Asked then about her mistress she said: "Yas ma’am she was good. She never punished me, she used to go ’roun’ de quarters eve’y mornin’ to see ’bout her sick niggers. She always had a little basket wid oil, teppentine an’ number six in it. Number six was strong medicine. You had to take it by de drap. I always toted de basket. She gived me mah weddin’ dress. It was white tarletan wid ban’s o’ blue ribbin. I sole de dress las’ year but I can show you de pantalets she made me. I used to wear ’em to meetin’ on Sunday when us had singin’ an’ de preacher said words." Aunt Irene brought out the deep ruffled pantalets carefully folded and yellow with age, she had treasured them for seventy-five years.
"No ma’am, Marse Jeff didn’t go to de war, I don’t know why. I guess it was ’cause he was so rich. Now don’t you be thinkin’ he was gun shy, 'cause he wasn’t an’ he done his part too ’cause he took keer o’ five widders an’ dey chillun when dey men got kilt in de war.
"My pappy lef de night de Yankees tuck Selma. It was on Sunday, an’ I ain’t seed him since.
"After de surrender us staid on with Marse Jeff. Us didn’t keer nothin’ 'bout bein’ free ’cause us had good times on de plantation. On Sadday dey had corn shuckin’s an’ de niggers had a week at Chris’mas wid presents for eve’ybody. Camping at de big house an’ mo’ to eat in one day den I sees now in a year.
"Aunt Irene, do you remember anything about the conjurers in the old days?"
"I don’t put much sto’ by dem folks. Dey used to give you de han’ so you could please yo’ mistess an’ dey would sell you hush water in a jug. Hush water was jes’ plain water what dey fixed so if you drink it you would be quiet an’ patient. De mens would git it to give to dey wives to make ’em hush up. I reckon some of de mens would be glad to git some now 'cause gals dese days is got too much mouf."
*Interview with Nicey Pugh* —_Ila B. Prine, [HW: Mobile]_
"I was bawn a slave, but I ain’t neber been a slave", was Aunt Nicey’s first remark to me as I came upon her pulling up potato draws in her garden in Prichard, Alabama. "Dere was ’leben chilluns in my family an’ all ’em is daid ceptin’ me an’ one brother who is seventy-five year old at de present time. My pappy’s name was Hamp West an’ my mammy was Sarah West. All my folks belonged to Massa Jim Bettis, an’ was born an’ raised on his place.