Marse Tom.

"Yes sir, I tell yo, Capn, de slabes dey fared well wid Marse Tom Davis,
en dere wudn't neber ben no war ober de slabery question iffen every
body ben lak Marse Tom. All his peoples wuz satisfied en dey didn't eben
know what de Yankees en de Southern white folks wuz fitin er bout, kase
dey wuzn't worried bout no freedom, yit en still atter de freedom cum
dey wuz glad ter git hit, but atter dey git hit dey don't know whut ter
do wid hit. En atter de bondage lifted, Marse Tom he called em all up en
tell em dat dey free es he is, en dey kin lebe if dey want to, but dere
wuzn't nairy nigger lef de place. Dey ebery one stayed, en I spect dat
er lot of dem Davis niggers is rite dere till yit on dat same lan wid
whoever hit belongs to.

"When er slabe man en woman got married in dose days dere wuzn't no sich
thing as er license fer dem. All dey hed ter do wuz ter git de permit
frum de Marster en den ter start in ter libbin wid each udder. Atter de
freedom do, all er dem whut wuz married en libbin wid one er nudder wuz
giben er slip ter sho dat dey married, en ter mek dey marriage legal.

"Atter freedom cum ter de darkies, en de trubble all ober in de fitin,
en atter de surrender, Marse Tom he hed his whole place lined out by de
surveyor en marked off in plots er groun, en he sell er plot er forty
acres ter ebery fambly dat he hed, on de credik too, en sell em de stock
wid de place so dey kin all hab er home, en dey all set in ter buy de
lan frum Marse Tom, but hit warnt long atter dat till Marse Tom en ole
Mis bofe died, en dat wuz when Capn Dan Travis, Miss Rachel's husband,
he taken charge of de bizness en broke all de contracts dat de darkies
hed made wid Marse Tom, an dat wuz de las of de lan buyin on dat place,
en dat wuz de startin of de niggers er leavin de Davis place, wid Capn