know.

At this point Ward began to smile, and when he was asked the cause of
his mirth, he replied that he was thinking about his fellow slaves
beliefs in conjuring one another. This was done by putting some sort of
wild berries in the person's food. What he can't understand is why some
of this black magic was not tried on the white people since they were
holding the Negroes as slaves.

Ward recalls vividly Sherman's march through Georgia. When Sherman
reached the present site of Hapeville, he bombarded Atlanta with cannon,
afterwards marching through and burning the city. The white residents
made all sorts of frantic attempts to hide their money and other
valuables. Some hiding places were under stumps of trees and in sides of
hills. Incidentally Sherman's army found quite a bit of the hidden
wealth. Slaves were never allowed to talk over events and so very few,
if any, knew about the war or its results for them before it actually
happened. At the time that Sherman marched through Atlanta, Ward and
other slaves were living in an old mansion at the present site of
Peachtree and Baker Streets. He says that Sherman took him and his
fellow slaves as far as Virginia to carry powder and shot to the
soldiers. He states that he himself did not know whether Sherman
intended to keep him in slavery or free him. At the close of the war,
his master, Mr. Brown, became ill and died later. Before His death he
informed the slaves that they could remain on his property or go where
they wanted to. Ward was taken to Mississippi where he remained in
another form of slavery (Peonage System) for 40 years. He remembers when
Atlanta was just a few hills without any buildings. Some of the
buildings he worked on are the Herman Building and the original Kimball
House, a picture of which is attached.

He attributes his old age to his belief in God and living a sane life.
Whenever he feels bad or in low spirits, a drink of coffee or a small
amount of whisky is enough to brace him. He believes that his remedy is
better than that used in slavery which consisted mainly of pills and
castor oil.

With a cheerful good-bye, Ward asked that the writer stop in to see him
again; said that he would rather live in the present age under existing
conditions than live in slavery.

Driskell
JWL 10-12-37

[MR. WILLIAM WARD]

Following is Mr. William Ward's description of the bed called "The Grand
Rascal."

"De beds dat all o' de slaves slept in