Dere was always a leader in de fiel's to warn ebery one if de overseer's was comin'. On our plantation, de leader was Aunt Dianah who sung all de time whilst wurkin'. Dis was her warnin' song to de niggers. 'Walk indepen'ent, walk bold, Marster in de fiel' run leader an' carry de news home, master in de fiel'.' De leader would sta'at chantin' dis song an' de ones nearby 'ud take it up an in no time 'tall de ones fudderest away would hear it an git chantin' it an' workin'. Ef de ober seer katched a nigger sittin' in de corn row or lyin in de shade ob a tree dat nigger sho gwine git forty lashes on he bare back.  On Chris'mas mornin' all de niggers went to de big house for deir pres'nts ebery one was 'membered.  I married Mary Bascum w'en I was thuty-five years old. Us sho had a big weddin' in her home in fact us had a secon' day weddin'. I is de father of fou'teen chillun an' foe gran'chillun.  I has been a preacher in de  A M E Church foh fifty years. My fav'rite songs are "A Charge to Keep I Have", "Standing in the Need of Prayer" an'  Amazing Grace  De cemetery was on de plantation, de funeral songs was "Hark From The Tomb The Doleful Sound" an'  Must I be to Judgement Brought to Answer on That Day. Us learned to read an' write frum de w'ite chillun w'en dey was goin' to school.  My father went to war wid his marster an' lived to come home wid him. I picked up skulls, leg bones an "minnie balls" on de battle groun' at Ft. Hill, Mississippi. W'en de niggers was freed, de marster called dem to de big house an tole dem dey could go elsewhere or sta' dere on de plantation. Us niggers knowed a good thing, so us stayed wid de ole marster 'till he died. De marster, he give my father an' mother some land after dey was free an' dey lived on it for seven or eight years, but as dey was unable to pay de taxes, de land went back to de State. I was very fond of my missus, she was finer dan split silk."I jes wore my bes close at my weddin' an' Mary she sho looked powerful purty in her white dress, veil an' gloves an' a big boquet. De secon' day we had a bigger dinner an' dance dan de fus day. Folks come on hoss back an in waggins from fer an' near. De w'ite folks liked us so well dey gibed us a shoat, a cow an' calf, some corn an' chickens an' dey gibed Mary a bed an' beddin' an' dishes. I made chairs an' table an' a bed atter I built us two rooms ob split b'ods.  W'en I was young I vided fer de winter heavy effen de ants got strivin lively en durin ob de summer kase dat am shore sign us gwine hab a hard winter facin us. Ef de saplins in de bottoms got a heavy bark deys 'vidin ginst a cold winter. Effen de corn's got shucks like ober coats, watch out fer de norther, it' el be early an cold.  Dey had a big bell on a scaffold out side ob de door an de cook 'ud ring dat bell w'en it come time to git up in de mawnin or to come in from de fie'l. An' dey'd ring it to call de big men, (the white men) in from whar ebber dey was effen somebody was sick, in trouble or like dat.  We groun' corn an' coffee wid a rock like de Indians did. We got a big rock wid a holler in it an' a littler one dat was hard, we used de littler rock as a pessal (pestle) 'course w'en travel got better we got us a corn meal mill near our place an' a boughten coffee mill what we nailed to de wall an' turned de handle, dat is de kind us use to day. Dat air boughten groun' coffee aint no good, us men like our coffee black an' strong. Dats de kind ob coffee de ole Indian fighters drinked an' dey made dis here State what it is.