a meetin' in Jackson. He made a gran' talk. He
made mention 'bout puttin' money in de bank. Lots o' darkies made
'membrance o' dat an' done it. He tol' us de firs' thing us had to learn
was to work an' dat all de schoolin' in de worl' wouldn' mean nothin' if
us didn' have no mother wit[FN: energy & common sense]. It's a pity us
aint got more folks lak him to guide us now dat us aint got no marster
an' mistis to learn us.

"I's a Nigger what has been prosperous. I made a-plenty cotton an' I
teached my chillun to be good blue stockin' Presbyterians. All 'roun' de
country I was knowed an' ever'body b'lieved in me.

"Maybe things is better lak dey is today. Mos' folks says so anyway. But
if Old Marster were a-livin' I'd be better off. I know dat to be so.

"I can hear 'im say to me new, 'Prince Albert, who is you named for?
Well den hol' yo' head high so folks can see you is quality.'"

Mississippi Federal Writers
Slave Autobiographies

[HAMP KENNEDY
Mahned, Mississippi]

Uncle Hamp Kennedy, a farmer, 78 years old, weighs about 135 pounds, and
is about 5 feet 9 inches high. His head is bald with a little gray fuzz
over his ears and growing low toward the nape of his neck. He does not
wear spectacles nor smoke a pipe. His face is clean shaven.

Physically active, he does not use a crutch or cane and his hearing,
eyesight, and mind appear alert. The old Negro cannot read or write, but
he has a remarkable memory. He seems very happy in his little cabin
where he and his wife live alone, and his eyes beam with interest when
he remembers and discusses slavery times.

"I was jes a little nigger when de War broke out--'bout fo' years ol',
my white folks say. I had a sister an' three brudders. My mammy an'
pappy was Mary Kennedy an' Lon Kennedy. My mammy was Mary Denham befo'
she mar'ied. I was born an' raised at Mahned, Mississippi. Old Miss Bill
Griffin was my missus.

"De Yankees sho' come to our house--yes sir, dey did. De fust time dey
kotched our hogs an' cut off de hind part an' take hit wid' em. De front
part dey lef' in de fiel'. Dey carries corn in de saddle bags an'
throwed hit out to de chickens. Den when de chickens come up to eat dey
kotched 'em by de head an' wring hit off an' take all de chickens wid
'em.

"Our white folks buried all dey silver in de groun' an' hid dey hosses
in de deep gullies near de plantation. Even dey clo'es an' meat dey
hide, an' de soljers didn' find nothin' 'cepin' de ho