PageZ~.	21
	;~tley,	~ Minnie B. ~oss.
i~25—3?	~ -




;yith tears. Mr. Hall‘s eyes filled with tears also.

	Soon after this incident a Yankee Ai~y appeared in our vill~e one ~tay. They practically destroyed Mr. Hall‘s store by throwing all clothes and other merchan~Ise into the streets. Seeing my sister and I they tu,,ned ~0 l1~ saying, “Little Negroes you are free there are no more masters and :iulstresses3 here help yourse~es to these clothes take them hc»ue with you. Not knowing any better we carried stockings, socks, dresses, underwear and many other Qieces hcrae. After this they opened the smoke house door and told us to go in and take all of the meat we wanted.

(	On another occasion the mistress called me asking that I cc~ne In

~	the yard to play with the childrentt. Here Mrs. Austin began to laugh and re~ ~aarked !‘I did not go but politely told her I was free and didn‘t belong to any
—	. I



I one but my mama an~ papa. As I spoke these words my mistress began to cry.

- --	My mother and father continued to live with the Halls even after freedom and until their deaths. J~1though not Impoverished most of the Hall‘s ±~ortune was wiped out with the war“,

	Mrs. Austin married at the age of 1G years; and was the mother of four c‘Ildren, all of whom are dead. ‚ She was very ambitious andwas de— termined to get an education if such was possible. After the war Northern ~vhite people-came south and set up schools for the education of Negroes. .ihe remembers the organization of the old Storrs School frau which c~e of the pre~snt Negroes Colleges Originated.

	Llrs. Austin proudly spoke of her old blue back spellerU, which she still possesses; and of the days when she attended Storrs ßchool.

	As the i~Iter made ready to depart Mrs. ~ustin smilingly in— formed her that she had told her all that she knew about slavery; and every v?ord sp~ken was the truth.