said he wasn't good to none of dem, he was mighty tight. Now ma mothers
white folks was sho good to her. When de war was all over me family
jined and worked fer people not berry far from ma mother's masters.
There was two brothers and a sister older than me. She thought her white
folks do better by her than anybody so she went back to em during her
pregnancy and thats how come I was born in der kitchen a white mid-wife
tended on er. I never will forget her. She was named Mrs. Coffee. There
wasn't many doctors in the whole country then. I was born in Haywood
county Tennessee in 1866. No'm I tell you when you first come I wasn't
born in slavery. My white mistress named me, the young mistress, she
named me Callie. Bob Walkers girl married Ben Geeter. I was right in Ben
Geeters kitchen when Miss Sallie named me. They seemed proud of the
little black babies.

Ma mother was a field hand and she washed and ironed. She was a good
spinner. She carded and wove and spun all. She knitted too. She knitted
mostly by nite. All the stockings and gloves had to be knit. She sewed
and I learned from her. We had to sew with our fingers.

When I was a little girl I just set around, brought in wood. Yes maam we
did play and I had some dolls, I was proud of my dolls, just rag dolls.
We use to drive the calves up. If they didn't come up they sent the dog
fur de cows. One of dem wore a bell. They had shepherd dogs, long
haired, gentle dogs, to fetch the cows when they didn't come.

Ma folks farmed in Tennessee till I married and den we farmed. Agents
jess kept comin after us to get us to come to this rich country. They
say: hogs jess walking round with knife and forks stickin in der backs
beggin somebody to eat em over in Arkansas.