ade out of dog
fennel or corn shucks will cure chills and malaria. It'll make 'em
throw up. We used to take button snake root, black snake root, chips
of anvil iron and whiskey and make a tonic to cure consumption. It
would cure it too.

Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves
10-13-37
[Date stamp: NOV 5 1937]

JAMES SOUTHALL
Age 82 years,
Oklahoma City, Okla.

I was born in Clarksville, Tenn. My father was Wesley and my mother
was Hagar Southall. Our owner was Dr. John Southall, an old man.
Father always belonged to him but he bought my mother when she was a
young girl and raised her. She never knew anything 'bout her people
but my father's mother lived with us in de quarter's at Master
Southall's. Master John never sold any of his slaves.

We was known as "Free Niggers." Master said he didn't believe it was
right to own human beings just because dey was black, and he freed all
his slaves long before de War. He give 'em all freedom papers and told
dem dat dey was as free as he was and could go anywhere dey wanted.
Dey didn't have no where to go so we all stayed on wid him. It was
nice though to know we could go where we pleased 'thout having to get
a pass and could come back when we pleased even if we didn't take
advantage of it.

He told his slaves dat dey could stay on at his farm but dey would
have to work and make a living for deyselves and families. Old Master
managed de farm and bought all de food and clothes for us all.
Everybody had to work, but dey had a good time.

We had good clothes, plenty of food and good cabins. We had what was
known as Georgia bedsteads. Dey was wooden bedsteads wid holes bored
in de side pieces and in de foot and head-boards. Ropes was laced back
and forth across and this took de place of both slats and springs. De
ropes would git loose and we had what was called a "following-pin" to
tighten 'em wid. We'd take a block of wood wid a notch in it and catch
de rope and hold it till de following-pin could be driven in and den
we'd twist de ropes tight again. We had grass or cotton beds and we
slept good, too.

We had tin plates but no knives or forks so we et with our fingers.
Old Master was a doctor and we had good attention when we was sick. We
had no wish to take advantage of our freedom for we was a lot better
off even than we is now and we knowed it. We never had to worry about
anything.

De quarters was about a half mile from de "Big House" as we called
Master John