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~ Oklahon~ Writei~s1 Project	~	.	~	Ex—Slav~ 4~‘












	~	~igger, run, ~ De Patteroll git ye~
	Bun N~.gger, ruin,
He ~ s almo s t here t“.
			 Please Mr. Patteroll, .
			 Dontt ketch me~
			 Jest take d.at nigger
	.	..	. That‘s behind dat tree.~

	Lawsy, I done heard. dat song all my life and it warflt t no j oke neither. De Patrol would. git ye too if he caught ye off the plantation vrithout a pass from your L~ster, and. hetd. whup ye too. None of us .d.assn‘t

leave without a îass.	~

. .	71e chillun sung lots o~‘ songs and we played. marbles, rrrwnble peg,


and~ town ball. In de winter we would setaround. de fire arid listen to our L~ammy and PapDy tell gho s t tale s and. wi tch tale s . I don ~ t gu~e s s dey was sho nuff‘ so ‚ but we all . thought dey was . •

~	My Mammy was bought in Virginia by our Master, Hugh MoKeown. He

	owned. a big plantation in C‘eorg‘ia. Soon after she come to GeorgiV she married my pa. Old. Master was good. to us. We lived for a while in the


quarters behixicl the Big House, and. my mammy was d.e house woman.

.	Somehow,in a tradè, or maybe my pa was mortgaged, but anyway


OldMaster.Iet»a man in Virginia have him and. we xz~ver see him no more ttill after the ~ar. It nigh broke our hearts whèn he h&~d~ to leave and. old Master. sho‘ ~~-•~- ~-- ~ he could. to make it up tö us.

sour of us ch~.ll~m. I c3i.th~~t t d.c no work ~ till I was
~~‘k~“ ‚~
WIi~LIAM CURTIS Age 93 yrs.•
McA1 e ster ‚ Oklahoma
L ~ ~ J