at their frolics. Sometimes they
managed to "take a little" without the master knowing it.

On Sunday afternoons, slaves were required to attend white churches for
religious services, and over and over again the one sermon drummed into
their heads was, "Servants obey your mistress and master; you live for
them. Now go home and obey, and your master will treat you right." If a
slave wished to join the church, he was baptized by a white minister.

The consent of both slave owners was necessary to unite a couple in
matrimony. No other ceremony was required. If either master wished to
sell the slave who married, he would name the price and if it was
agreeable to the other, the deal was settled so that one owner became
master of both. The larger and stronger the man, the more valuable he
was considered.

Slaves did not lack medical treatment and were given the best of
attention by the owner's family doctor. Sometimes slaves would pretend
illness to escape work in the field. A quick examination, however,
revealed the truth. Home remedies such as turpentine, castor oil, etc.,
were always kept on hand for minor ailments.

Green remembers hearing talk of the war before he actually saw signs of
it. It was not long before the Yankees visited Greensboro, Ga., and the
Willis plantation. On one occasion, they took all the best horses and
mules and left theirs which were broken down and worn from travel. They
also searched for money and other valuables. During this period a mail
wagon broke down in the creek and water soon covered it. When the water
fell, Negroes from the Willis plantation found sacks of money and hid
it. One unscrupulous Negro betrayed the others; rather than give back
the money, many ran away from the vicinity. Isaiah's Uncle managed to
keep his money but the Ku Klux Klan learned that he was one of the
group. One night they kidnaped and carried him to the woods where they
pinned him to the ground, set the dry leaves on fire, and left him. In
the group he recognized his master's son Jimmie. As fate would have it
the leaves burned in places and went out. By twisting a little he
managed to get loose, but found that his feet were badly burned. Later,
when he confronted the master with the facts, Col. Willis offered to pay
him if he would not mention the fact that his son Jimmie was mixed up in
it, and he sent the man to a hospital to have his burns treated. In the
end, all of his toes had to be amputated.

Another