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MARY THOMPSON was born a slave 87 years ago, in Danton, Miringo County, Alabama. Her mother, Vinoy
Askew, and father, Wesley Jones, belonged to Green Askew, a Georgian. She was 15 when she was freed. Mary
new lives at 1104 East Avenue, Austin, Tex.
"I was bo'n in Alabama and my mother was Viney Askew. She belonged to Marster Green Askew. My father was
Wesley Jones, 'cause he took his marster's name.
"My mother was a good cook and she cooked for de marster. She had a great big stove and she made salt-risin'
broad, too. We and all de slaves lived in cabins near de big house and some of de slaves would have chillen by de
marster.
"When we come home from de fields at night, do woman cooked de food and don dey was so tired dey jus' wont to
bed. We didn' have fun in de evenin's, but on Christmas mornin' de marster give us eggnog and sich. Don we'd sing
but I don' 'member de songs now.
"De crops in Alabama would be cleared by July 4 and don we'd have sev'ral days off, all de slaves. Dey'd give us
pits of barbecue and pies and cakes to eat.
"When we was sick de marster would sen' for de doctor and we made teas outta herbs and sich. Alabama was full of
chills and fevers in dam days and we drunk catnip tea for fevers and blue and white sage. Calamus root, looks like
an onion, was good for de chillens' colic.
"My mistress' niece had a big plantation and she had a place whar she had de slaves whopped. She had a reg'lar
whoppin' post. My marster jes' had a large cowhide whoop. Yes, I got a whoppin' more'n once. Sev'ral times marster
took hold my ears and bumped my head 'gainst de wall. But gen'rally dey was good to me.
"We wasn't 'lowed no whiskey, 'less we was sick. De poor white folks was good to us, better'n rich folks. Dey'd give
us a quarter now'n den.
"I can 'member how de slaves was fattened like hawgs and den marched to town and 'round and auctioned off like
cattle. Some of 'em had done somethin' mean and was sold off. Some of 'em brought more'n a thousand dollars
down in How Orleans.
"I knows of one slave who liked to run 'round at night. She was nuss to marster's girl and she give it morphine to put
it to sleep. She give de baby girl so much morphine dat her body was full of it and she died. De cullud folks got to
talkin' too much and de baby was dug up and 'xamined. De slave was put in jail and kep' there a long time and don
she was sold.
"Heap of de slaves would run away and go up north. Dey would try to find 'am by sendin' nigger houn's after 'em.
Once de houn's caught a slave and he kep' sayin', 'O, Lawd ... O, Lawd!'
"After de war, whom we was free, de slaves would go here and there and a lot of 'em died. Dey'd git de black
measles, go out in de woods and die. Day didn' know how to take care of demselves.
"I stayed at marster's house eight months, don hired out at ten dollars a month. Dat was de fus' money I ever made
and I didn' want to go to school, 'cause I wanted to make dat money. Dat looked like big money to me. I was proud
to have it. 'cause I could git what I wanted. I cain't read or write to this day.
"I was married to General Thompson, and he'd been a slave too, in Alabama. Yes. General was his given name. I
was 16 years old when I married and a white preacher married us durin' a 4th of July celebration. Yes, we had a big
time and a good time.
"We come to Texas later and my husban' farmed on the Brazes. We had eight chillen, and two of 'em is livin.' My
husban' died and I buried him, den I took up with a Horace Foster, and he was nothin' but a gambler. I lived with
him 'bout 8 years, but he never would marry me, no I lef' him.
