JEPTHA CHOICE 1595-TEX/#047 030 I'LL BE 102 YEARS OLD, COME FALL, 'CAUSE MY MOTHER TOLD ME I WAS BORN O N OCTOBER 17, 1835, AND BESIDES, I WAS ABOUT 30 YEARS OLD AT THE END OF THE CIVI L WAR. WE BELONGED TO THE CHOICES AND I WAS BORN ON THEIR PLANTATION. MY MOTHER 'S NAME WAS MARTHA AND SHE HAD BEEN BROUGHT HERE FROM SERBIA. MY FATHER'S NAME W AS JOHN AND HE WAS FROM THE EAST INDIES. THEY WAS BROUGHT TO THIS COUNTRY IN A S LAVE BOAT OWNED BY CAPTAIN ADAIR AND SOLD TO SOMEONE AT NEW ORLEANS BEFORE MASTE R JEZZO CHOICE BOUGHT THEM. I HAD FIVE SISTERS AND ONE BROTHER BUT THEY ARE ALL DEA, 'CEPTING ONE BROTHER WHO LIVES NEAR HENDERSON. MASTER JEZZO WAS RIGHT KIND. HE HAD 50 OR 60 SLAVES AND A GRIST MILL AN D TANNERY BESIDES THE PLANTATION. MY WHITE FOLKS SORT OF PICKED ME OUT AND I WEN T TO SCHOOL WITH THE WHITE CHILDREN. I WNET TO THE FIELDS WHEN I WAS ABOUT 20, B UT I DIDN'T DO MUCH FIELD WORK 'CAUSE THEY WAS KEEPIN' ME GOOD AND THEY DIDN'T W ANT TO STRAIN ME. ON SUNDAY WE JUST PUT AN OLD PRINCE ALBERT COAT ON SOME GOOD NIGGnR jND MADE A PREACHER OUT OF HIM. WE NIGGERS HAD OUR BAND, TOO, AND I WAS ONE OF THE P LAYERS. THE MASTER WAS MIGHTY CAREFUL ABOUT RAISIN' HEALTHY NIGGER FAMILIES AND USED US STRONG, HEALTHY YOUNG BUCKS TO STAND THE HEALTHY NIGGER GALS. WHEN I WAS YOUNG THEY TOOK CARE NOT STRAIN ME AND I6WAS AS8HAND OME S A2 EDPUP AND WAS IN DEMAND FOR BREEDIN'. LATER ON WE NIGGERS WAS 'LOWED TO MARRY AND THE MAST ER AND MISSUS WOULD FIX THE NIGGER AND GAL UP AND HAVE THE DOIN'S IN THE BIG HO USE. THE WHITE FOLKS WOULD GATHER ROUND IN A CIRCLE WITH THE NIGGER AND GAL IN T HE CENTER AND THEN MASTER LAID A BROOM ON THE FLOOR AND THEY HELD HANDS AND JUMP ED OVER IT. THAT MARRIED 'EM FOR GOOD. WHEN BABIES WAS BORN OLD NIGGER GRANNIES HANDLED THEM CASES, BUT UNTIL THEY WAS ABOUT THREE YEARS OLD THEY WASN'T 'LOWED ROUND THE QUARTERS, BUT WAS WE T NURSED BY WOMEN WHO DIDN'T WORK IN THE FIELD AND KEPT IN SEPARATE QUARTERS AND IN THE EVENIN' THEIR MAMMIES WERE LET TO SEE 'EM. WE WAS FED GOOD AND HAD LOTS OF BEEF AND HAWG MEAT AND WILD GAME. POSSU M AND SWEET YAMS IS MIGHTY GOOD. YOU PARBOIL THE POSSUM ABOUT HALF DONE AND PUT HIM IN A SKEWER PAN AND PUT HIM IN A HOT OVEN AND JUST 'FORE HE IS DONE YOU PUTS THE YAMS IN THE PAN AND SUGAR ON 'EM. THAT'S A FEAST. SOMETIMES WHEN THEY'S SHORT OF BREAD THE OLD MISSUS WOuLD SAY, "qOW 'kO UT SOME ASH CAKES?" THEN THEY'D MIX CORNMEAL AND WATER AND SWEEP ASHES OUT OF TH E OPEN HEARTH AND BAKE THE ASH CAKES. THE MASTER AND HIS BOYS WAS ALL KILT IN THE WjR jND AFcnR&orEEmOM I2ScA YED ALL SUMMER. IT WAS PRETTY TOUGH ON US NIGGERS FOR A WHILE, 'CAUSE THE WOMENF OLKS WHAT WAS LEFT AFTER THE WAR DIDN'T HAVE MONEY. BUT COLONEL JONES, THE MASTE R'S SON-IN-LAW TOOK ME TO LIVE IN HENDERSON AND PAID TWENTY-FIVE CENTS A WEEK FO MORE SCHOOLIN' FOR ME AND I LEARNED THROUGH FRACTIONS. THEN I GOT ME A JOB TEAC HIN' SCHOOL ABOUT SIX MONTHS A YEAR AND IN OFF TIMES I'D FARM. I DID LOTS OF DIF FERENT KINDS OF WORK, ON THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD OUT OF LONGVIEW AND I LEARNED TO BE A BARBER, TOO. BUT I HAD TO GIVE IT UP A FEW YEARS BACK 'CAUSE I CAN'T ST AND UP SO LONG ANY MORE AND NOW I'M TRYIN' TO HELP MY PEOPLE BY DIVINE HEALING. X XXX STP