durin' crop time et dey breakfast en dey dinners in de field. I waited
on de table for mars en sort er flunkyed 'round da house en de quarters
en de barns, en too I was one of de young darkies what toted de buckets
of grub to de field hands.

"Ole mars had a house on de place too dat was called de 'sick house'.
Dat was where dem was put dat was sick. It was a place where dey was
doctored on en cared for till dey either git well er die. It was er sort
er hospital like. 'Uncle Warner', he had charge of de sick house, en he
could sure tell iffen you sick er not, or iffen you jus' tryin' to play
off from work.

"My pappy, he was named Bill Clinton en my mammy was named Mildred. De
reason how come I not named Childress for my mars is 'cause my pappy, he
named Clinton when mars git him from de Clintons up in Tennessee
somewhere. My mars, he was a good man jus' like I'm tellin' you. Mars
had a young nigger woman named Malinda what got married to Charlie
Voluntine dat belonged to Mr. Nat Voluntine dat had a place 'bout six
miles from our place. In dem days iffen one darky married somebody offen
de place where dey lived en what belonged to some other mars, dey didn't
git to see one annudder very often, not more'n once a month anyway. So
Malinda, she got atter mars to buy Charlie. Sure 'nough he done that
very thing so's dem darkies could live togedder. Dat was good in our
mars.

"When any marryin' was done 'mongst de darkies on de place in dem days,
dey would first hab to ask de mars iffen dey could marry, en iffen he
say dat dey could git married den dey would git ole 'Uncle Peyton' to
marry 'em. 'Course dere wasn't no sich thing as er license for niggers
to marry en I don't riccolect what it was dat 'Uncle Peyton' would say