Dat is it was
between an on de borders of it an dat state to de south--yes ma'am,
dat's right, Louisiana. My mother was a slave before me. She come over
from de old country, she was a-runnin' along one day front of a--a--dat
stripedy animal--a tiger? an' a man come along on an elephant and scoop
her up an' put her on a ship.
Yes ma'am. My name's Clara Walker. I was born Clara Jones, cause my
pappy's name was Jones. But lots of folks called me Clara Cornelius,
cause Mr. Cornelius was de man what owned me. Did you ever hear of a
child born wid a veil over its face? Well I was one of dem! What it
mean? Why it means dat you can see spirits an' ha'nts, an all de other
creatures nobody else can see.
Yes ma'am, some children is born dat way. You see dat great grandchild
of mine lyin' on de floor? He's dat way. He kin see 'em too. Is many of
'em around here? Lawsey dey's as thick as piss-ants. What does dey look
like? Some of 'em looks like folks; an' some of 'em looks like hounds.
When dey sees you, dey says "Howdy!" an' if you don't speak to 'em dey
takes you by your shoulders an dey shakes you. Maybe dey hits you on de
back. An' if you go over to de bed an lies in de bed an' goes to sleep,
dey pulls de cover off you. You got to be polite to 'em. What makes 'em
walk around? Well, I got it figgured out dis way.
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