60
Alabama	3



I saw him hangin‘ on ~a tree
In agony an1 blood
He fixed his languid eyes on me
As near his cross I stood.

Sho‘ never till my latter breath • ~
Kin I forgit dat look
He seemed to change me wid his death
Yit not a word he spoke.	.

My conscience felt an‘ owned de guilt
An‘ plunged me In despair	~.
I saw my sins his bloothad spilt
.	An‘ helped to na~il hirn clerc.

	Yassum, I kin tell you things about slavery times dat would m~I~e yo~ blood bile, but dey‘s too turribie. I jus‘ tries to for— ~ t.

	HI could tell you ‘bout ~bêin‘ run myself wid dein nigger dogs, but I a~an‘t gwineter do lt. I will tell youdough ‘bout a mean ~an who whup~ed a cullid. woman near ‘bout to death. She got so ~ad at him dat she tuk his baby chile whut was playin‘ rount de :rard and grab him up ant th‘owed it in a pot of lye dat she was ~isin‘ to wash wid. His w±fe come a—hollin‘ afl‘ run her arms down 1.~1 de boum‘ lye to git de chile out, an‘ she near ‘bout burnt her ~rms off, but It didn‘t do no good tcaze when she jerked de chile ~ut he was daid.

	“One day I seed oie tJnker Tip Toe all bent over a~comin‘ down ae road an‘ I ax him whut ail him art1 he say: ‘l‘s been in de :~tocks ~ been beat till de blood come, Den oie Lassa ‘ninted ..îy flesh wid red papper an‘ turpentine an‘ l‘s been most dead but T is somewhat better now.~ tinker Tiptoe belonged to de meanest cl~ ~arster around here.

	“But, honey, I ain‘t never toi‘ nobody all d~s an‘ ain‘t gwine ~r~ll you no mo‘. Ride me home now, caze I‘s cripple; a cow was de