This information given by:  Tyler Frazier
Place of Residence:  Ouachita County
Occupation:  Domestic
Age:  75
[TR:  Personal information moved from bottom of first page.]

Ah wus a young nigger bout nine or ten years ole when de slaves wus freed.  Ah got freed in Texas.  We went tuh Texas on a steamboat an dey wuz a lot uv people on de steamboat.  We sho ’joyed dat trip.  We went wid our mistress an moster.  Dey wuz de Lides, Mistuh John Lide’s parents.  De Lides run one uv de bigges’ stores in Camden now, if yo knows dem dey is de same Lides.  One uv de boys wuz named Blackie Lide, one John Lide, one named Hugh Lide.  Dem wuz granchillun.  Hannah Lide, Minnie Watts now, dey wuz de granchillun.  Now let me see, one Miss wuz named Emma Lide.  Dem sho wuz good fokes.  Ole miss died when we wuz on ouh way tuh dis country.  An ole moster been daid since way back yondah.  But when we got tuh dis country we settled bout seven or eight miles fum Camden in Ouachita County.  Ole moster wuz named Peter Lide.  We jes went tuh school nough tuh learn our A.B.C.’s cause we had tuh work in de fiel.  We carried our meat tuh de fiel an cooked hot ash cake fuh dinnuh.  We kep’ spare ribs and backbone all de year roun’.  We pickled de backbone an dem spareribs.  We worked evah day.  Wednesday night wuz wash night.  Dat’s when de women would do de washin.  We’d go tuh de fiel way fo day.

Back in dem days we had er log church.  Ah went in mah shirt-tail till ah wuz six.  Mis Lide made mah fust pair uv britches.  Ah membuhs one time ah went to Miss Lide’s garden an stole watuh mellons.  Ah put em in a sack an when ah want tuh come outn de garden ah got ovah de fence an got hung an moster caught me.  Ah’m tellin de truth.  Ah aint had no desire tuh steal since.

Moster Peter Lide’s favorite song wus dis:  “Hit’s er long way tuh heaven.”  Ah kin mos heah him singin hit now.  He wuz a Christian man.  He wuz white and owned slaves but he wuz a good Christian.  We didn’ know bout no money.  When we got sick dat’s when we got biscuit.  We didn’ know bout Thanksgiving day and Christmas.  We heard de white fokes tawkin bout hit but we didn’ know whut hit meant.

When anybody would die dey made de coffin.  Didn’ have no funeral, no singin, no nothin’ jes put dem in de groun.  Dat wus all.  Nebber stop work.  We nevah plowed er hoss.  We used oxen teams.  We made good crops den.  We raised all our sumpin tuh eat.

When ah wus a lil’ bitsy boy Mrs. Lide use tuh tell us stories at night.  She give us our fireside trainin.  She tole us when anybody wuz a tawkin not tuh but in.  Ah’m seventy five yers ole now an ah aint nevah fuhgot dat.  We ole fokes aint got long tuh stay heah now.  We lives in de days dats past.  All we knows tuh tawk bout is what we use tuh do.  When mah time is up ah is ready tuh go cause ah is done mah bes’ fuh mah God, mah country and mah race.

Interviewer:  Beulah Sherwood Hagg
Person interviewed:  Aunt Mittie Freeman
Aged:  86
Home:  320 Elm St., North Little Rock.  In home of granddaughter.
[Aug 27 1937]