e
tracks to keep ahead of 'em.

"Us didn't know much 'bout folkses bein' kilt 'round whar us stayed.
Sometimes dere was talk 'bout devilment a long ways off. De mostest
troubles us knowed 'bout was on de Jim Smith plantation. Dat sho was a
big old place wid a heap of slaves on it. Dey says dat fightin' didn't
'mount to nothin'. Marse Jim Smith got to be mighty rich and he lived to
be an old man. He died out widout never gittin' married. Folkses said a
nigger boy dat was his son was willed heaps of dat propity, but folkses
beat him out of it and, all of a sudden, he drapped out of sight. Some
says he was kilt, but I don't know nothin' 'bout dat.

"Now Missy, how come you wants to know 'bout dem frolics us had dem
days? Most of 'em ended up scandlous, plumb scandlous. At harvest season
dere was cornshuckin's, wheat-thrashin's, syrup-cookin's, and
logrollin's. All dem frolics come in deir own good time. Cornshuckin's
was de most fun of 'em all. Evvybody come from miles around to dem
frolics. Soon atter de wuk got started, marster got out his little brown
jug, and when it started gwine de rounds de wuk would speed up wid sich
singin' as you never heared, and dem Niggers was wuking in time wid de
music. Evvy red ear of corn meant an extra swig of liquor for de Nigger
what found it. When de wuk was done and dey was ready to go to de tables
out in de yard to eat dem big barbecue suppers, dey grabbed up deir
marster and tuk him to de big house on deir shoulders. When de supper
was et, de liquor was passed some more and dancin' started, and
sometimes it lasted all night. Folkses sometimes had frolics what dey
called fairs; dey lasted two or three days. Wid so much dancin', eatin',
and liquor drinkin' gwine on for dat long, lots of fightin' took place.
It was awful. Dey cut on one another wid razors and knives jus' lak dey
was cuttin' on wood. I 'spects I was bad as de rest of 'em 'bout dem
razor fights, but not whar my good old mist'ess could larn 'bout it. I
never did no fightin' 'round de meetin'-house. It was plumb sinful de
way some of dem Niggers would git in ruckuses right in meetin' and break
up de services.

"Brudder Bradberry used to come to our house to hold prayermeetin's, but
Lawsey, Missy, dat man could eat more dan any Nigger I ever seed from
dat day to dis. When us knowed he was a-comin' Mistess let us cook up
heaps of stuff, enough to fill dat long old table plumb full, but dat
table was allus empty when he le