JEPTHA CHOICE 1595-TEX/#047 030 I'LL BE 102 YEARS OLD, COME FALL, 'CAUSE MY MOTHER TOLD ME I WAS BORN O N OCTOBER 17, 1835, AND BESIDES, I WAS ABOUT 30 YEARS OLD AT THE END OF THE CIVI L WAR. WE BELONGED TO THE CHOICES AND I WAS BORN ON THEIR PLANTATION. MY MOTHER 'S NAME WAS MARTHA AND SHE HAD BEEN BROUGHT HERE FROM SERBIA. MY FATHER'S NAME W AS JOHN AND HE WAS FROM THE EAST INDIES. THEY WAS BROUGHT TO THIS COUNTRY IN A S LAVE BOAT OWNED BY CAPTAIN ADAIR AND SOLD TO SOMEONE AT NEW ORLEANS BEFORE MASTE R JEZZO CHOICE BOUGHT THEM. I HAD FIVE SISTERS AND ONE BROTHER BUT THEY ARE ALL DEA, 'CEPTING ONE BROTHER WHO LIVES NEAR HENDERSON. MASTER JEZZO WAS RIGHT KIND. HE HAD 50 OR 60 SLAVES AND A GRIST MILL AN D TANNERY BESIDES THE PLANTATION. MY WHITE FOLKS SORT OF PICKED ME OUT AND I WEN T TO SCHOOL WITH THE WHITE CHILDREN. I WNET TO THE FIELDS WHEN I WAS ABOUT 20, B UT I DIDN'T DO MUCH FIELD WORK 'CAUSE THEY WAS KEEPIN' ME GOOD AND THEY DIDN'T W ANT TO STRAIN ME. ON SUNDAY WE JUST PUT AN OLD PRINCE ALBERT COAT ON SOME GOOD NIGGER AND MADE A PREACHER OUT OF HIM. WE NIGGERS HAD OUR BAND, TOO, AND I WAS ONE OF THE P LAYERS. THE MASTER WAS MIGHTY CAREFUL ABOUT RAISIN' HEALTHY NIGGER FAMILIES AND USED US STRONG, HEALTHY YOUNG BUCKS TO STAND THE HEALTHY NIGGER GALS. WHEN I WAS YOUNG THEY TOOK CARE NOT STRAIN ME AND I WAS AS HANDSOME AS A SPECKLED PUP AND WAS IN DEMAND FOR BREEDIN'. LATER ON WE NIGGERS WAS 'LOWED TO MARRY AND THE MAST ER AND MISSUS WOULD FIX THE NIGGER AND GAL UP AND HAVE THE DOIN'S IN THE BIG HO USE. THE WHITE FOLKS WOULD GATHER ROUND IN A CIRCLE WITH THE NIGGER AND GAL IN T HE CENTER AND THEN MASTER LAID A BROOM ON THE FLOOR AND THEY HELD HANDS AND JUMP ED OVER IT. THAT MARRIED 'EM FOR GOOD. WHEN BABIES WAS BORN OLD NIGGER GRANNIES HANDLED THEM CASES, BUT UNTIL THEY WAS ABOUT THREE YEARS OLD THEY WASN'T 'LOWED ROUND THE QUARTERS, BUT WAS WE T NURSED BY WOMEN WHO DIDN'T WORK IN THE FIELD AND KEPT IN SEPARATE QUARTERS AND IN THE EVENIN' THEIR MAMMIES WERE LET TO SEE 'EM. WE WAS FED GOOD AND HAD LOTS OF BEEF AND HAWG MEAT AND WILD GAME. POSSU M AND SWEET YAMS IS MIGHTY GOOD. YOU PARBOIL THE POSSUM ABOUT HALF DONE AND PUT HIM IN A SKEWER PAN AND PUT HIM IN A HOT OVEN AND JUST 'FORE HE IS DONE YOU PUTS THE YAMS IN THE PAN AND SUGAR ON 'EM. THAT'S A FEAST. SOMETIMES WHEN THEY'S SHORT OF BREAD THE OLD MISSUS WOULD SAY, "HOW 'BO UT SOME ASH CAKES?" THEN THEY'D MIX CORNMEAL AND WATER AND SWEEP ASHES OUT OF TH E OPEN HEARTH AND BAKE THE ASH CAKES. THE MASTER AND HIS BOYS WAS ALL KILT IN THE WAR AND AFTER FREEDOM I STA YED ALL SUMMER. IT WAS PRETTY TOUGH ON US NIGGERS FOR A WHILE, 'CAUSE THE WOMENF OLKS WHAT WAS LEFT AFTER THE WAR DIDN'T HAVE MONEY. BUT COLONEL JONES, THE MASTE R'S SON-IN-LAW TOOK ME TO LIVE IN HENDERSON AND PAID TWENTY-FIVE CENTS A WEEK FO MORE SCHOOLIN' FOR ME AND I LEARNED THROUGH FRACTIONS. THEN I GOT ME A JOB TEAC HIN' SCHOOL ABOUT SIX MONTHS A YEAR AND IN OFF TIMES I'D FARM. I DID LOTS OF DIF FERENT KINDS OF WORK, ON THE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD OUT OF LONGVIEW AND I LEARNED TO BE A BARBER, TOO. BUT I HAD TO GIVE IT UP A FEW YEARS BACK 'CAUSE I CAN'T ST AND UP SO LONG ANY MORE AND NOW I'M TRYIN' TO HELP MY PEOPLE BY DIVINE HEALING. X XXX STP