Ike says every seven [HW: 7] years the locusts come and its sure to be
a short crop that "God sends all sorts of cusses" (curses) sometimes
its the worms that eat the cotton or the corn or the bugs that eat the
wheat. He doesn't believe in "hants" or "conjurin'". It seems Sid
Scott was a "mean nigger", [HW: and] everyone was afraid of [HW: him].
He was cut in two by the saw mill and after his funeral whenever
anyone pass his house at night that could hear his "hant" going
"rat-a-tat-tat-bang, bang, bang" like feet running.

One night when Ike was coming home from "fiddlin'" at a white folks
party, he had to pass Scott's house. Now they kept the cotton seed in
half of the house and the other half was empty. When Ike got close, he
made a racket and sure enough the noise started. "The moon was about an
hour up" and he saw these funny white things run out from under the
house and scatter. It scared him at first but he looked and looked and
saw they were sheep that [HW: having] found a hole into the cotton seed
would go in at night to eat.

Before the war the negroes had a big celebration on the 4th of July, a
big barbecue, ball game, wrestling matches, lots of music and singing.
They had to have a pass from their Masters to attend and pay to get in.
The "patta-roll" came by to see your pass and if you didn't have one,
they'd whip you and send you home. [HW: When the Negroes first heard
that they were free, they didn't believe it so they just stayed on with
their white folks.]

After he came to Blanton's, the Negroes could come and go as they
pleased for they were free. Ike has been a member of several "Societies"
but something has always happened to the President and Secretary or they
ran off with the money so now he just has a sick and accident policy.