"But at las' he died. Jane came in an' said, 'He's daid. You can go out to play now James.' She ustah come in to Ole Mastuh an say, 'Why don' you let him go out tuh play an' let someone else stan' here?' But Ole Mastuh say, 'No! I want James.' So now I runs outside—I meets ma sister an I says: 'By God, he's daid.' I didden know I wus cussin', she say 'I gonna tell Muthuh on you,' but I's so glad to be out, I runs till I meet Uncle Rube an' I says, 'By God, he's daid,' den I runs an meets ma Muthuh, an' I tells her 'By God, he's daid.' She jes kinda turned her back tuh me an' I cud see her shakin'. She war laffin'!
"Aftuh de buryin' was over, Young Joe an' Jane stood dar on de porch an' dey call de darkies up one at a time. Fust dey calls ma Grampa an' young Joe says, 'Yo ole Mastuh's daid. Now I's you' Mastuh, an' Miss Jane here is your Missus. Do you unnerstand dat?' Grampa say 'Yessir' an pass on. Nex' he call Lucy, den Aunt Hanna. To each one he says de same, 'I's yore Mastuh and Miss' Jane here is yore New Missus'—sum ob' em says 'Yessir', sum ob' em jes kinda bows dey haid an' pass on. Wen he call mah Muthuh up an' say de same tuh her—she look at him a minit den she say, 'I know'd yuh all dese year as Joe an' her as Jane, an' I ain't gonna start now callin' you Mastuh or Missus. I'll call you Joe an' Jane like I allus done,' an' she walked away.
"One time 'fore dat she puddin near kill young Joe. She wuh hoeing corn in de field an he cum ridin'—I spect he war jes tryin' to be smaht but he tells her to swallow dat tobbaccy she got in huh mouth. She don' pay him no mind an' he tell her agin. Den she say, 'You chewing tobaccy? Whyn't yuh swaller dat?' Dat make him mad and he take a double rope en whack her cross de sholders. Den she grab huh fingers roun' his throat, an his face wuh all black es my own 'fore dey pulls her offen him. Den Ole Mastuh try tuh whup her, but he couldn' by hisself, so he sends fo' three nigger-buyers dat's close by. When one o' em tells muthuh to put her han's togedder so he tie em, she grab him by de collar an' de seat o' he's pants an knock's his haid agin a post like a battern' ram. Den Ole Mastuh say, 'Men, yo' better go on home. I don' want my cullud folks to git hurt.' He said it like dat.
"My Muthuh wuz big an' strong. She nevuh worked in de house none but dey warn't nothin' on de place dat she couldn' do. She cud cut down a big tree en chop off a rail length an' use a wedge an' maul an' make rails as good as anybody. Pore Muthuh, she shore did have a hard time. Dey warn't never nuthin' for her but work hard all de time, she neveh came in fum de fiel' 'til dark, den had to feed wid a lantern.
"George Swan, a neighbor used tuh whup ole Felix with a cat-o'-nine-tails til we'd hear him holler over at our place.
"I 'member one time de snow wuz a foot deep an I had tuh gathuh corn. I wuz barefooted an' barehanded. Mah feet hurt so bad an' mah hands got so stiff I couldn' work mah fingers, but ah had tuh keep on breakin' off de corn. Dat night mah feet crack open an' nex' mahnin' when I had tuh make de fires I lef' a track o' blood across de' flo.' Dey shore wuz mean to us but God Bless you, dey's all daid an' gone an' de Lawd has spared me.
"Wen de war cum, lots o' cullud men went off to fight fo de Government. Young Mastuh Joe nevuh went but whenever de sojers cum aroun' Mastuh Joe couldn' nevuh be foun.'
"One time a passel a' sojers cum to de place, dey didden go to de big house, but dat night dey spread straw fum de straw pile on de flo ob our cabin—an' slep dar. We slep in de loft. Nex' mornin' dey went to de barn an' took de bran' new wagon an' de bes' team o' mules an' dey went to de smoke house an' hep deysefs. Dar wuz one man standin' on de wagon cuttin' down de hams an' side meat an' de udder packin' it in de wagon. Jane cum out on de porch an' start raisin' a ruccus 'bout 'em takin' her meat. De sojer whut wuz cuttin' down de meat pull out he's gun an' say 'Whut dat she say?' Jane run in de house quick—but he got mad de way she talk an' den' he take all a de meat an' cans o' lard, an a barrel of molasses. We ain't nevuh seed dat wagon agin an' it wuz bran' new.
"Dey wuz a battle a few mile away an' dey said you couldn' walk on de groun' wifout steppin on daid men.
"Wen de war wuz over dey didden want us to know 'bout it. Dey want to keep us es long es dey could. But it cum out in de papers dat de Guvment men wuz gonna cum round an' see so dey had tuh turn us loose.