~x~.e1aye Stories	Page Three	152
(Texas)





starts for some p1~ce to hide. I runs to on~ place, den I hears de boom, den I raus to another place . I finally cr‘~w1s under de shed ~ii d. dere I st2~srs. Dey couldn‘t ~1t ne out and dere I stays for dat day and ni~ht and ‘tu noon de nex‘ day. I has no water or food. Lots of folks from Ripley
~ ~	what in2ssa knows was kilt in dat battle.

~	HEUCk and I goes to be battle~r~und a!te~r de fi~ht1n‘ quits arid

dere was heaps of dead hosses ~it day had du~ de trench and bu~ried de dead soldiers.

	“I don‘ ktiow about de Klux, but we use to sine a song ‘bout de patter rollers, like dis,

tTh~Ln nigger run, patter roller kotch ~rou, Run ni~er run, 1C9USC it almos‘ day, Bat nigger r~in, dat nigger flew, Dat ni~er los‘ his Sunday shoe.‘

III	stays with de massa after freedom ~ I‘s 21 year old and den

I leaves and works for t runt folks . I marries in Tennessee ‘when I ~ s

22 and we has one chile, but my wife takes him when he‘s five ~d leaves,

and I never seen or heard of ‘em since. I comes to Texas ‘b~t 52 year

ago.

	“1 has ‘joyed talkin‘ ‘bout dem old days, ‘cause talk am all I kin do since my legs have de misery so bad.
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