MARY A BELL
     I WAS BORN IN MISSOURI, MAY 1, 1852, AND OWNED BY AN OLD MAID NAMED MISS KI
TTY DIGGS.  I HAD TWO SISTERS AND THREE BROTHERS.  ONE OF MY BROTHERS WAS KILLED
 IN DE CIVIL WAR, AND ONE DIED HERE IN SAINT LOUIS IN 1919.  HIS NAME WAS SPOT.
 MY OTHER BROTHER, FOUR YEARS YOUNGER THAN I, DIED IN OCTOBER, 1925, IN COLORADO
 SPRINGS.
     SLAVERY WAS A MIGHTY HARD LIFE.  KITTY DIGGS HIRED ME OUT TO A PRESBYTERIAN
 MINISTER WHEN I WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD TO TAKE CARE OF THREE CHILDREN.  I NURSED I
N DAT FAMILY ONE YEAR.  DEN MISS DIGGS HIRED ME OUT TO A BAKER NAMED HENRY TILLM
AN TO NURSE THREE CHILDREN.  I NURSED THERE TWO YEARS.  NEITHER FAMILY WAS NICE
TO ME.  DE PREACHER HAD A BIG FARM.  I WAS ONLY SEVEN YEARS OLD SO DEY PUT ME ON
 A PONY AT MEAL TIME TO RIDE OUT TO DE FIELD AND CALL DE HANDS TO DINNER.  AFTnR
 THER MEALS WAS FINISHED, I HELPED IN THE KITCHn),7GA,HnRED ,HE  G \,&jnDKEPT P
LENTY BUSY.  MY FATHER WAS OWNED BY DE LEWIS FAMILY OUT IN THE COUNTRY, BUT MISS
 DIGGS OWNED MY MOTHER AND ALL HER CHILDREN.
     I NEVER ATTENDED SCHOOL UNTIL I CjME tO2bArNTLOUIS.  WHEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WAS ASSASSINATED I HAD NEVER BEEN TO SCHOOL.  DAT SAME YEAR I ATTENDED SCHOOL AT
 BENTON BARRACKS AND WENT ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN MONTHS WITH DE SOLDIERS.  THERE WAS
 NO NEGRO SCHOOLS IN SAINT LOUIS IN DAT TIME.  THE NEXT SCHOOL I ATTnNDED6W S2SA
INT PAUL CHAPEL.  I WENT THERE ABOUT SIX MONTHS.  DE NEXT PLACE I WENT TO SCHOOL
 WAS EIGHTEENTH AND WARREN.  I WENT THERE ABOUT TWO8YEj\. -*Y-N XT2S. OOLWAS T
WENTY THIRD AND MORGAN, NOW DELMAR BOULEVARD, IN A STORE BUILDING.  I WENT THERE
 BETWEEN TWO AND THREE YEARS.  I WAS VERY APT AND LEARNED FAST.  MY FATHER AT DE
 TIME I WAS GOING FROM SCHOOL TO SCHOOL WAS A NURSE IN BENTON BARRACKS, AND MY M
OTHER  TAKEN IN WASHING AND IRONING.  I HAD TO HELP HER IN DE HOME WITH DE LAUND
RY.
     I SO OFTEN THINK OF DE HARD TIMES MY PARENTS HAD IN THEIR SLAVE D \\,MORE
THAN I FELL IN MY OWN HARD TIMES, BECAUSE MY FATHER WAS NOT ALLOWED TO COME TO S
EE MY MOTHER BUT TWO NIGHTS A WEEK.  DAT WAS WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.  SO OFTEN H
E CAME HOME ALL BLOODY FROM BEATINGS HIS OLD NIGGER OVERSEER WOULD GIVE HIM.  MY
 MOTHER WOULD TAKE THOSE BLOODY CLOTHES OFF OF HIM, BATHE DE sOREPLACES AND GRE
ASE THEM GOOD AND WASH AND IRON HIS CLOTHES, SO HE COULD GO BACK CLEAN.
     BUT ONCE HE CAME HOME BLOODY AFTER A BEATING HE DID NOT DESERVE AND HE-RUN
AWAY.  HE SCARED MY MOTHER MOST TO DEATH BECAUSE HE HAD RUN AWAY, AND SHE DONE A
LL IN HER POWER TO PERSUADE HIM TO GO BACK.  HE SAID HE WOULD DIE FIRST, SO HE H
ID THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS, UNDER HOUSES AND IN THE WOODS, LOOKING FOR A CHA
NCE TO CROSS THE LINE, BUT DE PATTEROLLERS WERE SO HOT ON HIS TRAIL HE COULDN'T
MAKE IT.  HE COULD SEE DE RIDERS HUNTING HIM, BUT DEY DIDN'T SEE HIM.  AFTER THR
EE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS HE WAS SO HUNGRY AND WEAK HE CAME OUT AND GAVE HIMSELF
UP TO A NIGGER TRADER DAT HE KNEW.  HE BEGGED DE NIGGER TRADER TO BUY HIM FROM H
IS OWNER, MR LEWIS, BECAUSE MARSE LEWIS WAS SO MEAN TO HIM AND DE NIGGER TRADER
 KNEW HOW VALUABLE HE WAS TO HIS OWNER.  DE NIGGER TRADnR-PROMISED HE6wOulD tY
TO MAKE A DEAL WITH HIS OWNER FOR HIM, BECAUSE DE NIGGER TRADER WANTED HIM.
