"Massa plantation have fifteen hunnerd acre in it and he didn't have 'nough slaves so they works awful hard. I seed 'em hit my mammy five hunnerd licks and my pappy six hunnerd. Pappy have run 'way and been gone long time and they cotch him in de water in the Neches River. He have meat and stuff and they say mammy feedin' him, but I think it the other way. I think he gittin' and sendin' her stuff.
"The white folks has the big church with the bar 'cross it and the cullud folks sit behin' the bar. If any wants to jine us tell massa and he tell the preacher, and he old man Southwell. They baptise at the mill pond.
"I marries Jerry Southwell and us git marry at home. Jerry wears the black suit and I wears the dotted white Swiss dress with the overskirt.
"When freedom breaks and massa say we free, we goes to the Haynes' place and my pappy farms for hisself. We gits on better den in slavery days and after 'while pappy buys him some land and den we all right. Me and my husban', we stays on with pappy awhile, but we gits our own farm and farm all us life."
[Leithean Spinks]
Leithean Spinks, 82, was born a slave to Fay Thompson, in Rankin County, Mississippi. Soon after Leithean's birth, Mr. Thompson moved to E. Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Leithean was happy in slave days, and stayed with her master two years after she was freed. She lives at 2600 Merrick St., Fort Worth, Texas.
"Does I look old 'nough to be birthed in slavery? I's eighty-two years old and mammy had it right there in de Bible, marked when I's birthed, in 1855. I's birthed in Mississippi but a little while after, massa goes to Louisiana, over in East Feliciana Parish, and when I's old 'nough to 'member, we'uns am there, 'twixt New Roads and Jackson, right near the Mississippi River.
"Massa Thompson had a awful big plantation and more'n 300 cullud folks, and three rows of cabins 'bout two blocks long, and 'bout one family to a cabin. No floors in dem cabins, you stands on dirt, and de furniture am something you knows ain't there. Why, man, there am jus' benches to sit on and a homemake table and bunks. Dere am de fireplace but all de main cookin' am done in de big cookin' shed, and old Mammy Dice done it, with four to holp her.
"De bell am rung when meal time comes and all de slaves lines up, with their pans and cups and passes de service table, and de food am put on dere pans and milk in de cup. Dat de one time massa could allus 'pend on de niggers. When de bell say, 'Come and git it,' all us am there. Us takes de food to de cabins and eats it.
"Dis old nigger come near gwine to Glory once when mammy am gone to de cook shed. How 'twas am dis-a-way. She latches de door on de outside to keep us three chillen in de cabin, my sis and brudder and me. Well, in dem days, us uses tallow candles for light and pine knots when candles am short. Mammy lights de pine knot befo' she leaves and after she am gone, it falls off de hook and hits de ground and rolls a couple feet under de bunk. There am straw in de tick and right off de whole shebang am on fire. There am three of us with de door latch and all de grown-ups in de cook shed. Us hollers and yells but it am no use, and de hollerin' don't last long, 'cause de smoke gittin' thick. De fire am spreadin' fast and de bunks starts burnin'. Us am huddle togedder, skeert plumb out our wits and chokin' and coughin'.