they burn
up everything. Pull Marse Joe's beard, just 'cause him name Beard. De
one dat do dat was just a smart aleck and de cap'n of de crowd shame
him and make him slink 'way, out de house.

"When freedom come, Marse Joe stay one year, then leave. Sell out and
move to Walhalla and us move to pappy on de McNeal place. Dat year us
all jined de church, Union Church. I now b'longs to New Hope Methodist
Church. Us nex' move to Mr. Bill Crawford's place. Mr. Crawford got to
be school commissioner on de 'publican ticket and white folks call him
scalawag. Him have pappy and all de colored folks go to de 'lection box
and vote. Ku Klux come dere one night and whip every nigger man they
could lay deir hands on. Things quiet down then but us no more go to de
'lection box and vote.

"'Bout dis time thoughts of de gals got in my head and feets at de same
time. I was buyin' a biled shirt and celluloid collar, in Mr. Sailing
Wolf's store, one Saturday, and in walked Ceily Johnson. I commence to
court her right then and dere, befo' I ever git inside dat shirt and
collar. Her have dark skin and was good to look at, I tell you. I
de-sash-shay 'bout dat gal, lak a chicken rooster spread his wing 'round
a pretty black pullet, 'til I wear out her indifference and her make me
happy by marryin' me. Her was too good lookin' and too bad doin',
though, for me. She left by de light of de moon when us was livin' on de
Cummings place, 'bove town. Excuse me now, dat's still a fresh subject
of torment to me. Let's talk 'bout chances of gittin' dat pension, when
I can git another clean white shirt, lay 'round de white folks again,
and git dis belly full of pot liquor."

=Project #1655=
=W.W. Dixon.=
=Winnsboro, S.C.=

=AL ROSBORO=

=_EX-SLAVE 90 YEARS OLD._=

Al Rosboro, with his second wife, Julia, a daughter, and six small
grandchildren, lives in a three-room frame house, three hundred yards
east of the Southern Railway track and US #21, about two miles south of
Woodward, S.C., in Fairfield County. Mr. Brice gives the plot of ground,
four acres with the house, to Al, rent free. A white man, Mr. W.L.
Harvey does the ploughing of the patches for him. Al has cataracts on
his eyes and can do no work. Since this story was written he has
received his first old age pension check of eight dollars from the
Social Welfare Board in Columbia, S.C.

"Does I know what a nonagenarian is? No seh, what dat? Old folks? Well,
dats a mighty long