~— Stories Prom gx...slaves (G~eo. Br1~gs) Pace 4 ~7ood wasn‘t no ~rob1em den, and it ain‘t no problem yet out in de lower Keys. In town it is, and I ain‘t guessiri~. I done seed so. H: ~‚ . . “I sho can histroriize de Confederates. I come along wid de Secession i~1ag and de musterings. I careful to live at home arid please de Marse. In de war, I‘se mo‘ dan careful and I stick clo$e to him and plea$e him, and he mo‘ dan good. Us did not git mobbed up like lots of dem did. “When Tice Myers ‚ chilluns was born, he had a house built wi~d a up-.stairs. But never no stage coach stopped dar as I ever heard tell about, arid I done saw 75 years at Pad~ett‘s Creek. . “Way ‘tis, from de bundle of de heart, de tongue speaketh. Been in service reg‘lar since Monday4 I went to Neal Greege ‘s house but she wasn‘t dar. I is speaking ‘bout Ria (Maria Rice). She done gone to town. At de higlmay, de Lawd prepared a friend to carry me to Union, and when I got dar l‘take and lay hands on Ria Rice. She layiri~ down and su±~ferin~, and I sot down and laid my hand.,on her. ~e never say nothing, jes‘ pray. She be real quiet, and atter while, she riz up arid take a breath. She kept on a setting up fer so lone dat her husband make her lay back down ~er fear dat she git worser. •~ I stay dar all through de night and she sleep sound arid wake up dis morning ±~eeling like a new woman. . . ~ “Befo‘ ‘breakiast, here is de words o1~ praise I lifted to de Lawd, over dar on Tosch. You set down de coser (chorus): ‘First to de graveyard; den to de Jed~ement bar!‘ Is you got dat verser? Den git d±~: ‘A1i~ de deacons ~ot to ~o; all de members got to ~o; ~ ~ . ~ all de sinners got to ~o. ~ Mo‘ ‘longs to it, but dat‘s all I takes ~ when I is praising Him ~er relieving pain through me. (He sings each line five time8. He takes off ~us hat, bows, holds his hands over bis ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~iea~, and close8 h~t eyea while 8in~ging. His hair is snow white. ) ~