Old Bob Cada , he my massa, and Annie Cade , she my missus. Dey had a big plantation over in Louisiana and 'nother in Jefferson County, out at Pine Island. I's born a hunnerd and one year ago, on Christmas Day, out at Pine Island. If I lives to see next Christmas day 'gain, I'll be a hunerd two year old. My mammy she come from Mis'sippi and she name' Judy Lewis . Washington Lewis , one de slaves on Massa Bob's Louisiana plantation, he my daddy. I can't 'member nobody else 'cept my greatgramma, Patsy . She's 130 when she die. She look awful, but den she my folks. My own dear mammy was 112 year old when she die. She have ten chillen and de bigges' portion dem born in slavery time. Dey two sister older'n me, Mandy and Louise . I name' after my daddy brudder, Henry Lewis . My white folks have a plantation in Louisiana. at Caginly, and stay over dere mos' de time. I 'member when old Mass Bob used to come to Pine Island to stay a month or two, all us li'l chillen gather round him and he used to throw out two bitses and big one cent pieces 'mongst us, jis' to see us scrammel for dam. When Christmas time come round dey give us Christmas gift and a whole week for holiday. never been no nearer east dan Lake Charles and dat been lately, so I ain't never see de old plantation. At Pine Island us have de big woods place with a hunerd workin' hands, without de underlin's (children). All he niggers say Cade de good man. He hire he overseers and say. 'You can correct dem for day own good and make dem work right, but you ain't better cut dey hide or draw no blood.' He git a-holt some mean overseers but dey don't tarry long. He find out dey beatin' he niggers and den he beat dem and say, 'How dat suit you?' Old massa he a big, stocky Irishman with sandy hair and he ain't had no beard or mustache. When he grow old he have de gout and he put de long mattress out on de gallery and lay down on it. He say, 'Come here, my li'l niggers,' and don he make us rub he foots so he kin git to sleep. Dey used to have old slavery-day jedge and jury of white folks and dey hear de case and 'cide how many lashes to give de darky. Dey put de lash on dem, but dey never put no jail on dem.

I seed some slaves in chains and I heared of one massa what had de place in de fence with de hole cut out for de nigger's neck. Dey hist up de board and de nigger put he head through de hole and den dey beat him with a lash with holes bored in it and every hole raise de blister. Den he bus' dem blisters with de handsaw and dey put salt and pepper in de bucket water and 'noint dem blisters with de mop dip in de water. Dey do dat when dey in 'ticular bad humor, iffen de nigger ain't chop 'nough cotton or corn. Sometime a overseer kilt a nigger, and dey don't do nothin' to him 'cept make him pay for de nigger. But our massa good. Old massa 'low us praise Gawd but lots of massas didn't 'low dem to git on de knees. Us have church-house and de white folks go in de mornin' and us go after dinner. Us used to sing! My knee bones achin', My body's rackin' with pain, I calls myself de chile of Gawd, Heaven am my sin. If you don't 'lieve I's a chile of Gawd, Jis' meet me on dat other shore, Heaven is my home. I calls myself a chile of Gawd, I's a long time on my way, But Heaven am my home.' Old massa have de house make our hand-sawed planks in slavery time. It put together with homemade nails, dem spike, square nails dey make deyselfs. It have de long gallery on it. De slaves have li'l log cabin house with mud-cat chimney on de side and de furn'ture mostly Georgia hosses for beds and mattress make out tow sacks, Dey no floor in dem house, 'cept what Gawd put in dem. When I six or seven year old dey 'cides I's big 'nough to start ridin' hosses. Dey have de big cattle ranch and I ride all over dis territory. I's too li'l to git on de hoss and dey lift me up, and dey have de real saddle for me, too. I couldn't git up, but I sho' could stay up when I git dere. I's jis' like a hoss-fly. Beaumont was jis' a briarpatch in dem time. Jis' one li'l store and one blacksmith shop, and Massa John Herring he own dat. Dat de way I first see my wife, ridin' de range. De Cade brand was a lazy BC ( ) dat done register 'fore I's born. Us brand from de first of March to de 15th of Old massa have de big field 'vided in trac's and each slave could have a part and raise what he want, and old massa buy de crop from de slave. He's purty good to he slaves, and us have good clothes, too, wool for winter and cotton for summer. Us have six suit de year, unnerwear and all, Dey a trunk like in de cabin for Sunday clothes and de res' hang on a peg. Us have plenty good food to eat, too. Beef and hawgs and bacon and syrup and sugar and flour was plenty. All de possums and rabbits and fish and sich was jis' dat much more. He give us de barrel whiskey every