Fannie Cotton. We lived in part of their house. Walter (white) and me
slept together. Mother cooked. Aunt Ruthie was a field hand. Aunt
Adeline must have been a field hand too. She hung herself on a black
jack tree on the other side of the pool. It was a pool for ducks and
stock.

"She hung herself to keep from getting a whooping. Mother raised
(reared) her boy. She told mother she would kill herself before she
would be whooped. I never heard what she was to be whooped for. She
thought she would be whooped. She took a rope and tied it to a limb and
to her neck and then jumped. Her toes barely touched the ground. They
buried her in the cemetery on the old Ed Cotton place. I never seen her
buried. Aunt Ruthie's grave was the first open grave I ever seen. Aunt
Mary was papa's sister. She was the oldest.

"I would say anything to the Yankees and hang and hide in Miss Fannie's
dress. She wore long big skirts. I hung about her. Grandma raised me on
a bottle so mother could nurse Walter (white). There was something wrong
wid Miss Fannie. We colored children et out of trays. They hewed them
out of small logs. Seven or eight et together. We had our little cups.
Grandma had a cup for my water. We et with spoons. It would hold a peck
of something to eat. I nursed my mother four weeks and then mama raised
Walter and grandma raised me. Walter et out of our tray many and many a
time. Mother had good teeth and she chewed for us both. Henry was
younger than Walter. They was the only two children Miss Fannie had.
Grandma washed out our tray soon as ever we quit eating. She'd put the
bread in, then pour the meat and vegetables over it. It was good.

"Did you ever hear of Walter Cotton, a cancer doctor? That was him. He
may be dead now. Me and him caused Aunt Sue to get a whooping. They had