ed to George Petite, and I had on a white underdress and
black high-top shoes, and a large cream colored hat, and on top of all
I had a blue wool dress with tassels all around the bottom of it. That
dress was for me to eat the terrible supper in. That what we called
the wedding supper because we eat too much of it. Just danced all
night, too! I was at Mandy Foster's house in Fort Gibson, and the
preacher was Reverend Barrows, I had that dress a long time, but its
gone now. I still got the little sun bonnet I wore to church in Texas.

We had six children, but all are dead but George, Tish, and Annie
now.

Yes, they tell me Abraham Lincoln set me free, and I love to look at
his picture on the wall in the school house at Four Mile branch where
they have church. My grand mammy kind of help start that church, and I
think everybody ought to belong to some church.

I want to say again my Master Harnage was Indian, but he was a good
man and mighty good to us slaves, and you can see I am more than six
feet high, and they say I weighs over a hundred and sixty, even if my
hair is snow white.

Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves

MATILDA POE
Age 80 yrs.
McAlester, Okla.

I was born in Indian Territory on de plantation of Isaac Love. He was
old Master, and Henry Love was young Master. Isaac Love was a full
blood Chickasaw Indian but his wife was a white woman.

Old Master was sure good to his slaves. The young niggers never done
no heavy work till dey was fully grown. Dey would carry water to de
men in de field and do other light jobs 'round de place.

De Big House set way back from de road 'bout a quarter of a mile. It
was a two-story log house, and the rooms was awful big and they was
purty furniture in it. The furniture in de parlor was red plush and I
loved to slip in and rub my hand over it, it was so soft like. The
house was made of square logs and de cracks was filled out even with
the edges of de logs. It was white washed and my but it was purty.
They was a long gallery clean across de front of de house and big
posts to support de roof. Back a ways from de house was de kitchen and
nearby was de smokehouse. Old Master kept it well filled with meat,
lard and molasses all de time. He seen to it that we always had plenty
to eat. The old women done all de cooking in big iron pots that hung
over the fire. De slaves was all served together.

The slave quarters was about two hundred yards back of de Big House.