year, too. Dey 'low de li'l chillen lots of playtime and no hard task. Us play stick hoss and seven-up marble game with marbles us make and de 'well game.' De gal or boy sot in de chair and lean way back and 'tend like dey in de well. Dey say day so many feet down and say, 'Who you want pull you out?' And do one you want pull you out, dey sposed to kiss you. Dey used to be nigger traders what come through de country with de hard of niggers, jis' like cattlemen with de herd of cattle. Dey fix camp and de pen on de ridge of town and people what want to buy more slaves go dere. Dey have a block and make de slaves git up on dat. Maybe one man say, 'I give you, $200.00, and when dey's through de slave sold to de highes' bidder. Old massa warn us look out and not let de trader cotch us. 'cause a trader jis' soon steal a nigger and sell him. De patterrollers come round befo' de war to see iffen de massas treat dere slaves good.

My wife's gramma say dey come round to her massa's place, but befo' dey git dere he take a meat skin and make dem rub it round dey mouth and git dey face all greasy so it look like dey have plenty to eat and he tell dem day better tell de patterrollers dey gittin' plenty to eat. But dere one big nigger and he say, 'Hell, no, he ain't give us 'nough to eat.' Den dat nigger say, 'Please take me with you. 'cause if you don't massa gwineter kill me when you git gone. Old massa he die befo' de war and den he son, John Cade , take over de place, and he brudders help. Dey name' Overton and Taylor and Bob Junior . Us all want to git free and talk 'bout it in de quarters 'mongst ourselfs, but we ain't say nothin' where de white folks heared us. When war come on I seed sojers every day. Dey have de camp in Liberty and I watches dem. I heared de guns, too, maybe at Sabine Pass, but I didn't see no actual fightin'. Dat a long year to wait, de las' year de war. Dey sent de papers down on March 5th, I done heared, but day didn't turn us loose den. Dis de last state to turn de slaves free. When dey didn't let dem go in March, de Yankee sojers come in June and make dem let us go. Next mornin' after de sojer a come, de overseer reads de papers out and say we's free as he is and we can go. Some stay on de old place a long time and some go off. You know dey jis' slaves and wasn't civilize'. Some ain't never git civilize' jet. Old massa never give us nothin', but he told us we would stay on iffen we want, but I left. I goes down close to Anahuac and builds a li'l log cabin at Monroe City. and dat's where dey puttin' in oil wells now.

Washington Lewis , dat my daddy, he have 129 acres dere. De white folks say to sign de paper to let dem put de well on it and dey give us $50.00 and us sign dat paper and dey have de land. I marries in slavery time, when I's 'bout 22 year old. My first wife name' Rachel an she live on Double Bayou. She belong to de Mayes place. I see her when I ridin' de range for Massa Bob . I tells massa I wants to git marry and he makes me ask Massa Mayes and us have de big weddin'. She dress all in white. I have de nice hat and suit of black clothes and daddy a shoemaker and make me de good pair of shoes to git marry in. Us stand front Massa Mayes and he read out de Bible. Us had a real big supper and some de white folks give us money. De first money I makes am workin' for de gov'ment in Galveston. After le war de gov'ment hire folks to clean up de trash what de fightin' make and I am hired. Dey lots of wood and stones and brick and trees and sich dem big guns knock down. I goes back to ridin' de prairie and rides till I's 94 year old. I stops de same year Mr. Joe Hebert dies. When I quits I's out workin', tendin' Mr. Langham's chickens and I forgits it Christmas and my birthday till Mr. Langham comes ridin' out with my money. Dat's de last work I done and dat in 1931 and I's 94 year old, like I say. I bet dese nineteen hunerd niggers ain't gwine live dat long. I didn't had no chillen by my first wife and she been dead 'bout 70 year now. My last wife name' Charlotte and she been dead 22 year and us have 16 chillen. Dey six gals and ten boys and ten em livin' now. Mos' of dem am too old to work now. I stays with Ada , here, and she got a gif', She know what kind of herb am good for medicine for diff'rent ailments. She born with a veil over de face and am wise to dem things. Dey's de fever weed and de debil's shoestring, and fleaweed cures neuralgy and toothache. Spanish mulberry root, dat good for kidneys. When anybody git swolled feets give dem wild grapevine. Prickly ash bark good for dat, too. Red oak bark good for women's troubles and pumpkin head for de heart. Camphor and asafetida in de bag round de neck good for de heart. When de chile git convulsion make dem drink li'l bluin'. Dat good for growed-up folks, too. It good for burns, too.

