“De young folks used to make up a heap o’ songs, den.  Dey’d decompose[FN:  compose] dey own songs an’ sing’ em.  I never will forgit one song dey sung when dey buried anybody.  It made Old Marster, Mistis, an’ all of’ em cry.  Us chillun cried, too.  It went like dis: 

  ’My mother prayed in de wilderness,
   In de wilderness,
   In de wilderness. 
   My mother prayed in de wilderness. 
   An’ den I’m a-goin’ home.

  Chorus: 

   Den I’m a-goin’ home,
   Den I’m a-goin’ home.

   We’ll all make ready, Lawd,
   An’ den I’m a-goin’ home.

   She plead her cause in de wilderness,
   In de wilderness,
   In de wilderness. 
   She plead her cause in de wilderness. 
   An’ den I’m a-goin’ home.’

  (Repeat chorus)

“Old Aunt Hannah fell to my marster from his daddy.  She had twelve chillun a-workin’ on de place.  De oldes’ was named Adam an’ de littlest was named Eve.  She had two twins what was named Rachel an’ Leah.  Dey nussed my mistis’ two twins.  Dey kep’ one a-nussin’ mos’ all de time.

“My ma was de cause o’ my marster a-firin’ all de overseers. (Dey blamed ever’thing on her ’cause she was de only bought Nigger.) Marster say she was a valuable Nigger, but she was so mean he was afraid dey’d kill her.  He say, ‘She’ll work widout no watchin’ an’ overseers aint nothin’, nohow.’

“Dey was a white man—­I aint lyin’—­I know him an’ I seen him.  He had Nigger houn’s an’ he made money a-huntin’ runaway Niggers.  His own Niggers kilt ’im.  Dey hung ’em for it.  Two was his Niggers an’ one b’long to somebody else.

“My young marster used to work in de fiel’ wid us.  He’d boss de Niggers.  Dey called ’im Bud, but us all called ’im ‘Babe.’  Honey, I sho’ did love dat boy.

“When de war come dey used to tease him an’ say, ’Bud, why don’t you go to de war?’ Dey laughed an’ teased ’im when he went.  But twant no laughin’ when he come home on a furlough an’ went back.  Dey was cryin’ den.  An’ well dey mought[FN:  might] cry, ’cause he never come back no more’.  He was kilt in de war.

“Endurin’ de war, de white folks made dey clo’es same as de Niggers.  Old Mis’ made dye an’ dyed de thread.  She made pretty cloth.

“My ma was de firs’ to leave de plantation after de surrender.  All de other Niggers had a contrac’ to stay, but she didn’.  She went to Newton County an’ hired out.  She never wanted to stay in one place, nohow.  If she had a crop ha’f made an’ somebody made her mad, she’d up an’ leave it an’ go some’r’s else.

“You know, dey was mighty strict, ‘bout den, wid cullud folks, an’ white people, too.  De Kloo Kluxes was out nights.  I hear’d tell ’bout ’em whuppin’ people.  But dey never bothered me.

“Dey was speakers gwine aroun’, tellin’ de Niggers what dey was gwine a-git.  Dey never got nothin’ to my knowledge, ’cept de gov’ment let ’em homestead lan’.  My ma homesteaded a place close to Enterprise, Scott County, but she got mad an’ lef’ it like she always done.