lot before. So they take him to the whippin'
post, and then they strip his clothes off and then the man stan' off and
cut him with the whip. His back was cut all to pieces. The cuts about
half inch apart. Then after they whip him they tie him down and put salt
on him. Then after he lie in the sun awhile they whip him agin. But when
they finish with him he was dead.

Plenty of the colored women have children by the white men. She know
better than to not do what he say. Didn't have much of that until the
men from South Carolina come up here and settle and bring slaves. Then
they take them very same children what have they own blood and make
slaves out of them. If the Missus find out she raise revolution. But she
hardly find out. The white men not going to tell and the nigger women
were always afraid to. So they jes go on hopin' that thing won't be that
way always.

I remember how the driver, he was the man who did most of the whippin',
use to whip some of the niggers. He would tie their hands together and
then put their hands down over their knees, then take a stick and stick
it 'tween they hands and knees. Then when he take hold of them and beat
'em first on one side then on the other.

Us niggers never have chance to go to Sunday School and church. The
white folks feared for niggers to get any religion and education, but I
reckon somethin' inside jes told us about God and that there was a
better place hereafter. We would sneak off and have prayer meetin'.
Sometimes the paddyrollers catch us and beat us good but that didn't
keep us from tryin'. I remember one old song we use to sing when we meet
down in the woods back of the barn. My mother she sing an' pray to the
Lord to deliver us out o' slavery. She always say she thankful she was
never sold from her children, and that our Massa not so mean as some of
the others. But the old song it went something like this:

"Oh, mother lets go down, lets go down, lets go down, lets go down.
Oh, mother lets go down, down in the valley to pray.
As I went down in the valley to pray
Studyin' about that good ole way
Who shall wear that starry crown.
Good Lord show me the way."

Then the other part was just like that except it said 'father' instead
of 'mother', and then 'sister' and then 'brother'.

Then they sing sometime:

"We camp a while in the wilderness, in the wilderness, in the
wilderness.
We camp a while in the wildernes