li'l jumped up songs. Den us jis'
play 'roun' lots of times anyt'ing what happen to come up in our min's."

"Dey feed us good back in slavery. Give us plenty of meat and bread and
greens and t'ings. Ye, dey feed us good and us had plenty. Dey give us
plenty of co'nbread. Dat's de reason I's a co'nbread eater now. I ain't
no flour-bread eater. I lubs my co'nbread. Us all eat outer one big pan.
Dey give each li'l nigger a big iron spoon and us sho' go to it. Dey
give us milk in a sep'rate vessel, and dey give eb'ryone a slice of meat
in our greens. And dey never dassent tek de other feller's piece of
meat. Eb'ryt'ing better go 'long smoove wid us chillun. We better eat
and shut our mouf. We dassent raise no squall."

"I tell dese chillun here dey ain't know nuffin'. Dey got dey glass. We
had our li'l go'ds (gourds) pretty and clean and white. I wish I had
one of dem ol' time go'ds now to drink my milk outer."

"In good wedder dey feed us under a big tree out in de yard. And us
better leave eb'ryt'ing clean and no litter 'roun'. In de winter time
dey fed us in de kitchen."

"Us gals wo' plain, long waisted dress. Dey was cut straight and wid
long waist and dey button down de back."

"Dey was a cullud man what mek shoes for de slaves to wear in de winter
time. He mek 'em outer rough red russet ledder. Dat ledder was hard and
lots of times it mek blister on us feet. I uster be glad when summer
time come so's I could go barefoot."

"Dey had cabins for de slaves to live in. Dere was jis' one room and one
family to de cabin. Some of 'em was bigger dan others and dey put a big
family in a big cabin and a li'l family in a li'l cabin."

"I never see no slaves bought and sol'. I heerd my gramma and ma say dey
ol' marster wouldn' sell none of his slaves."

"I heerd 'bout dem broom-stick marriages, but I ain't never seed none.
Dat was dey law in dem days."

"Dey didn' know nuffin' 'bout preachin' and Sunday School in dem times.
De fus' preachin' I heerd was atter dat. I hear a white preacher
preach. He uster preach to de white folks in de mornin' and de cullud
folks in de afternoons. But de slaves some of 'em uster had family
prayer meetings to deyselfs."

"De ol' marster he didn' work he han's on Sunday and he give 'em half de
day off on Sadday, too. But he never give 'em a patch to work for
deyself. Dat half a day off on Sadday was for de slaves to wash and
clean up deyselfs."

"I never git marry 'till way atter freed