“What I’ve been doin’ all my life is farmin’ down at Fairfield on the Murphy place.

“Vote?  Good lord!  I done more votin’.  Voted for all the Presidents.  Yankees wouldn’t let us vote Democrat, had to vote Republican.  They’d be there agitatin’.  Stand right there and tell me the ones to vote for.  I done quit votin’.  I voted for Coolidge—­we called him College—­that’s the last votin’ I did.  One of my friends, Levi Hunter, he was a colored magistrate down at Fairfield.

“Ku Klux?  What you talkin’ about?  Ku Klux come to our house.  My sister Ellen’s husband went to war on the Yankee side durin’ the war—­on the Republican side and fought the Democrats.

“After the war the Ku Klux came and got the colored folks what fought and killed em.  I saw em kill a nigger right off his mule.  Fell off on his sack of corn and the old mule kep’ on goin’.

“Ku Klux used to wear big old long robe with bunches of cotton sewed all over it.  I member one time we was havin’ church and a Ku Klux was hid up in the scaffold.  The preacher was readin’ the Bible and tellin’ the folks there was a man sent from God and say an angel be here directly.  Just then the Ku Klux fell down and the niggers all thought ’twas the angel and they got up and flew.

“Ku Klux used to come to the church well and ask for a drink and say, ’I ain’t had a bit of water since I fought the battle of Shiloh.’

“Might as well tell the truth—­had just as good a time when I was a slave as when I was free.  Had all the hog meat and milk and everything else to eat.

“I member one time when old master wasn’t at home the Yankees come and say to old mistress, ‘Madam, we is foragin’.’  Old mistress say, ’My husband ain’t home; I can’t let you.’  Yankees say, ‘Well, we’re goin’ to anyway.’  They say, ‘Where you keep your milk and butter?’ Old mistress standin’ up there, her face as red as blood and say, ’I haven’t any milk or butter to spare.’  But the Yankees would hunt till they found it.

“After a battle when the dead soldiers was layin’ around and didn’t have on no uniform cause some of the other soldiers took em, I’ve heard the old folk what knowed say you could tell the Yankees from the Rebels cause the Yankees had blue veins on their bellies and the Rebels didn’t.

“Now you want me to tell you bout this young nigger generation?  I never thought I’d live to see this young generation come out and do as well as they is doin’.  I’m goin’ tell you the truth.  When I was young, boys and girls used to wear long white shirt come down to their ankles, cause it would shrink, with a hole cut out for their head.  I think they is doin’ a whole lot better.  Got better clothes.  Almost look as well as the white folks.  I just say the niggers dressin’ better than the white folks used to.

“Then I see some niggers got automobiles.  Just been free bout seventy-two years and some of em actin’ just like white folks now.