“De two men w’at cut de tree down say dey nebber had sech a time wid a tree befo’:  dey axes would glansh off, en did n’ ’pear ter make no progress thoo de wood; en of all de creakin’, en shakin’, en wobblin’ you eber see, dat tree done it w’en it commence’ ter fall.  It wuz de beatenis’ thing!

“W’en dey got de tree all trim’ up, dey chain it up ter a timber waggin, en start fer de sawmill.  But dey had a hard time gittin’ de log dere:  fus’ dey got stuck in de mud w’en dey wuz gwine crosst de swamp, en it wuz two er th’ee hours befo’ dey could git out.  W’en dey start’ on ag’in, de chain kep’ a-comin’ loose, en dey had ter keep a-stoppin’ en a-stoppin’ fer ter hitch de log up ag’in.  W’en dey commence’ ter climb de hill ter de sawmill, de log broke loose, en roll down de hill en in ‘mongs’ de trees, en hit tuk nigh ‘bout half a day mo’ ter git it haul’ up ter de sawmill.

“De nex’ mawnin’ atter de day de tree wuz haul’ ter de sawmill, Tenie come home.  W’en she got back ter her cabin, de fus’ thing she done wuz ter run down ter de woods en see how Sandy wuz gittin’ on.  Wen she seed de stump standin’ dere, wid de sap runnin’ out’n it, en de limbs layin’ scattered roun’, she nigh ‘bout went out’n her min’.  She run ter her cabin, en got her goopher mixtry, en den follered de track er de timber waggin ter de sawmill.  She knowed Sandy could n’ lib mo’ d’n a minute er so ef she turnt him back, fer he wuz all chop’ up so he ’d ‘a’ be’n bleedst ter die.  But she wanted ter turn ’im back long ernuff fer ter ’splain ter ‘im dat she had n’ went off a-purpose, en lef ’im ter be chop’ down en sawed up.  She did n’ want Sandy ter die wid no hard feelin’s to’ds her.

“De han’s at de sawmill had des got de big log on de kerridge, en wuz start-in’ up de saw, w’en dey seed a ‘oman runnin’ up de hill, all out er bref, cryin’ en gwine on des lack she wuz plumb ’stracted.  It wuz Tenie; she come right inter de mill, en th’owed herse’f on de log, right in front er de saw, a-hollerin’ en cryin’ ter her Sandy ter fergib her, en not ter think hard er her, fer it wa’n’t no fault er hern.  Den Tenie ‘membered de tree did n’ hab no years, en she wuz gittin’ ready fer ter wuk her goopher mixtry so ez ter turn Sandy back, w’en de mill-hands kotch holt er her en tied her arms wid a rope, en fasten’ her to one er de posts in de sawmill; en den dey started de saw up ag’in, en cut de log up inter bo’ds en scantlin’s right befo’ her eyes.  But it wuz mighty hard wuk; fer of all de sweekin’, en moanin’, en groanin’, dat log done it w’iles de saw wuz a-cuttin’ thoo it.  De saw wuz one er dese yer ole-timey, up-en-down saws, en hit tuk longer dem days ter saw a log ‘en it do now.  Dey greased de saw, but dat did n’ stop de fuss; hit kep’ right on, tel fin’ly dey got de log all sawed up.

“W’en de oberseah w’at run de sawmill come fum breakfas’, de han’s up en tell him ’bout de crazy ’oman—­ez dey s’posed she wuz—­w’at had come runnin’ in de sawmill, a-hollerin’ en gwine on, en tried ter th’ow herse’f befo’ de saw.  En de oberseah sent two er th’ee er de han’s fer ter take Tenie back ter her marster’s plantation.