d line. He is fairly well educated and is influential
among his fellow Negroes.

"If I live till the 13th of August I'll be 82 years old. I was born in
1855 up in Walker County but since then they split the county and the
place I was born is just across the line in San Jacinto County now. Jim
and Janey Davenport was my father and mother and they come from
Richmond, Virginia. I had two sisters, Betty and Harriet, and a half
brother, William.

"Our old master's name was John Mann but they called him Capt. Mann. Old
missus' name was Sarah. I'd say old master treated us slaves bad and
there was one thing I couldn't understand, 'cause he was 'ligious and
every Sunday mornin' everybody had to git ready and go for prayer. I
never could understand his 'ligion, 'cause sometimes he git up off his
knees and befo' we git out the house he cuss us out.

"All my life I been a Methodist and I been a regular preacher 43 years.
Since I quit I been livin' here at Anahuac and seems like I do 'bout as
much preachin' now as I ever done.

"I don't member no cullud preachers in slavery times. The white
Methodist circuit riders come round on horseback and preach. There was a
big box house for a church house and the cullud folks sit off in one
corner of the church.

"Sometimes the cullud folks go down in dugouts and hollows and hold they
own service and they used to sing songs what come a-gushin' up from the
heart.

"They was 'bout 40 slaves on the place, but I never seed no slaves
bought or sold and I never was sold, but I seen 'em beat--O, Lawd, yes.
I seen 'em make a man put his head through the crack of the rail fence
and then they beat him till he was bloody. They give some of 'em 300 or
400 licks.

"Old man Jim, he run away lots and sometimes they git the dogs after
him. He run away one time and it was so cold his legs git frozen and
they have to cut his legs off. Sometimes they put chains on runaway
slaves and chained 'em to the house. I never knowed of 'em puttin' bells
on the slaves on our place, but over next to us they did. They had a
piece what go round they shoulders and round they necks with pieces up
over they heads and hung up the bell on the piece over they head.

"I was a sheep minder them days. The wolves was bad but they never
tackled me, 'cause they'd ruther git the sheep. They like sheep meat
better'n man meat. Old Captain wanted me to train he boy to herd sheep
and one day young master see a sow with nine