I been a boy eight r' maybe nine year' ol' w'en 'Mancipation come. De county seat near d' plantation was Op'lousas, in Lou'sana, I b'leeve. My mother's name was Cyntha . I neber know her fam'ly name. I don' hardly 'member my popper. I nebber keep no 'count' 'r' d' house an' bed 'r' nuthin' like dat in dem times. I was too young t' do any wuk in de fiel'. I mos' time play in de yahrd wid de chillun. I go in ol' master's yahrd an' play on de po'ch wid all de udder chillun, w'ite an' black. I don' 'member de master's house 'cept it was a good size house wid a po'ch, yas suh. Dey gib us co'n bread an' cush-cush an' clabber t' eat. Dey mek de cush-cush out 'r' meal. Dey put de meal in de vessel an' salt de water an' stir. Dey mek it wid plenty good milk an' clabber. Dey was bery li'l rice use in dem time co'se dat come later. O, yes, we uster eat plenty rabbit. I uster hunt 'em w'en I git big nuf' t' git 'em. I git 'possum too. De folks skin de 'possum an' sometime dey scrape 'em an' leave de skin on. Den dey clean 'em an' par'bile 'em. Dat was t' git de must out. Sometime' dey bake 'em wid sweet p'taters. Yas suh, sometime' dey pow'ful good. On'y fish we had was sometime' we go t' de pon' an' ketch 'em. De close dey gimme was d'mestic blue. De small boys dey go in dey shuttail, suh. In winter time dey gib us shoes w'at dey call brogan shoe'. Co'se mos' time de Frenchmen dey go wid dey barefoot. Us all go barefoot in de summah. De slaves didn' hab t' wuk in de winter time. Dey wuk long days in de cotton fiel's in de summah. I don' know de size but it was a good size cotton farm. I don' know how many slaves dey had. Dat's beyon' me. I nebber know 'bout any slaves bein' treat' bad 'roun' dere, needer. I see niggers in chains on de convic' gang but dat was long time atter de war. I nebber see no slaves in no chains, no suh. Us had a pow'ful good master. Sometime' de boss man he come 'roun' an' play wid all us chilluns. He had a long beard. Sometime' we snatch at 'is beard an' he growl like a dawg an' jump at us 'an we run an' holler. Dat was jus' in play wid us. We didn' hab no p'tickler games on'y we go hide in de t'ickets. I nebber take no 'count 'r' holidays, I jus' play 'roun' wid de res' de chillun. I don' know 'bout my gran'parents 'cep'n my popper's mudder. My gran'mudder atter 'Mancipation tuk place she tuk care 'r' me. Her name was Mar'gret , her udder name I don' know nuthin' 'bout dat. My mother an' popper de Yankees tuk 'em in time 'r' de war. I's tol' my mother die' in de army. De people scatter 'roun' atter dey free. My gran'mudder she tek me wid her den. No suh, dey wasn' no chu'ch on de plantation, not t' my knowin'. W'en 'Mancipation come I was tol' t' be crissin' in de Cath'lic chu'ch. Dey crissin' de chillun dere, bofe w'ite an' black. Dey tol' me dat my master's dawter was my god-mudder. W'en dey tek me 'way from my folks a 'Merican woman, a cullud woman 'r' co'se, from No'th Ca'lina, she tuk care 'r' me 'til atter de, war an' freedom come. Den my gran-mudder tuk me 'way from her an' carry me off. De fus' wuk I don' was chop cotton an' pick cotton. I marry in Lou'sana. W'en I git a man fo' myse'f I join' de Baptis' chu'ch. Rev. J.T.B. LaBeau was de preacher's name dat marry me. De preacher come t' my house fo' de cer'mony.