“All dis country was full ob deer and Injuns, and dem hills yonder was all covered wid big canes and de biggest trees you ebber seed.  Yonder, all round dat mound we cleaned a field and planted corn and indigo; and ober yonder was another settlement; and yonder, down de creek was another; and on de cliffs was another, and den dare comed a heap ob people and stopt at Natchez and St. Catharine, and all us people a most, young massa, about here is come ob dem; but dare was trouble moss all de time twixt em.

“Ole massa was made de Governor, by somebody, and dare was another man made a Governor, too, and he git a company one night and comed down here; but somebody had tole old massa, and dat day he tell me, and we went down to de riber under de cliff war was some cane and he tole me he was gwine to stay dar, and I muss bring him sometin to eat ebery day, but I musn’t tell whar he was, not eben to ole missus, for dey would scare her and make her tell on him.  Shore nuff, dat night here dey comed, a many a one on em, and dey went right into de great house and serched it and ebery whar, but dey was fooled bad, and den dey tuck me and put a rope round my neck and hung me to de lim of a tree what is dead and gone now, right out dar.  But wen I was moss dead, dey let me down and axed me whar was de Governor.  I swared I didn’t know, and dey pulled me up agin; and dis time dey thought dey had killed me, shore nuff.  It was a long time before I comed to, and den I tole um I could show um whar he was, and we started.

“De cane was mity thick, and we went up one hill and down another till we comed to dat big hill ober de creek dar.  De todder side ob it is mity steep, but de cane was all de way down it.  I was a good ways before em and I jumpt down de steepest place and way I went through de cane down de hill, and de way dey made de bullets whistle was curos.  But I got away and went round and told de ole man all dey had done.  When I went back all de black people was gone and missus said dese men had tuck em off.  De nex nite dey cotch me and carried me to whar our black folks was, and den we all started in a boat down de riber, and when we got to New Orleans we got on a skiff and run down de riber to a big ship and went out to sea dat night and landed at Pensacola, and dare dat wicked ole man sold us to de Spanish.”

“Uncle Toney, who was that wicked old man?”

“Ah! my young massa, I musn’t tell, cause his grandchillen is great folks here now, and Miss Alice telled me I musn’t tell all I knows.  Dey aint sponsible, she says, for what dere grandfadder did.  But I tell you he was a mity bad man.  Well, I staid at Pensacola two years wid my ole oman; and we could talk wid de Injuns, and one day two Injuns dat I knowd out here comed to my cabin, and dey telled me dat ole massa was gone way from here and missus was here by herself and had nobody to help her.  So I makes a bargain wid dese Injuns to come here wid me and my old woman.  One Saturday night we started