Alabama	- 4 —
	.	69

	“On Sat‘day afternoon we was ‘lowed to play, but I can‘t ‘member none of de games. Us jus‘ played lak all li‘l niggersd.id den. At night time us jus‘ went to our cabins an‘ went to bed, ~ we ~ ‘lowed to do no singing. Mes‘ of de singin‘ was done in de fiel‘s.

	“Çornshuckln‘ time come when dey wanted to git de seed corn for plantin‘, an‘ us would commence de shuckin‘ when lt commence ramm ~.

	“You axed me ‘bout funerals an‘ weddin‘s. Us niggers nebber ~~~a‘ied an‘ dontt ‘member any big ~ of de.whlte folks. But dey buried folks den de same as dey does now, in a box. Dey would bury de slaves same as dey done de white folks, but us didn‘t eben ~Iave no babt1Z1fl~ On ~ of dat oberseer. He didn‘t laIt for us to gît no religion. Cose all slaves didn‘t have hard treatment lak us did, ‘caze dere oberseer afl~ Marster warri‘t as mean as ourn.

	“No‘in we didn~t know nothin‘ ‘bout no hoodoo stuff in dem days. ;ey only had homemade medicines, dat is unless dey got she‘ nuff powerful sick en‘ den dey would go to see a doctor. Us used bone~ set tea made from a weed. Lawd, it was bitterer dan quinine, afl‘ it were good for de chills afl‘ fever, an~ lt would purge you too. T~en us used life~everlastin‘ tea for fever, ~ Jerusalem bresh~. ~:~eed to git rid of worms.

	~ Miss, I knows dere i~s gostes, ‘caze when I was a little ~:~y my mammy come in from de fiel‘ arts laid across de bed an‘ I v:~) sittint in front of de fireplace a~t a big sorrip‘n lak a cow ~ no hald co:~e in de do‘ an‘ I commence to heBt On it widmy ~‘i~tg, Den my mammy say: ‘What matter wid you, nigger?‘ Den dat