en tellin you bout, but dis de first
time it come here en you better be a prayin.' En, honey, everything
white en colored was emptied out of doors dat night. Lord, dey was
scared. Great Jeruseleum! De people was scared everywhe'. Didn' nobody
know what to make of it. I tellin you, I betcha I was 30 years old in de
shake."

"Now, I guess time you get done gettin up all dem memorandums, you gwine
have a pile. I tell you, if you keep on, you sho gwine have a bale cause
dere a lot of slavery people is spring up till now. I ought to could
fetch back more to speak to you bout, but just like I been tell you, I
wasn' never cared for by a mother en I is caught on to a heap of
roughness just on account dat I ain' never had a mother to have a care
for me."

"Oh, de people never didn' put much faith to de doctors in dem days.
Mostly, dey would use de herbs in de fields for dey medicine. Dere two
herbs, I hear talk of. Dey was black snake root en Sampson snake root.
Say, if a person never had a good appetite, dey would boil some of dat
stuff en mix it wid a little whiskey en rock candy en dat would sho give
dem a sharp appetite. See, it natural cause if you take a tablespoon of
dat bitter medicine three times a day like a person tell you, it bound
to swell your appetite. Yes, mam, I know dat a mighty good mixture."

"Oh, my Lord, child, de people was sho wiser in olden times den what dey
be now. Dey been have all kind of signs to forecast de times wid en dey
been mighty true to de word, too. Say, when you hear a cow low en cry so
mournful like, it ain' gwine be long fore you hear tell of a death."

"Den dere one bout de rain. Say, sometimes de old rain crow stays in de
air en hollers en if you don' look right sharp, it gwine rain soon. Call
him de rain crow. He hollers mostly like dis, 'Goo-oop, goo-oop.' Like
dat."

"De people used to have a bird for cold weather, too. Folks say, 'Don'
you hear dat cold bird? Look out, it gwine be cold tomorrow.' De cold
bird, he a brown bird. If you can see him, he a fine lookin bird, too.
Yes'um, right large en strong lookin, but don' nobody hardly ever see
him dese days."

"En I reckon you hear talk bout dis one. Say, not to wash on de first
day of de New Year cause if you do, you will wash some of your family
out de pot. Say, somebody will sho die. Dat right, too. Den if possible,
must boil some old peas on de first day of de New Year en must cook some
hog jowl in de pot wid dem. Must ea