"The following Sunday night, twelve head of 'em left there. My ma and
pa and me and our whole family and some more besides was along. We went
from the plantation to Rodney, Mississippi first, trying to get on a
steamboat--gunboat. The gunboat wouldn't take us for fear we would get
hurt. The war was goin' on then. So we just transferred down the river
and went on to Natchez. We went there walking and wading. We was from
Sunday night to Sunday night gettin' there. We didn't have no trouble
'sept that the hounds ms runnin' us. But they didn't catch us--they
didn't catch none of us. My ma and my pa and my brothers and sisters
besides me was all in the crowd; and we all got to Natchez.
"They are all dead and gone to Judgment now but me. I think that I got
one sister in Chicago, Illinois. She is my baby sister. I ain't never
heard nothing about her bein' dead.