little bitty man. They said he was a dwarf. He never
done nothing but play with the children on the plantation. He would take
the children down to the crick what run through the plantation and fish
all day. We had rabbits, but they was most generally caught in a box
trap, so there warn't no time wasted a-huntin' for 'em.

"In summer, the slave women wore white homespun and the men wore pants
and shirts made out of cloth what looked like overall cloth does now. In
winter, we wore the same things, 'cept Marse Billy give the men woolen
coats what come down to their knees, and the women wore warm wraps what
they called sacks. On Sunday we had dresses dyed different colors. The
dyes were made from red clay and barks. Bark from pines, sweetgums, and
blackjacks was boiled, and each one made a different color dye. The
cloth made at home was coarse and was called 'gusta cloth. Marse Billy
let the slaves raise chickens, and cows, and have cotton patches too.
They would sell butter, eggs, chickens, brooms, made out of wheat straw
and such like. They took the money and bought calico, muslin and good
shoes, pants, coats and other nice things for their Sunday clothes.
Marse Billy bought leather from Marster Brumby's tanyard and had shoes
made for us. They was coarse and rough, but they lasted a long time.

"My Marster was father-in-law of Dr. Jones Long. Marse Billy's wife,
Miss Rena, died long before I was born. Their six children was all grown
when I first knowed 'em. The gals was: Miss Rena, Miss Selena, Miss
Liza, and Miss Susan. Miss Susan was Dr. Long's wife. I was named for
her. There was two boys; Marse John and Marse Mark. I done told you
'bout Marse Mark bein' a dwarf. They lived in a big old eight room
house, on a high hill in sight of Mars Hill Baptist Church. Marse Billy
was a great deacon in that church. Yes, Ma'am, he sho' was good to his
Negroes. I heard 'em say that after he had done bought his slaves by
working in a blacksmith shop, and wearin' cheap clothes, like mulberry
suspenders, he warn't goin' to slash his Negroes up. The older folks
admired Mist'ess and spoke well of her. They said she had lots more
property than Marse Billy. She said she wanted Marse Billy to see that
her slaves was give to her children. I 'spose there was about a hundred
acres on that plantation and Marse Billy owned more property besides.
There was about fifty grown folks and as to the children, I just don't
know how many there was. Arou