ook for deyself 'cept'n de single
mens, and dey eats up in de big kitchen. Us have syrup and cornbread and
lots of sweet 'taters and homecure' meat what dey salt down and hang in
de smokehouse.

"De old missus, she ain't 'low no dancin' or huzzawin' round dat place,
'cause she Christian. Dey 'low us Saturday and Sunday off, and de women
do dey own washin den'. De menfolks tend to de gardens round dey own
house. Dey raise some cotton and sell it to massa and git li'l money dat
way. Us don't never have no presents, but dey give eatments mostly.

"De young massas both go to war. Dey John Calhoun Moore and William. De
oldes' goes crazy, kind of shellshock like. As far as I knowed, he ain't
never git no more better. Young William and de old man comes back
without no scratch, but dey ain't serve long. All dey three 'lists by
deyselfs, 'cause dey didn't have no truck with dem conscrip'ers. One my
uncles, Levy Moore, he go to war to wait on de massas, and he struck
with de fever at Sabine Pass and die right dere.

"After freedom riz up, old massa come home. Den he call all de growed
folks and tell dem dey's free. A heap left, dey jes' broke ranks and
left. My daddy and mama both stay. Dey de fav'rites. Old missus make
present to my mama of a heap of things she need. But de white folks was
jus' rentin' and when dey have no slaves no more dey give it up and move
to Tarkington Prairie. Us lost track of dem and ain't never seed dem no
more.

"My daddy come back to Liberty den and work in de woodyard. Mama, she
larn me to work and cook and sich and hire me out to nuss a white baby.
I ain't knowed how much dey pay, 'cause mama she collec' de money.

"I's 19 year old when I marry de first time. You know I got two dead
men, dat Dick Owens and Nero Williams, both of Liberty. I has two gals,
Alice and Airy, for Dick, and five chillen for Nero. Dey all dead but
Adlowyer and Mamie, and dey lives right here. I been marry some thirty
odd year to Ben Chambers but us ain't never have no chillen.

"Goodness, I dunno how many grandchillen I has. I jedge 'bout 54 in all
and 13 great ones.

"I loves to work and I ain't gwineter beg, though I's got too old to do
much. I can't take it but a li'l at a time, but I gits by somehow.

420179

JEPTHA CHOICE, 1117 Brashear St., Houston, Texas, was born in
slavery, on the plantation of Jezro Choice, about 6 miles south of
Henderson, Texas. Jeptha was sent to school with the