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"I'se borned Charl'stun, Test Virginia in February 1850."
"My mammy's name? Her name was Kath'run Paine an' the was Fanned down Jackson County, Virginia. My pappy was John James, a coopah an' he was bawned at Rock Creek, West Virginia. He cum'd ovah heah with Lighthurn's retreat. Dey all crossed de ribah at Buffington Island. Yes, I had two bruthahs and three sistahs. Deir was Jim, Thomas, he refugeed from Charlistun to Fun'roy and it tak him fo' months,-don do was sistah dah, Carrie an' Ella. When I rite young I wurked as hous' maid fo' numbah quality white folks an' latah on I was nurs' fo' de chilluns in sum homes, heah abouts."
"Oh, de slaves quartahs, de was undah de sam' ruf with Marse Hunt's big hous' but in de back. When I'se littl' I sleeped in a trun'l bed. My marry was mighty 'ticlar an' clean, why she made us chillums wash feets ebry night fo' we git into de bed."
"When Marse Hunt moved up to Charl'stun, my mammy and pappy liv' in log cahin."
"My gran' mammy, duz I 'member her? Honey chile, I shure duz. She was my pappy's mammy. She was one hun'erd and fo' yeahs ol' when she die rite in her cheer. Lat mawnin' she eat a big hearty brekfast.
One day I 'member she sezs to Marse Hunt, 'I hopes you buys hun'erds an' hun'erds ob slaves an' neber sells a one. Her name was Erslie. Kizar Chartan."
"Marse an' missus, mighty kind to us slaves. I lurned to sew, piece quilts, clean de brass an' irons an' dog irons. Most time I set with de ol' ladies, an' light deir pipes, an' tote 'em watah, in gourds. I us' to gether de turkey eggs an' guinea eggs an' sell 'em. I gits ten cents duzon fo' de eggs. Marse and Missus was enligh an' de count money like dis
- fo' pence, he' penny. Whut I do with my money? Chile I saved it to buy myself a keen dress."
"Yes man we always had plenty to eat. That'd I like bes' to cat, waffl's, honey and stuffed sausage, but I spise possum and coon. Marse Hunt had great big meat hous' chuck full all kinds of meats. Say. do you all know Marse used to keep stuffed sausage in his smoke hous' fo' yeahs an' it was shure powahful good when it was cocked. Ouah kitchin was big an' had great big fiah place whur we'd bake ouah bread in de ashes. We baked ouah corn pone an' biskets in a big spidah. I still have dat spidah an' uses it."
"By the way you knows Squire Gellison was sum fishahman an' shure to goodness ketched lots ob fish. Why he'd ketch so many, he'd clean 'em, cut 'em up, put 'em in half barrels an' pass 'em 'round to de people on de farms."
"Most de slaves on Marse Hunt's place had dir own garden patches. Sumtimes dey'd have to hoe the gardens by moonlight. Dey sell deir vegetables to Marse Hunt."
"In de summah de women weah dresses and aprons made ob linen an' men weah pants and shurts ob linen. Linsey-woolsey and jean was woven on de place fo' wintah clothes. We had better clothes to weah on Sunday and we weahed shoes on Sunday. The' shoes and woots was made on de plantashun."
"My mastah was Marse Harley Hunt an' his wife was Miss Maria Sanders Hunt. Marse and Miss Hunt didn't hab no chilluns of der own but a nepher Marse Oscar Martin and niece Miss Mary Hunt from Missouri lived with 'em. Dey's all kind to us slaves. De Hous' was great big white frame with picket fence all 'round de lot. When we lived Charl'stun Marse Hunt was a magistrate. Miss Hunt's muttah and two aunts lived with 'em."
"No man, we didn't hab no ovahseeah. Marse Hunt had no use fo' ovahseahs, fact is he 'spise 'em. He oldah men guided de young ones in deir labors. The poor white neighbahs wurn't 'lowed to live very close to de plantashun as Marse Hunt wanted de cullured slave chilluns to be raised in propah mannah."
"I duzn't know how many acres in de plantashun. Deir was only 'bout three or fo' cabins on de place. Wurk started 'bout seben clock 'cept harvest time when ebrybudy was up early. De slaves didn't wurk so hard nor bery late at night. Slaves was punished by sendin' 'em off to bed early.
