SLAVE NARRATIVES - Library of Congress

and she told me to go on to my mother, that I was free now* So he took me
on hack to my ma and pa* He said he*d do that so that I oould stay with
them*
Slave Earnings
"Slaves had money in slave time* My daddy bought a horse* He made a
orop every year* He made his bale of cotton* He made corn to feed his
horse with* He belonged to his white folks but he had his house and lot
right nexb to theirs* They would give hxm time you know* He didn f t have to
work in the heat of the day* He made his orop and bought his whiskey* The
white folks fed *im* He had no expenses f oept tending to his orop* He
didn f t have to give Tom Eford anything he made* He just worked his orop in
his extra time* Many folks too lazy to git theirselves samethin* when they
have the chance to do it* But ny daddy msn*t that kind* His old master
gave him the ground and he made it give him the money*
u lSy daddy left me plenty but I ain f t got it now* I didn*t care what
happened when he died* People made out like they was goin* to put ay money
in the bank for me and took it and destroyed it* Used it for theirselves I
reckon* Now I need it and ain f t got it—-ain*t got a penny* For five or six
years at ray home, I made good crops* We raised everything we needed at
home* Didn f t JmovT what it was to come to town to buy anything* If eoaybody
had told me twenty years ago I would be in this shape, I wouldn*t have
believed it because I had plenty*
TfKhat Slaves Got Tflfhen Freed
"They said they was gwine a give the slaves something, but they never
did do it* Then the master made out like he was gwine a give the slaves so
much if they stayed * round and made his crops for him, but he didn*t do it*
7.