"
"Yes 'em, I'se de on'y one o' mammy's chillen livin. Mah, gran'ma on
pappy's side, she live to be one hundred and ten yeah's ol--powerful ol
eve'ybody say. She were part Indian, gran' ma were, an dat made her to
be ol."
"Yes'em, mos' I evah earn were five dollars a week. Ah gets twenty
dollars now, an pays eight dollars fo rent. We is got no mo'--ah
figgers--a wukin fo ourself den what we'd have wuz we slaves, fo dey
gives you a log house, an clothes, an yo eats all yo want to, an when
you _buys_ things, maybe you doesn't make enough to git you what you
needs, wukin sun-up to sun down. No' em 'course ah isn't wukin _now_
when you gits be de hour--wukin people does now; but ah don't know
nothin 'but that way o'doin."
"We weahs cotton cloths when ah were young, jes plain weave it were; no
collar nor cuffs, n' belt like store clothes. Den men's jes have a kinda
clothes like ... well, like a chemise, den some pantaloons wid a string
run through at de knees. Bare feet--yes'em, no shoes. Nevah need no coat
down to Natchez, no'em."
"When we comes back to Louieville on de boat, we sleeps in de straw on
de flo' o' de boat. It gits colder 'n colder! Come big chunks ol ice
down de river. De sky am dark, an hit col' an spit snow.
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