"When us was sick Dr Lewis Williams, who was de doctor of de massa, 'tended to us slaves. I remembers sittin’ in de doctor’s lap while he tried to soothe my ailments.
"Us house servants was taught to read by de white folks, but my gran’-mammy, Alvain Hunter, dat didn’t have no learnin’ but dat knowed de Bible back’ards an’ farwards, made us study. When me an’ my brother was learnin’ outen de Blue Back Speller she say:
"Den we would laugh an’ answer, ’How you know? You can’t read.’
"’Jus’ don’t soun’ raght. De Lawd tell me when its raght. You-all can’t fool me so don’t try.’
"When de marriages was performed, de massa read de ceremony an’ de couples would step off over a broomstick for luck. Den we all had a big supper, an’ dere was music an’ dancin’ by de plenty."
*Interview with Lightnin’* —_John Proctor Mills_
Ignorant of the date of his birth, which occurred at Cahaba, the old State capital, Lightnin’ was an overgrown, gangling youth of fourteen or thereabouts when the Civil War began. Born into slavery, he was the property of one Joel Matthews, cotton planter, whose fields lay near the then new capital city.
Lightnin’ is happiest when spinning some yarn of the old days in Alabama for an interested audience, and when one such inquired as to how he came to be called "Lightnin’," the old man broke into a toothless grin and launched at once into another of the stories dear to his heart.
"Dat’s Massa Joel’s doin’s, boss. I jist natcherly wa’nt neber any too peart an fas’ on my foots, an de fus’ thing Massa Joel eber sot me to fetch him was a cool drink o’ water. De water done got wa’m ’fo’ I brung it to him, an stid’er scoldin, he jist bus’ out laffin’ an’ say: "Boy, you is so slow I gwineter call you after the fas’est thing on earth. Frum now on yo’ name is Lightnin’." An I been Lightnin’ eber since. Co’se I knowed Massa Joel was throwin’ off on me, lil’ as I was, but it looks lak I wa’nt bawn in no big hurry an I jist been movin’ long slow-like eber since.
"Massa Joel musta been bawn on a sunshiny day ’cause he sho’ was bright an’ good natured. Eber’ nigger on de place love him lak he was sont from Heaben. Mos’ eber’ day he come to de quarters wid de fambly doctor to look atter de niggers, fer he say a well-fed, healthy nigger, next to a mule, is de bes’ propersition a man kin ’ves’ his money in." An’ us slaves fared as good as anybody.