Ex~slaVe Stories Page Two (Texas) 18 big old ticks made at the big house. Us didn ‚ t have rio chairs. Jes‘ benches. In the room‘s a ~ig tro~h. Us sit ‘round trie trou~h and eat clabber and bread with. bi&‘, wood spoon. I eat many a raeal that way myself. UDe& s moral times. A a‘ s 21 ‚ fore she ma -ry. The~r didn‘ t ~o wende ~ t round all hours . They mammie s knowed. where they wM~ Folks nowadays is wild and weak. The gals dre ss up co:ie Sunday. All week they wear they hair all roll up with cotton they unfold froi~i the cotton ûoll. Sunth~‘y corne they come the hair out fine, 1~o grease on it. They want it natural curly. ~~Us have good food most time. Steeland log traps fo~ big game. Pit traps in c~e woods ‘bout so long and. so deep, and kivered with bresh ath leaves. That cotch possum and coon and. other thim~gs what coi~e ‘long in the night. Us lace willow twigs and strings and put a cross piece on top and bott~, a~d little piece of wood on top edge. The trap ‘bout two feet off the ground to cotch t,L~C birds . D0ves ‚ ~d, ~ny kind birds you can eat, Us clean them li‘? birds good and rub ~em down in lard. Lfter they set awhile us broil ‚ ein with plent~r~ black pepper and salt. U~ shoot plenty ducks with mas~et, too. ttGreens was good, too. Us eat parsley greens and. shuglar weed. That aig, two foot plant what have red flower on i~. Us ~it lots of ‘em in Wade‘s Bayou.. Us put li‘l bit flour in ashea and make asheake. Us cook puiapkin in ashes, too, “After slavery I hoe cotton. No money at first, jest work on halves, The trouble that there no equal halves. The white folks par jes‘ I lice they want B . A W8h1 C uldn‘ t work th~t way no t . I h8~. t O come over -2-