Jim Stovall, who I bought the land from, told me my deed say if I found any water the sale was null and void. Went down to the court to straighten it out and come to find out he had a bunch of these fellows get together to pick on me. He try to act like he ain’t had nothing to do with it. They took and cut my mule’s belly out while it standing there. Just took a knife and sliced it open. I stood there and watched them. They was laughing about it. I look and see where they got me covered. There’s too many of them to fool around with. I didn’t want to die. But I loved that old mule. Me and him had been through a lot together. He was a good old mule. Remind me of myself. He only do so much amount of work and that was it. He didn’t mind working. He liked to get out there and exercise. Do anything you asked him. He didn’t like you to half-work him. If you gonna work him . . .  he want you to work him. Or else let him lay. He didn’t like no stop-and-start work. That wasn’t to his suiting. Don’t tell him you gonna do one thing and then do something else. He’d lay down and tell you, “God damn it, make up your mind!” I used to take him down there and let him mate with Jimmy Hollis’s mule. I figure I get mine, let him get his. A man like him a woman after a hard day’s work. I stood there and watched them cut his belly open. He kinda reared back, took a few steps, and fell over. One of them reached down, grabbed hold of his dick, and cut that off. I stood there looking at them. I say, “Okay. I know the rules now. If you do that to something that ain’t never done nothing to you . . .  then I know what you would do to me. So I tell you what. You go on and get your laugh now. Cause if I get out of this alive I know how to play as good as anyone.” Once I know the rules, whatever they are, I can play by them.