“If slaves did run off to de North, I never heared nothin’ ’bout it.  Oh, Lord!  I jus’ can’t talk ’bout dem patterollers, for it looked lak all de white folks tried to jine up wid ’em.  How dey did beat up us pore Niggers!  Us had to git a pass for dis and a pass for dat, and dere jus’ warn’t nothin’ us could do widout dem patterollers a-beatin’ us up.  Dey beat you wid a cowhide lash what cut a gash in your back evvy time it struck you.  Yessum, white folks and Niggers was all time quar’ellin’ and fightin’.

“When slaves got in from de fields dey et deir somepin t’eat and went to bed.  Dey didn’t have to wuk on Saddays atter dinnertime.  When our old Marster turned us loose, he turned us loose; and when he wuked us, us sho’ was wuked.  De young folks had deir big times on Sadday nights.  Dey danced and frolicked ’round sort of lak dey does now.  Evvybody went to de meetin’ house on Sunday, and dere’s whar Niggers had a good time a-courtin’.

“Christmas was de time when old Marster let us do pretty much as us pleased.  Us had all kinds of good things t’eat, and atter us drunk a lot of liquor it warn’t long ‘fore dere was a Nigger fight goin’ on.  Yessum, us had cornshuckin’s, cotton pickin’s, quiltin’s, log rollin’s, and all sich as dat.  Wid plenty t’eat and good liquor to drink on hand, Niggers would shuck corn or pick cotton all night.  It was de big eats and lots of liquor dat made slaves lak dem things.

“Little slave boys played wid sun-baked marbles, made of mud, and old rag balls, what was sho’ a heap diffunt from what chilluns thinks dey has got to have dese days ’fore dey kin have a good time.

“Marster had mighty good keer tuk of his slaves when dey got sick.  Dere warn’t many doctors dem days.  Dey jus’ used home-made medicines, mostly teas made out of yarbs (herbs).  I jus’ can’t git up no ricollection of what yarbs dey did put in dem teas.  I does ’member dat chillun had to live wid bags of assfiddy (asafetida) ’round deir necks to keep off ailments.  Ma give me and Bob, each one, a block of dat assfiddy for good luck.  I throwed my block ‘way a few years ago, and I ain’t had nothin’ but bad luck ever since.  Dat’s why I can’t git up de things you wants to know ‘bout.  My mind jus’ don’t wuk right no more.

“Dem yankees was on de go all de time.  One of ’em come to old Marster’s house and axed one of my uncles to go off wid him.  Uncle was old and skeered and he thought de yankees might kill him or somepin lak dat.  When de War was done over, old Marster told us ’bout how things was.  He said us was free and would have to do de best us could for ourselfs.  Dem was happy days for Niggers.  Dey sho’ didn’t take no more foolishment off of white folks atter dat, and dey don’t pay ’em no mind now.  Niggers got so bad atter dey got deir freedom dat de Ku Kluxers come ’round and made ’em be’have deirselfs.  One of dem Kluxers come to our house and set down and talked to us ‘bout how us ought to act, and how us was goin’ to