I never knowed about uprisings till the Ku Klux sprung up.  I never heard bout the Nat Turner rebellion.  I tell you bout the onliest man I knowed come from Virginia.  A fellow come in the country bout everybody called Solomon.  Dis long fo the war.  He was a free man he said.  He would go bout mong his color and teach em fo little what they could slip him along.  He teached some to read.  When freedom he went to Augusta.  My brother seed him and said “Solomon, what you doin here?” and he said “I am er teaching school to my own color.”  Then he said they run him out of Virginia cause he was learnin his color and he kept going.  Some white folks up North learned him to read and cipher.  He used a black slate and he had a book he carried around to teach folks with.  He was what they called a ginger cake color.  They would whoop you if they seed you with books learnin.  Mighty few books to get holt of fo the war.  We mark on the ground.  The passes bout all the paper I ever seed fo I come to Tennessee.  Then I got to go to school a little.

Whah would the niggers get guns and shoot to start a uprisin?  Never had none cept if a white man give it to him.  When you a slave you don’t have nothin cept a big fireplace and plenty land to work.  They cook on the fireplace.  Niggers didn’t have no guns fo the war an nuthin to shoot in one if he had one whut he picked up somewhere after the war.  The Ku Klux done the uprisin.  They say they won’t let the nigger enjoy freedom.  They killed a lot of black folks in Georgia and a few white folks whut they said was in wid em.  We darkies had nuthin to do wid freedom.  Two or three set down on you, take leaves and build a fire and burn their feet nearly off.  That the way the white folks treat the darky.

I never knowed nobody to hold office.  Them whut didn’t want to starve got someplace whut he could hold a plow handle.  You don’t know whut hard times is.  Dem was hard times.  They used to hide in big cane brakes, nearly wild and nearly starved.  Scared to come out.  I ain’t wanted to go back to Georgia.

The folks I lived wid fo I come to Tennessee, he tanned hides down at the branch and made shoes and he made cloth hats, wool hats.  He sold them.  We farmed but I watched them up at the house minu a time.

One thing I recollect mighty well.  Fo de war a big bellied great monster man come in an folks made a big to do over him.  He eat round and laughed round havin a big time.  His name was Mr. Wimbeish (?).  He wo white britches wid red stripes down the sides and a white shad tail coat all trimmed round de edges wid red and a tall beaver hat.  He blowed a bugle and marched all the men every Friday ebening.  He come to Miss Frances.  They fed him on pies and cakes and me brushin the flies off im and my mouth fairly waterin for a chunk ob de cake.  When de first shot of war went off no more could be heard ob old Mr. Wimbeish.  He lef an never was heard tell ob no mo. He said never was a Yankee had a hart he didn’t understand!  I never did know whut he was.  He jess said that right smart.