good, but her husband was mean. He give me de only white folks whippin I
ever had. Ol' miss never had to whip her slaves. I was tryin' to cook on
an earth stove--dat's why it happen. Did you ever hear of an earth
stove? Well, dey make sort of drawers out of dirt. You burn wood in 'em.
After you git used to it you kin cook on it good. But dat day I was busy
an' I burned de biscuits. An' he whip me.

I run off. I knew in general de way home. When I come to de Brazos river
it looked most a mile across. But I jump in an' I swim it. One day I
done found a pearl handled pocket knife. A few days later I meet up wid
a white boy. An' he say its his knife, an' I say, 'White boy, I know dat
ain't your knife, an' you know it ain't. But if you'll write me out a
free pass, I'll give it to you.' An' so he wrote it. After dat, I could
walk right up to de front gates an ask for somthin' to eat. Cause I had
a paper sayin' I was Clara Jones an' I was goin' home to my ol' mistress
Mis' Cornelius. Please paterollers to leave me alone. An' folks along de
way, dey'd take me in an' feed me. Dey'd give me a place to stay an fix
me up a lunch to take along. Dey'd say, "Clara, you's a good nigger.
You's a goin' home to your ol' miss, so we's goin' to do for you."

An' I got within five miles of home before dey catch me. An' my ol' miss
won't let me go back. She keep me an' send another one in my place. An'
de war kept on, an ol' massa had to go. An' word come dat he been
killed.

Yes, 'em, some folks run off, an' some of 'em stayed. Finally ol' miss
refugeed a lot of us to California. What is it to refugee. Well, you
see, suppose you was afraid dat somebody go in' to take your property
an' you run 'em away off somewhere--how you come to know.