eld. More or less, dey would cook it in
de field. Yes'um, dey would carry dey pots wid dem en cook right dere in
de field whe' dey was workin. Would boil pots en make bread, too. I don'
know how long dey had to work, mam, but I hear dem say dat dey worked
hard, cold or hot, rain or shine. Had to hoe cotton en pick cotton en
all such as dat. I don' know, mam, but de white folks, I guess dey took
it dat dey had plenty colored people en de Lord never meant for dem to
do no work. You know, white folks in dem days, dey made de colored
people do."

"De people used to spin en weave, my Lord! Like today, it cloudy en
rainy, dey couldn' work in de field en would have to spin dat day. Man,
you would hear dat thing windin en I remember, I would stand dere en
want to spin so bad, I never know what to do. Won' long fore I got to
whe' I could use de shuttle en weave, too. I bad a grandmother en when
she would get to dat wheel, she sho know what she been doin. White folks
used to give de colored people task to spin en I mean she could do dat
spinnin. Yes'um, I here to tell you, dey would make de prettiest cloth
in dat day en time. Old time people used to have a kind of dye dey
called indigo en dey would color de cloth just as pretty as you ever did
see."

"Den I recollects dat dey would have to shuck corn some of de days en
wouldn' nobody work in de field dat day. Oh, my Lord, dey would have de
big eats on dem days. Would have a big pot right out to de barn whe' dey
was shuckin corn en would boil it full as it could hold wid such as peas
en rice en collards. Would cook big bread, too, en would save a hog's
head for dat purpose often times."

"Colored people didn' have no schools nowhe' in dat day en time. No'um,
us didn' go to no church neither cause we was way off dere on de
plantation en wasn' any church nowhe' bout dere, Miss. I likes to be
truthful en I tellin you, when we was comin up, we never didn' know
nothin 'cept what we catch from de old folks."

"Old Massa, he used to come to de plantation drivin his rockaway en my
Lord a mercy, we chillun did love to run en meet him. Dey used to have a
great big gate to de lane of de plantation en when we been hear him
comin, we would go a runnin en holler, 'Massa comin! Massa comin!' En he
would come ridin through de big gate en say, 'Yonder my little niggers!
How my little niggers? Come here en tell me how you all.' Den we would
go a runnin to him en try to tell him what he ax us. Y