"No, dere wa'nt no jails, but a guard house. When niggers did wrong, dey
was oft'n sent dere, but mos' allus dey was jes whupped when too lazy to
wuk, an' when dey would steal.

"Our clo'es was all wove and made on de plan'ation. Our ever'day ones,
we called 'hick'ry strips.' We had a' plen'y er good uns. We was fitted
out an' out each season, an' had two pairs of shoes, an' all de snuff
an' 'bacco we wanted every month.

"No, not any weddin's. It was kinder dis way. Dere was a good nigger
man an' a good nigger woman, an' the Marster would say, 'I knows you
both good niggers an' I wants you to be man an' wife dis year an' raise
little niggers; den I won't have to buy' em.'

"Marse Bob lived in a big white house wid six rooms. He had a cou't
house an' a block whar he hired out niggers, jes like mules an' cows.

"How many slaves did us have? Les' see. Dere was old Lady Sally an' her
six chullun an' old Jake, her husban', de ox driver, fer de boss. Den
dere was old Starlin', Rose, his wife an' fo' chullun. Some of dem was
mixed blood by de oberseer. I sees 'em right now. I knowed de oberseer
was nothin' but po' white trash, jes a tramp. Den dere was me an'
Katherin. Old Lady Sally cooked for de oberseers, seven miles 'way frum
de Big House.

"Ever'body was woke up at fo' o'clock by a bugle blowed mos'ly by a
nigger, an' was at dey work by sun-up. Den dey quits at sunset. I sho'
seed bad niggers whupped as many times as dere is leaves on dat groun'.
Not Marse Bob's niggers, but our neighbors. We was called 'free,' 'cause
Marse Bob treated us so good. The whuppin' was done by de oberseer or