t bones to dis day.

"When de cullud women has to cut cane all day till midnight come and
after, I has to nuss de babies for dem and tend de white chillen, too.
Some dem babies so fat and big I had to tote de feet while 'nother gal
tote de head. I was sech a li'l one, 'bout seven or eight year old. De
big folks leave some toddy for colic and cryin' and sech and I done
drink de toddy and let de chillen have de milk. I don't know no better.
Lawsy me, it a wonder I ain't de bigges' drunker in dis here country,
countin' all de toddy I done put in my young belly!

"When late of night come, iffen dem babies wake up and bawl, I set up a
screech and out-screech dem till dey shut dere mouth. De louder day bawl
de louder I bawl. Sometime when Marse hear de babies cry, he come down
and say, 'Why de chillen cry like dat, Ellen?' I say, 'Marse, I git so
hongry and tired I done drink de milk up.' When I talk sassy like dat,
Marse jes' shake he finger at me, 'cause he knowed I's a good one and
don't let no little mite starve.

"Nobody ever hit me a lick. Marse allus say bein' mean to de young'uns
make dem mean when dey grows up and nobody gwineter buy a mean nigger.
Marse don't even let de chillen go to de big cane patch. He plant little
bitty patches close to de house and each li'l nigger have a patch and he
work it till it got growed. Marse have de house girls make popcorn for
'em and candy.

"I nuss de sick folks too. Sometime I dose with Blue Mass pills and
sometime Dr. Fawcett leave rhubarb and ipicac and calomel and castor oil
and sech. Two year after de war, I git marry and git chillen of my own
and den I turn into de wet nuss. I wet nuss de white chillen and black
chillen, like dey all de same color. Sometime I have a white'un pullin'
de one side and a black one de other.

"I wanted to git de papers for midwifin' but, law, I don't never have no
time for larnin' in slave time. If Marse cotch a paper in you hand he
sho' whop you. He don't 'low no bright niggers 'round, he sell 'em
quick. He allus say, 'Book larnin' don't raise no good sugar cane.' De
only larnin' he 'low was when dey larn de cullud chillen de Methodist
catechism. De only writin' a nigger ever git, am when he git born or
marry or die, den Marse put de name in de big book.

Law, I 'lect de time Marse marry Miss Cornelia. He went on de mail boat
and brung her from New Orleans. She de pretties' woman in de world
almost, 'ceptin' she have de bigges' mouth I nea