I hears you been 'round to see we befo', but you ain't never gwine find me to hone. I sho' love to go 'round visitin'. You know dey say iffen you treats the cat too good, you ain't never know where the cat is. I's gwine on seventeen year old when freedom come. I's born right here near Beaumont, on the big road what they calls the Concord Road, in the place what they calls Rosedale. I's a growed up young lady befo' I over sees Beaumont. I's gwine on 89 year old now. Richard West . he's my massa and Mary Guidry she my missy. Dey used to call her the 'Cattle King.' Dey have a big plantation and jes' a few slaves. Dey raises my mammy since she eleven year old. Her name Maria and she marry San Marble . He come from Miss'ippi. I stay up at the big house and missy fix my plate when she fix hers. God bless her heart, she kind to me. I know now I's sassy to her but she didn't pay me no 'tention 'cause I's li'l. I slap' on a trundle bed by missy's side and I git so smart I allus smell my bed to see iffen dey puts nice, clean sheets on mine like dey did on hers. Sometime I play sick, but old missy a good doctor and she gimme beefoot oil and it so nasty I quit playing off. She French and she so good doctor they send for her to other folks houses. Old missy was real rich. I's taken her money cut of de wardrobe she make tall playhouse cut of cold and silver money. Iffen she have to buy somethin' she have to come and borrow it from me. Us allus has to figger how to take dat money cut of de corners so do house won't fell down. I cried and cried iffen she tored it up. She'd take me with her when she go to see her grandchillen in de French settlement. Us come in buggy or back and bring jelly and money and things. I thought I's gwine to Heaven, 'cause I gits to play with li'l chillen. Us play 'ring place', dat's drew a ring and hop 'round in it. Us jump rope and swing. Dey have a hair rope swing with a smooth board in it so it ain't scratch us behin'. Old missy so kind but what got 'way with no, I couldn't go to school. I beg and beg, but she kep' sayin', 'Same day.' and I ain't never sit in a school in my life. Old massa didn't work 'em hard. He make 'em case in when the sun got bad, 'cause he feared dey git sunstroke. He mighty good is early days, but when he figger dey gwine loose he slaves he start bein' mean. He split 'em and sold 'en, tryin' to make he money out of 'em. De house what the white folks live in was make out of logs and mess and se was the quarters houses. Better'n New Orleans, dam quarters was. Us slaves have de garden patch. The white folks raises hogs and kilt 'm by the twenties. Dey make hams and shoulders and chittlin's and sich and hang 'en up in the smokehouse. Us allus have plenty to eat and us have geed, strong clothes. Missy buy my dresses separate, though, She buy se pretty stripe cotton dress. About the only work I ever done was help watch the geese and turkeys and fill the quilts. I larn to card, too. Old missy never whip no much, she jos' like to scare no. She whip me with big, tall straw she git out the field or wet a towel and whip my legs.

My old massa done a trick I never forgit while I's warm. I's big gal 'bout sixteen year old and us all 'lone on the place. He tolls me to crawl under the corncrib and git the eggs. I knowed dey ain't nothin' dere but the nest egg. but I have to go. Them I can't find nothin' he pull se out backwards by the foot and whip no. Whom old missy come home I ain't knew no better'n to tell her and she say she ought to kill him, but she she' fix his, anyway. He say she spile me and dat why he whip me. Old missy taken to preachin'. She was real good preacher, Dey have de big hall down the center of the house where they have services. A circuit rider come once a month and everybody step workin' even if it wasn't Sunday. When war was en us there wasn't no sojers 'round where I was, but dat battle on Atchnfalis shoot all the dishes off the dresser and broke 'em up. Jes' broke up all the fine Sunday and company dishes. After de trouble my mammy have gettin' me 'way from there when freedom come, she gits no after all. Old missy have seven li'l nigger chillen what belong to her slaves, but dey mammies and daddys come git 'en. I didn't own my own mammy. I own my old missy and call her 'mama'. Us cry and cry when us have to go with us mammy. I 'members how old missy rock me in her arms and sing to me. She sing dat 'O. Susanna' and tolt me a story: Dere a big, old brown bear what live in de woods and she have lots of li'l cub bears and dey still nussin' at de breast. Old mama bear she out huntin' one day and she come by de field where lots of darkies workin' and dere on a pallet she see fat, li'l piccaniny baby. Mane bear she up and stole dat li'l pickaninny baby and takes it hone. It hongry but after she git all de cub bears fed, dere ain't no milk left for de nigger baby. Mama bear git so 'sasperated she say to her babies, 'Go long, you go way and play.' Don she feed do li'l pickaninny baby so dat how she raise dat nigger baby.' How, every time old missy come to dat place in de story, she start laughin', 'cause I allus used to ask her How come dey didn't no hair grew on dat baby.