arster, Nick Peay, had nineteen places, wid a overseer and slave
quarters on every place. Folks dat knows will tell you, dis day, dat
them nineteen plantations, in all, was twenty-seven thousand acres. He
had a thousand slaves, more or less, too many to take a census of. Befo'
de numerator git 'round, some more would be born or bought, and de
nominator had to be sent 'round by Marse Nick, so old Miss Martha, our
mistress, say. Her never could know just how many 'twas. Folks used to
come to see her and ask how many they had and her say it was one of them
sums in de 'rithmetic dat a body never could take a slate and pencil and
find out de correct answer to.

"Her was a Adamson befo' her marry old marster, a grand big buckra. Had
a grand manner; no patience wid poor white folks. They couldn't come in
de front yard; they knowed to pass on by to de lot, hitch up deir hoss,
and come knock on de kitchen door and make deir wants and wishes knowed
to de butler.

"You wants me to tell 'bout what kind of house us niggers live in then?
Well, it 'pend on de nigger and what him was doin'. Dere was just two
classes to de white folks, buckra slave owners and poor white folks dat
didn't own no slaves. Dere was more classes 'mongst de slaves. De fust
class was de house servants. Dese was de butler, de maids, de nurses,
chambermaids, and de cooks. De nex' class was de carriage drivers and de
gardeners, de carpenters, de barber, and de stable men. Then come de
nex' class de wheelwright, wagoners, blacksmiths and slave foremen. De
nex' class I 'members was de cow men and de niggers dat have care of de
dogs. All dese have good houses and never have to work hard or git a
beatin'. Then come de cradlers of de wheat, de threshers, and de millers
of de corn and de wheat, and de feeders of de cotton gin. De lowest
class was de common field niggers. A house nigger man might swoop down
and mate wid a field hand's good lookin' daughter, now and then, for
pure love of her, but you never see a house gal lower herself by
marryin' and matin' wid a common field-hand nigger. Dat offend de white
folks, 'specially de young misses, who liked de business of match makin'
and matin' of de young slaves.

"My young marsters was Marse Tom, Marse Nick, and Marse Austin. My young
misses was Miss Martha, Miss Mary, and Miss Anne Eliza. I knows Marse
Nick, Jr. marry a Cunningham of Liberty Hill. Marse Tom marry a Lyles
and Marse Austin marry and move to Abbeville, af