eople in it, but I
tells you it am sho' hard time now. Us is old and cripple' and iffen de
white folks don't holp us I don't know what us gwine do.

"Some dese young niggers gone plumb wild with dere cigars and cars and
truckin' and jazzin' and sech. Some go to school and larn like white
folks and teach and be real helpful. But talk 'bout workin' in slave
time--'twarn't so hard as now. Den you fuss 'cause dere's work, now you
fuss 'cause dere ain't no work. But den us have somethin' to eat and
wear and a place to sleep, and now us don't know one day what gwine fill
us tomorrow, or nothin'.

"I'd sho' like to shake Massa Boyd's hand again and hear him come
singin' down de lane. Us hear him sing or whistle long 'fore he git dere
and it mighty good to see him. De slaves allus say, 'I's gwine 'way
tomorrow,' and I guess I's gwine 'way pretty soon tomorrow.

420195

JERRY BOYKINS, spry and jolly at the age of 92, lived with his aged
wife in their own cabin at 1015 Plum St., Abilene, Texas. He was
born a slave to John Thomas Boykin, Troupe Co., Georgia, 80 miles
from Lagrange, Ga. His master was a very wealthy plantation owner,
working 1,000 slaves.

"I been well taken care of durin' my life. When I was young I lived
right in de big house with my marster. I was houseboy. My mother's name
was Betsy Ann Boykin and she was cook for Old Missus. My grandpa was
blacksmith. I slept on a pallet in de kitchen and in winter time on cold
nights I 'members how cold I would get. I'd wake up and slip in by
marsters bed and den I'd say, 'Marster John, I's about to freeze.' He'd
say, 'You ought to freeze, you little black devil. What you standin'
dere for?' I'd say, 'Please, marster John, jes' let me crawl in by your
feet.' He'd say, 'Well, I will dis one time,' and dat's de way I'd do
every cold night.

"I was full of mischief and I'd tu'n de mules out of de lot, jus' to see
de stableboy git a lickin'. One time I wanted a fiddle a white man named
Cocoanut Harper kep' tryin' to sell me for $7.50. I didn' never have any
money, 'cept a little the missie give me, so I kep' teasin' her to buy
de fiddle for me. She was allus on my side, so she tol' me to take some
co'n from de crib and trade in for de fiddle. In de night I slips out
and hitch up de mules and fetched de co'n to old Harper's house and
traded for dat fiddle. Den I hides out and play it, so's marster wouldn'
fin' out, but he did and he whip a