'em. I had plenty o' devilment in me, but I quit all my devilment when I
was ma'ied. I use to fight--fight wid anything I could git my han's on.

"You had to have passes to go from one plantation to 'nother. Some de
niggers would slip off sometime and go widout a pass, or maybe marster
was busy and dey didn't want to bother him for a pass, so dey go widout
one. In eve'y dee-strick dey had 'bout twelve men dey call patterollers.
Dey ride up and down and aroun' looking for niggers widout passes. If
dey ever caught you off yo' plantation wid no pass, dey beat you all
over.

"Yes'm, I 'member a song 'bout--

'Run, nigger, run, de patteroller git you,
Slip over de fence slick as a eel,
White man ketch you by de heel,
Run, nigger run!'"

No amount of coaxing availed to make her sing the whole of the song, or
to tell any more of the words.

"When slaves run away, dey always put de blood-hounds on de tracks.
Marster always kep' one hound name' Rock. I can hear 'im now when dey
was on de track, callin', 'Hurrah, Rock, hurrah, Rock! Ketch 'im!'

"Dey always send Rock to fetch 'im down when dey foun' 'im. Dey had de
dogs trained to keep dey teef out you till dey tole 'em to bring you
down. Den de dogs 'ud go at yo' th'oat, and dey'd tear you to pieces,
too. After a slave was caught, he was brung home and put in chains.