ll it?"

Beulah Van Meter
District 4
Clark County

BILLY SLAUGHTER
1123 Watt St.
Jeffersonville

Billy Slaughter was born Sept. 15, 1858, on the Lincoln Farm near
Hodgenville, Ky. The Slaughters who now live between the Dixie Highway
and Hodgenville on the right of the road driving toward Hodgenville
about four miles off the state highway are the descendants of the old
slave's master. This old slave was sold once and was given away once
before he was given his freedom.

The spring on the Lincoln Farm that falls from a cliff was a place
associated with Indian cruelty. It was here in the pool of water below
the cliff that the Indians would throw babies of the settlers. If the
little children could swim or the settlers could rescue them they
escaped, otherwise they were drowned. The Indians would gather around
the scene of the tragedy and rejoice in their fashion. The old slave
when he was a baby was thrown in this pool but was rescued by white
people. He remembers having seen several Indians but not many.

The most interesting subject that Billy Slaughter discussed was the
Civil War. This was ordinarily believed to be fought over slavery, but
it really was not, according to his interpretation, which is unusual for
an old slave to state. The real reason was that the South withdrew from
the Union and elected Jefferson Davis President of the Confederacy. In
his own dialect he narrated these events accurately. The southerners or
Democrats were called "Rebels" and "Secess" and the Republicans were
called "Abolitionists."

Another point of interest was John Brown and Harpers Ferry. When
Harper's Ferry was fired upon, that was firing upon the United States.
It was here and through John Brown's Raid that war was virtually
declared. The old Negro explained that Brown was an Abolitionist, and
was captured here and later killed. While the old slave had the utmost
respect for the Federal Government he regarded John Brown as a martyr
for the cause of freedom and included him among the heroes he
worshipped. Among his prized possessions is an old book written about
John Brown's Raid.

The old slave's real hero was Abraham Lincoln. He plans another
pilgrimage to the Lincoln Farm to look again at the cabin in which his
Emancipator was born. He asked me if I read history very much. I assured
him that I read it to some extent. After that he asked me if I recalled
reading about Lincoln during the Civil War walking the Whi