be two, sometimes they would
be three windows--one to each room. There would be two or three or four
rooms to the house. That would be according to the family. My mother had
three girls besides her own children. She had a four-room house. Her
house was built right in the white folks' yard. My grandmother didn't
work in the field. She tended to the children. She worked in the big
house. My mother was boss of the whole thing. She would go and work in
the field but grandmother would see after the children. She wouldn't
let me go from her to the gate without her. I just had to follow her
everywhere she went.

"Grandmother besides taking care of us used to make clothes. She cooked
for the white folks. But she sure had to see after us children. I seed
after myself. I was all the girl-child there and I just did what I
wanted to.

"The country was kind of wild in those days. The deer used to come
loping down and we would be scared and run and hide. Some people would
set the dogs on them and some people would kill them no matter who they
belonged.

You see, some people had them as pets.

Amusements

"I never seed nothing in the way of amusements except people going to
church and going to parties and all such as that. They believed in going
to church. They would have parties at night. The white folks didn't care
what they had. They would help prepare for it. They would let 'em have
anything they wanted to have and let 'em go to church whenever they
wanted to go.

And if they took a notion they would have a supper. When they would have
a party they would do just like they do now. They would have dancing. I
never seed any playing cards. When they danced, somebody would play the
fiddle for them. When they had a supper, they would usually sell the
things. Then the white folks would come and buy from them. There would
be nice looking things on the table.

Church

"They had meetings at Center Point, and at Arkadelphia. And they would
let us go to them or anywhere else we wanted. We had to have passes, of
course. They had colored preachers. Sometimes the slaves would go to
the white people's church. They wouldn't go often, just every once in
awhile. White ladies would get after the colored to come and go with
them sometimes. Sometimes, too, when they would have a dinner or
something, they would take Aunt Sue or mother to cook for them. They
wouldn't let nobody meddle with them or bother them--none of the other
white folk