Oklahoma Writers‘ Project		‘-.3— 9()




the room looking for the Mistress.

	Then I hears loud. talking and. pretty soon the Mistress is screaming and. calling for help, and. if old. Master Ben hadn~t drop in just then. and. stop the fight ‚ why, I guess she be beat almost to death, that how mad. the Master
	was.	. .

	Then Master Ben gets mad. tcause his boy Jim aintt got Texas yet. Then we stay up all the night packing for the trip. takes us, but the Mistress stay at home, and~ I wonder if Master again when he gets back.

	Vie rid.es the wagons all the way ‚ how many days ‚ I d~uimo • The

country was wild. most of the way, and. I know now that we come throngh the

same country where I lives now, only it was to the east. (The trip was evi— clently made over the “Texas Road.“ And we keeps on riding and. comes to the big river thatts all brown and. red. looking, (Red. River) and. the next thing

I was sold. to Mrs. Vaughn at Bonham, Texas, arid. there I stays till after the slaves is free.

	The new Mistress was a widow, no children round. the place, and. she treat me mighty good. She was good. white folks like old. Master Ben, powerful good..

	When the word. get to us that the slaves is free, the Mistress says I is free to go anywheres I want. And. I tell her this talk about being free

sounds like foolishment to me — ax~yway, where can I go? She just p~a.t me on the should.er and. say I better stay right there with her, and. thatts what I do for a lomg time. Then 1 hears about how the white folks down at Dalles

pays big money for house girls and. there I goes. ~	~

Tha1 s. all I ever d.o after that — work at the houses till I gets too old. to hobble on these tired. old. feets and. legs, then I just sits d.own.
us d.own in Master Jim

~~:im beat her