42()~i3
	ELmSLAVE STORIES	Pace One	ij	‘?O •
(Texas)


BERT STRONG was born In 1864, a 5lave of Dave Cavix, H~ and his mother remained in the serv-~ Ice of the Cavin f~iai1y for ten ;v‘ears after the~r were freed. B,rt ht~9 farmed in Harrison County all his life ~nd now lives a1or~ on Lon~‘s Can~ Road, twelve miles
.	northeast of Marshall, ~ j! 5Up-.. ported by a ~15~OO p~r month pension,



	UI been livin‘ here all my 1if~. I was birthed a year and more I fore the war st oppea. ~nct ~ 1 on~»‘ea to old Dave Cavin . All my folks ‚ lo~iged to him over in Montgomery, in Alabaiaa. Massa Dave buyed. my manray‘s papa off a ‘bac~cy farm in Richmond, in Virginny. I heared Ma5Ba Dave say he done come to Texas ‘cause he heared i~ .A.1~bama this was a rich country 0*~ h~,wßs walkin‘ round with a ~ife in th~r beck and ~‚rou could sh~~emoney off the tree~s. His folks and ‘bout thirt~r s1~ves come to Texp~ in waj~ons. The:‘ was on the road three months.

	HI hear~d ray grand.‘pe~ple tell ‘bout holptn‘ run the Indians aut of Texas. Big Lnke, on Caddo Lake, was jus‘ a si~al1 Icind ~ stre~ them, deys. ~y ~i‘andp~. was name Gl~ster and he d.i~d at n. hunerd five years.

	“~1assa Gavin had 1bout four hunerd acres arid ~i1ded us all good quarters with chixrini~a and fireplaces, and good beds and plenty food. I‘s too little to know all this ‘fore the war, but my folks stayed with massa ten years after freedom n~d things was jus‘ the same as in slave times, only they ~ot a little mon~r, so I c~n ‘member,

	“My gxean~j~fla was cook ~nd~ there was plenty wild g~xne ‚ turkey z~nd deer ~nd iigeon and rabbits arid squirrels. I ‘member once the~r‘s grwnblin‘ ‘bout what they have to eat and old massa corne to the quarters t~~d say, ‘What you fussùi‘ ‘bout? They‘e a gallon good potlicker in the pot.“

—1-.