A view of the "back forty". The cow trail is visible towards the right side of the
gate. After the end of the civil war, the "back forty" (forty acres of land) and a
mule were granted to negros that had joined the northren forces during the uncivil war.
The purpose of the grant was to aid the poverty stricken, newly emanciapated
negros, in making a living. Of course it was not very long, poverty stricken or not,
before they were thrown off the "back forty". The term is generally
used in conjunction with subjects relating to country life. My addition of the term
"relations" is in recognition of the Navajo indian ( and my) believe that "All living things -
people, plants, animals, mountains, and the Earth itself - are relatives". In the
"back forty" I have photgraphed snakes, road runners, wasps, birds, cows, sheep,
flowers that show up in some of the following photos. . For a copy of the
back
forty grant see /http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/40acres/ps_so15.html.