pt
the news until Saturday night June 19th, when Master called all the
slaves to the big gate and told them they were all free, but could
stay right on in their homes if they had no places to go and which all
of them did. They went right out and gathered the crop just like
they'd always done, and some of them remained there several years.

My first husband was name, S. W. Warnley. We had 4 children, 1 girl
and three boys and 3 grandchildren. I now have two grandchildren.

Now that slavery is over I sometime wish 'twas still existing for some
of our lazy folks, so that so many of them wouldn't or couldn't loaf
around so much lowering our race, walking the streets day by day and
running from house to house living corruptible lives which is keeping
the race down as though there be no good ones among us.

Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves
[Date stamp: AUG 16 1937]

ANNIE HAWKINS
Age 90
Colbert, Okla

I calls myself 90, but I don't know jest how old I really am but I was
a good sized gal when we moved from Georgia to Texas. We come on a big
boat and one night the stars fell. Talk about being scared! We all run
and hid and hollered and prayed. We thought the end of the world had
come.

I never had no whitefolks that was good to me. We all worked jest like
dogs and had about half enough to eat and got whupped for everything.
Our days was a constant misery to us. I know lots of niggers that was
slaves had a good time but we never did. Seems hard that I can't say
anything good for any of 'em but I sho' can't. When I was small my job
was to tote cool water to the field to the hands. It kept me busy
going back and forth and I had to be sho' my old Mistress had a cool
drink when she wanted it, too. Mother and my sister and me worked in
the field all day and come in time to clear away the things and cook
supper. When we was through in the kitchen we would spin fer a long
time. Mother would spin and we would card.

My old Master was Dave Giles, the meanest man that ever lived. He
didn't have many slaves, my mammy, and me, and my sister, Uncle Bill,
and Truman. He had owned my grandma but he give her a bad whupping and
she never did git over it and died. We all done as much work as a
dozen niggers--we knowed we had to.

I seen old Master git mad at Truman and he buckled him down across a
barrel and whupped him till he cut the blood out of him and then he
rubbed salt and pepper in the raw places. It looked like T