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seen the real rail, unless they've seen them on T.V. The rails were split from a log (tree), would be ten foot long and around eight or ten inches around. I don't think I can tell you to make you understand just how the rails were laid to make a fence. But I could show you with some sticks of wood. Not that ever built any rail fences but I know how it's done. I've climbed over a many a one. Nearly everyone had rail fences back from the time I was born and long before, up until 1897 the year I was born. Something else was popular in those days and that was wells where you drew water to use for everything. The well was dug about sixty or seventy feet deep and four to six feet wide and it was walled in from bottom to top and had a wheel with a rope on it also a sink bucket. I don't remember what the right name was but anyway the water container was a yard long and several inches around so you let your bucket down into the well of water and the bucket had a hole in the bottom of it with a leather vacuum to let the water in then when you pulled it up to the top you held your bucket under it to catch the water.
I stayed with a family of twelve for twelve days and I went to singing school with his daughters which three of them were close to my age 15. The father's name was Jim Davis, but because he peddled sweet potatoes, chickens, eggs and etc. through the county he was called Potato Jim. He was better known by that name. Of course, naturally when a young girl goes to a strange place, all the young men went to go to see what she is made of whether it's sugar or spice or all things nice. So on Saturday night here came two young fellows who had met me at singing school. So the whole family and all were sitting around on the back porch talking and all of a sudden Mr. Davis got up and said lets all go into the living room and have some songs, so everyone knew to move when he said move, so one of the girls played the organ and we all gathered around the organist and sang for about a half hour. Seemed more like ages, then Mr. Davis said now everyone kneel at his chairs and we're going to have prayers. Oh, yes!
I almost forgot the Bible reading so we all kneeled and he led the prayer and I don't know how long he prayed, but I know how my knees felt, then my daddy was there so he took his turn and I couldn't say how long he talked to the Lord, but I know this much, it was almost midnight. Time for the boys to go home. I can still hear those two boys on their way home talking about what a good time they had. That was one way for boys and girls to get acquainted.
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