Black preachers couldn’ preach tuh us.  Ole boss would tie em tuh a tree an whoop em if dey caught us eben praying.  We had er big black washpot an de way we prayed we’d go out an put our mouths to der groun an pray low an de sound wud go up under de pot an ole boss couldn’ bear us.  De white preacher would call us under a tree Sunday evenin tuh preach tuh us.  Dis is whut his text would be:  “Mind yo mistress.”  Den he would ceed tuh preach—­“Don’t steal der potatoes; don’t lie bout nothin an don’ talk back tuh yo boss; ifn yo does yo’ll be tied tuh a tree an stripped neckid.  When dey tell yuh tuh do somethin run an do it.”  Dat’s de kind uv gospel we got.

We cooked on fiuhplaces in er iron pot; cooked bread in a ubben.  We had ash cakes.  We et purty good.

Ah didn go tuh school.  Ah wuz awful sly.  Ah wanted tuh learn tuh read so ah hung eroun ole mistess when she wuz teachin huh chillun tuh read.  Ah listened an when she put de book down an went out ah got de book.  Ah kep’ hit up till ah learnt tuh read.  Ah been teachin one Bible class in Curtis 42 years.  Some uv em dare ask me how ah learnt tuh read so good an ah tole dem dat a person dat couldn’ learn tuh read in a hunnert years ought tuh be daid.

Ah wuz twenty-two when de silver war broke.  Ah know when hit started but ah don’ know whut hit wuz erbout.  All I know Jeff Davis an Abraham Lincoln wuz de two presidents.  Lincoln wuz somethin like regular president an Jeff Davis wuz somethin like er confedric president or somethin.  Ah didn’ know jes how hit wuz.  Jeff Davis ah think wuz er rebel and Lincoln republic.  When de fight come up dey wuzn fightin tuh set de niggers free, ah don’ think.  At de time dey wuz fightin ovah de Union but aftuh de slave owners wuz gwianter take de innocent slaves an make dem fight on dey side.  Den Lincoln said hit wouldn’ be.  So dat when he sot em free.  Whoopee!  Yo ought ter seed dem Yankees fightin.  Aftuh de battle wuz ovah we would walk ovah de battle groun’ an look at de daid bones, skellums ah think dey called em.  Aftuh de white fokes tole us we wuz free dey didn’ give us nothin.  Turnt us out widout a place tuh stay, no clo’es but whut we had on our back an nuthin tuh eat.  We jes slept undah trees an roun bout.  Didn’ have nuthin tuh eat cept parched corn.  We stole dat.  Had tuh do somethin.  De nex year de white fokes let us make a crop wid den fuh somethin tuh eat an clo’es an de women could work fuh a few clo’es an somethin tuh eat.  So in er year er two niggers went tuh tryin tuh duh somethin fuh demselves, an been tryin tuh help dey selfs evah since.  Ah know all bout hit.  Ah wuz tall an ah is now when dey cried “Free!” Ain’t growed nairy nother inch.

Interviewer:  Mrs. Bernice Bowden
Person interviewed:  Joe Tillman
                    W. 10th and Highway No. 79
                    Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Age:  79

“I was born in 1859 down here at Walnut Lake.  The man what owned us was Crum Holmes.