day then, and I fin'ly got a place
with Dr. L.J. Conroe. But after the war the Negro had a hard struggle,
'cause he was turned loose jus' like he came into the world and no
education or 'sperience.

"If the Negro wanted to vote the Klu Kluxes was right there to keep him
from votin'. Negroes was 'fraid to git out and try to 'xert they
freedom. They'd ride up by a Negro and shoot him jus' like a wild hawg
and never a word said or done 'bout it.

"I's farmed and makin' a livin' is 'bout all. I come over here in
Madison County and rents from B.F. Young, clost to Midway and gits me a
few cows. I been right round here ever since. I lives round with my
chillen now, 'cause I's gittin' too old to work.

"This young bunch of Negroes is all right some ways, but they won't tell
the truth. They isn't raised like the white folks raised us. If we
didn't tell the truth our massa'd tear us all to pieces. Of course, they
is educated now and can get 'most any kind of work, some of them, what
we couldn't.

420052

[Illustration: Eliza Holman]

ELIZA HOLMAN, 82, was born a slave of the Rev. John Applewhite,
near Clinton, Mississippi. In 1861 they came to Texas, settling
near Decatur. Eliza now lives at 2507 Clinton Ave., Fort Worth,
Texas.

"Talk 'bout de past from de time I 'members till now, slave days and
all? Dat not so hard. I knows what de past am, but what to come, dat am
different. Dey says, 'Let de past be de guide for de future,' but if you
don't know de future road, hows you gwine guide? I's sho' glad to tell
you all I 'members, but dat am a long 'memberance.

"I know I's past 80, for sho', and maybe more, 'cause I's old 'nough to
'member befo' de war starts. I 'members when de massa move to Texas by
de ox team and dat am some trip! Dey loads de wagon till dere ain't no
more room and den sticks we'uns in, and we walks some of de time, too.

"My massa am a preacherman and have jus' three slaves, me and pappy and
mammy. She am cook and housekeeper and I helps her. Pappy am de field
hand and de coachman and everything else what am needed. We have a nice,
two-room log house to live in and it am better den what mos' slaves
have, with de wood floor and real windows with glass in dem.

"Massa am good but he am strict. He don't have to say much when he wants
you to do somethin'. Dere am no honey words round de house from him, but
when him am preachin' in de church, him am different. He am hone