“But folks dat aint acted right liable to be found mos’ anytime tied up some’r’s:  De Niggers were a-havin’ a party one Satu’d’y night on Hampton’s plantation.  Come some men on horses wid some kin’ o’ scare-face on ’em.  Dey were all wropped[FN:  wrapped] up, disguised.  De horses were kivered[FN:  covered] up, too.  Dey call for Miler Hampton.  He were one o’ de Hampton Niggers.  He been up to somethin’.  I don’t know what he done, but dey say he done somethin’ bad.  Dey didn’ have no trouble gittin’ him, ’cause us were all scared us’d git kilt, too.  Dey carried ’im off wid ’em an’ kilt him dat very night.

“Us went to DeKalb nex’ day in a drove an’ ask de white folks to he’p us.  Us buy all de ammunition us could git to take de sperrit, ’cause us were a-havin’ ‘nother party de nex’ week.  Dey didn’ come to dat party.

“I don’t know why dey don’t have no Kloo Kluxes now.  De sperrit still have de same power.

“Den I go to work for Mr. Ed McAllum in DeKalb—­when I aint workin’ for de Gullies.  Mr. Ed were my young marster, you know, an’ now he were de jailor in DeKalb.

“I knowed de Chisolms, too.  Dat’s how come I seen all I seen an’ know what aint never been tol’.  I couldn’ tell you dat.  Maybe I’s de only one still livin’ dat were grown an’ right dere an’ seen it happen.  I aint scared now nothin’ ’ud happen to me for tellin’—­Mr. Currie’d see to dat—­I jus’ aint never tol’.  Dem dat b’longed to my race were scared to tell.  Maybe it were all for de bes’.  Dat were a long time ago.  Dey give out things den de way dey wanted ’em to soun’, an’ dat’s de way dey done come down: 

“‘It started wid Mr. John Gully gittin’ shot.  Now Mr. Gully were a leadin’ man ’mong de white democratic people in Kemper, but dey aint had much chance for ‘bout seven years (I disremember jus’ how long) on ‘count o’ white folks lak de Chisolms runnin’ ever’thing.  Ever’body were sho’ it were some’ o’ de Chisolm crowd, but some folks knowed it were dat Nigger, Walter Riley, dat shot Mr. Gully. (But aint nobody ever tol’ de sho’ ’nough reason why Walter shot Mr. John Gully.)

“’De Chisolms warnt Yankees, but dey warnt white democratic people.  Dey do say de Chisolms an’ folks lak’ em used to run ‘roun’ wid de Yankees.  Maybe dat’s how come dey was diffe’nt.  Even ’fore de Yankees come a-tall, when Mr. Chisolm were on us side, he were loud moufed[FN:  mouthed] ’bout it.

“’Mr. John Gully he’p Mr. Chisolm git to be judge, but he turnt out to be worse dan dem he had to judge.  Mr. Gully an’ de others made ’im resign.  I reckon maybe dat’s why he quit bein’ a Democratic an’ started ructions wid Mr. Gully.

“’Come de surrender, Mr. Chisolm, he got to be a big leader on de other side.  An’ he seen to it dat a lot o’ de white democratic men got he’p from votin’ an’ a lot o’ Niggers step up an’ vote lak he tol’ ’em (dey were scared not to).  So de Chisolms kep’ gittin’ all de big places.