d Booker T. Washington was two of the finest men ever lived.
Don't think nothing of Jeff Davis, 'cause he was a traitor. Freedom
for us was the best thing ever happened. Prayer is best thing in the
world. Everybody ought to pray, 'cause prayer got us out of slavery.

Oklahoma Writer's Project
Ex-Slaves

POLLY COLBERT
Age 83 yrs.
Colbert, Oklahoma

I am now living on de forty-acre farm dat de Government give me and it
is just about three miles from my old home on Master Holmes Colbert's
plantation where I lived when I was a slave.

Lawsy me, times sure has changed since slavery times! Maybe I notice
it more since I been living here all de time, but dere's farms 'round
here dat I've seen grown timber cleared off of twice during my
lifetime. Dis land was first cleared up and worked by niggers when dey
was slaves. After de War nobody worked it and it just naturally growed
up again wid all sorts of trees. Later, white folks cleared it up
again and took grown trees off'n it and now dey are still cultivating
it but it is most wore out now. Some of it won't even sprout peas. Dis
same land used to grow corn without hardly any work but it sure won't
do it now.

I reckon it was on account of de rich land dat us niggers dat was
owned by Indians didn't have to work so hard as dey did in de old
states, but I think dat Indian masters was just naturally kinder any
way, leastways mine was.

My mother, Liza, was owned by de Colbert family and my father, Tony,
was owned by de Love family. When Master Holmes and Miss Betty Love
was married dey fathers give my father and mother to dem for a wedding
gift. I was born at Tishomingo and we moved to de farm on Red River
soon after dat and I been here ever since. I had a sister and a
brother, but I ain't seen dem since den.

My mother died when I was real small, and about a year after dat my
father died. Master Holmes told us children not to cry, dat he and
Miss Betsy would take good care of us. Dey did, too. Dey took us in de
house wid dem and look after us jest as good as dey could colored
children. We slept in a little room close to them and she allus seen
dat we was covered up good before she went to bed. I guess she got a
sight of satisfaction from taking care of us 'cause she didn't have no
babies to care for.

Master Holmes and Miss Betsy was real young folks but dey was purty
well fixed. He owned about 100 acres of land dat was cleared and ready
for de plow and a lot