nightdale atter my marster
died. He died de year de war commence.

"Den de gardeen, de gardeen dat wuz appointed for all us slaves, and
his name wuz Bat Moore, he carried us slaves to Marster Haywood Smith's
brother's chillun in Alabama. He wuz de gardeen. I got dere de month de
war commence. Bat Moore carried me to Alabama. Marster Elam Smith's
chillun wuz named Frank an' John Elam. Dem boy's mother wuz name' Miss
Mary, dere fadder wuz daid. Miss Mary married agin. Her first husband
was Elam. Miss Mary moved off, but I staid wid de boys.

"My mother's name wuz Rose Smith, my father's name wuz Powell. He died
at Wilmington, N.C. when dey wuz diggin' de trenches roun' de fort dere
durin' da war. My mother died in Greene Co. Alabama, at a place called
Smithfield. My father belonged to Mack Powell. I made no money before
or atter de war. I worked in Alabama until de war close.

"I seed millions of Yankees, just like bees. When de war close I went
wid' em. I did not work enny for a year. I wuz so glad when de war
ended, and dey tole me I wuz free I did not know what to do. I went wid
de Yankees, dey wuz kind to us. Dey said dey wuz shore glad to see us.
Dey gib us just what dey wanted us to hab.

"During de war, I had corn bread wid one piece o' meat a day. De meal
wuz not sifted. De white folks had sifters made of horse hair but de
slaves didn't have no sifters. When I carried a dress off to have it
made on Sunday for Mist'ss during de war, when she could not make it
herself, she gimme a biskit. We called Sunday, Blue Monday. She gimme
de biskit fur workin' on Sunday. Den I got a biskit fur going atter de
dress. I got about two biskits a year when de war was going on. I wuz
workin' to keep de soldiers fed, dey got de biskits.

"Tom Bridgers wuz marster's overseer. He had 160 chilluns by niggers.
Marster Bridgers rode a horse when he went ober de plantation.

"De only game I eber played wuz marbles. I played fer watermelons. We
didn't hab eny money so we played fer watermelons.

"In Alabama we got up at 4 o'clock and worked to 9 or 10 o'clock den we
had breakfast, en rested till 4 o'clock. Dat wuz when de weather wuz
dry and hot. It wud kill de truck to work it den. When it wuz wet we
worked longer. In North Carolina we worked from sun to sun, but we
rested two hours at noon. You hardly ever heard of a man gittin' sick.
If he did, he had de typhoid den Dr. Sewell at Knightdale, atter a
while called Jedge Sewell, woul