ght 'til twelve o'clock. But dey would feed 'em good. Dey
had dey supper sont out in de field to 'em 'bout nine o'clock by a
cripple boy who didn't do nothin' but tote water and do things lak dat.

"Dey wuz always glad when de time come for 'em to shell corn. Dey
enjoyed dat better dan dey did Christmas, or at least jist as much. Dey
always had to work durin' de day time and shell corn at night. De
overseer wuz real good to 'em and it looked lak he enjoyed corn
shellin's as much as dey did. Most times slaves from other plantations
would come over and help 'em. Dey used to put on dey good clothes 'cause
dey wanted to look dey best.

"It always tuk 'bout two weeks to shell corn 'cause de real old mens and
womens never did help. Dey always had somethin' good to eat at dese
times. Dey would pick out de best six cooks and dey wouldn't help shell
corn, dey jist looked atter de cookin'. Dey would have chicken,
sometimes fish or anythin' dey could get. Now and den dey had jist
chitt'lin's and sweet 'tatoes.

"De men have even stole hogs from other people and barbecued 'em, den
dey would cook hash and rice and serve barbecue. The overseer knowed all
'bout it but he et as much as anybody else and kept his mouth shut. He
wuz real good to all de slaves. He never run you and yelled at you lak
you warn't human. Everybody loved him, and would mind him better dan dey
would anybody else. He always let de slaves shell corn 'til 'bout ten
o'clock, den everybody would stop and have supper. Atter dat he would
let 'em dance and play games 'til twelve. Our marster didn't say nothin'
'bout what de slaves done so long as de overseer wuz wid 'em.

"When corn-shellin' time come, everything would be tuk out of a big
room, and one half of de room would be filled wid corn. Every pusson had
a bucket dat held de same amount. Every time a bucket wuz filled it wuz
tuk to de scorekeeper to be credited to his name. Whenever de huskin'
wuz over, de number of buckets you had filled wuz counted and de one who
filled de most always got a prize.

"Whenever anybody wuz late gittin' his cotton picked out, he always give
a moonlight cotton pickin' party. Dese parties wuz always give on
moonshiny nights and wuz liked by everybody. Atter while dey give
everybody somethin' good to eat, and at de end of de party, de pusson
who had picked de most cotton got a prize. Sometimes dey had pea
shellin's 'stead of corn huskin's, but de parties and frolics wuz all
pretty