Niggers sho' nuff begun to sing loud an' fas' an' you wuz 'bliged for to
'low Sallie mus' be a Good Gal, de way de shucks wuz comin' off of dat
corn so fas'. Dey kep' it up 'til de corn wuz all shucked, an' ma
hollered, 'Supper ready!' Den dey made tracks for de kitchen, an' dey
didn't stop eatin' an' drinkin' dat hot coffee long as dey could
swallow. Ain't nobody fed 'em no better backbones, an' spareribs, turnip
greens, 'tato pies, an' sich lak dan my ma set out for 'em. Old time
ways lak dat is done gone for good now. Folkses ain't lak dey used to
be. Dey's all done got greedy an' don't keer 'bout doin' nothin' for
nobody else no more.

"Ma combed our hair wid a Jim Crow comb, or cyard, as some folkses
called 'em. If our hair wuz bad nappy she put some cotton in de comb to
keep it from pullin' so bad, 'cause it wuz awful hard to comb.

"Evvybody tried to raise plenty of gourds, 'cause dey wuz so handy to
use for dippers den. Water wuz toted from de spring an' kept in piggins.
Don't spec' you ebber did see a piggin. Dats a wooden bucket wid wire
hoops 'roun' it to keep it from leakin'. De wash place wuz nex' to de
spring. Pa fixed us up a big old stump whar us had to battle de clo'es
wid a battlin' stick. It tuk a sight of battlin' to git de dirt out
sometimes.

"If you turned a chunk over in de fire, bad luck wuz sho' to come to
you. If a dog howled a certain way at night, or if a scritch owl come in
de night, death wuz on de way to you, an' you always had to be keerful
so maybe bad spirits would leave you alone.

"Pa built us a new kitchen, jus' lak what de white folkses had dem days.
It sot out in de back yard, a little piece of a way from our house. He
made it out of logs an' put a big old chimbly wid a big fireplace at one
end. Benches wuz built 'roun' de sides for seats. Dere warn't no floor
in it, but jus' dirt floor. Dat wuz one gran' kitchen an' us wuz mighty
proud of it. [HW: p.4]

"My w'ite folkses begged me not to leave 'em, when I told 'em I wuz
gwine to marry Joe Telfair. I'd done been wukkin' for 'em nigh on to six
years, an' wuz mos' twenty years old. Dey gimme my weddin' clo'es, an'
when I seed dem clo'es I wuz one proud Nigger, 'cause dey wuz jus' lak I
wanted. De nightgown wuz made out of white bleachin' an' had lots of
tucks an' ruffles an' it even had puff sleeves. Sho' 'nough it did! De
petticoat had ruffles an' puffs plum up to de wais' ban'. Dere wuz a
cosset kiver dat wuz cut to fit an'