sho 'nough old-time break-downs. Sometimes us didn't have no music
'cept jus' beatin' time on tin pans and buckets but most times Old Elice
Hudson played his fiddle for us, and it had to be tuned again atter evvy
set us danced. He never knowed but one tune and he played dat over and
over. Sometimes dere was 10 or 15 couples on de floor at de same time
and us didn't think nothin' of dancin' all night long. Us had plenty of
old corn juice for refreshment, and atter Elice had two or three cups of
dat juice, he could git 'Turkey in de Straw' out of dat fiddle lak
nobody's business.

"One time a houseboy from another plantation wanted to come to one of
our Saddy night dances, so his marster told him to shine his boots for
Sunday and fix his hoss for de night and den he could git off for de
frolic. Abraham shined his marster's boots 'till he could see hisself in
'em, and dey looked so grand he was tempted to try 'em on. Dey was a
little tight but he thought he could wear 'em, and he wanted to show
hisself off in 'em at de dance. Dey warn't so easy to walk in and he was
'fraid he might git 'em scratched up walkin' through de fields, so he
snuck his Marster's hoss out and rode to de dance. When Abraham rid up
dar in dem shiny boots, he got all de gals' 'tention. None of 'em wanted
to dance wid de other Niggers. Dat Abraham was sho sruttin' 'til
somebody run in and told him his hoss had done broke its neck. He had
tied it to a limb and sho 'nough, some way, dat hoss had done got
tangled up and hung its own self. Abraham begged de other Nigger boys to
help him take de deid hoss home, but he had done tuk deir gals and he
didn't git no help. He had to walk 12 long miles home in dem tight
shoes. De sun had done riz up when he got dar and it warn't long 'fore
his Marster was callin': 'Abraham, bring, me my boots.' Dat Nigger would
holler out: 'Yas sah! I'se a-comin'. But dem boots wouldn't come off
'cause his foots had done swelled up in 'em. His marster kept on callin'
and when Abraham seed he couldn't put it off no longer, he jus' cut dem
boots off his foots and went in and told what he had done. His marster
was awful mad and said he was a good mind to take de hide off Abraham's
back. 'Go git my hoss quick, Nigger, 'fore I most kills you,' he yelled.
Den Abraham told him: 'Marster I knows you is gwine to kill me now, but
your hoss is done daid.' Den pore Abraham had to out and tell de whole
story and his marster got to laughin' so '