n masters. They let us do a lot like we pleased jest so we got
our work done and didn't run off.

Old Master Frank never worked us hard and we had plenty of good food
to eat. He never did like to put us under white overseers and never
tried it but once. A white man come through here and stopped
overnight. He looked 'round the farm and told Master Frank that he
wasn't gitting half what he ought to out of his rich land. He said he
could take his bunch of hands and double his amount of corn and
cotton.

Master Frank told him that he never used white overseers, that he had
one nigger that bossed around some when he didn't do it hisself. He
also told the white man that he had one nigger named Bill that was
kind of bad, that he was a good worker but he didn't like to be
bothered as he liked to do his own work in his own way. The white boss
told him he wouldn't have any trouble and that he could handle him all
right.

Old Master hired him and things went very well for a few days. He
hadn't said anything to Bill and they had got along fine. I guess the
new boss got to thinking it was time for him to take Bill in hand so
one morning he told him to hitch up another team before he caught his
own team to go to work.

Uncle Bill told him that he didn't have time, that he had a lot of
plowing to git done that morning and besides it was customary for
every man to catch his own team. Of course this made the overseer mad
and he grabbed a stick and started cussing and run at Uncle Bill. Old
Bill grabbed a single-tree and went meeting him. Dat white man all on
a sudden turned 'round and run fer dear life and I tell you, he fairly
bust old Red River wide open gitting away from there and nobody never
did see hide nor hair of him 'round to this day.

Master Colbert run a stage stand and a ferry on Red River and he
didn't have much time to look after his farm and his niggers. He had
lots of land and lots of slaves. His house was a big log house, three
rooms on one side and three on the other, and there was a big open
hall between them. There was a big gallery clean across the front of
the house. Behind the house was the kitchen and the smokehouse. The
smokehouse was always filled with plenty of good meat and lard. They
would kill the polecat and dress it and take a sharp stick and run it
up their back jest under the flesh. They would also run one up each
leg and then turn him on his back and put him on top of the house and
let him free