a little girl
that had died in infancy. Grandmother Patterson said she would not
recall the ones who had gone on to the land of promise. She is a
christian and a believer in the Word of God.

Grandmother Patterson, in spite of her 87 years of life (fifteen of
which were passed in slavery) is useful in her daughter's home. Her
children and grand children are fond of her as indeed they well may be.
She is a refined woman, gracious to every person she encounters. She is
hoping for better opportunities for her race. She admonishes the younger
relatives to live in the fear and love of the Lord that no evil days
overtake them.

"Yes, slavery was a curse to this nation" she declares, "A curse which
still shows itself in hundreds of homes where mulatto faces are evidence
of a heinous sin and proof that there has been a time when American
fathers sold their children at the slave marts of America." She is glad
the curse has been erased even if by the bloodshed of heroes.

G. Monroe
Dist. 4
Jefferson County

SLAVE STORY
MRS. PRESTON'S STORY

Mrs. Preston is an old lady, 83 years old, very charming and hospitable
She lives on North Elm Street, Madison, Indiana. Her first recollections
of slavery were of sleeping on the foot of her mistress' bed, where she
could get up during the night to "feed" the fire with chips she had
gathered before dark or to get a drink or anything else her mistress
might want in the night.

Her 'Marse Brown', resided in Frankfort having taken his best horses and
hogs, and leaving his family in the care of an overseer on a farm. He
was afraid the Union soldiers would kill him, but thought his wife would
be safe. This opinion proved to be true. The overseer called the slaves
to work at four o'clock, and they worked until six in the evening.

When Mrs. Preston was a little older part of her work was to drive about
a dozen cows to and from the stable. Many a time she warmed her bare
feet in the cattle bedding. She said they did not always go barefooted
but their shoes were old or their feet wrapped in rags.

Her next promotion was to work in the fields hauling shocks of corn on a
balky mule which was subject to bucking and throwing its rider over its
head. She was aided by a little boy on another mule. There were men to
tie the shocks and place them on the mule.

She remembered seeing Union and Confederate soldiers shooting across a
river near her home. Her uncle fought two years, and retur