nd the quarters looked like a little town.

"Marse Billy had a overseer up to the time War broke out, then he picked
out a reliable colored man to carry out his orders. Sometimes the
overseer got rough, then Marse Billy let him go and got another one. The
overseer got us up about four or five o'clock in the morning, and dark
brought us in at night.

"Jails! Yes, Ma'am, I ricollect one was in Watkinsville. No, Ma'am, I
never saw nobody auctioned off, but I heard about it. Men used to come
through an buy up slaves for foreign states where there warn't so many.

"Well, I didn't have no privilege to learn to read and write, but the
white lady what taught my gran'ma to weave, had two sons what run the
factory, and they taught my uncles to read and write.

"There warn't no church on the plantation, so we went to Mars Hill
Church. The white folks went in the mornings from nine 'til twelve and
the slaves went in the evenings from three 'till about five. The white
folks went in the front door and slaves used the back door. Rev. Bedford
Lankford, what preached to the white folks helped a Negro, named Cy
Stroud, to preach to the Negroes. Oh! Yes, Ma'am, I well remembers them
baptizings. I believe in church and baptizing.

"They buried the slaves on the plantation, in coffins made out of pine
boards. Didn't put them in two boxes lak dey does now, and dey warn't
painted needer.

"Did you say patterollers? Sho' I seen 'em, but they didn't come on our
plantation, 'cause Marse Billy was good to his Negroes and when they
wanted a pass, if it was for a good reason, he give 'em one. Didn't none
of Marse Billy's slaves run off to no North. When Marse Billy had need
to send news somewhere, he put a reliable Negro on a mule and sent him.
I sho' didn't hear about no trouble twixt white folks and Negroes.

"I tell you, Honey, when the days work was over them slaves went to bed,
'cep' when the moon was out and they worked in their own cotton patches.
On dark nights, the women mended and quilted sometimes. Not many worked
in the fields on Saturday evenin's. They caught up on little jobs aroun'
the lot; a mending harness and such like. On Saturday nights the young
folks got together and had little frolics and feasts, but the older
folks was gettin' things ready for Sunday, 'cause Marse Billy was a
mighty religious man: we had to go to church, and every last one of the
children was dragged along too.

"We always had one week for Christmas.