Well suh, I likes to tell jes' what is the truth, 'cause I's too old now to go 'round, telling a passel of lies 'bout things, so I's going to tell you jes' like I's been told and what I knows is de truth. I don't know 'xactly for sure how old I is, but Gov'ment folks say I was born 'bout fourteen years 'fore freedom cried out, and my daughter say I's eighty-seven now, but I don't have no birthdays like young uns do now, 'cause back in slave times white folks don't keep track of colored folks births. I reckon when white folks sell colored folks before freedom, dey 'xamine 'em like dey was a hoss er a mule, and guess how old dey was. De only reason I know whar at I was born is 'cause my sister told me after we come to Texas. She says I was born at Winchester, Tennessee, but I don't rec'lec' nothing back dere. I can't rec'lec' nothing 'bout my papa or mamma, 'cause they died 'fore I was old 'nough to know em. Edie , dat was my sister's name, was lots older'n me, and she told me mamma's name was Rosetta and papa's name was Caleb . She told me who own us at Winchester, but I's plumb forgot who t'was. Edie say mamma got burnt to death. Says one night she lay down in front of de fire place, - you know dey had big open fire places in de houses for de colored folks, and she lay down with her back to de fire, and a blazing log fell out and cotched her dress on fire, and 'fore dey could put it out it had burnt her so bad she died. I don't rec'lec' what misery killed papa, maybe Edie told me, but I's forgot.

Bout fust I rec'lec's 'bout myself is at Marse Tom Garner's place up to Eagle Lake. Seems like I sometimes rec'lec' riding on a train, and de train sometimes going under de ground coming to Texas, but I was too little to know for sure. My sister say dat 'fore we came here, Marse Tom comes to Winchester and buys us and some more colored folks, and tells 'em in Texas all dey has to do is shovel up money. He tells 'em dat so de colored folks don't run off, but when dey gets here de only shoveling dey does is ter shovel dat cotton. Law me, how white folks use ter fool de poor colored folks what was so ign'rant, dey believe anything what de white folks tell' 'em. When I's old enough I's put to packing water for de hands. Dey loads up a barrel full of water, and hauls it out to de field whar at de hands is working, and I fills my bucket from it. 'Course 'til I's stronger, I don't fill it plumb full 'cause it too heavy. Marse Tom was a good man though, yes suh, and so was Mis' Sally his wife. Dey has lots of colored folks working on de plantation, but dey dont' treat 'em bad like some white folks do. Humph, old Fraser what had de 'jin'ing place to Marse Tom , useter call us 'those damned free niggers of Garners '. Yes suh, dat's jes' what he useter call us. I rec'lec's one time I was packing water for de hands in de field, and he was talking to Marse Tom , and when I passed 'em, old Fraser said to Marse Tom 'bout all dat little nigger's good for is alligator bait'. I tells you de truth, dat's one white folks what is burning in torment right now 'cause he was so mean to his colored folks. Marse Tom useter let de hands knock off work on Saturday noon, and de women folks would do washing for de next week. On Sundays we has church meeting when de weather is warm, out in a grove by de line fence 'tween our place and old Fraser's , and his colored folks would crawl on dere hands and knees jes' like a baby to de fence and hear de gospel singing. Dey had to crawl dat way, 'cause old Fraser would whip 'em does he cotch 'em. Marse Tom has good wood houses for his colored folks too. Dey is built in a row jes' like on a street, and has wood floors and clean bed clothes. We has good clothes to wear, too, striped gingham and cotton dresses, and brass-toed shoes. Mis' Sally would tell us dat de next best thing to loving God was to be clean, and she useter come out to de quarters and see dat we kep' 'em clean.

