frolic and dance. Dat's what ma told me 'bout 'em.

"Us used to play lots, but us never did have no special name for our
playin'. 'Swingin' the Corner,' wuz when us all jined hands in a low
row, and de leader would begin to run 'round in circles, and at de other
end of de line dey would soon be runnin' so fast dey wuz most flyin'.

"Us all de time heared folkses talkin' 'bout voodoo, but my grandma wuz
powerful 'ligious, and her and ma told us chillun voodoo wuz a no 'count
doin' of de devil, and Christians wuz never to pay it no 'tention. Us
wuz to be happy in de Lord, and let voodoo and de devil alone. None of
us liked to hear scritch owls holler, 'cause everybody thought it meant
somebody in dat house wuz goin' to die if a scritch owl lit on your
chimney and hollered, so us would stir up de fire to make the smoke
drive him away. I always runned out and tried to see 'em, but old as I
is, nigh 86, I ain't never seed no scritch owl.

"Yes, Ma'am, I sho' does b'lieve in ha'nts, 'cause I done heared one and
I seed it too, leasewise I seed its light. It wuz 'bout 30 years ago,
and us had just moved in a house whar a white fambly had moved out. The
ma had died a few days atter a little baby wuz born, and de baby had
died too. One night I heared a strange sound like somebody movin' 'round
in de house, and pretty soon a dim light comes a-movin' into my room
real slow and atter goin' 'round de room it went out of sight in de
closet.

"Next day I went to see de white folkses what had lived dar 'fore us
moved in, and de husband tole me not to worry, dat it wuz his wife's
ha'nt. He said she wuz huntin' for some money she had hid in de house,
'cause she wanted her chillun what wuz still livin' to have it. I went
back home and 'most tore dat house down lookin' for dat money. Long as
us lived dar I would see dat light now and den at night, and I always
hoped it would lead me to de money but it never did.

"When folkses got sick, Marse Billie had 'em looked atter. Mist'ess
would come every day to see 'bout 'em, and if she thought dey wuz bad
off, she sont atter Dr. Davenport. Dr. Davenport come dar so much 'til
he courted and married Marse Billie's daughter, Miss Martha Glenn. I wuz
named for Miss Martha. Dey sho' did take special good keer of de mammies
and de babies. Dey had a separate house for 'em, and a granny 'oman who
didn't have nothin' else to do but look atter colored babies and
mammies. De granny 'oman took de place of