"I's thinkin' 'bout what de missy say, but say to myse'f, 'I's not gwine live with dat Rufus.' Dat night when him come in de cabin, I grabs de poker and sits on de bench and says, 'Git 'way from me, nigger, 'fore I busts yous brains out and stomp on dem.' He say nothin' and git out.
"De nex' day de massa call me and tell me, 'Woman, I's pay big money for you and I's done dat for de cause I wants yous to raise me chillens. I's put yous to live with Rufus for dat purpose. Now, if you doesn't want whippin' at de stake, yous do what I wants.'
"I thinks 'bout massa buyin' me offen de block and savin' me from bein' sep'rated from my folks and 'bout bein' whipped at de stake. Dere it am. What am I's to do? So I 'cides to do as de massa wish and so I yields.
"When we'uns am given freedom, Massa Hawkins tells us we can stay and work for wages or share crop de land. Some stays and some goes. My folks and me stays. We works de land on shares for three years, den moved to other land near by. I stays with my folks till they dies.
"If my mem'randum am correct, it am 'bout thirty year since I come to Fort Worth. Here I cooks for white folks till I goes blind 'bout ten year ago.
"I never marries, 'cause one 'sperience am 'nough for dis nigger. After what I does for de massa, I's never wants no truck with any man. De Lawd forgive dis cullud woman, but he have to 'scuse me and look for some others for to 'plenish de earth."
[Steve Williams]
Steve Williams was born a slave of the Bennett family in 1855. They were residents of Goliad County, Texas and owners of only a small bunch of slaves. He and the other slaves were driven away hurriedly after the soldiers had threatened the slave owners for not having turned the slaves loose as soon after emancipation as they should have. Steve worked around his old home for his victuals and clothes a few years, then drifted about the country as a farm hand, finally landing in San Angelo, Texas where he worked for awhile as cook at a barbecue stand. He now lives alone in the back yard of his niece and is hardly able to get in and out of his small cabin on his crutches.
Steve relates the story of his life as follows:
"I wasn't very big when I was a slave. Fact is, we was set free 'fore I was big enough to remember much about how dey does but I's hear my mother tells 'bout dem Louisiana slave holders, dem what had dem drivers. Now dey was sho' rough on dem. My mother's name was Charlotte Williams and my father he was name Bill and dey belong to de Williams dere, you see, and was sold to Mr. Bennett and brought to Goliad. Dats how come I's named Williams and my marster named Bennett. Our little log huts was put up 'round in de back yard and our beds was home-made, jes' kind of plank scaffolds like. Our beddin' wasn't too good, jes' fair cotton beds. Ole marster's folks dey have big feather beds and a nice log house.