EX_siai!. Stories	.	Page Three	.	. :. .
	(Texas)		..	I	6.6.





ten pounds rations of meat, and a peck or two or meal, and some coffee and tlasses,

II ‘~Dat ration day corne once a week,
Old. massa rich as Gund7.	.
But he give ‘lasses all de w.ek,
Lndbutterrgilk for Sunday. .

ti I Old massa give a pound oi~ . meat ‚
	‚	I et it all on Monday; . • . .	. .
		Den I et ‘lasses all de week,
		And. buttermilk for S~tnday.1	 ~


	.	“Aal dis was down on de Missis~ipp1 bottom, Old Man River w~s sho‘ pi~rty in de fall, when dein wild gesses come in droves and de blossoms red and yaller. De fogs come hang over and chills and. fever gits started. De women sot by de fi re pi ec j~t quilt s and. ~ ~ ~ thread. ‚ and de old m,n weav. cot t on baskets and chair bottons, and dc ~roung men work on de levees, so dey hold.

Old ManBiver back when be start prowlin‘ round ‘gain.	.

	“Floods COuIC down, no matter what time of year. One day Old. ManRiver be runn in‘ ‚ 1 ong, j e s ‚ as p eaceful and qu.i~t ‚ ~id ev erybody happy. Everybody meet de boats at de. landin‘ . . Den way in de night iou. wake up and hear a roarint like thunder and dat river be on a tear, Folks kiiow he am in de ugly mood, and starts movin ‚ to higher ground. everybody what bave ~ wagon and mule gits o~it. Some jes‘ gits to di lsvee. It look like my folks told me when dey run from di Yankees, only dis time it‘s de river, • Old. Man River sho‘ treachtous. After

	he go on one h. rann‘ and tearint spells; ~den he gwtne be so peac.ful and qu.i.t 11k.. . Look 11k. be try to make up for he meanness.

“I gits marri•d and moves obst to de Tz‘inity river, and, stays till

~y, family done raised. ~ has free sôhools in ~ døn. I works . th . di sawmill and dira so~ch~..wild garn e us can •at e~8y‘. Drn day‘s on de Mississippi bottom is like a drea4m ‚ but when I hears talk ‚ ~o~t Old M~n Rv,~1~c~aa dem big waters
	rpairjn~~ ‚ d~m~	~ ~Q ~ ~	~	\ ~