when he done de marryin'. But I 'members well dat 'Uncle Peyton', he de
one dat do all of de marryin' 'mongst de darkies.

"My mars, he didn't go to de War but he sure sent er lot er corn en he
sent erbout three hundred head er big, fat hogs one time dat I 'members.
Den too, he sent somepin like twenty er thirty niggers to de Confedrites
in Georgia. I 'members it well de time dat he sent dem niggers. They was
all young uns, 'bout grown, en dey was skeered to death to be leavin' en
goin' to de War. Dey didn't know en cose but what dey gwine make 'em
fight. But mars tole 'em dat dey jus' gwine to work diggin' trenches en
sich; but dey didn't want to go nohow en Jeff an' Randall, they runned
off en come back home all de way from Georgia en mars let 'em stay.

"Boss, you has heered me tellin' dat my mars was er good, kine man en
dat his overseer, Mr. Harvey Brown, was terrible cruel, en mean, en
would beat de niggers up every chance he git, en you ask me how come it
was dat de mars would have sich a mean man er working for him. Now I'se
gwine to tell you de reason. You know de truth is de light, boss, an'
dis is de truth what I'se gwine to say. Mars, he in love with Mr. Harvey
Brown's wife, Miss Mary, and Miss Mary's young daughter, she was mars'
chile. Yas suh, she was dat. She wasn't no kin er tall to Mr. Harvey
Brown. Her name was Miss Markis, dats what it was. Mars had done willed
dat chile er big part of his property and a whole gang of niggers. He
was gwine give her Tolliver, Beckey, Aunt Mary, Austin, an' Savannah en
er heap more 'sides dat. But de War, it come on en broke mars up, en all
de darkies sot free, en atter dat, so I heered Mr. Harvey Brown en Miss
Mary, and de young lady Miss Markis, dey moved up North some place en I
ain't never heered no more from dem.

"Mr. Clarke and Mrs. Clarke what de town of Clarksdale is named for, dey