Coming slowly out of the house, Henry Lewis took a seat on the front porch. His garb was a blue shirt and tan trousers, supported by suspenders. His feet were encased in good shoes. His rather small head was thinly covered with iron gray hair, while a like mustache and beard were on his face. A soiled felt hat was beside him. His voice was low and somewhat indistinct and at times it was perhaps something of a strain on his vocal chords and memory to narrate the story of his long and active life. Ol' Bob Cade , he was my marster and Annie Cade , she was my mistus. Dey had a big plantation over in Lou'siana and anudder in Jefferson county out at Pine Islan'. I was bo'n a hundred and one year' ago, on Crismus Day out at Pine Islan'. If I lib to see nex' Crismus day ag'in, I be 102 year' ol. My mommer she come from Mis'sippi and she name' Judy Lewis . Washington Lewis , one de slaves on Marse Bob's Lou'siana plantation, he was my daddy. I can't 'member nobody else but my great-gramma Patsy . She was 130 w'en she die'. She look awful but den she my folks. My own dear mommer was 112 year' ol' when she die'. She hab 10 chillun. De bigges' portion of 'em bo'n in slav'ry time. Dey was two sister' ol'er 'n me, Mandy and Louise. I was name' atter my daddy' brudder, Henry Lewis . My w'ite folks had a plantation in Lou'siana at Caginly and dey stay over dere mos' dey time. I 'member w'en ol' Marse Bob uster come to Pine Islan' to stay a mont' or two, all us li'l chillun gadder 'roun' 'im and he uster t'row out two bitses and big one cents pieces 'mongst us jis' to see us scrammel for 'em. W'en Crismus time come 'roun' dey give us Crismus gif' and a whole week for hol'day. I nebber been no nearer eas' dan Lake Charles, and dat been lately, so I ain't nebber see do ol' place. At Pine Islan' us hab a big woods place wid a hundred wukkin' han's widout de underlin's (children). All his niggers say dat Cade was a good man. Marse Bob hire his overseers and he say, 'You kin correck 'em for dey own good and mek 'em wuk right, but you ain't better cut dey hide or draw no blood.' He git a-holt of some mean overseers but dey didn' tarry long. He find out dey been beatin' his niggers and he beat dem and say, 'How dat suit you?' 'Beatin' my po' niggers.' Dat de way it feel to dem' how it feel to you?' Dey was one name' Brookheart ; Law, he was a terror. He whip' 'em all 'till Marse Bob come, den he git his plenty. Ol' Marse hit him wid he fis'. He call him out and beat him and knock' him out, and he kick him, too. Den he mek him go 'way and nebber come back. Brookheart 'fraid he ain't gwine to git pay but ol' marster say, 'Oh, yes, he gwineter git two pay, but he ain't gwine to like one kind..

