“Oh, dem long wagon trains, wif sojers betwixt, sojers in front an’ sojers behind.
“You see, de officers hab der wives along an’ some mighty fine white ladies what wuz a visitin’ at de garrison. Dem wuz shure camp-meetin’ days.
“Ole Billy Daniels an’ old man Strafford, dey wuz along too; dey wuz ole men den. I ’spect dey both dead afoh now.”
“I wuzn’t anyways skeery, but we sut’n’ty wuz a long way from ole Mistress, mighty nigh two hundred miles.
“Arter all dat camp-meetin’ frolickin’ Colonel Worth ’cided he would come back ter Fort King an’ leave de sojers ter keep on destroyin’ at Fort Myers.
“Billy Daniels wuz obliged to ’scort us back, kase he is de man what drawed de map of Florida an’ put all de lakes an’ islan’s in foh Colonel Worth. He couldn’t read, nuther write, but he could ’cite de Seminole language like he hab book learnin’; he wuz de interpreter foh Colonel Worth too.
“Hit sut’n’ty wuz scrumagen’ times arter me an’ Diana Pyles cooked dat treaty dinner foh Colonel Worth.
“Mos’ generally de troops went a troopin’ north, but dey lef’ some ob de sassiest white men I ebber see top o’ earth ter guard de State; low down white rapscallions.
“You see, hit wuz dis away, terrectly dey fin’ out de Indians wuz all gone south dey make up dat dey bes’ skeer our people so de United States would keep payin’ dem government money.