in Virgini'.

"After pappy run away, mammy died and den one day de overseer herded up
a big bunch of us niggers and driv us to Barnum's Tradin' Ya'd down in
Mississippi. Dat's a place where dey sold and traded Niggers jus' lak
stock. I cried when Capt. Wall sold me, 'cause dat was one man dat sho'
was good to his niggers. But he had too many slaves.

"Cotton was a good price den and dem slave buyers had plenty of money.
We was sold to Jim Ingram, of Carthage. He bought a big gang of slaves
and refugeed part of 'em to Louisiana and part to Texas. We come to
Texas in ox wagons. While we was on the way, camped at Keachie,
Louisiana, a man come ridin' into camp and someone say to me, 'Wash,
dar's your pappy.' I didn' believe it 'cause pappy was workin' in a gold
mine in Virgini'. Some of de men told pappy his chillen is in camp and
he come and fin' me and my brothers. Den he jine Master Ingram's slaves
so he can be with his chillen.

"Master Ingram had a big plantation down near Carthage and lots of
niggers. He also buyed land, cleared it and sol' it. I plowed with oxen.
We had a overseer and sev'ral taskmasters. Dey whip de niggers for not
workin' right, or for runnin' 'way or pilferin' roun' master's house. We
woke up at four o'clock and worked from sunup to sundown. Dey give us an
hour for dinner. Dem dat work roun' de house et at tables with plates.
Dem dat work in de field was drove in from work and fed jus' like hosses
at a big, long wooden trough. Dey had to eat with a wooden spoon. De
trough and de food was clean and always plenty of it, and we stood up to
eat. We went to bed soon after supper durin' de week for dat's 'bout all
we feel like doin' after workin' twelve hours. We slep' in wooden beds
what had corded rope mattresses.

"We had to learn de best way we could, 'cause dere was no schools. We
had church out in de woods. I didn' see no money till after de
surrender. Guess we didn' need any, 'cause dey give us food and clothes
and tobacco. We didn' have to buy nothin'. I had broadcloth clothes, a
blue jean overcoat and good shoes and boots.

"De niggers had heap better times dan now. Now we work all time and
can't git nothin'. Sat'day night we would have parties and dance and
play ring plays. We had de parties dere in a big double log house. Dey
would give us whiskey and wine and cherry brandy, but dere wasn' no
shootin' or gamblin'. Dey didn' 'low it. De men and women didn' do like
dey do now. If dey had