NELLIE DUNNE                 998-ARK/#015                                    008
         YES MA'AM, I WAS SLAVERY BORN BUT FREE RAISED. I WAS HALF AS BG AS I I
S NOW. BORN IN SILVER CREEK, MISSISSIPPI. YES MA'AM. THEY GIVE EVER'BODY ON THE
PLACE THEIR AGES BUT MAMA SAID IT WASN'T NO 'COUNT AND TORE IT UP, SO I DON'T KN
OW WHAT YEAR I WAS BORN.
         CY MAGBY--MAMA WAS UNDER HIS CONTROL. HE WOULD CARY US6OV      R  O ,HE
6>HI
TE FOLKS' HOUSE EVERY MORNING TO SEE MISS BECKY. WHEN OLD MASTER COME AFTER US,
HE'D SAY, "WHAT YOU GWINE SAY? AND WE'D SAY, "ONE-TWO-THREE." THEN WE'D GO OVER
TO OLD MIS' AND COURTESY AND SAY "GOOD MORNING, MISS BEC Y; GOOD MORNING, MARS A
LBERT; GOOD MORNING, MARS WARDLY." THEY WAS JUST LITTLE OLD KIDS BUT WE HAD TO C
ALL EM MARS.
         WHAT I KNOW I'M GWINE TELL YOU, BUT YOU AIN'T GWINE KETCH ME IN NO TALE
.
         I 'MEMBER THEY WAS GWINE PUT US TO CARRYIN' WATER FOR TH  HANDS NEXT YE

RE 'MEMBER WHEN THEY SOT THE PEOPLE FREE. THEY WAS JUST READY TO BLOW THE FOLKS
OUT TO THE FIELD. I 'MEMBER OLD MOSE WOULD BLOW THE BUGLE AND HE COULD BLOW THAT
 BUGLE. IF YOU WASN'T IN, YOU BETTER GET IN. YES M 'A*] ,HE D Y6FREE OM  OM(, I
KNOW MOSE WAS JUST READY TO BLOW THE BUGLE WHEN THE YANKEES BEGUN TO BEAT THE DR
UM DOWN THE ROAD. THEY KNOWED IT WAS ALL OVER THEN. THAT AIN'T NO JOKE.
         I WAS A FULL GROWN WOMAN WHEN I COME  O ARKANSA>;I WASN'T NO BABY.
         I WENT TO SCHOOL ONE MONTH IN MY LIFE. THAT WAS IN MISSISSIPPI.
         *Y JOE8(H      RHUSBAND) JUST LACK ONE YEAR BEIN' A GRADUATE. HE WENT U
P HE
RE TO THAT BRANCH MORMAL. THAT BOY HAD GOOD LEARNIN'. HE COULD A LEARNT ME BUT H
E WAS TOO HIGH TEMPERED. IF I MISSED A WORD HE WOULD BE SO CRABB'Y. SO ONE NIGHT
 I THROWED THE BOOK ACROSS THE ROOM AND  AID, "YOU DON'T NEED TRY TO LEARN ME NO
MORE."
  X   XXX
STP