Ol' marster he was a big stocky Irishman wid sandy hair and he ain't had no beard or mustache. W'en he grow ol' he hab de gout. He put a long mattress out on de gallery and lay down on it. He see me and my brudder and sister, dat Adline and John. He say, 'Come here my li'l niggers.' Den he mek us rub he foots so he kin git to sleep. And he say, 'God help 'em iffen dey bodder his li'l niggers. Dey nebber uster sen' niggers to Huntsville in slavery time. Dey uster hab ol' slav'ry day judge and jury of w'ite folks and dey hear de case and 'cide how many lashes to give de darky. Dey put de lash on 'em; dey nebber put no jail on 'em. I seed some slaves in chains. I heerd of one marster w'at had a place in de fence wid a boa'd wid a place cut out for de nigger's neck. Dey h'ist up de boa'd and mek de nigger put he head froo de hole and dat hol' he head, den dey beat him wid a lash w'at got holes bored in it, and eb'ry place dey a hole, it raise' a blister. Den he bus' de blisters wid a han' saw. Dey put salt and pepper in a bucket of water and den dey 'noint de blisters wid a mop di' in de water. Dey do dat w'en dey in partic'lar bad humor. Iffen de nigger ain' chop 'nuff co' or cotton. Some jis' whip 'em 'cause dey mean. Sometime a overseer kill a nigger. Iffen he do dat dey don' do nuttin' to de overseer, only mek him pay de cos' of de slave. Some of de overseer iffen dey stump dey toe or sumpin' like dat, dey git mad and tek it out on de niggers. But marse Bob was a good man and nebber b'leeb in beatin' his niggers. Us go up and ask Marse Bob iffen us kin go fishin' and he say, 'Sho', how 'bout me goin' 'long?' He allus go 'long wid us chillun 'cause he 'feerd us fall in de water and git drownded. Ol' marster 'low us to praise God. He say for nobody to stop us. But lots of de marsters wouldn' 'low you to git on your knees. Dey was chu'ch house w'ere dey uster had preachin'. De w'ite folks uster go in de mo'nin' and de cullud folks atter dinner. Lots of times de w'ite folks would go atter dinner too, and hear de preacher preach to de niggers. I 'member one de songs dey uster sing was 'My knee bones achin', My body's 'rackin' wid pain, I call myself a chile of God Heaven is my aim.' 'If you don' b'leeve I's a chile of God, Jis' meet me on dat other shore Heaven is my home. I call myself a chile of God I's a long time on my way But heaven is my home. Ol' marster had a house mek outen han' sawed planks in slav'ry time. It was put togedder wid home-made nails, dem spike square nails w'at dey mek deyse'fs. It had a long gallery on it. De slaves had li'l log cabin house wid mud-cat chim'ly on de side yessum, you git dat right, mud-cat. De furniture was mos'ly Geo'gia hosses for beds, and moss mattress' mek outen two sacks. Dey warn't no flo' in dem house' 'cep'n w'at God put in 'em. Dey had big log rollin' jis' like parties and sing songs, but I done forgit 'em. Dey hab long hook and spike w'at dey roll de logs wid, den dey pile 'em up and mek big bon'fire. Den dey hab lots of good t'ings to eat and coffee afterwards.

W'en I six or seben year' ol' dey 'cide I'se big 'nuff to start ridin' hosses. Dey hab a big cattle ranch and I ride all over dis ter'tory. I's too li'l to git up on de hoss and dey hafter lif' me up and put me dere. Dey hab a real saddle dere for me too. I couldn' git up but I sho' could stay up w'en I git dere. I was jis' like a hoss fly. Soon's I could sit up dere, I go right 'long wid 'em and dat was my wuk from den on. I nebber knowed nuttin' else in slav'ry time. Beaunont was jis' a briar patch in dem time. Jis' one li'l sto' and one blacksmith shop and Mr. John Herring he own' dat. Us ride de range over dis whole country. Dat de way I fus' see my wife, ridin' de range. De Cade bran' was a lazy RC (IC ?) dat was done register' befo' I's bo'n. Us uster start bran'in' 'bout de fus' of March to de 15th of December. Dey hab pens for bran'in' pens. Dey was one on Taylor's Bayou, and one close to home and ol' Cloville Paton was de boss at Big Pine Islan' pen. In bran'in season was de onlies' time us had to wuk on Sunday. De fus' wuk I ebber did was mindin' de co'n to keep de birds off. De fiel' larks and crows was de wuss in de worl'. Us uster slip up on de fiel'larks and knock 'em in de head and mek pies outen 'em. My mudder had her watermilion patch. I sneak' de melons and git a lickin' for dat. Ol' marster had a big fiel' 'vided into tracts and each one of his slaves could hab a part and raise w'at he want. Den de