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	~ro3r County.‘	~	B~x-~S1ave Stories.	(Hazel Cirinamon).(1).
	Intervi3wwith ~Vi11 Oats	Ex~S1avea	~	~

	~i1i Oats, 84 years of age, was born in Wayne County, up Spring Valley In 1854. :-t3 W~)ß t‘~e son of Betty Oats and Will Garddard of Morth Carolina. He has thr~ sisters: L~ey ~ii1Sofl, Franoes ~hi11ips that live in Ohio, and Alice l3ranton of ;!erc~r ~ Kentucky. He has two brothers; Jim Coffey and Lige Coffey of ~arro~ s1~~rg.

	As a ohil h~ 1iv~d with his mother, brothers, sisters, ~d graud~other. Th~ir qi.art~rs -~re in the yard of their ~~aster; and they were as oc~nfortab1e as any S1~kV~~S ~ With ~l~nty to 3at arid clothes t~ keep them warni.

	;c~:LI1 was ju~st a boy at that time, and h~ out ~ood and carried it in; and ~ïd. other chores around th~ house such as help to milk and feed the stook. Their food was p1~ntifu1 and they ate aU cins of ~egetab1es, and had plenty of t~1ik ~x!):3 b~tt3r, fat ni3at,and br3aJ.

	The fa.~iiy all wore ho~ne made elothin~, cotton shirts, heavy shoes, v~ery :i~a\ry ~inderwear; and if they wore ç~it their winter shoes before the spring weather they had to do withou~t Lmtii the fall.

	WIll was cwned ~y Lewis Oats and his sister; they lived in a two stor‘~r ~ ~se, b~iiIt of 1o~ and weather boarded. They were very wealthy people. The farm consisted of over 230 aores; they owned six s1~res; and they had to i~e up doIng their morning work before the rnt~ster would wake.

	When working and the slaves would ~iisohey their master, they were p~rnIshed in some way; b~t there was 40 jafl. They didn‘t know how to read or brIte, and they had no ohuroh to attend. All they had to do when~not a~ work was to talk to the older folks, On Christmas morning they would usually have a little extra to eat and xnaybe a stiok of oandy. On New Ye~r‘s Day the±~v ~rk went on just
‚ the s~e as on any other day. ~		~ ~
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