75
3.

feas‘ all through de week of ho1idays~

H When. de Yankees corned dey jist about cleaned us

out~ Dey kills p±gs,~.turkeys, calves an‘ hens all over de p1ace,de~ gits de eserves an‘ a heap 0T de lasses an‘ dey sass Mis‘ Betsy~ All dis wus dem bad~mannered soldie?s~ fault, case Abraham Lincoln aintt mean‘t fer it ter be dis way~ I know.: I reckon dat most o‘ dein soldiers wus pore white

trash. Dey doan keer ‘bout de niggers, but dey ain‘t W~ ted our white folks ter be rich.

tt~e ~aiikees am‘ t 3tayed long in our neighborhood

case dey am a-~1ookin‘ fer our soldiers, so dey goes away. . r‘ Did I leave atter de war wus ober? Naw sir, I

ain‘t, an‘ all de rest stayed on too. Uncle. Mose stayed on too. Uncle Mose stayed de rest o~ his life, but I left two years atterwards when I got married.
tt My memory am gittin‘ so short dat I doan .~ ‘member

ray daddy ‚ s naine ‚ ner my brothers an‘ sisters names. ~ I I member dat my mammy wus named P 1 e ty do ‚ an‘ I . ‚ members niy

fust lessoa from Mise Betsy, ‘Doa.n lie, an~ doan steal, ax• fer what yok needs ‚ needs ‚ mind yo 1, not what yo k an~ ‚

~	L~ti:äera ort ter be back in slavery now, dey‘d be better an‘ happier dan dey is . • I am ~ t neber ~ had a whuppin‘ in my life

ant dat ‘,s more dan most of dese free niggers ~ can say.	•


EH