n, so I
been told, old master Thompson sell my pappy and mammy and one of my
baby brothers and me back to one of his neighbors in Texas name of
John Harnage.

Mammy's name was Letitia Thompson and pappy's was Riley Thompson. My
little brother was named Johnson Thompson, but I had another brother
sold to a Vann and he always call hisself Harry Vann. His Cherokee
master lived on the Arkansas river close to Webber's Falls and I never
did know him until we was both grown. My only sister was Patsy and she
was borned after slavery and died at Wagoner, Oklahoma.

I can just remember when Master John Harnage took us to Texas. We went
in a covered wagon with oxen and camped out all along the way. Mammy
done the cooking in big wash kettles and pappy done the driving of the
oxen. I would set in a wagon and listen to him pop his whip and
holler.

Master John took us to his plantation and it was a big one, too. You
could look from the field up to the Big House and any grown body in
the yard look like a little body, it was so far away.

We negroes lived in quarters not far from the Big House and ours was a
single log house with a stick and dirt chimney. We cooked over the hot
coals in the fireplace.

I just played around until I was about six years old I reckon, and
then they put me up at the Big House with my mammy to work. She done
all the cording and spinning and weaving, and I done a whole lot of
sweeping and minding the baby. The baby was only about six months old
I reckon. I used to stand by the cradle and rock it all day, and when
I quit I would go to sleep right by the cradle sometimes before mammy
would come and get me.

The Big House had great big rooms in front, and they was fixed up
nice, too. I remember when old Mistress Harnage tried me out sweeping
up the front rooms. They had two or three great big pictures of some
old people hanging on the wall. They was full blood Indians it look
like, and I was sure scared of them pictures! I would go here and
there and every which-a-way, and anywheres I go them big pictures
always looking straight at me and watching me sweep! I kept my eyes
right on them so I could run if they moved, and old Mistress take me
back to the kitchen and say I can't sweep because I miss all the dirt.

We always have good eating, like turnip greens cooked in a kettle with
hog skins and crackling grease, and skinned corn, and rabbit or possum
stew. I liked big fish tolerable well too, but I was a