Birmingham News 1940 Darkey has been prepared to die for 15 years but lives on.All they have to do is dig a hole he says,with coffin and his tombstone ready. Ole uncle Sie has been ready to die for 15 years.But he just lives on. "With my coffin made and tombstone erected I jest aint got de load,s call yet." Uncle Sie is 93 years old was born in slavery,1848 was hung by the home guard during the civil war .A short distance from where the old darky lives is a big white oak tree with spreading branches he was hung from one of the branches once and heres how it happened.The home guard got the idea that Uncle Sie,who was a small boy at the time, was feeding the deserters tought to be hiding in the woods."dey coitched me one day and said if I dont tellem where the deserters were dat dey would string me up by the neck.I try to splain I dont know no deserters but dey takes me down under tat tree,put a rope aroung my neck and throwed hit ovr a limb den the capin say he would give one mo chance,when I didnt say nothin dey pulled de rope and jerked me up in de air and I went whirling around in the air and my togue floped out and I tought dat I was sho dead."The the soldiers decided that the young negro was not lying and cut him down fo the breath leeked out. Freed by the war, Uncle Sie began to accumulate land until today he has something like 385 acrs under cultivation in Fayette County. I am not sure when he died. Uncle Sie was a slave of James K. McCollum,Sie's mother was Mary(polly)Who had been purchased in Georgia, Mary, had three sons Besides Si.And probaly more. Si Married and raised a large family,I have worked with several of his grand children and all I know are hard workers and good citizens. Joel Palmer