"What sort of clo'es did I wear in dem days? Why Lady, I had good
clo'es. Atter my little mistesses wore dey clo'es a little, Ole Miss
give 'em to me. Ma allus made me wear clean, fresh clo'es, and go
dressed up good all de time so I'd be fittin' to carry de key basket for
Ole Miss. Some of de udder slave chilluns had homemade shoes, but I
allus had good sto'-bought shoes what my young mistess done outgrowed,
or what some of de comp'ny gimme. Comp'ny what had chilluns 'bout my
size, gimme heaps of clo'es and shoes, and some times dey didn't look
like dey'd been wore none hardly.

"Ole Marster sho' had lots of Negroes 'round his place. Deir wuz Aunt
Charlotte, and Aunt Julie, and de two cooks, and Adeline, and Mary, and
Edie, and Jimmy. De mens wuz Charlie, and Floyd, and William, and
Daniel. I disremembers de res' of 'em.

"Ole Marster never whipped none of his Negroes, not dat I ever heared
of. He tole 'em what he wanted done, and give 'em plenny of time to do
it. Dey wuz allus skeert effen dey didn't be smart and do right, dey
might git sold to some marster dat would beat 'em, and be mean to 'em.
Us knowed dey won't many marsters as good to dey slaves as Ole Marster
wuz to us. Us would of most kilt ourself wukkin', fo' us would of give
him a reason to wanna git rid of us. No Ma'am, Ole Marster ain't never
sold no slave, not whilst I kin 'member. Us wuz allus skeert dat effen a
Negro git lazy and triflin' he might git sold.

"No Negro never runned away f'um our place. Us didn't have nuffin' to
run f'um, and nowhar to run to. Us heared of patterollers but us won't
'fraid none kaze us knowed won't no patteroller gwine tech none of Jedge
Lumpkin's Negroes.