y an' such
but dey wus different when dey wus drunk. Marse Moses 'ud beat you an'
cuss you, but Marse Henry 'ud laugh at you an' play wid you.

"I know one time Marse Moses comed ter see Marse Henry an' atter dey
had drunk awhile Marse Henry seed me in de yard. Hit bein' on Sunday he
calls me ter come to his library. When I gits in he axes me iffen I'se
ever been drunk an' I tells him no. Den he pours me a glassful an' sez
for me ter drink it. I begs at fust, den I sez dat I won't drink de
brandy. Marse Henry laugh an' would have let me go but dat debil, Marse
Moses, sez, 'Le's hol' her an' pour it down her guzzle, Henry.' Dat's
what dey done an' dey pours down seberal drinks. Terreckly Marse Henry
axes me ter fetch him some water but when I starts my laigs am too weak
to go so I sets down on de floor. Marse Henry laugh an' laugh but Marse
Moses sez, 'Whup de shameless hussy what ain't got no mo' raisin' dan
ter git dog drunk.' He would have whupped me too but Marse Henry won't
let him do it. 'Stid of beatin' me he sez ter git in de corner an'
sleep it off.

"I doan know nothin' 'bout de Yankees comin' case we wus sent 'way back
in de country ter stay. Marse Henry comes out dar an' tells us dat we
is free. Marse Henry has told Jack Williams dat he can't have me 'fore
dis, so I axes, 'Can I marry Jack now, Marse Henry.' He sez yes, so
'fore night I is at Jack's cabin. I thought dat dar ain't got ter be
no preacher, but a week er two atter dis a preacher comes by an'
marries us.

"We moved here case hit am better farmin' land. We worked hard ter make
anything do', an' fer awhile I thought dat we'd starve ter death.

"Dar ain't so much ter tell about atter de war. Our chilluns died fast
as we had 'em. We worked hard an' 'bout twenty years ago Jack died.
I'se been on de charity some but I hope dat when I gits my pension I
won't have ter trouble dem no more."

N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: Mary A. Hicks
No. Words: 652
Subject: MELISSA WILLIAMSON
Story teller: Melissa Williamson
Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt

MELISSA WILLIAMSON
Ex-Slave Story

An interview with Melissa Williamson 77 of Bledsoe Avenue, Raleigh,
N.C.

"Dis June fifteenth sebenty-eight years ago I wuz borned in Franklin
County near Louisburg.

"My mammy an' me belonged ter Mr. Billy Mitchell [HW: Mitchell (?)]
'fore she died, which wuz one of de fust things dat I 'members, an' den
Mis' Mitchel tuck me in her hou