cting business which he still operates. He lives at 1211 E.
Cannon St., Fort Worth, Texas.

"You asks me when I's born and was I born a slave. Well, I's born on
July 17, 1845, so I's a slave for twenty years, and had three massas.
I's born in Williamson County, near Memphis, in Tennessee. Massa John
Peacock owned de plantation and am it de big one! Dere am a thousand
acres and 'bout a thousand slaves.

"De slave cabins am in rows, twenty in de first row and eighteen in de
second and sixteen in de third. Den dere am house servants quarters near
de big house. De cabins am logs and not much in dem but homemade tables
and benches and bunks 'side de wall. Each family has dere own cabin and
sometimes dere am ten or more in de family, so it am kind of crowded.
But massa am good and let dem have de family life, and once each week de
rations am measure out by a old darky what have charge de com'sary, and
dere am allus plenty to eat.

"But dem eats ain't like nowadays. It am home-cured meat and mostly
cornmeal, but plenty veg'tables and 'lasses and brown sugar. Massa
raised lots of hawgs, what am Berkshires and Razorbacks. Razorback meat
am 'sidered de best and sweetest.

"De work stock am eighty head of mules and fifty head of hosses and
fifteen yoke of oxen. It took plenty feed for all dem and massa have de
big field of corn, far as we could see. De plantation am run on system
and everything clean and in order, not like lots of plantations with
tools scattered 'round and dirt piles here and there. De chief overseer
am white and de second overseers am black. Stien was nigger overseer in
de shoemakin' and harness, and Aunty Darkins am overseer of de spinnin'
and weavin'.

"Dat place am so well manage dat whippin's am not nec'sary. Massa have
he own way of keepin' de niggers in line. If dey bad he say, 'I 'spect
dat nigger driver comin' round tomorrow and I's gwine sell you.' Now,
when a nigger git in de hands of de nigger driver it am de big chance
he'll git sold to de cruel massa, and dat make de niggers powerful
skeert, so dey 'haves. On de next plantation we'd hear de niggers
pleadin' when dey's whipped, 'Massa, have mercy,' and sich. Our massa
allus say, 'Boys, you hears dat mis'ry and we don't want no sich on dis
place and it am up to you.' So us all 'haves ourselves.

"When I's four years old I's took to de big house by young Massa Frank,
old massa's son. He have me for de errand boy and, I guess, for de
playt