mo' money den de res', ebben de men. When
dey put her on de block dey put all her chillun aroun her to show folks
how fas she can hab chillun. When she sold her family nebber see her
agin. She nebber know [HW: how] many chillun she hab. Some time she hab
colored children an' sometime white. Taint no use to say anything case
effen she do she jes git whipped. Why on de Moore plantation Aunt
Cheney, everbody call her Aunt Cheney, have two chillun by de
overseeah. De overseeah name war Hill. He war as mean as de devil. When
Aunt Cheney not do what he ask he tell granny Moore. Ole Granny call
Aunt Cheney to de kitchen and make her take her clothes off den she
beat her til she jest black an' blue. Many boys and girls marry dey own
brothers and sisters an' nebber know de difference lest they get to
talkin' bout dey parents and where dey uster lib.

"De niggers allus hab to get pass to go anywhere offen de plantation.
Dey git de pass from de massa or de missus. Den when de paddyrollers
come dey had to show de pass to dem, if you had no pass dey strip you
an' beat you.

"I remember one time dey was a dance at one ob de houses in de
quarters. All de niggers was a laughin an' a pattin' dey feet an' a
singin', but dey was a few dat didn't. De paddyrollers shove de do'
open and sta't grabbin' us. Uncle Joe's son he decide dey was one time
to die and he sta't to fight. He say he tired standin' so many
beatin's, he jes can't stan' no mo. De paddyrollers start beatin' him
an' he sta't fightin'. Oh, Lawdy it war tubble. Dey whip him wif a
cowhide for a long time den one of dem take a stick an' hit him over de
head, an' jes bus his head wide open. De pore boy fell on de flo' jes a
moanin' an' a groanin. De paddyrollers jes whip bout half dozen other
niggers an' sen' em home and leve us wif de dead boy.

"None o' the niggers have any learnin', warn't never 'lowed to as much
as pick up a piece o' paper. My daddy slip an' get a Webster book and
den he take it outen de fiel and he larn to read. De white folks 'fraid
to let de children learn anythin'. They fraid dey get too sma't and be
harder to manage. Dey nebber let em know anything about anythin'. Never
have any church. Effen you go you set in de back of de white folks
chu'ch. But de niggers slip off an' pray an' hold prayer-meetin' in de
woods den dey tu'n down a big wash pot and prop it up wif a stick to
drown out de soun' ob de singin'. I 'member some of de songs we uster
sing. One