looked.

"Dat overseer, he was a clever man, but I can't ricollect his name. He
never paid no heed to what sort of clothes slaves wore, but he used to
raise merry cain if dey didn't have good shoes to ditch in. Marse David
was de cussin' boss, but de overseer called hisself de whuppin' boss. He
had whuppin's all time saved up special for de 'omans. He made 'em take
off deir waistes and den he whupped 'em on deir bar backs 'til he was
satisfied. He done all de whuppin' atter supper by candle light. I don't
'member dat he ever whupped a man. He jus' whupped 'omans.

"Evvybody was up early so dat by sunrise dey was out in de fields, jus'
a whoopin' and hollerin'. At sundown dey stopped and come back to de
cabins. In wheat harvestin' time dey wukked so hard dey jus' fell out
f'um gittin' overhet. Other times dey jus' wukked 'long steady lak.

"Marse David never had no sho' 'nough car'iage so he never needed no
car'iage driver. He had what dey called a ground sleigh. In de spring
Marse David sont a man to de woods to pick out a lakly lookin' young
white oak saplin' and bent it down a certain way. Hit stayed bent dat
way 'til it growed big enough, den dey sawed it lengthways and put a
mortise hole in each front piece to put de round thoo' to hold de
singletrees. Holes was bored at de back to fasten de plank seat to. Dey
put a quilt on de seat for a cushion and hitched a pair of oxen to de
sleigh. Come winter, come summer, snow or rain, dey went right on in de
old sleigh jus' de same!

"Now, Miss, dis sho' is right! Many times as I is done been over dat
plantation f'um one side to de other I couldn't tell you to save my life
how many acres was in it. I would be 'fraid to say, how many slaves
Marse David owned, but I'm here to tell you dere was a bunch of 'em
'round dar.

"Dey didn't have no jail house or nothin' lak dat 'round dat plantation,
'cause if slaves didn't please Marster dey was jus' made to come up to
de yard at de big house and take deir beatin's. I seed dem traders come
thoo' f'um Virginny wid two wagon loads of slaves at one time, gwine
down on Broad River to a place called Lisbon whar dey already had orders
for 'em. I ain't never seed no slaves bein' sold or auctioned off on de
block.

"Wunst a white man named Bill Rowsey, come and begged Marse David to let
him teach his Niggers. Marse David had de grown mens go sweep up de
cottonseed in de ginhouse on Sunday mornin', and for three Sundays us
went to scho