miles 'way, to let you know dey comin'--I
sho' hustle round and git ready to meet it, 'cause most times folks what
I totes de grips for gives me something. Dat de first money I ever seed.
Some de folks gives me de picayune--dat what us call a nickel, now, and
some gives me two shillin's, what same as two-bits now. A penny was big
den, jes' like a two-bit piece, now.

"But when war begin 'tween de Yankees and de South, it sho' change
everything up, 'cause folks quit comin' to de Springs and de soldiers
takes over de place. Massa Milton go to jine de South Army and gits
kill. Morgan and he men make de Springs headquarters most de war, till
de Yankees come marchin' through toward de last part. I know pappy say
dem Yankees gwine win, 'cause dey allus marchin' to de South, but none
de South soldiers marches to de North. He didn't say dat to de white
folks, but he sho' say it to us. When de Yankees come marchin' through,
de Morgan soldiers jes' hide out till dey gone. Dey never done no
fightin' round Warm Springs. Lots of times dey goes way for couple weeks
and den comes back and rests awhile.

"Den one mornin'--I 'members it jes' like it yestiddy, it de fourth of
July in 1865--Miss Lizzie say to me, 'Willie, I wants you to git you
papa and de rest de family and have dem come to de porch right away.' I
scurries round quick like and tells dem and she comes out of de house
and says, 'Now, de Yankees done sot you free and you can do what you
wants, but you gwineter see more carpet baggers and liars dan you ever
has seed, and you'll be worse off den you ever has been, if you has
anythin' to do with dem. Den she opens de book and tells us all when us
born and how old us am, so us have some record 'bout ourselves. She
tells me I'm jes' nin