I was born in Louisiana, over in St. Mary Parish back in 1845. Dat make me ninety-two year old. My daddy name Louis James an' my mother Martin Ann James . De place weren't far from New Iberia. Old marster he was Francois Sequor . He was a Spaniard. Old mistress name was Mary . Dey have five chillun. De boys was Margaret Francois , Olean , an' Passe . De gals was Clementine Ilmar , an' Talle Baba . Olean he go off to de War. He never come back. He git took down with pneumony an' die. Old marster he live in a plank house with plank floors. De slaves dey live in log house with dirt floors. Some of 'em have one room, some two. Dey have benches to sit on, an' table, an' bed build in to de wall. Dey have plenty of kiver an' blanket to kiver with. All de furniture was handmade. Marster he have a woman to cook for de place. She cook de dinner, an' den at dinner time dey go to de kitchen with buckets an' dey dish it out to 'em in de buckets, an' dey go to dey cabins an' eat it. Old marster have 'bout eighteen slave. Some of de houses was double, an' have two an' three room. He had a big place. I guess dere was seven or eight hundred acres. He raise corn an' 'taters, an' cotton, an' cane. He raise plenty of truck, too, so all de people have plenty to eat. He had lots of stock, too. He had over two hundred head of cattle. He had hosses, an' hogs an' sheep. De li'l ones dey didn't begin to work 'til dey 'bout ten year old. Dey jes' run 'round de house an' play. Oh, sometimes dey do li'l work 'round de house like picking up chips an' bringin' in wood an' sech like. De old marster he sorter bad to his niggers sometime. He Spanish an' he git mad quick. He push 'em down an' git a stick an' hit 'em three or four licks. You git up an' run an' he done with you. He git over he mad quick as he git start mad. He didn't beat you so hard. Dey didn't 'low de slaves to go off de plantation at night. Iffen de patter-rollers find out you been off de place at night he 'low 'em to come de nex' day an' go out in de field whar you was. Dey ketch you an whip you. I didn't know of none of 'em running 'way from me marster. Iffen dey did he didn't put no dogs on 'em. Us have allus want to eat. Dey give us beef meat, hog meat, hominy grits, an' garden truck. Marster give six days for to work de farm. Sometimes de slaves hire out deyself on Sunday. What ever dey git pay for dat, dat dey money. He give 'em de ground to make a li'l garden patch. De old marster he was a Catholic an' he go to de Catholic Church but he didn't 'low slaves to go 'round to church.

Dey christen all li'l babies in de Catholic Church. When anybody die dey bury 'em in a home-made coffin. It line with black cloth. Dey put nice clothes an' white glove on 'em. Iffen you want to set up with de corpse de night before dey bury 'em dey let you set up. Dey let everybody off from work to go to de burying. Dey put de coffin on a cart an' take 'em down in de woods an' bury you. Bout getting marry, when a man see a woman he want dey ax dere marsters. He tell 'em 'All right' an' dey go togedder. Dey married den. Dey jes' give 'em two suits of every day clothes a year. Dey give 'em pants an' shirt. Dey give 'em pair of shoes for summer an' winter. Dey make 'em out of beef hide. Dey buy de clothes from de store. Dey didn't make 'em on de place. Dey didn't have no loom or spinning wheel. I didn't have no brother an' sister. I de only child. When I big 'nough dey put me to working in de field. I see sojers all dress in blue, Yankees. Our men, de Confed'tes, I see dem, too. Dey fit in Iberia 'bout six mile from where I was living I go dere where dey was fighting 'bout two or three days after it over. What I see? I see way dey kill people. Dey take a plow with four mule an' make a big canal an' put 'em in it an' kiver 'em over with dirt an' bury 'em. Dey didn't give 'em no coffin. I heard 'bout de fightin' at Port Hudson, too. De rich folks had all dey money in Port Hudson. De Yankees surround it an' bus' it open. Dey had fighting 'round in places, you know. Sometimes, I hear 'bout it an' sometimes I didn't. When dey got sick on de place dey went an' got de doctor. Dey never had no doctor wimmin on de place. Us couldn't talk 'bout freedom. When peace was declare marster he come out an' told 'em dey free. He told 'em iffen dey want to stay an' work he give 'em half de crop. Some go off an' some stay. I stay with him an' help make de crop. heard 'bout de Klu Klux. I never see none of 'em though. Dey told me dat dey uster go riding all 'round de country at night. Dey say dat iffen dey ketch you dey whip you, an' dey sho' lay it on.

Most all my life I do work on de farm. I plow an' help make de crop, an' look after de plow hosses an' mules, an' sich. I been marry twice. De first time I git marry I marry a gal name True Love . She live over 'bout New Iberia an' dere where us git marry. She was a Baptist an' us git de Baptist preacher to marry us. Us jes' git marry with a plain wedding. Us didn't have no big feast, jes' a plain li'l supper. Us jes' have three chillen. Dey was one boy what was name Joseph after me. Us have two gals, too. Dey names was Sibbey an' Cecile . Den after she die I marry de second time. Her name Harriet an' she live in New Iberia, too. Us git another preacher to marry us. Me an' Harriet we had two chilluns. I came here to Beaumont back in 1916. Dat twenty-one year ago. Since I been here I do mostly garden work an' lot of work 'round de yards. I work for good many different people 'round Beaumont.Back in slavery time, old marster uster 'low us to hold dances. Yessir, he say,  Muse yourself with de neighbors'. Dey 'low niggers from de nearby plantations to come an' us have a big time an' lots of fun an' 'joy ourselfs. De way dey do to have music dey take a barrel kivered wid a piece of hide. Dey beat in dat an' dance to it. Dey jes' dance an' dance an' turn 'round an' kick up. Dey never had nobody to call de dance number. Dey jes' 'joyed it in dey own way. Us sho' had a good time at dem dance.Us had a fine time when Christmas come 'round. Dat was a big day. Old marster he give 'em plenty of good things to eat. Dey have hog an' chicken. Den he give 'em whiskey an' egg-nog, too. Dey sho' have a big time den. Den dere was another time when dey have a big holiday. Dat was on Easter an' Good Friday. Dey didn't do no work on dem days. De old marster he go to Church den but de slaves dey didn't. When de folks was out working in de fields dey have a old woman dere to take care of de li'l slaves. She look 'round after 'em an' give 'em something to eat.In my life time I seen one ghos' to my knowing. One night I was on my hoss riding over to see some of de neighbors. A pretty black cat come out from de side of de road an' run along 'bout a hundred feet. Den it run under my hoss an' go to de fence by de side of de road. It jes' pass through de fence. Den it got up on a post. Den it jump down an' I see it coming out again. I come on down de road. My mind tell me not to go back. De first time I see it, it was jes' as big as a calf. I go on home an' I didn't look back behind no mo'. When I git home dere was a preacher dere. I tell him what I see, how dat cat come in de road an' pass through dat fence an' den how he git big as a calf. He say it was a ghos', an' it a good thing I never went back. He say dat iffen I'd a went dat cat it would have tore me plum to pieces. Dat de onliest time I knowed dat I see a ghos'.