ar bill, but it wuzn't no good to you. After de greenback come money
flourish again.

"De plantation wuz down on de river. I live dere 'cept for de four years
we refugee. Dat been a beautiful place--dere on de water! When de stars
would come out dere over de water it wuz a beautiful sight! Sometimes
some of us girls would get in a little 'paddle' an' paddle out into de
river. We'd be scared to go too far out, but we'd paddle around.
Sometimes my father would go out in de night an' catch de fish with a
seine. He'd come back with a bushel of fish 'most anytime. Dey were nice
big mullets! He'd divide 'em 'round 'mongst de colored folks. An' he'd
take some up to de white folks for dere breakfast. My white folks been
good white people. I never know no cruel. Dey treat me jes like one of
dem. Dey say dey took me when I wuz five years old. An' I stay wid dem
'til freedom. I am 106 years old now.

"Dem people on de water don't eat much meat. Twenty-five cent of bacon
will last dem a week. Dey cut de meat into little pieces, an' fry dem
into cracklings, den put dat into de fish stew. It surely makes de stew
good. When dey kill a hog dey take it to town an' sell it, den use de
money for whatever dey want. Dey don't have to cure de pork an' keep it
to eat. Dey jes' eat fish. Dey have de mullets, an' de oysters, an' de
crabs, an' dese little clams. Dey have oyster-stew. Dey have roast
oysters, den de raw oysters. An' dey have dey fried oysters! Dat sure is
good. Dey fish from de boat, dey fish from de log, an' dey fish 'long de
edge of de water wid a net. When de tide go down you kin walk along an'
jes pick up de crab. You could get a bucket full in no time. We'd like
to go up an' down an' pick up de pretty shells. I got one here on de
mantel now. It ain't sech a big one, but it's a pretty little shell.

"I is always glad to talk 'bout de old times an' de old people. We is
livin' in peace now, but still it's hard times. We ought to be thankful
though our country ain't in war."

Source: Daphney Wright, Scotia, S.C.

=Project 1885-1=
=Folk Lore=
=District No. 4.=
=May 28, 1937.=

=Edited by:=
=J.J. Murray.=

=STORIES OF EX-SLAVES=

Seated on the front steps of his house, holding a walking cane and
talking to another old colored man from Georgia, who was visiting his
children living there, the writer found "Uncle" Bill Young. He readily
replied that he had lived in slavery days, that he was 83 years old,