was a slave of de Sloans and didn't get to see me often as
he wanted to; and of course, as de housemaid then, dere was times I
couldn't meet him, clandestine like he want me. Us had some grief over
dat, but he got a pass twice a week from his marster, Marse Tommie
Sloan, to come to see me. Bold as Sam git to be, in after years ridin'
wid a red shirt long side of General Bratton in '76, dat nigger was
timid as a rabbit wid me when us fust git married. Shucks, let's talk
'bout somthing else. Sam was a field hand and drive de wagon way to
Charleston once a year wid cotton, and always bring back something
pretty for me."

"When de war come on, Sam went wid young Marster Tom Sloan as bodyguard,
and attended to him, and learned to steal chickens, geese, and turkeys
for his young marster, just to tell 'bout it. He dead now; and what I
blames de white folks for, they never would give him a pension, though
he spend so much of his time and labor in their service. I ain't bearin'
down on my kind of white folks, for I'd jump wid joy if I could just git
back into slavery and have de same white folks to serve and be wid them,
day in and day out."

"Once a week I see de farm hands git rations at de smoke house, but dat
didn't concern me. I was a housemaid and my mammy run de kitchen, and us
got de same meals as my marster's folks did."

"Yas sir; I got 'possum. Know how to cook him now. Put him in a pot and
parboil him, then put him in a oven wid lots of lard or fat-back, and
then bake him wid yaller yam potatoes, flanked round and round, and then
wash him down wid locust and persimmon beer followed by a piece of
pumpkin pie. Dat make de bestest meal I 'members in slavery days."

"Us got fish out of Little River nigh every Saturday, and they went good
Sunday morning. Us had Saturday evenin's, dat is, de farm hands did, and
then I got to go to see Sam some Sundays. His folks, de Sloans, give us
a weddin' dinner on Sunday after us was married, and they sho' did tease
Sam dat day."

"Like all rich buckra, de Lemons had hogs a plenty, big flock of sheep,
cotton gin, slaves to card, slaves to spin, and slaves to weave. Us was
well clothed and fed and 'tended to when sick. They was concerned 'bout
our soul's salvation. Us went to church, learn de catechism; they was
Presbyterians, and read de Bible to us. But I went wid Sam after
freedom. He took de name of Davis, and I jined de Methodist Church and
was baptized Louisa Davis."

"Patr