rviewer, she was wearing a
blue striped dress which displayed a large patch of blue print on the
front of the skirt over her knees. Over her dress a black silk blouse,
lavishly trimmed with black beads, was worn for a wrap, and a pair of
men's brown shoes, sans laces, completed her costume. Due to illiteracy
Dosia has retained the dialect of the old southern darky.

Asked to relate her experiences as a slave, she replied: "Oo, Miss! What
does you want to know 'bout dat for? Well, anyhow I was borned in Greene
County. Mary and Auss Downs was my Ma and Pa. I cain't tell you whar dey
come from.

"I played 'round de yard wid de rest of de chillun and picked a little
cotton up and down de rows. I was de onliest chile my Mammy had. My Pa
was married two times, and I was his fust chile. I had four half
sisters: Fannie, Clara, Daisy, and Martha Ann, but I never had no
brothers.

"All de houses in de slave quarters was log cabins 'cept two. Dey was
made of boards what was put on straight up and down. All de houses had
chimblies made out of mud and sticks. De beds had high posties and some
of 'em was nailed to de wall of de cabin. Dey didn't know nothin' 'bout
no wire springs den, and dey strung de beds wid heavy cords for springs.
Dey made mattress ticks out of coarse home-wove cloth; some was striped
and some was plain unbleached white. Atter de wheat was thrashed evvy
year de 'omans tuk deir ticks and emptied out de old straw and went and
filled 'em wid new wheat straw. Wisht I had a nice fresh made wheat
straw mattress now. Us had plenty of good quilts for kivver.

"Some of de slave chillun slept on de flo', but me, I slept wid my
grandma. She was Crecia Downs, and she done raised me, 'cause my Mammy
died when I was three days old, or come to think of it, was I three
weeks old when dat happened? I'se done got so old I forgits lots of
things lak dat. Mammy died of some kind of fever dat was mighty
catchin'. Twenty-five Niggers died on dat one plantation 'bout de same
time, from dat fever. Atter grandma got too old to wuk in de field, she
didn't do nothin' but piddle 'round de yard and bile slops for de hogs.
Grandpa Joe Downs, he was de carpenter, but he done most any kind of wuk
dat come up to be done; he wuked in de fields and driv cows, or jus'
anything.

"Money! No Ma'am! All dey ever give slaves was a belly full of somepin
t'eat, de clo'es dey wore, and de orders to keep on wukin'. Now come to
think of it, I did see