isties was close fittin' and sorter skimpy skirts was gathered on to
'em. De underskirts was unbleached white cloth made jus' lak de dresses
only some skimpier. Old Marster raised plenty of cattle and saved de
hides what he sont to de tannery to be got ready for my uncle, Moses
Downs, to make our brogan shoes. Dem shoes had brass toes to keep 'em
from wearing out too quick. Uncle Mose was sho' a smart shoemaker. He
had to make shoes for all de slaves on de whole plantation.

"Marster Sam Downs owned us, and his wife, Miss Mary, was a mighty good
somebody to belong to--"Old Mist'ess" us called her. I don't 'member
nothin' 'tall 'bout Old Marster, 'cause he died 'fore I was knee high to
a duck. Old Marster and Old Mist'ess had five chillun. Dey was: Miss
Ellen, Marse Sam, Marse James Kelsey, Marse Tom, and Marse William. Old
Miss sho' was good to us Niggers, 'cause she was raisin' us to wuk for
her.

"When Marse William went to de War, he tuk my pappy wid him. Dey come
back home on one of dem flyloughs, (furloughs) or somepin lak dat, end
you jus' ought to have seed de way us chillun crowded 'round pappy when
he got dar. One of his fingers had done got shot off in de fightin',
and us chillun thought it was one of de funniest lookin' things us had
ever seed, a man wid a short finger. He said dem yankees had done shot
it off.

"Atter Old Marster died Old Mist'ess moved to a town called Woodstock,
or was it Woodville? It was Wood-somepin' or nother. She hired old man
John Akins to oversee de plantation, and she evermore did oversee him
and de plantation too. She had a fine pacing mule what wouldn't throw
her for nothin'. Evvy mornin' she got on dat mule and rid out to her
plantation. She allus fetched us somepin' t'eat; most of de time it was
a gingercake apiece.

"I couldn't rightly say how big dat plantation of hers was. Oo-o! But it
sho' was one more big place, and Niggers was scattered all 'round dar
lak blackbirds. Dat old overseer, he sho' was mean to de slaves. He
whupped 'em and he kept on whuppin' 'em, 'til sometimes it seemed lak he
jus' beat on 'em to hear 'em holler. It warn't long atter midnight when
he got 'em up to go to wuk and he kept 'em at hard labor 'til way atter
sundown. De biggest things he whupped Niggers for was for runnin' 'way
and for not doin' deir wuk right.

"Jails! Did you say jails? Yessum, dey had jails. You know slaves warn't
civilized folks den--all dey knowed was to fuss end fight and