"Sam and Buck and Rufus am field workers and plants cotton and sich and looks after de stock. Sometimes de work is heavy and sometimes not. When it am finish, de massa lets 'em go fishin' or visitin' or rest. We goes to church when we wants and we has parties with Sam and Rufus to play de music, de fiddle and de banjo. How I wishes I could be back dere for jus' one year and have it like befo'. Jus' one year befo' I die!
"We has a good massa in every way. Him gives all we can eat. Folks don't eat like we used to, 'cause we had home-cured hams, and when you put it in your mouth, it was a treat for your taster. As for de clothes, massa say, 'De 'terial here and if yous don't supply yourselves, its yous fault.'
"Dere never anyone what gits whippin's on massa's place, 'cept dis nigger, but dey only spankin's. You see, dere was allus a bit of devilment in me. But de massa so good, we all tries to please him and we has no whippin's.
"De massa gives me a he goat and de shoemaker makes me de harness and cart for dat goat and when I gits him trained good, I has a job gittin' de chips for kindlin' and de wood and I totes de water. One day I takes Billy, de goat, 'cross de road for wood and it downhill from de woodpile so I jus' rides de load. Billy was gwine jus' as nice as yous kin like, but him says BAAH, and starts to run like a skeert bull. I thinks what kin be wrong with dat fool goat, when somethin' hits me back of de neck like a coal of fire, and de cart hits a rock and off I goes. To says I's skeert am not tellin' de truf, and I starts hollerin'. It was de bee stung me and when I gits to de house I looks Billy over and, sho' 'nough, on his hip was de bee sting. Dat bee sting sho' put de life in Billy.
"'bout de War time, de plantation was near whar dey fights a battle two days and I seed lots of soldiers. Before dat, de soldiers begins to come to massa's house and water de hosses and eat de lunch. Dey never did raid his place like other places 'round dere, but I hides when dey comes, 'cause I skeert of dem. I quavers and gits skeert when I sees 'em.
"We is jus' settin' down to breakfast one mornin' and we hears a big boomin'. When dat start, dis nigger don't eat his breakfast. I starts for some place to hide. I runs to one place, den I hears de boom, den I runs to another place. I finally crawls under de shed and dere I stays. Dey couldn't git me out and dere I stays for dat day and night and 'til noon de nex' day. I has no water or food. Lots of folks from Ripley what massa knows was kilt in dat battle.
"Buck and I goes to de battleground after de fightin' quits and dere was heaps of dead hosses but dey had dug de trench and buried de dead soldiers.
James West
"I don' know about de Klux, but we use to sing a song 'bout de patter rollers, like dis,