e makeshifts, but us didn't know no
diffunce 'cause us never had seed no better ones. They sawed pine posts
the right height and bored holes through them and through the slabs they
had cut for the railin's, or side pieces. They jined the bed together
with cords that they wove back and forth and twisted tight with a stout
stick. Them cords served two purposes; they held the bed together and
was our springs too, but if us warn't mighty keerful to keep 'em twisted
tight our beds would fall down. Lak them old beds, the mattresses us had
them days warn't much compared with what we sleeps on now. Them ticks
was made of coarse home-wove cloth, called 'osnaburg,' and they was
filled with straw. My! How that straw did squeak and cry out when us
moved, but the Blessed Lord changed all that when he gave us freedom and
let schools be sot up for us. With freedom Negroes soon got more
knowledge of how a home ought to be.

"Grandma Ca'line is the onliest one of my grandparents I can 'member.
When she got too old for field wuk, they tuk and used her as a cook up
at the big house, and she done the weavin', spinnin', and milkin' too,
and kept a eye on the slave chillun whilst the mammies was off in the
field.

"No, mam, slaves warn't paid no money them days, and it's mightly little
I'se got holt of since. Anyhow I warn't big enough then to do no wuk,
even if folks had been payin' wages to slaves. The most I ever done
'fore the war ended was to fetch water to the kitchen and pick up chips
to kindle up the fire when it got low. Matches was so scarce then that
fires warn't 'lowed to go slap out, but they did burn mighty low
sometimes in summer and us had to use fat lightwood splinters to git 'em
started up again.

"Us et home produce them days. Folks didn't know nothin' 'bout livin'
out of cans and paper sacks lak they does now. Thar was allus plenty of
hog meat, syrup, milk and butter, cornbread, and sometimes us chillun
got a biscuit. Thar was one big old garden on the place that had
evvything in the way of vegetables growin' in it, besides the patches of
beans, peas, 'taters, and the lak that was scattered 'round in the
fields. The orchards was full of good fruit sich as apples, peaches,
pears, and plums, and don't forgit them blackberries, currants, and figs
what growed 'round the aidge of the back yard, in fence corners, and off
places. Sho, us had 'possums, plenty of 'em, 'cause they let us use the
dogs to trail 'em down with. 'Pos