Age: 80
Occupation: Cotton Picker
[Dec 31 1937]


"My father belonged to Mr. Ben Martin and my mother and me belonged to
the Slaughters. I was small then and didn't know what the war was about,
but I remember seein' the Yankees and the Ku Klux.

"Old master had about fifteen or twenty hands but Mr. Martin had a
plenty--he had bout a hundred head.

"I member when the war was goin' on we was livin' in Bradley County. We
was goin' to Texas to keep the Yankees from gettin' us. I member Mr. Gil
Martin was just a young lad of a boy. We got as far as Union County and
I know we stopped there and stayed long enough to make two crops and
then peace was declared so we cane back to Warren.

"While the war was goin' on, I member when my mother took a note to some
soldiers in Warren and asked em to come and play for Miss Mary. I know
they stood under a sycamore and two catawba trees and played. There was
a perty big bunch of em. Us chillun was glad to hear it. I member just
as well as if 'twas yesterday.

"I member when the Yankees come and took all of Miss Mary's silver--took
every piece of it. And another time they got three or four of the
colored men and made em get a horse apiece and ride away with em
bareback. Yankees was all ridin' iron gray horses, and lookin' just as
mad. Oh Lord, yes, they rid right up to the gate. All the horses was
just alike--iron gray. Sho was perty horses. Them Yankees took