She had a
powerful lot of geese. Den when I got a little bigger she had me set the
table. I was just a little gal then. Missus used to say that she was
going to make a nurse outen me. Said she was gwine to sen me to Baltimo
to learn to be a nurse".
"And what did you think about that?"
"Oh; I thought that would be fine, but he war came befo I got big enough
to learn to be a nurse".
"I remebers when the soldiers came. I think they were Yankee soldiers.
De never hurt anybody but they took what they could find to eat and they
made us cook for them. I remebers that me and some other lil gals had a
play house, but when they came nigh I got skeered. I just ducked through
a hole in the fence and ran out in the field. One of the soldiers seed
me and he hollers 'look at that rat run'."
"I remebers when the Great Eastern (steamship which laid the Atlantic
cable) came into the bay. Missus Ann, and all the white folks went down
to Fairhaven wharf to see dat big shep".
"I stayed on de plantation awhile after de war and heped de Missus in de
house. Den I went away".
"Ise had eight chillun. Dey all died and thisun and his brother
(referring to Lafayette). Den his brother died too. I said he ought ter
died instid o his brother."
"Why?"
"Because thisun got so skeered when he was little bein carried on a hos
that he los his speech and de wouldt let me see im for two days. It was
a long time befor he learned to talk again".
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