Page Thre
J~Z.‘4lave Stories (Te~~a)







honey. De food ain1t short no time ‘round massa, ~cause he s~ niggers

works better when dey feeds good. De mammies leavos de babies in de nursery dunn‘ de day and d~n chilien am take good care of and has lots of mIlk and
am all fat like hawgs.	s«

	WIn de aorikin‘ when de bell ring, everybody goesto work, but I is little

and does de chore. and ~ gap tender. De cattle am ‘lowed to run where dey wants, here, there and all over. Fencesøni ‘round de fields and yards ana

th®re am gates to go through, but us calls dem gaps. It a~ ay job to epen and. cl ose em, ‚ ce~se somebody al]us want in ‚ to drive or walk thr ~igh dem gap s.

	‘M~ sie am de fly chaser. She has de big fan melce from de tail feathers of de peacock. ‘Twas awf~il purty thing. She stands ‚ round de ~iits folks and

•hoo off c~e flies.

	“Massa Pay ain‘t hard on he cullud folks, He works dem steady but don‘t drive dem, Lots de slaves goes fiehin‘ in de river On Saturday afternoon ~nd Sunday, arid dey cotches plenty fish.

	nus has parties and singin‘ and dancin‘ and fiddle music. Oh, Lawd~ How lonesome I gits when I thinks ‚ botit dem days ‚ and de music and singin‘ . times ‘bout a hunerd sings to ence and dat sound purty and jus‘ go all through me~

	„ br r~in‘ off am de only hard whupp in ~ s massa give . De ru.n..off am t ie t o de 1 og and5 mae sa lay de w‘nuppin ‚ on he back. De ~tant at ion am near de river and dore am lots of caves and cliffs to hide in. Massa cotch de run-offs with

de nigger hounds and if he don‘t, de~r git hongry and sneaks back. Only one

gits clear aw~.