“Mars Luch, he was my young boss.  Though he name was Lucian us all called him Luch and dat was who I is named for.  Ole mars, he was name Will and dat was Mars Luch’s pa and my ole miss, she name Miss Cynthia and young miss, her name Miss Ellen.  Ole mars an’ ole miss, dey just had de two chillun, Mars Luch and Miss Ellen; dat is what libed to be grown.  Mars Luch, he ’bout two year older dan me and Miss Ellen, she ’bout two year older dan Mars Luch.  Miss Ellen, she married er gentman from Virginny and went dar to lib and Mars Luch, he married Miss Fannie Keith.

“Miss Fannie’s folks, dey libed right nigh us on to ’j’ining place and dem was my ole man’s peoples.  Yas sah, boss, dat ole man you see settin’ right dar now in dat chere.  She was Ella Keith, dats zackly what her named when us married and she named fer Miss Fannie’s ma.  Dat she was.  Us neber did leave our folkses eben atter de War ober and de niggers git dey freedom, yit an’ still a heap of de niggers did leave dey mars’ and a heap of dem didn’ an’ us stayed on an farmed de lan’ jus’ like us been doin’ ‘cept dey gib us a contract for part de crop an’ sell us our grub ’gainst us part of de crop and take dey money outen us part of de cotton in de fall just like de bizness is done yit and I reckon dat was de startin’ of de sharecrop dat is still goin’ on.

“Soon atter Mars Luch good and grown an’ him an’ Miss Fannie done married, ole mars and ole miss, dey bofe died and Mars Luch say he gwine sell out an’ lebe ‘cause de lan’ gittin’ so poor and wore out and it takin’ three an’ more acres to make a bale and he tell us all dat when we wind up de crop dat fall and say, ’You boys mebbe can stay on wid whoever I sell out to er if not den you can fin’ you homes wid some one close if you wants to do dat.’  And den he says dat he gwine fin’ him some good lan’ mebbe in Arkansas down de riber from Memfis.  Mighty nigh all de ole famblys lef’ de place when Mars Luch sole it out.

“My pappy and my mammy, dey went to Memfis and me wid ’em.  I was growed by den and was fixin’ to marry Ella just es soon es I could fin’ a good home.  I was a country nigger en liked de farm an’ en cose wasn’t satisfied in town, so ’twasn’t long ’fore I heered ‘bout han’s beein’ needed down de riber in Mississippi and dats where I went en stayed for two years and boss, I sure was struck wid dat lan’ what you could make a bale to a acre on an’ I just knowed dat I was gwine git rich in a hurry an’ so I writ er letter to Ella en her peoples tellin’ dem ’bout de rich lan’ and ‘vising dem to come down dere where I was and I was wantin’ to marry Ella den.  Boss, and you know what, ’twasn’t long afore I gits er letter back an’ de letter says dat Ella an’ her peoples is down de riber in Arkansas from Memfis at Bledsoe wid Mars Luch an’ Miss Fannie where Mars Luch had done moved him an’ Miss Fannie to a big plantation dey had bought down dere.