look white an' dusty as a miller. Dem
sojers didn' turn down no ham neither. Dat de onlies' thing dey took
from Marse George. Dey went in de smoke house an' toted off de hams an'
shoulders. Marse George say he come off mighty light if dat all dey
want, 'sides he got plenty of shoats anyhow.

We had all de eats we wanted while de war was shootin' dem guns, kaze
Marse George was home an' he kep' de niggers workin'. We had chickens,
gooses, meat, peas, flour, meal, potatoes an' things like dat all de
time, an' milk an' butter too, but we didn' have no sugar an' coffee. We
used groun' pa'ched cawn for coffee an' cane 'lasses for sweetnin'. Dat
wuzn' so bad wid a heap of thick cream. Anyhow, we had enough to eat to
'vide wid de neighbors dat didn' have none when surrender come.

I was glad when de war stopped kaze den me an' Exter could be together
all de time 'stead of Saturday an' Sunday. After we was free we lived
right on at Marse George's plantation a long time. We rented de lan' for
a fo'th of what we made, den after while be bought a farm. We paid three
hundred dollars we done saved. We had a hoss, a steer, a cow an' two
pigs, 'sides some chickens an' fo' geese. Mis' Betsy went up in de
attic an' give us a bed an' bed tick; she give us enough goose feathers
to make two pillows, den she give us a table an' some chairs. She give
us some dishes too. Marse George give Exter a bushel of seed cawn an
some seed wheat, den he tole him to go down to de barn an' get a bag of
cotton seed. We got all dis den we hitched up de wagon an' th'owed in de
passel of chillun an' moved to our new farm, an' de chillun was put to
work in de fiel'; dey growed up in de fiel' kaze dey was put to work
time dey could walk good.

Freedom is all right, but de niggers was better off befo' surrender,
kaze den dey was looked after an' dey didn' get in no trouble fightin'
an' killin' like dey do dese days. If a nigger cut up an' got sassy in
slavery times, his Ole Marse give him a good whippin' an' he went way
back an' set down an' 'haved hese'f. If he was sick, Marse an' Mistis
looked after him, an' if he needed store medicine, it was bought an'
give to him; he didn' have to pay nothin'. Dey didn' even have to think'
bout clothes nor nothin' like dat, dey was wove an' made an' give to
dem. Maybe everybody's Marse an' Mistis wuzn' good as Marse George an'
Mis' Betsy, but dey was de same as a mammy an' pappy to us niggers.

N. C. District: No