Marse Ed and ole Marse allers say I born May 2nd, 1852. Ole Mis tot me how ter read de Bible an' ter write my name an' a few odder things. Ize allers read de papers sence freedom. My folks was jes' lak my own blood kin an' I lobes de groun' dey walks on. Ob course de w'ite folks whupped de slabes, jes' lak all good parents whup dey chillun, ter make dem wuk an' behabe. De slabes on us place git whupped effen dey don' wukk er effen de sass er run erway. Dar wusen't no jail fer slabes nowhar 'roun' whar I eber libed. My w'ite folks had deir own doctor come ter de slabes effen ole Miss an' Aunt Kate can't cure deir illnesses. In dem days, hit was er long ways ter er town ter git medicine an' mosen' allers ter git er doctor so de wommin git ter be mos' ez good ez eny doctor an' old Marse he sho' mosen allers know what ter do when er accident come. Ize allers had er muzical mind an' sometimes 'fore de war, w'en times was slack on de plantation, ole Marse 'ud hire me out ter de boats dat wukked up an' down de big ribber. Dey allers made our landing ter fill up wid fire wood. Ize jes' a shaber ob a boy but I was big ter my age. De boats what had shows on 'em was de ones dat I git hired out on. Dese boats wud come ter er place whar dey gwine put on er show an' cose lak now-a-days, dey gwine put on er parade so folkses 'ud know dey dare an' dey git er big crowd fer de show. De folkses dat wukked in de show was mosley married folks an' dey wukk togedder. De Cap'n, he was de big boss ob de boat an' de show. Dere was allers a few players dat was jes' reg'lar muzicians, but effen he could, de Cap'n allers hire deck hands an' cabin boys dat could play some kind ob an insterment, dat how he git me. An' sometimes I act er fool in some ob deir plays. Come time fer de big parade an' dar was big times mongst de folks on de boat. De folkses 'ud git purty coats an' caps fer de boat hands what gwine play extra in de band an' all dem actors git all dressed up an' off us'ud march. De reglar band, dey kinda choicey an' all de extra ones, black an' w'ite, dey had ter git behin' de reglar band. Yo' see in dem times, hit was de custom ebery whar de show boat put on dem shows, dat all de pretty girls in de place dey git boquets ob flowers an' dey pitch dese flowers at de band boys ez dey march by. De w'ite folkses on de boat call 'em de "bouquet brigade". An' did dem boys rar back an' strut! I laffs now w'en I 'members 'bout dem good ole days. Ole Ribber she sometime put on er show erlong wid de show on de boat. Dese boats wuzen't lak de passenger boats, dey was hard ter handle case dey was built big an' awkard lak. Some time dar 'ud come a storm w'le de crowd was enjoyin' de show, an' one time de boat I was er wukkin' on de "Nancy Jane", was blowed clean ercross de ribber ober ter de odder side. De Cap'n jes' hollered ter de band ter play dance tunes an' all de folkses could dance. De folkses jes' dance up dar on de stage 'twil de wind git down whar de boat could git back ter de landin' an' git all ob dem back on de sho'. Dar 'minds me ob er story dat Ize heard Marse Ed M. tell er many er time 'bout er boat call er "Sensation." De Cap'n was Cap'n Wiley . Dar was er big plantation up on de Yazoo Ribber dat was owned by Marse Jimmy Towne , an' folkses ebery whar say dat he had mo' land an' owned an' hired mo' niggers dan enybody in dat part ob de country.

