We all belonged to a man named John Woods. We lived in South
Carolina during slavery. Slavery was prutty bad itself but the bad time
come after the war. The land was hilly some red and some pore and sandy.
Had to plough a mule or horse. Hard to make a living. Some folks was
rich, had heap of slaves and some bout one family. Small farmer have 160
acres and one family of slaves. When a man had one or two slave families
he treated em better an if he had a great big acreage and fifteen or
twenty families. The white folks trained the black man and woman. If he
have so many they didn't learn how to do but one or two things. Mas
generally they all worked in the fields in the busy seasons and
sometimes the white folks have to work out there too. Sometimes they get
in debt and have to sell off some slave to pay the debt.
"Things seemed heap mo plentiful. Before the war folks wore fine
clothes. They go to their nearest tradin point and sell cotton. They had
fine silk clothes and fine knives and forks. They would buy a whole case
o cheese at one time and a barrel of molasses. Folks eat more and worked
harder than they do now.
"Some folks was mean to their slaves and some slaves mean. It is lack it
is now, some folks good no matter what dey color, other folks bad. Black
folks never knowed there was freedom till they was fighting and going to
war.
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