My father had more money than many ex-slaves because he did what the Union soldiers told him.  They used to give him “greenbacks” money and tell him to take good care of it.  You see, miss, Union money was not any good here.  Everything was Confederate money.  You couldn’t pay for a dime’s worth even with a five dollar bill of Union money then.  The soldiers just keep on telling my father to take all the greenbacks he could get and hide away.  There wasn’t any need to hide it, nobody wanted it.  Soldiers said just wait; someday the Confederate money wouldn’t be any good and greenbacks would be all the money we had.  So that’s how my father got his money.

If you have time to listen, miss, I’d like to tell you about a wonderful thing a young doctor done for my folks.  It was when the gun powder explosion wrecked my brother and sister.  The soldiers at the Arsenal used to get powder in tins called canteens.  When there was a little left—­a tablespoon full or such like, they would give it to the little boys and show them how to pour it in the palm of their hand, touch a match to it and then blow.  The burning powder would fly off their hand without burning.  We were living in a double house at Eighth and Main then; another colored family in one side.  They had lots of children, just like us.  One canteen had a lot more powder in.  My brother was afraid to pour it on his hand.  He put a paper down on top of the stove and poured it out.  It was a big explosion.  My little sister was standing beside her brother and her scalp was plum blowed off and her face burnt terribly.  His hand was all gone, and his face and neck and head burnt terribly, too.  There was a young doctor live close by name Deuell.  Father ran for him.  He tell my mother if she will do just exactly what he say, their faces will come out fine.  He told her to make up bread dough real sort of stiff.  He made a mask of it.  Cut holes for their eyes, nose holes and mouths, so you could feed them, you see.  He told mother to leave that on till it got hard as a rock.  Then still leave it on till it crack and come off by itself.  Nobody what ever saw their faces would believe how bad they had been burnt.  Only ’round the edges where the dough didn’t cover was there any scars.  Dr. Deuell only charged my father $50.00 apiece for that grand work on my sister and brother.

Yes ma’am, I’ll tell you how I come to speak what you call good English.  First place, my mother and father was brought up in families where they heard good speech.  Slaves what lived in the family didn’t talk like cottonfield hands.  My parents sure did believe in education.