to dinner the same way. We went
to work at sunrise, had two hours for dinner, and stopped work at
sundown.

The slaves had plenty to eat, and had their own gardens. I helped work
de gardens. My old daddy worked in de garden and made chairs for de
slaves, besides working in de fields.

My massa never whip de slaves very much, but he do sometime. Once I saw
my poor old daddy in chains. They chained his feet together, and his
hands too, and carry him off to whip him, 'cause he wouldn't tell who
stole a trunk that was missing. He couldn't tell though, 'cause he
didn't know, but they thought he did.

No ma'am missy, us slaves never had no church to go to. We was allowed
to go to de white folks' church though. There was a low partition in de
church wid a little gate in it; we set on one side of it, and de white
folks on de other. We listen to de preaching and sung de songs right
'long wid de white folks. Us never had no baptizings though. I learned a
heap of things in Sunday School.

Talking 'bout patrollers, I was awful scared of them. We had to have a
pass from our massa to go from one plantation to another, and if we went
without a pad the patrollers would ketch us and whip us. I never did
get ketched though. De only time de massa ever let us ride de horses was
when he want us to carry a message from one plantation to another.

Yes ma'am, 'bout these weddings you asked me 'bout; well, we had a big
time when any of de slaves got married. De massa and de missus let them
get married in de big house, and then we had a big dance at one of de
slave house. De white folks furnish all kinds of good things to eat, and
de colored peoples furnish de music for de dance. My mammy's brother
been one of de best fiddlers there was; he teach de other niggers how to
play.

The best times we had was 'long in summer time, 'tending them Camp
Meetings. We had good men to preach de service, and then all of us women
got together and spread a big picnic dinner, that we'd brought from home
in baskets, and we sure had a good time. Sometime some of them eat so
much they get sick. We ain't had so much sickness 'long them times
though, not like we do now. Us used to wear garlic and asafetida 'round
our neck to keep off diseases; never had many neither. We was vaccinated
to keep from ketching smallpox.

Well little missy, I done told you just 'bout all I 'members 'cept 'bout
de Yankees. When I used to hear de older niggers talking 'bout de
Yanke