Aunt Mary, she de
head cook for de mars en all of de niggers too. All of de field hands
durin' crop time et dey breakfast en dey dinners in de field. I waited
on de table for mars en sort er flunkyed 'round da house en de quarters
en de barns, en too I was one of de young darkies what toted de buckets
of grub to de field hands.
"Ole mars had a house on de place too dat was called de 'sick house'.
Dat was where dem was put dat was sick. It was a place where dey was
doctored on en cared for till dey either git well er die. It was er sort
er hospital like. 'Uncle Warner', he had charge of de sick house, en he
could sure tell iffen you sick er not, or iffen you jus' tryin' to play
off from work.
"My pappy, he was named Bill Clinton en my mammy was named Mildred. De
reason how come I not named Childress for my mars is 'cause my pappy, he
named Clinton when mars git him from de Clintons up in Tennessee
somewhere. My mars, he was a good man jus' like I'm tellin' you. Mars
had a young nigger woman named Malinda what got married to Charlie
Voluntine dat belonged to Mr. Nat Voluntine dat had a place 'bout six
miles from our place. In dem days iffen one darky married somebody offen
de place where dey lived en what belonged to some other mars, dey didn't
git to see one annudder very often, not more'n once a month anyway.
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