"Dere was only a few houses down on Palmyra Avenue den. Old Mrs. Vail had a hotel, or tavern dey called it in dem days, over across de street. Beyond de hill (Cardiff Hill) was all woods and we could see bears and deers and tigers over dere. (Of course this is untrue. That was Mark Twain's playground years before.)
"Dey didn't raise children den like dey does now. Dey don't mind at all now. When we was across de street and didn't mind we got a whippin' so dat we would fall over in de brush and when we come home we got another whippin',—we always got two whippins. Nowadays de youngsters runs 'round all over de town and dey don't pay no mind to nobody.
"Over on dat hill was a pes' house where dey took people with smallpox. Dey died thick and dey hauled 'em away at night. Dey carried torches and hauled 'em in wagons. When dey took someone by to the pes' house, old Man Cogner would go ahead and holler, 'Smallpox!' We would all run and hide 'cause we was scared. Dat was five or six years after we moved here.
"Dere was no houses 'round here den, but now I look out and see what de Lord has done. De Bible say de new would take place of de old and things would be changed.
"I worked in de old hotel down dere 'cross from de depot. It was de Ketrens Hotel den, for about fourteen years, and den I worked for de Claytons for about thirteen years. I can't do nothin' now, 'cause I is too old. I gets a small pension. Dis is my house, but dey is a mortgage on it and dey might come and take it away from me. I belongs to de Baptist Church on Center Street, but I don't go very often no more. My brother lives with me. He is dat one-legged man you sees in de City Park most of de time. He gets a pension, too. My oldest brother died last week. He was blind."
[Gus Smith]
Interview with Gus Smith,
Rolla, Missouri.
Slaves Were Well Fed
"I was born in 1845, on de fourth of July, near Rich Fountain, Osage County, Mo., not far from Jefferson City. My father's name was Jim Messersmith, and my mother's maiden name was Martha Williams. I was called August Messersmith until I was old enough to vote, den I changed it to plain 'Gus Smith'. My friends nick-named me 'Chinie' and I am called dat today.
"My master's name was Bill Messersmith and he called hisself a Pennsylvania Dutchman. His father settled in Missouri, near Jefferson City many years before de war. He owned 1,500 acres of land. The old man, my master's father, had a good many slaves but de chillun didn't have so many after de old man died. Rufus, the old man's son and my master's brother took one of de Negro boys; his sister, Manisee, took a Negro girl. These two, Rufus and Manisee never married and lived with my master. Zennie, another sister, took a girl and a boy. She married a man by de name of Goodman and my master took my father and my mother.
"My master's father, before he died, told his chillun, dat at his death he wanted each child to put their slaves out to work until dey earned $800 a piece, to earn their own freedom, in dat way each slave paid it dem selves. He did not believe it was right to keep dem in slavery all their lives. But de war came and dey were free without having to work it out.