a hongry man. At
supper-time us had hoecake an' cold vi'tals. Sometimes dey was sweetmilk
an' collards.

"Mos' ever' slave had his own little garden patch an' was 'lowed to cook
out of it.

"Mos' ever plantation kep' a man busy huntin' an' fishin' all de time.
(If dey shot a big buck, us had deer meat roasted on a spit.)

"On Sundays us always had meat pie or fish or fresh game an' roasted
taters an' coffee. On Chris'mus de marster 'ud give us chicken an'
barrels o' apples an' oranges. 'Course, ever' marster warnt as free
handed as our'n was. (He was sho' 'nough quality.) I'se hear'd dat a
heap o' cullud people never had nothin' good t'eat.

"I warnt learnt nothin' in no book. Don't think I'd a-took to it,
nowhow. Dey learnt de house servants to read. Us fiel' han's never
knowed nothin' 'cept weather an' dirt an' to weigh cotton. Us was learnt
to figger a little, but dat's all.

"I reckon I was 'bout fifteen when hones' Abe Lincoln what called
hisse'f a rail-splitter come here to talk wid us. He went all th'ough de
country jus' a-rantin' an' a-preachin' 'bout us bein' his black
brothers. De marster didn' know nothin' 'bout it, 'cause it was sorta
secret-lak. It sho' riled de Niggers up an' lots of 'em run away. I sho'
hear'd him, but I didn' pay 'im no min'.

"When de war broke out dat old Yankee Dutch overseer o' our'n went back
up North, where he b'longed. Us was pow'ful glad an' hoped he'd git his
neck broke.

"After dat de Yankees come a-swoopin' down on us. My own pappy took off
wid 'em. He j'ined a comp'ny what fit[FN: fought] at Vicksburg. I was
plenty big 'nough to fight, but I didn' hanker to tote no gun. I stayed
on de plantation an' put in a crop.

"It was pow'ful on easy times after dat. But what I care 'bout freedom?
Folks what was free was in misery firs' one way an' den de other.

"I was on de plantation closer to town, den. It was called 'Fish Pond
Plantation.' De white folks come an' tol' us we mus' burn all de cotton
so de enemy couldn' git it.

"Us piled it high in de fiel's lak great mountains. It made my innards
hurt to see fire 'tached to somethin' dat had cost us Niggers so much
labor an' hones' sweat. If I could a-hid some o' it in de barn I'd
a-done it, but de boss searched ever'where.

"De little Niggers thought it was fun. Dey laughed an' brung out big
armfuls from de cotton house. One little black gal clapped her han's an'
jumped in a big heap. She sunk down an' down' til she wa