Missouri

Ex-Slaves
~ ~ah	Page 7.	36:1



the‘s her little girl, wanted me to play, her mother would say. “Sarey has to work fast now, ‘cause she goin‘ to be free‘.“

	“Oh Lord, Miss, Sarey will never be free. ~ut I was freed. Now I am goin‘ to tell you about de home lite.

	“I worked in de house for old Miss, and we had plenty to d•o end plenty to eat. when de white folks was through eatin‘ ‚ I got a pan and got de grub ‚ and set on de floor and et it. Oh Lordee, but I worked hard since I was twelve years old. But not in de fields. Old Miss she say dere was plenty for me to do in de house, and dem was, sure‘nough.

	“I washed and cooked for all of us. And ironed too. I bet de irons, great big old irons, in de fireplace. I ironed on a quilt spread out on de floor, and I ironed jes‘ as nice as anybody. I lived right in de house with de white folks. In s~mnei‘ we slept, my brother Henry and rae, in a trundle bed in the kitchen; and in de winter made a pallet beside de f ire-. place.

	“Old Pap was good to us. He dept up a fire all night when lt was cold. I never saw a cookin‘ stove or a lace shoe until I was freed. ~e jes‘ had to burn our faces cookin‘