ol' marster would buy de crop and give de slave de money. I had 'bout t'ree hundred dollars in Confed'rit money at one time, but it warn't no good atter de war. Our people wo' good clo'se in slav'ry time. Dey give us wool clo'se for winter and cotton clo'se for summer. De ol' marster brung 'em from Lou'siana. Us hab six suits a year, underclo'se and all. Dey was a trunk like in de cabin for de Sunday clo'se and de res' was hung on a peg. Dey uster give us plenty of good food to eat. Dey give us beef and hogs and bacon and syrup and sugar and flour. All de 'possums and rabbits, fish and sich was jis' dat much mo'. He give us a bar'l of whiskey eb'ry year too. Dey 'low us li'l chillun lots of play time and didn' put us to no hard task. Us play mos'ly country games, like stick hosses, and sebenup marble game wid mud marbles w'at us mek usse'fs. Den us play a runnin' game call: 'Yonder come mommer, Julie Shoo, fly don' bodder me.' W'en us li'l ol'er dey was anudder game us uster play. Dat call de "well game." De gal or de boy sot in de chair and dey lean 'em way back and 'tend like dey's in a well. Dey say dey's so many feet down in de well. Den dey say, 'Who you want to pull you out?' And de one w'at you want to pull you out, dey 'spose' to kiss 'em.. I 'member de ol' folks uster tell us stories in slav'ry days. Dere was one 'bout a nigger name' John. He go ax his ol' marster to 'low him to go see his gal one night. Ol' marster say, 'John, ain't you skeered de sperrits gwine to git you? 'cause he know John had to go right by de graveyard, but John say, 'No, he ain't fraid no sperrits.' So he 'low him to go. 'Bout time John 'spose to be back home dat night, ol' marster wrop hisse'f up in a sheet and t'ink he hab some fun wid him. Dey was a big log by de side of de graveyard, and he git behin' dat. But w'at he ain't know was dat his li'l monkey see 'im put de sheet on, and he put de pillow slip on 'roun' him, and sot behin' him by de log. W'en John come 'long and see dat w'ite t'ing risin' up he say, 'Lawd, see de big 'fraid.' Den w'en he see de li'l w'ite sumpin' rise up behin' dere, he say, H-m-m dere's li'l 'fraid dere, too.' W'en de ol' marster tu'n 'roun' and see dat li'l w'ite t'ing w'at he ain't know w'at it was, he lit out. Den John he say, 'Run, big 'fraid, run, li'l 'fraid right behin' you.' Ol' marster run and fall down on de gallery and de monkey run up on de gallery and cut sumbersets atter him. Dey uster tell dat one time dey was two boys w'at went out to git hick'rynuts. Some of 'em was w'ite, dem dat had de hulls off, and dem w'at had de hulls on was black 'cause de hull done dry up and tu 'n black, W'en dey gwine back home dey drap a couple out de bag by de gate on de outside. Warn't long befo' a nigger come by and he hear 'em sortin' out de nuts jis' inside de gate. He ain't see 'em but he hear 'em say, 'You tek de black one and I'll tek de w'ite one.' He t'ink it were de Lord and de debbil tekin' de souls of de w'ite folks and cullud folks w'at been bury dere, and he lit out and run home and tell de marster. Marster he say he gwine see 'bout dat and if dat nigger lyin' he gwine give him 100 lashes. So he go back wid de nigger and w'en dey git to de gate de boys inside done 'vidin' up dere nuts. Den one say, 'How 'bout dem two at de gate?' and de other say, 'You tek de w'ite one and I tek de black one.' Wid dat, de w'ite marster say, 'I'm damned iffen you kin tek me, tek de nigger, I'm gone,' and he lit out, but w'en he git w'ere he gwine de nigger git dere jis' a leedle bit ahead of him.. I hear de niggers tell 'bout some place w'ere dere was a mean ol' marster. He go 'roun' de place one time and he see a fiel' w'ere he t'ink de grass ain't been hoe' out like it orter be. De overseer he say de grass growed too fas'. Dere was a ol' shed by de fiel' and de marster mek 'em bring a big rockin' chair and sot it under de shed. He say de niggers gwine hafter hab dat grass hoe' befo' Jesus ready to git up de nex' mo'nin', and he gwine be dere to watch 'em. Dem niggers wuk hard all dat night, and all git dere wuk finish' but one nigger, w'en de mo'nin' come, and de overseer tek him up to de chair for ol' marster to beat him. Dere was de marster settin' dere starin'. De overseer shook him but he ain't move and de overseer put he han' on he forrid and it col'. De marster col' dead long befo' Jesus start anudder day. De Lawd strike him dead for he blaspheme dat way. Dat warn't on us plantation, dat was at anudder place.

