rs wuz so wore out on Sundays, dey
wuz glad to stay home and rest up, 'cause de overseer had 'em up way
'fore day and wuked 'em 'til long atter dark. On Saddays dey had to wash
deir clothes and git ready for de next week. Some slaves might a had
special things give to 'em on Christmas and New Years Day, but not on
Marster's plantation; dey rested up a day and dat wuz all. I heared tell
dey had Christmas fixin's and doin's on other plantations, but not on
Marse Frank's place. All corn shuckin's, cotton pickin's, log rollin's,
and de lak was when de boss made 'em do it, an' den dere sho warn't no
extra sompin t'eat.

"De onliest game I ever played wuz to take my doll made out of a stick
wid a rag on it and play under a tree. When I wuz big 'nough to wuk, all
I done wuz to help de cook in de kitchen and play wid old Mist'ess'
baby.

"Some of de Niggers runned away. Webster, Hagar, Atney, an' Jane runned
away a little while 'fore freedom. Old Marster didn't try to git 'em
back, 'cause 'bout dat time de war wuz over. Marster and Mist'ess sho
looked atter de Niggers when dey got sick for dey knowed dat if a Nigger
died dat much property wuz lost. Yessum, dey had a doctor sometime, but
de most dey done wuz give 'em hoarhound, yellow root and tansy. When a
baby wuz cuttin' teeth, dey biled ground ivy and give 'em.

"Louisa, de cook wuz married in de front yard. All I 'members 'bout it
wuz dat all de Niggers gathered in de yard, Louisa had on a white dress;
de white folkses sho fixed Louisa up, 'cause she wuz deir cook.

"Jus' lemme tell you 'bout my weddin' I buyed myself a dress and had it
laid out on de bed, den some triflin', no 'count Nigger wench tuk and
stole it 'fore I had a chance to git married in it. I had done buyed dat
dress for two pupposes; fust to git married in it, and second to be
buried in. I stayed on wid Old Miss 'til I got 'bout grown and den I
drifted to Athens. When I married my fust husband, Charlie Montgomery, I
wuz wukkin' for Mrs. W.R. Booth, and us married in her dinin' room.
Charlie died out and I married James Hoshier. Us had one baby. Hit wuz a
boy. James an' our boy is both daid now and I'se all by myself.

"What de slaves done when dey wuz told dat dey wuz free? I wuz too
little to know what dey meant by freedom, but Old Marster called de
overseer and told him to ring de bell for de Niggers to come to de big
house. He told 'em dey wuz free devils and dey could go whar dey pleased
and do wha