mine yit. Dere neber wuz no white man whut wuz no better dan Mr. Marve
Carruth. No Sir dat is a fac.

"Yo see, Capn, I wuz borned en raised in de hills of Mississippi, in
Oktibbawa County not so fer frum Starkville, en dat wuz a ole country
time I hed got grown en de lan hit wuz gittin powful thin, en when I
cumed ter dis state en seen how much cotton de folks mekin on de groun,
en how rish de lan, I jist went crazy ober dis country en stayed rite
here en mobed my fambly rite off. Folkses hed cotton piled up all er
round dey houses en I cided rite off dat dis war gwine ter be my home
den.

"My ole Marster wuz Tom Davis en Capn dere warnt never no finer man whut
ever libed dan Marse Tom. Marse Tom wuz lubed by ebery nigger dat he
hed, en Marse Tom sho hed a passel of em. He had bettern two-hundred
head en de las one dey crazy bout Marse Tom Davis. He war rather old
frum my fust riccolection of im, en he neber libed meny years atter de
war. Marse Tom he owned a grete heap er lan. His lan hit stretch out fer
God knows how fer en den too he hed de big mill whut runned wid de water
wheel whar dey saw de lumber en grine de meal en de flour. Dey neber
bought no flour en dem days kase dey raised de wheat on de place, en all
de meat en nigh bout ebery thing whut dey hed er need of. Marse Tom he
tuk de best kine er care of his slabe people en he neber blebe in buyin
er sellin no niggers. Dat he didn't. He neber wud sell er one, en he
neber did buy but three. Dat is er fac, Capn, en one of dem three whut
he bought wuz "Henry" whut wuz my own pappy, en he buyed Henry frum Mr.
Spence kase Henry hed done got married ter Malindy, whut wuz my mammy.
Dat is whut my Mammy en Pappy dey bofe tole me.

"Marse Tom he neber jine de army kase he too old when de war brek out,