Alabama
—	2.~
82
tHThatts de matter wid. you, nigger?“ ‘he say.‘ “Don‘t it hurt?“ ~ • UJanuary ‚ he neber said nothint ‚ and. de massa keep a beatint t i 11 ii ttle

s ~reams of blood start ed. flowin‘ down January‘ ~ chest ‚ but he neber holler. His lips wuz a quiirerin‘ and his body ~iz a shakin‘ ‚ but hi s mouf it neber open; and all de while I sat on my mammy‘s and pappy‘s steps a cryi& . De niggers wuz all gathered about and some uv tem couldn‘t stand it; dey had.da go inside dere cabins. Atter while, January, he couldn‘t stand it no longer hisseif, and he say in a hoarse, loud vthisper

t ~Mas3a~ Massai have mercy on dis poor nigger. “

	Jill‘s eyes narrowed down to fine creases as his thick ups caine together in ~~aac1cing noises, and. the loose skin beneath his chin, and jaws seemed to shake with the impact of dread memories.

	“Den,~ he continued, after a orlez pause in which tine there was no sound cxcept the c onstant drop of a bead of water in a lard. ‘bucket ~ “de war came • ~ De Yan~cees come in and. dey pulled de fru.±t off de trees and. et lt. Dey et de hams and ca~1ri1, but dey neber burned de houses. Seem to me lak dey jes‘ stay aroun‘ long enough to git plenty somp‘n t‘eat, kaze dey lef‘ in two or three days, an~ we ńeber seed ~ em since . De massa bad three boys to go to w~, but dere wuznt one to come :~omc. Ail the chillirn he had. wuz killed. Massa, h€~ los‘ all his money and de house soon begin droppin‘ away to nothin‘. Us niggers one by one lef‘ de oie place and de las‘ time I seed de home plantation I wtiz a standin‘ on a hill. I looked. back on it for de las‘ time throt~h a patch of scru.b pines and. it look‘ so lonely. Dere warn‘t but one person in sight, de massa. He was a—settin‘ in a wicker chair in de yard lookin‘ out ober a small field of cotton and cawn. Dere wuz fa‘ crosses in de graveyard in de side lawn where he vraz a.-settin‘. De fo‘th one vr~iz his wife, I lost my ole woman too 37 years ago, and all dis time, X‘s been a carrin‘ on like de ~pa~ sa—m all a]. one • H

~7a~h. Copy,
515/37.
L.	H,