Pistol Jones Runs to Freedom

Now long before the greys sounded the silver bugle and sent them turrible boomin' volleys of cannon flyin, Pistol Jones was pickin' that cotton. Yessuh he was. But Pistol Jones he sees that ole whipman turnin' his back to look upon the pretty black girls and Jones he crouch right down in those thorns. He turned to me and this is what Pistol Jones say:
"Now, open them ears boy, we gonna slide right through that whipman's hands like an ear of hot buttered corn. You keep your hand touchin' close gainst' my heel, and if I turn left, you turn left. And if I turn right, you turn right, and if my skin runs with blood 40 times, then on the 41st time I'll be a free man if my name is Pistol Jones" And so Pistol Jones he go on and crawl, and I touchin' gainst' his heel through those terr-bel briers and thorns of slavery. And 40 times I saw Pistol Jones skin run with blood from them thorns, yet he didn't cry out. But the 41st time we had passed beyond Kentuck and I saw his skin runnin' red with his own blood and he turn and cry out, "Sure enough if my name is Pistol Jones, my skin is burnin! Now boy, I need you to dig down in that earth, that cool earth, so I can reach down and cover my skin, cause If my name is Pistol Jones' it's burnin' from the very thorns of slavery." So I dug down deep, I dug down to the earth, the cool earth, and Pistol Jones he put his body down there and he look at me and he say, "Aw Lawd, if that earth ain't cool, but my body's still burnin'!" After that day, Pistol Jones turned back and brought out 38 more men, and there was one man for every time Pistol Jones skin had run red with his own blood. These were the days before Pistol Jones marched south to shoot down all them handsome rebel boys.