John Sartoris

The man whom Bayard calls "father" (74, etc.) and Ab Snopes calls "Kernel Sartoris" (77) is Colonel John Sartoris, who appears in more Yoknapatawpha fictions than any other character. He plays a major role in the larger history of Yoknapatawpha, a stature that Ab acknowledges when he compliments Rosa by saying "You got my respect. John Sartoris, himself, can't tech you" (76). Ab also briefly notes why Sartoris is not at home: "he hells all over the country day and night with a hundred armed men" fighting the Yankees (76). In the story he appears only once, when Bayard remembers that before leaving with the Confederate troop he commands, father asked Ab to look out for Granny "while he was away" - and then asked Bayard and Ringo "to look out for Ab" (74).