“Ole John was gentle. But they were scairt he would throw me off. Ole missis come out the gate and met him herself, ’cause she was ’fraid the others would ’cite him and make him throw me down. She gentled him and led him up to ole master. They was careful and gentle till they got me off that horse, and then ole master turned and lit into me and give me a brushin’.
“That’s the only whippin’ he ever give me. But that didn’t do me no good. Leastwise, it didn’t stop me from ridin’ horses. I rode ole John ever chance I could git. But I didn’t ride him backwards no more.”
Dresses
“We used to wear homespun dresses. I have spun a many a yard and wove it. Did you ever see a loom? I used to have a wheel, and my children tore it up some way or ’nother. I still have the cards. We done our own knittin’ and spun our own thread and knitted our socks and stockings.”
Houses
“The white folks lived in pretty good houses and we did too. They lived in big log houses. The white folks’ houses had piazzas between the rooms. That Haney didn’t build them houses. His daddy, Tim Haney, built ’em. The Haneys come in by Tim bein’ Thad’s father. Thad married Jackie George’s daughter—Louisa George. George was her daddy and Haney was her husband.
“There were four rooms besides the piazza. On one side, there was a big room built out of lumber. On the other side, there was a big room that a doctor lived in. There was a great big kitchen west of the piazza. The kitchen was about fifteen by fifteen. I know it was that large because we’d all eat at the same time. The old man, Tim, owned about thirty niggers. After he died they were all divided out among the boys. Every boy took his part of the land and his part of the niggers. But I wasn’t at his house then. I was livin’ with ole Jackie George. The white folks hadn’t moved together then.
“But I went to ole Tim Haney’s funeral. The old white woman fainted and they rubbed her with camphor and stuff and had her layin’ out there. I wasn’t old enough to cry over him and wouldn’t anyhow because I didn’t care nothin’ much about him. But I would have cried for my ole master though, because I really loved him.”
Soldiers
“I saw the soldiers when they come through our place. The first start of us noticin’ them was this. I was always up to the white folks’ house. Thad was goin’ back to the Rebel army. Ole master tole my dad to go git ’im a hat. He’d got ’im one and was ridin’ back with Thad’s hat on on top of his’n. Before he could git back, here come a man jus’ a ridin’.