folks, dey just worked harder dan dey do these days. A good hand then
naturally did just about three er four times as much work in a day as
dey do now. Seems like dis young bunch awful no 'count er bustin' up and
down de road day and night in de cars, er burnin' de gasoline when dey
orter be studyin' 'bout makin' er livin' an' gettin' demselves er home.

"Yas suh, I riccolect all 'bout de time dat de niggers holdin' de jobs
in de courthouse in Helena, but I is never took no part in that votin'
business an' I allus kept out of dem arguments. I left it up to de white
folks to 'tend to de 'lectin' of officers.

"De darkies what was in de courthouse dat I riccolect was: Bill Gray, he
was one of de clerks; Hense Robinson, Dave Ellison, an' some more dat I
don't remember. Bill Gray, he was a eddycated man, but de res', dey was
just plain old ex-slave darkies an' didn't know nothing. Bill Gray, he
used to be de slave of a captain on a steamboat on de ribber. He was
sorter servant to he mars on de boat where he stayed all the time. The
captain used to let him git some eddycation. Darkies, dey never last
long in de courthouse. Dey soon git 'em out.

"I gwine tell you somepin else dat is done changed er lot since I was
comin' up. Dat is, de signs what de folks used to believe in dey don't
believe in no more. Yet de same signs is still here, an' I sure does
believe in 'em 'cause I done seen 'em work for all dese years. De Lawd
give de peoples a sign for all things. De moon an' de stars, dey is a
sign for all them what can read 'em an' tells you when to plant de
cotton an' de taters an' all your crops. De screech owls, dey give er
warnin' dat some one gwine to die. About de best sign dat some person
gwine die 'round close is for a cow to git to lowin' an' a lowin'
constant in de middle of de night. Dat is a sign I hardly is ever seen