dey'd

An 'dey'd come up dah an' look at us all roun ', an' squeeze our arm, an 'make us git up an' walk, an 'den say,' Dis one don't 'mount to much.'

Mark Twain in The Atlantic 2007

An 'dey'd come up dah an' look at us all roun ', an' squeeze our arm, an 'make us git up an' walk, an 'den say,' Dis one don't 'mount to much.'

Mark Twain in The Atlantic 2007

I's stan'in 'by de fox box, thinkin' as how I'd get a burry under de jail, 'cause I done seed a big rat 'ole dar 'fore, an' I knowed if I had all dem 'ar houn's scratchin', dey'd make de dirt fly.

Bond and Free: A Tale of the South 1984

Sometimes when de men would do something like being sassy or lazy and dey knowed dey was gonna be whipped, dey'd slip off and hide in de woods.

Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Oklahoma Narratives Work Projects Administration

Sometimes dey'd drop dat hot rosin from pine knots on dose blisters.

Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Oklahoma Narratives Work Projects Administration

If dey saw Yankee soldiers, dey would run down and tell 'em and dey'd start hiding things.

Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Oklahoma Narratives Work Projects Administration

I 'member my mother said dey had patrollers, and if de slaves would get passes from de Master to go to de dances and didn't git back before ten o'clock dey'd beat 'em half to death.

Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Oklahoma Narratives Work Projects Administration

When dey'd slip back to get some food dey would all pray for 'em dat Master wouldn't have 'em whipped too hard, and for fear the Patroller would hear 'em they'd put their faces down in a dinner pot.

Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Oklahoma Narratives Work Projects Administration

Said whenever dey mothers wanted to scare 'em to make 'em be good dey'd tell 'em dat a man was outside de door and asked her if she'd hold his head while he fixed his back bone.

Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Oklahoma Narratives Work Projects Administration

Then after dey'd gather all de crops, dey'd give big dances, drink whiskey, and jest cut up sumpin terrible.

Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Oklahoma Narratives Work Projects Administration