Ex-~S1ave:	~rnariue1 Elmore
~.
;;.. 9
Cooper, who be1ori~ed to the Coopers at Staunton Military Academy. I was the Lirst child born in Camden. She had sixteen children. I was brought to Spartanburg County when I was little. Both ma and pa ware sold together in Alabama. The first time pa caine to South Carolina he married a girl called Jenny. She never had any children. When he went to Alabama, Dorcas went vvith him, but Jenny stayed with Col. Elmore. Of course, pa just jumped the broom ±~or both of them.

	“When pa left Alabama to‘ refugee back, he had to leave Dorcas. They did not love their marster anyway. He put Dorcas up on the block with a red handkerchief around her head and gave her a red apple to eat. She was sold to a man whose name I have. for~ gotten. When~they herded them she got away and was months making her ~way back t o South Carol ma. Those Africans sure were strong. She said that she stayed in the woods at ni~at. ~Negroes along the way- would give her~ brčad arid she wa~ld kill rabbits and squirrels and cook arid eat in the woods. She would get drunk and beat any one that tried to stop her from coining bac-k. When she did get back to Col. Eirnore‘s place, she was lanky, ragged and poor, but Col. Elmore was glad to see her and told. her he was not going to let anybody take her off. Jenny had cared so well for her children while she was off, that she liked~.her. They lived in the same house with pa till my mother died.

	-~ “Col. Elmore said that negvoe~ who were from Virginia and had African blood could stand anything. He was kind to ma. He fed her extra arid she soon got fat a~atrx. She worked hard for Col. xl.more,at~1she and pa sure did love hini. One time a lot of the neg..~ roes in the quarter got drunk and ma got to fighting all of them.