Bollinger Co.                                                          Folklore.   41
Page 2.

Cont, Interview Geo. Bollinger, (Ex-slave)
Dat ole steer didden last long. ‘En ‘Massa’ had ten cribs ‘er corn. He tole ‘em to
___ dey selves. “Bout dat time a deespatch came; dat de “Yankees” wuz commin’. Dey went
up to meet ‘em, ‘an dey had a battle over at Patton. Long ‘bout midnight sum of ‘em
came back, wounded. Aunt Polly helped ‘em, but she begged ‘em not to stay dere, ‘er de 
“Yankees” cum in. burn de house down.
Aunt Polly ‘en mammy allus know’d whut to do when a body quz ailin’. Dey allus had a bag o’ 
yarbs hangin’ under de porch. When de sojers wuz commin’ we allus hid de hosses. Massa’ had lots ob 
‘em, ‘en Missie__ had de pudttiest black mare. It’s name quz ‘Kate’. Des one time de hosses musta skered 
‘er sumpin—de sojers foun’ ‘em, an’ here dey com ridin’ up past de house wid ecery on of our hosses.
	A sojer wuz ridin’ ‘Black Kate’. Wen ‘Missie Katie’ dee dat—she holler, and she ran an’ 
grab hol’ de bridles, on han’ on each side ‘er his haid. De sojer put suprs to do mare, but she hung on jes a 
cryin’. I kin jes see her now; de mare a rarin’ and ‘Missie __ haigin on a-cryin’. She hung on ‘till dey reach 
de creek. Den she lose her grip, but she sho’ did cry.
“One night we had a big corn shukin’. We shuced ‘till way late in de nite; den sum de white men 
stay all nite. Day wuz a pile ‘er shucks higher’en dat door, Nex’ mornin’ a bunch o’ “Yankees” cum by. As 
dey wuz comin’ thru’ de yard, dey see one man runnin’ to hide behin’ de barn. Dey say; “Halt”, but de man 
keep runnin’; so dey fire—de bullet thru’ his had and he stop. Den dey say; “If day’s one man, dey’s more 
a hiddin.’ Dey looks roun’, den de haid man say: ‘Men ride thru’ dat pile ‘er shucks ‘en ___in dey hair. 
Den de sojers ask’s ‘em things ‘en iff’n de answers didden seem good; dey hit ‘em over de haid wid dere 
guns. I wuz standin’ right here, an’ I saw ‘Ole Massa’ git hit on de haid once, den anudder time; an’ he fell. 
I sho’ thot he wuz daid, but warn’t. Aunt Polly fix him up atter de sojers wuz gone, but de bushwackers got 
him.