Stories Prom EX-Slavé$ (Gu8 Feaster)
Pace 3 5O.~
	“Us had to feed de mules in de dark of mornings and de black of night when craps needed workiri~ bad. Seed many as a dozen hoe.womens in de field at one time. Dey come when dey finished brealclast and de plows had got a start.

	“Dey used mulberry skins from fresh mulberry saplins to tie around •derè: waists Ler belts. If your sthgletree chain broke, you fixed it ~wid mulberry skin~ same wid your galluses. Mulberry is mighty strong and easy to tie anything dat break.

	“Marse Tom never whipped ‘bout nothing much but stealing. He never let his overseer do no whipping ii he knowed

it.	He burnt you up ~‘bout stealing, dat he would.

	“Dey never wanted us to git no larriing. Edmund Car-. lisle, smartest nigger I is ever seed. He cut out blocks from pine bark on de pine tree and smooth it.,Git white oak or hickory stick.~ Git a ink bal]. from de oak trees, and on Sad4a~ ~ and Sun day s 1 ip off w h ar de wh it e f ol ks w ou 1 n‘ t know ‚ b out it . He use stick fer pen and drap oak ball in w~ter and dat be his ink atter it done stood all night. He larnt to write his name and how to make figures. Marse Jule and Bill, two of Marse Tom‘s boys ‚ found out dat Edmund could writ e and dey wanted t o whip him, but Marse Tom wouldn‘t let ‘em. ~

	“One morning Edmund was making a big fire ‘round all de pots, ~ kaise we was butchering forty hogs. Edmund had his head under de pot a blowing up de fire dat had done tuck an~ died to

embers. Jule and Bill s~ed him and~dey broke arid run an&pushed Edmund plum‘ under dem pots. De embers burnt his face and de hair ?~“~ his head. Marse Tom wo‘ (wore) Bill and Jule out fer it. Missus ‘lowed den dat Edmund de smartest nigger on dat plantation.