war, 'case Marse
James wus good ter dem.

"Dere must of been 'bout two hundret slaves, 'cordin' ter de number of
cabins. De slaves wurked hard in de fiel's but unless de wurk wus
pushin' dey had Sadday evenin' off ter go a-fishin' er do anything de
wanted ter do. Two or three times a year Marse James let dem have a
dance an' invite in all de neighborhood slaves. Dey had corn shuckin's
ever' fall an' de other slaves 'ud come ter dem.

"De candy pullin's wus a big affair wid de niggers. Dey'd come from all
over de neighborhood ter cook de lasses an' pull de candy. While de
candy cooled dey'd play drappin' de handkerchief an' a heap of other
games. De courtin' couples liked dese games 'case dey could set out or
play an' court all dey pleased. Dey often made up dere min's ter ax de
marster iffen dey could narry [TR: marry] too, at dese parties.

"De weddin's wus somethin' fine, believe me. De niggers dressed lak a
white folks weddin' an' de circuit parson married dem in de big house
parlour. De marster an' de missus wus dere, an' dey always gived
presents ter de bride too. Atter de ceremony wus over dar'd be a feas'
an' a dance. Most likely dar'd be a heap of noise. I've heard mammy
tell of seberal big weddin's.

"Mammy tol' me dat Marse James wus a very religious man, an' dat wus
why de preacher married de slaves, an' why he made all of de slaves go
ter church on Sunday an' say de blessin' at meal times.

"My pappy wus named Tom, an' he wurked in de fiel's fer Marse James.
Hit wus pappy dat haul up de waremelons in de wagin body atter I could
'member, an' dey said dat he haul dem up in slavery times too. Marse
James raise a plenty melons fer all of de slaves an' he raise plenty of
hogs ter eat de rines. De slaves uster have a watermelon slicin' 'bout
once a week an' sometimes dey'd invite de neighbors in.

"You wants ter know 'bout some ole slavery foods, well I'll tell you
what I knows. Did you ever hear of kush? Kush was cornbread, cooked in
de big griddle on de fireplace, mashed up with raw onions an' ham gravy
poured over hit. You mought think dat hit ain't good but hit am.

"Fried chicken wus seasoned, drapped in flour an' den simmered in a big
pan of ham gravy wid a lid on hit till hit wus tender, den de lid wus
tuck off an' de chicken wus fried a golden brown as quick as possible.

"Does you know de old southern way of makin' baked chicken dressin'?
Well, it wus made from soft corn bread wid bacon grease, on