he ground.

"Mammy and dem tell me when war am over de boss and he wife, dey calls
de slaves up in de bunch and tells 'em, 'You's free as I is. Keep on or
quit, if you wants. You don't have to stay no further, you's free
today.' Dat near June 19th, and all of 'em stays. Massa say, 'Go 'head
and finish de crop and I feed you and pay you.' Dey all knowed when he
kilt de hawgs us git plenty of meat. Dat young massa say all dat, 'cause
old massa done git kilt.

"It's at Panola County where I first hears of de Klux. Dey call dem
White Caps den. Dey move over in Panola County and ranges at de place
call Big Creek Merval by McFaddin Creek. Dey's purty rough. De
landowners tell dey niggers not to kill de White Caps but to scare dem
'way. At night dey come knock and if you don't open it dey pry it open
and run you out in de field. Dey run de niggers from Merryville round
Longview. Dey some good men in de Klux and some bad men. But us work
hard and go home and dey ain't bother us none.

"Dey used to be a nigger round dere, call Bandy Joe. He git kilt at
Nacogdoches fin'ly. He could turn into anything. De jedge of he parish
was Massa Lee and he say dey ought let Bandy Joe live, so dey could larn
he art. Dey done try cotch him de long time, and maybe be holdin' him
and first thing they know he gone and dey left holdin' he coat. Dey
shoot at him and not hurt him. He tell he wife dey ain't no kind bullet
can hurt him but de silver bullet.

"Dat Bandy Joe, he say he a spirit and a human both. Iffen he didn't
want you to see him you jus' couldn't see him. Lots of folks liked him.
De jedge say he wish he could'a been brung to town, so he could 'zamine
him 'bout he gifts. De jedge knowed Bandy Joe could dis'pear jus' like
nothin', and he like to hear he quotation how he git out he skin. I'd
like to know dat myself.

"I 'magines I seed ghosties two, three times. I used to range round at
nighttime. I rides through a old slavery field and de folks tell me,
'Harry, you better be careful gwine 'cross dat old field. They's things
dere what makes mules run 'way. One night it am late and my mule run
'way. I make my mind I go back and see what he run from and somethin' am
by de fence like de bear stand up straight. It stand dere 'bout fifteen
minutes while I draws my best 'pinion of it. I didn't get any nearer dan
to see it. A man down de road tell me de place am hanted and he dunno
how many wagons and mules git pull by dat thing at dat pl