“Der wuz Levi, Floyd, Henry, Noah, an’ Nancy, jes’ my haf brudders an’ sistahs, but I neber knowed no diffrunce but whut dey wuz my sistahs an’ brudders.”

“Where we liv?  On Marsa John Alexander’s farm, he wuz a good Marsa too.  All Marsa John want wuz plenty wurk dun and we dun it too, so der wuz no trubble on ouah plantashun.  I neber reclec’ anyone gittin’ whipped or bad treatment frum him.  I does ’members, dat sum de neighbers say dey wuz treated prutty mean, but I don’t ’member much ’bout it ’caise I’se leetle den.”

“Wher’d I sleep?  I neber fergit dat trun’l bed, dat I sleep in.

“Marsa John’s place kinda stock farm an’ I dun de milkin’.  You all know dat wuz easy like so I jes’ keep busy milkin’ an’ gits out de hard work.  Nudder thing I lik to do wuz pick berries, dat wuz easy too, so I dun my shar’ pickin’.”

“Money?  Lawsy chile, I neber dun seen eny money ’til aftah I dun cum to Gallipolis aftah der war.  An’ how I lik’ to heah it jingle, if I jes’ had two cents, I’d make it jingle.”

“We all had plenty an’ good things to eat, beans, corn, tatahs, melons an’ hot mush, corn bread; we jes’ seen white flour wunce in a while.”

“Yes mam, we had rabbit, wil’ turkey, pheasunts, an’ fish, say I’se tellin’ you-all dat riful pappy had shure cud kill de game.”

“Nudder good ole time wuz maple sugar makin’ time, mostly dun at night by limestone burnin’.  Yes, I heped with the ‘lasses an’ all de time I wuz a thinkin’ ‘bout dem hot biscets, ham meat, corn bread an’ ’lasses.”

“We liv in a cabin on Marse John’s place.  Der wuzn’t much in de cabin but my mammy kept it mighty clean.  Say, I kin see dat ole’ fiah place wid de big logs a burnin’ right now; uh, an’ smell dat good cookin’, all dun in iron pots an’ skillets.  An’ all de cookin’ an’ heatin’ wuz dun by wood, why I nebber seed a lump o’ coal all time I wuz der.  We all had to cut so much wood an’ pile it up two weeks ‘for Christmas, an’ den when ouah pile wuz cut, den ouah wurk wuz dun, so we’d jes’ hav good time.”

“We all woah jeans clos’, jes pants an’ jacket.  In de summah we chilluns all went barefoot, but in de wintah we all woah shoes.”

“Ol’ Marse John an’ his family liv in a big fine brick hous’.  Marse John had des chilluns, Miss Betty an’ Miss Ann an’ der wuz Marse Mike an’ Marse John.  Marse John, he wuz sorta spiled lik.  He dun wen to de war an’ runs ‘way frum Harpers Ferry an’ cum home jes’ sceered to death.  He get himsef a pah o’ crutches an’ neber goes back.  Marse John dun used dem crutches ’til aftah de war wuz ovah.  Den der wuz ol’ Missy Kimberton—­de gran’muthah.  She wuz ’culiar but prutty good, so wuz Marse’s chilluns.”

“Ol’ Marse John had bout 20 slaves so de wurk wuzn’t so bad on nun ob us.  I kin jes’ see dem ol’ bindahs and harrows now, dat dey used den.  It would shure look funny usin’ ’em now.”

“I all’us got up foah clock in de mornin’ to git in de cows an’ I didn’t hurry nun, ’caise dat tak in de time.”