de
gingerbread under her bed and kept de switch on us to keep us 'way from
it. But sometime us sneak up in de bedroom and git some, even den.

"When I 'bout 17 I left Kentucky and goes to Indiana and white folks
sends me to school to larn readin' and writin', but I got tired of dat
and run off and jine de army. Dat in 1876 and dey sends me to Arizona.
After dat I's at Fort Sill in what used to be Indian Territory and den
at Fort Clark and Fort Davis, dat in Garfield's 'ministration, den in
Fort Quitman on de Rio Grande. I's in skirmishes with de Indians on
Devil's River and in de Brazos Canyon, and in de Rattlesnake Range and
in de Guadalupe Mountains. De troops was de Eighth Cavalry and de Tenth
Infantry. De white and de cullud folks was altogether and I have three
hosses in de cavalry. De fust one plays out, de next one shot down on
campaign and one was condemn. On dat campaign us have de White Mountain
'paches with us for scouts.

"When I git discharge' from de Army I come to Texas and work on de S.P.
Railroad and I been in Texas ever since, and when I's in Dallas I got
'flicted and got de pension 'cause I been in de army. I ain't done much
work in ten year.

"I gits married in San Antonio on December 14, 1882 and I marries Dolly
Gross and dat her right dere. Us have de nice weddin', plenty to eat and
drink. Us have only one chile, a gal, and she dead, but us 'dopt sev'ral
chillen.

"Us come to Beaumont in 1903 and I works 'round Spindletop and I works
for de gas people and de waterworks people. I's been a carpenter and
done lots of common work wherever I could find it.

"It's been long time since slavery and I's old, but me and my old lady's
in good health and us manage to git 'long fairly well. Dat's 'bout all I
can 'member 'bout de old times.

420236

[Illustration: Martha Spence Bunton]

MARTHA SPENCE BUNTON, 81, was born a slave, Jan. 1, 1856, on the
John Bell plantation, in Murphfreesboro, Tennessee. Mr. Bell sold
Martha, her mother and four sisters to Joseph Spence, who brought
them to Texas. Martha married Andy Bunton in 1880, and they had
nine children. Martha now lives with her sister, Susan, on twelve
acres of land which their father bought for $25.00 an acre. The
farm is picturesquely located on a thickly wooded hill about six
miles east of Austin, Texas.

"I was born on New Year's Day. Yes, suh, in 1856, on Massa Bell's
plantation over in Te