have no undertakers then. He made the bottoms to chairs too. He could
put a roof on a house beautifully and better than any one I know. Nobody
could beat him putting shingles on a house.

"My mother was reared to work in the house. She was cook, housekeeper.
She was a weaver too. She worked the loom and the spinning wheel. She
gardened a little. But her work was mostly in the house as cook and
weaver. She never went out in the field as a hand. My father didn't
either.


Kind Masters

"My father seemed to have been more of a pet than a slave. He was a kind
of boss more than anything else. He had his way. Nobody was allowed to
mistreat him in any way. My mother was the same way. I don't think she
was ever mistreated in any way by the white folks--not that I ever saw.


Attitude of Slaves Toward Father

"There wasn't any unfriendliness of the other slaves toward my father.
My oldest sister can tell you with clearness, but I don't think he ever
had any trouble with the other slaves any more than he had with the
white folks. He was well liked, and then too he was able to take care of
himself. Then again, he had a good master. Hays was a good man. We made
a trip down there just a short while ago. We hadn't been there since the
Civil War. They made it so pleasant for us! We all set down to the same
table and ate together. Frank was down there. He was my young master.