much of it from gwine straight up de flue. Our beds in our cabin was
corded jus' lak dem up at de big house, but us slept on straw ticks and,
let me tell you, dey sho slept good atter a hard days's wuk.

"De bestest water dat ever was come from a spring right nigh our cabin
and us had long-handled gourds to drink it out of. Some of dem gourds
hung by de spring all de time and dere was allus one or two of 'em
hangin' by de side of our old cedar waterbucket. Sho', us had a cedar
bucket and it had brass hoops on it; dat was some job to keep dem hoops
scrubbed wid sand to make 'em bright and shiny, and dey had to be clean
and pretty all de time or mammy would git right in behind us wid a
switch. Marse Gerald raised all dem long-handled gourds dat us used
'stid of de tin dippers folks has now, but dem warn't de onliest kinds
of gourds he growed on his place. Dere was gourds mos' as big as
waterbuckets, and dey had short handles dat was bent whilst de gourds
was green, so us could hang 'em on a limb of a tree in de shade to keep
water cool for us when us was wukin' in de field durin' hot weather.

"I never done much field wuk 'til de war come on, 'cause Mistess was
larnin' me to be a housemaid. Marse Gerald and Miss Annie never had no
chillun 'cause she warn't no bearin' 'oman, but dey was both mighty fond
of little folks. On Sunday mornin's mammy used to fix us all up nice and
clean and take us up to de big house for Marse Gerald to play wid. Dey
was good christian folks and tuk de mostest pains to larn us chillun how
to live right. Marster used to 'low as how he had done paid $500 for
Ca'line but he sho wouldn't sell her for no price.

"Evvything us needed was raised on dat plantation 'cept cotton. Nary a
stalk of cotton was growed dar, but jus' de same our clothes was made
out of cloth dat Mistess and my mammy wove out of thread us chillun