“I never went to no baptizin’s nor no funerals neither den.  Funerals warn’t de style.  When a Nigger died dem days, dey jus’ put his body in a box and buried it.  I ’members very well when Aunt Sallie and Aunt Catherine died, but I was little den, and I didn’t take it in what dey done bout buryin’ ’em.

“None of Marse Alec’s slaves never run away to de North, ’cause he was so good to ’em dey never wanted to leave him.  De onliest Nigger what left Marse Alec’s place was Uncle Dave, and he wouldn’t have left ’cept he got in trouble wid a white ’oman.  You needn’t ax me her name ’cause I ain’t gwine to tell it, but I knows it well as I does my own name.  Anyhow Marse Alec give Uncle Dave some money and told him to leave, and nobody never seed him no more atter dat.

“Oh yessum!  Us heared ’bout ’em, but none of us never seed no patterollers on Marse Alec’s plantation.  He never ’lowed ’em on his land, and he let ’em know dat he kept his slaves supplied wid passes whenever dey wanted to go places so as dey could come and go when dey got good and ready.  Thursday and Sadday nights was de main nights dey went off.  Uncle Stafford’s wife was Miss Mary Stephen’s cook, Uncle Jim’s wife lived on de Finley place, and Uncle Isom’s belonged to de Hollises, so dey had regular passes all de time and no patterollers never bothered ’em none.

“Whenever Marse Alec or Marse Lordnorth wanted to send a message dey jus’ put George or Mack on a horse and sont ’em on but one thing sho, dere warn’t no slave knowed what was in dem letters.

“Marse Alec sho had plenty of mules.  Some of ’em was named:  Pete, Clay, Rollin, Jack, and Sal.  Sal was Allen’s slow mule, and he set a heap of store by her.  Dere was a heap more mules on dat place, but I can’t call back dere names right now.

“Most times when slaves went to deir quarters at night, mens rested, but sometimes dey holped de ’omans cyard de cotton and wool.  Young folkses frolicked, sung songs, and visited from cabin to cabin.  When dey got behind wid de field wuk, sometimes slaves wuked atter dinner Saddays, but dat warn’t often.  But, Oh, dem Sadday nights!  Dat was when slaves got together and danced.  George, he blowed de quills, and he sho could blow grand dance music on ’em.  Dem Niggers would jus’ dance down.  Dere warn’t no foolishment ’lowed atter 10:00 o’clock no night.  Sundays dey went to church and visited ’round, but folks didn’t spend as much time gaddin’ ’bout lak dey does now days.

“Christmas Day!  Oh, what a time us Niggers did have dat day!  Marse Lordnorth and Marse Alec give us evvything you could name to eat:  cake of all kinds, fresh meat, lightbread, turkeys, chickens, ducks, geese, and all kinds of wild game.  Dere was allus plenty of pecans, apples, and dried peaches too at Christmas.  Marse Alec had some trees what had fruit dat looked lak bananas on ’em, but I done forgot what was de name of dem trees.  Marse Alec would call de grown folkses to de big house