a-made no dif'ence, if he had.

"He snatched me in de air an' toted me to a stump an' laid me 'crost it.
I didn' have but one thickness 'twixt me an' daylight. Gent'men! He laid
it on me wid dat stick. I thought I'd die. All de time his mean little
gal was a-gloatin' in my misery. I yelled an' prayed to de Lawd 'til he
quit.

"Den he say to me,

'From now on you works in de fiel'. I aint gwine a-have no vicious boy
lak you 'roun de lady folks.' I was too little for fiel' work, but de
nex' mornin' I went to choppin' cotton. After dat I made a reg'lar fiel'
han'. When I growed up I was a ploughman. I could sho' lay off a pretty
cotton row, too.

"Us slaves was fed good plain grub. 'Fore us went to de fiel' us had a
big breakfas' o' hot bread, 'lasses, fried salt meat dipped in corn
meal, an' fried taters[FN: sweet potatoes]. Sometimes us had fish an'
rabbit meat. When us was in de fiel', two women 'ud come at dinner-time
wid baskets filled wid hot pone, baked taters, corn roasted in de
shucks, onion, fried squash, an' b'iled pork. Sometimes dey brought
buckets o' cold buttermilk. It sho' was good to a hongry man. At
supper-time us had hoecake an' cold vi'tals. Sometimes dey was sweetmilk
an' collards.

"Mos' ever' slave had his own little garden patch an' was 'lowed to cook
out of it.

"Mos' ever plantation kep' a man busy huntin' an' fishin' all de time.