Well, Cap'n Wiley he figgered dat he take he boat down ter dat Towne landin'. But befo' Cap'n Wiley git he boat up de Yazoo Ribber, de man what he had sont up to de Towne plantation come back an' tole Cap'n Wiley that Marse Towne he don't want no show boat eroun' dar caze one time er lettle while 'fore, dar come er show boat dar an' hit putty nearly went down wid mos' ob he niggers on hit. Dat's caze so meny ob dem niggers crowded on de boat ter see de show an' hear de muzic dat de boat began ter turn turtle an' dat bunch ob niggers git scairt an' dar was some ob 'em git hurt er tryin' ter git off de boat. Well Cap'n Wiley , he stop at er place call Minter City an' while he was gibin' de show he foun' out dat Marse Tom own two boys had slipped off an' come ter see dat show. An' Marse Ed M . say dat a awful big storm come right in de middle ob things. Well, de boys couldn't git home atter de storm blow ober caze hit was still er rainin' hard an' dey would hab ter go through de woods in er hard rain. Well, Cap'n he call he man what go er head an' tell 'bout de show gwine come, an' he had he own little boat dat run by er motor. So Cap'n Wiley put de boys on dat an sent 'em home. W'en Marse Towne foun' out erbout dat he jes come er hustlin' an' de nex' day he mus' hab de show boat come ter he place an' he bought ebery las' seat on de whole boat fer he niggers. Marse Ed M. say dat w'en Cap'n Wiley run out ob coal fer he boat an come ter de Towne landin' dat Marse Towne jes git de niggers to load de boat wid cord wood. Cap'n go ter pay an' Marse Towne jes say not pay fer de wood, jes pay de niggers. Well, Cap'n think he pay each nigger er dollar and he piled out er big pile ob silver dollars on de table. Hit so heby dat Marse Towne say hit too heaby, he jes gib de niggers er quarter er piece. W'en Marse Towne die, Cap'n Wiley took eberybody dat git on he boat ter de funereal free.

Ize seed er lot ob Waco grow up an' Ize knowed er lot ob de folkses. Hit uster be my job ter git de chillun dat was old ernuff inter Waco ter school. Some went ter de Maddin school dat Professor and Mis' Maddin taught an' some went ter de school dat Marse Godbear taught. Dat was erbout 1874. Waco allers has been er town fer schools. Long through '74 and '75 dar was mos' nearly er fight er day in town. An' sometimes day git outten town an' had er duel. Dat's what two men name Scott and Thompson did in de fall ob '74. Marse Scott git knocked out an' hauled off one er day. Dey git ober er debt Dar was er weddin' in Waco in '74 dat my w'ite folkses talk erbout an' dat was w'en er Chinnyman name "John" git married ter er w'ite gal name Jenny Lighterford . John had er laundry an' atter er w'ile a restrant. In dem days er fist fight was er common occurence. Dey uset ter had hoss racin' ober in East Waco an' dar was er lot ob money change han's ober Marse Grants gray mare "Fannie " an' Marse Kelso ' gray hoss "Blue Dog". An' dar uset ter be drinkin' an' fightin' atter dese races. Waco had hit's bad men but dey wuzn't noddin' so awful bad, jes' cuss an' fight w'en dey git mad. Dere wuzn't no buffalo near ter Waco w'en us come, least not too much. But erlong in '74 an' '75 dar used ter be men dat 'ud go west ob har an' kill dem an' bring de dried meat an' de robes an' sell 'em here in Waco. Dar was er hunter call J. B. Hughs an' Ize seed him sell over three thousand pounds of dried buffalo meat an' ez meny ez one hundred an' fifty er sixty robes atter one hunt. Bud Turner and William Cassiday used ter fight every time dey git er little too much fire water. Dar uset ter be two pleasure boats on de Brazos at Waco, but dey git sunk atter a year er two. I nebber wukked on dem an' dey wuzn't er patchin' ter de show boats on ole Mississippi. I uster clean up an' wukk eroun' Mis' Sue Lambdin's Seminary out on Ninth and Austin Streets. I stayed on Marse Ed M's place but would come ter town ter wukk an' 'tween times I ud look atter de chillun. De roads was powerful muddy an' Austin Street didn't look noddin' lak hit do now. W'en de cattle folks 'ud come ter town, dar was er lot ob money loose eberywhar.

