e. Git off
my place 'fore I smashes you.'

"Den I kin come out from my pappy's cabin and de old massa was glad to
see me, and he let me stay till freedom am ordered. Dat's de happies'
time in my life, when I gits back to Massa Haley.

420317

Dibble, Fred, P.W., Beehler, Rheba, P.W., Beaumont, Jefferson, Dist. #3.

A frail sick man, neatly clad in white pajamas lying patiently in a
clean bed awaiting the end which does not seem far away. Although
we protested against his talking, because of his weakness, he told
a brief story of his life in a whisper, his breath very short and
every word was spoken with great effort. His light skin and his
features denote no characteristic of his race, has a bald head with
a bit of gray hair around the crown and a slight growth of gray
whiskers about his face, is medium in height and build. WASH
ANDERSON, although born in Charleston, S.C., has spent practically
all of his life in Texas [Handwritten Note: (Beaumont, Texas--]

"Mos' folks call me Wash Anderson, but dey uster call me George. My
whole name' George Washington Anderson. I was bo'n in Charleston, Sou'f
Ca'lina in 1855. Bill Anderson was my ol' marster. Dey was two boy' and
two gal' in his family. We all lef' Charleston and come to Orange,
Texas, befo' freedom come. I was fo' year' ol' when dey mek dat trip."

"I don' 'member nuttin' 'bout Charleston. You see where I was bo'n was
'bout two mile' from de city. I went back one time in 1917, but I didn'
stay dere long."

"My pa was Irvin' Anderson and my mommer was name' Eliza. Ol' marster
was pretty rough on his niggers. Dey tell me he had my gran'daddy beat
to death. Dey never did beat me."

"Dey made de trip from Charleston 'cross de country and settle' in
Duncan's Wood' down here in Orange county. Dey had a big plantation
dere. I dunno if ol' marster had money back in Charleston, but I t'ink
he must have. He had 'bout 25 or 30 slaves on de place."

"Ol' man Anderson he had a big two-story house. It was buil' out of logs
but it was a big fine house. De slaves jis' had little log huts. Dere
warn't no flo's to 'em, nuthin' but de groun'. Dem little huts jis' had
one room in 'em. Dey was one family to de house, 'cep'n' sometime dey
put two or t'ree family' to a house. Dey jis' herd de slaves in dere
like a bunch of pigs."

"Dey uster raise cotton, and co'n, and sugar cane, and sich like, but
dey didn' uster ra