4.	33




foi‘ niars en sort er flunkyed ‘round de house en de quartera en de barns, en too I was one of de young darkies what toted de t~.ioketa of grub to de field hands.

	“01e mars had a house on de place too dat was called de ‚ sick house‘, Dat was where dem was put dat was sick. It was a place where dey was doctored on en cared for till dey either git well er die. It was er sort er ho8pltal like. ‘Uncle Warner‘, he had charge of de sick house, en he could sure tell iften you sick er not, or iffen you jus‘ tryin‘ to play off from work.

	“My pappy, he was named Bill Clinton en my mauwy was na~d Mildred.

De reason how cone I not named Chiidresa for my mars is ‚ cause my pappy, he named Clinton when mars git him from de OUatons up in Tennessee son~where~ My mars, he was a good man jus‘ like I‘m tellin‘ you.. Mars had a young nigger woman named Malinda what got married to Charlie Voluntine dat belonged to Mr. Nat Voluntine dat had a place ‚ bout six miles from our place • In dem days iften one darky married somebody offen de place where dey lived en what belonged to sons other mars, dey didn‘t glt to see one annudder very often, not more‘n once a month anyway. So Malinda, she got atter mars to buy Charlie • Sure ‚ nough he done that very thing ‘ s dem darkie s could live togedder. Dat was good in our mers.

	“lihen any ~flarryifl~ was done ‘mongat de darkies on de place in dem days, dey would first hab to ask de mars iffen dey could marry, en iffen he say dat dey could git married den dey would git oie ‘Uncle Peyton‘ to marry ‘ein., t Course dere wasn‘t no sich thing as er license for niggers to marry en I don‘t riccolect what it was dat ‘Uncle 1~yton‘ would say when he done de marryin‘ • ~it I ‘members well dat ‘Uncle Peyton‘ ‚ he de one dat do all of de marryin‘ ‘inongat de darkies.