rid of dem dresses and wear shirts. I was 'bout 5 years old den, but dat
boys' shirt made me feel powerful mannish. Slave gals wore homespun
cotton dresses, and dey had plenty of dem dresses, so as dey could keep
nice and clean all de time. Dey knitted all de socks and stockin's for
winter. Dem gals wore shawls, and dere poke bonnets had ruffles 'round
'em. All de shoes was home-made too. Marster kept one man on de
plantation what didn't do nothin' but make shoes. Lordy, Missy! What
would gals say now if dey had to wear dem kind of clothes? Dey would
raise de roof plumb offen de house. But jus' let me tell you, a purty
young gal dressed in dem sort of clothes would look mighty sweet to me
right now.

"Us never could eat all de meat in Marster's big old smokehouse.
Sometimes he tuk hams to de store and traded 'em for sugar and coffee.
Plenty of 'bacco was raised on dat plantation for all de white folks and
de growed-up Niggers. Slave chillun warn't sposen to have none, so us
had to swipe what 'bacco us got. If our Mammies found out 'bout us
gittin' 'bacco, dey stropped us 'til de skin was most off our backs, but
sometimes us got away wid a little. If us seed any of de old folks was
watchin' us, us slipped de 'bacco from one to another of us whilst dey
s'arched us, and it went mighty bad on us if dey found it.

"Slaves went to de white folks' church and listened to de white
preachers. Dere warn't no colored preacher 'lowed to preach in dem
churches den. Dey preached to de white folks fust and den dey let de
colored folks come inside and hear some preachin' atter dey was through
wid de white folks. But on de big 'vival meetin' days dey 'lowed de
Niggers to come in and set in de gallery and listen at de same time dey
preached to de white folks. When de sermon was over dey had a big dinner
spread out on de grounds and dey had jus' evvything good t'eat lak