white
hair that covered her head in no apparent design. Her faded print dress
was clean, and she wore badly scuffed brogan shoes several sizes too
large on her stockingless feet. In answer to an inquiry she replied:
"Dis is Lina's house, and I is Lina. Have a cheer out here on de porch,
please, mam, 'cause de gals is ironin' in de house and dem fire buckets
sho make it hot in dar."

Lina readily agreed to tell of her life in the ante-bellum period. "I
'members all 'bout slavery time," she laughed, "cause I was right dar.
Course I warn't grown-up, but I was big enough to holp Great-granny Rose
look atter all dem other slave chillun whilst deir mammies and daddies
was in de field at wuk.

"Anne and Peter Billups was my mammy and daddy, and my granddaddy and
grandmammy was Washin'ton and Tiller Billups; all of 'em belonged to Old
Marster Jack Billups. Marse Jack stayed in Athens, but his plantation,
whar I was borned and whar all my folks was borned and raised, was 'way
down in Oglethorpe County. I don't rightly know how old I is, 'cause all
Marster's old records is done got lost or 'stroyed, evvy blessed one of
'em, but I'se been here a mighty long time.

"Honey, dat old plantation was sho one big place. Back of de big house,
whar de overseer lived, was just rows and rows of slave cabins. Dey
stacked 'em up out of big logs jus' lak dey made hog-pen fences. All de
cracks 'twixt de logs was chinked up tight wid red mud and, let me tell
you, Honey, dey was keerful to lay on so much red mud over dem sticks
dat chimblies on our place never did ketch fire lak dey did on some of
de places whar dey done things sort of shiftless lak. Dem cabins had two
rooms and a shed room 'crost de back whar day done de cookin'. Two
famblies lived in evvy cabin.

"Dey allus had plenty to cook, 'cause dere was plenty of victuals raised
on Marse Jack's place. Chillun was all fed up at de big house whar Marse
Garner, de overseer, lived. Deir mammies was 'lowed to come in from de
fields in time to cook dinner for de menfolks, but dey didn't git deir
chillun back home 'til atter supper. Granny Rose had 'em all day, and
she had to see dat dey had de right sort of victuals to make chillun
grow fast and strong. Chillun et out of wooden trays, and, Honey, dey
sho was some sight; dey looked jus' lak pig troughs. Dey poured peas,
cabbage, or whatever de chillun was to eat right in dat trough on top of
a passel of cornbread. For supper chillun jus' had