s my slave, give to me by my mother. I wouldn't had dis
happen to her no more dan to me. She won't come back dere no more.'"

"Were you ever sold during slavery times, Aunt Ellen?"

"No'm. I wa'nt sold, but I knows dem whut wus. Jedge Robinson he kept de
nigger trade office over in Hamburg."

"Oh yes, I remember the old brick building."

"Yas'm, dat it. Well, all de colored people whut gonner be sold was kept
dere. Den dey brung 'em over to de market and put 'em up fer sale.
Anybody fixin' to buy 'em, 'zamines 'em to see if dey all right. Looks
at de teef to tell 'bout de age."

"And was your master good to you, Auntie?"

"I'll say dis fer Mr. William Eve--he de bes' white man anywhere round
here on any dese plantachuns. Dey all own slaves. My boss would feed 'em
well. He wus killin' hogs stidy fum Jinury to March. He had two
smoke-houses. Dere wus four cows. At night de folks on one side de row
o' cabins go wid de piggins fer milk, and in de mawnin's dose on de
odder side go fer de piggins o' milk."

"And did you have plenty of other things to eat?"

"Law, yas'm. Rations wus given out to de slaves; meal, meat and jugs o'
syrup. Dey give us white flour at Christmas. Every slave family had de
gyrden patch, and chickens. Marster buy eggs and chickens fum us at
market prices."

"Did the overseers ever whip the slaves or treat them cruelly?"

"Sometimes dey whup 'em--make 'em strip off dey shirt and whup 'em on de
bare skin. My boss had a white overseer and two colored men dey call
drivers. If dey didn't done right dey dus whup you and turn you loose."

"Did the Eves have a house on the plantation, too?"

"No'm, dey live in town, and he come back and fo'th every day. It warn't
but three miles. De road run right fru de plantachun, and everybody
drive fru it had to pay toll. Dat toll gate wus on de D'Laigle
plantachun. Dey built a house fer Miss Kitty Bowles down by de double
gate where dey had to pay de toll. Dat road where de Savannah Road is."

When asked about war times on the plantation Ellen recalled that when
the Northern troops were around Waynesboro orders were sent to all the
masters of the nearby plantations to send ten of their best men to build
breastworks to hold back the northern advance.

"Do you remember anything about the good times or weddings on the
plantation?"

She laughed delightedly. "Yas'm. When anybody gwine be married dey tell
de boss and he have a cake fix. Den when Sunday come, at