Ize seed dem dribe de droves ob cattle ercross de Brazos up 'bove de Suspension Bridge on deir way ter Kansas City, many er time. Sometimes Ize picked up er little change er helpin' ter git de critters ercross. Seems lak w'en de folkses libed in de log houses an' wore buckskin breeches, an' didn't had no attermobiles an' fine houses an' clothes, dat dey was better ter one anodder an' had er lot ob fun. Ize seed de time right har in Waco w'en us could git our ole muzzle loader an' go out an' git us er Chrismus dinner an' not kill noddin' but wild birds. Turkeys an' wild chickens was plentiful fer a long time atter my w'ite folks come. ize bin er member ob de African Mefodist Cherch sence slavery time. De preachers allers say de Baptist Cherch fer de w'ite folkses, de Catholic fer Mexicans an' Indians and de Mefodist fer de nigger. Us had er log cherch on de ole plantation back in de ole state an' one har in Texas. Sometimes er w'ite preacher an' sometimes er nigger 'ud preach ter us. Ize bin reading de Scripters sence Ize er little shaver under ole Mis' foots. She made er kin' ob pet out ob me an' she allers say "Clar ter goodness, dat nigger kan sho' learn, he mighty peart. She sho' was one good w'ite woman.

My chillun all dead an' my wife, Mary , she gone too. Dar was three chillun, Mary , Jim , an' Ed . All die 'fore dey git good grown. De ole man by heself now. Cose I danced er lot in my time. Us uset ter habe de biggest kind ob dances on de place 'specially at weddins' an' Chrismus an' odder big days. Bein' kinda ob er muzical turn I allers tried ter twang er tune outten my ole fiddle what ole Marster done buyed me outten what I make on de showboat. Effen de crowd was big deir boots an' shoes 'ud drown out de soun' ob de fiddle an' den us git some ob de boys dat could swing a clevis an' pin to help make more soun'. Sometimes some ob de nigger 'ud scrape on a cotton hoe wid er case knife an' some times all three, de hoe, de clevis an' de fiddle 'ud be played an' ole Mose 'ud sing. He sho' had a good loud voice. He allers liked ter sing an' play dis song: 'O git up gals in de mawnin' O git up gals in de mawnin' O git up gals in de mawnin' O git up gals in de mawnin' Jes' at de break ob day.' W'en ole Mose git through de song, de one dat play de clevis, 'ud hit it anodder blow an' then de folkses dat was dancin' 'ud make a rat-tat-tat wid deir heels an' toes. De houses in dem furst days us come ter Texas was made ob logs. De big folkses had double log houses, wid plank floors an' stone chimbleys. But er lot ob folkses had one room log houses made wid de bark lef' on de logs. De wind in de winter come through de crevices an' between de logs. De chimbleys was made ob sticks an' sometimes de wind come through an' set de stick chimbley on fire. One time I was at er big dance atter a weddin'. Dey done took eberything outten de house so dey could dance, cept what de muzicians set on, an' er stiff norther come er swizzin' down. De folks all crowded in de house dancin' or watchin' de odders dancin' w'en de house was hit by de wind. Dat wind jes' sweep through dem crevices an' swirl erroun' an' de furst thing us knowed, dat chimbley cotch on fire. Dar was jes' one cedar bucket an' er half er barrel fer water. De folkses git deir water from a crick erbout half-er-mile erway. All dey could do was ter climb up on de chimbley an' throw hit down ez quick ez dey can, an' leabe de house widout eny fire. De nex' day was cold ez blazes but dey build a big brush fire out doors an' two men watch dat noddin' don' catch f'om hit, wh'le all de odders pitch in soon es hit light ernuff ter see an' git sticks ter build anodder chimbley. Us mos' freeze 'fore hit git done. But in dem days, no neighbor let anodder git in er fix ob trouble an' not stay ter help him out. Yass'ma'am, Ize driv er ox waggin on freightin' trips ter south Texas er meny er time for Marster. In general de ox waggins allers travelled togedder. Dey go mighty slow an' us had ter camp lots on de road. Effen a yoke of oxen strayed durin' de night, all ob us 'ud stay till dey find 'em. De whole ox waggin train ob waggins had ter wait. Sometimes anodder yoke of oxen was lost while de folkses was erhuntin' fer de furst team dat strayed.