Thirty Acres--not Forty

"They gave us thirty acres of land when we came out of slavery. They
didn't give it to us right then, but they did later. I am going down
there again sometime. My young master is the postmaster down there now.
He thinks the world and all of me and my oldest sister.

"I don't mind telling people anything about myself. I was born in June.
They ain't nothing slipping up on me. I understand when to talk. There
are two of us, Adrianna Kern--that's her married name. She and I are the
ones Mr. Frank gave the thirty acres to. I have a younger sister.


Slave Work

"I don't know how much cotton a slave was expected to pick in a day. The
least I ever heard of was one hundred fifty pounds. Some would pick as
high as three and four hundred pounds.

"My father was not a field hand. He was what they called the first man
'round there. He was a regular leader on the plantation--boss of the
tool room. He was next to the master of them, you might say. He was a
kind of boss.

"I never heard of his working for other men besides his master. I
believe he drove the stage for a time from Arkadelphia to Camden or
Princeton. I don't know just how that come about. My sister though has a
more exact remembrance than I have, and she can probably tell you the
details of it.