and mules. Plowing was done with a yoke or oxen. The horses
were just used for carriages and to ride. My work was pulling weeds,
feeding chickens, and helping to take care of the pigs. Marse Cleveland
had a very bad male hog and had to keep him in a pen about 10 feet high.
Sometimes he would break out of the pen and it would take all the
bulldogs in the county to get him back. I never did earn any money, but
worked for my food and clothes. My daddy used to hunt rabbits and
possums. I went with him and would ride on his back with my feet in his
pockets. He had a dog named Brutus which was a watch dog. My daddy would
lay his hat down anywhere in the woods and Brutus would stay by the hat
until he would come back. We ate all kinds of wild food, possum, and
rabbits baked in a big oven. Minnows were fished from the creeks and
fried in hot grease. We ate this with pone corn bread. We had plenty of
vegetables to eat. An old negro called "Ole Man Ben" called us to eat.
We called him the dinner bell because he would say "Who-e-e, God-dam
your blood and guts".

Out clothes were made of jeens and linsey in winter. In the summer we
wore cotton clothes. They gave us shoes at Christmas time. We were
measured with sticks. Once I was warming my shoes on a back log on the
big fire place, they fell over behind the logs and burnt up. I didn't
marry while on the plantation.

My master and mistress lived in the big brick house of 15 rooms, with
two long porches. One below and one below. My mistus was Miss Lucy
Elmore before she married. Her children were named Miss Mat, Miss Emma,
and Miss Jennie.

I saw the slaves in chains after they were sold. The white folks did not
teach us to read and write. We had church on the plantation but we went
from one plantation to another to hear preaching. White folks preacher's
name was Reuben Lee, in Versailles. A meeting of the Baptist Church
resulted in the first baptizing I ever saw. It was in Mr. Chillers pond.
The preacher would say 'I am baptizing you in Mr. Chillers pond because
I know he is an honest man'. I can't remember any funeral.

I remember one slave named Adams who ran away and when he came back my
old master picked up a log from the fire and hit him over the head. We
always washed up and cleaned up for Sunday. Some time the older ones
would get drunk.

On Christmas and New Years day we would go up to the house and they
would give us candy and fruit and fire-crackers. We were given s