“I was ten years old at de Surrender, but I took notice.  Dem was scarey times an’ when you is scared you takes trigger-notice.  It was nex’ to de las’ year o’ de War ’fore Sherman got to Mer-ree-dian—­not Sherman hisse’f but his sojers.  Dey burnt up dat big house on Eighth Street hill an’ built camps for de sojers in de flower garden.  De cap’ns went an’ live at Marse Greer’s house.  Marse Greer had done sunk all de silver in de duck pond an’ hid out de horses an’ cows in de big cane-brake what used to be on dis side o’ Sowashee Creek.  But, Lor!, it didn’ do no good.  Sherman done caught on by dat time ‘bout how to fin’ things.  Dey got ever’thing an’ burned Marse Greer’s barn.  Day lef’ de house an’ didn’ bother de fam’ly ’cause dey called deyse’fs company.  De good Lord knows Marse Greer didn’ ’vite ’em!  But de Cap’ns bein’ dere kep’ de rip-rap[FN:  riff-raff] sojers frum tearin’ up ever’thing.

“When word come dat dey was comin’, it soun’ lak a moanin’ win’ in de quarter.  Ever’body was a-sayin’, ‘De Yankees is comin’!  De Yankees is comin’!’ Us chullun was scared, but it was lak Sund’y, too,—­nobody doin’ nothin’.  Us march’ ‘roun’ de room an’ sorter sing-lak, ’De Yankees is comin’!  De Yankees is comin’!’ Dey wouldn’ let us out in de big road.  Well, dey come.  Dey burn up seventy houses an’ all de stores.  Dey tore up de railroad tracks an’ toted off ever’thing dey couldn’ eat.  I don’ un’erstan’ nothin’ ‘bout how come dey act lak dat.  Us aint done nothin’ to ’em.

“Well things kep’ gittin’ worse an’ worse.  After de Surrender Niggers got mighty biggity.  Mos’ of ’em was glad jus’ to feel free.  Dey didn’ have no better sense.  Dey forgot wouldn’ be nobody to take care of ’em.  Things warnt healthy an’ my mammy an’ me kep’ close to de white folks.  ‘Course, Tempe she was grown an’ could do what she please.  She sho’ done somp’in’ when she married Cal.  Dat was de meanes’ Nigger!  He nail up a board over de gate pos’ what say, ‘No visitors allowed’.  Sho’ ’nough didn’ no visitors want to go to his house!

“I don’ know how come things got so unnatchel after de Surrender.  Niggers got to bein all kin’ o’ things what de Lawd didn’ inten’ ’em for, lak bein’ policemen an’ all lak dat.  It was scan’lous!  ’Course, it was de Yankees what done it.  Dey promise to give ever’body forty acres o’ lan’ an’ a mule.  A lot of ’em didn’ have no better sense dan to believe ’em.  Dey’d go ‘head an’ do what de Yankees ’ud tell ’em.  Well, dey didn’ give’ em nothin’, not even a rooster.  Didn’ give ’em nothin’ but trouble.

“I don’ know how come Mr. Theodore Sturges’ brother was a Yankee.  But after de Surrender he come to Mer-ree-dian an’ got to be Mayor.  Didn’ none o’ de white folks lak dat.  Mr. Theodore didn’ lak it hisse’f, but nothin’ he could do ’bout it.  Things got so bad de Kloo-Kluxes[FN:  Klu Klux] started ridin’ at night an’ sposin’[FN:  disposing] o’ bad Niggers.  Den one Satu’d’y night Mr. Theodore’s big sto’ got set fiah to an’ de Mayor he tried to blame it on de Kloo-Kluxes.  ’Course ever’body knowed de Yankees done it.  You see de Yankees was a-tryin’ to git de Gov’nor to run de Kloo-Kluxes out.  Dat was one awful fiah.  Near ’bout de whole town burnt up down town an’ ever’ nice white man was down dare a-fightin’ de fiah.