been know it cause de white folks, dey
wanted to keep dem in bondage. Oh, my Lord, dey would cut dem so hard
till dey just slash de flesh right off dem. Yes, mam, dey call dat thing
dey been whip dem wid de cat o' nine tail. No, darlin, I hear talk it
been made out of pretty leather plaited most all de way en den all dat
part down to de bottom, dey just left it loose to do de cuttin wid. Yes,
honey, dem kind of whips was made out of pretty leather like one of dese
horse whips. Yes, mam, dat been how it was in slavery time."

"Yankees! Oh, I hear folks speak bout de Yankees plunderin through de
country plenty times. Hear bout de Yankees gwine all bout stealin white
people silver. Say, everywhe' dey went en found white folks wid silver,
dey would just clean de place up. Dat de blessed truth, too, cause dat
exactly what I hear bout dem."

"Lord, pray Jesus, de white people sho been mighty proud to see dey
niggers spreadin out in dem days, so dey tell me. Yes, mam, dey was glad
to have a heap of colored people bout dem cause white folks couldn' work
den no more den dey can work dese days like de colored people can.
Reckon dey love to have dey niggers back yonder just like dey loves to
have dem dese days to do what dey ain' been cut out to do. You see, dey
would have two or three women on de plantation dat was good breeders en
dey would have chillun pretty regular fore freedom come here. You know,
some people does be right fast in catchin chillun. Yes'um, dey must been
bless wid a pile of dem, I say, en every colored person used to follow
up de same name as dey white folks been hear to."

"No'um, I never didn' go to none of dem cornshuckin en fodder pullin en
all dem kind of thing. Reckon while dey was at de cornshuckin, I must
been somewhe' huntin somethin to eat. Den dem kind of task was left to
de men folks de most of de time cause it been so hot, dey was force to
strip to do dat sort of a job."

"Lord, I sho remembers dat earth shake good as anything. When it come on
me, I was settin down wid my foots in a tub of water. Yes, my Lord, I
been had a age on me in de shake. I remember, dere been such a shakin
dat evenin, it made all de people feel mighty queer like. It just come
in a tremble en first thing I know, I felt de difference in de crack of
de house. I run to my sister Jessie cause she had been live in New York
en she was well acquainted wid dat kind of gwine on. She say, 'Josie,
dis ain' nothin but dem shake I be