Dey uster be nigger traders w'at come froo de country wid a herd of niggers jis' like cattle-men wid a herd of cattle. Dey fix' up a camp and a pen on de ridge of town, and people w'at want to buy mo' slaves go dere. Dey had a block and mek de slaves git up on it and dey bid 'em off. Maybe one man say, 'I give you $200.00,' anudder say, 'I give you $210.00', anudder say, 'I go dat $100.00 better,' and w'en dey git froo he sell him to de highes' bidder. Ol' marster uster warn us to watch out and not let a trader ketch us, 'cause a trader he jis' as soon steal a nigger and sell him. De patterrollers uster come 'roun' befo' de war. One time w'en dey gittin' ready for de war de patterrollers come 'roun' to see iffen de marsters treatin' de darkies good. My wife's gramma say dey come 'roun' to her marster place, but befo' dey git dere he tek a meat skin and mek 'em rub it 'roun' dey mouf and git dey face all greasy so it look like dey hab plenty to eat and he tell 'em dey better tell de patterrollers dey gittin' plenty to eat. So dey ax 'em, 'You gittin' plenty to eat?' and de niggers say, 'Oh, yes, ol' marster he give us plenty.' But dey was one big nigger and w'en dey ax him, he say, 'Hell, no, he ain't give us 'nuff to eat.' He mek us rub dis grease offen a meat skin dis mo'nin' so it look like us git plenty, but us ain't git 'nuff.' 'Now do please mister tek me 'long wid you, 'cause if you don't mass gwineter kill me w'en you git gone. Ol' marster Cade he die' befo' de war. Dere was young Oberton and Taylor and Bob Cade , junior, and ol' missus son, John Cade w'at tek over de place and run it. Us all wanter git free and us talk 'bout it in de quarters 'mongst usse'fs, but we ain't say nuttin' 'bout it w'ere de w'ite folks could hear us. W'en freedom come, some stay on de ol' place a long time, and some go off. Some was scared to leave. You know dey was jis' slaves and warn't civilize'. Some ain't nebber git civilize' yit. W'en de war was on I see sojers mos' eb'ry day. Dey had a camp over in Liberty and sometime' I go to de camp and watch 'em. Dey didn' min' you lookin' at 'em but dey didn' talk to de niggers. I hear de guns, too; I reckon dey was at Ga'veston or Sabine Pass or some'rs. Dat was a long fo' year' to wait to git free. Dey sent de papers down on March 3, dat us was free but dey didn't tu'n us loose den. Dis was de las' state to tu'n de slaves free. W'en dey didn' let 'em go in March, de Yankee sojers come in June and mek 'em let 'em go. Dat how come us tek holiday on Juneteenth (June 19th). Nex' mo'nin' atter de sojers come de overseer he read de papers out and tell us we's free as he is, and we kin go. Ol' marster nebber give us nuttin', but he tol' us we could stay on iffen we want to, but I lef'. Atter I lef' I go down close to Anahuac and buil' a li'l log cabin at Monroe City. Dat's w'at dey call it now. Dat's w'ere dey puttin' in oil wells now. Us place was on de ridge. De w'ite folks fool us outer it.

