sisters. Her name was Lucinda. I don't know how
many she had nor nothin'.

"Johnsons was the name of the masters my mother and father had. They
go by the name of Johnson yet. Before that I don't know who they had
for masters. The pastor's name was Lindsay Johnson and the old missis
was Mary Johnson. People long time ago used to send boys big enough to
ride to the mill. My brother used to go. It ran by water-power. They
had a big mill pond. They dammed that up. When they'd get ready to run
the mill, they'd open that dam and it would turn the wheel. My oldest
brother went to the mill and played with old master's son and me.

"They used to throw balls over the house and see which could catch
them first. There would be three or four on a side of the house and
they would throw the ball over the house to see which side would be
quickest and aptest.

"My mother and father both belonged to the same man, Lindsay Johnson.
I was a small boy. I can't tell you how he was to his folks. Seems
like though he was pretty good to us. Seemed like he was a pretty good
master. He didn't overwork his niggers. He didn't beat and 'buse them.
He gave them plenty to eat and drink. You see the better a Negro
looked and the finer he was the more money he would bring if they
wanted to sell them. I have heard my mother and father talk about it
plenty of times.

"My father worked in the field during slavery. My mother didn't do
much of no kind of work much. She was a woman that had lots of
children to take care of. She had four children during slavery and
twelve altogether. Her children were all small when freedom was
declared. My oldest brother, I don't remember much about slavery
except playing 'round with him and with the other little boys, the
white boys and the nigger boys. They were very nice to me.

"I was a great big boy when I heard them talking about the pateroles
catching them or whipping them. At that time when they would go off
they would have to have a pass. When they went off if they didn't have
a pass they would whip and report them to their owners. And they would
be likely to get another brushing from the owners. The pateroles never
bothered the children any. The children couldn't go anywhere without
the consent of the mother and father. And there wasn't any danger of
them running off. If they caught a little child between plantations,
they would probably just run them home. It was all right for a child
to go in the different q