Yes.  My missus, she made me a pair of hoops, or I guess she bought it, but some of the slaves took thin limbs from trees and made their hoops.  Others made them out of stiff paper and others would starch their skirts stiff with rice starch to make their skirts stand way out.  We thought those hoops were just the thing for style.

25.  Do you remember when you first saw your first windmill?

Yes.  They didn’t have them there.

26.  Do you remember when you first saw bed springs instead of bed ropes?

I slept in a gunny bunk.  My missus had a rope bed and she covered the ropes with a cow hide.  We made hay and corn shuck mattresses for her.  We’d cut the hay and shucks up fine and stuff the ticks with them.  The cow hides were placed on top of the mattresses to protect them.

27.  When did you see the first buggy and what did it look like?

It was a buggy like you see.

28.  Do you remember your grandparents?

No.  My mother was sold from me when I was small.  I stayed in my uncle’s shed at night.

29.  Do you remember the money called “shin-plasters”?

No.

30.  What interesting historical events happened during your youth, such as Sherman’s army passing through your section?  Did you witness the happenings and what was the reaction of the other Negroes to them?

I remember well when de war was on.  I used to turn the big corn sheller and sack the shelled corn for the Confederate soldiers.  They used to sell some of the corn and they gave some of it to the soldiers.  Anyway the Yankees got some and they did not expect them to get it.  It was this way:  The Wheeler boys came through there ahead of Sherman’s Army.  Now, we thought the Wheeler boys were Confederates.  They came down the road as happy as could be, a-singin’

  “Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah
  Hurrah for the Broke Book Boys
  Hurrah for the Broke Brook Boys of South Carolina.”

So of course we thought they were our soldiers a-singin’ our songs.  Well, they came an’ tol’ our boss that Sherman’s soldiers were coming’ and we’d better hide all our food and valuable things, for they’d take everything they wanted.  So we “hoped” our Massy hide the tings.  They dug holes and buried the potatoes and covered them with cotton seed and all that.  Then our ma say give dem food and thanked them for their kindness and he set out wid two of the girls to tote them to safety, but before he got back after the missus the Yanks were on us.

Our missus had od[TR:?] led us together and told us what to say.  “Now you beg for me.  If they ask you whether I’ve been good to you, you tell ’em ‘yes’.  If they ask you if we give you meat, you say ’yes’.”  Now de res’ didn’t git any meat, but I did, ’cause I worked in the house.  So I didn’t tell a lie, for I did git meat.