De cullud fo'ks in Rusk can tell youse how Preacher Ruffus Lee comes to be preacherman. Tudder 'perience some cullud gent'mens have Ise gwine to tell 'bout. Youse see Ise happly converted w'en Ise 8 yeahs old an' 'twarnt long aftah dat deys put me to teachin' Sunday school 'cause Ise know de Bible. W'ens Ise get oldah de cullud chu'ch o'ganization sent me heah an' thar to teach de Bible. One time in '89 Ise sent to talk to de membahs of a cullud chu'ch in Caldwell County. Dat night w'ens weuns gets to de chu'ch thar whar fo'ks standin' off f'om de buildin' an' deys sez 'twas somethin' queer. Weuns deys come to de chu'ch deys see a pile of brush dat 'twarnt thar befo' an' den de brush pile catch firah an' burn right now. Dat firah don't burn lak tudder firah, slowly and easy, but quick. Deys watch it fo' a little den goes up to it an' lo thar am no firah an' no sign of de firah or de sign of a brush pile. Deys am astandin' thar talkin' 'bout what am seen, deys heahs a sound in de chu'ch dat am lak a windlass; it have de wierd 'ffect, an' it sound lak w'en youse draws wauter f'om out de well. Dem mens know 'twarnt any windlass in de chu'ch but thar am de crank, c-r-a-n-k sound an' den deys heahs b-u-m-p, jus' lak a bucket dat hits de bottom of de well. W'en deys tol' me 'bout it, Ise sez, "Dat am nothin' dat am gwine to hurt youse it am a sign of de Lawd, jus' gwine in. Fouah or five starts to gwine in, deys steps easy an' slow an' look 'round but see nothin'. Den suddenly f'om ovahhead deys heahs de c-r-a-n-k sound an' out deys come lak shots f'om a cannon; deys run into two of de tudder fo'ks an' knocks dem down. Dem cullud gent'mens eyes am stickin out lak two balls an' deys couldn't sez a word. Deys jus' stand thar an' look at de chu'ch. Twarnt any meetin' thar dat night. Ise stay wid brudder James .

It am warm so Ise sleep on de poarch. De wind am blowin' an' am whistelin' in de tree tops. Dat sound am soothin' lak to me an' Ise lay thar athinkin' fo' a long time 'bout de noise in de chu'ch an' Ise tries to get de 'speration why de Lawd stop dat meetin' but it wont come. De next mo'nin a cullud gent'mens come pass an' sez to Brudder James , "De chu'ch buildin' am blowed down du'in' de night." Thar am de question answered, de Lawd stop de meetin' fo' to save his Lambs, to save his lambs. Brudder James dat dey tuk me to tudder chu'ch whar Ise to do Bible teachin' an' on de way him tol' me his 'perience jus' as weuns come to a small stream. Ise gwine to tell youse what happen' to me", sez he, "an' Maranda one night as weuns am comin' f'om chu'ch an' rossin' dis creek. Ise nevah tol' a livin' soul 'cause Ise 'fraied deys laugh at dis nigger an' sez Ise tetch in de head. It am dis way, weuns am drivin' 'long wid de team of mules an' de wagon an' Maranda am sattin' 'side me. Jus' as weuns gets 'bout heayah she keeps lookin' 'round. Ise sez to her, 'What fo' youse keep lookin' an' lookin' back all de time an' den she sez, 'Well, youse look an' see if youse see what Ise see'. Ise look an' sho as Ise 'lib thar am some animal dat look lak de panther come up f'om 'hind. It move quick an' widout any noise an' w'en it gets to de wagon it vanish. Den Ise see tudder one or de same one, maybe de furst one am undah de wagon an' den tudder one come an' a tudder. Ise sez to Maranda , 'What youse see?' an' she tol' me an' it am de same what Ise see. Tis time to be movin' fast f'om heyah', Ise sez an' Ise gwine to hit de mules wid de whup. Lawd fo' mighty Ise could not hit de mules, somethin' seem to hold my shams. Ise sez 'Gidap' but de mules pay no mind to sich dat time. Dat am not de wurst of it, w'en weuns gets to de creek dem mules stop. Ise wants to sez 'Gidap' but dat wo'd Ise could only whisper so thar weuns stand. Ise sez to Maranda, 'Pray to de Lawd fo' help'. She prays hard an' Ise look an' de animals one aftah de tudder go f'om de wagon to de woods ovah thar. Weuns stand dat way fo' m'ybe three minutes dat seem lak houah an' de mules start of de own 'ccord. Ise sez to Maranda, 'Thank de Lawd fo' de help; him saves weuns'. 'Thank de Lawd', sez she, 'glory to his powah Now what do youse think of dat Sis' Lee ?' him ask me. Youse see Ise not mai'ied yet, so my name am still Lee. Ise sez dat it am de sign of de Lawd fo' youse to go into de woods fo' somethin'. Den he tol' me dat befo' de wah de man dat owned de place hide lots of gold money on de place an' nobody knows whar. Deys tuk de man to de wah to do sojer wo'k an' thar him gets killed. Dats what Budder James sez an' thar am 'sposed to be gold thar now, dat am 'ccordin' to what de old fo'ks dat had been slaves tells. So thar it am ag'in. If Brudder James do as de sign showed an' follow de animals dey would tuk him to de gold. W'ite man Ise could tell youse mo'e but Ise must cook de dinnah.

Ise hope wid youse it am not lak de President sez to de old nigger f'om Miss'sipp swamp dat come to see him. Dat nigger gets to Washington an' keeps askin' whar he could find de President. De President heahs of it an' ordahs de old nigger be fetched to him. W'en de nigger gets to de President, de President sez to him, 'Ise once wants to see de mollusk'. What am de mollusk? a fish taint it? De President go on an' sez, 'Ise go 'way down South to see sich an' w'en Ise see it, Ise 'pointed. Now youse wants to see a President an' come 'way up North fo' to see one, Ise hope youse not 'pointed. Now, w'ite man Ise hope youse not 'pointed fo' to come way out heyah to heah hows my Pappy come to be de preacherman.