"My full name is Letha Taylor Meeks, an' I'se bahn down in Panola County, Mississippi close to da Tallahatchie Ribbah. Mah fathuh an' mothuh wuz Andy and Susan Tayluh. We belonged to Ole Massa Billie Welborn an' our Misses wuz Ole Miss' Cloe.
"Dey had a fine big house, we call it de mansion. Dey had po'ches an' galleries bof. Der wuz trees all aroun', pine trees an' cedahs, an' oak trees. An' de yawd wuz full a flower bushes.—big snowballs an' lilacs, an' rows of flags, an honeysuckle vines, wid de mockin' birds an' doves a singin' roun'—an dey wuz jay birds too. An der wuz big vegitable gahdens an fruit trees. In de sto' room in de fall der wuz a'ways bags full er dried apples an' peaches, an' pumpkin an cahn, strings o' onions a hanging up, an heaps o turnips an' sweet 'taters, an bins fulla 'taters. An' they wuz lotsa cabbages an' collards in shelters in de gahden.
"Miss' Cloe dress mighty fine. She wear calico prints roun' home, but when she dress up she wear silks an' satins' with hoop skirts an a rare-back hat tied unduh her chin.
"When de white folks go tuh church at Fredonia us cullud folks go too but we sits up in de gallery. We didden hab no school but sometime de preacher an his wife 'ud come to stay wid de white folks an dey'd a'ways hab classes fo' us chillern. One time dey stayed dar nearly a yeah.
"Us chillern usta play hide an seek, honey on de bee ball, frog in de meadow, an' eberthing playable. Ah learned tuh spin an ah'd fill quills till ah had a whole basket full an' I'd wind de broches. Mah mothaw hepped with de weavin. Dey made all our clothes—'member one time dey made sech fine gray homespun for de men's pants. Ole Mothuh Ret was seamstress for de white folks—we called her Mothuh Ret—her name was Henrietta. De looms an' spinning wheels was in a big room down in de basement. Dere wuz a big fireplace in de room.
"Mothuh helped wuth de cookin, too. An ah'd help her on cleanin' days. Our folks shore had fine funicher an' things, an' de fines' silver an candles all ovah de house. We made de candles; put a string in de mold, den po' de grease in—Dere was fine candles for company.
"'For de sojers came all de silver an' fine things wuz hid. Dey had two basements—de big one unduh de whole house n'en a small one in back—unduh de small one wuz a cellah, an in dat cellar dey hide all de things—barrels o' taters, sacks o' dried fruits an vegetables, de meats an' lawd, en puvisions—an de silver till dey had it full up—den dey puts back de puncheon boahds—an' fills in wuth dirt jes like it warn't nuthin unduh there.
"Dey had two sons go off tuh war. Columbus came back when de wah wuz ovah but Wallace died wid measles. When he leave to go tuh war, he tell me he gwine tuh come back, wid Lincoln's head on a stick but de Lawd sent him back wid his head in a coffin. Dey had all us cullud folks come through de house to see young Massa lyin dar in de big front room in his coffin.
"Dey was mo dan a hundred slaves. Dey wus three cabins close to de mansion an our fambly lived dar. In de quawters dey wuz 'bout fifty cabins but dat wuz 'bout five mile fum us—over on de udduh place. Young Massa Willyum live in de big house ovah der. He didden go tuh wah an one time de sojers come an' look for him. Dey cain't fin' him so dey burn de house down 'cause dey think he's in dar—but dey nebber bothuh our place.
"Fust time ah ebber seed de Yankees, it wuz one Saturday—I went out tuh let de calves into de grove. When ah look down de road an ah see one man come roun de cornuh, den anudduh—den mo—till ah see it de whole ahmy comin—Den ah's skeered an ah runs back to de house ahollerin', 'De Yankees is comin'.' Dey comes on up de road an into de yawd an' one man grab me an' he say 'Is you de little gal what run to tell um to hide 'cause we's comin'?' Ah tells um I'se de little gal whut run but ah never tells nobody to hide. I is sho' skeered. He hol's me while de mens look aroun' but dey don' tarry long.