feather
brush and eat in de kitchen just what de white folks eat; them was very
good eatin's I's here for to tell you. All de old slaves and them dat
worked in de field, got rations and de chillun were fed at de kitchen
out-house. What did they git? I 'members they got peas, hog meat, corn
bread, 'lasses, and buttermilk on Sunday, then they got greens, turnips,
taters, shallots, collards, and beans through de week. They were kept
fat on them kind of rations.

"De fact is I can't 'member us ever had a doctor on de place; just a
granny was enough at child birth. Slave women have a baby one day, up
and gwine 'round de next day, singin' at her work lak nothin' unusual
had happened.

"Did I ever git a whippin'? Dat I did. How many times? More than I can
count on fingers and toes. What I git a whippin' for? Oh, just one
thing, then another. One time I break a plate while washin' dishes and
another time I spilt de milk on de dinin' room floor. It was always for
somethin', sir. I needed de whippin'.

"Yes sir, I had two brothers older than me; one sister older than me and
one brother younger than me.

"My young marster was killed in de war. Their names was Robert, Smith,
and Jimmie. My young mistress, Sarah, married a Sutton and moved to
Texas. Nancy marry Mr. Wade Rawls. Miss Janie marry Mr. Hugh Melving. At
this marriage my mammy was give to Miss Janie and she was took to Texas
wid her young baby, Isaiah, in her arms. I have never seen or heard tell
of them from dat day to dis.

"De Yankees come and burn de gin-house and barns. Open de smokehouse,
take de meat, give de slaves some, shoot de chickens, and as de mistress
and girls beg so hard, they left widout burnin' de dwellin' house.

"My oldest child, Alice, is livin' and is fifty-one years old de 10th of
dis last May gone. My first husband was Levi Young; us lived wid Mr.
Knox Picket some years after freedom. We moved to Mr. Rubin Lumpkin's
plantation, then to George Boulwares. Well, my husband die and I took a
fool notion, lak most widows, and got into slavery again. I marry Prince
Barber; Mr. John Hollis, Trial Justice, tied de knot. I loved dat young
nigger more than you can put down dere on paper, I did. He was black and
shiny as a crow's wing. Him was white as snow to dese old eyes. Ah, the
joy, de fusses, de ructions, de beatin's, and de makin' ups us had on de
Ed Shannon place where us lived. Us stay dere seven long years.

"Then de Klu Kluxes comed and lak