Old master and mistress was named James Railey and Matilda
Railey. I called her mistress.
"I remember one time my father carried me to Natchez on Christmas to
spend with his people. His parents were servants on a plantation near
Natchez.
"I remember two shows I saw. They was the Daniel Rice shows. They was
animal shows but they had em on a boat, kind of a flatboat. We didn't
have trains and things like that--traveled on the big waters.
"I remember when we refugeed to Texas in '63. They raised tobacco there.
"We got free in '65 and the Governor or somebody ordered all the owners
to take all the folks back that wanted to go.
"All the young folks, they had them in Tyler, Texas makin' bullets. My
father had the care of about fifty youngsters makin' bullets.
"Old master had two plantations in Louisiana and three in Mississippi.
He was a large slaveholder.
"When we got back to Louisiana from Texas, ever'thing was the same
except where the levees had been cut and overflowed the land.
"Old master died before the War broke out and my mistress died in '67.
"My father died in Texas. That left my mother a widow. She spent about
two weeks at the old home place in Louisiana.
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