Me an mah ole man is been married sixty-six years an have nevah had no chillun.  Yo know little chillun is de sweetest thing in the worl’.  Now if we had chillun we would have someone tuh take care of us in our ole days.  Mah ole man, Tom, is 89 an I’se 82.  Poar ole man.  Ah does all ah kin fuh him but I’se ole too.  These young niggers is gettin so uppity.  They think they is better than we is.  A Darkey jes don’ love one another an stick t’gether like white fokes does.  But ah is goin ter stick ter my ole man.  He needs me.  He is jes like a little helpless chile widout me ter look after him.  Ah used to be mighty frisky an mighty proud when ah wuz young but ah wazn’ as good then as ah is now.  Ah likes ter go ter church.  See that little white church over de hill?  That is Douglas Chapel, a Baptist church.  Me an mah ole man give de lan’ fuh that church.  We had plenty them days when Douglas was laid out (meaning Douglas Addition).  But now poar ole niggers don’ have enough ter eat all de time.  None of them church members is missionary enough ter bring us somethin’ ter eat.  White fokes have good hearts but niggers is grudgeful.  De bigges thing among white fokes is they do lie sometime an when they do they kin best a nigger all to pieces.

Niggers don’ have as much ’ligion as they use ter.  Ah went to a missionary meeting at one sister’s house an she said ter me:  “Sister Douglas, start us off wid a song” an ah started off with “Amazing Grace.”  Sang bout half of de first verse an noticed none of them j’ined in but ah kep’ right on singin’ an wuz gettin full of de sperit when that sister spoke up an said:  “Sister Douglas, don’ yo know that is done gone out of style?” an selected “Fly Away” an den all of them sisters j’ined in an sung “Fly away, fly away” an hit sounded jes like a dance chune.

Yas’m, that is our ole buggy standin aroun de corner of de house.  We use ter ride in hit till hit got so rickety.  An that ole horse is our fambly horse.  Dolly Jane ah calls her.  We’ve had her forty years an she gits sick sometime jes like ah does an ah thinks sho she is gone this time but she gits ovah hit jes like ah does when ah has a spell.  We has lived in this house since 1900 but we is goin ovah on de utha side of de tracks soon wid the res of de niggers.  Nobody lef on this side but white fokes now ceptin us.  When de railroad come through down there ah had a cotton patch growin there an ah cried cause hit went through mah cotton patch an ruint part of hit.  All we got out’n hit wuz damages.

No’m, mah ole man caint talk ter yo all terday; he is sick.  Mebby ifn yo all come back he kin talk ter yo then.

(In the meantime we investigated Tom and Sarah Douglas and found that he has a bank account and at one time owned all the land that is now Douglas Addition.  In a few days we went back and found Tom sitting on the porch.)

Uncle Tom Douglas—­Yas’m, ah members de wah.  Ah wuz fo’teen when de wah began an eighteen when hit closed.  Mah marster wuz B.B.  Thomas, Union Parish, Louisiana, near Marion, Louisiana.  Ah saw de fust soldiers go an saw young marster go.  When young marster come back at de close of de wah he brought back a big piece of mule meat ter show us niggers what he done have ter eat while he wuz in de army.