MISSOURI
B~UL~Ni;t3M
~SÏ3AvE STORLES
	ROBERTBRYi~T - -~	~	~‚	Page 8 .	~	68



	“A man has got more his own say now dan he did have. ~e can do more what we want to and don‘t have to ~o to de other fellow. Slavery might a done de other fel1o~r some good but I don‘t think lt ever done de colored people no good. Some of dem after freedom didn‘t know how to go out and work for dernselves. Down at old John Coffr~n‘s lots of dem stayed w~th him rIght alone scme as if dey waSntt free. ~ ~Dey didn‘t want to leave here ‘cause dey didn‘t think dey could live if dey left him. But when dey got away up here in St . Louis dey know they can make a 11V1 n‘ ‚ without Marse John, but they got to “go up against it.“ Dependin‘ on somebody else is poor busïness. When I was workin‘ I depended on myself. If dey would have freed de slaves and give dem a piece of groand I think dat would been a heap better dan de way dey did. Look at de

Indians ~ They‘ re all ii‘ . t se always been able to eat and • sleep. ~

	~	“I can‘t hardly tell about de younger generation, I can say dat if it was not for de old generation today de young ones would

go up ‘salt creek‘. De7 don‘t want to work. Some of dem is pretty ~mart,.~ Pride is de reason dey doù‘t pant to work. Dey dress up

and strut out and. hare • a good time . De old folks 1$ de cause of1 ~‚ it. Dey say, ‘i don‘t want my boy to do dat; I don‘t want him to
:	work ha:rd‘. I say, let him make out de saiae as us ola folks did.
~ f
~
	~	~	*1