es coming, I was scared, 'cause I thought it was some kind of
animal they was talking 'bout. My old aunty was glad to hear 'bout de
Yankees coming. She just set and talk 'bout what a good time we was
going to have after de Yankees come. She'd say; 'Child we going to have
such a good time a settin' at de white folks table, a eating off de
white folks table, and a rocking in de big rocking chair.'

Something awful happen to one of de slaves though, when de Yankees did
come. One of de young gals tell de Yankees where de missus had her
silver, money and jewelry hid, and they got it all. What you think
happened to de poor gal? She'd done wrong I know, but I hated to see her
suffer so awful for it. After de Yankees had gone, de missus and massa
had de poor gal hung 'til she die. It was something awful to see. De
Yankees took everything we had 'cept a little food, hardly 'nough to
keep us alive.

When de slaves were freed de most of them didn't had nowhere to go, so
we just stayed on wid de massa and missus and they was good to us as
long as we stayed wid them. I wishes sometime I was a slave again,
'cause I likes being a slave, didn't have nothing to worry 'bout then."

Home address
3105 Asylum Road.

Code No.
Project, 1885-(1)
Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis
Place, Marion, S.C.
Date, May 18, 1937

No. ----
Reduced from ---- words
Rewritten by ----

MOM HESTER HUNTER
Ex-Slave, 85 years.

"Well, bless ye little heart, honey, ye say ye is wan' me to tell ye
'bout how de people lived way back dere in slavery time. Honey, I dunno
wha' to tell ye cause I ain' never been treated no ways but good in me
life by my Missus. I tell dese chillun here dat dey ain' never see no
sech time uz dere been den. My Missus been marry Massa John Bethea en
dey is raise dey flock up dere to de crossroads next Latta. Dat whey I
been raise. Honey, my Missus see to it she self dat we look a'ter in de
right way. Ain' never been made to do no work much den. Jes played dere
in de back yard wid me dolls aw de time I wanna. Honey, I dunno nuthin
to tell ye cause I is lib lak uh lamb in dem days."

"I wus born on de 25th uv December, right on de big Chrissmus day, dere
on Massa John plantation en I was 14 year old when freedom declare. I is
85 year old now en, honey, me health jes uz good now uz ever it wuz. My
Missus take sech good care uv us aw de time en see a'ter us she self
when we sick en I is take sech good