de Planters' Hotel, den dey camped on Dead River, den dey
camped on de river. Dey stayed here six months till dey sot dis place
free. When dey campin' on de river bank we go down dere and wash dey
clo'es fer a good price. Dey had hard tack to eat. Dey gib us de hard
tack and tell us to soak it in Water, and fry it in de meat gravy. I
ain't taste nothing so good since. Dey say, 'Dis hard tack whut we
hadder lib on while we fightin' to sot you free."

RACHEL SULLIVAN, 1327 Reynolds Street, Augusta, Ga., Born 1852.

We found Rachel Sullivan sitting on the porch of a two room house on
Reynolds Street. She is a large, fleshy woman. Her handmade yellow
homespun was baggy and soiled, and her feet were bare, though her shoes
were beside her rocker.

We approached her cautiously. "Auntie, we heard you were one of the
slaves who used to live on Governor Pickens' place over near Edgefield."

"Yas'm, Yas'm. I shore wus. He gin us our chu'ch--de one over yonder on
de Edgefield road. No'm you can't see it fum de road. You has to cross
de creek. Old Marster had it pulled out de low ground under de brush
arbor, and set it dere."

"And what did you do on the plantation, Auntie?"

"I wus a nu's gal, 'bout 'leben years old. I nu'sed my Auntie's chillun,
while she nu'sed de lady's baby whut come from Russia wid de Marster's
wife--nu'sed dat baby fum de breas's I mean. All de white ladies had wet
nusses in dem days. Her master had just returned from Russia, where he
had been ambassador. Her baby had the czarina for a godmother."

"And so you used to look after you aunt's children?"

"Yas'm. I used to play wid 'em in de big ground wid de monuments all
around."

"Miss Lucy Holcome was Governor Pickens' second wife, wasn't she?"

"Musta wus, ma'm."

"And were you born on the plantation at Edgefield?"

"I wus born at Ninety-six. Log Creek place was Marster's second place.
Oh, he had plantachuns everywhere, clear over to Alabama. He had
overseers on all de places, ma'm."

"Did the overseers whip you or were they good?"

"Overseers wus good. Dey better been good to us, Marster wouldn't let
'em been nothin' else. And Marster wus good. Lawdy, us had de bes'
Marster in de world. It wus great times when he come to visit de
plantachun. Oh Lord, when de Governor would come--dey brung in all de
sarvants. Marster call us 'sarvants', not 'niggers.' He say 'niggers wuk
down in de lagoons.' So when de Governor come dey brung in all de