/4~ 4 :~‘

~	j ~
	EL.~SLAV~ ~TORLES	Page On~
	(Te!xaz)	~:	26

JOHN LOVE, 76, wa~ born near Crockett, Texas, ~ slave o1! J0hn Sin~,1iey. John te‘ll! of the days of Reconstruction, ‚~nd life in the river bottorus. He now lives in Marlin, T~x~s.





	RI‘s born on de N~che~ River and $p~fld5 all lily earlies‘ life right down~ in de river bottoms, ‘c~ust~ I done live in de Brazo$ bottom, too. Mammy and pappy ‘longed to John Smelley and w~s 2cse and Johns

	“It was wild down in de Neches bottom den, plenty be~rs and panthers ~.nd ~eers snd wolves a~d catainounts, and all kind. birds and wild turkeys. Jes‘ a 11,1 huntin‘ most allus fill de pot de:~ thys. Dc Indians traps de wild animals ~nd trade de hides for suDplies, ~e was ri~ht near to ~e Cherokee and Creek res‘vation. I knoweô lots of Indians, and so~e what was Alabama Indians and. done corfle over here. Dey said. de white people was wrong when dey thinks Àlabar~Aa r~an ‘here we rest.t It ~ ~aean dat a-~-t~ll. It rae~n “people whz~t ~ithers ~iulb~rri~a.~ You see, dein A1ab~rna. Indians right crr~zy ~ znulberrie! and hs a da‘î for a fenst when de mulberries gits ripe. Dqt where de tribe ~3t its fla~Tie ~nd de town nara~d efter de tribe.

~	Smelley fit in ~e Mexico ‘dar ~ in de Freedom Wer, ‘out I don‘t

know nothin‘ tbout de battles. De bigges‘ thint~ I ~z~einbers a~n when de so1di~rs coi~ie back, ‘cause dey finds all dey cattle stoled or ~9ead. De soldiers, both kinds, de ‘Federates and Yankees, r~one took what ~.ey want. Dc plantations all growed up in weeds and all de youn~ slaves gorte, ~nd de ones w~iat stayed was~ de oldes‘ and faitbfulles‘~.

	UTimes waS haI~~ and no rnon~y, ~nd if dere ~vasn‘t plenty wild animals everv‘body done starve. But after ‘~44le, new folks come in, and has sorac money and things picks up a 11,1 more1n more.
—1-S