's house. It really wasn't such a big house as it had only
four or five rooms in it. It was a common boxed house, painted white
and wid a long gallery across de front. Maybe it was de gallery dat
made it look so big to us. We liked to set on de steps at night and
listen to Master John talk and to hear old Mistress and de girls sing.
Sometimes we'd join in wid dem and fairly make de woods ring.
Everybody thought dey was crazy to let us have so much freedom but dey
wasn't nothing any of us black folks wouldn't a-done for that family.

He never employed any overseers as he done his own overseeing. He'd
tell de older hands what he wanted done and dey would see it was done.
We was never punished. Just iffen dey didn't work dey didn't have
nothing to eat and wear and de hands what did work wouldn't divide wid
'em iffen dey didn't work. Old Master sho' was wise fer he knowed
iffen we was ever set free dat we would have to work and he sure
didn't bide no laziness in his hands. Dey got up 'bout four o'clock in
de morning and was at work as soon as dey could see. Dey would work
and sing as happy as you please.

We used to hear stories 'bout how slaves was punished but we never saw
any of it. Dey would punish 'em by whupping 'em or by making 'em stand
on one foot for a long time, tie 'em up by de thumbs as high as dey
could reach and by making 'em do hard tasks and by going without food
for two-three days.

Niggers was very religious and dey had church often. Dey would annoy
de white folks wid shouting and singing and praying and dey would take
cooking pots and put over dey mouths so de white folks couldn't hear
'em. Dey would dig holes in de ground too, and lie down when dey
prayed.

Old Master let us have church in de homes. We had prayer-meeting every
Wednesday night. All our cullud preachers could read de Bible. He let
dem teach us how to read iffen we wanted to learn.

In de evening when we was through wid our work dey would gather at one
of de cabins and visit and sing or dance. We'd pop corn, eat walnuts,
peanuts, hickory nuts, and tell ghost stories. We didn't have any
music instruments so de music we danced by wasn't so very good.
Everybody sang and one or two would beat on tin pans or beat bones
together.

Us boys played marbles. I got to be a professional. I could hit de
middler ever time. We made a square and put a marble in each corner
and one in de middle and got off several feet from de ring and shot at
de m