jail for 'em to wuk for
him. An' he let 'em have money all de time so dey didn't never git out
of debt wid him. Dey had to stay dar an' wuk all de time, an' if dey
didn't wuk he had 'em beat. He evermore did beat 'em if dey got lazy,
but if dey wukked good, he wuz good to 'em. Sometimes dey tried to run
away. Dey had dogs to trail 'em wid so dey always cotched 'em, an' den
da whippin' boss beat 'em mos' to death. It wuz awful to hear 'em
hollerin' an' beggin' for mussy. If dey hollered, 'Lord have mussy!'
Marse Jim didn't hear 'em, but if dey cried, 'Marse Jim have mussy!' den
he made 'em stop de beatin'. He say, 'De Lord rule Heb'en, but Jim Smith
ruled de earth.'

"One time he cotched some Niggers down at de Seaboard Station, what had
runned away from his place. He got de police, an' brung 'em back 'cause
he 'lowed dey still owed him money. I wuz mighty sorry for 'em, for I
knowed what dey wuz goin' to git when he done got 'em back on his place.
Dat whippin' boss beat 'em 'til dey couldn't stan' up.

"But he wuz good to my uncle, an' treated him just lak one of de fambly.
He helped him wid all his sermons, an' told him to always tell 'em to be
observerant an' obejent to de boss man. He provided good fer his help
an' dey always had plenty to eat. He used to try to git me to come an'
stay wid him, but I didn't want to stay on dat place.

"Marse Jim used to have big 'possum hunts for his Niggers, an' he would
sen' me word, an' I most always went, 'cause dem wuz good times den,
when dey cooked de coons an' 'possums, an' eat an' drunk mos' of de
night. Coon meat is most as good as lamb if you is careful to take out
de musk sacs when you dress 'em to cook."

Smithsonia, the Jim Smith plantation, covered thousands of acres, but
the words of the feeble old Negro showed that he could not imagine it
possible for any farmer to own more than one hundred acres.

"Marse Jim had a hund'ud acre farm, an' he had to keep plenty of Niggers
to look atter dat place, but I wuz 'fraid to go dar to stay, for it wuz
sho' just lak de jailhouse.

"Dey ain't but four of our nine chilluns livin' now an' dey's all up
Nawf. Dey done sont atter me when deir ma died, an' tried to git me to
stay wid 'em, but its too cold up dar for dis old Nigger, so I just
stays on here by myself. It don't take much for me to live on. In crop
times I wuks in de fiel' a choppin' cotton, an' I picks cotton too. I'll
just wait on here an' de waitin' won't be much