January 15, 1855 on Mr. Lias
Winning plantation on the Cooper River. I wus den six years ole w'en the
war broke out an' could 'member a good many things. My ma an' pa bin
name Anjuline an' Thomas Goodwater who had eight boys an' eight gals. I
use to help my gran'ma 'round the kitchen who wus the cook for the
fambly. I am the older of the two who is alive. Peter, the one alive,
live on my place now, but I ain't hear from dem for two years. I don'
know for certain dat he's alive or not.

In slavery the people use to go an' catch possums an' rabbits so as to
hab meat to eat. De driber use to shoot cows an in de night de slaves go
an' skin um an' issue um 'round to all the slaves, 'speciall w'en cows
come frum anodder plantation. He go 'round an' tell the slaves dey
better go an' git some fish 'fore all go. Any time any one say e hab
fish it wus understood e mean cow-meat. Our boss ain't nebber cetch on
nor did e ebber miss any cow; Gie Simmons, de collud driber wus under
Sam Black, the white overseer. Sam Black wusn't mean, he jus' had to
carry out orders of Lias Winning, our master. Dere wus a vegetable
garden dat had things for the year round so we could hab soup an' soup
could be in the Big House.

One day w'en I wus 'bout fourteen I did supin an' ma didn' like it. A
bunch of gals bin home an' ma wheel my short over my head an' start to
be at me right 'fore the gals. Dey begged her not to lick me an' she got
mad jus' for dat. I couldn't help myself cuz she tie' de shirt over my
head wood a string, my han's an' all wuz tie' in de shirt wood the
string. In hot wedder gals an' boys go in dere under shirts an' nothin'
else.

Boys in dose days could fight but couldn' throw any one on the groun'.
We had to stan' up an eider beat or git beat.

I wus married in 1872 to Catharine, my wife. At our weddin' we had
plenty to eat. There wus possums, wine, cake, an' plenty o' fruits. I
had on a black suit, black shoes, white tie an' shirt. Catharine had on
all white. I stay' wood Catharine people for a year 'til I wus abled to
buil' on my lan'. I am a fadder of nineteen chillun; ten boys an' nine
gals; only two now livin'.

Lias Winning wusn' a mean man. He couldn' lick pa cus dey grow up
togedder or at least he didn' try. But he liked his woman slave. One day
ma wus in da field workin' alone an' he went there an' try to rape 'er.
Ma pull his ears almos' off so he let 'er off an' gone an' tell pa he
better talk to ma. Pa wus wo