‚ ‚~ i~X«$1aVe Stories	Paie Two	71
   (Texa.)






	“Dey ~idn‘t lam ~s n~thin‘ ar~ iffer~ yo~ ~1E lam to writo, ~ :~ou better keep it to you.rse‘~‘, 1ca~se some ~1~wes ~ot de thumb or ~‘ir~er c~it ~ff ~‘or lamm‘ t~ writes Then de s1av~s come in frcm de fie3Ās d.y ~~id~n‘t lam nothint, they jt~‘ ~• to bee, ‘lessen Ō moonthine nights come aiid~ iey eo~1c! work in ie tobacco patc‘h. D. ~ars~er cive each one ~.e 1i~t1s tobacco patch &nd iffen he raised mere~n he could. use h~ co~xIŹ eell it.

	“Cn Christmas we all heSs &e we .k vacati on ~ an~~ maybe te Ian. ~e alius have ~i~e cran‘ dinner on dat day, and n~ w±iu.ppin‘z. But dey couiintt 1~av~ t~e pIantatioi~ withc~u~t ~e pass, even ~n-Christmas•

	“De women ha& t~ nui d~e ~in in i.e ~a~ti~ aii~ d~ r~an at nicht. Dey fed~ ~e old. ~in from b~ekets an~ ~y ~mmy fet from io~e baskets ~11 diy witb ~ hi~h f‘ver ~ ~.ied. ~at night, She ~u1dn‘t t~].1 ~.e marster she sick, f•r fe~.r ~he have t. tp~k~ de q‘ainine.

	“De i~y we w~,e free~, ~Ie s1av~ ju~s‘ 8cattere~, Iceptj~~ me, Mis$y Gi1b~‘t zays I wasn‘t no c1~vs ne ni•re ~bu.t I h~iA to sta~r at~. h&p her for ~ board. t~jfl l‘s crown. I stay~ ‘till I ~ae ‘bout 16, ~en I ri~ns away and~ marri ~ s Cal Benj e~min ‚ an& we comes t o T exai • C al ant ~ has ~ix chilien, but he died. ‘fore ley was ~ro~m,
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