a boy, I mind de crows out de field. Oh, crows was terrible
bout pickin up peoples corn in times back dere. You see if dey let de
crows eat de corn up, dey had to go to de trouble of planting it all
over again en dat how-come dey send we chillun in de field to mind de
crows off it. We just holler after em en scare em dat way. Crows was
mighty worser in dem days den dey is dis day en time."

"I sho remembers when freedom was declare cause I was bout 16 year old
den. When dem Yankees talk bout comin round, my Massa take all we
colored boys en all he fast horses en put em back in de woods to de
canebrake to hide em from de Yankees. It been many a year since den, but
I recollects dat we was settin dere lookin for de Yankees to get as any
minute. Wasn' obliged to make no noise neither. Oh, we had big chunk of
lightwood en cook meat en hoecake en collards right dere in de woods.
Den my Massa take one of dem oldest plantation boys to de war wid him en
ain' nobody never hear tell of him no more. He name Willie. O my Lord,
when dey hear talk bout de Yankees comin, dey take all de pots en de
kettles en hide em in holes in de fields en dey put dey silver bout some
tree so dey know whe' dey bury it. Den dey hide de meat en de corn to de
colored peoples house en when dey hear talk of de Yankees gwine away,
dey go en get em again. Dem Yankees never destroy nothin bout dere, but
dey is make my Massa give em a cart of corn en a middlin of meat.
Yes'um, I look at dem Yankees wid me own eyes. Dey was all dressed up in
a blue uniform en dey was just as white as you is. Oh, dey said a lot of
things. Say dey was gwine free de niggers en if it hadn' been for dem,
we would been slaves till yet. Coase I rather be free den a slave, but
we never have so much worryations den as people have dese days. When we
get out of clothes en get sick in dat day en time, we never had to do
nothin but go to us Massa. Now, we have to look bout every which a way."

"My Massa ask my mother was she gwine live with him any longer after
freedom was declare en she say she never have no mind to leave dere. We
live on dere for one year en den we studied to get another place. I
believes heap of dem white folks died just on account of us get freed.
Dey never didn' want us to be free."

"I heard a 'oman say somebody had conjured her, but I don' believe in
none of dat. I knows I got to die some of dese days en dat might come
before me. I don' bother wid none of dat kind