One of de niggers tells me kind of nice to climb as high in dat tree as I could if I didn't want my body tore off my legs. So I runs a good five miles and climbs up in de tree whar de branches is gettin' small. I sits dere a long time and den sees de dogs comin'. When dey gits under de tree dey sees me and starts barkin'. After dat I never got thinkin' of runnin' away.
Time goes on and de war come along, but everything goes on like it did.
Some niggers dies, but more was born, 'cause old Pinchback sees to dat. No one had no say who he have for wife. Den de chillen was brown and I seed one clear white one, but dey slaves jus' de same. De end of dat war comes and old Pinchback says, 'You niggers all come to de big house in de mornin'. He tells us we is free and he opens his book and gives us all a name and tells us whar we comes from and how old we is, and says he pay us 40 cents a day to stay with him.