~1abama	~	~ Ruby Pickens Tartt,
	.~	Livingston,
	~	j	~ ~	Jack Kytle, Editor.

DE BES‘ FRIEND A

NIGGER EVER HAD .
	~





	Oliver Bell says the first thing he remembers was seeing his ~other whipped. He was born in slavery, but most of his knowledge Of the evIls ‚ as well as the joys of ante.~‘bel1um days ‚ is by hearsay only.

	~eI was bornec3. cri de De Graf~‘enreid Place,“ he said, “nine miles

‘iest of Livingstorï.~Boyd Road. My mother was Luella De Graffenreid ana my papoy was Edmund De Graffenreid. Den dey changed my name to Bell. I had orte brother, Nat, an‘ two sisters, Jestiriaan‘ Clara. I has ‘bout sixteen chilluns, all born on de same place an‘ most of dem1livin‘~i~ dere ylt . My chillun by my firs‘ wife are Ed, Jack, Holly, Buck, Clarence, 5aiiy, Liza, Mag an‘ Luella. Dey ma was Mandy Powell, frum York. Den my ~ second wife, Bettie Borwn, gived me de res‘ of my chilluns. Le‘s see, dey is JImmy, J. W. Aifonso Wallace, Henry, Edna an‘ ~ .„ He hesitated, ~XrIa±ned, “Dat‘s as many as I kin‘ ‘member jest now.

	“My gran‘ ‘ s name was Cely De Graffenreid t my gran ‚ pa ‚ s name ~as Peter. He was a shoemaker fur de place an‘ made plows, too. He was ~Viorker an‘ he learnt nie how to pull fodder an‘ chop corn an‘ cotton when ~ was jest a little scamp jes‘ a little black nigger.

	Nus all b‘longed to Mr. Treevan De G‘raffenreid an‘ Mi~t~~ Rebecca; ~ri‘ dey wag all good to us. Oi‘ Mistus read de Bible to us an‘ got us ~aptjzed in de river at Horn‘s bridge, but dat was atter de surrender. In iavery times dey didn‘t like for us to sing and play loud in de quarters. ~Ofl€‘y, I ‘members when us had de big prayer meetin‘s. Dey would shut de

•~or so de voice won‘t git out, an~ dey would turn de washpot down de door. at Was to keep de voice inside, dey toit me.“

	Oliver mused a moment, recalling the old times.

‚IUB chilluns useta have a good time	‘ an ‚ —1‘ ‚ „ he