for his wife and children, and
other small gifts; these he either used for his small family or
bartered with the other slaves. Sometimes he sold them to the slaves for
money; cash was not altogether unknown among the slaves on the Smith
place.

Austin gives an interesting description of his master, Thomas Smith. He
says that "sumptimes he was real rich and all of us had a good time. The
wuk wasn't hard then, cause if we had big crops he would borrow some
he'p from the other white folks. He used to give us meat every day, and
plenty of other things. One time he bought all of us shoes, and on
Sunday night would let us go to wherever the preacher was holdin'
meeting. He used to give my papa money sumptimes, too.

"But they used to whisper that he would gamble a lot. We used to see a
whole lot of men come up to the house sumptimes and stay up most of the
night. Sumptimes they would stay three or four days. And once in a while
after one of these big doings Mistuh Smith would look worried, and we
wouldn't get no meat and vary little of anything else for a long time.
He would be crabby and beat us for any little thing. He used to tell my
papa that he wouldn't have a d--- cent until he made some crops."

A few years before he left to enter the war the slave owner came into
possession of a store near his plantation. This store was in Greensboro.
Either because the business paid or because of another of his economic
'bad spells', ownership of his plantation passed to a man named Kimball
and most of the slaves, with the exception of Bill Austin and one or two
women--either transferred with the plantation or sold. Bill was kept to
do errands and general work around the store.

Bill learned much about the operation of the store, with the result that
when Mr. Smith left with the Southern Army he left his wife and Bill to
continue its operation. By this time there used to be frequent stories
whispered among the slaves in the neighborhood--and who came with their
masters into the country store--of how this or that slave ran away, and
with the white man-power of the section engaged in war, remained at
large for long periods or escaped altogether.

These stories always interested Austin, with the result that one morning
he was absent when Mrs. Smith opened the store. He remained away 'eight
or nine days, I guess', before a friend of the Smiths found him near
Macon and threatened that he would 'half kill him' if he didn't return
imme