Physically active, he does not use a crutch or cane and his hearing, eyesight, and mind appear alert.  The old Negro cannot read or write, but he has a remarkable memory.  He seems very happy in his little cabin where he and his wife live alone, and his eyes beam with interest when he remembers and discusses slavery times.

“I was jes a little nigger when de War broke out—­’bout fo’ years ol’, my white folks say.  I had a sister an’ three brudders.  My mammy an’ pappy was Mary Kennedy an’ Lon Kennedy.  My mammy was Mary Denham befo’ she mar’ied.  I was born an’ raised at Mahned, Mississippi.  Old Miss Bill Griffin was my missus.

“De Yankees sho’ come to our house—­yes sir, dey did.  De fust time dey kotched our hogs an’ cut off de hind part an’ take hit wid’ em.  De front part dey lef’ in de fiel’.  Dey carries corn in de saddle bags an’ throwed hit out to de chickens.  Den when de chickens come up to eat dey kotched ’em by de head an’ wring hit off an’ take all de chickens wid ’em.

“Our white folks buried all dey silver in de groun’ an’ hid dey hosses in de deep gullies near de plantation.  Even dey clo’es an’ meat dey hide, an’ de soljers didn’ find nothin’ ‘cepin’ de hosses, an’ dey lef’ dey tired ones an’ tuk our fresh ones wid’ em.  Dey burned de fiel’s an’ orchards so our white folks couldn’ he’p feed our soljers none.

“One time I ‘member when Aunt Charity an’ Winnie McInnis, two niggers on our plantation, tried to swim some of our hosses cross de riber to save ‘em frum de soljers an’ dey rode ’cross in a little boat.  Well, when de hosses got in de middle of de water, up comes a’ gator[FN:  alligator], grabs one hoss by de ear, an’ we ain’t neber seed him no mo’.

“When niggers run ’way frum de plantation dey was whupped, but dey had to go to da sheriff to be whupped.  De sheriff, he would tie de nigger to a tree an’ whup him till de blood run out.

“’Bout de only recr’ation us niggers had in dem days was candy pullin’s.  We all met at one house an’ tol’ ghost stories, sung plantation songs, an’ danced de clog while de candy was cookin’.  Dem was de good old days.  Dey don’t do dem things no mo’.

“When a nigger died, we had a wake an’ dat was diffrunt too frum whut ‘tis today.  Dey neber lef’ a dead nigger ’lone in de house, but all de neighbors was dere an’ hoped[FN:  helped].  Dey turned de mirrors to de wall ‘cause dey say once a long time ago, a nigger died an’ three days afte’wards his people looked in a mirror an’ dere dey see da dead nigger plain as day in de mirror.

“At da wake we clapped our han’s an’ kep’ time wid our feet—­Walking Egypt, dey calls hit—­an’ we chant an’ hum all night ’till de nigger was funeralized.

“If we heerd a little old shiverin’ owl[FN:  screech owl] we’d th’ow salt in de fire an’ th’ow a broom ‘cross de do’ fer folks say dat ’twas a sign of bad luck, an’ a charm had to be worked fas’ to keep sumpin’ terrible frum happenin’, an’ if a big owl hollered, we wasn’t ’lowed to say one word.