"When de slaves sot free, dey have big times, and feel like dey not work at all. But when old massa give dem a place to farm and tell dem iffen dey don't work dey won't eat, dey stays with him and works de crops on halves, mostly. De nigger do de work and massa feed him and give him team and tools, den massa git half de crop.
"De slaves what went up North and come back, tell how dey call 'Contrabands' up dere. Dey didn't know what it mean, but dey come back anyway.
"Some white school teachers from up North come to teach de chillen, but dey didn't talk like folks here and didn't understan' our talk. Dey didn't know what us mean when us say 'titty' for sister, and 'budder' for brother, and 'nanny' for mammy. Jes' for fun us call ourselves big names to de teacher, some be named General Lee and some Stonewall Jackson. We be one name one day and 'nother name next day. Until she git to know us she couldn't tell de diff'rence, 'cause us all look alike to her. Us have good times tellin' her 'bout black magic and de conjure. Us tell her night birds full of magic and dere feathers roast in ashes work spells what kill evil conjure. If a rabbit run 'cross de path, turn your hat round and wear it hind part befo' to keep bad luck away. A buzzard's claw tie round de baby's neck make teethin' easy. De teacher from de North don't know what to think of all dat. But our old missy, who live here all de time, know all 'bout it. She lets us believe our magic and conjure, 'cause she partly believe it, too.
"I lives in dat place till I's a big boy and den works for Mr. John Mergersen and a Mr. Porter. Dey come from Mississippi right after freedom and was jes' like homefolks. So I works for dem till I gits married and starts out for myself.
"I 'member some songs my mammy and old missy larnt me. One go like dis:
"'De top bolls ain' open,
De bottom bolls am rotten.
I can't git my number here,
I has to quit and go 'way.
"'When de sun go down and de moon go up,
Iffen I can't git my number, I can't git my pay.'
"When I was little, my father split de rails out of trees to make fences, and I have an aunt what was de big woman, and she holp. She have a song what go like dis, and when she sing, she come down on a rail, 'biff'.
"'Times are gittin' hard,' (biff)
Money's gittin scarce,' (biff)
Times don't git no better here,' (biff)
I bound to leave dis place.'
"But when de big meetin' goin' on, dis one de songs dey likes to sing:
"'As I went down in de valley to pray,
I met de debbil on my way,
What you reckon he say to me?
You're too young to die,
And too young to pray,
I made him a lie, and kep' on my way.'