Ah nevah wuz sold but lots of marster’s slaves wuz sold.  They wuz sold jes like stock.  Ah members one fambly.  De man wuz a blacksmith, de woman a cook, an one of their chillun wuz waitin boy.  They wuz put on de block an sold an a diffunt man bought each one an they went ter diffunt part of de country ter live on nevah did see one nother no moah.  They wuz sole jes like cows an horses.  No’m, ah didn’t like slavery days.  Ah’d rather be free an hungry.

(Tom is the only ex-slave who has told us that he had rather be free and we believe that is because he has a bank account and is independent.)

Yo say tell yo about hants.  There is such a thing.  Yes mam.  Some fokes calls it fogyness but hit sho is true fuh me an Sarah has seed em haint we Sarah.  Here young missy, what is yo doin wid that pencil?

(After we had put up our notebooks and pencils and assured them that we would not repeat it, they told us the following): 

When me an Sarah lived out at de Moore place about three miles east on the main street road we seed plenty of haints.  De graveyard wuz in sight of our house an we could see them sperits come up out de groun an they would go past de house down in a grove an we could see them there campin.  We could see they campfires.  We could hear their dishes rattling an their tincups an knives an forks.  An hear em talkin.  Den again they would be diggin with shovels.  Sometimes in de graveyard we could see de sperits doin de things they did befo they died.  Some would be plowing, some blacksmithing an each one doin what he had done while he wuz livin.  When day wuz breakin they would go runnin crost our yard an git back in de graves.  Yes’m, we seed em as long as we lived there.  After we moved from ther somebody dug up some gold that wuz buried at de corner of de chimney.  An hit is said that from that day hants have not been seen there.

Yes’m, there is no doubt erbout hit.  They is such thin’s as hants.  Me an Sarah has both seed em but we aint seed any in a long time.

Interviewer:  Mrs. Carol Graham
Person interviewed:  Tom & Sarah Douglas
Resident:  El Dorado, Arkansas
Age:  90 and 83.

NOTE: 

This is a second interview with Uncle Tom and Aunt Sarah Douglas.  The first was sent to your office in September 1936 from interview by Mrs. Mildred Thompson, El Dorado, Arkansas.  Mrs. Thompson is not now with the Project.  Mrs. Carol Graham made the second interview.

Tom Douglas—­Ex-slave.  I was a slave boy till I was eighteen.  Was born in 1847, ’mancipated in ’65.  No, my master did not give me forty acres of land and a mule.  When we was ’mancipated my master came took us outside the gate across the road and told us we was freed.  “You are free to work for anybody you want to.”  We set there a while then we went whare ol’ master was and he tol’ us if we wanted to stay wid him and finish the crop he would provide our victuals and clothes.  The next year we worked for him on the halves, and continued to do so for four or five years.  ‘F we didn’ eat an’ wear it up he would give us the balance in money an we of’en had as much as fifty dollars when the year was over.