dem nails plumb up to dey haids in de north side of a tree and put
jimpson weed poultices on Jasper's foot, but it's still powerful bad
off."

By this time we had arrived within sight and earshot of the old rocking
chair where Jasper sat with his foot propped high in another chair. His
chair had long ago been deprived of its rockers. The injured member
appeared to be swollen and was covered with several layers of the
jimpson weed leaves. The old man's thin form was clothed in a faded blue
shirt and old gray cotton trousers. His clothes were clean and his
white hair was in marked contrast to his shining but wrinkled black
face. He smiled when Lula explained the nature of the proposed
interview. "'Scuse me, Missy," he apologized, "for not gittin' up,
'cause I jus' can't use dis old foot much, but you jus' have a seat here
in de shade and rest yourself." Lula now excused herself, saying: "I
jus' got to hurry and git de white folks' clothes washed and dried 'fore
it rains," and she resumed her work in the shade of another huge tree
where a fire was burning brightly under her washpot and a row of
sud-filled tubs occupied a long bench.

"Lula, she has to wuk all de time," Jasper explained, "and she don't
never have time to listen to me talk. I'se powerful glad somebody is
willin' to stop long enough to pay some heed whilst I talks 'bout
somepin. Dem days 'fore de war was good old days, 'specially for de
colored folks. I know, 'cause my Mammy done told me so. You see I was
mighty little and young when de war was over, but I heared de old folks
do lots of talkin' 'bout dem times whilst I was a-growin' up, and den
too, I stayed right dar on dat same place 'til I was 'bout grown. It was
Marse Henry Jones' plantation 'way off down in Taliaferro County, nigh
Crawfordville, Georgy. Mammy b'longed to Marse Henry. She was Harriet