War, things was 'bout de same, like always, 'cept some
vittles was scarce. But we'uns had plenty to eat and us slaves didn'
know what de War was 'bout. I guess we was too ign'rant. De white folks
didn' talk 'bout it 'fore us. When it's over, de Marster comes home and
dey holds a big celebration. I's workin' in de kitchen and dey tol' me
to cook heaps of ham, chicken, pies, cakes, sweet 'taters and lots of
vegetables. Lots of white folks comes and dey eats and drinks wine, dey
sings and dances. We'uns cullud folks jined in and was singin' out in de
back, 'Massa's in de Col', Har' Groun'. Marster asks us to come in and
sing dat for de white folks, so we'uns goes in de house and sings dat
for de white folks and dey jines in de chorus.

"Three days after de celebration, de marster calls all de slaves in de
house and says, 'Yous is all free, free as I am.' He tol' us we'uns
could go if we'uns wanted to. None of us knows what to do, dere warn't
no place to go and why would we'uns wan' to go and leave good folks like
de marster? His place was our home. So we'uns asked him if we could stay
and he says, 'Yous kin stay as long as yous want to and I can keep
yous.' We'uns all stayed till he died, 'bout a year after dat.

"When he was a-dyin', marster calls me to his bed and says, 'My dyin'
reques' is dat yous be taken to your mama.' He calls his son, Zeke, in
and tells him dat I should be fotched to my mamma. And 'bout in a year,
Marster Zeke fotches me to my mamma, in Johnson Station, south of
Arlington. She's wo'kin' for Jack Ditto and I's pleased to see her.

I's pleased to see my mammy, but after a few days I wants to go back to
Marshall with Marster Zeke. Dat was my home, so I kep' pesterin' marster
to fetch me back, but he slips off and leaves me. I has to stay and I's
been here ever since.

"I gits my fust job with Carter Cannon, on a farm, and stays seven
years. Den I goes to Fort Worth and takes a job cookin' in de Gran'
Hotel for three years. Den I goes to Dallas and cooks for private
families, and wo'ks for Marster James Ellison for 30 years. I stops four
years ago and comes out here to wait till de good Lawd calls me home.

"Bout gittin' married, after I quits de Gran' Hotel I marries and we'uns
has two chillen. My wife died three years later.

"You knows, I believes I's mo' contented as a slave. I's treated kind
all de time and had no frettin' 'bout how I gwine git on. Since I's been
free, I sometimes have heaps