think I was ‘bout th‘ough de inistis was sho‘ to fiù‘ some o.‘ dat sliver dat had to be did over.

	“Den de war broke out. De marster went ‘way wid de sojers en‘ graduai‘ de hardness come to de plantation

	“Us never kaowed when dem Yankee soj ers would o orne ‘ a few weeks at de Big House. Dey‘d eat up ail de marster‘s vit‘als an‘ drink up ail his good likker.

	“I ‘member one tinte de Yankees camped right in ~1e front yard. Dey took ail de meat out‘n. de curin‘ house. Well sir! I done ‘dde by xnyse‘f dat no Yankee gwina eat all us meat. So dat night I slips In dey camp; I stole back dat meat from dem thievin‘ sojers an‘ hid It, good. Hoi Hoi HoZ But dey never did fft~‘ dat meat.

	“One time us sot fire to a bridge de Yankees had to cross to git to de plantation. Dey.had to camp on de other side, ‘cause dey was too lazy to put out de fire. Dat‘s jus‘ lak I figgered it.

	“When de war was over my mamny an‘ pappy an‘ us five ohullun travelled here to Port Gibson to live • My rnaumiy hIred out for washin‘. I don‘t know zackly what my pappy done.

	“Lincoln was de man dat sot us free. I don‘t recollec‘ much ‘bout ‘im ‘ceptin‘ what I hear‘d in de Big House ‘bout Lincoln dom‘ dis an‘ Lincoln dom‘ dat.

	“Lawdy I I sho ‚ was happy when I was a slave.

~	“De Niggers today is de same as dey alweys was, ‘ceptin‘ d~‘s gittin‘ more money to spen‘ . Dey amt got nobody to make ‚ em ‚ have deyse‘ves au‘ keep ‘em out o‘ trouble, now. .
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