Ex~sIave Stories	Page Six
(Texas)






open he mouth, ‚ cause de captain tel ~ hirn to shut up ‚ dat h~‘ d do de talkin‘. Den de captai~L say, ‘I COIn~ tDtell you de slaves is free ~rtd you. d.on‘t have to ca].1 nobody master no more.‘ Well, us ju.s‘ mill ‘round like cattle do. Massa Chancy s~y iffen us wants to stay h~‘11 pay us, all ‘cepting my papa. lie say, ~You cazi‘t stay here, tcause ~TOU is a had ‘fluence.‘

	“Papa left bit come back with a waGOn and mules what he borrows ai~d iqads mama and~ ~:ny sister and rae in artd us go to East Columbia on de Brazos river and settles down. Dey hires inc out ~nd us h~ve our own patch, too, and dat de fust time I ever e~ed any money. Papa builds a cabin and a corn crib and us sho‘ happy, 1caus~ de bright light done corne ~nd dey no nore whippin‘s.

	Il One ni~bt us jus ‚ finish eatin supp~,r and. some one hell er ~ ~e1lo. ‚ You know who it was holler? Old. Uncle Big J~ke. De black Thlks all hated hi~ so dey wouldn‘t have no truck with him 9nd he ask my papa could he stay. Papa didntt like him none, tcause he done tr~atpapa so bad, but de old devil jus‘ beg ~‚o hardj papa takes hint out to de corn crib and fix a place for him and. he stay most a month till he taken sick and died.

	‘II stays with papa an~ m~:UnP till I marries Wes Ford. and I shows you 1i;Ow de Lawd. done give ‚ and t ake away. Wes and I has a cabin by ourselve s near

.	~apa‘ s and I is jus.‘ •bout to have my fir st baby. De wind start blowin‘ and.

it git haHer ê~d. harder and right when its de worst de baby conies. Dat in

‚ 75 and whilst I havin ‚ my baby, de wind te ar de cabin where mama ~nd papa I s

t o pieces and kilt ~ em. My s Ist er Rachel was with me s o she wasn ~ t kilt . UWell, I ~ complain, ‘cause d.c Lawd sho‘ been good. to me. Wes

and. all ‘cept four my chilien is dead now. I ha~ six boys and five g~).s. ~ But de ones what is alive is pOre like dey mammy. But t praises de Lawd.

‘cause de bright light am turned on.
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