Then I'se livin' at Red House I seed slaves auctioned off. Ol' Marse Veneable sold ten or lebin slaves, women and chilluns, to niggah tradahs way down farthah south. I well 'members day Aunt Millie an' Uncl' Edmund was sold -dir son Harrison was bought by Marse Hunt. 'Truz shure sad an' folks cried when Aunt Millie and Uncl' Edmund was tuk away. Harrison neber see his mammy an' pappy agin. Slaves was hired out by de yeah fo' nine hundred dollahs."
"Marse Hunt had schools fo' de slaves chilluns. I went to school on Lincoln Hill, too."
"Culored preachahs use to cum to plantashun an' dey would read de Bible to us. I 'member one special passage preachahs read an' I neber understood it 'til I cross de riber at Buffinton Island. It was, 'But they shall sit every man under his own vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it." Micah 4:4. Den I knows it is de fulfillment ob dat promise; 'I would soon be undah my own vine an' fig tree' and hab no feah of bein' sold down de riber to a mean Marse. I recalls der was Thornton Powell, Den Soles and Charley Releford among de preachahs. De church was quite aways frum de hous'. When der'd be baptisims de sistahs and brethrens would sing 'Freely, freely will you go with me, down to the riber'. 'Freely, freely quench your thirst Zion's sons and daughtahs'."
"How wells I 'member when I was converted. I'd thought 'bout 'ligion a lot but neber wunce was I moved to repent. One day I went out to cut sum wood an' begin thinkin' agin and all wunce I feeled so relieved an' good an' run home to tell granny an' de uthahs dat I'd cum out at last."
"No, we didn't wurk on Saturday aftahnoons. Christmas was big time at Marse Hunts hous'. Preparations was made fo' it two weeks fo' day cum. Der was corn sings an' big dances, 'ceptin' at 'ligious homes. Der was no weddins' at Marse Hunts, cause dey had no chilluns an' de niece and nephew went back to own homes to git married."
"We played sich games as marbles; yarn ball; hop, skip, an' jump; mumble peg an' pee wes. Wunce I's asked to speak down to white chilluns school an' dis is what I speak:
"The cherries are ripe, The cherries are ripe, Oh give the baby one, The baby is too little to chew, The robin I see up in the tree, Eating his fill and shaking his bill, And down his throat they run."
Another one:
"Tobacco is an Indian weed, And from the devil doth proceed It robs the pocket and burns the clothes And makes a chimney of the nose."
"When de slaves gits sick, deir mammies luked af'er em but de Marse gived de rem'dies. Yes, dere was dif'runt kinds, salts, pills, Castah oil, herb teas, garlic, 'fedia, sulphah, whiskey, dog wood bark, sasaparilla an' apple root. Sometimes charms was used.
I 'member very well de day de Yankees cum. Do slaves all cum a runnin' an' yellin's "Yankees is cumin', Yankee soljers is comin', hurrah". Bout two or three clock, we herd bugles blowing' an' guns on Taylah Ridge. Kids was playin' an' all 'cited. Sumone sed: "Kathrun, sumthin' awful gwine happen"; an' sumone else sez: "De' is de Yankees". De Yankee mens camp on ouah farm an' buyed ouah buttah, milk an' eggs. Marse Hunt, whut you all call 'bilionist an' he was skeered of suthern soljers an' went out to de woods an' laid behind a log fo' seben weeks and seben days, den he 'cided to go tack home. He sez he had a dream an' prayed, "I had bettah agone, but I prayed. Ho use let des debils take you, let God take you." We tote food an' papahs to Marse while he was a hidin'."
"One ob my prized possessions is Abraham Lincoln's pictures an' I'se gwine to gib it to a culured young man whose done bin so kind to me, when I'se gone. Dat's Bookah T. Washington's picture ovah thar."
"I'se married heah in Middeport by Preachah Bill, 1873. My husban' was Charles Stewart, son of Johnny Stewart. Deir was hous' full my own folks, mammy, pappy, sistahs, bruthas, an' sum white folks who cumed in to hep dress me up fo' de weddin'. We kep de weddin' a secrut an' my aunt butted her horns right off tryin' to fin' out when it was. Ky husban' had to leave right away to go to his job on de boat. We had great big dinnah, two big cakes an' ice cream fo' desert. We had fo'teen chilluns with only two livin'. I has five gran' sons an' two great gran' daughters."
"Goodbye - cum back agin."
