MOLLY AMMONDS                479-ALA/#066                                    043
         HO NEY, YOU AIN'T GWINETER BELIEVE DIS, BUT I IS DE MAMMY OF THrRTY CHI
LLUNS. JESUS GOT 'EM COUNTED AN' SO IS ME. I WAS BAWN IN A LOG CABIN DAT HAD A L
OFT, AN' IT WAS ON MARSE LEE CATO'S PLANTATION FIVE MILES WES' OF EUFAULA. MY PA
PPY'S NAME WAS TOBE CATO AN' MY MAMMY'S WAS SOPHIA. I HAD ONE SISTER, MARTHY, AN
' TWO BROTHERS, BONG AND TOGE. MY PAPPY MADE ALL DE FURNITURE DAT WENT IN OUR HO
USE AN' IT WERE MIGHT GOOD FURNITURE TOO. US USETA COOK ON DE FIREPLACE. US WOUL
D COOK ASH CAKES. DEY WUZ MADE OUTEN MEAL, WATER AND A LITTLE PINCH OF LARD; ON
SUNDAYS DEY WUZ MADE OUTEN FLOUR, BUTTERMILK AN' LARD. MAMMY WOULD RAKE ALL DE A
SHES OUT DE FIREPLACE, DEN KIVVER DE CAKE WID DE HOT ASHES AN' LET IT COOL TILL
IT WAS DONE.
         YAS MISSY, I RECOLLECTS DAT I WAS 'BOUT TWELVE OR FO'TEEN WHnN DE S)RnN
DER COME, DAZE A LITTLE ATTER DAT I MA'IED PASTOR AMMONDS. WE WALKED OBER TO GEO
RGETOWN AN' IT WAS DE FUS' TIME I EBER HAD SHOES, ANDI GOT DEM FUM OLE MASSA. I
REMEMBERS DAT I MA'IED IN A STRIPED CALICO DRESS.
         WELL HONEY, MASSA LEE'S PLACE WAS 'BOUT TqREE-MrLESLONG AN' TWO MILES
WIDE, AND WE RAISED COTTON, CAWN, 'TATERS AND ALL SORTS OF VEGETABLES. WE HAD A
MEAN OBERSEER DAT ALWAYS WANTED TO WHUP US, BUT MASSA WOULDN'T 'LLOW NO WHUPPIN'
. SOMETIMES DE MASSA WOULD RIDE OVER DE PLACE ON A HOSS, AN' WHEN HE COME UP ON
$E OBERSEER A-FUSSIN' AT A NIGGER, MASSA SAY, "DON'T TALK ROUGH TO DAT NIGGER WH
 EN HE DOIN' DE BES' HE CAN."

         MY PAPPY HAD A LITTLE GARDEN OF HIS OWN BACK OF HIS CABIN, AN' HE RAISE
D SOME CHICKENS FOR US TO EAT, AN' WE HAD AIGS NEARLY EV'Y MORNIN'.
         DE ONLY WORK I DONE ON DE PLANTATION WAS TO NUSS SOME LITTLE NIGGERS WH
EN DERE MAMMY AN' PAPPY WAS IN DE FIEL'S. TWARN'T HARD .
         NAWSUH] I AIN'T NEVER SEED NO SLAVE IN CHAINS. MASSA-LEE W S&A&pOoDMAN
. HE HAD A CHURCH BUILT CALLED DE BRUSH HOUSE, DAT HAD A FLO' AND SOME SEATS, AN
' A TOP MADE OUTEN PINE BOUGHS , AN' MASSA'S PA, MISTER CATO, WOULD PREACH EVE'Y
 SUNDAY. WE SUNG SONGS LAK " I HEERED DE vOICE-OF-JESUS2SAY," jND !I'bE& frnEHO
ME TO DIE NO MO". WE WAS ALL BAPTIZED IN DE CREEK, BUT NONE OF US WAS TAUGHT TO
READ OR WRITE.
         NO-SUH, I AIN'T NEVER SEED NO SLAVE RUN AWAY. US WAS TREATED FrNE.-ORU
FOLKS WAS QUALITY. WE HAD PLENTY SOM'N T'EAT, BUT DEM SLAVES HADDA WORK POWERFUL
HARD THOUGH. ATTER DEY COME HOME FUM DE FIEL'S DEY WAS SO TIRED DAT DEY GO RAGHT
$TO SLEEP, EXCEPT WHEN DE MASSA HAD BARBECUES. CHRISTMAN WAS DE BIG TIME; DERE W
 AS SEVERAL DAYS TO RES' AN' MAKE MERRYIN' AN' LOTS OF DEM NO COUNT NIGGERS GOT
D
RUNK.
         WHEN US SLAVES WAS SICK, MASSA LEE WOULD SEND TO EUFAuLA tO FETCH  OC O
R THORNTON TO GIVE US SOME MEDICINE. WE HAD DE BES' TREATMENT EVER.
         YASSUH, WHITE FOLKS, DEM DAYS IS LONG A ;. jLLMY CHILLUNS DONE DIED OR
 WANDERED AWAY AN' MY OLE MAN BEEN DEAD GOIN' ON TWENTY YEjS.&IBEEN HERE A LON
G TIME BY MYSELF.
         WHITE FOLKS , I DON'T BELIEVES I IS HAD DE PLEASURE OF MEETIN' DEM7GENT
'MENS (ABRAHAM LINCOLN, JEFFERSON DAVIS, AND BOOKER T. WASHINGTON).
  X   XXX
STP