Indians made S1áv~es among the Negroes
..7.. 90
days In order to allow time for the relatives, friends and ex-slaves to be


not ifie d of her death.

	“The house and yard were full of grieving friends. Finally the lengthy procession started to the graveyard. Within the George‘s parlors there had been Bible passages read, prayers offered up and hymns sung, now the casket was olaced in a wagon drawn by two horses. The casket was covered with flowers while the family arid friends rode in ox carts, horse~drawn i~a,gons, horseback, and with still many on foot they made their way towards the river.

	7lhen we reached the river there were many canoes busy putting the people across, besides the ferry boat was in use to ferry vehicles over the strea~n. The ex~-slaves were crying and praying and telling how good granny had been to all of the~ and explaining how they knew she had gone straight to Heaven, because she was so kind ~- and a Christian. There were not nearly enough boats to take the crowd across if they crossed back and forth all day, so my mother, Eliza, improvised a boat or ‘g~~el“, as the craft was called, by placing a wooden soap box on top of a long pole, then she pulled off her shoes and, taking two of us small children in her arms, she paddled with her feet and put us safely across the stream. We crossed directly above laka, Livingston county, three miles below Grand River.

	“At the burying ground a great crowd had assembled from the neighbor.hood across the river arid there were more songs and prayers and much weeping. The casket was let down into the grave without the lid being put on and everybody walked up and looked into the grave at the face of the dead woman. They called it the ‘las~look‘ and everybocty- dropped flowers on Mistress Hester as they passed by. A man then went down and nailed on the lid anct the earth was thrown in with shovels. T)Je ex-slaves filled in the grave, taking turns with the shovel. Saine of the men had worked at the smelting furnaees so long that their hands were twi~sted and hardened fro~n oontaot with the heat • Their