Doors was made out of rough planks, beds was
rough home-made frames nailed to de side of de cabins, and mattresses
was coarse, home-wove ticks filled wid wheat straw. Dey had good
home-made kivver. Dem beds slept mighty good.
"Dere warn't many folks sick dem days, 'specially 'mongst de slaves.
When one did die, folks would go 12 or 15 miles to de buryin'. Marster
would say: 'Take de mules and wagons and go but, mind you, take good
keer of dem mules.' He never seemed to keer if us went--fact was, he
said us ought to go. If a slave died on our place, nobody went to de
fields 'til atter de buryin'. Marster never let nobody be buried 'til
dey had been dead 24 hours, and if dey had people from some other place,
he waited 'til dey could git dar. He said it warn't right to hurry 'em
off into de ground too quick atter dey died. Dere warn't no undertakers
dem days. De homefolks jus' laid de corpse out on de coolin' board 'til
de coffin was made. Lordy Miss! Ain't you never seed one of dem coolin'
boards? A coolin' board was made out of a long straight plank raised a
little at de head, and had legs fixed to make it set straight. Dey wropt
'oman corpses in windin' sheets.
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