slaves helt lanterns for de others to see how to chop de weeds out of
de cotton and corn. Wuk was sho' tight dem days. Evvy slave had a task
to do atter dey got back to dem cabins at night. Dey each one hed to
spin deir stint same as de 'omans, evvy night.

"Young and old washed deir clothes Sadday nights. Dey hardly knowed what
Sunday was. Dey didn't have but one day in de Christmas, and de only
diff'unce dey seed dat day was dat dey give 'em some biscuits on
Christmas day. New Year's Day was rail-splittin' day. Dey was told how
many rails was to be cut, and dem Niggers better split dat many or
somebody was gwine to git beat up.

"I don't 'member much 'bout what us played, 'cept de way us run 'round
in a ring. Us chillun was allus skeered to play in de thicket nigh de
house 'cause Raw Head and Bloody Bones lived der. Dey used to skeer us
out 'bout red 'taters. Dey was fine 'taters, red on de outside and
pretty and white on de inside, but white folks called 'em
'nigger-killers.' Dat was one of deir tricks to keep us from stealin'
dem 'taters. Dere wern't nothin' wrong wid dem 'taters; dey was jus' as
good and healthy as any other 'taters. Aunt Lucy, she was de cook, and
she told me dat slaves was skeered of dem 'nigger-killer' 'taters and
never bothered 'em much den lak dey does de yam patches dese days. I
used to think I seed ha'nts at night, but it allus turned out to be
somebody dat was tryin' to skeer me.

"'Bout de most fun slaves had was at dem cornshuckin's. De general would
git high on top of de corn pile and whoop and holler down leadin' dat
cornshuckin' song 'til all de corn was done shucked. Den come de big
eats, de likker, and de dancin'. Cotton pickin's was big fun too, and
when dey got through pickin' de cotton dey et and drunk and danced 'til
dey couldn't dance no more.

"Miss, white folks jus' had to be good to sick slaves, 'cause slaves was
property. For Old Marster to lose a slave, was losin' money. Dere warn't
so many doctors dem days and home-made medicines was all de go. Oil and
turpentine, camphor, assfiddy (asafetida), cherry bark, sweetgum bark;
all dem things was used to make teas for grown folks to take for deir
ailments. Red oak bark tea was give to chillun for stomach mis'ries.

"All I can ricollect 'bout de comin' of freedom was Old Marster tellin'
us dat us was free as jack-rabbits and dat from den on Niggers would
have to git deir own somepin t'eat. It warn't long atter dat when dem
y