you please.' When I looked at my marster an' knowed he needed me, I
pleased to stay. My marster never forced me to do nary thing' bout it.
Didn' nobody make me work after de war, but dem Yankees sho' made my
daddy work. Dey put a pick in his han' stid[FN: instead] o' a gun. Dey
made' im dig a big ditch in front o' Vicksburg. He worked a heap harder
for his Uncle Sam dan he'd ever done for de marster.

"I hear'd tell 'bout some Nigger sojers a-plunderin' some houses: Out at
Pine Ridge dey kilt a white man named Rogillio. But de head Yankee
sojers in Natchez tried 'em for somethin' or nother an' hung 'em on a
tree out near de Charity Horspital. Dey strung up de ones dat went to
Mr. Sargent's door one night an' shot him down, too. All dat hangin'
seemed to squelch a heap o' lousy goin's-on.

"Lawd! Lawd! I knows 'bout de Kloo Kluxes. I knows a-plenty. Dey was
sho' 'nough devils a-walkin' de earth a-seekin' what dey could devour.
Dey larruped de hide of'n de uppity Niggers an' driv[FN: drove] de white
trash back where dey b'longed.

"Us Niggers didn' have no secret meetin's. All us had was church
meetin's in arbors out in de woods. De preachers 'ud exhort us dat us
was de chillun o' Israel in de wilderness an' de Lawd done sont us to
take dis lan' o' milk an' honey. But how us gwine a-take lan' what's
already been took?

"I sho' aint never hear'd' bout no plantations bein' 'vided up, neither.
I hear'd a lot o' yaller Niggers spoutin' off how dey was gwine a-take
over de white folks' lan' for back wages. Dem bucks jus' took all dey
wages out in talk. 'Cause I aint never seen no lan' 'vided up yet.