almost appeared in person, as the story advanced. "I don't know what he
had done to rile up Mars Gardner, but all of us knew that the Blacksmith
was going to be flogged. When the whippers from Mississippi got to the
plantation. The blacksmith worked on day and night. All day he was
shoein horses and all the spare time he had he was makin a knife. When
the whippers got there all of us were brought out to watch the whippin
but the blacksmith, Jim Gardner did not wait to feel the lash, he jumped
right into the bunch of overseers and negro whippers and knifed two
whippers and one overseer to death; then stuck the sharp knife into his
arm and bled to death."

Suicide seemed the only hope for this man of strength. He could not
humble himself to the brutal ordeal of being beaten by the slave
whippers.

"When the war started, we kept hearing about the soldiers and finally
they set up their camp in the forest near us. The corn was ready to
bring into the barn and the soldiers told Mr. Mooney to let the slaves
gather it and put it into the barns. Some of the soldiers helped gather
and crib the corn. I wanted to help but Miss Puss was afraid they would
press me into service and made me hide in the cellar. There was a big
keg of apple cider in the cellar and every day Miss Puss handed down a
big plate of fresh ginger snaps right out of the oven, so I was well
fixed." The old man remembers that after the corn was in the crib the
soldiers turned in their horses to eat what had fallen to the ground.

Before the soldiers became encamped at the Mooney plantation they had
camped upon a hill and some skirmishing had occurred. Uncle Joe
remembers the skirmish and seeing cannon balls come over the fields. The
cannon balls were chained together and the slave children would run