older than I was and when mother died Miss Jane said mother had
raised her children and she would raise hers. So she took us into her
house and we never lived at de quarters any more. I had two sisters,
Sally and Sylvia, and we had a room in de Big House and sister Sally
didn't do nothing else but look after me. I used to stand with my
thumb in my mouth and hold to Miss Jane's apron while she knitted.

When Judge Hillyer was elected he sold out his farm and gave his
slaves to his children. He owned about twelve or fourteen slaves at
this time. He gave me and my sister Sylvia to his son, Dr. Hillyer,
and my father to another one of his sons who was studying law. Father
stayed with him and took care of him until he graduated. Father
learned to be a good carpenter while he lived with George Hillyer.
George never married until after de War.

Dr. Hillyer lived on a big plantation but he practiced medicine all de
time. He didn't have much time to look after de farm but he had good
overseers and they sure didn't beat his slaves or mistreat 'em in any
way. Dr. Hillyer married a rich girl, Miss Mary Cooley, and her father
gave her fifteen slaves when she married and Judge Hillyer gave him
five so he had a purty good start from de first and he knowed how to
make money so he was a wealthy man when de Rebellion started.

My sister and I didn't know how to act when we was sent out there
among strangers. We had to live in de quarters just like de other
niggers, and we didn't especially like it. I guess I was a sort of bad
boy.

There was several more boys about my age and we didn't have any work
to do but just busy ourselves by getting into mischief. We'd ride de
calves, chase de pigs, kill de chickens, break up hens nests, and in
fact do most everything we hadn't ought to do. Finally they put us to
toting water to de field hands, minding de gaps, taking de cows to
pasture and as dat kept us purty busy we wasn't so bad after dat.

My happiest days was when I was with de old Judge and Miss Jane. I can
sit here and think of them old times and it seems like it was just
yesterday dat it all happened. He was a great hand to go to town every
day and lounge around wid his cronies. I used to go with him, and my
how they would argue. Sometimes they would get mad and shake their
canes in each other's faces. I guess they was talking politics.

Our old Master liked cats better than any man I ever saw, and he
always had five or six that fol