less he sont for them, otherwise they knowed to stay off. They sho was
devils in sheeps' clothing; that's what we thought of them paterollers.
Slaves worked all day Saddays when there was work to be done, but that
night was their free time. They went where they pleased just so Old Boss
gave them a pass to protect them from paterollers.

"After slaves went to church Sunday they were free the rest of the day
as far as they knowed. Lots of times they got 'em a stump
speaker--usually a Negro--to preach to them. There were not as many
preachers then as now.

"'Bout Christmas Day? They always had something like brandy, cider, or
whiskey to stimulate the slaves on Christmas Day. Then there was fresh
meat and ash-roasted sweet 'taters, but no cake for slaves on our place,
anyhow, I never saw no cake, and surely no Santa Claus. All we knowed
bout Christmas was eating and drinking. As a general thing there was a
big day's work expected on New Years Day because we had to start the
year off right, even if there was nothing for the slaves to do that day
but clean fence corners, cut brush and briers, and burn off new ground.
New Years Day ended up with a big old pot of hog jowl and peas. That was
for luck, but I never really knowed if it brought luck or not.

"Well, yes, once a year they had big cornshuckings in our section and
they had generals to lead off in all the singing; that was done to whoop
up the work. My Pa was one of the generals and he toted the jug of
liquor that was passed 'round to make his crowd hustle. After the corn
was shucked the crowd divided into two groups. Their object was to see
which could reach the owner of the corn first and carry him where he
wanted to go. Usually they marched with him on their shoulders to his
big house and set him down on his porch, then he would give the word for
them to all start eating the good things spread out on tables in the
yard. There was a heap of drinking done then, and dancing too--just all
kinds of dancing that could be done to fiddle and banjo music. My Pa was
one of them fiddlers in his young days. One of the dances was the
cotillion, but just anybody couldn't dance that one. There was a heap of
bowing and scraping to it, and if you were not 'quainted with it you
just couldn't use it.

"When any of the slaves were bad sick Old Boss called in his own family
doctor, Dr. Joe Bradbury. His plantation hit up against ours. The main
things they gave for medicine them days wa