Dey brung thirty-six of us here in a box car from Alabama. Tes, suh, dat's where I come from  Marengo County, not so far from 'Mopolis. Us belong to old missy Betty Glover and my daddy name August Glover and my mammy Lucinda . Old missy, she sho' treat us good and I never git whip for anything 'cept lyin'. Old missy, she do de whippin'. Old missy she sho' a good woman and all her white folks, dey used to go to church at White Chapel at 'leven in de mornin'. Us cullud folks goes in de evenin'. Us never do no work on Sunday, and on Saturday after twelve o'clock us can go fishia' or huntin'. Dey give de rations on Saturday and dat's 'bout five pound salt bacon and a peck of meal and some sorghum syrup. Dey make dat syrup on de plantation. Dey's ten or twelve big clay kettles in a row, sot in de furnace . We have lots to eat, and if de rations run short we goes huntin' or fishin'. Some de old men kills rattlesnake and cook 'em like fish and say dey fish. I eat dat many a time and never knowed it. 'Twas good, too. Dey used to have a big house where dey kep' de chillen, 'cause de wolves and panthers was bad. Some de mammies what suckle de chillen takes care of all de chillen durin' de daytime and at night dey own memmies come in from de field and take dem. Sometime old missy she help nuss and all de li'l niggers well care for. When dey gits sick dey makes de med'cine of herbs and well 'em dat way. When us left Alabama us come through Meridian to Houston and den to Hockley and den to Sunnyside, 'bout 18 mile west of Houston. Dat a country with lots of woods and us sot in to clean up de ground and clean up 150 acres to farm on. Dere 'bout forty-seven hands and more 'cumulates. Dey go back to Meridian for more and brung 'em in a ox cart. My brother, Bonzane Johnson , was one dey brung on dat trip. I had 'nother brother, Keen, what die when he 102 year old. Us was all long-life people, 'cause I have a gran' uncle what die when he 136 year old. He and my grandma and grandpa come from South Carolina and dey was all Africa people. I heered dem tell how dey brung from Africa in de ship. My daddy he die at 99 and 'nother brother at 104. Us see lots of sojers when us come through from Meridian and dey de cavalry. Dey come ridin' up with high hats like beavers on dey head and us 'fraid of 'em, 'cause dey told us dey gwine take us to Cube and sell us dere. When us first git to Texas it was cold - not sort a cold, but I mean cold. I shovel de snow many a day. Dey have de big, common house and de white folks live upstairs and de niggers sleep on de first floor. Dat to 'tect de white folks at night, but us have our own houses for to live in in de daytime, builded out of logs and daubed with mud and mail rive out boards over dat mud. Dey make de chimney out of sticks and mud, too but us have no windows, and in summer us kind of live out in de bresh arbor, what was cool. Us have all kind of crops and more'n 100 acres in fruit, 'cause dey brung all kind trees and seeds from Alabama. Dey was undergroun' springs and de water was sho' good to drink, 'cause in Mobile de water wasn't fitten to drink. It taste like it have de lump of salt selted in it. Us keep de butter and milk in de spring house in dem days, 'cause us ain't have no ice in dem time. Old massa, he name Aden and he brother name John , and dey was way up yonder tall people. Old massa die soon and us have missy to say what we do. All her overseers have to be good. She punish de slaves iffen day bad, but not whip 'em. She have de jail builded undergroun' like de stormcave and it have a drop door with de weight on it, so dey couldn't git up from de bottom. It sho' was dark in dat place. In slavery time us better be in by eight o'clock, better be in dat house, better stick to dat rule. I 'member after freedom, missy have de big celebration on Juneteenth every year. When war come to Texas every plantation was conscrip' for de war and my daddy was 'pinted to selec' de able body men offen us place for to be sojers. My brother Keen was one of dem. He come back all right, though. When freedom come missy give all de men niggars $500 each, but dat 'federate money and have pictures of hosses on it.

Dat de onlies' money missy have den. Old missy Betty , she die in Sunnyside, Texas, when she 115 year old. When I's 18 year old I marry a gal by name Lucy Johnson . She dead now long ago. I got five livin' chillen somewhere, but I done lost track of 'em. One of dem boys serve in de last war. I used to hear somethin' 'bout rabbit foot. De old folks used to say dat iffen de rabbit have time to stop and lick he foot de dog can't track him no more and I allus wears de rabbit foot for good luck. I don't know if it brung me dat luck, though. I been here 36 year and I work mos' de time as house mover, what I work at 26 year. I'll be honnes' with you. I don't know how old I is, but it mus' be plenty, 'cause I 'members lots 'bout de war. I didn't see no fightin' but I knowed what was goin' on den. I belong to de U. B. F. Lodge, what I pays into in case I gits sick. But I never can git sick and I ain't have no ailment 'cept my feets Jus' swoll up, and I can't git nothin' for that.

