"I was the master's pet. He never allowed anyone to whip
me and he didn't whip me himself. He was 7-ft. 9 in. tall and often as I
walked with him, he would ask, "Isaiah, do you love your old master?' Of
course I would answer, yes, for I did love him."

Col. Willis did not allow the "patterrollers" to interfere with any of
his slaves. He never gave them passes, and if any were caught out
without one the "patterrollers" were afraid to whip them.

Mr. John Branch was considered one of the meanest slave owners in Green
County, and the Negroes on his plantation were always running away.
Another slave owner known for his cruelty was Colonel Calloway, who had
a slave named Jesse who ran away and stayed 7 years. He dug a cave in
the ground and made fairly comfortable living quarters. Other slaves who
no longer could stand Col. Calloway's cruelty, would join him. Jesse
visited his wife, Lettie, two and three times a week at night. Col.
Calloway could never verify this, but became suspicious when Jesse's
wife gave birth to two children who were the exact duplicate of Jesse.
When he openly accused her of knowing Jesse's whereabouts, she denied
the charges, pretending she had not seen him since the day he left.

When the war ended, Jesse came to his old master and told him he had
been living right on the plantation for the past 7 years. Col. Calloway
was astonished; he showed no anger toward Jesse, however, but loaned him
a horse and wagon to move his goods from the cave to his home.

There were some owners who made their slaves steal goods from other
plantations and hide it on theirs. They were punished by their master,
however, if they were caught.

Frolics were held on the Willis plantation as often as desired. It was
customary to invite slaves from adjoining plantations, but if they
attended without securing a pass from their master, the "patterrollers"
could not bother them so long as they were on the Willis plantation. On
the way home, however, they were often caught and beaten.

In those days there were many Negro musicians who were always ready to
furnish music from their banjo and fiddle for the frolics. If a white
family was entertaining, and needed a musician but didn't own one, they
would hire a slave from another plantation to play for them.

Col. Willis always allowed his slaves to keep whatever money they
earned. There were two stills on the Willis plantation, but the slaves
were never allowed to drink whiskey