By and by we moving through the long grass along the edge of the marsh, which I dont want to cause the marsh it full of snake, only there nothing much I can do. My mama she say ifn you has to choose youself between a alligator and a snake you best choose the alligator, cause you cant see or either hear the snake before it come to strike. The old man he dont seem to know about snakes, or maybe he do and dont mind none on ac-count of he the devil and been a snake hisself what just as bad. Either way Im is holding my breath to see what what, only noth-ing happen, and then pretty soon we leaving the tall grass and coming up a rise. There some black-green oaks up top with they branches sagging to the ground, and up past that theres a dirt-white clapboard cabin with a tintop roof...

(Excerpt from "The Conjure Man" by Peter Damian Bellis)