wuz all right.
I guess he wuz a man God loved, er all right man. I think some o' de
slaves wuz better off when dey had owners and wuz in slavery den dey is
now. De colored people are slaves now more den dey wuz den. I can show
you wherein de nigger's got all his expenses ter bear now. He gits his
pay out'en de white man and de white man don't pay him much. De nigger
in de South is jest as much a slave as ever. De nigger now is a better
slave den when dey owned him, 'cause he has his own expenses to bear.
If you works a horse an' doan have him ter feed, you is better off, dan
if you had ter feed and care fer him. Dat is de way dat thing is now.

"I seed many patterollers durin' slavery. If dey caught you out at
night without a pass dey would whup you.

"I think Mr. Roosevelt is a mighty nice man. He has done me a lot o'
good. No man can make times real good till everybody is put to work.
Wid de lan' lyin' out dere can't be real good times. Dis is my
'lustration. My horse died las' year. I ain't got no money ter buy
nother and can't git one. You see dat lan' lyin' out dere I have farmed
it every year fer a long time. Through part o' de year I always had
vegetables and sich ter sell, but now my horse is dead an' I can't farm
no more. I ain't got nothin' ter sell. I is bad out o' heart. I shore
hope sumpin' will be done fer me."

N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: T. Pat Matthews
No. Words: 779
Subject: RENA RAINES
Person Interviewed: Rena Raines
Editor: G.L. Andrews

[TR: Date stamp: AUG 17 1937]

RENA RAINES

"I wus three years ole when de Yankees come through. I do not 'member
much 'bout slavery, but I knows a lot my mother tole me.

"My mother wus named Vicey Rogers an' my father wus named Bob Hunter.
He 'longed ter de Hunters of Wake County an' mother longed ter Marster
John Rogers. Her missus' name wus Ann Rogers. I 'members my grandfather
on my mother's side but do not 'member any more of my grandparents.

"Marse John Rogers wus a ole batchelor before he wus married an' he had
'bout twelve slaves when he married Mis' Ann Hunter. She owned one
slave, a colored boy, when she wus married. Her father gave her the
slave. The plantation wus between Apex an' Holly Springs in Wake
County. All my people lived in Wake County an' I wus born on de
plantation. Marster wus good ter his niggers before he wus married, but
when she came in it got mighty rough