While growing up, I had no time for play. As far back as I can remember, I had to do some kind of work. I did things like clean yards and carry water to the men working in the fields.

Once a week, I had to carry corn to the mill to be ground. I always dreaded this trip. The corn was evenly divided into sacks and placed on the back of a horse. On almost every trip they would become unbalanced and fall off. Since they were too heavy for me to lift, I had to wait until a passer by could put them back on the horse for me. Sometimes I had to wait for hours, often crying until someone came. By the time I got to the mill and had the corn ground, it would be late at night before I headed back home.

The road was dark and lonely, and I was scared because I had heard stories about soldiers who had run away from the army and hid in the woods. It was said that they would cut off the ears of Black boys if they caught them!