Ise bo'n in Peworia, Texas. Dats four miles west ob Hillsboro, on de fahm ob Marster Bell . My mammy an' Ise b'long to him. My daddy b'longs to Marster Miller . Aftah Ise bo'n, Marster Bell buys my daddy an' ob course, he den lives wid us. Ise aint got so good a 'collection now. Since Ise have de blood pressure, it's bad. Befo' Ise had de pressure, my 'collection was good. De wah am jus' stahtin' w'en Ise bo'n, so Ise don' 'membah much 'bout de wah eithah. Ise membahs de close ob de wah, 'cause we got freedom in June. We alls stayed wid de Marster lak mos' ob de slaves, 'cause us niggers had no place to goes. De Bells was good to us. Deys gives us plenty to eat, sich as meat, veg'tables, co'n meal, 'lasses, milk, an' some times a little tea or coffee. On Sundays an' hol'days, dey gives us extry tech, sich as biscuits, an' some times cake. We always had lots ob wahm clothes. Dey never gives any one punishments, 'less de nigger gits powe'ful unruly. My fo'ks an' Ise never gits whuppin's 'cause we knows 'twas bes' to does yous wo'k an' stay out ob devilment. Dere was two niggers on dat place dat have no sense. Dey would act lak balky hosses. De Marster warns an' warns dem, but it's jus' seems dat dem niggers wants de whuppin's. Ise seen dem git lots ob whuppin's. Some times de Marster ties dem up an' whups 'em, an' some times he ties dem down, an' some times he jus' gives dem a 'easonable whuppin'. Dem niggers gits w'at dere behavio' calls fo'. Dats w'at alls us gits in dis life. Marster never gives sich punishments 'cept w'en hes have to. Aftah freedom, some ob de niggers gits devilment in de head an' deys would leave de place w'en dey warnt s'posed to. W'en deys do dat, de w'ite fo'ks would have to herd dem back jus' lake dey was cattle. W'en Ise big nuff, Ise put to wo'k, at fust jus' peddlin' 'roun' de house an' sich. 'Twarnt long 'til Ise he'pin' in de fields. Ise big an' strong lak a mule an' Ise could do a pert lot ob hoein' fo' a chile. De Marster often tells dem Ise de bes' hoer on de place. 'Courst he tells dat to gives me 'couragements.

Couple yeahs aftah de wah my mammy dies. Den couple yeahs aftah dat, daddy an' Ise comes here to Moser Valley, 'cause daddy had a brudder livin' here. My daddy loved Marster Bell . How he come to leave de Bell place is dis away: Marster Bell , an' a mans named Wallace , got into de a'guments an' dey both wahned de udder to stay outer dere ways. One day, Marster Bell an' my daddy was a gwine to de town an' dey meets de man Wallace . Dey stahts de a'guments an' each pulls dere gun on de udder, but Wallace shoots fust an' kills Marster Bell . He dies befo' daddy could fetch him home. Befo' he dies, he says to my daddy, "Do me one favor, gits Wallace befo' yous leave de place". Aftah dat, daddy is sort ob diffe'nt, sort ob sad. He often would takes me in his lap an' says, "Its too bad fo' yous, chile, but yous pappy mays not live long", an' hes tells me to 'membah w'ats hes larned me 'bout bein' good. Hes often would ta'ks to me dat away. Ise knows w'at could happen to my pappy, 'cause hes was layin' fo' Wallace . Hes gwine to kils him w'en he comes on him. Then one day, Ise made powe'ful glad. Daddy tells me dat Wallace had left de country. We leaves de ol' place aftah dat 'cause de place was diffe'nt an' pappy wants to come to his brudder. Aftah Ise comes here, Ise meets my husban'. We keeps comp'ny fo' some times, den gits ma'ied. Dats over 40 years ago now. We have lived on dis place all de time. Ise raised 14 chilluns here, ten ob dem still livin'.  Lawd A Masse, Ise not gwine to tells de troubles Ise had wid my husban', 'twarnt any to gits fusted up 'bouts no way. We have always gots on quite pert. Don' yous 'membahs w'ats Ise says Ise larnt f'om seein' Marster Bell whups dem no 'count niggers.  Yous gits w'at yous behavio' calls fo.  Ise keeps dat in min' an' dats why dere's nothin' to tells 'bout fussin' wid my husban'. Ise had no trouble wid de cullud nor de w'ite fo'ks 'cause Ise ten' to mys chilluns an' home an' does right.