Mis' Sally has two children, -a boy and a girl, and when de girl comes I's put in de house to be nurse girl. I forgets de boy's name, but de girl is Betty Jane , and she liked me 'bout as much as she did Mis' Sally . Becky what was a colored girl, was nurse for de boy, but she was sneaky. I rec'lec's one time Aunt Josie what was cook, fix dinner and makes a pie, and dat pie jes' disappear. Aunt Josie tell Marse Tom she make de pie, but it's gone, and he gets Becky and me to stand up in front of him, and asks me if I eat de pie. I says 'No, suh, Marse Tom ', and he asks Becky , and she says no suh she didn't. Den he gives Becky some ipecac and pretty quick you never see sech a mess in your life when she heaved up dat pie. She had eat de whole pie, but I reckon she never wanted to look at no more pie never, she was so sick. Marse Tom didn't whip her, he jes' put her out in de field to work 'cause he don't believe none in whipping his colored folks. I reckon he knew best 'cause I'se hear folks say he has de best crops round Eagle Lake. Yes suh, Marse Tom and Mis' Sally sure was good white folks.

Lots of times dey comes out to our meetings on Sundays, and sing with us. I rec'lec our favorite song was 'Give me dat old time religion, It's good enough for me.' Yes suh, and it's good enough for anybody, but colored folks nowadays is jes' ruinin' singin' 'cause all dey is thinking 'bout is style, and dey don't sing no more with de old time spirit in it. You has to 'bide by Jesus to get de spirit, and not iffen you has better clothes den other folks. And seems like folks is more puny now dan we was back yonder. Does we get a misery, Marse Tom fixes us up a dose of calomel or rhubarb, and shucks, t'wan't no time till we was feeling like a colt again. Yes suh, I stay on with Marse Tom 'n Mis' Sally 'til freedom cried out. I rec'lecs like t'was yesterday jes' what he told us. I was in de house with Betty Jane , Mis' Sally's little girl, and Marse Tom says for me to go out in de front dat he had something to tell us folks. Sure 'nough all de hands on de place was out dere, and he told us dat we was free as he was, -and we don't have to work 'less we wants to. Now I's hear dat in some places de colored folks shouted and carried on a heap, but I's telling de Gospel truth, - it was dat quiet, - jes' most like a funeral. Dey wasn't no one said nothing. Marse Tom he goes back in de house and de colored folks start for de quarters and most of 'em was crying. I goes back in de house, too, and dere Marse Tom and Mis' Sally is crying and I tells 'em I don't want no freedom but I wants to stay with 'em and Mis' Sally puts her arm 'round me and hugs me and den I start crying too. Twan't long 'fore Marse Tom goes out of de house, and I reckon it must a been 'bout a hour 'fore he comes back. He comes to whar Mis' Sally and me is with de children, and says 'Sally , de folks down at de quarters say dey don't want to leave what we gwineter do 'bout 'em?'

Mis' Sally say 'what we gwine ter do 'bout 'em? We gwine ter take care of 'em, dats what we gwine ter do to 'em.' And dats de gospel truth, dey wasn't a single one of Marse Tom's colored folks what left right away. Course, later, some get 'em a piece of ground and goes to raising a crop, but some stayed with Marse Tom for a long time, 'cause dey didn't know nothing 'bout no freedom and Marse Tom and Mis' Sally had treated 'em good. I stayed and took care of de children till I gets growed. My sister gets married jes' after freedom cried out, and when I gets growed up, I gets married to Fado Mallory . He worked for Marse Tom , too, but Marse Tom wouldn't let us call him 'Marse' any more, told us jes' to call him 'Tom ' or 'Mister Tom ', 'cause we was jes' as good as he was. Course when dey was comp'ry I calls him 'Mister"; but when dey ain't no one round but jes' us I calls him 'Marse' jes' like I useter. Fado , dat was my fust husband, and me has a big wedding. Mis' Sally and Marse Tom fix up de parlor for us and we is married by de white preacher, and dey gives us a big dinner in de dining room. I reckon dey wasn't no colored folks what had a better wedding dan us did. Marse Tom gives us some ground 'bout a mile from his house, and we raise good crops on it, and has plenty of money, but Fado took de Yellow Jack, -dat's de death fever- and died, and I waited most five years 'fore I married Amos Ladly . I'se had two girls and two boys what is dead, and two girls and one boy what is livin'. Dat makes seven don't it? Well dat's right. I didn't have no learnin' myself 'cause white folks don't teach us colored folks nothin', 'cept work in slave times, but my children all had some learnin' and can read and write. Law me, sometimes things ain't so clear no more. I gets a misery in my head and forgets a heap of things that has happened, but I guess dat's de way de Lord mean it to be, and if it is his way, it's my way too.