"Darkies libed in li'l old log houses wid dirt chimbleys. Dat is, de rest of de darkies did. Dey kep' me up in de Big House, bein' mammyless lak. Mos'ly I slep' in de trun'le bed wid Miss Mary Jane till I got so bad dey had to mek a pallet on de flo' fer me. Dey was Mr. Bryant, Mr. A.D., Miss Martha, Miss Ann, Miss Helen, Miss Mary Jane, an' Mr. George, all b'longin' to Marse George an' Miss Margurite.
"Mammy was a fiel' han'. She could plow an' wuk in de fiel's jes' lak a man, an' my pappy, he done de same. Mammy, she hated house wuk—lak me. I jes natu'lly loves to be out runnin' roun' in de fiel's an' 'bout. I neber lak'd to do wuk roun' de house none t'all.
"We wo' lowell clo'es an' brass toed brogans. Miss Margurite made our dresses an' lak, an' afte' Aunt Harriet died, she done de cookin' too fer all de slabes an' de fambly. She fix up dinner fer de fiel' han's, an' I taken it to 'em. Marse George had old powder horn he blowed mornin's far to git de darkies up 'fo day good, an' dey come in 'bout sundown.
"We growed corn an' taters an' cotton plentiful, an' we had gran' orchids[FN: orchids] an' penders[FN: peanuts]. Den, sheeps an' hogs an' cows an' lak.
"Miss Margurite had a piany, a 'cordian, a flutena, an' a fiddle. She could play a fiddle good as a man. Law, I heerd many as three fiddles goin' in dat house many a time, an' I kin jes see her li'l old fair han's now, playin' jes as fast as lightnin' a chune[FN: tune] 'bout
[HW: Song]
'My father he cried, my mother she cried,
I wasn' cut out fer de army.
O, Capt'in Gink, my hoss me think,
But feed his hoss on co'n an' beans
An s'port de gals by any means!
'Cause I'm a Capt'in in de army.'
"All us chullun begged ter play dat an' we all sing an' dance—great goodness!
"One song I 'member mammy singin':
[HW: Song]