A lean-to house, unkempt and out of repair, is the home of Gus Johnson , in the north end of Beaumont. There is no furniture except a broken down bed and an equally dilapidated trunk and stove. Gus has the same unkempt appearance as the house, except that his face and frizzly white whiskers are clean. His shoes are torn and run-over at the side where white string laces them together. Although a native Alabaman, most of Gus's memories concern his later boyhood in Sunnyside, Texas, on the Glover plantation. Still industrious despite his 90 years, Gus has a yard full of fig trees, green corn and other garden truck. Dey brung thutty-six of us yere (here) in a box car from Al'bama. Yessir, dat's w'er I come from Marengo county not so fur from 'Mopolis (Demopolis). Us b'long' to ol' mistus Betty Glover . My daddy name' August Glover and my mudder Lucinda . Ol' mistus she sho' treat' us good. I nebber git whip' for anyt'ing 'cep' lyin'. Ol' mistus she do de whippin'. Ol' mistus was sho' a good woman. Dey uster go to chu'ch at W'ite Chapel. De w'ite folks uster went at 'leben 'clock and de cullud folks in de eb'nin'. Us nebber do no wuk on Sunday. I nebber learn' to gamble. Dey wouldn' 'low dat. Us uster play 'five co'n game' (this seems to be similar to 'Crack-a-loo' the doughboys played during the World War). Us nebber wuk on Sadday atter twel' 'clock. Part de time de men folks wuk 'til de middle of de day Sadday. Dey give out de rations on Sadday or Sunday; 'bout five poun' bacon, a peck of meal and some sorg'um syrup. Dey mek dey own syrup on de plantation. Dey was ten or twel' big clay kittles in a row, sot in de fu'nace. De ol' marster uster had a tan vat. Dey kill alligator and tan de hides in de tan vat. Ol' man LeRoy Sandlin he cook de meat. It jis' 'bout same's fish meat. Some of de ol' men kill rattlesnake' and cook 'em like fish and say dey fish. I eat dat many a time and didn' knowed it. Twas good, too. Dey was lotser big rattlesnake' all 'roun. Dey uster had a big house w'er dey kep' de chillen, 'cause de wolfs and pant'ers was bad. Some of de mudders w'at suckle de chillen tuk care of 'em in de day time. W'en dey own mudders come in from de fiel' at night dey tek dey own chillen wid 'em. Dey all better be in dey houses by eight 'clock. My mudder was a wet nuss. Sometime' ol' mistus he'p nuss. Dey hab five nusses for de li'l niggers. Dey was all well care' for. W'en dey git sick dey mek med'cin' outen 'erbs and well 'em day way. Up at de big house Clara Teeters was de cook and Nellie Williams was de waiter gal. She wait on de table. W'en us lef' Al'bama us come froo M'ridian to Houston and den from Houston to Hockley, and from Hockley dey tuk us to Sunnyside w'at was 'bout eighteen mile' wes' of Houston. Dat was a country wid lotser woods. Us sot in to clean up de groun, us clean up 150 acres to farm on. Marster hab 'bout forty-seben han's and he 'cumulate mo'. Dey go back to M'ridian for mo' and brung 'em back in a ox cart. My brudder Bonzane Johnson was one dey brung 'long on dat trip. I had 'nudder brudder, Keen Johnson , w'at die' w'en he 102 year ol'. Anudder brudder and sister dey bofe dead. Us was all long-life people, 'cause I hab a gran' uncle w'at die' w'en he's 136 year' ol'. He and my gramma and grampa come from Sou'f Ca'lina and dey was all Africa people. All my folks is dead out now. My daddy he die' at 99 and my other brudder at 104. Us see lotser sojers w'en us come froo M'ridian comin' to Texas. Dey was de cava'ry. Dey come ridin' up wid high hats like beavers on dey head. Us was 'fraid of 'em 'cause dey tol' us dey was gwine to tek us to Cuba and sell us dere. When us fus' git to Texas it was col' not sorter col', it was col'. I shubble de snow 'way from de do' many a day. Dey hab a big common house. De w'ite folks lib upstairs and de niggers sleep on de fus' flo'. Dey give us li'l niggers plenty to eat. Dey hab a long troff and dey put w'at we gwine hab for eat in it and us li'l niggers jis' crowd 'roun' and eat 'til it all gone. Us uster had jis' a long shu't to wear. I 'member I ain't had no pants 'til I twel' year' ol. De houses w'at us lib in was buil' outer log and daub' wid mud. Dey nail' rive' out boards over de mud. De chimleys was outer sticks and mud too. Dey uster had a big bresh arbor in front of de big house w'at de niggers uster sleep in in hot wedder to keep cool, 'cause de houses in de quarters ain't had no windows in 'em. Dey plant dif'rent kind of crops. One time hail sto'm come and 'stroy de crop. Dey was over a hund'ed acres in fruit. Dey brung all kind of fruit trees and supplies and seeds from Al'bama. Dey mek outer de fruit and strawberry and blackberry and muscadines. Dey hab 'still all kivver' over wid planks, and mek whisky too. W'en dey find de place in Texas w'er dey wanter settle dey propertied off de lan' dey want and dribe down stakes for to mark de lines and corners. Dey was lotser undergroun' springs on de place w'at run all de time. Some dem springs was eight feet in de groun' and de water was sho' good to drink, 'cause in Mobile de water warn't fitten to drink. It tas' jis' like it hab a lump of salt melt in it. Us kep' us butter and milk in de spring in dem days, 'cause us ain't hab no ice in dem time. Ol' marster, he name was Adan , and he brudder John dey was 'way up yonder tall people. Ol' marster die' soon and my daddy was de nigger driber in Texas. Part his job was to check up at night and see iffen eb'rybody was in dey place.

