"No, ma'am. I ain't been here long. Just about two weeks. You want to
talk to me. Let's go on up to my son's house. We'll stop there. I's
tired. Seems like I get tired awful quick. Had to go down to the store
to get some coal." (He was carrying a paper sack of about two gallon
capacity. "Coal" was probably charcoal--much favored among wash women
for use in a small bucket-furnace for heating "flat-irons".) My wife has
to work awful hard to earn enough, to buy enough coal and wood.
Did I say I'd been here two weeks? I meant I has been here two years.
I's lived all over. Came here from Woodruff county. Yes, ma'am. I can't
work no more. My wife she gets 2-3 days washing a week. Then she gets
some bundles to bring home and do. She got sick, same as me and her
brothers come on down to bring her up here to look after. They provided
for me too. They took good care of us. Then one of 'em got sick himself,
and the other he lost out in a money way. So she's a washing.
Can't remember very much about the war. I was just a little thing when
it was a'going on. Was hardly any size at all. I does remember standing
in the door of my mother's house and watching the soldiers go by. Men
dressed in blue they was.
Pages:
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301