we
was butchering forty hogs. Edmund had his head under de pot a blowing up
de fire dat had done tuck and died to embers. Jule and Bill seed him and
dey broke and run and pushed Edmund plum' under dem pots. De embers
burnt his face and de hair off'n his head. Marse Tom wo' (wore) Bill and
Jule out fer it. Missus 'lowed den dat Edmund de smartest nigger on dat
plantation.

"We had Sadday afternoons to do our work and to wash. We had all de
hollidays off and a big time Christmas and July Fourth.

"Going to funerals we used all Marse's wagons. Quick as de funeral
start, de preacher give out a funeral hymn. All in de procession tuck up
de tune and as de wagons move along wid de mules at a slow walk,
everybody sing dat hymn. When it done, another was lined out, and dat
kept up 'till we reach de graveyard. Den de preacher pray and we sing
some mo'. In dem days funerals was slow fer both de white and de black
folks. Now dey is so fast, you is home again befo' you gits dar good.

"On de way home from de funeral, de mules would perk up a little in dey
walk and a faster hymn was sung on de way home. When we got home, we was
in a good mood from singing de faster hymns and de funeral soon be
forgot.

"As a child everybody in dem days played marbles.

"Ma sung some of de oldest hymns dat I is ever heard: (He sang) 'O Zion,
O Zion, O Zion, wanta git home at last'. (Another) 'Is you over, Is you
over, Is you over' and the bass come back, 'Yes thank God, Yes thank
God, Yes thank God, I is over. How did you cross? At de ferry, at de
ferry, at de ferry, Yes, thank God I is over.' If I sing dem now folks
laughs at me, but ma sho' teached dem to her chilluns.

"When boys and gals gits up some size dey feels dey-selves. At dat age,
we went bird thrashing in de moon light. Den we sing dis vulgar song,
'I'll give you half-dollar if you come out tonight; I'll give you
half-dollar if you come out tonight'. Den de gals charmed us wid
honeysuckle and rose petals hid in dere bosoms. Now de gals goes to de
ten cent sto' and buys cheap perfume. In dem days dey dried
cheneyberries (chinaberries) and painted dem and wo' dem on a string
around dere necks to charm us.

"When us very little, ma say at night when she want us to go to bed and
we be playing marbles, 'Better come on in de house or Raw Hide and
Bloody Bones 'll git you. From den on I is seed spooks.

"Our work song was, 'John Henry was a man; he worked all over dis town'.
Dey still