work, spinning, sewing and work in
the fields too. My mother was housewoman and she could keep herself
looking nice. My, she went around with her hair and clothes all
Jenny-Lynned-up all the time until we went to live with Miss Jo. She
took all the spirit out of poor mother and me too.

I remember she allus kept our cabin as clean and neat as a pin. When
other niggers come to visit her they would say, "My you are Buckry
Niggers (meaning we tried to live like white folks)."

I love to think of when we lived with old Master. We had a good time.
Our cabin was nice and had a chimbley in it. Mother would cook and
serve our breakfast at home every morning and dinner and supper on
Sundays. We'd have biscuit every Sunday morning for our breakfast.
That was something to look forward to.

We all went to church every Sunday. We would go to the white folks
church in the morning and to our church in the evening. Bill
McWilliams, old Master's oldest boy, didn't take much stock in church.
He owned a nigger named Bird, who preached for us. Bill said, "Bird,
you can't preach, you can't read, how on earth can you get a text out
of the Bible when you can't even read? How'n hell can a man preach
that don't know nothing?" Bird told him the Lord had called him to
preach and he'd put the things in his mouth that he ought to say. One
night Bill went to church and Bird preached the hair-raisingest
sermon you ever heard. Bill told him all right to go and preach, and
he gave Bird a horse and set him free to go anywhere he wanted to and
preach.

Old Master and old Mistress lived in grand style. Bob was the driver
of their carriage. My, but he was always slick and shiny. He'd set up
in front with his white shirt and black clothes. He looked like a
black martin (bird) with a white breast. The nurse set in the back
with the chillun. Old Master and Mistress set together in the front
seat.

Old Master and Mistress would come down to the quarters to eat
Christmas dinners sometimes and also birthday dinners. It was sho' a
big day when they done that. They'd eat first, and the niggers would
sing and dance to entertain them. Old Master would walk 'round through
the quarters talking to the ones that was sick or too old to work. He
was awful kind. I never knowed him to whip much. Once he whipped a
woman for stealing. She and mother had to spin and weave. She couldn't
or didn't work as fast as Ma and wouldn't have as much to show for her
days work. She