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neither reads or writes and is not superstitious according to her admission. What do you think of it. I ~ afraid that I do not agree with. M.D.H.)

~ Co. (Pearl House)

	The fo1~owing ~story of slave days is the exact words of one who had the bitter experience of slavery. Sophia Word, who is now ninety—nine years of age, born February 2, 1837. She tells me she was in bondage for nineteen years and nine months. I shall repeat just as she t old the storyz

	“1 WUZ here in time of Mexican ~ and seed ‘em get up volunteors to go.

	They vmz dressed in btown and band played ‘Our ~iuntirig Shirts are Fringed ~ with Doe and away We march to Mexico“.

	“My grandmother caine straight from M~rioa ani~ wuz auctioned off and bought by William Reide Father. VJhen he died William Reides ixtherited my mother. Mother ~iarried a Bates and had ten of us children.

	“Our Master didn‘t auction off his slaTes as the other masters would for he was a bettor master than most of them. V~hen he started to sale one of us he would go out and talk to the old slave trader like he wuz g‘wine to sale a cow or sonietin and then he would come back to git the slave he wanted. This wuz the way my mothers‘ brother and sister wuz sold. When the other masters at other plaoes sold a slave they put the slave on the auôtion blook and the slave trader had a long whop that he hit them t* with to see if they could jump around and wus strong. The largest and brought the money.

	UI wuz a slave nineteen yeahs and nine mouths but somehow or nuthe r I didn‘ t belong to a raa)~ mean pet of people . Th~ white folks said I was the meanest nigger that ever wuz. One day my Mistress Lyndia called fer me to come in the house, but no, I wouldn~t go. She walks out and says she is GSwixie~ malce me go.~ So she ta~kes~ and drags me in. the house. The~ I grabs thatwhltewcinan, when she turned her back, and shook her until she begged for mercy. WhenthOrnaster ConieS in, I wt~* given a terrible beating with a