he got to whar he jest had to, jest bring her
back and place her in his yard from whar he got her.

White folks didn't 'low you to read or write. Them what did know come
from Virginny. Mistress Julia used to drill her chillun in spelling
any words. At every word them chillun missed, she gived me a lick
'cross the head for it. Meanest woman I ever seen in my whole life.

This skin I got now, it ain't my first skin. That was burnt off when I
was a little child. Mistress used to have a fire made on the
fireplace and she made me scour the brass round it and my skin jest
blistered. I jest had to keep pulling it off'n me.

We didn't had no church, though my pappy was a preacher. He preached
in the quarters. Our baptizing song was "On Jordan's Stormy Bank I
stand" and "Hark From The Tomb." Now all dat was before the War. We
had all our funerals at the graveyard. Everybody, chillun and all
picked up a clod of dirt and throwed in on top the coffin to help fill
up the grave.

Taling 'bout niggers running away, didn't my step-pappy run away?
Didn't my uncle Gabe run away? The frost would jest bite they toes
most nigh off too, whiles they was gone. They put Uncle Isom (my
step-pappy) in jail and while's he was in there he killed a white
guardman. Then they put in the paper, "A nigger to kill", and our
Master seen it and bought him. He was a double-strengthed man, he was
so strong. He'd run off so help you God. They had the blood hounds
after him once and he caught the hound what was leading and beat the
rest of the dogs. The white folks run up on him before he knowed it
and made them dogs eat his ear plumb out. But don't you know he got
away anyhow. One morning I was sweeping out the hall in the big house
and somebody come a-knocking on the front door and I goes to the door.
There was Uncle Isom wid rags all on his head. He said, "Tell ole
master heah I am." I goes to Master's door and says, "Master Colonel
Sam, Uncle Isom said heah he am." He say, "Go 'round to the kitchen
and tell black mammy to give you breakfast." When he was thoo' eating
they give him 300 lashes and, bless my soul, he run off again.

When we went to a party the nigger fiddlers would play a chune dat
went lak this:

I fooled Ole Mastah 7 years
Fooled the overseer three;
Hand me down my banjo
And I'll tickle your bel-lee.

We had the same doctors the white folks had and we wore asafetida and
garlic and onions to keep from taking all th