n' de chillun screamed wid pain
when dat plaited thong bit in dey flesh. He beat Mistis too. Mis' Cary
wuzn' no bigger den a minute an' she skeered as a kildee of Marse Drew.
She didn' live long dey say kaze Marse Drew whipped her jus' befo' dey
fus' baby wuz bawn.

"Marse Drew done whip Luzanne kaze she burnt de biscuits, an' Mis' Cary
give her some salve to rub on de cut places on her back. When Marse
Drew foun' it out he got so mad dat he come back to de big house an'
tole Mis' Cary dat he gwine touch her up wid his whip kaze she give
Luzanne de salve, dat when he want his niggers doctored he gwine
doctor dem hese'f, so he got to use his lash a little bit to make her
remember.

"Mis' Cary got so skeered dat she run 'roun' an' 'roun' de house, but
Marse Drew run after her, an' every now an' den he th'ow out dat
plaited whip an' curl it 'roun' her shoulders. Every time it hit it cut
clean through her clothes. Mis' Cary got so skeered dat de baby come
dat night befo' 'twuz time. De baby wuz bawn dead an' Mis' Cary went on
to glory wid it. Dey say she was glad to go. Yes, suh, everything on
dat plantation, animal an' man was skeered of dat whip--dat whip dat
never lef' Marse Drew's wris'. It was made of home-tanned leather
plaited in a roun' cord big as a man's thum'. All day it swung from a
leather strop tied to his wris' an' at night it lay on a chair 'side de
bed whare he could reach it easy.

"It was jus' befo' de Yankees come over here to fight dat Marse Drew
bought Cleve an' Lissa Lawson. Dey was my gran'mammy an' gran'pappy. My
mammy den was a baby. Marse Drew bought dem for fo' hundred an' fifty
dollars. Dat was cheap kaze de niggers was young wid hard farm
trainin'. Ole Marse didn' buy mammy. He said a nigger brat wuzn' no
good, dey wouldn' sell an' dey might die befo' dey growed up, 'sides
dey was a strain on de mammy what breas' nussed it. Lissa cut up
powerful kaze he made her leave de baby behin', but Marse Drew jus'
laughed an' tole her dat he would give her a puppy; dat dey was plenty
of houn's on de plantation. Den he snapped de chains on dey wris' an'
led dem off. Lissa an' Cleve never seed dat baby no more. Aunt Beck
Lawson took an' raised her an' when she got grown she was my mammy.

"Yes, suh, Marse Drew bought dem niggers like he was buyin' a pair of
mules. Dey wuzn' no more den mules to him. It was early summer when he
brung dem to de plantation, but when wheat cuttin' time come Lissa an'
Cleve