Natchez shoppers lined up in the cold and drizzle to get an early start on holiday shopping — a real early start.

At 4 a.m. the parking lot in front of the JC Penney in Natchez was filled with cars, filled with passengers waiting for the doors to open in the Natchez Mall store.

Across the Mississippi River in Vidalia, a small line had already started to form outside the entrance of the Vidalia Wal-Mart. By 5 a.m., when the store opened, a long line snaked through the parking lot.

With the turn of a deadbolt, the line quickly disappeared into the store.

It didn’t take long for shoppers to reappear with carts filled with Christmas gifts for family and friends — and maybe a couple of flat screen televisions for themselves.

Here is a look at the early morning hours of Black Friday in the Miss-Lou.