e seen patterollers. Dey had' em but not when my marster was
living. Dey didn't come around den, but when he died dey come around
every night; we never knowed when dey was comin', you know.

"I never saw a slave really whipped. Marster would switch a slave
sometime, but it was a matter o' nothing 'cause he didn't hurt much.

"We had good houses and plenty o' good places to sleep, and we fared
fine in slavery time. We called marster's house with its long porch the
'dwelling house'. When the Yankees came through they told us we were
free and we didn't have to work for the Johnnies no more.

"We got everything all right on the plantation near Yates Mill, then we
moved to Raleigh.

"My mammy belonged to old Captain Hunter before she was married to
pappy. When she got married the Taylors bought her, and she and pappy
stayed with the Taylors. As soon as we got the plantation fixed up, we
moved to Raleigh and mammy and pappy went back to her white folks, the
Hunters. My father was a carpenter by trade, and a preacher. He
preached at St. Paul's Church on the corner of Harrington and Edenton
Streets. We lived in Raleigh all our lives except Annie. She went to
Brooklyn, New York and died there about four years ago.

"I thinned corn, and turned potato vines, and helped look after and
feed the stock. Our marsters gave us some money, five and ten cents at
a time. That's the only way we got any money.

"We caught rabbits, hunting in the day time, and possums, hunting at
night. We hunted on holidays. We had holidays at lay-by time, and the
4th of July. When we caught up with the work we had nothing to do. We
got Christmas holidays.

"I never saw a slave sold and none never ran away. We went fishing in
Swift Creek. I never saw a jail for slaves and never saw any in chains.
We played push and spin on the plantation.

"My mother looked after most of us when we were sick. She used roots,
herbs, and grease, and medicine the overseer got in town. When my
mother got through rubbin' you, you would soon be well.

"When I first saw the Yankees I was afraid of 'em. It was a curiosity
to see 'em comin' through the fields with dem guns and things. They
come down and talked with us and told us we were free and then I was
not so scared of 'em.

"I married Francis [HW: corrected to Frances] Lipton in 1885. We were
married at the end of McDowell Street at Mr. Chester's home. Just a
quiet wedding with about 30 friends present. I didn't think