from dey husband en another time dey would take de husband from dey
wife en sell dem off yonder somewhe' en never didn' see dem no more
neither. Yes, I sho know dat cause I hear my father speak bout dat
plenty times. Yes, mam, dey sold my uncle's wife away en he never didn'
see her no more till after freedom come en he done been married again
den. Speculators carried my mother's first husband off en den she
married again. Cose I was born of de second husband en dat ain' been
yesterday."

"I hear talk bout dat didn' none of de colored people have nothin in
slavery time en heap of dem wasn' allowed to pick up a paper or nothin
no time. Often hear dem talk dat some of de niggers was freed long time
fore dey know bout it. Hear dem say some white folks hold dem long time
till dey could make out to get somethin for demselves. Don' think so.
Don' think so. No, mam, don' think so. Dey might been intended for dem
to get somethin when dey was freed, but I never learn of nobody gettin
nothin. Cose I often heard my father say some white folks thought more
bout dey colored people den others en hope dem out more. Hear tell dat
didn' none of dem have no clothes much den. No, mam, colored people won'
bless wid no clothes much in dem days. I remember dey had to wear dese
old big shoes, call brogans, wid brass all cross de toes here. Nobody
don' wear nothin like dat now. Dey was coarse shoes. Some say plenty of
de people had to go barefooted all de time in dem days. Reckon dat would
kill de people in dis day en time. Couldn' stand nothin like dat. Yes,
mam, see Tom Bostick walk right cross dat field many a day just as
barefooted as he come in de world en all de ground would be covered over
wid ice en snow. De people get after him en he say, 'Well, I had worser
den dis to go through wid in slavery time.' Say he come up dat way en he
never know no difference den dat he had thick shoe on his foot."

"Well, you see, some of de white folks would spare dey colored people so
much ration when dey knock off work on a Saturday to last dem till de
next Saturday come. Hear tell dey give dem a peck of meal en a little
molasses en a hog jowl en dat had to last dem all de week. Dem what use
a little tobacco, give dem a plug of dat en give dem a little flour for
Sunday. Didn' nobody have to work on Sunday en den dey would allow dem
two days off for Christmas too. I tellin you bout how my white folks
would do, but dem what had a rough Massa, dey just got