y whut wanter work. I wish I was able to go. I loves to pick
cotton. She pay em seventy-five cents a hundred. She'll pay em too! I
don't know what they do this winter. Set by the fire I recken. But next
spring she'll let hoe that crop. She took em this past year to hoe out
that very cotton they pickin now. Her husband, he's sick. He keeps their
store up town. She takes a few white hands too if they wanter work. I
don't think the present generation no worse en they ever been. They
drawed up closer together than they used to be. They buys everything now
an they don't raise nuthin. It's the Bible fulfillin. Everything so high
they caint save nuthin!

"I married twice. First time in the church, other time at home. I had
four children. I had two in Detroit. I don't know where my son is. He
may be there yet. My daughter there got fourteen children her own. I
don't know where the others are. Nom [HW: long "o" diacritical] they
don't help me a bit, do well helpin theirselves. I gets the Welfare
sistance and I works my garden back here."

Interviewer: Mrs. Bernice Bowden
Person interviewed: Parrish Washington
812 Spruce Street, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Age: 86

"I was born in 1852--born in Arkansas. Sam Warren was my old master.

"I remember some of the Rebel generals--General Price and General
Marmaduke.

"We had started to Texas but the Yankees got in ahead of us in the
Saline bottoms and we couldn't go no further.

"My boss had so much faith in his own folks he wouldn't leave here 'til
it was too late. He left home on Saturday night and got into the bottoms
on Sunday and made camp. Then the Yankees got in ahead of him and he
couldn't go no further, so we come back to Jefferson County.

"The Yankees had done took Little Rock and come down to Pine Bluff.

"My father died in 1860 and my mother in 1865.

"I can remember when they whipped the slaves. Never whipped me
though--they was just trainin' me up.

"Had an old lady on the place cooked for the children and we just got
what we could.

"I remember when peace was declared, the people shouted and rejoiced--a
heavy load had fell off.

"All the old hands stayed on the place. I stayed there with my uncle and
aunt. We was treated better then. I was about 25 years old when I left
there.

"I farmed 'til '87. Then I joined the Conference and preached nearly
forty years when I was superannuated.

"I remember when the Rebels was camped up there