~1~$l~ve Stories	Page Two	443
(Texas)	~ . . t





	“My massa and. missus house was nice, but it was a log house. They had. big fireplaces what took great b±g chunks of wood and kep‘ fire

~	a~1l night, We lives in de back i~ a little bitty house like a chicken ~ house. We makes beds out of posts and slats across teni and. fills tow

sacks with shucks in ‚ em for mattress ~nd pillows .

	“I seed slaves sold. ~i& they was yoked like steers ax~d sold. by pairs sometimes. Dey wasn1t ‘lowe!. to marry, . ‘cause they co~ld be sold ana it wasn‘t no use, but you could live wi.th ‘em,

	~e used. to eat possums and. d~ese old—fashioned coons ani~1 ducks, Smetimes we‘d. eat goats, too. We has plenty cornmeal and ‘lasses and we gets milk sometimes, but we has no fine foot, ‘cept on Christn~as, we gits some cake, maybe. ~

	“My grandma says one . day dat we all is free ‚ but we staye&.~ with Massa Barker quite a while. Dey pays us for workin but it am‘ t m~ch~ pay, ‘cause de war done took dere money and all. Bat they was good. to ~s, so we stayed.

.	. ~nI was ‘boat 20 when I marries de fust time. lt was a big blow~ ou~t and. I was scared de whole time • First time I ~ ever t ackled inarryin‘.

~ ~•y hat a big paper sack of rice and. throwed. it all ove.r her and I ‚ enough ~tce to last three or foUr days, throwed away jtts‘ for nothin‘. I had on ‚a black, alpaca suit with frock tail coat ~itd ‚ if I am ‚ t mist aken, a right

.~!~ts shirt, My wife have a great train on her dress and one dem things ylu call a wreath. I wore de ludest shoes we could. find, what you call leather. .

	“Die here my thirt wife. We marr;es in ~a4e Pass and comes up ‚~ :~ain•ie Reservation and w~rk8 foi‘ de arrny till we goes to work for
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