"Old Silas Randolph was a mean man to his slaves, especially when drunk.
He and the overseer would always be together, each of whom carried a
whip, and upon the least provocation would whip his slaves. My mistress
was not as mean as my master, but she was mean There was only one son in
the Randolph family. He went to a military school somewhere in Virginia.
I don't know the name. He was captured by the Union soldiers. I never
saw him until after the war, when he came home with one arm.

"The overseer lived on the farm. He was the brother of Mrs. Randolph. He
would whip men and women and children if he thought they were not
working fast.

"The plantation house was a large brick house over-looking the river
from a hill, a porch on three sides, two-stories and attic. In the attic
slept the house servants and coachman. We did not come in contact with
the white people very much. Our place was away from the village.

"There were 8,000 acres to the plantation, with more than 150 slaves on
it. I do not know the time slaves woke up, but everybody was at work at
sunrise and worked to sundown. The slaves were whipped for not working
fast or anything that suited the fancy of the master or overseer.

"I have seen slaves sold on the farm and I have seen slaves brought to
the farm. The slaves were brought up the river in boats and unloaded at
the landing, some crying and some seem to be happy.

"No one was taught to read or write. There was no church on the farm. No
one was allowed to read the Bible or anything else.

"I have heard it said that the Randolph's lost more slaves by running