Ol' mistus didn' want de patterrollers to git 'em 'cause she ain't want 'em to git 'bused. All her overseers hafter be good. She punish' all right if dey's bad but she ain't whip' 'em like some of 'em did. She hab a jail buil' undergroun' like a sto'm cave. It hab a drop do' wid a weight on it so dey couldn' git it up from de bottom. It sho' was dark in dat place. Iffen any of de slaves try to run off de nigger han's find you iffen you been gone t'ree day'. I nebber see no slaves wid chains on 'em but atter freedom I see de convic' gang wid chain 'roun' dey neck, comin' froo Hockley to Rusk county. In slav'ry time us better be in by eight o'clock; better be in dat house, better stick to dat rule. Ol' mistus neber 'low us to be whip' though for anyt'ing but lyin'. She t'ink dat de mos' wustes' t'ing us kin do. She t'ink it eben wusser'n stealin'. I 'member atter I big boy, atter I was 18 year' ol', dey hab a train 'scursion to Brenham for Juneteenth. Ol' mistus allus hab us nice cel'bration on de place but I tuk notion I wanter go to Brenham so I sneak off and go. W'en mistus ax me w'er I been I ain't tell her but she know w'er I been jis' de same. She strip' my back and whip' me, ol' as I was, and she sho' laid it on. Dat was for lyin'. Co'se dat was atter 'mancipation come. W'en de war come to Texas eb'ry plantation was conscrip' for de war. My daddy was 'pinted (appointed) to seleck de able body men offen de place for to be sojers. My brudder Keen was one of dem w'at go to de war offen us place. He come back alright though. W'en freedom come mistus give all de men niggers five hund'ed dollars each. Dat was 'Fed'rate money and hab pictures of hosses on it. But dat was de onlies' money ol' marster hab. Ol' mistus Betty , she die' in Sunnyside, Texas, w'en she 115 year' ol. W'en I was 18 year' ol' I marry a gal name' Lucy Johnson . She dead now long ago. I got five livin' chillen somew'er but I done los' track of 'em. One of dem boys serve' in de las' war. Dey uster tell a story 'bout some folks dat was wukkin' hard to 'cumalate some money. De ol' man hab a li'l 'backer box w'er he put de money and say he puttin' it up for Mr. Hard Time. One time w'en he was out wukkin' a man come up and ax de ol' lady ain't she got sumpin' she could give him for hard time. So she 'member she hear her husban' say he puttin' up de money for Mr. Hard Time and she go git de money and give it to de man and he tek it and gone wid it. W'en her ol' man come back she tell him Mr. Hard Time done come and she give him de money 'cause he say he put it up dere for Mr. Hard Time. De ol' man he sho' mad but de money done gone and he can't do nuffin'. I uster hear tell sumpin' 'bout rabbit foot. De ol' folks uster say dat iffen a rabbit hab time to stop and lick he foot de dog can't track him no mo'." I been here in Texas 36 year'. I wuk mos' of dat time as a house mover. I wuk at dat 26 year'. I'll be hones' wid you, I dunno how ol' I is. I b'longs to de Mef'dis Chu'ch on College Street.I b'long to de U.B.F. Lodge. I payin' more and more for hund'ed dollar' and I nebber could git sick, so I git a nickle of dat money back. I ain't hab no ailment 'cep'n my feet jis' swol up, and I can't git nuffin' for dat .