s good to me but sometime I was so bad they had
to whip me. I 'members she used to whip me every time she tell me to do
something and I take too long to move 'long and do it. One time my
missus went off on a visit and left me at home. When she come back,
Sally told her that I put on a pair of Bubber's pants and scrub de floor
wid them on. Missus told me it was a sin for me to put on a man's pants,
and she whip me pretty bad. She say it's in de Bible dat: 'A man shall
not put on a woman's clothes, nor a woman put on a man's clothes'. I
ain't never see that in de Bible though, but from then 'til now, I ain't
put on no more pants.

"De grown-up slaves was punished sometime too. When they didn't feel
like taking a whippin' they went off in de woods and stay 'til massa's
hounds track them down; then they'd bring them out and whip them. They
might as well not run away. Some of them never come back a-tall, don't
know what become of them. We ain't had no jail for slaves; never ain't
see none in chains neither. There was a guard-house right in de town but
us niggers never was carried to it. You ask me if I ever see a slave
auctioned off? Yes ma'am, one time. I see a little girl 'bout ten years
old sold to a soldier man. Dis soldier man was married and didn't had no
chillun and he buy dis little girl to be company for his wife and to
help her wid de house work.

"White folks never teach us to read nor write much. They learned us our
A, B, C's, and teach us to read some in de testament. De reason they
wouldn't teach us to read and write, was 'cause they was afraid de
slaves would write their own pass and go over to a free county. One old
nigger did learn enough to write his pass and got 'way wid it and went
up North.

"Missus Martha sho' did look after de slaves good when they was sick. Us
had medicine made from herbs, leaves and roots; some of them was
cat-nip, garlic root, tansy, and roots of burdock. De roots of burdock
soaked in whiskey was mighty good medicine. We dipped asafetida in
turpentine and hung it 'round our necks to keep off disease.

"Befo' de Yankees come thru, our peoples had let loose a lot of our
hosses and de hosses strayed over to de Yankee side, and de Yankee men
rode de hosses back over to our plantation. De Yankees asked us if we
want to be free. I never say I did; I tell them I want to stay wid my
missus and they went on and let me alone. They 'stroyed most everything
we had 'cept a little vittles; to