r	~

	U!~r marater was not bi€ rich lak de Davises, de Means, and de Harpers,


b1:tt him have all them people come to see hirn. Him know a heap of things dat~ ¼ they ‘predate. De way to dye cloth was one of dose secrets. Marster have a madder bed. Him take de roots of dat madder put them in de sun just lak you put out pieces of apples and peaches to msi~e dried fruit. Vihen them roots gît riht dry, him have them ground up fine as water~ground meal. He put de fine (iU~3t ifl a pot and boil it. ~hen he want~red cloth, he just drop de cloth in d~t pot and it come out all red to suit you. Want it 1~Iue, him have a indigo natch for dat.

	‘t I never hear anything ~ bout alum dose days • Well ‚ de slaves could

take peach tree leaves and alum and make yellow cloth and old cedar tops and copperas and make tan cloth. walnut stain and copp€ras and make any cloth brown. Sweet‘-gum bark and copperas and make any cloth a purple color. I ‘mein.~‘ ber goin‘ wid one into de woods to gît barks. One day old marster come ‘cross a slippery elm tree. Him turn and ooxmnand me to say right fast: ‘Long, slim, slick saplin‘ and when I say long, slim, sick slaplin‘ ‚ him tmost kill hisself laughin‘ ~ You try dat no‘~ You find it more harder to say than you thirk it is • Him give me a piece of dat bark to chew and I run at de ~nou~h lak you see a hess dat been on de range of wild clover all night and slobberin‘ at de bits~

	“Yes sah, I b‘longs to de churoh~ l~r wife and son, L~ingo, just us three in de house and de whole household jined de Morris Creek Baptist Church. What‘s Thy favorite song ? None better than de one dat I ‚ Il h‘ Ist right now. Go ahead? I thaxks you. Listen:

‘M I born to die	. ~
	. ~ ~ To lay dis body down •	. ~
.	~ charge to keep I ha~e	~ ~

~k God to glorify.‘
	(	J