allowed to marry one of the Allan slaves, and my father's name was Will
Allen. You see the slaves had the same name as the Master's, as he owned
'em. My Mammy had seven children and we all grow'd up on our Master
Dales fa'm. My father had to stay at his master's, Col. Jack Allen's and
wo'k in the fields all day, but at night he would come to my mammy's
cabin and stay all night, and go back to his master's, Col. Allen's
fields the next mon'in. Yes, I grow'd up in slavery times. I used to
carry tubs of clothes down to the old spring house, there was plenty of
water, and I'se washed all the clothes there. Me and my sisters used to
wash and sing and we had a good time. I can't remember much of the ole
song's its been so long ago.

I had two brothers, and they jined the war and fought in the army. One
was named Harry and 'tother Peter. Mammy wo'ked hard, done all the
cookin' but ole Master Dale was so good to all of us children we did't
mind it. I'se was a mischevious gal when I was grow'in up. I'se would
get a lickin' most every-day. I'se alway's like to fight the ot'er
children, and I would say, "Mammy she hit me", but I was bad and I'se
got my whipp'n. On my masters fa'm we killed a lot of hogs for our meat,
had a big trough, that we cut the meat up in, and put the hams and
shoulders together, and the middles together, then put 'em down in salt
for about six weeks, and then hang them up in the smoke-house and smoke
'em with hickory chips. And leave them all the time till we used 'em up.
We had a apple house we used to fill every fall with the best apples.
The ole master sho' had a apple fa'm. Inside of the house there was a
big hole in the ground, dug deep, and we use to fill it full of apples,
then cover it over with a straw, and O Lawd, we would have apples all
wint'r when the snow lies deep on the ground; sure I wish them old days
back.

Some of the other old Masters, who had lots of slaves on fa'ms close by,
was so mean to the slaves they owned. They wo'ked the women and men both
in the fields and the children too, and when the ole Master thought they
was'n't do'n' 'nuf wo'k, he would take his men and strip off their
shirts, and lash them with cow-hide whips until you could see the blood
run down them poor niggers backs.

The Nigger traders would come through and buy up a lot of men, and women
slaves, and get a big drove of them and take them further south to work
in the fields, leavin their babies. I'se never can