ns into the Canadian we
went around the place where the Creek town was. There was lots of
Creeks down there who was on the other side, so we passed around that
place and forded across west of there. The ford was a bad one, and it
took us a long time to get across. Everybody got wet and a lot of the
stuff on the wagons got wet. Pretty soon we got down into the
Chickasaw country, and everybody was friendly to us, but the Chickasaw
people didn't treat their slaves like the Creeks did. They was more
strict, like the people in Texas and other places. The Chickasaws
seemed lighter color than the Creeks but they talked more in Indian
among themselves and to their slaves. Our masters talked English
nearly all the time except when they were talking to Creeks who didn't
talk good English, and we Negroes never did learn very good Creek. I
could always understand it, and can yet, a little, but I never did try
to talk it much. Mammy and pappy used English to us all the time.

Mr. Mose found a place for us to stop close to Fort Washita, and got
us places to stay and work. I don't know which direction we were from
Fort Washita, but I know we were not very far. I don't know how many
years we were down in there, but I know it was over two for we worked
on crops at two different places, I remember. Then one day Mr. Mose
came and told us that the War was over and that we would have to root
for ourselves after that. Then he just rode away and I never saw him
after that until after we had got back up into the Choska country.
Mammy heard that the Negroes were going to get equal rights with the
Creeks, and that she should go to the Creek Agency to draw for us, so
we set out to try to get back.

We started out on foot, and would go a little ways each day, and mammy
would try to get a little something to do to get us some food. Two or
three times she got paid in money, so she had some money when we got
back. After three or four days of walking we came across some more
Negroes who had a horse, and mammy paid them to let us children ride
and tie with their children for a day or two. They had their children
on the horse, so two or three little ones would get on with a larger
one to guide the horse and we would ride a while and get off and tie
the horse and start walking on down the road. Then when the others
caught up with the horse they would ride until they caught up with us.
Pretty soon the old people got afraid to have us do that, so we just