apa. He say, 'You can't stay here, 'cause
you is a bad 'fluence.'

"Papa left but come back with a wagon and mules what he borrows and
loads mama and my sister and me in and us go to East Columbia on de
Brazos river and settles down. Dey hires me out and us have our own
patch, too, and dat de fust time I ever seed any money. Papa builds a
cabin and a corn crib and us sho' happy, 'cause de bright light done
come and dey no more whippin's.

"One night us jus' finish eatin supper and someone holler 'Hello.' You
know who it was holler? Old Uncle Big Jake. De black folks all hated him
so dey wouldn't have no truck with him and he ask my papa could he stay.
Papa didn't like him none, 'cause he done treat papa so bad, but de old
devil jus' beg so hard papa takes him out to de corn crib and fix a
place for him and he stay most a month till he taken sick and died.

"I stays with papa and mama till I marries Wes Ford and I shows you how
de Lawd done give and take away. Wes and I has a cabin by ourselves near
papa's and I is jus' 'bout to have my first baby. De wind start blowin'
and it git harder and harder and right when its de worst de baby comes.
Dat in '75 and whilst I havin' my baby, de wind tear de cabin where mama
and papa is to pieces and kilt 'em. My sister Rachel was with me so she
wasn't kilt.

"Well, I can't complain, 'cause de Lawd sho' been good to me. Wes and
all 'cept four my chillen is dead now. I has six boys and five gals. But
de ones what is alive is pore like dey mammy. But I praises de Lawd
'cause de bright light am turned on.

420153

MILLIE FORWARD, about 95 years old, was born a slave of Jason
Forward, in Jasper, Texas. She has spent her entire life in that
vicinity, and now lives in Jasper with her son, Joe McRay. Millie
has been totally blind for fifteen years and is very deaf.

"Us used to live 'bout four mile east of Jasper, on de Newton Highway. I
reckon I's 'bout 95 year old and I thank de Lawd I's been spared dis
long. Some my old friends say I's 100, and maybe I is. I feels like it.

"I's born in Alabama and mammy have jus' got up when de white folks
brung us out west. Pappy's name Jim Forward and mammy name Mary. Dey
lef' pappy in Alabama, 'cause he 'long to 'nother massa.

"My massa name Jason Forward and he own a lot of slaves. I work as
housegirl and wait on de white women. Missus name am Sarah Ann Forward.
Massa Jason he own de fust drugstore in Jasper.