ix—slave Stories ~ .	. . ?ags Two • .	• • .	~ ~
	(Texas) . ‚	~	~ ~	~ . % ‚




and. stay all day. Den in de evsnlnt ‚ aft er de n igg~rs had dey preachln1 ‚ dey all go home. Sometimes a preach.r come out to de plsntation and hold church for de white folks in de inornint and In de evenint for de niggers, out under a big oak tree,

	t‘ De Lawd say iffen us t rast s him and help M o be good he gwine make our path straight. Dis was true in de days of den,~- tcause ouX~ white folks tooken cars of us, befo‘ dey was freedom and sech. Now, us gittin‘ old, and gits de old. age pension when us too old to work.

	I, ~ works all up and down de old river when I ~ s growed. De plantat Ions has long staple cotton, Dey raise sugar cane and dere be twenty wagons haulin‘ cane to de boum‘ mills. We was happy to do dat work, tcauss we knowed it mean us have plenty ‘lasses in winter. Lawdy, I wish I I~iowed I could have all de ‘lasses and bread I wanted dis winter3 Dem was good times, Lawd~ Us sing dis song: ~

t, t	~T‘ Il st ~ck t o. de hoe t ill de sun go down, ~etli rise when de roostsr crow, And go to de field where de sunshine hot, To de field where de sugar cane grow. Yes, chilluns, wetll all go,‘

	III can jes‘ see dem long rows of cotton ~nd niggers drivint de oxen and mules. I know ‘nother song:

‚f	t Nigger mighty happy when he layin‘ by de corn, Nigger mighty happy when h. hear dat dinner horn; But h. mor. happy when de night come on, Dat‘sun‘s a—slantlnt, as sho‘s you. born!
‚	Dat old cowts a shakirr‘ ~dat great big bell,
And d.c frogs tunint up ‚ t cause de dew1 s dons fell. ~

	“Dat jest after freedom. Dey have plantations and overseers like slavery, but moét de overs•srs nigg.rs, and d.y didn‘t whip you den, On Saturday night de overseer pay us, moetly In rations. Re give us fi~r•, maybs
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