~x~si2Ne Stories	Page Four
( Texas)





They t an the le ather at home ~nd rn~ke the shoe at home ‚ a].lus s on‘ie old n i~ger th~.t kin. make shoe ~ They was more like na‘ s in ‚ with I ~ce made o:~• deerskin, The soles was peg on witti wood pegs outtn mple and. sharpen ciGwfl with a shoe knife.

“Us hpve hats iaak~ outtn pine straw, long leaf pine straw, tied

together in I1~1 bunches and platted round. arid round till it i~ke ~ kinder h~t. That oine ~tr~w great stuff in them days and us use it in lots of w~?9. Us idvered swe,t ttaters with it to keep them trom git freeze and hOt~~ made beds outtn it and folks too, Yes, sir, us slept on it. The beds h;~1. ~es~ one lee, They bored two hole in the wall up in the corner and stuck two pole in the~i holes and lay plank on th~t lik~ slats cnd pile lots of pine straw on that. Then they spread a homemake blanket or c‘uiit On th~.t (and soxaetiine four or five li‘l nigge‘~ slep‘ in there to

k~ep us w~rm~	.

	“Tne li‘l folks slep‘ mos‘ as long as they want to in th~yIight, but the big niggers have to come outt n that bed ‚ bout ±o~ O~ clock when trie bi~ ~iorn blows The overseer h~e one nigger, ~1C wake up ear.ly for to blow the horn and. when h~ blow this nom lIC !~RkC sich r~ holler then all tue res‘ oi~ tXtC ni~ers better git outtn that bed an~ tpear at the barn I bout dayl ight . }~e might not whip him for be Ing late trie fus‘ time, but that nigger better not forgit the secont time ~ be late~

	“Massa Rimee icInt t whip them rauch, but itfen they was bad niggers he j es ‚ cola them ot~fen the placo and. let somebody ei s e do the ii‘s Never have no church house or school ‚ but Massa BilleS, he call them in and read the Bible to them. Then he turn the service over to SOM~ good,