fixin. Don' know how long I be
here. No, honey, I ain' got no property only just myself. Ain' got not a
bit. Ain' got nothin, child. I can' do no work dese days but dat little
bit of washin dat Miss Betty have en dat ain' nothin to depend on. Just
try to do a little somethin to help myself along. Nothin worth to speak
bout though."

"Miss Betty say we bout one age. My daddy belonged to Miss Betty father
en dat how-come she know dere ain' much difference in us age. My mammy
was de house 'oman on old man Sam Stevenson plantation en dat whe' I was
born. When we was freed, I was a little small girl en my daddy moved us
up here in town right over dere on de Gibson place. Fore den, when he
have a mind to see us, he had to come cross de swamp dere to old man Sam
Stevenson place en dat de reason he move us. He say it take too much
pains to keep dat gwine back en forth. I remembers I finished growin
right up here in dis town over dere on de Gibson place. My mammy have
task to cook dere en my daddy been de butler man, but I was small den.
Can' recollect much bout it. Reckon I wouldn' hardly know de place whe'
I was born if I go back dere now. De old man Sam Stevenson had nice
house, but it burn down long time back. Dey tell me dat de first court
de peoples in Marion did ever know bout meet right dere on dat same
spot. Coase I don' know nothin bout it, but dat what I hear dem say."

"My Massa had a big plantation, honey, a big plantation wid heap of
colored people house. I remember dey call up dat way from de house on de
hill en all de servants house set up dere. So I hear my mammy say she
know bout some white folks dat didn' half feed dey colored people en
didn' half clothe dem in de winter neither, but our white folks always
treat us mighty good. Put shoes on all us feet in de winter en give us
abundance of ration all de time."

"Honey, I hear dem talkin bout dat war, but I can' tell you nothin bout
dat. I recollects I see dem Yankees when dey come through my Massa
plantation en took his best carriage horse. Had two of dem big black
carriage horses dat was match horses en dem Yankees carry one of dem
away wid dem. I hear dem say de white folks would bury dey silver en
money in pots en barrels to hide dem from de Yankees. Oh, dem fiddlin
Yankees ax nobody nothin. Just go in de house en take dat what dey
wanted. Go right in de house en plunder round en take de peoples best
things. Wouldn' take no common things. Wasn' right, but