De poor
white people da live purty good, all dat I seed. It was a big
plantashun. I can't remember how big but I know dat it was sho big. Da
had lots an lots of slaves but I doan no zackly how many. Da scattered
around de plantashun in diffren settlements. De horn blew every mohnin
to wake up de fiel hans. Da gone to fiel long time foh I get up. De fiel
hans work from dawn till dark, but evabody had good eats on holidays. No
work jus eat and have good time."

"Da whipp dem slaves what run away."

"One day after de war was over and I come to Ohio, a man stop at mah
house. I seem him and I know him too but I preten like I didn, so I say,
'I doan want ter buy nothin today' and he says 'Doan you know me?' Den I
laugh an say sho I remember the day you wuz goin to whip me, you run
affer me and I run to de Mrs. and she wouldn let you whip me. Now you
bettah be careful or I get you."

"Sho I saw slaves sole. Da come from all ovah to buy an sell de slaves,
chillun to ole men and women."

"De slaves walk and travel with carts and mules."

"De slaves on aukshun block dey went to highes bidder. One colored
woman, all de men want her. She sold to de master who was de highes
bidder, and den I saw her comin down de road singin 'I done got a home
at las!'. She was half crazy. De maste he sole her and den Mrs. buy her
back. They lef her work around de house. I used to make her work and
make her shine things. She say I make her shine too much, but she haff
crazy, an run away."

"No dey didn help colored folks read and write. Effn dey saw you wif a
book dey knock it down on de floor. Dey wouldn let dem learn."

"De aukshun allus held at Richmond. Plantashun owners come from all
states to buy slaves and sell them."

"We had church an had to be dere every single Sunday. We read de Bible.
De preacher did the readin. I can't read or write. We sho had good
prayer meetins. Show nuf it was a Baptis church. I like any spiritual,
all of dem."

"Dey batize all de young men and women, colored folks. Dey sing mos any
spirtual, none in paticlar. A bell toll foh a funeral. At de baptizen do
de pracher leads dem into de rivah, way in, den each one he stick dem
clear under. I waz gonna be batize and couldn. Eva time sompin happin an
I couldn. My ole mothah tole me I gotta be but I never did be baptize
when Ise young in de south. De othah people befoh me all batized."

"A lot of de slaves come north. Dey run away cause dey didn want to be
sla