Belle Williams was born in slavery about the year 1850 or 1851. Her
mother's name was Elizabeth Hulsie, being the slave of Sid Hulsie, her
last name being the name of her master. The Hulsie plantation was
located in Carroll County, Arkansas. Belle Williams, better known as
"Auntie Belle" is most interesting. She lives in her own little home in
the one hundred block on Harvey Street, Hutchinson, Kansas. She is too
old and crippled to do hard work, so spends most of her time smoking her
pipe and rocking in her old armchair on the little porch of her home.
She is jolly, and most interesting.

"Yes, I was a slave," she said. "I was born a slave on a plantation in
Carroll County, Arkansas and lived there 'till after the war. Law sakes,
honey, I can see them 'Feds' yet, just as plain as if it was yesterday.
We had a long lane--you know what a lane is--well, here they come! I run
for mah mammy, and I'll never forget how she grabbed me and let out a
yell, "It's them Feds, them blue coats."

"You see my massa was a good massa. He didn't believe in whipping
niggers and he didn't believe in selling niggers, and so my mammy and
me, we didn't want to leave our mistress and massa. We called them
'Mother Hulsie' and 'Massa Sid.' One officer told my mammy that she
could take along with her, anything out of the cabin that she wanted.
Mammy looked around and said, "I don't want to take nothin' but my
chillun," so we all told Mother Hulsie 'goodbye,' and when my mammy
told her goodbye, why Mother Hulsie cried and cried, and said, 'I just
can't let you go, Elizabeth, but go on peacefully, and maybe some day
you can come back and see me.'"

As the story came word after word, big tears dropped on the thin black