Oklahoma Writers’ Project                                                       - 2 -  193	
	
told the white man that he had one nigger named Bill that was kind of bad,
that he was a good worker but he didn’t like to be bothered as he liked to do
his own work in his own way. The white boss told him he wouldn’t have any
trouble and that he could handle him all right.
	Old Master hired him and things went very well for a few days. He
hadn’t said anything to Bill and they had got along fine. I guess the new 
boss got to thinking it was time for him to take Bill in hand so one morning
he told him to hitch up another team before he caught his own team to go to
work.
	Uncle Bill told him that he didn’t have time, that he had a lot of
plowing to git done that morning and besides it was customary for every man
to catch his own team. Of course this made the overseer mad and he grabbed
a stick and started cussing and run at Uncle Bill. Old Bill grabbed a single-
tree and went meeting him. Dat white man all on a sudden turned ‘round and
run fer dear life and I tell you, he fairly bust old Red River wide open
gitting away from there and nobody never did see hide nor hair of him ‘round
to this day.
	Master Colbert run a stage stand and a ferry on Red River and he
didn’t have much time to look after his farm and his niggers. He had lots of
land and lots of slaves. His house was a big log house, three rooms on one
side and three on the other, and there was a big open hall between them. There
was a big gallery clean across the front of the house. Behind the house was
the kitchen and the smokehouse. The smokehouse was always filled with plenty
of good meat and lard. They would kill the polecat and dress it and take a
sharp stick and run it up their back jest under the flesh. They would also
run one up each leg and then turn him on his back and put him on top of the 
house and let him freeze all night. The next morning they’d pull the sticks.