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"Chris'mas time, we had two or three days to play, an' had extry food. "I seen 'pattyrollers' ridin' 'bout to keep de darkies from runnin' 'roun' widout passes. I never seen 'em whup none but dey tol' us we'd git twen'y-nine licks iffen we got caught by 'em. I seen darkies git whuppin's on other plantations whup 'em half a day sometimes, gen'ly when dey tried to run away.

"I got more whuppin's dan any other Nigger on de place, 'cause I was mean like my mammy. Always a-fightin' an' scratchin' wid white an' black. I was so bad Marster made me go look at de Niggers dey hung to see what dey done to a Nigger dat harm a white man. "I's gwine tell dis story on myse'f. De white chillun was a-singin' dis song: 'Jeff Davis, long an' slim, Whupped old Abe wid a hick'ry limb.

Our folks never said nothin' 'cause dey was very well satisfied lak dey was. We never hear of no whuppin's, or runaways either, 'til afte' de War an' when we got older. "I 'member de War tho'. Marse Tom, he went fust, wid de Van Dorns. He was made a capt'in or somethin' 'cause he was so brave. He fought long wid de fust an' was one of de fust to get hit.

I got some whuppin's wid strops but I wanter tell you why I am cripple today: "I had to tote tater vines on my haid, me and Fred' rick and de han's would be a callin fur em all over de field but you know honey, de two uv us could' git to all uvum at once, so Joe Sanders would hurry us up by beatin' us with strops and sticks and run us all over de tater ridge; he cripple us both up and den we couldn' git to all uv em.