evil_. Dat what de Good Book say. When I was a slave I only had to obey
my Marster an' he furnish me ever'thing. Once in a while he would whup
me, but what was dat? You can't raise nary chile, white or black, widout
chastisin'. De law didn' low dem to dominize over us, an' dey didn' try.

"I's gittin' mighty old now, but I used to be pretty spry. I used to go
60 miles out on de Gulf o' Mexico, as 'terpreter on dem big ships dat
come from France. Dat was 'fore I done forgot my French talk what I was
raised to speak.

"De white folks is mighty good to me. De riches' man in Picayune, he
recognizes me an' gives me two bits or fo' bits. I sho' has plenty o'
good frien's. If I gits out o' grub, I catches me a ride to town, an' I
comes back wid de grub.

"De good Lawd, he don't forgit me."




Mississippi Federal Writers
Slave Autobiographies

[REV. JAMES SINGLETON
Simpson, Mississippi]


"My name's James Singleton. I'se a Baptist preacher. I was born in 1856,
but I doan know zactly what date. My mammy was Harr'et Thompson. Her
marster was Marse Daniel Thompson over in Simpson County on Strong River