 Washington Lewis , dat my daddy, he had 129 acres dere. Dey say to sign de paper to let 'em put a well on it and dey give us $50.00. Us sign de paper and dey hab de lan'. I was marry in slav'ry time. I was growed up and 'bout 21 or 22 year' ol'. My fus' wife name Rachel and she lib on Double Bayou. She b'long to de Mayes place. Fus' time I see her I was ridin' de range seein' 'bout cattle. I was livin' on Marse Bob ' place in Jefferson county and I hafter git a pass to go to see her. I tell Marse Bob I want to git marry and he say, 'All right.' Den I hafter go and ax Mr. Mayes and he say, 'All right.' Us had a big weddin'. She was dress all in w'ite. I had a nice hat and a nice suit of black clo'se. My father was a shoemaker and he mek me a good pair of shoes for me to git marry in. W'en de time come, me and her go up and stan' in front of Mr. Mayes and he read out de Bible and marry us. Dere was some of de w'ite folks dere to see us git marry. Some of 'em give us presents and some give us money. De money come in good 'cause us had 'nuff furniture. Us had a big supper w'en we git marry. De fus' money I mek was w'en I was wukkin' for de gov'ment at Ga'veston. Atter de war de gov'ment hire folks to clean up de trash w'at de war and fightin' mek and I was one dey hire and dat how I mek de money. Dey was lots of ol' wood and stones and brick, and tree branches and sich dem big guns knock down and dey hafter git all dat move' outen de way so dey could go back to wuk like dey uster. I nebber did hab no trouble wid de w'ite folks or de Klu Kluxes atter de war. I was a cowboy all my days. Dey uster put me in de saddle befo' I's big 'nuff to git in by myse'f and I'd ride right 'long wid de res'. Once I git in de saddle I stay dere, I ain't fall out. I rid de prairie 'till I was 94 year' ol'. I stop de same year Mr. Joe Hebert die. I uster wuk wid Mr. Heber. I was out wukkin' 'tendin' Mr. Rabbit Langham's chickens. I forgit it was Crismus and my birfday 'till Mr. Langham come ridin' out wid my money and tell me, why I wukkin' on Crismus day for? So, I quit and come on in. Dat's de las' wuk I done. Dat was in 1931, and I was 94 year ol' like I say. I bet dese nineteen hundred niggers ain't gwine lib dat long. Dey gwine die long befo' dat time come. Us uster wuk 'till dark and den go to bed and res' and git up at sun-up and go to wuk. Us tek care of usse'f but dese folks now dey wuk all day and on de go all night. Dey don' tek care of deyse'f and dey ain't gwineter be here dat long. I didn' had no chillun by my fus' wife. She been dead 'bout 70 year' now. My las' wife was name' Charlotte and she been dead 22 year'. We had 16 chillun. Dey was six gals and ten boys. Dey's ten livin' now. Dey's all livin' off de guv'ment and piddlin' 'roun' wid de w'ite folks; some of 'em drawin' pensions jis' like I is. Mos' of 'em too ol' to wuk. Marthy , she de younges', and she wuk for de w'ite folks. I stay wid anudder daughter, dis here Ada here. I's got great-gran'chillun but I dis'members how many. Dis here daughter Ada , she got a gif'. She know w'at kinder 'erb good for med'cin' for diff'rent kinds of ailments. A chile w'at bo'n wid a veil over dey face is bo'n wise to dat. Dey's de fever weed, dat's a bush w'at grows tall, and debbil's shoestring, dey bofe good for fever. Fleaweed cure nuralgy and toofache. Spanish mulberry root dat's good for kidney trouble. W'en anybody got swellin' in de feets, give 'em wil' grapevine. Prickly ash bark good for dat, and it reduce water, too. Redoak bark good for women's troubles and punkin head for de heart. Camphor and asafoetida tie' 'roun' your neck in a li'l bag good for heart trouble, too. I got a nutmeg wid a string froo it 'roun' my neck now for nuralgy. W'en you got heartburn jis' tek some salt and sugar and soda and po' vinegar on it and drink it w'ile it frothin'. Dat'll cure it eb'ry time. Iffen you tek red oak ashes and steep it in water and drink it, dat'll cure heartburn, too. W'en a chile git de convulshun iffen you jerk dey clo's off over dey head and frow dey clo's in de fire and bu'n 'em and mek 'em drink a li'l bluin', dat'll stop de convulshun. Bluin' good for growed up people w'en dey got de convulshun. And it good for burns, too. Iffen anybody got de night sweats, iffen somebody tek a big pan and put a li'l salt in it and slip it under de bed unbeknownst to de sick pusson, it stop de sweat, but you better not put too much salt in it 'cause dat dry it up so dey can't sweat none.