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"My full name is Letha Taylor Meeks, an' I'se bahn down in Panola County, Mississippi close to de Tallahatchie Ribbah. Mah fathuh an' mothuh was Andy and' Susan Tayluh. We belonged to Ole Massa Billie Welborn an' our Misses was Ole Miss' Cloe.
"Dey had a fine big house, we call it de mansion. Dey had po'ches an' galleries bof. Der was trees all aroun', pine trees en' cedahs, an' oak trees. An' de yawd was full a flower bushes.--big snowballs an' lilacs, an' rows of flags, an honeysuckle vines, wid de mockin' birds an' doves a singin' roun'--an dey was jay birds too. An der was big vegitable gahdens an fruit trees. In de sto' room in de fall der was a'ways bags full er dried apples an' peaches, an' pumpkin an cahn-strings o'onions a hanging up, an heaps o turnips an' sweet 'taters, an bins fulla 'taters. An' they was lotsa cabbages an' collards in shelters in de gahden.
"Miss 'Cloe dress mighty fine. She wear calico prints roun' home, but when she dress up she wear silks an' satins' with hoop skirts an a rare-back hattied unduh her chin.
"When de white fblks go tuh church at Fredonia us cullud folks go too but we sits up in de gallery. We didden hab no school but sometime de preacher an his wife 'ud come to stay wid de white folks an dey'd a'ways hab classes fo' us chillern. One time dey stayed dar nearly a yeah.
"Us chillern ustaplay hide on seek, honey on de bee ball, frog in de meadow, an' aberthing playable. Ah learned tuh spin an ahd fill quills till ah had a whole basket full an' I'd windide broches. Mah Mothaw hepped with de weavin. De made all our clothes--'member one time dey made sech fine gray homespun for de men's pants. Ole Wothuh Bet, was seamstress for de white folks--we called her Mothuh Rether name was Henrietta. De looms an' spinning wheels was in a big room down in de basement. Dere was a big fireplace in de room.
"Mothuh helped wuth de cookin, too. An Ah'd help her on cleanin days. Our folks shore had fine funicher an' things, an' de fines' silver an cand has all ovah de house. We made de candles put a string in de mold, den po' de grease in--Ders was fine candles for company.
"For de sojers came all de silver an' fine things was hid. Dey had two basements--de big one unduh de whole house n'en a small one in back--unduh de small one was a cellah, an in dat cellar dey hide all de things--barrels o' taters, sacks o' dried fruits an vegetables, de meats an' lawd, on puvisions--an de silver till dey had it full up--den dey puts back de puncheon boahds--an' fills in wuth dirt jes like it warn't nuthin unduh there.
"Dey had two sons go off tuh war. Columbus came back when de wah was ovah but Wallace died wid measles. When he leave to go tuh war, he tell me he gwine tuh come back, wid Lincoln's head on a stick but de Lawd sent him back wid his head in a coffin. Dey had all us cullud folks come through de house to see young Massa lyin dar in de big front room in his coffin.
Dey wus mo dan a hundred slaves. Dey wus three cabins close to de mansion an our fambly lived dar. In de quawters dey was bout fifty cabins but dat was bout five mile fum us--over on de udduh place. Young Massa Willyum live in de big house ovah der. He didden go tuh wah an one time de sojers come an' look for him. Dey cain't fin' him so dey burn de house down cause dey think he's in' dar --but dey nebber bothuh our place.
First time ah ebber seed de Yankees, it was one Saturday--I went out tuh let de calves into de grove. When ah look down de road an ah see one man come roun de cornuh, den anudduh--den mo--till ah see it de whole ahmy comin--Den ah's skeered an ah runs back to de house ahollerin' "De Yankees is comin". Dey comes on up de road an into de yawd an' one man grab me an' he say "Is you de little gal what run to tell um to hide cause we's comin'?" Ah tells um I'se de little gal whut run but ah never tells nobody to hide. I is sho' skeered. He hol's me while de mens, look aroun' but dey don' tarry long.
"De nex' day, dat was Sunday, Ole Forrest come by wid his Rebel sojers--and dey stole Massa's fine mules. Massa' had a fine pair o' matched mules, dey was iron gray an' he druv dem to de carriage. Well, early nex' mornin' de feeder, he was Henry Nan ce, he come to our cabin an asks my fathuh is he seed Gains and Fox-- dat's de mules. My fathuh say no dey mus' be out in de grove, but he say no, he hunt an' he call an' he whistle fo' em but he can't start 'um no place. Dey hunt some mo' de:. say dey better go tell Massa. After a little Massa say Henry an' Andy, you don' need tuh go to do fiel' dis mornin'. Dey knows whut dat mean an' dey jes sit dar. Den Massa go out to de dogwood thicket an' he cut a bundle o' switches, all he cud carry. He take de men out to de bahn lot, has 'em take off dey shirts an' he wears out all dose switches. Den he say iffen dose mules not in de lot nex' Monday mawnin' de gonna git double de dose. Massa think dey sell demmules to de sojers an' packet de money. But by nex' Monday mawnin' my fathuh an' Henry Nance is in Memphis---dey runned away.
"An' de nex' time de Yankee sojers cum through dar, Ole' Uncle 'Lias tuk Massa's fine carriage an' two mules an' him an three women escaped to Memphis.
When de war is ovah Massa call us all up an' tell us we's free. He say to my mathuh Now Sook's-her nam e's Susan but dey all call her Sook---he say Now Sook, you is free as I is---but we stay dar jes de same. An' Massa he writ to Memphis fo' mah fathuh tuh come back, but he don' come so Massa go tuh Memphis tuh git him. Massa's got a eatin' cancer an he want my fathuh tuh come back. My fathuh was a'ways kind of a fohman. Massa'd tell him whut he wanted dis group o' men to do, an' whut he wanted dat group tuh do, an mah fathuh saw they don it. So when Massa goes fo' him he comes back.
"In Memphis he tells Massa he knows whar one o' his hosees is whut was stolen. Massa tells him kin he swear to it, he kin have it. So mah fathuh goes to de law bout dat hoss---Dey asks him can he 'dentify it---an' he say it got a white star on its face an' a white stockin on lef' hin' foot. So he git de hoss.
I'se married 63 years ago---got de license Guta Sardis. Bout twenty year ago ah went back dar tuh visit---tuk some o' my chillern an' showed gem de chuch dere at Fredonia whar we usta 'tend service.
"Dey war mos'ly perty good to us down dah---'cose we nevah cud go nowhars 'thout a pass or we'd git whupped. Dey had a doctor woman to take care o'us iffen we's sick. Her name's Miss Ellen---An' dey's good an' careful bout womens when dey's gonna have a taby. She was jes given light work to do, cause dey wanted big healthy famblies.
"One time dey was Ku Klux come to de do. Ah nebber seed em cause ah run an' crawl amner de bed, tut ah heerd um say, Please gi' me some water, I ain't had a drink since de battle o' Shilo.
"Ole Jeff Davis sho' made it hawd fo' de cullud folks but wid Abe Lincoln an' de grace ob de Lawd we's all free now."
