sses, an' dey lef'
dey tired ones an' tuk our fresh ones wid' em. Dey burned de fiel's an'
orchards so our white folks couldn' he'p feed our soljers none.

"One time I 'member when Aunt Charity an' Winnie McInnis, two niggers on
our plantation, tried to swim some of our hosses cross de riber to save
'em frum de soljers an' dey rode 'cross in a little boat. Well, when de
hosses got in de middle of de water, up comes a' gator[FN: alligator],
grabs one hoss by de ear, an' we ain't neber seed him no mo'.

"When niggers run 'way frum de plantation dey was whupped, but dey had
to go to da sheriff to be whupped. De sheriff, he would tie de nigger to
a tree an' whup him till de blood run out.

"'Bout de only recr'ation us niggers had in dem days was candy pullin's.
We all met at one house an' tol' ghost stories, sung plantation songs,
an' danced de clog while de candy was cookin'. Dem was de good old days.
Dey don't do dem things no mo'.

"When a nigger died, we had a wake an' dat was diffrunt too frum whut
'tis today. Dey neber lef' a dead nigger 'lone in de house, but all de
neighbors was dere an' hoped[FN: helped]. Dey turned de mirrors to de
wall 'cause dey say once a long time ago, a nigger died an' three days
afte'wards his people looked in a mirror an' dere dey see da dead nigger
plain as day in de mirror.

"At da wake we clapped our han's an' kep' time wid our feet--_Walking
Egypt_, dey calls hit--an' we chant an' hum all night 'till de nigger
was _funeralized_.

"If we heerd a little old shiverin' owl[FN: screech owl] we'd th'ow salt
in de fire an' th'ow a broom 'cross de do' fer folks say dat 'twas a
sign of bad luck, an' a charm had to be worked fas' to keep sumpin'
terrible frum happenin', an' if a _big owl_ hollered, we wasn't 'lowed
to say one word.

"Fire was 'bout de hardes' thing fer us to keep. Dere wa'nt no matches
in dem days, an' we toted fire frum one plantation to 'nother when hit
burned out. We put live coals in pans or buckets an' toted it home.

"Sometimes we put heavy waddin' in a old gun an' shot hit out into a
brush heap an' then blowed the sparks' til de fire blazed. Ever'body had
flint rocks too, but few niggers could work 'em an' de ones dat could
allus had dat job to do.

"My gran'mammy come frum South Ca'lina an' libed fust at New Augusta,
Mississippi. She used to pick big Catawba leaves an' roll her dough in
'em an' bake hit in a log heap, pilin' ashes over hit. Some called hit
ash