house was busy for a week ahead cookin' peach puffs,
'tater custards, and plenty of cakes sweetened wid brown sugar and
syrup. Dere was plenty of home-made candy for de chilluns' Santa Claus
and late apples and peaches had done been saved and banked in wheat
straw to keep 'em good 'til Christmas. Watermelons was packed away in
cottonseed and when dey cut 'em open on Christmas Dey, dey et lak fresh
melons in July. Us had a high old time for a week, and den on New Year's
Day dey started back to wuk.

"Come winter, de mens had big cornshuckin's and dere was quiltin's for
de 'omans. Dere was a row of corn to be shucked as long as from here to
Milledge Avenue. Old Marster put a gang of Niggers at each end of de row
and it was a hot race 'tween dem gangs to see which could git to de
middle fust. Dere was allus a big feast waitin' for 'em when de last ear
of corn was shucked. 'Bout dem quiltin's!" Now Lady, what would a old
Nigger man know 'bout somepin' dat didn't nothin' but 'omans have
nothin' to do wid?

"Dem cotton pickin's was grand times. Dey picked cotton in de moonlight
and den had a big feast of barbecued beef, mutton, and pork washed down
wid plenty of good whiskey. Atter de feast was over, some of dem Niggers
played fiddles and picked banjoes for de others to dance down 'til dey
was wore out.

"When slaves got sick, our white folks was mighty good 'bout havin' 'em
keered for. Dey dosed 'em up wid oil and turpentine and give 'em teas
made out of hoarhound for some mis'ries and bone-set for other troubles.
Most all the slaves wore a sack of assfiddy (asafetida) 'round deir
necks all de time to keep 'em from gittin' sick.

"It was a happy day for us slaves when news come dat de war was over and
de white folks had to turn us 'loose. Marster called his Niggers to come
up to de big house yard, but I never stayed 'round to see what he had to
say. I runned 'round dat place a-shoutin' to de top of my voice. My
folks stayed on wid Old Marster for 'bout a year or more. If us had
left, it would have been jus' lak swappin' places from de fryin' pan to
de fire, 'cause Niggers didn't have no money to buy no land wid for a
long time atter de war. Schools was soon scattered 'bout by dem Yankees
what had done sot us free. I warn't big enough den to do nothin' much
'cept tote water to de field and chop a little cotton.

"Me and Nettie Freeman married a long time atter de war. At our weddin'
I wore a pair of brown jeans pants, w