Missouri
	Ex-Slave Story	Page 2.	~	j5





Dey thought nothing of it. Old man Bo11in~er sent some colored folks up to his farm in Sabula and. Billy cried to go long with dem. He let Billy go. I stayed with old Aunt Betsy on Castor River. .

	~‘Before de Civil War broke out we were at Sabula and~a Mr. Schafer and Mr. Bollinger started to take de slaves to Texas. Dey ~ot as far as Rockport, near Hot Springs. A man by de naine of John.Higdon from Co1or~ ado married Olive Bollin~er and he was injured in de arm in de Battle of Fredericktown. Den îohn Higdon went to Rockport after he was shot and had taken de oath of allegiance. Hi~don‘s wife died in Rockpoz,t and she had a child two years old. ~ I took de baby to care fora De wife was to be buried back home so dey took de body in a wagon with j-ust a sheet over it towards Little Rock. I was sitting in de wagon holding de two—year old baby. On de way ‘bout ten miles out we were captured by Federal soldiers and took back to Roclcport. De body was put in a room for two weeks and den placed in a vault above . de ground and stayed dar for bout eight years before Mr. Higdon took it back home to bury. ~

	9ligdon took me and. his child to ‘bout eight miles from Hot Springs to a hotel he had bought. Once he conie up to de hotel with two‘ government . horses and: put : me ~ and de child on a hors~ and we were on d~e way to Little Rook. We rode dat .way for tbout two weaks a~nd was captured again near Benton. Higd~ ]~M:.on:. a~ ~.Uu•i9n cape. De .sold~ers asked us all tbout de