baby, can' do no settin up at night."

"I tries to catch all what little I can to help along cause dat how I
was raise up. Government truck brings me little somethin once a month
pack up in packages like dry milk en oatmeal en potatoes. Give dat to
all dem dat can' work en ain' got nobody to help dem. Dat dry milk a
good thing to mix up de bread wid en den it a help to fix little milk en
bread for dem two little ones. De potatoes, I stews dem for de chillun
too. Dey mighty fond of dem. Now de oatmeal, de chillun don' eat dat so
I fixes it for Sue en every now en den I takes a little bit wid my
breakfast."

"I don' know much what to tell you bout Abraham Lincoln. I think he was
a mighty great man, a mighty great man, what I hear of him."

"I remembers de Yankees come dere to my white folks plantation one day
en, child, dere was a time on dat place. All dem niggers was just a
kickin up dey heels en shoutin. I was standin dere on de piazza lookin
at dem en I say, 'I don' see why dey want to carry on like dat for. I
been free all de time.' When dey get through de Yankees tell dem dey was
free as dey Massa was en give dem so many bushels of corn en so much
meat for dey own. Some take dey pile en go on off en some choose to stay
on dere wid dey Missus. She was good to all her colored people en dey
stay on dere for part de crop. Give dem so much of de crop accordin to
de chillun dey had to feed. I know dis much, dey all know dey gwine get
12 bushels of corn a year, if dey ain' get no more. Dat a bushel every
month. Yes, dat how it was."

"O Lord, baby, I don' know a thing bout none of dat thing call conjurin.
Don' know nothin bout it. Dat de devil work en I ain' bother wid it. Dey
say some people can kill you, but dey ain' bother me. Some put dey trust
in it, but not me. I put my trust in de Lord cause I know it just a talk
de people have. No, Lord, I can' remember dat neither. I hear dem say
Raw Head en Bloody Bones would catch you if you be bad, but how it
started, I don' know. I know I don' know nothin bout how dey look en I
don' want to see dem neither. No, child, people say dey sho to be, but I
ain' see none. How dey look, I don' know."

"I don' know what to think bout de times dese days. De times worse den
dey used to be, child. You know dey worse. Dis here a fast time de
people livin on cause everybody know de people die out heap faster den
dey used to. Don' care how dey kill you up. No, child, dey sho worser.
My