“No Mam, I don’t never git much sick.  I had a bad old haid cold last winter, but I stopped dat wid coal oil and by breathin’ in smoke from scorched leather.  Light’ood splinter tea is helpful when I has a chist cold.  Salts ain’t de best thing for old folks to be doctored wid.  I takes common cookin’ soda sweetened wid a little sugar.  Dem is old-time doses from way back in de old days, and I still use ’em all.

“Durin’ of de war time, soda and salt was both hard to git.  Dey biled down de dirt from under old smokehouses to git salt, and soda was made out of burnt corncobs.  You would be s’prised to see what good cookin’ could be done wid dat old corncob soda.

“Us wukked for Mr. Green Hubbard de fust year us left de old plantation, but he wouldn’t pay us so us left him and rented some land to farm.  Den I went to wuk for Mr. Stephens and stayed wid him 25 years.  He was one of de owners of de Georgy Railroad and I used to drive for him when he went to ’Gusty (Augusta) to dem board meetin’s.  He had one of dem old-time gins what run by mule power, and us sho’ did gin a heap of cotton.  Lots of times he had us to haul it all de way to ’Gusty on dem wagons.  Mr. Stephens’ place was at Crawford, Georgy.

“Me and my gal runned away to git married.  If you please, Mam, come inside and look at her pitcher.  Ain’t she a fine lookin’ gal?  Well, she was jus’ as good as she looks.  I keeps her pitcher hangin’ right over my bed so as I can look at her all de time.”  The small room was tidy and clean.  In one corner a narrow, single bed, neatly made, stood beneath the picture of Benny’s wife, Mary.  The picture showed a young woman dressed in white in the style of the period when tight waists and enormous puffed sleeves were in vogue.  An old washstand supporting a huge mirror, a small table, evidently used as a dining table, two chairs, a small cupboard filled with dishes, and a small, wood-burning stove completed the furnishings of the room.  Back on the porch again, Benny resumed the story of his marriage.

“Her daddy wouldn’t ’gree for us to git married ’cause he wanted her to stay on and wuk for him.  She warn’t but seventeen.  My boss-man let us use his hoss and buggy and, Missy, dat fast hoss is what saved de day for us.  When I got to whar I was to meet her, I seed her runnin’ down de road wid her daddy atter her fast as he could go on foot.  I snatched her up in dat buggy and it seemed lak dat hoss knowed us was in a hurry ‘cause he sho’ did run.  Squire Jimmie Green married us and when us got back to my boss-man’s house her daddy had done got dar and was a-raisin’ cane.  Boss Stephens, he come out and told her daddy to git on ’way from dar and let us ’lone, ‘cause us was done married and dere warn’t nothin’ could be done ‘bout it.  Us had a hard time gittin’ started housekeepin’, ’cause my daddy couldn’t holp us none.  Our bed was one of dem home-made ones nailed to de side of de house.  Us lived together 43 years ’fore de Lord tuk her home to Heben 15 years ago.  Dem 43 years was all of ’em happy years.  Since she’s been gone I’se mighty lonesome, but it won’t be long now ’til I see her, for I’se ready to go whenever de Good Lord calls me.”