im's
place. Us raised cotton, taters, an' hogs. No'm, slaves didn' have no
plots er dey own. Marse Jim give us our rashins' every week. Well, mos'
er de cullud people 'ud cook dey victuals over de fire place in dey own
houses. Us sho' did have 'possum an' taters.

"My mammy wuked in de loom room at night by light of a pine knot. In de
Big House dey had taller[FN: tallow] can'les 'cause I 'member my mammy
moulded 'em. No'm, de spinnin' wheels was kep' in de kitchen of de Big
House. Hit had a dirt flo'. Us jes wo' li'l old suits made out'n lowell
cloth whut mammy wove on de loom. I doan 'member wearin' no shoes.

"I jes played roun' 'bout de place an' he'ped wid de cleanin' up an'
dish washin'. Kinder house boy, I was.

[HW: Medicine]

"When us got sick, mammy made us pills out'n herbs. She taken May apple
roots an' boiled hit down to a syrup; den she let dat, dry out an'
rolled hit inter pills. Day sho' was fin' fo' mos' anything we might
have.

"Chris'mus was a mighty glad time fo' us. Yessum, us got extra rashins'
an' had time off ter play an' kick our heels. Gen'ly[FN: generally] had
'bout a week off. Tell you what Marse Jim 'ud do when Chris'mus come
'roun'. He'd sen' one of da cullud mans out to git a log an' say, 'Now
long as dis log burn, y'all kin have off'n wuk'. Co'se us'd hunt de
bigges' gum log an' den soak hit in de stream so hit wud burn on a long
time. Dey'd put hit on back er de fire an' hit wud las' mos' a week.

"Couldn' none of us read or write, an' us wa'nt neber learned 'til afte'
us was set free. Den some went to li'l schools fer da cullud people.

"I sho' has seen m' mammy an' lots mo' git whuppins. Marse Jim, he had a
strop er leather stuck in de slit end of a staff, an' he sho' did whup
'em layed 'cross a barrel. Once' m' pappy run away an' Marse Jim got de
blood houn's afte' him, an' catched him up 'fo he could git fur, an' dat
day he lay him 'cross de barrel, an' whupped him frum sun up til sun
down. When he quit off, m' pappy couldn' talk no more'n a whisper
sca'cely.

"Pattyrollers, I heard of 'em allright 'cause dey sho' would git you
iffen y' went abroad widout a pass frum Marse Jim.

"One day us li'l cullud chullun was frollicin' out in de front yard an'
Mis' Nancy an' some mo' was settin' on de po'ch an' all of a sudden I
see somebuddy comin' down de road an' I says 'Look, whut's dat?'

"An' white folks run to de woods an' hid out caze dey seen hit was
Calv'ry 'bout a mile l