Oklahoma ~7riterst Project	i2— 82



care of babies. That Big House wasntt very fine, but it was mighty big and. cool, and. made out of logs with a big hail, but it didntt have no long gallery like most the houses around there had.

	They was lots of big trees in the yard, and. most the ground was new ground ‘round that place, ~cause the old. Doctor jest started to done farm~ ing on it when I was took away, but he had some more places not so far away, over towards the river that was old. ground and. made big crops for him. I went to one of the places one time, but they wasnt t nobody on ~ ein but niggers and a white overseer. I dOfltt know how many niggers old Doctor I~d, but Master John Deeson say he had. about a hundred.

	At old. Doctor‘s house I didn‘t have to work very hard. Jest had to help the cooks and. peel the potatoes and pick the guineas and chickens and. do things like that. Sometime I had to watch the baby. He was a little boy, and they would bring him into the kitchen for me to watch. I had to git up way before daylight arid make the fire in the kitchen fireplace and. bring in some fresh water, and go get the milk what been down in the spring all night, and. do things like that until breakfast ready. Old. Master and. old. Mistress
		come in the big hall to eat in the summer, and. I stand. behind. them and		shoo
	S	Øff the flies.	~ ~	.
	‚.	        Old. doctor d.idn1t hav~e no spinning and weaving nigge«rs tcause		he
		say they dont t do . enough work and. he biy all~ the cloth he use for everybody‘ s

: clothes. He can do that 1cause he had. lots of money. He was big rich, and. ~:. he keep a whole 1~t of hard. money in the house all the time, but none of the slaves know, it but me. Sometimes I would have the baby in the Mistre~1 room ;~. and: she..would. gogit three ~ or. . four big wood. boxes full of hax~d. money for us

to play with. I woi.tld make fences out of the money all across the floor, to keep the baby satisfied, and ~ahen he go to sleep I would. put the money back in