Lord have Mercy, iffen I gits to talking 'bout times 'fore de war, I don't know most when to stop. Seems like I's see so much what is dif'unt from now, it's like coming outen a black hole into de sunlight, yes suh, jes' 'xactly like it. Every thing jes' seems quiet and peaceful now, and dat's what God love - peace - but I's see it dif'unt yes suh, a heap dif'unt. What I tells you is jes' what I's been told and what I'se see myself, and I tells jes' de truth.  First, I tells you whar I was born. It was in Avoyelles Parish in Louisiana on de Sunflower Plantation what belong to old Willis Prescott what was my mamma's and pappy's marster. My mamma die when I appear with my sister Lucy , what was my twin sister. Mamma's name was Judy Bates , and I hears when I's older, de reason she die when we appear, is 'cause old Ben Gibbs , de nigger driver, whips her a few days 'fore, 'cause she is delicate and can't work on 'count she is heavy with us. An' I believe it's de truth too, 'cause I's see de cruelness what dey do to slaves with my own eyes. Pappy's name was Bartless Bates , and he was a "freeborn'. 'Sides Lucy , I has two more sisters, Frances and Mary , and four brothers, Dave , Milton , Alfred and Antony , but dey is all older'n Lucy and me.  Pappy was a free-born man from de foreign country, but I jes' don't 'member whar he from. I know he tell me when I was little how come he's a slave. He say when he's a young man, he work on a boat what comes to New Orleans, and he leaves de boat like de rest of de sailors do, and comes into de town to do a little courting, and de Law picks him up and sells him to some nigger traders what carry him away and den sell him to old Marse Willis Prescott , Mamma belong to old Marse Willis , too, and pappy say old Marse marry 'em legal and dat's how come us. Pappy when I first 'member him, was kinda old and jes' work 'round de yard. He has a house in de yard jes' back of whar de big house was at and my brother and sister, 'cept Lucy and me live dere too, but de reg'lar slave quarters was down by de sugar mill, 'bout a quarter-mile from de house. Course I don't know nothing 'bout de old Marse Willis or de old Mistus what was his wife, 'cause dey both died when I's a baby, but Marse Ben Prescott what was old Marse Willis ' oldest boy and what was de boss of de plantation, was Lucy's and my marster, and he and Mis' Adie , what was his wife, raised up right in dere house, 'cause we don't have no mamma and 'sides we is de only twins what was on de place. Marse Ben has three brothers what was on de plantation 'sides hisself. Lemme see now, dere was Aaron and his wife, Mis' Evie , Marshal and his wife, Mis' Mary , and Willis what was named after old Marse Willis , and his wife Mis' Lizzie . Bout de first I 'members and I's 'membered it 'til dis day, was pappy tellin' me to be obedient and do what de white folks tell me to. Dat's one reason no one ever give me a lick. Course we has to call de white folk's chillen young Marse' or 'young Mis' 'pending iffen it a boy or girl, but we plays ring games with 'em like 'Choose your Partner' and 'Catch Liza Jane', and sociates with'em every day.

When de white folks have a new baby, dey calls all de little black folks what is too young to work, and take 'em in de house to whar de baby is at, and iffen it a boy, dey say 'See your little marster' and iffen it a girl 'See your little Mistis.! I don't 'member 'xactly, but I reckon dey is two, mebbe three hundred slaves on de plantation, 'cause dey raise cotton, corn for de stock, sugar cane, most all kinds of vegetables, and 'sides dey has hogs, and sheep and cattle. Dey feed de slaves good, but dey sure work 'em hard. De field hands goes out to work in de night and comes back in de night. When dey comes in, dey goes to de cookhouse and gets dere bucket of supper, den go to de chillen house whar at dey keeps de chillen while de mothers is working, and get dere chillen. Some would have three or four chillen, and de mother has to find 'em in de dark and take 'em to de quarters and put 'em to bed jes' like dey was, 'cause de slaves ain't 'lowed to have no light in de quarters. Iffen de nigger driver what snoops 'round de quarters, hear a man and wife talking in bed 'fore dey goes to sleep, he'd go and tell de overseer and he'd come to de house whar de talking was at and call 'em out and whip 'em, den he'd make 'em pull weeds all night. Oh, dem was black times sure 'nough." De crueles' treatment what some of de slaves got dat I's see with my own eyes was awful. And it de overseers or nigger drivers what treat 'em so bad 'cause I don't reckon de owners know much 'bout what goes on out in de fields 'cause dey leaves de bossing to de overseers. Now dis' is de truth what I tells you and what my eyes has see. I has see de overseer make men and women too, pull off de clothes what dey has on, and dey would find de largest ant bed dey could and make 'em sit naked in it. Lord have mercy, it jes' make my flesh crawl to think 'bout it. And de overseer always strip de men, and women naked in de field and whip 'em. For a woman what is pregnant, dey dig a hole in de ground and lay her over de hole and whip her. Dat's de way dey did my mamma.

