white folkses at de big house give us plenty of goodies for Chris'mas
week and us had fidlin' and dancin'. Us would ring up de gals and run
all 'round 'em playin' dem ring-'round-de-rosie games. Us had more good
times at corn shuckin's, and Old Marster allus had a little toddy to
give us den to make us wuk faster.

"Oh! No Ma'am, I don't 'member nothin' 'bout what us played when I wuz a
little chap, and if I ever knowed anything 'bout Rawhead and Bloody
Bones and sich lak I done plumb forgot it now. But I do know Old Marster
and Old Mist'ess sho' wuz powerful good when dey Niggers got sick. Dey
put a messenger boy on a mule and sont 'im for Dr. Hudson quick, 'cause
to lose a Nigger wuz losin' a good piece of property. Some Niggers wore
some sort of beads 'round deir necks to keep sickness away and dat's all
I calls to mind 'bout dat charm business.

"I wuz jes' a plow boy so I didn't take in 'bout de surrender. De only
thing I ricollects 'bout it wuz when Old Marster told my pa and ma us
wuz free and didn't belong to him no more. He said he couldn't brush de
grown folks no more, but if dey wanted to stay wid 'im dey could, and
dat he would brush dey chilluns if dey didn't do right. Ma told 'im he
warn't gwine brush none of her chilluns no more.

"Us lived wid Old Marster 'bout a year, den pa moved up on de big road.
Buy land? No Ma'am, Niggers didn't have no money to buy no land wid 'til
dey made it. I didn't take in 'bout Mr. Lincoln, only dat thoo' him us
wuz sot free. I heard 'em say Mr. Davis wuz de President of de South,
and 'bout Booker Washin'ton some of de Niggers tuk him in, but I didn't
bodder 'bout him.

"Lawdy! Mist'ess, I didn't marry de fust time 'til long atter de War,