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?\‚L?AD


~ ~ ;~ : ~
early on Sâtu‘d‘y evenin‘s, washed up an‘ done ibat dey wanted to. Some went huntin‘ or fiehin‘, some fiddled an‘ danced an‘ sung, while de others jus‘ lazed roun‘ de cabins. Marse had two of de slaves jus‘ to be fiddlers. Dey played for us an‘ kep‘ things perked up. How US could swing, an‘ etep.‘bout by dat old fiddle music always a.goin‘ on. Den old Marster come ‘roun‘ wid his kin‘ly smile an‘ jov‘al sp‘rits. When things went wrong he always knowed a way. He knowed how to comfort you in trouble.

	NNow, I WB.8 a gardner or yard boy. Dat was my part as

a slave. I he‘ped keep de‘yard pretty an‘ clean, de grass cut, an‘ de flowers ‘tended to an‘ cut. I taken dat work ‘cause I lak‘s pretty flowers. I lake to buil‘ frames for ‘ein to run on an‘ to train ‚ em to vin‘ ~ ‚ roun‘ • I could monkey wid ‚ em all de time.

	“When folks started a-comin‘ through talkin‘ ‘bout a~ freein‘ us an‘ a-‘givin‘ us lan‘ an‘ stuff, it didn‘ take wid Marster‘s slaves. Us didn‘ want notbin‘ to come ‘long to take us away from him. Dem a tellin‘ de Niggers dey‘d git Ian‘ an‘ cattle an‘ de lak o‘ dat was all fo~alis‘ness, nohow. Us was a~ livin‘ in plenty an‘ peace.

	“De war broke out spite o‘ how Marster‘s Niggers felt. Ihen I seen my white folks leave for war, I cried myself sick, an‘ all de res‘ did too. Den de Yankees come through a-takin‘ de country. Old Marster refugeed us to Virginny. I can‘t say if de. lan‘ was his‘n, but he had a place for us to stay at. I know us raised ‘nough food stuff for all dàslaves. Marster took care o‘
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