r de white folks. I have wore many a
dress made out of de homespun what she wove. Dere was 17 of us chillun,
and I can't 'member de names of but two of 'em now--dey was John and
Sarah. John was Ma's onliest son; all de rest of de other 16 of us was
gals.

"Us lived in mud-daubed log cabins what had old stack chimblies made out
of sticks and mud. Our old home-made beds didn't have no slats or metal
springs neither. Dey used stout cords for springs. De cloth what dey
made the ticks of dem old hay mattresses and pillows out of was so
coarse dat it scratched us little chillun most to death, it seemed lak
to us dem days. I kin still feel dem old hay mattresses under me now.
Evvy time I moved at night it sounded lak de wind blowin' through dem
peach trees and bamboos 'round de front of de house whar I lives now.

"Grandma Anna was 115 years old when she died. She had done wore herself
out in slavery time. Grandpa, he was sold off somewhar. Both of 'em was
field hands.

"Potlicker and cornbread was fed to us chillun, out of big old wooden
bowls. Two or three chillun et out of de same bowl. Grown folks had
meat, greens, syrup, cornbread, 'taters and de lak. 'Possums! I should
say so. Dey cotch plenty of 'em and atter dey was kilt ma would scald
'em and rub 'em in hot ashes and dat clean't 'em jus' as pretty and
white. OO-o-o but dey was good. Lord, Yessum! Dey used to go fishin' and
rabbit huntin' too. Us jus' fotched in game galore den, for it was de
style dem days. Dere warn't no market meat in slavery days. Seemed lak
to me in dem days dat ash-roasted 'taters and groundpeas was de best
somepin t'eat what anybody could want. 'Course dey had a gyarden, and it
had somepin of jus' about evvything what us knowed anything 'bout in de
way of gyarden sass growin' in it. All de cookin' was done in dem big
old open fireplaces what was fixed up special for de pots and ovens.
Ashcake was most as good as 'taters cooked in de ashes, but not quite.

"Summertime, us jus' wore homespun dresses made lak de slips dey use for
underwear now. De coats what us wore over our wool dresses in winter was
knowed as 'sacques' den, 'cause dey was so loose fittin'. Dey was heavy
and had wool in 'em too. Marse Lewis, he had a plenty of sheep, 'cause
dey was bound to have lots of warm winter clothes, and den too, dey
lakked mutton to eat. Oh! dem old brogan shoes was coarse and rough.
When Marse Lewis had a cow kilt dey put de hide in de tannin' vat. Whe