And dere wasn't any purity for de young girls in de slave quarters, 'cuase de overseer was always sending for de young negro girls to be with 'em, and some girl was always finding a baby for him. 'Course I wasn't s'posed to know nothing 'bout anything like dis', but I hears older folks talk when dey don't know I'se listening. Yes suh, dat was sure black times, but my own folks was treated good 'cause we is all up close to de house whar de white folks is at and don't mess up with de folks down in de quarters. Huh; none of de nigger drivers better not lay a hand on none of us - and dey knew it. I told you 'while ago I never got no whipping' from de white folks, and I didn't but I got one what I ain't forgot 'til yet. You know what whipped me? It was a snake, yes suh, a coach-whip snake. 'Course I was more scared den hurt, but dat old snake sure whipped me. I's out in de big pasture with some more chillen, and I sees a flower what I goes over to pick. Jes' as I reach down to pick it, I see de grass moving up ahead of me a ways and here comes old Mr. Snake. I starts to run, but gets my feet cotched in some weeds and down I go, and 'fore I can scramble up, dat snake whams me 'cross de legs. : Whoo-e-e, I sure holler and gets up an starts to run and dat snake run right after me. We has climbed in de pasture over a rail fence, but I didn't climb it going back, no suh I sure didn't I jes' roll over it and keep on running. One day, I hear Marse Ben tell de overseers to put de slaves to loading de wagons 'cause we is moving to Texas on 'count of de yankees is coming, and de nex' day we leaves de plantation. De slave men and women walk 'cept de women what is heavy with a chile, but de chillen ride in de cane wagons what is covered with canvass to keep out de rain. We travels all day, and camp at night, and we cooks 'nough at night for de nex' day. I knows we fords rivers but I don't 'member whar dey was or what dere names was. But I know we never reach Texas 'cause we stop at de Piney Woods Plantation what is jes' 'fore you reach Texas. We makes a crop dere, and dat is whar we was sot free, and it was jes' three days 'fore dey sot us free, dat pappy died. I 'member old Uncle Dob what was de carpenter, make de box to bury pappy in, and dey carries him out under some trees and digs de grave. Marse' Ben take me and Lucy to de burying place and old Harmon what was a slave, he say a prayer and den some slaves what bring 'long shovels cover pappy up. Yes suh, I gives Marse Ben and de rest of de white folks credit for giving my pappy and brothers and sisters and me good treatment, but I has to give 'em blame 'cause dey keeps de slaves ignorant and wont even let 'em have no preaching on Sunday. Humph, no one better talk 'bout no church or prayer meeting, 'cause dey gets a whipping sure. Now don't day prove what I's said 'bout dat being black times? And den right after pappy die, de freedom sun shine out. I won't never forget dat day. I's a big girl den, 'bout fourteen years old, and Lucy and me is with Marse Ben and Mis' Adie fixing some flowers in front of de house at Piney Woods, and Marse Aaron come up and say 'Ben , don't you know you can't hold 'em no longer? Dey ought to be free two days ago. Den Marse Ben tells him he might jes' as well call all de folks in from de fields, and in a little while here dey comes with de hoes on dere shoulders. Marse Aaron and de overseers line 'em up in de yard and Marse Ben gets on de porch and tells 'em 'You all ain't got no marster or mistis no more, - you is all free and can go whar you want. We's going back to de Sunflower Plantation and any what wants to, can come and I'll give you work dere and pay you. You can call us by our name jes' like we call you by yours", and iffen you works for me and anyone mistreats you, jes' come and tell me'.