dn't tell what was in it, but daddy run every step of de
way, he was so glad dey would let 'em marry.

"Col. Simeon Fair had a big fish pond on his place down on de branch
behind his house, and he had a milkhouse, too. (This is where the
Margaret Hunter Park is).

"My great-grandmother come from Virginia. She was bought by Marse Fair
from a speculator's drove. Slaves had good places to live in and
everything to eat. Old Marse sho cared for his slaves. He give 'em
plenty of clothes and good things to eat. On Sundays dey had to go to de
white folks' church and he made dem put on new clean clothes dat he give
'em.

"I was born about two years befo' freedom, and I lost my mammy right
atter de war. I remember about de Ku Klux and Red Shirts.

"Everything we had was made at home, or on marster's big plantation in
de country. Marse told his son, Billy, befo' he died to take care of his
niggers and see dat dey didn't want for nothing.

"Marse made de slaves work all day and sometimes on Saturdays, but he
never let 'em work at night. Sometimes on de plantation dey had
corn-shuckings and log-rollings; den dey give de hands good dinners and
some whiskey to drink.

"One old nigger had a weak back and couldn't work much, so he use to
play marbles in de yard wid de kids most every day.

"Slaves couldn't go away from de place unless dey had a pass from de
marse to show de patrollers when dey caught dem out.

"My daddy use to cook at de old Newberry Hotel. He was one of de finest
cooks in dis part of de country. De hotel was a small wooden frame
building wid a long front piazza. In de back was a small wooden two-room
house dat servants lived in. Atter de war, de 'little guard house' stood
jes' behind where de opera house now is.

"Some of de slaves learned to read and write. Marse didn't keep dem from
learning if dey wanted to. Niggers used to sing, 'I am born to die'. Dey
learn't it from Marse Ramage's son, 'Jock' Ramage. He learn't 'em to
sing it.

"Atter de war, Marse told de niggers dey was free. Most of dem stayed on
wid him and took his name. Slaves most always took de name of deir
marsters.

"My mother married at Thomas Pope's place, and he had old man Ned
Pearson, a nigger who could read and write, to marry 'em. He married
lots of niggers den. Atter de war many niggers married over agin, 'cause
dey didn't know if de first marriage was good or not.

"Marse Fair let his niggers have dances and frolics on his planta