"Grandfather was a South Carolinian. Master Harris bought him, two more,
his brothers and two sisters and his mother at one time. He was real
African. Grandma on mother's side was dark Indian. She had white hair
nearly straight. I have some of it now. Mother was lighter. That is
where I gets my light color.

"Master Harris sold mother and grandma. Mother said she was fat, tall
strong looking girl. Master Harris let a Negro trader have grandma,
mother and her three brothers. They left grandpa. Master Harris told the
nigger traders not divide grandma from her children. He didn't believe
in that. He was letting them go from their father. That was enough
sorrow for them to bear. That was in Alabama they was auctioned off.
Master Harris lived in Georgia. The auctioneerer held mother's arms up,
turned her all around, made her kick, run, jump about to see how nimble
and quick she was. He said this old woman can cook. She has been a good
worker in the field. She's a good cook. They sold her off cheap. Mother
brought a big price. They caught on to that. The man nor woman wasn't
good to them. I forgot their names what bought them. The nigger traders
run her three brothers on to Mississippi. The youngest one died in
Mississippi. They never seen the other two or heard of them till after
freedom. They went back to Georgia. All of them went back to their old
home place.

"In Alabama at this new master's home mother was nursing. Grandma and
another old woman was the cooks. Mother went to their little house and
told them real low she had the baby and a strange man in the house said,
'Is that the one you goiner let me have?' The man said, 'Yes, he's
goiner leave in the morning b'fore times.'

"The new master come stand around to see when they went to sleep. That
night he stood in the chimney corner. There was a little window; the
moon throwed his shadow in the room. They said, 'I sure do like my new
master.' Another said, 'I sure do.' The other one said, 'This is the
best place I ever been they so good to us.' Then they sung a verse and
prayed and got quiet. They heard him leave, seen his shadow go way.
Heard his house door squeak when he shut his door. Then they got up easy
and dressed, took all the clothes they had and slipped out. They walked
nearly in a run all night and two more days. They couldn't carry much
but they had some meat and meal they took along. Their grub nearly give
out when they come to some camps. Somebody told th