gger chillun jus' got to
steal anyhow. Run git yourself 'nother peach off dat wagon, but don't
you let dat man see you git it. Put dat peach under your shirt 'til you
gits in dis yard, and if you leave dis yard 'gain I'll buss your haid
wide open. Does you hear me, Boy?

"What was dat you was a-axin' 'bout jails, Miss? Yessum, us had 'em.
Niggers would git too rowdy-lak, drinkin' liquor and fightin', and dat
was when de white folks slapped 'em in de gyardhouse, widout a bite to
eat. Gyardhouses is called jails dese days. I'se lak my Ma. I'se a
fighter. Ma would jump on anybody what looked at her twice. De onliest
time I ever got in de gyardhouse was a long time atter de end of de big
War. A man owed me some money, and when I axed him for it, he got mad
and knocked me down. I got right up and knocked him out, and right den
and dar I was sont to de gyardhouse.

"Good Lord, Miss! Slave folks warn't 'lowed no time for to larn readin'
and writin'. Deir time was all tuk up in de field at wuk. Slaves went to
de white folks' church, but one thing sho' dey couldn't read de Bible
for deirselfs and couldn't write none. Jus' to tell de truth, I didn't
take in what dey sung at church, but I ain't forgot dem baptizin's. I'se
been to so many of 'em. Evvybody went in dem days. Dere warn't no place
in de church houses for to be ducked dem days, so de white folks had a
pool dug out by de branch for de baptizin's, and white folks and slaves
was ducked in de same pool of water. White folks went in fust and den de
Niggers. Evvybody what come dar sung a song 'bout 'My Sins has all been
Washed Away, and I is White as Snow.'

"Slave fun'rels was mournful sights, for sho'. Dem home-made coffins was
made out of pine planks, and dey warn't painted or lined or nothin'. And
slave coffins warn't no diffunt from de ones de white folks used. Our
Marster sot aside a spot in his own buryin' grounds for de slaves'
graveyard. When dey was a-buryin' folks dey sung a song what went
somepin lak dis: 'Oh, Lord! Us takes 'em to de Graveyard, Never to fetch
'em Back.'

"If slaves did run off to de North, I never heared nothin' 'bout it.
Oh, Lord! I jus' can't talk 'bout dem patterollers, for it looked lak
all de white folks tried to jine up wid 'em. How dey did beat up us pore
Niggers! Us had to git a pass for dis and a pass for dat, and dere jus'
warn't nothin' us could do widout dem patterollers a-beatin' us up. Dey
beat you wid a cowhide lash what cut a