side of it
to put hooks in to take it off de fire wid.

"No Ma'am, us didn't go fishin', or rabbit huntin' nuther. Us had to wuk
an' warn't no Nigger 'lowed to do no frolickin' lak dat in daytime. De
white folkses done all de fishin' an' daytime huntin'. I don't 'member
lakin' no sartin' somethin'. I wuz jus' too glad to git anythin'. Slaves
didn't have no gyardens of dey own. Old Marster had one big gyarden what
all de slaves et out of.

"Tell you 'bout our clo'es: us wore home-made clo'es, pants an' shirts
made out of cotton in summer an' in de winter dey give us mo' home-made
clo'es only dey wuz made of wool. All de clawf wuz made on de loom right
dar on de plantation. Us wore de same things on Sunday what us did in de
week, no diffunt. Our shoes wuz jus' common brogans what dey made at
home. I ain't seed no socks 'til long atter de War. Co'se some folkses
mought a had 'em, but us didn't have none.

"Marster Berry Bostwick an' Mist'ess Mary Bostwick, had a passel of
chillun, I don't 'member none 'cept young Marse John. De others drifted
off an' didn't come back, but young Marse John stayed on wid Old Marster
an' Old Mist'ess 'til dey died. Old Marster, he warn't good. Truth is de
light, an' he wuz one mean white man. Old Mist'ess wuz heaps better dan
him. Dar wuz 'bout 150 mens an' 75 'omans. I couldn't keep up wid de
chilluns. Dere wuz too many for me.

"Marster an' Mist'ess lived in a big fine house, but de slave quarters
wuz made of logs, 'bout de size of box cyars wid two rooms.

"'Bout dat overseer he wuz a mean man, if one ever lived. He got de
slaves up wid a gun at five o'clock an' wukked 'em 'til way atter
sundown, standin' right over 'em wid a gun all de time. If a Nigger
lagged or tuk his eyes off his wuk, right den an' dar he would make him
strip down his clo'es to his waist, an' he whup him wid a cat-o-nine
tails. Evvy lick dey struck him meant he wuz hit nine times, an' it
fotch da red evvy time it struck.

"Oh! Yes Ma'am, dey had a cyar'iage driver, he didn't do much 'cept look
attar de hawses an' drive de white folkses 'roun'.

"I done tole you 'bout dat overseer; all he done wuz sot 'roun' all day
wid a gun an' make de Niggers wuk. But I'se gwine tell you de trufe, he
sho' wuz poor white trash wid a house full of snotty-nose chilluns. Old
Marster tole him he wuz jus' lak a rabbit, he had so many chillun. I
means dis; if dem days comes back I hope de good Lord takes me fus'.

"Dey had a hous