One time I heard Mars White talkin' to my folks bout takin' us away. We
was happy an' doin' well an' I didn't lack the talk but I didn't know
what "war" was. No mam that was two years foe they got to fightin' down
at Murfreesboro. Mars White was a ruptured man. He never left our place.
I never heard bout none of my folks bein' sold. Mars White aired
(heired) all us. My papa left and never come back. I d[o]n[o] how he got
through the lines in the army. I guess he did fight wid the Yankees.
"Papa didn't speak plain. Grandma couldn't speak plain. They lisp. They
talk fast. Sound so funny. Mama and auntie speak well. Plain as I do
now. They was up wid Mars White's childern more. Mars White sent his
childern to pay school. It was a log house and they had a lady teacher.
They had a accordion. Mars Marion's neighbor had one too. All of em
could play.
"White women would plat shucks an' make foot mats, rugs and horse
collars. The white women lernt the darkie women. There was no leather
horse collars as ever I seed. I lernt to twist shucks and weave chair
bottoms. Then I lernt how to make white oak split chair bottoms. I made
all kinds baskets. We had all sizes and kinds of baskets.
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