I's live mos' all my life right 'roun' here. I was bo'n on a farm call' Gran' Cane, t'other side of Liberty, in Liberty county. I live' dere 'till I's t'ree year' ol' and den I come to Double Bayou and us been here ebber since. Dat was befo' de war. My ol' marster was Andrew Long , and he up and move' here and brung all he had wid him. He allus was my marster. I nebber was bought or sol'. Since I reckilleck I think he was pretty good. Seein' all de balance of people 'roun' how dey done, I figure he was good. He was a 'ligious man and 'lowed his slaves to hab dey prayer meetin's. He employ' a reg'lar circuit rider and on Sunday afternoons he 'lowed de cullud folks all to go to chu'ch and preachin'. In a way you might say I was a sorter preacher. I uster have w'at dey call a 'zorter's (exhorter's) license. But I ain't done none of dat for some time now. On de place dey was my pa and ma, Frank Humphrey , Wash Humphrey , my sister, Betty , w'at was ol'der dan me, and 'bout six mo', 'cludin' de chillun. Dey raise' cotton, and co'n and sugar cane to mek syrup outer. I jis' couldn' hardly rep'sent (represent) dem houses dey was so po'. Dey was mek outer logs and dab wid mud. Dey was jis' 'bout 'nuff to keep de rain out. De frogs and snakes uster git in--I 'members dat. Us chillen slep' on de flo' and de ol'er folks slep' on a frame fix up w'at dey uster call a Geo'gia hoss. Dey warn't no table or benches--mos'ly ol' boxes. Dere warn't no cookin' in de quarters. All de cookin' was done up at de big house, and dat's w'ere us git it from. Us nebber know no holidays, not eben on Sadday. Us jis' had Sunday. I was w'at you might call a dairy han'. Dat is, dey mek me chu'n butter, and keep de dairy house and de pots and pans clean and sich. De dairy house was a li'l brick house w'ere dey kep' big cans and buckets of milk, and did dey chu'nin' (churning). Dey hab all de milk dey want' for dey own use. Dat was one t'ing us had plenty of. Dey had lotser cows. Dey spin and weave all de clo'f for to mek de clo's for de folks on de plantation. Dey uster mek de shoes for de folks too. I nebber did git quite egicated (educated) to mekin' shoes, but den I did mek some. Dey uster tan dey own leather to mek de shoes outer.

Dey was only one marryin' on de place dat I 'members of. Dat was my sister, Betty , and dat de onlies' one. I don' 'member nuttin' 'bout de cer'mony. All I 'members is de head man of de house he done de marryin'. Ol' marster he nebber 'low no dances on de place. Sometime dey go to other plantation to dances and sich, but dey hafter git a pass. Dey hafter git a pass eb'ry time dey leave de place. I nebber hear tell of ol' marster hit none of his slaves but de ol' missus, she would. She done wear 'em out many a time. She gimme one lickin'. I 'speck I 'served (deserved) it. I knowed I's guilty. I see de lock on de lock room do' open. Dat was w'ere dey kep' de syrup, and I want to git some syrup. I seen 'em turn de t'ing to let de syrup run out in de bucket. So I go dere and turn it and git all I want. Den I try to turn it off and de mo' I turn de mo' it kep' runnin'. It jis' wouldn' turn off and dat syrup run out and run all over de flo' eb'ryw'ere. I try to 'ny (deny) it, but dere it was all on my han's and foots. I nebber see no sojers 'cep'n' one. He was a 'Fed'rate sojer w'at was sick and he come to de house and stay dere two weeks. Dat's all I see, but I hear de big guns from Galveston to Sabine Pass. I dunno but w'at it broke de winder panes in some of de houses 'roun' here. I's frighten' myse'f of a ghos'. De fus' one I ebber see, come in de house w'ere us was eatin' supper--come from upstairs. Dey didn' nobody know him. He go on out de house and on out to de grabeyard and nobody ain't seen 'im no mo'. De nex' time I see one was in 1865. I was goin' home from de day's work and I see one comin' out of w'at you call a ol' gully. I was sho' scared. I run 'bout a mile I reckon. De reason I was so scared, dat man didn' have no head. I run to de farm of a rich man w'at had some bad dogs. I run right on in de house 'mong all dem dogs and dey didn' eben snap at me. Maybe dey was scare' too. Dey was one cullud man on de place w'at uster go to see he wife on de nex' plantation lots. He say he see dat man lots, and he tek out he knife and try to cut him but he couldn'. I nebber t'ink of tryin' to do nuthin' but run. Cunjurin'--dat was de mos' interes'in' news on de plantation. Eb'rybody b'leeb dat. I uster had a lady frien' down by Double Bayou. She done been cunjured 'cause somebody jealous. Dat cunjurin' business was imaginary. You couldn' see, so you couldn' git out de way.

I 'members some of de song us uster sing. One was: 'Steal away--steal away Steal away to my Jesus Steal away--steal away I ain' got long to stay here.' 'W'en my Lord calls me He calls me by de lightnin' He calls me by de thunder I ain' got long to stay here.' Anudder one we uster like to sing, go like dis: 'Ain't you weary trablin'? Ain't you weary trablin'? Ain't you weary trablin'? Come and join de ban'.' 'God's house is a house God's house is a house God's house is a house Come and join' de ban'.' "De Ol' Ship of Zion" was anudder. It go: 'What ship is dat sailin' so slow? Tis de ol' ship of Zion She has landed many thousand And she can land as many more.' 'Wonder who de captain is As she moves along King Jesus is de captain As she moves along.'

I was livin' jis' 'cross de Bayou w'en freedom come, jis' 'bout half a mile from here. Ol' marster he didn' seem to be intres'ted. Ol' missus she was tendin' to it all. Ol' marster he was a po' man. All de property b'long to ol' missus. She was 'tendin' to it all. She call' us all up to de do', and den she start' readin' from a long paper. She read aw'ile and den she break down and 'gin to cry, and dat was mos' intres'in'. She didn' want us to go. She say us ain't had no clo's or food or nuffin'. Ol' marster he was standin' 'roun'. He say, 'let 'em go.' Dey all gwine starve, and dem w'at don't starve, dey'll come back.' Us all pick up and leave. De fus' money I ebber mek was dis way. I lef' home and go to Galveston. My sister, Betty she already dere to hire out. It was Chris'mus time and dey was mekin' cake and egg-nog and sich t'ings. Dey hab so many eggs to beat dey git tire' and dey hire me to beat de eggs. Dat de fus' money I mek. One t'ing I buy was some fire-cracker'. In dem times dey uster ketch rabbit and 'possum, and had co'n bread. Dey had a butcher pen and butcher dey own cattle. Dey git muscadines and eat 'em and mek 'serves (preserves) and wine outen 'em.

I git marry in 1876, to Molly Anderson , but us sep'rate later on. Dere was 10 chillen and 8 is livin' now.  I uster be a boat man. I do lots of fishin' and de like. My son, he got a engine power boat on Double Bayou. I uster tek vegetables and and sich to de market in Galveston. My pa and ma was William and Priscilla Rivers . I had 'bout t'ree sisters in slavery. One livin' nex' do' right over dere. She Silvy , she jis' 'bout t'ree year' ol' w'en freedom come. De res' all dead. She don' 'member 'bout slavery times. She too young.