“Dere was six of us chillun:  me and Frances, Beulah, Thomas, Felix, and Scott.  Dere was mighty little wuk done by chillun in slav’ry days.  I jus’ played ’round and kicked up my heels wid de rest of de chillun.  When us played our hidin’ game, us sung somepin’ lak dis: 

  ’Mollie, Mollie Bright
   Three score and ten,
   Can I git dere by candlelight? 
   Yes, if your laigs is long enough!’

“Sometimes us played what us called de ‘Crow’ game.  Us spread our fingers out, side by side and counted ’em out wid a rhyme.  De one de last word of de rhyme fell on had to be de crow.  I didn’t love to be counted out and made de crow, but it was a heap of fun to count de others out.  Since I been knee high to a grasshopper, I ain’t never done nothin’ but wuk ‘round white folks’ houses.

“Our log cabins what us lived in was daubed inside and out wid mud to keep out bad weather.  Our beds was held together by cords what was twisted evvy which way.  You had to be mighty careful tightenin’ dem cords or de beds was liable to fall down.  Us slept on wheat straw mattresses and had plenty of good warm quilts for kiver.

“Grown folks was fed cornbread and meat wid plenty of vegetables in de week days and on Sunday mornin’s dey give ’em wheat bread, what was somethin’ slaves didn’t see no more ’til de next Sunday mornin’.  ’Bout four o’clock on summer atternoons, dey sot a big old wooden bowl full of cornbread crumbs out in de yard and poured in buttermilk or potliquor ’til de crumbs was kivered.  Den dey let de chillun gather ’round it and eat ’til de bowl was empty.  In winter chillun was fed inside de house.

“’Possums, Oh, mussy me!  My grandpa hunted ’possums at night and fetched in two and three at a time.  Don’t say nothin’ ’bout dem rabbits for dere warn’t no end to ’em.  Rabbits stewed, rabbits fried, and rabbits dried, smoked, and cured lak hog meat!  I et so many rabbits when I was young I can’t stand to look at ’em now but I could eat ’possums and gnaw de bones all day long.  Marse Billy let grandpa go fishin’ and he was all time bringin’ back a passel of minnows and other fishes.  Us rubbed ’em down wid lard and salt and pepper, den rolled ’em in cornmeal and baked ’em.  I never seed no fried meat ’til I was a big strappin’ gal.  Dere was one big gyarden whar dey raised ’nough vegetables for all de white folks and slaves too.  All de bilin’ was done in pots swung on cranes over coals in de fireplace.

“Our clothes was made new for us in de fall out of cloth wove in looms right dar on de plantation.  Top clothes was dyed wid hick’ry bark.  De full skirts was gathered to tight fittin’ waisties.  Underskirts was made de same way.  De dresses had done wore thin ’nough for hot weather by de time winter was gone so us wore dem same clothes straight on through de summer, only us left off de underskirts den.  Slave chillun didn’t never wear no shoes.  Our foots cracked open ’til dey looked lak goose foots.  Us wore de same on Sunday as evvy day, ’cept dat our clothes was clean, and stiff wid meal starch when us got into ’em on Sunday mornin’s.