and a iron wedge drove into the wood with a maul, and this would split
the wood.

"Ah help spin the cotton into thread fur our clothes. The thread wuz
made into big broaches--four broaches made four cuts, or one hank. After
the thread wuz made we used a loom to weave the cloth. We had no sewin'
machine--had to sew by hand. My mistress had a big silver bird and she
would always catch the cloth in the bird's bill and this would hold it
fur her to sew.

"Ah didn't git to handle money when I wuz young. Ah worked frum sunup to
sundown. We never had overseers lak some of the slaves. We wuz give so
much work to do in a day and if the white folks went off on a vacation
they would give us so much work to do while they wuz gone and we better
have all of that done too when they'd come home. Some of the white folks
wuz very kind to their slaves. Some did not believe in slavery and some
freed them befo' the war and even give 'em land and homes. Some would
give the niggers meal, lard and lak that. They made me hoe when Ah wuz a
chile and Ah'd keep rat up with the others, 'cause they'd tell me that
if Ah got behind a run-a-way nigger would git me and split open my head
and git the milk out'n it. Of course Ah didn't know then that wuzn't
true--Ah believed everything they tole me and that made me work the
harder.

"There wuz a white man, Mister Jim, that wuz very mean to the slaves.
He'd go 'round and beat 'em. He'd even go to the little homes, tear down
the chimneys and do all sorts of cruel things. The chimneys wuz made of
mud 'n straw 'n sticks; they wuz powerful strong too. Mister Jim wuz
jest a mean man, and when he died we all said God got tired of Mister
Jim being so mean and kilt him. When they laid him out on the coolin'
board, everybody wuz settin' 'round, moanin' over his death, and all of
a sudden Mister Jim rolled off'n the coolin' board, and sich a runnin'
and gittin' out'n that room you never saw. We said Mister Jim wuz tryin'
to run the niggers and we wuz 'fraid to go about at night. Ah believed
it then; now that they's 'mbalmin' Ah know that must have been gas and
he wuz purgin', fur they didn't know nothin' 'bout 'mbalmin' then. They
didn't keep dead folks out'n the ground long in them days.

"Doctors wuzn't so plentiful then. They'd go 'round in buggies and on
hosses. Them that rode on a hoss had saddle pockets jest filled with
little bottles and lots of them. He'd try one medicine and if it didn't
do not [TR: no?