5.	46
“Big Nigger&‘

	~They used to call my folks ‚ big niggera. ‚ Papa used to get things off a steamboat. One day he brought a big demi—john home and ordered all the people not to touch it • One day when he went out ‚ I went in it • I had to see what it was0 I drunk some of it and when he carne home he said to me ‚ ‚ You‘ ye been in that demi..j olin • ‚ I said ‚ ‚ No ‚ I haven‘ t . ‚ &it he said, t Yes ‚ you have ; I can tell by the way you look • ~ And then I told him the truth.

	“He would get shoes, calico goods, coffee, sugar, and â whole lot of other things. Anything he wanted, he would get. That he didn‘t, he would ask hin to bring the next trip.

	wIt was a Union gunboat, and ran under the water. You could see the

smoke. The white people said, ‘That boat‘s goin‘ to carry some of these niggers away from here one of these ~ days.‘

	“And sure enough ‚ it did carry one away.


Buried Treasure and a Runaway

	RI went to the big gate one morning and there was a nigger named Charles there.

	“I said, ‘What you doing out here so early this morning?‘

.	“He said to me ‚ ‘You hush yo‘ mouth and get on back up to the house.‘ “I went back to the house and told my mother, ‘I saw Charles out

there • ‚ That was before my mother ran away.

	“My mother said ‚ ‚ ‘ s fixing to run away • And e‘ s got a barrel of ni. And I t belongs to the Doctor. ‚ Cause he and the Dr. went out to bury it to keep the Yankees fro~n getting it.‘