maybe a little
more. It took three of 'em to make a thrip. There was all sorts of
paper money.

Every first Tuesday slaves were brought in from Virginia and sold on
de block. De auctioneer was Cap'n Dorsey. E. M. Cobb was de slave
bringer. They would stand de slaves up on de block and talk about what
a fine looking specimen of black manhood or womanhood dey was, tell
how healthy dey was, look in their mouth and examine their teeth just
like they was a horse, and talk about de kind of work they would be
fit for and could do. Young healthy boys and girls brought the best
prices. I guess they figured dat they would grow to be valuable. I
used to stand around and watch de sales take place but it never
entered my mind to be afraid for I knowed old Judge wasn't going to
sell me. I thought I was an important member of his family.

Old Judge bought every roguish nigger in the country. He'd take him
home and give him the key to everything on de place and say to help
hisself. Soon as he got all he wanted to eat he'd quit being a rogue.
Old Judge said that was what made niggers steal--they was hungry.

They used to scare us kids by telling us dat a runaway nigger would
git us. De timber was awful heavy in de river bottoms, and dey was one
nigger dat run off from his master and lived for years in these
bottoms. He was there all during de War and come out after de
surrender. Every man in dat country owned him at some time or other.
His owner sold him to a man who was sure he could catch him--he never
did, so he sold him to another slave owner and so on till nearly
everybody had him. He changed hands about six or seven times. They
would come in droves with blood hounds and hunt for him but dey
couldn't catch him for he knowed them woods too well. He'd feed de
dogs and make friends with 'em and they wouldn't bother him. He lived
on nuts, fruit, and wild game, and niggers would slip food to him.
He'd slip into town and get whiskey and trade it to de niggers for
food.

Judge Hillyer never 'lowanced his niggers and dey could always have
anything on de place to eat. We had so much freedom dat other slave
owners in our neighborhood didn't like for us to come among their
slaves for they said we was free niggers and would make their slaves
discontented.

After I went to live with Judge Hillyer's son, Dr. Hillyer, one of my
jobs was to tote the girls books to school every morning. All the
plantation owners had a colored boy dat did th