that the two slave women couldn't see each other. They
allus kept this promise. A Mr. Covington offered old Master $700 for
me when I was about ten years old, but he wouldn't sell me. He didn't
need to for he was rich as cream and my, how good he was to us.

Young Master married Miss Jo Arnold and old Master sent me and my
mother over to live with them. I was small when I was took out of old
man McWilliams' yard. It was his wife that bought my grandmother and
my father. My mother's folks had always belonged to his family. They
all moved to Texas and we all lived there until after the surrender.

Miss Jo wasn't a good Mistress and mother and me wasn't happy. When
young Master was there he made her treat us good but when he was gone
she made our lives a misery to us. She was what we called a
"low-brow." She never had been used to slaves and she treated us like
dogs. She said us kids didn't need to wear any clothes and one day she
told us we could jest take'em off as it cost too much to clothe us. I
was jest a little child but I knowed I oughten to go without my
clothes. We wore little enough as it was. In summer we just wore one
garment, a sort of slip without any sleeves. Well, anyway she made me
take off my clothes and I just crept off and cried. Purty soon young
Master come home.

He wanted to know what on earth I was doing without my dress on. I
told him, and my goodness, but he raised the roof. He told her if she
didn't treat us better he was going to take us back to old Master. I
never did have any more good times 'cepting when I'd get to go to
visit at old Master's. None of our family could be sold and that was
why old Master just loaned us to young Master. When old Master died,
dey put all our names in a hat and all the chilluns draw out a name.
This was done to 'vide us niggers satisfactory. Young Master drawed my
mother's name and they all agreed that I should go with her, so back
we went to Miss Jo. She wouldn't feed us niggers. She'd make me set in
a corner like a little dog. I got so hungry and howled so loud they
had to feed me. When the surrender come, I was eleven years old, and
they told us we was free. I ran off and hid in the plum orchard and I
said over'n over, "I'se free, I'se free; I ain't never going back to
Miss Jo." My mother come out and got me and in a few days my father
came and lived with us. He worked for young Master and the crops was
divided with him. Miss Jo died and we lived on there. M