“Mr. McGowan owned a yellow man named John, and he could beat anybody there shucking corn; he could also find more red ears than anybody else, and would laugh the merriest laughs when he found them, for a red ear meant an extra dram, you know. Some of the hands accused him of bringing along a few from Mr. McGowan’s corn crib, but I hardly think that was true, for when it came to honesty, John was as straight as a shingle. “Charles, Mr. Waters’ wagoner, was the heap walker that night. Always at corn shuckings they picked out somebody with a clear, good voice to sing, and made them the heap walker. He walked over and around the corn heap, and sang the corn song. Somehow, the hands seemed to forget they worked, when they sang, the time passed so pleasantly. “Charles was what they called a quick witted smart fellow, and he could fit into his songs some of the funny sayings of the neighborhood, and make the people laugh amazingly. He would sing the verses alone, and the crowd would join in the chorus. The corn song went like this: ‘Ginn erway de corn boys, ginn erway de corn, Done come here ternight, fer ter ginn erway de corn. Corn, _cor_-n, _cor_-n, _cor_-n, corn fer de Bell cow, corn fer de mule, Ash cake fer de yaller gal, Dat make you all er fool, Corn, corn, corn, dear old Marser’s corn.’ “Then the chorus went: ‘Cor-n, cor-n, ginn erway de corn, Gwine ter shuck it all dis night, As sho’s yer bor-n, bor-n.’ “And bless your life, they were happy times, those good old corn shucking days before the war! Along about midnight, they changed up from the corn song to the dram song, and when that started up, the boys worked like steam engines. As well as I can remember, here’s the way the dram song went: ‘Dram, dram, little drop er dram sir, Dram, dram, fetch erlong de dram. Come, come, little Mister Whiskey, Nigger mighty thirsty, wants er little dram.’ * * * * * “When the corn pile was finished up, Mr. Waters took off his hat, made a polite bow, and thanked the hands for their good work. “Then he said: ‘I’ll give you something to warm up your throats,’ and hands the big jug around; but he had good judgment, and would not give them enough to make them drunk. When the last one had taken his dram, John McGowan, that same active yellow man, and one of the Sale colored boys, caught Mr. Waters up on their shoulders, and away they went to the house with him, the hands following behind, singing the corn song. They set him down on the front door steps. “Mrs. Waters was out in the hall, and said she had not laughed as much since Christmas. We were invited out to the big log kitchen, and there on a long table was spread the feast of all feasts. Boiled ham, barbecued shoat, sweet potatoes, coffee, pumpkin pies, ginger cakes, and cider; and when the supper was over, the young folks lit in to dancing. I didn’t care for dancing myself, so I sat around and talked to the sober-minded folks.