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JOSEPHINE HYLES, known to the colored people as "Mama Honey", was born a slave of James Sultry, Galveston
insurance agent. She does not know her age. She lives in Galveston, Texas.
"Sho, I'm Josephine Ryles, only everyone 'round here calls me 'Mama Honey' and I 'most forgot my name till you
says it right den. Honey, I'll be glad to tell you all I 'member 'bout slavery, but it ain't much, for my mind ain't so
good no more. Sometimes I can't 'member nothin' a-tall. I'm too old. I don't know how old, but me and dat Gulf got
here 'bout de same time, I reckon.
"I'm borned in Galveston and James Sultry owns my mother and she de only slave what he have. He have a kind of
big house on Church St and my mother done de housework and cookin' till she sold in de country. I wishes you
could've talked to her, she knowed all 'bout slavery, and she come from Nashville to Mobile and den to Texas. Her
name Mary Alexander and my daddy's name Matt Williams and Mr. Schwoebel own him.
"Den us sold to Mr. Snow what live-in Polk county. Us gits sold right here in Galveston without gwine no place, my
mother and me and my li'l brother. My daddy couldn't go with us and I ain't never seed him 'gain. Mr. Snow live out
in de country and have a big place and a lot of field hands and us live in cabins.
"My mother was do cook for de white folks and my li'l brother, Charlie Evans, was de water toter in de fields. He
brung water in de bucket and give de hands a drink.
"Plenty times de niggers run 'way. 'cause dey have to work awful hard and de sun awful hot. Dey hides in de woods
and Mr. Snow keep nigger dogs to hunt 'em with. Dem dogs have big ears and dey so bad I never fools 'round dem.
Mr. Snow take of dere chains to git de scent of de nigger and dey kep' on till dey finds him, and sometimes dey hurt
him. I knows dey tore de meat off one dem field hands.
"My mother used to send me and my brother out in de woods for de blackberry roots and she make medicine out of
dem. You jes' take de few draps at de time. Den she take de cornmeal and brown it and make coffee out of it.
"I didn't pay much 'tention to dat war till Mr. Snow-says us free and den us go to Galveston and she git work cookin'
and I stays with her.
"I can't tell you much. My mind jes' ain't no more good no more.
Ingeam, Wash -- Additional Interview
WASH INGEAM, a 93 year old Negro, was born a slave of Capt. Jim Wall, of Richmond, Va. His father, Charley
Wall Ingram, ran away and secured work in a gold mine. Later, his mother died and Capt. Wall sold Wash and his
two brothers to Jim Ingram, of Carthage, Texas. When Wash's father learned this, he overtook his sons before they
reached Texas and put himself back in bondage, so he could be with his children. Wash served as water carrier for
the Confederate soldiers at the battle of Mansfield, La. He now lives with friends on the Elysian Fields Road, seven
miles southeast of Marshall, Texas.
"I don' know just how ole I is. I was 'bout 18 when de War was over. I was bo'n on Captain Wall's place in
Richmond, Virgini'. Pappy's name was Charlie and mammy's name was Ca'line. I had six sisters and two brothers
and all de sisters is dead. I haven't heard from my brothers since Master turn us loose, a year after de war.
"Pappy say dat he and mammy was sold and traded lots of times in Virgini'. We always went by de name of
whoever we belonged to. I first worked as a roustabout boy dere on Capt. Wall's place in Virgini'. He was she' a big
man, weighed more'n 200 pounds. He owned lots of niggers and worked lots of land. The white folks was good to
us, but Pappy was a fightin' man and he run off and got a job in a gold mine in Virgini'.
"After pappy run away, mammy died and den one day de overseer headed up a big bunch of us niggers and driv us
to Barnun's Tradin' Ta'd down in Mississippi. Dat's a place where day sold and traded Niggers jus' lak stock. I cried
when Capt. Wall sold me, 'cause dat was one man dat she' was good to his niggers. But he had too many slaves.
"Cetton was a good price den and dem slave buyers had plenty of money. We was sold to Jim Ingram of Carthage.
He bought a big gang of slaves and refugeed part or 'em to Louisiana and part to Texas. We come to Texas in ex
wagons. While we was on the way, camped at Keachie, Louisiana, a man come ridin' into camp and someone say to
me, 'Wash, dar's your pappy.' I didn' believe it 'cause pappy was workin' in a gold nine in Virgini'. Some of de man
told pappy his chillen is in camp and us come and fin' me and my orators. Den he jine Master Ingran's slaves so no
can be with his chillen.
"Master Ingram had a big plantation down near Carthage and lots of niggers. He also buyed land, cleared it and sol'
it. I plowed with oxen. We had a overseer and sev'ral taskmasters. Dey whip de niggers for not workin' right, or for
runnin' 'way or pilferin' roun' master's house. We woke up at four o'clock and worked from sunup to sundown. Dey
give us an hour for dinner. Dem dat work roun' de house et at tables with plates. Dem dat work in de field was drove
in from work and fed jus' like houses at a big, long wooden trough. Dey had to eat with a wooden spoon. De trough
and de food was clean and always plenty or it, and we stood up to eat. We went to bed soon after supper durin' de
week for dat's 'bout all we feel like doin' after workin' twelve hours. We slep' in wooden beds what had corded rope
mattresses.
"We had to learn de best way we could, 'cause dere was no schools. We had church out in de woods. I didn' see no
money till after de surrender.
Guess we didn' need any, 'cause dey give us food and clothes and tobacco. We didn' have to buy nothin'. I had
broadcloth clothes, a blue jean overcoat and good shoes and boots.
"De niggers had heap better times dan now. Now we work all time and can't git nothin'. Sat'day night we would
have parties and dance and play ring plays. We had de parties dere in a big double log house. Dey would give us
whiskey and wine and cherry brandy, but dere wasn' no shootin' or gamblin'. Dey didn' 'low it. De men and women
didn' do like dey do now. If dey had such carryin's on as dey do now, de white folks would have whipped 'em good.
"I 'member dat war and I sees dem cannons and hears 'em. I toted water for de soldiers what fought at de Battle of
Mansfield. Master Ingram had 350 slaves when de war was over but be didn' turn us loose till a year after surrender.
He telled us dat de gov'ment goin' to give us 40 acres of land and a pair of mules, but we didn' git nothin'. After
Master Ingram turn us loose, pappy bought a place at De Berry, Texas, and I live with him till after I was grown.
Den I marry and move to Louisiana. I come back to Texas two years ago and lived with my friends here ever since.
My wife died 18 years ago and I had a hard time 'cause I don' have no folks, but I's managed to git someone to let
me work for somethin' to eat, a few clothes and a place to sleep.
