outen pine poles was fastened to the wall to hold up the mattresses. Our
mattresses was made outen cotton bagging stuffed with wheat straw. Our
kivers was quilts made outen old clothes. Slave 'omens too old to work
in the fields made the quilts.

"Maw, she went up to the big house onc't a week to git the 'lowance or
vittles. They 'lowanced us a week's rations at a time. Hit were
generally hog meat, corn meal and sometimes a little flour. Maw, she
done our cookin' on the coals in the fireplace at our cabin. We had
plenty of 'possums and rabbits and fishes and sometimes we had wild
tukkeys and partidges. Slaves warn't spozen to go huntin' at night and
everybody know you can't ketch no 'possums 'ceppin' at night! Jus' the
same, we had plenty 'possums and nobody ax how we cotch 'em!" James
laughed and nodded. "Now, 'bout them rabbits! Slaves warn't 'lowed to
have no guns and no dogs of they own. All the dogs on our plantation
belonged to my employer--I means, to my marster, and he 'lowed us to use
his dogs to run down the rabbits. Nigger mens and boys 'ud go in crowds,
sometimes as many as twelve at one time, and a rabbit ain't got no
chance 'ginst a lot of niggers and dogs when they light out for to run
'im down!

"What wild critters we wanted to eat and couldn't run down, we was right
smart 'bout ketchin' in traps. We cotch lots of wild tukkeys and
partidges in traps and nets. Long Crick runned through our plantation
and the river warn't no fur piece off. We sho' did ketch the fishes,
mostly cats, and perch and heaps and heaps of suckers. We cotch our
fishes mos'n generally with hook and line, but the carpenters on our
plantation knowed how to make basket traps that sho' nuff did lay in
the fishes! God only knows how long it's been since this old nigger
pulled a big shad out of the river. Ain't no shads been cotch in the