ff. He turns me loose and I wanders
'gain. Never had a home. Works for men long 'nough to git fifty, sixty
cents, then starts roamin' 'gain, like a stray dog like.

"After long time I marries Feline Graham. Then I has a home and we has a
white preacher marry us. We has one boy and he farms and I lives with
him. I worked at sawmill and farms all my life, but never could make
much money.

"You know, the nigger was wild till the white man made what he has out
of the nigger. He done ed'cate them real smart.

420193

Aunt VIRGINIA BELL, 1205 Ruthven St., Houston, was born a slave
near Opelousas, Louisiana, on the plantation of Thomas Lewis.
Although she remembers being told she was born on Christmas Day,
she does not know the year, but says she guesses she is about 88
years old.

"Well, suh, the fus' question you ask me, 'bout how old I is, I don'
know 'zactly. You see it ain't like things is today. The young folks can
tell you their 'zact age and everything, but in those days we didn' pay
much 'tention to such things. But I knows I was bo'n in slavery times
and my pappy tol' me I was bo'n on a Christmas Day, but didn' 'member
jus' what year.

"We was owned by Massa Lewis. Thomas Lewis was his name, and he was a
United States lawyer. I ain't gwineter talk 'gainst my white folks like
some cullud folks do, 'cause Massa Lewis was a mighty fine man and so
was Miss Mary, and they treated us mighty good.

"Massa had a big plantation near Opelousas and I was bo'n there. I
'member the neighbor folks used to bring their cotton to the gin on his
farm for ginnin' and balin'. My mother's name was Della. That was all,
jus' Della. My pappy's name was Jim Blair. Both of them was from
Virginny, but from diff'rent places, and was brought to Louisiana by
nigger traders and sold to Massa Lewis. I know my pappy was lots older
than my mother and he had a wife and five chillen back in Virginny and
had been sold away from them out here. Then he and my mother started a
family out here. I don' know what become of his family back in Virginny,
'cause when we was freed he stayed with us.

"When I got old enough I was housegirl and used to carry notes for Miss
Mary to the neighbors and bring back answers. Miss Mary would say, 'Now,
Virginny, you take this note to sech and sech place and be sure and be
back in sech and sech time,' and I allus was.

"Massa Lewis had four or five families of us slaves, but we u