' our meetin's, cause dey wanted to help us git started
off right. One old white lady--us called her Aunty Peggy--never did stop
comin' to pray and sing and shout wid us 'til she jus' went off to sleep
and woke up in de better world. Dat sho was one good 'oman.

"Some of dem slaves never wanted no 'ligion, and dey jus' laughed at us
cause us testified and shouted. One day at church a good old 'oman got
right 'hind a Nigger dat she had done made up her mind she was gwine to
see saved 'fore dat meetin' ended. She drug 'im up to de mourner's
bench. He 'lowed he never made no prep'ration to come in dis world and
dat he didn't mean to make none to leave it. She prayed and prayed, but
dat fool Nigger jus' laughed right out at her. Finally de 'oman got mad.
'Laugh if you will,' she told dat man, 'De Good Lawd is gwine to purge
out your sins for sho, and when you gits full of biles and sores you'll
be powerful glad to git somebody to pray for you. Dat ain't all; de same
Good Lawd is gwine to lick you a thousand lashes for evvy time you is
done made fun of dis very meetin'.' Missy, would you believe it, it
warn't no time 'fore dat man sickened and died right out wid a cancer in
his mouf. Does you 'member dat old sayin' 'De ways of de Lawd is slow
but sho?'

"Corpses was washed good soon atter de folkses died and deir clothes put
on 'em, den dey was laid on coolin' boards 'til deir coffins was made
up. Why Missy, didn't you know dey didn't have no sto'-bought coffins
dem days? Dey made 'em up right dere on de plantation. De corpse was
measured and de coffin made to fit it. Sometimes dey was lined wid black
calico, and sometimes dey painted 'em black on de outside. Dere warn't
no undytakers den, and dere warn't none of dem vaults to set coffins in
neither; dey jus' laid planks crost de top of a coffin 'fore de dirt was
piled in de grave.

"When dere was a death 'round our neighborhood, evvybody went and paid
deir 'spects to de fambly of de dead. Folkses set up all night wid de
corpse and sung and prayed. Dat settin' up was mostly to keep cats offen
de corpse. Cats sho is bad atter dead folks; I'se heared tell dat dey
most et up some corpses what nobody warn't watchin'. When de time come
to bury de dead, dey loaded de coffin on to a wagon, and most times de
fambly rode to de graveyard in a wagon too, but if it warn't no fur
piece off, most of de other folkses walked. Dey started singin' when dey
left de house and sung right on 't