my mama, grandma, papa, auntie.  My name I would lack it better White but that is where the Dell part come in; papa b’long to the Dells and b’fo the war he talked to me bout it.  He took his old master’s name.  They call him Louis Dell White.  He didn’t have no brothers but my mama had two sisters.  Her name was Mary White.  Them was happy days b’fo the war.  The happiest days in all my life.  Bout at the beginnin’ of the war Mama took cole at the loom and died.  We all waited on her, white folks too.  She didn’t lack for waitin’ on.  Something white folks et, we et.  We had plenty good grub all time long as Mars White live.

“How’d I know bout to git in war?  I heard white folks talkin’ bout it.  One time I heard Mars White talkin’ to my folks bout takin’ us away.  We was happy an’ doin’ well an’ I didn’t lack the talk but I didn’t know what “war” was.  No mam that was two years foe they got to fightin’ down at Murfreesboro.  Mars White was a ruptured man.  He never left our place.  I never heard bout none of my folks bein’ sold.  Mars White aired (heired) all us.  My papa left and never come back.  I d[o]n[o] how he got through the lines in the army.  I guess he did fight wid the Yankees.

“Papa didn’t speak plain.  Grandma couldn’t speak plain.  They lisp.  They talk fast.  Sound so funny.  Mama and auntie speak well.  Plain as I do now.  They was up wid Mars White’s childern more.  Mars White sent his childern to pay school.  It was a log house and they had a lady teacher.  They had a accordion.  Mars Marion’s neighbor had one too.  All of em could play.

“White women would plat shucks an’ make foot mats, rugs and horse collars.  The white women lernt the darkie women.  There was no leather horse collars as ever I seed.  I lernt to twist shucks and weave chair bottoms.  Then I lernt how to make white oak split chair bottoms.  I made all kinds baskets.  We had all sizes and kinds of baskets.  When they git old they turn dark.  Shuck bottom chairs last longer but they kinner ruff an’ not so fancy.

“Well when they started off fightin’ at Murfreesboro, it was a continual roar.  The tin pans in the cubbord (cupboard) rattle all time.  It was distressful.  The house shakin’ all time.  All our houses jar.  The earth quivered.  It sound like the judgment.  Nobody felt good.  Both sides foragin’ one bad as the other, hungry, gittin’ everything you put way to live on.  That’s “war”.  I found out all bout what it was.  Lady it ain’t nuthin’ but hell on dis erth.

“I tole you I was ten miles from the war and how it roared and bout how the cannons shook the earth.  There couldn’t be a chicken nor a goose nor a year of corn to be found bout our place.  It was sich hard times.  It was both sides come git what you had.  Whole heap of Yankees come in their blue suits and caps on horses up the lane.  They was huntin’ horses.  They done got every horse and colt on the place cepin one old mare, mother of all the stock they had on the place.  Young mistress had a furs bout her and led her up the steps and put her in the house.