ut I'se still
got two of my chillun, my gran'chillun and four great gran'chillun.
Dey's all sweet and good to me, and sees dat I has all what I needs. I
done lost de sight in one eye and de other one is failin' moughty fast.
I prays and prays dat de good Lord will let me see a little, what time
I'se got left to live.

"One of my chillun died de fust of dis year and soon I'm gwine to jine
her. I hopes you laks what I ricollected, but somehow I can't call dem
old times back to mind since I done got so old, lak I use to. Come back
to see me again, Honey. Good-bye."

MANUEL JOHNSON of WASHINGTON-WILKES

by

Minnie Branham Stonestreet

Washington-Wilkes
Georgia

Seventy-four year old Manuel Johnson, "about de younges'" of the nine
children of Milford and Patsey Johnson, is a tall ebony-black old man
with the whitest hair and the roundest, merriest face. He lives in
Washington, but even at his age he farms.

Although he was too young to remember much about slavery, Uncle Manuel
recalls the happy old plantation days: "My Pa an' Ma cum frum ole
Virgin'y five years befo' de Wah, Jedge Harris here in Wilkes County
went up ter Virgin'y an' bo't dem frum de Putnams an' bro't 'em home wid
him. You know, Miss, in dem days us niggers wuz bo't an' sole lak dey
does mules ter-day. I wuz borned down on de Harris place de same year
Miss Carrie (the youngest Harris daughter) wuz--we's de same year's
chillun, dat's de onlies' way I knows how ole I is, Miss Harris tole me.

"Jedge Harris had er lot ov slaves--I specks I kin name er hunderd now,
dey all lived in log cabins in de Quarters an' wuz happy an' well took
keer ov as dey could be. De white folks took me in de house when I wuz
leetle an' raised me kase dey wanted me fer er house boy. I waited on de
table, washed dishes, an' atter I got big 'nough, I milked de cows. I et
in de kitchen out'n young Marse Jimmie's plate. I tho't so much ov him
I allus et out'n de same plate he did. We sho' had er plenty ov
ev'ything good too. All de y'uther niggers cooked an' et in de cabins. I
wuz gittin' 'long in years 'fo' I knowed you could buy meat in a sto'.
Yassum, us lived well on dat plantation--had plenty ter eat an' ter
wear. Miss Cornelia--(the oldest Harris daughter)--made all my clothes.
De nigger wimmens spun an' wove, but I never paid dem much mind when I
wuz er comin' on. I 'member hearin' dem talk 'bout dyin' de cloth out er
bark an' things dey got out'n de w