times. No sich times now.
We killed robins, doves, patridges and other kinds o' birds. Dey aint
no such gangs o' birds now. We briled 'em over coals o' fire and fried
'em in fryin' pans, and sometimes we had a bird stew, wid all de birds
we wanted. De stew wus de bes' o' all. Dere aint no sich stews now. We
put flour in de stew. It was made into pastry first, and we called it
slick. When we cooked chicken wid it we called it chicken slick.

Dere were no overseers on our plantation. Marster wouldn't let you have
any money on Sunday. He would not trade on Sunday. He would not handle
money matters on Monday, but 'ceptin' dese two days if you went to him
he would keep you. He was who a good ole man. Dat's de truf.

The Ku Klux would certainly work on you. If dey caught you out of your
place dey would git wid you. I don't remember anything 'bout de
Freedman's Bureau but de Ku Klux Klan was something all niggers wus
scared of. Yes sir, dey would get wid you. Dats right. Ha! Ha! Dat's
right.

I never seen a slave whupped, no sir, I never see a slave sold. I saw
de speculators do'. I saw de patterollers, but dey didn't never whup my
daddy. Dey run him one time, but dey couldn't cotch him. Marster Crowder
allus give daddy a pass when he asked fer it.

I believe ole marster an' ole missus went right on ter Heaven, Yes, I
do believe dat. Dat's de truf. Yes, my Lawd, I would like to see' em
right now. Dere is only one o' de old crowd livin', an' dat is Miss
Cora. She stays right here in Raleigh.

We used to have candy pullin's, an' I et more ash cakes den anybody. We
cooked ash cakes out o' meal. We had dances in de winter time, and other
plays. I played marbles an' runnin' an' jumpin' when I wus a chile. Dey
give us sasafrac tea sweetened to eat wid bread. It shore wus mighty
good. My father never married enny more. He settled right down after de
war and farmed fer his old marster and all we chillun stayed. We didn't
want ter leave, an' I would be wid 'em right now if dey wus livin'.

I got married when I wus 21 years old, and moved ter myself in a little
house on de plantation. De house is standin' dere now, de house where I
lived den. I seed it de udder day when I went out dere to clean off my
wife's grave. I married Lula Hatcher. She died 'bout ten years ago. I
married her in Georgia. I stayed dere a long time when missus' brother,
Wiley Clemmons, went ter Georgia ter run turpentine an' tuck me wid him.
I stayed dere til