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	Ex—slave St•ri•e	Ç Ç ~	~ Tw•
(Texas)




	tu tust went t• di field when I ‘bout 15 year .14, but they lamed us t e work when we was chaps ‚~ we would t p •~ j~pm~~ in d~e rews.

My asama‘ s name Maria Slaiaons end. my papa, Lewie~ They rared. me ~ip right. “Marss Dave wasn‘t ineen like some. Sometin~es de slaves

run away to de weeds and iffen they d~tt cotch t~ fust they finally gits hongry ~ind comes home, and. then they gite a hidin‘~. Seme niggers just COLL1C from Africa and old Marse has te watch tern close, ‘cause they is de ones what mostly runs away to de woods.

“We had. bettsr h•uses then, good plank houses, ~nd d.c big

house was ~ big and. nice. ‘Course they didn‘t lam us read ~nd write, ~nd didntt tiow no church, but us steal off and have it sonietinies, and iffen old Marie cotch us he give us a whalint. We didntt have no funersis like flOW, they ~ di~ a hole and rn~ke you a bo~ ‚ arid throw ~rou in ~nd cover you up. But de wtdte feiks fed u.s good and give us good clothes. ~ve won red russet shoes and good hetaespun clothes, and we done better‘n now.

	“Corns Christmas time eid. ruarse sometimes give as two-bits and. lote of extra eats. Iffen it corns Monday, we has de week off. But we bas ~to watch the eats, tcauee niggers what they marsters don‘t give ‘Sm no Christmas sneak over and eat it all up. S~,metimes we bave dances, and I‘d play de fiddle for white folks and cullud folks both. ~ play, ‘Youn~ Girl, Old. Girl‘, ~ High Heel Shoes ‚ ~ ~i~d ~ Calico Stsckin~s .‚

	Il ~i~en we was freed we was all glad ‚ but I stays d t round ~nd werked for ~tarse Dave and he pays me a little. Finally Lucy ~nd me gits married sat of de Book and comes down here to Marse MeNeels. They puts us