. A man come and told me he would give me $60 a month if I would go
with him, but I didn't I couldn't see hardly at all then--I was wearing
glasses. Now, in my 84th year, I can read the newspaper, Bible and
everything without glasses. My wife died two years ago." (Tears came
into Eugene's eyes, and his face broke up) "We lived together 62 years!"

Asked if his wife had been a slave, Eugene answered that she was but a
painful effort of memory did not reveal her owner's name.

"I do remember she told me she had a hard time," he went on slowly. "Her
master and misses called themselves 'religious people' but they were not
good to her. They took her about in the barouche when they were
visiting. She had to mind the children. They had a little seat on the
back, and they'd tie her up there to keep her from falling off. Once
when they got to a big gate, they told her to get down and open it for
the driver to go through, not knowing the hinges was broken. That big
gate fell on her back and she was down for I don't know how long. Before
she died, she complained of a pain in her back, and the doctor said it
must have been from a lick when she was a child.

"During the war there were some Southern soldiers went through. I and
two friends of mine were together. Those soldiers caught us and made us
put our hands down at our knees, and tied 'em, and run the stick through
underneath.

"It was wintertime. They had a big fire. They pushed us nearer and nearer
the fire, until we hollered. It was just devilment. They was having fun
with us, kept us tied up about a half hour. There was a mulatto boy with
us, but they thought he was white, and didn't bother him. One time they
caught us and throwed us up in blankets, way up, too--I was about 11
years old then."

Asked about church, Eugene said:

"We went to bush meetings up on the Sand Hill out in the woods. They
didn't have a church then."

Eugene's recollections were vivid as to the ending of the war:

"The Northern soldiers come to town playing Yankee Doodle. When freedom
come, they called all the white people to the courthouse first, and told
them the darkies was free. Then on a certain day they called all the
colored people down to the parade ground. They had built a big stand,
and the Yankees and some of our leading colored men got up and spoke,
and told the Negroes:

"You are free now. Don't steal. Now work and make a living. Do honest
work, make an honest living to support y