called us 'Stephens' Free Niggers.'

"Us minded Marse Lordnorth--us had to do dat--but he let us do pretty
much as us pleased. Us never had no sorry piece of a Marster. He was a
good man and he made a sho 'nough good Marster. I never seed no Nigger
git a beatin', and what's more I never heared of nothin' lak dat on our
place. Dere was a jail in Crawfordville, but none of us Niggers on Marse
Alec's place warn't never put in it.

"No Lord! None of us Niggers never knowed nothin' 'bout readin' and
writin'. Dere warn't no school for Niggers den, and I ain't never been
to school a day in my life. Niggers was more skeered of newspapers dan
dey is of snakes now, and us never knowed what a Bible was dem days.

"Niggers never had no churches of deir own den. Dey went to de white
folkses' churches and sot in de gallery. One Sunday when me and my
sister Frances went to church I found 50¢ in Confederate money and
showed it to her. She tuk it away from me. Dat's de onliest money I seed
durin' slavery time. Course you knows dey throwed Confederate money away
for trash atter de war was over. Den us young chaps used to play wid it.

"I never went to no baptizin's nor no funerals neither den. Funerals
warn't de style. When a Nigger died dem days, dey jus' put his body in a
box and buried it. I 'members very well when Aunt Sallie and Aunt
Catherine died, but I was little den, and I didn't take it in what dey
done bout buryin' 'em.

"None of Marse Alec's slaves never run away to de North, 'cause he was
so good to 'em dey never wanted to leave him. De onliest Nigger what
left Marse Alec's place was Uncle Dave, and he wouldn't have left 'cept