me to be neat and clean in evvything I done, and I would walk 'long de
road a-knittin' and nebber miss a stitch. I just bet none of dese young
folkses now days could do dat. Dey sho' don't do no wuk, just run 'round
all de time, day and night. I don't know what'll 'come of 'em, lessen
dey change deir ways.

"Whilst I wuz still nussin' Missis' little gal and baby boy dey went
down to Buffalo Crick to stay, and dey give me a pretty gray mare. She
wuz all mine and her name wuz Lucy.

"I tuk de chillun to ride evvy day and down at de crick, I pulled off
dey clo'es and baptized 'em, in de water. I would wade out in de crick
wid 'em, and say: 'I baptizes you in de name of de Fadder and de Son and
de Holy Ghost.' Den I would souse 'em under de water. I didn't know
nobody wuz seein' me, but one mornin' Missis axed me 'bout it and I
thought she mought be mad but she just laughed and said dat hit mought
be good for 'em, 'cause she 'spect dey needed baptizin', but to be
keerful, for just on t'other side of de rock wuz a hole dat didn't have
no bottom.

"Dere wuz just two things on de place dat I wuz 'fraid of, and one wuz
de big registered bull dat Marster had paid so much money for. He sho'
wuz bad, and when he got out, us all stayed in de house 'til dey cotched
'im. Marster had a big black stallion dat cost lots of money. He wuz bad
too, but Marster kept 'im shut up most of de time. De wust I ever wuz
skeert wuz de time I wuz takin' de baby to ride horseback. When one of
de Nigger boys on de place started off on Marster's horse, my mare
started runnin' and I couldn't stop 'er. She runned plumb away wid me,
and when de boy cotched us, I wuz holdin' de baby wid one hand and de
saddle wid t'other.

"I sho' did have a big time once when us went to Atlanta. De place whar
us stayed wuz 'bout four miles out, whar Kirkwood is now, and it
belonged to Mrs. Robert A. Austin. She wuz a widder 'oman. She had a gal
name' Mary and us chillun used to play together. It wuz a pretty place
wid great big yards, and de mostes' flowers. Us used to go into Atlanta
on de six 'clock 'commodation, and come home on de two 'clock
'commodation, but evvythings changed now.

"At de Callaway place us colored folks had big suppers and all day
dinners, wid plenty to eat--chicken, turkey, and 'possum, and all de
hogs us wanted. But dere warnt no dancin' or fightin', 'cause old Missis
sho' didn't 'low dat.

"I married when I wuz sebenteen. I didn't have no