What I do wid my money I made?  I educated my girls.  Yes maam I show is got children.  One my girls teaches school in St. Louis and de other at Hot Springs.  They both went to college at Pine Bluff.  I sent em.  No’m dey don’t help me.  They is by my second wife and my first wife live with my son, down close to Star City.  Dey farm.  It’s down in Lincoln County.  They let me live in this house.  It belongs to him.  I went to the bank fo’ it closed and got my money whut I had left.  I been livin’ on it but it give out.

The conditions are all right.  They kin make a right smart but everything is so high it don’t buy much.  Some of ’em say they ain’t goiner do the hardest work, hot or cold and liftin’ for no dollar a day.  Don’t nobody work hard as I used to.  There’s goiner be another war and a lot of them killed—­’cause people ain’t doin right.  Some don’t treat the others right.  No’m they never did.  They used to threaten em and take ’em out in cars and beat ’em up, just for disputin’ their word or not paying ’em and de lack.  The white man has cheated a heap because we was ignorant and black.  They gamble on the cotton and take might’ near all of it for the cheap grub they let out to make de crop on.  Conditions are better but a heap of the young black and white too deblish lazy to work.  Some of dem get killed out goin’ on at their meanness.

I heard of uprisings since the war but I never was ’bout none of them.

I votes the Republican ticket.  The last I voted was for Hoover.  Sure they have tried to change my way of voting but I ain’t goiner change.  I ain’t heard nothin’ ’bout no restrictions ‘bout votin’.  If a woman wanter vote it’s all right.  My girs and my boy votes right along.  They are all Republicans.

The most money I ever has at one time was $600.00.  I did save it.  I spent it on my girls’ clothes and education.  They did go to college at Pine Bluff but they went to the Catholic High School first down at Pine Bluff.  No’m they don’t help me.  They say it’s all dey can do to get along.  They never have told me how much they make.

Interviewer:  Mrs. Bernice Bowden
Person interviewed:  James Spikes
                    2101 Bell Street, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Age:  91

“Good morning.  Yes’m I remember the Civil War.  I was a soldier.  I was between sixteen and seventeen when I enlisted in the war.

“‘Why did you enlist?’

“I didn’t know no better.  I thought I would be took care of.  They told us the war was sposed to set the darkies free.  My old master didn’t want me to go—­cose not.  But they was very good to me.  I regard them just the same as myself.

“I enlisted in the 55th regiment of colored soldiers.  Then I went off with the Yankees.  I was with them when they had the battle at Corinth, Mississippi.

“I was with them when the Yankees taken Corinth and whupped.  The rebels tried to take it back and the Yankees whupped ’em again.  The regiment I was with whupped ’em away from several places and kept ’em runnin’.