n it struck it wuz called a cut. When it come from de
wheel it wuz called a broach. De cuts stood fer so much flax. So many
cuts made a yard, but dere wuz more ter do, size it, and hank it before
it wuz weaved. Most of the white people had flax clothes.

"We had no church on de plantation. We had prayer meetin' an' candy
pullin's, an' we would ask slaves from udder plantations. My master had
no public corn shuckin's. His slaves shucked his corn. He had about 50
head. De slaves dey went to de white folks church. Dey had a place
separate from de white folks by a railin'. We could look at de preacher
an' hear him preach too.

"No, sirree, dey wouldn't let us have no books. Dey would not let none
o' de chilluns tell us anything about a book. I cain't read an' write,
not a bit. Dey preached ter us to obey our master. Preacher John
Ellington wuz my favorite preacher. No nigger wuz allowed ter preach.
Dey wuz allowed ter pray and shout sometimes, but dey better not be
ketched wid a book. De songs dat dey sung den, dey hardly ever sing 'em
now. Dey were de good ole songs. 'Hark from de tomb de doleful sound'.
'My years are tender,' 'Cry, You livin' man,' 'Come view dis groun'
where we must shortly lie'.

"No one ran away from our plantation, but dey did from some other
plantations. When some o' de niggers were carried by their masters to
wait on 'em as servants up no'th, some o' de other people would see how
dey were treated an' git 'em to run away. When dere master started home
dey couldn't find 'em. Dey took and educated 'em and made women an' men
out'en 'em.

"We visited at night during slavery time. De men went courtin'. When a
man, a slave, loved a 'oman on another plantation dey axed der master,
sometimes de master would ax de other master. If dey agreed all de
slave man an' 'oman had ter de [HW: do] Sa'dy night wuz fer him to come
over an' dey would go to bed together. Dere wuz no marriage--until
atter de surrender. All who wanted to keep de same 'oman atter de
surrender had to pay 25c fer er marriage license, den $1.50, den $3.00.
If de magistrate married you, you didn't have to pay anything, less he
charged you.

"We got de holidays, Christmas, and atter lay-by-time o' de crops. Dey
had big dinners den. Dey had big tables set in de yard, de rations wuz
spread on 'em, an' everybody et. We had brandy at Christmas.

"I have been whupped twice, an' I have seen slaves whupped. Ha! Ha!
missus whupped me. She wouldn't