em neegers always
fighting and running off. They'd run off and go across Moro Bay trying
to get back home. Marsta neva went after em. Said: 'Let 'em go. Aint no
count no ways.'

"I wooden take $100 for living in slavery days and I member when they
all parted out. Mr. Linktum come down. Yasum, Mr. Abe Linktum and his
partner Horace Greeley, comed down. Lieutenants and 'Sarges' all comed.
And some big yaller buck niggers all dressed up fine. I served Mr.
Linktum myself wid my own hands. Yasum I did. I fetched cold water from
the spring on a waiter and I stood straight an held it out just like dis
in front of me. Yasum and his partner, Mr. Horace Greeley too. And them
big yaller buck niggers went in the kitchen where my mammy was cookin
and tole her: 'Git out er here nigger. You don have to wait on dese
white fokes no more.' Yasum dey did. And they done said: 'You aint got
no more marster and no more missus. Yo don' have to work here no more.'
But my mother said: 'I'se puttin old marster's victuals on to cook. Wait
till I gets em on.' An they tole her again that she didn't have no more
marster and no more missus. I tole my mammy to kick him down the step
but she said she was afeard he would shoot her. All I hates about them
'Sarges' and Lieutenants is they never did shave. Them days all wore
whiskers. I 'comember' when I was a little chap standin on the block
with my mammy and being sold. But Ah always had a good marster.

"Ah members standin on nuther block to cook. Tables wuz high to keep
nothin from draggin things off. Grandma Aiken learnt me to cook an I
stood on a block and made out biscuits with a spoon. Ah neber put my
scratchers in the dough in my life. And I could cook good too. Wuz
knowed as the drummers cook. Drummers would come through fum New Orleens
and et at ole marsters and bragged on my cookin and tried to git me ter
go wif them to New Orleans and cook fuh they wives.

"Mah fust name was Pinkie Dixon. I was married on ole mistesses front
gallery and mah name wuz Cook then. Next time ah married mah name wuz
Howard.

"Ah can count but not to member hit. Ah don' know the number of my
chilluns but ah kin name em. There's Alec, Henry, Winnie, Ellen, Mary,
Gola, Seebucky, Crawford, Sarah and Ruby. Seebucky wuz named fer Sears
and Roebuck. Cause at that time weuns ordered things fum them and
ordered Seebuckys clo'es fore she cum fum thar. That why we named 'er
that.

"Ah deednt git no book larnin. Ah larnt