one his fishin' in Muddy Crick 'cause slaves
wern't 'lowed to leave de plantation for nothin' lak dat.

"Summertimes us wore homespun dresses, made wid full skirts sewed on to
tight fittin' waisties what was fastened down de back wid buttons made
out of cows and rams horns. Our white petticoat slips and pantalettes
was made on bodices. In winter us wore balmorals what had three stripes
'round de bottom, and over dem us had on long sleeved ap'ons what was
long as de balmorals. Slave gals' pantalettes warn't ruffled and tucked
and trimmed up wid lace and 'broidery lak Miss Polly's chilluns' was.
Ours was jus' made plain. Grown folks wore rough brogans, but me, I wore
de shoes what Miss Polly's chillun had done outgrowed. Dey called 'em
Jackson shoes, 'cause dey was made wid a extra wide piece of leather
sewed on de outside so as when you knocked your ankles 'gainst one
another, it wouldn't wear no holes in your shoes. Our Sunday shoes
warn't no diffunt from what us wore evvyday.

[TR: HW sidenote: 'durable', regarding Jackson Shoes]

"Marse Lish Jones and his wife--she was Miss Polly--was our Marster and
Mist'ess. Dey sho' did love to be good to deir little Niggers. Dey had
five chillun of deir own, two gals and three boys. Dey was: Mary, Anna
Della, Steve, John, and Bob. 'Bout deir house! Oh, Missus, dat was
somepin to see for sho'. It was a big old fine two-story frame house wid
a porch 'cross de front and 'round both sides. Dere was five rooms on de
fust floor and three upstairs. It sho' did look grand a-settin' back dar
in dat big old oak grove.

"Old Marster had a overseer but he never had no car'iage driver 'cause
he loved to drive for hisself so good. Oh Lord! How big was dat
plantation? Why, it must have been as big as from here to town. I never
did know how many slaves Marster had, but dat old plantation was plumb
full of 'em. I ain't never seed Old Marster do nothin' 'cept drive his
car'iage, walk a little, and eat all he wanted to. He was a rich man,
and didn't have to do nothin'.

"Our overseer got all de slaves up 'fore break of day and dey had to be
done et deir breakfast and in de field when de sun riz up. Dat sun would
be down good 'fore dey got to de house at night. I never seed none of de
grown folks git whupped, but I sho' got a good beatin' myself one time.
I had done got up on top of de big house porch and was a-flappin' my
arms and crowin' lak a rooster. Dey told me to come on down, but I
wouldn