ng bout two years. No, mam, she been test for de T.B.'s in de
school dis last year en dey say dat she never had none of dat. Alexa
say she gwine let her get dem shots in time next year. All de school
chillun took dem last year. Dey tell me dat be to keep diseases down in
school. Cose I don' know nothin bout it cause I been raise de slavery
way en dat won' de talk den.

"My mother, she was a freeborn woman. She come from off de sea beach in
our own country. Her people was dese Chee Indians en she didn' have no
ways like dese other people bout here. Now, I talkin out of her. Ain'
talkin out of nobody else, but her. She told me she was born on de sea
beach en her parents was Chee Indians. Dat what she told us chillun.
Say, when dey stole her en her brother John, dey come dere in dese big
old covered wagons en dey stuffed dem way back up in dere en carried dem
off. Oh, she say, she was a big girl when dey run her down en caught
her. Like I tell you, I talkin out of her. Her en her brother John was
out playin one day, near their sea beach home, en first thing dey know,
dere come one of dem big old covered wagons dere. Say, dey never know
what to think till dey see dis white man gettin down off de wagon en
start makin for dem en dey get scared cause dey been learn white man
won' no friend. Say, dey broke en run, but de man come right after dem
en grabbed dem up wid his hands en stuffed dem way back up in de covered
wagon en drove off. She say, she was runnin hard as she could from de
man. I remember, I heard my mother speak bout dat she didn' reckon her
mother ever knew whe' dey went. She say, dey cried en cried, but dat
never do no good. No, mam, de lawyer Phillips stole her. He didn' buy
her cause she told me dey brought dem right on to his home en put dem
out dere. Her en her brother John were made house servants in de big
house en dey went from one to de other in de Phillips' family till after
freedom come here. Ma, she say dat she fared good en dey didn' ill treat
her no time, but wouldn' never allow dem to get out de family no more
durin slavery days. No, mam, she never didn' have no hard time comin up.
Cose she had to put de white people chillun to bed at night en den she
could go to parties cross Catfish much as she wanted to, but she would
have to be back in time to cook dat breakfast next mornin. You see, dey
was house servants en dey stayed right dere in de lawyer Phillips' house
all de time. Been raise right down d