, no candy pullings, nor dances, no sir, not
a bit. I 'member goin' one time to the white folkses church, no
baptizing dat I 'member. Lawd have mercy, ha! ha! No. De pateroller were
on de place at night. You couldn't travel without a pas.

We got few possums. I have greased my daddy's back after he had been
whupped until his back wuz cut to pieces. He had to work jis the same.
When we went to our houses at night, we cooked our suppers at night, et
and then went to bed. If fire wuz out or any work needed doin' around de
house we had to work on Sundays. They did not gib us Christmas or any
other holidays. We had corn shuckings. I herd 'em talkin' of cuttin de
corn pile right square in two. One wud git on one side, another on the
other side and see which out beat. They had brandy at the corn shuckin'
and I herd Sam talkin' about gittin' drunk.

I 'member one 'oman dying. Her name wuz Caroline Covington. I didn't go
to the grave. But you know they had a little cart used with hosses to
carry her to the grave, jist a one horse wagon, jist slipped her in
there.

Yes, I 'member a field song. It wuz 'Oh! come let us go where pleasure
never dies. Great fountain gone over'. Dat's one uv 'em. We had a good
doctor when we got sick. He come to see us. The slaves took herbs dey
found in de woods. Dat's what I do now, Sir. I got some 'erbs right in
my kitchen now.

When the Yankees come through I did not know anything about 'em till
they got there. Jist like they were poppin up out of de ground. One of
the slaves wuz at his master's house you know, and he said, 'The Yankees
are in Cheraw, S. C. [HW correction: South Carolina] and the Yankees are
in town'. It didn't sturb me at tall. I wuz not afraid of de Yankees. I
'member dey went to Miss Emma's house, and went in de smoke house and
emptied every barrel of 'lasses right in de floor and scattered de
cracklings on de floor. I went dere and got some of 'em. Miss Emma wuz
my missus. Dey just killed de chickens, hogs too, and old Jeff the dog;
they shot him through the thoat. I 'member how his mouth flew open when
dey shot him. One uv 'em went into de tater bank, and we chillun wanted
to go out dere. Mother wouldn't let us. She wuz fraid uv 'em.

Abraham Lincoln freed us by the help of the Lawd, by his help. Slavery
wuz owin to who you were with. If you were with some one who wuz good
and had some feelin's for you it did tolerable well; yea, tolerable
well.

We left the plantation