“De marster had a town mansion what’s pictured in a lot o’ books.  It was called ‘Montebella.’  De big columns still stan’ at de end o’ Shields Lane.  It burnt ’bout thirty years ago (1937).

“I’s part Injun.  I aint got no Nigger nose an’ my hair is so long I has to keep it wropped[FN:  wrapped].  I’se often heard my mammy was redish-lookin’ wid long, straight, black hair.  Her pa was a full blooded Choctaw an’ mighty nigh as young as she was.  I’se been tol’ dat nobody dast[FN:  dared] meddle wid her.  She didn’ do much talkin’, but she sho’ was a good worker.  My pappy had Injun blood, too, but his hair was kinky.

“De Choctaws lived all ‘roun’ Secon’ Creek.  Some of ’em had cabins lak settled folks.  I can ‘member dey las’ chief.  He was a tall pow’ful built man named ‘Big Sam.’  What he said was de law, ‘cause he was de boss o’ de whole tribe.  One rainy night he was kilt in a saloon down in ’Natchez Under de Hill.’  De Injuns went wild wid rage an’ grief.  Dey sung an’ wailed an’ done a heap o’ low mutterin’.  De sheriff kep’ a steady watch on’ em, ‘cause he was afeared dey would do somethin’ rash.  After a long time he kinda let up in his vig’lance.  Den one night some o’ de Choctaw mens slipped in town an’ stobbed[FN:  stabbed] de man dey b’lieved had kilt Big Sam.  I ’members dat well.

“As I said b’fore, I growed up in de quarters.  De houses was clean an’ snug.  Us was better fed den dan I is now, an’ warmer, too.  Us had blankets an’ quilts filled wid home raised wool an’ I jus’ loved layin’ in de big fat feather bed a-hearin’ de rain patter on de roof.

“All de little darkeys he’ped bring in wood.  Den us swept de yards wid brush brooms.  Den sometimes us played together in de street what run de length o’ de quarters.  Us th’owed horse-shoes, jumped poles, walked on stilts, an’ played marbles.  Sometimes us made bows an’ arrows.  Us could shoot ’em, too, jus lak de little Injuns.

“A heap of times old Granny would brush us hide wid a peach tree limb, but us need it.  Us stole aigs[FN:  eggs] an’ roasted ’em.  She sho’ wouldn’ stan’ for no stealin’ if she knowed it.

“Us wore lowell-cloth shirts.  It was a coarse tow-sackin’.  In winter us had linsey-woolsey pants an’ heavy cow-hide shoes.  Dey was made in three sizes—­big, little, an’ mejum[FN:  medium].  Twant no right or lef’.  Dey was sorta club-shaped so us could wear ’em on either foot.

“I was a teasin’, mis-che-vious chil’ an’ de overseer’s little gal got it in for me.  He was a big, hard fisted Dutchman bent on gittin’ riches.  He trained his pasty-faced gal to tattle on us Niggers.  She got a heap o’ folks whipped.  I knowed it, but I was hasty:  One day she hit me wid a stick an’ I th’owed it back at her.  ’Bout dat time up walked her pa.  He seen what I done, but he didn’ see what she done to me.  But it wouldn’ a-made no dif’ence, if he had.

“He snatched me in de air an’ toted me to a stump an’ laid me ’crost it.  I didn’ have but one thickness ‘twixt me an’ daylight.  Gent’men!  He laid it on me wid dat stick.  I thought I’d die.  All de time his mean little gal was a-gloatin’ in my misery.  I yelled an’ prayed to de Lawd ’til he quit.