     SO WHEN DEY BROUGHT FATHER BACK TO HIS OWNER AND  sKED  O2B%Y8HrM,-MR-L WS
 SAID THERE WASN'T A PLANTATION OWNER WITH MONEY ENOUGH TO PAY HIM FOR SPOT.  DA
T WAS MY FATHER'S NAME, SO OF COURSE THAT PUT MY FATHER BACK IN DE HANDS OF MARS
E LEWIS.  LEWIS OWNED A LARGE TOBACCO PLANTATION AND MY FATHER WAS DE HEAD MAN O
N DAT PLANTATION.  HE CURED ALL DE TOBACCO, AS IT WAS BROUGHT IN FROM THE FIELD,
 MADE ALL THE TWISTS AND PLUGS OF TOBACCO.  HIS OWNER'S SON TAUGHT HIM TO READ,
AND DAT MADE HIS OWNER SO MAD, BECAUSE MY FATHER READ DE EMANCIPATION FOR FREEDO
M TO DE OTHER SLAVES, AND IT MADE DEM SO HAPPY, DEY COULD NOT WORK WELL, AND DEY
 GOT SO NO ONE COULD MANAGE DEM WHEN DEY FOUND OUT DEY WnRE tOBBEForEEDIN SUCH
 SHORT TIME.
     FATHER TOLD HIS OWNER AFTER HE FOUND OUT HE WOULDN'T SnLL8Hr*, DAT9 F8HEWH
IPPED HIM AGAIN, HE WOULD RUN AWAY AGAIN, AND KEEP ON RUNNING AWAY UNTIL HE MADE
 DE FREE STATE LAND.  SO DE NIGGER TRADER BEGGED MY FATHER NOT TO RUN AWAY FROM
 MARSE LEWIS, BECAUSE IF HE DID LEWIS WOULD BE A RUINED MAN, BECAUSE8HE DID- OT
HAVE ANOTHER MAN WHO COULD MANAGE DE WORKERS AS FATHER DID.  SO THE OWNER KNEW F
REEDOM WAS ABOUT TO BE DECLARED AND MY FATHER WOULD HAVE DE PRIVILEGE OF LEAVING
, WHETHER HIS OWNER LIKED IT OR NOT.  SO LEWIS KNEW MY ATHER KNEW IT AS WELL AS
 HE DID, SO HE SAT DOWN AND TALKED WITH MY FATHER ABOUT THE FUTURE AND PROMISED
MY FATHER IF HE WOULD STAY WITH HIM AND SHIP HIS TOBACCO FOR HIM AND LOOK AFTER
ALL OF HIS BUSINESS ON HIS PLANTATION AFTER FREEDOM WAS DECLARED  HE WOULD GIVE
HIM A NICE HOUSE AND LOT FOR HIS FAMILY RIGHT ON HIS PLANTATION.  AND FATHER HAD
 SUCH INFLUENCE OVER DE OTHER SLAVES HE WANTED HIM TO CONVINCE DE OTHERS DAT IT
WOULD BE BETTER TO STAY WITH  THEIR FORMER OWNER AND WORK FOR HIM FOR THEIR LIVI
NG DAN TAKE A CHANCE ON STRANGERS THEY DID NOT KNOW AND WHO DID NOT KNOW DEM.  H
E PLEADED SO HARD WITH MY FATHER DAT FATHER TOLD HIM ALL RIGHT TO GET RID OF
HIM.  BUT LEWIS HAD BEEN SO MEAN TO FATHER DAT DOWN IN FATHER'S HEART HE FELT LE
WIS DID NOT HAVE A SPOT OF GOOD IN HIM.  NO PLACE FOR A BLACK MAN.
     SO FATHER STAYED JUST SIX MONTHS AFTER DAT PROMISE AND TAKEN ELEVEN OF THE
BEST SLAVES ON DE PLANTATION AND WENT TO KANSAS CITY AND ALL OF DEM JOINED THE U
 S ARMY.  DEY ENLISTED DE VERY NIGHT DEY GOT TO KANSAS CITY jND DE5V YNEXT MOR
NING DE PATTERROLLERS WERE THERE ON DE TRAIL AFTER DEM TO TAKE DEM BACK HOME, BU
T DE OFFICERS SAID DEY WERE NOW ENLISTED U S SOLDIERS AND NOT SLAVES AND COULD N
OT BE TOUCHED.
     IN DE COUNTRY WHERE I WAS RAISED DE WHITE PEOPLE WENT  O .HuRCH rN DE- ORNI
NG AND DE SLAVES WENT IN DE AFTERNOON.  I WAS CONVERTED AT THE AGE OF FOURTEEN,
AND MARRIED IN 1873.  MY HUSBAND DIED MAY 27, 1896, AND I HAVE BEEN A WIDOW EVER
 SINCE.  I DO GET A PENSION NOW.  I NEVER STARTED BUYING DIS LITTLE OLD FOUR ROO
M FRAME DWELLING UNTIL I WAS SIXTY FOUR YEARS OLD AND PAID FOR IT IN FULL IN SIX
 YEARS AND SIX MONTHS.
     I TOLD YOU MY FATHER'S NAME WAS sPOT,BBUT cHAT W S HSNICKNAME IN SLAVERY.
  HIS FULL NAME WAS SPOTTWOOD RICE.
     I MARRIED AT DE AGE OF TWENTY ONE AND WAS DE MOTHER OF SEVEN CHrLmrn),BUT
 ONLY HAVE TWO LIVING.  MY SON'S FULL NAME IS WILLIAM A BELL.  HE IS nNLISTED rN
DE ARMY IN THE PHILLIPINE ISLANDS.  I LOVE ARMY MEN;  MY FATHER BROTHER, HUSBAND
 AND SON WERE ALL ARMY MEN.  I LOVE A MAN WHO WILL FIGHT FOR HIS RIGHTS, jND jNY
 PERSON THAT WANTS TO BE SOMETHING.
   X   XXX