read the
songs they sung at funerals and at meetin'. Them songs was handed down
from one generation to another and, far as they knowed, never was writ
down. A song they sung at the house 'fore they left for the graveyard
begun:

'Why do we mourn departed friends,
Or shake at death's alarm.'"

At the grave they sung, =Am I Born to Die, To Lay this Body Down?=

"Slaves on our plantation never thought about runnin' off to no North.
Marse Robert allus treated 'em fair and square, and thar warn't no need
for 'em to run nowhar. That foreman of his, Robert Scott, did go off and
stay a few days once. Marse Robert had started to whip his wife and he
had jumped 'twixt 'em; that made Marse Robert so mad he run to the house
to git his gun, so the foreman he got out of the way a day or two to
keep from gittin' shot. When he come back, Marse Robert was so glad to
git him back he never said a word to him 'bout leavin'.

"On Saddays the women wuked in the field 'til dinnertime, but the
menfolks wuked on 'til a hour 'fore sundown. The women spent that time
washin', cleanin' up the cabins, patchin', and gittin' ready for the
next week. Oh! How they did frolic 'round Sadday night when they could
git passes. Sundays they went to church but not without a pass for, if
they ever was cotch out without one, them paterollers would beat 'em up
something terrible.

"Sho, Christmastime was when slaves had their own fun. Thar warn't
nothin' extra or diffunt give 'em, only plenty to eat and drink; Marse
Robert allus made lots of whiskey and brandy. He give his slaves six
days holiday and 'lowed 'em to have passes. They frolicked, danced, and
visited 'round and called it havin' a good time. Wuk begun again on New
Year's Day and thar warn't no more holidays 'til the next Christmas. No,
mam, not many slave chillun knowed what Santa Claus was or what
Christmas was meant to celebrate 'til they got some schoolin' atter the
war was over.

"Sho, sho, us had cornshuckin's, all right enough. Sometimes Marse
Robert raised so much corn us had to have more than one cornshuckin' to
git it all shucked. The neighbors was 'vited and such a time as us did
have atter the wuk was done. I was too little to do so much eatin',
drinkin', and cuttin' the buck as the older ones done. 'Cuttin' the
buck' is what I calls the kind of frolics they had atter they got full
of liquor.

"Yes, mam, they had dances all right. That's how they got mixed up with
the paterolle