“We weahs cotton cloths when ah were young, jes plain weave it were; no collar nor cuffs, n’ belt like store clothes.  Den men’s jes have a kinda clothes like ... well, like a chemise, den some pantaloons wid a string run through at de knees.  Bare feet—­yes’em, no shoes.  Nevah need no coat down to Natchez, no’em.”

“When we comes back to Louieville on de boat, we sleeps in de straw on de flo’ o’ de boat.  It gits colder ’n colder!  Come big chunks ol ice down de river.  De sky am dark, an hit col’ an spit snow.  Ah wish ah were back dere in Natchez dat time after de war were ovah!  Yes’em, ah members dat much.”

“Ah wuk along wid mammy til ah were married, den ah gits on by mahsef.  Manny she come heah to Lebanon wid de Suttons—­she married Sam.  Sutton’s pappy.  Yes ’em dey wuz about 12 o’de fambly cum heah, an ah come to see mammy,... den ah gits me wuk, an ah stays.

“Cookin’?  Yes’em, way meat is so high now, ah likes groundhog.  Ground hog is good eatin.  A peddler was by wid groun’ hog fo ten cents apiece.  Ground hog is good as fried chicken any day.  You cleans de hog, an boils it in salt water til its tender.  Den you makes flour gravy, puts it on after de water am drain off; you puts it in de oven wif de lid on an bakes hit a nice brown.  No ’em, don’ like fish so well, nor coon, nor possum, dey is too greasy.  Likes chicken, groundhog an pork.”  Wid de wild meat you wants plain boiled potatoes, yes’em Irish potatoes, sho enough, ah heard o’ eatin skunk, and muskrat, but ah ain’t cookin em.  But ah tells you dat groun’ hog is good eatin.

“Ah were Baptized by a white minister in Louieville, an’ ah been a Baptist fo’ sixty yeahs now.  Yes’em dey is plenty o’ colored churches in Louisville now, but when I were young, de white folks has to see to it dat we is Baptised an knows Bible verses an’ hymns.  Dere want no smart culled preachers like Reverend Williams ... an dey ain’t so many now.”

“Up to Xenia is de culled school, an dey is mo’s smart culled folks, ol’ ones too—­dat could give you-all a real story if you finds dem.  But me, ah cain’t read, nor write, and don’t member’s nuthin fo de War no good.”

Celia is very black as to complexion; tall spare; has small grey eyes.  In three long interviews she has tried very hard to remember for us from her youth and back through the years; it seems to trouble her that she cannot remember more.  Samuel Sutton’s father married her mother.  Neither she or Samuel had the kind of a story to tell that I was expecting to hear from what little I know about colored people.  I may have tried to get them on the songs and amusements of their youth too often, but it seems that most that they knew was work; did not sing or have a very good time.  Of course I thought they would say that slavery was terrible, but was surprised there too.  Colored people here are used to having white people come for them to work as they have no telephones, and most white people only hire colored help by the day or as needed.  Celia and Samuel, old age pensioners, were very apoligetic because they are no longer able to work.