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	W183	s
Name of Interviewer~	Cecil COpelarid
3ubject_~~.~ ~	~  ~ ~ ~ — ~ - ~-	-~

	The question of eating s~cia1 food on a particular day immediately br~rigs in mind Thanksgiving Day, when turkey becomes the universal dish. Perhaps ~o other day in the year can be so designated, except among a few religious orders when the eating of meat is strictly prohibited on certain days .

	The belief that negroes are ~.rticularly addicted to eating pork is well founded, as witness the sales of pork to colored people in most any meat market. But who could imagine that cotton—seed was once the universal food eaten in this vicinity by the colored people? That, according to ~c Quinn, a former slave, and self~s1~yled exinember of Cullen Baker‘s Gang, was the custom before and shortly after the Civil War.

	The cotton-seed would be dumped into a hugh pot, and boiled for several hours, the seed gradually rising to the top. The seed would then be dipped off with a ladle • The next and final step would be to pour corn-~meal mt o the thick liquid, after which it was ready to be eaten. Cotton-seed, it must be remembered, had little value at that time, except as livestock feed.

	“Yes euh, Gap‘n, „ the old negro went ~n to explain. ~t has never eaten anything whut tasted any better, or whut would stick to your ribs like cot1~on-seed, and corn-meal cake. Rich? Why dey‘s z~iuthin dat is more nutritious. You never saw a healthier or finer lookin‘ bunch of negroes dart wuz on 6olonel Hervey‘s place. .
Information given by~~	~pc ~  ~ ~  -Z----
Place of residence	•	~ ~
OCCUp~tjon	- ~ --~--- ~ --~------~ ~----— ~ ~ -	14~e~ 94)
Texarkana District