de babies was big
'nough to take a bottle. And in dem days no bottle was given no baby
under a year old. De wimmins in family way was better cared for den dese
young niggers now-a-days. Marse Tom never bred no slaves but he did care
fer his niggers when dey married and got dey own chilluns. I has done
related to you how dey fixed de medicines and things. Dem babies was
washed every day if dey mammies was in de field, dat never made no
diffuns, kaise it was de old ladies' jobs to see to it dat dey was.
Younguns on de plantation was bathed two or three times a week. Mullein
leaves and salt was biled in great big pot to put in de babies' wash
water and also in de chilluns' water. Dis would keep 'em from gitting
sick. Den dey was allus greased after de washing to keep de skin from
busting open. Mosely dey was greased wid tallow from de mutton. Mr.
Anderson took medicine and after dat he doctor all de slaves fer his paw
free.

"While de Yankees had everything closed up down in Charleston it was
hard to git anything in dis country into de sto's. Us allus traded at de
post (Goshen Hill Trading Post). If I recollects correctly it was during
dis period dat Marse Tom let my Mammy go up to de post to fetch back her
a bonnet.

"Up dar dey took cotton and corn and anything like dat in trade dat dey
could sell to de folks dat was working on de railroad bed dat was gwine
through dat country (Seaboard Airline). So Mammy took a lot of cotton
wid her to de post. She knowd dat it was gwine to take lots to git dat
bonnet. It weren't but three and a half miles de short way to de post
from our place.

"I's gwine long wid her and so I had to wear some pants to go to de post
as dat was big doings fer a lil' darky boy to git to go to de trading
center. So aunt Abbie fotched me a pair of new pants dat was dat stiff,
dat dey made me feel like I was all closed up in a jacket, atter being
used to only a shirt-tail!

"Well, it wasn't fur and us arriv' dar early in de day. Mammy said
'howdy' to all de darkies what dar and I look at dem from behind her
skirts. I felt real curious-like all inside. But she never give me no
mind whatever. She never act like she knowd dat I was pulling her dress
at all. I seed so many things dat I never had seed befo', not in all my
born days. Red sticks o' candy was a laying right dar fo' my eyes, jes'
like de folks from de big house brung us at Christmas. It was not near
Christmas den, kaise it was jest cotton pick