nt
up de tree one night en possum talk to him. He used to go huntin on a
Sunday night en dat how-come de possum talk to him."

"You didn' see de peoples wear much different clothes like dey wear dese
days, but what dey have was very decent. Just have bout one piece,
Captain, make out of some kind of homemade cloth wid no extra for
Sunday. Wear same kind of pants on Sunday dat wear every day en same
kind of shoes call brogans wid brass toes. I ain' see no fittin cloth
since dey used to raise sheep en have dey own wool en have loom en spin.
Look like God smile on us in dat day en time."

"I work round de white folks house fore freedom come, but I go back to
de quarter en sleep when night come. Dem dat live in de quarter have
lumber bed wid mattress made out of sacks en hay. Den when dey ring dem
bells en blow dem horns in de mornin, dat mean you better get up en go
bout your task for dat day."

"Oh, dey work us hard en late in dem times. Work from de sunrise in de
mornin to de sundown in de evenin. Dey have a driver dat tote whip en
see dat you do what you know to do. Didn' have no jail in dat day, but
if you ain' do your task en dey catch you, dey punish you by de whip.
Some of de time, dey put em in de screw box what dey press bales of
cotton wid. Put em in dere en run press right down whe' can' crush en
dey oouldn' move till dey take em out in de mornin en whip em en put em
to work. See plenty whipped on de place. Dey make one fellow go over a
barrel, en de other peoples hold he head down en de driver whip him.
Give em 50 en 75 licks fore dey stop sometimes. Use chains to hold em
when dey break ropes so dey couldn' get away."

"I see em sell slaves heap of times. See em gwine along in droves en
sayin dey was gwine to market. Sell em if dey ain' stay on de place en
work. Bid em off just like horse en mules. What am I bid for dis one?
Come en open you mouth en examine you teeth en dey wouldn' miss you a
year."

"Oh, Gracious God, didn' get married till after de shake was en I reckon
I bout 30 years old den. Captain, we thought it was de Jedgment
(Judgment). It come like it was thunderin in de earth, rollin in de
earth en de earth was gwine en comin. We pray en all de cows en chickens
was yelling. Last dat night bout 30 minutes dat you could look at
anything en it look like top spinning. We was all good bout two years
after dat."

"My white folks didn' teach none of dey slaves to read en write en didn'
let em go b