“I came heah when Texarkana wuz only three years old, jus’ a little kindly village, where we all knew each udder.  Due to de location an’ de comin’ ob railroads, de town advanced rapidly.  Not until it wuz too late did de citizens realize whut a drawback it is to be on de line between two states.  Dis being Texarkana’s fate, she has had a hard struggle overcoming dis handicap for sixty-three years.  Still dat State Line divides de two cities like de “Mason and Dixon Line” divides the North an’ South.

“Living on the Arkansas side of this city, Albert Cummins is naturally very partial to his side.  “The Arkansas side is more civilized”, according to his version.  “Too easy fo’ de Texas folks to commit a crime an’ step across to Arkansas to escape arrest an’ nevah be heard ob again.”

Interviewer:  Miss Irene Robertson
Person interviewed:  Betty Curlett, Hazen, Arkansas
Age:  66
[—­ —­ 1938]

“I can tell you all about my kin folks.  My mama’s owners was Mars John Moore and Miss Molly Moore.  They come from Virginia and brought Grandma Mahaley and Grandpa Tom.

“Mr. Daniel Johnson went to North Carolina and bought Alice and John and their family.  When he brought them to Mississippi, they come in a hack.  It was snowing and cold.  It took em so long to came they take turns walkin’.  Grandma was walking long wid the hack and somewhere she cut through and climbed over a railin’ fence.  She lost her baby outer her quilts and went on a mile fore she knowed bout it.  She say, ’Lawd, Master Daniel, if I ain’t lost my baby.’  They stopped the hack and she went back to see where her baby could be.  She knowed where she got out the hack and she knowed she had the baby then.  Fore she got to the fence she clum over, she seed her baby on the snow.  She said the sun was warm and he was well wrop up.  That all what saved em.  She shuck him round till she woke him up.  She was so scared he be froze.  When he let out cryin’ she knowed he be all right.  She put him in the foot of the hack mong jugs of hot water what they had to keep em warm.  She say he never had a cold from it.  Well, that was John, my papa, what she lost in de snow.  Grandma used to set and tell us that and way I can member it was my own papa she be talkin’ bout.

“Papa was raised up by the Johnson family and mama by the Moore family.  Den Alice Moore had em marry her and John Johnson.  Their plantations joined, and joined Judge Reid’s (or Reed’s) place.  We all had a big time on them three farms.  They was good to their niggers but Mr. ——­ they said whooped his niggers awful heep.

“Ed Amick was Mars Daniel Johnson’s overseer.  He told him he wanted his slaves treated mighty good and they was good.  Yes ma’am, they was good to em!!  We had a plenty to eat.  Every Saturday they killed a lamb, a goat or a yearlin’ and divided up mong his folks and the niggers.  Us childen would kill a peafowl and they let us eat em.  White folks didn’t eat em.  They was tender seem like round the head.