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:~ist1s, den dare was Mis‘ Laughter an‘ young Marse Jerome. Young ~arse ‘ but fifteen when de war started ‚ but dey got him in de las‘ call an‘ he didn‘ never come back no more.

	De plantation was big ‚ but Mis ‚ ‚ R-iah ‚ tended to things an‘ handled de niggers same as a man. De fus‘ year o1 de wa~ she rode a hoss tbout de fieJds ]Ŕke an overseer, seemt after de cotton ant cawn an‘ taters. But de Yankees come an1 set fire to do cotton; dey took de cawn to dey cari~ for dey hosses, an‘ dey toted off de taters to eat. Dc nex year Mis‘ ‘Riah d±dn‘ plant no cotton a taU kaze de se Eds an ‚ gin done been burned up ‚ but she had de niggers p lant cawn ‚ taters an‘ a good garden . Dat fall de wind blew de hickory leaves to de no‘th an‘ by spring trouble done come sho nuff. Dey was a drouth an‘ de ca~i didn‘ come up; de garden burned to pa‘chment, but de taters done all right. Wid all dat Mis‘ ‘Riah held up her head an‘ kep‘ goin‘. Den one day a buzzard flew over de house top an‘ his wings spread a shadow out on de roof . Dat night death corne an ‚ got 01e I~iiistis. She passed on to glory in her sleep . ‚ . ‘Twas de ‘ s will,‘ Mis ‚ ‘Riah to le gran ‘mammy ‚ an ‚ she still held up her head • But Grau ‚ mammy said dat if somebody had shot dat buzzard an‘ wiped his shadow off de roof 01e Mistis wouldnt have gone nowhare.

	De next spring dey wasn‘ much to‘ plant. De Yabkees done kep‘ to~in‘ off everything, hosses an‘ all, ‘twefl dey wasnt much lef‘. But de‘ niggers, gran‘rnanrny an‘ pappy along wid dem, dug up de ga~deůwid:de grubbin hoe anl planted what seeds dey had. Mis‘