of apples and peaches to make dried fruit.
When them roots git right dry, him have them ground up fine as
water-ground meal. He put de fine dust in a pot and boil it. When he
want red cloth, he just drop de cloth in dat pot and it come out all red
to suit you. Want it blue, him have a indigo patch for dat.

"I never hear anything 'bout alum dese days. Well, de slaves could take
peach tree leaves and alum and make yellow cloth and old cedar tops and
copperas and make tan cloth. Walnut stain and copperas and make any
cloth brown. Sweet-gum bark and copperas and make any cloth a purple
color. I 'member goin' wid one into de woods to git barks. One day old
marster come 'cross a slippery elm tree. Him turn and command me to say
right fast: 'Long, slim, slick saplin' and when I say long, slim, sick
slaplin', him 'most kill hisself laughin'. You try dat now! You find it
more harder to say than you think it is. Him give me a piece of dat bark
to chew and I run at de mouth lak you see a hoss dat been on de range of
wild clover all night and slobberin' at da bits.

"Yes sah, I b'longs to de church! My wife and son, Mingo, just us three
in de house and de whole household jined de Morris Creek Baptist Church.
What's my favorite song? None better than de one dat I'll h'ist right
now. Go ahead? I thanks you. Listen:

'Am I born to die
To lay dis body down
A charge to keep I have
A God to glorify.'

"You lak dat? Yes? You is praisin' me too highly I 'spect, but since you
lak dat one just listen at dis one; maybe you change your mind, 'cause
I's gwine to h'ist it a wee bit higher and put more of de spiritual in
it. Ready? Yes? I stand up dis time.

'All de medicine you may buy
All de doctors you may try
Ain't gonna save you from de tomb
Some day you got to lay down and die.
De blood of de Son can only
Save you from de doom!
Some day you got to lay down and die.'

"You lak dat one? You just ought to hear my wife, Mingo, and Me, singin'
dat 'round de fire befo' us go to bed.

"Well, I'll toddle 'long now. Good-bye."

Project, 1885-(1)
Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis
Place, Marion, S. C.
Date, February 4, 1938

LIZZIE'S 'SPONSIBILITY

I.

The first scene of "Lizzie's 'Sponsibility" is that of the small, one
room dwelling place of Lizzie Davis, aged colored woman of Marion, S. C.
A disorderly, ill-lighted, crudely furnished room, saturated with the
odor of food. Behind the front