22.
He is dead; in fact, both my husbands are dead, so I don't see much
need of talking about them.

Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves
[Date stamp: AUG 19 1937]

WILLIAM CURTIS
Age 93 yrs.
McAlester, Oklahoma

"Run Nigger, run,
De Patteroll git ye!
Run Nigger, run,
He's almost here!"

"Please Mr. Patteroll,
Don't ketch me!
Jest take dat nigger
What's behind dat tree."

Lawsy, I done heard dat song all my life and it warn't no joke
neither. De Patrol would git ye too if he caught ye off the plantation
without a pass from your Master, and he'd whup ye too. None of us
dassn't leave without a pass.

We chillun sung lots of songs and we played marbles, mumble peg, and
town ball. In de winter we would set around de fire and listen to our
Mammy and Pappy tell ghost tales and witch tales. I don't guess dey
was sho' nuff so, but we all thought dey was.

My Mammy was bought in Virginia by our Master, Hugh McKeown. He owned
a big plantation in Georgia. Soon after she come to Georgia she
married my pa. Old Master was good to us. We lived for a while in the
quarters behind the Big House, and my mammy was de house woman.

Somehow, in a trade, or maybe my pa was mortgaged, but anyway old
Master let a man in Virginia have him and we never see him no more
'till after the War. It nigh broke our hearts when he had to leave and
old Master sho' done everything he could to make it up to us.

There was four of us chillun. I didn't do no work 'till I was about
fifteen years old. Old Master bought a tavern and mammy worked as
house woman and I went to work at the stables. I drove the carriage
and took keer of the team and carriage. I kept 'em shining too. I'd
curry the horses 'till they was slick and shiny. I'd polish the
harness and the carriage. Old Master and Mistress was quality and I
wanted everybody to know it. They had three girls and three boys and
we boys played together and went swimming together. We loved each
other, I tell ye.

Old Master built us a little house jest back of de tavern and mammy
raised us jest like Old Mistress did her chillun. When I didn't have
to work de boys and me would go hunting. We'd kill possum, coon,
squirrels and wild hogs. Old Master killed a wild hog and he give
mammy her ten tiny pigs. She raised 'em and my, at the meat we had
when they was butchered.

They had lots of company at de Big House, and it was de only tavern
too, so they was l