orn and 'taters dey want too, and
dey tell us, "Why don't you poor darkeys take all de meat and molasses
you want? You made it and it's your's much as anybody's!" But we know
dey soon be gone, and den we git a whipping iffen we do. Some niggers
run off and went wid de Yankees, but dey had to work jest as hard for
dem, and dey didn't eat so good and often wid de soldiers.

I never forget de day we was set free!

Dat morning we all go to de cotton field early, and den a house nigger
come out from old Mistress on a hoss and say she want de overseer to
come into town, and he leave and go in. After while de old horn blow
up at de overseer's house, and we all stop and listen, 'cause it de
wrong time of day for de horn.

We start chopping again, and dar go de horn again.

De lead row nigger holler "Hold up!" And we all stop again. "We better
go on in. Dat our horn," he holler at de head nigger, and de head
nigger think so too, but he say he afraid we catch de devil from de
overseer iffen we quit widout him dar, and de lead row man say maybe
he back from town and blowing de horn hisself, so we line up and go
in.

When we git to de quarters we see all de old ones and de chillun up in
de overseer's yard, so we go on up dar. De overseer setting on de end
of de gallery wid a paper in his hand, and when we all come up he say
come and stand close to de gallery. Den he call off everybody's name
and see we all dar.

Setting on de gallery in a hide-bottom chair was a man we never see
before. He had on a big broad black hat lak de Yankees wore but it
din't have no yaller string on it lak most de Yankees had, and he was
in store clothes dat wasn't homespun or jeans, and dey was black. His
hair was plumb gray and so was his beard, and it come way down here on
his chest, but he didn't look lak he was very old, 'cause his face was
kind of fleshy and healthy looking. I think we all been sold off in a
bunch, and I notice some kind of smiling, and I think they sho' glad
of it.

De man say, "You darkies know what day dis is?" He talk kind, and
smile.

We all don't know of course, and we jest stand dar and grin. Pretty
soon he ask again and de head man say, No, we don't know.

"Well dis de fourth day of June, and dis is 1865, and I want you all
to 'member de date, 'cause you allus going 'member de day. Today you
is free, Jest lak I is, and Mr. Saunders and your Mistress and all us
white people," de man say.

"I come to tell you", he