"The first work I did was farming--after the War. I farmed,--down close
to El Dorado, about six miles away from there. I kept that up till I was
about seventeen or eighteen years old or somewheres about there. That
was on James Goodwin's place--my last master, the man who raised me.
Then I left him and came to Little Rock. I don't remember in what year.
I went to school here in Little Rock. I had already had some schooling.
My grandmother sent me. The school I went to was called the Union
School. It was down on Sixth Street. After I left there, I went to
Capitol Hill School. I was going to school during the Brooks-Baxter War.
The statehouse was on Markham Street and Center. My grandmother's name
was Celie Robinson. She went by the name of her owner.
"After I had gone to school several years--I don't remember just how
many--I worked down town about ten or eleven years. Then I went to
railroading. First I was with the Iron Mountain and Southern. Later, it
changed its name to the Missouri Pacific. I worked for them from 1891
to 1935. On August 29th I received my last pay check. I have tried ever
since to get my railroad pension to which my years of service entitle me
but have been unable to get it. The law concerning the pension seems to
have passed on the same day I received my last check, and although I
worked for forty-four years and gave entire satisfaction, there has been
a disposition to keep me from the pension. While in service I had my
jaw broken in two pieces and four front teeth knocked out by a piece of
flying steel.
"Another man was handling the steam hammer. I was standing at my regular
place doing my regular work. When that happened, I was cut down like
a weed. There wasn't a man ever thought they would see me in that job
again after that piece of steel cut me down.
"Also, I lost my right eye in the service when a hot cinder from the
furnace flew in it while I was doing my regular work. Then I was
ruptured because of the handling of heavy pieces of iron at my work. I
still wear the truss. You can see the places where my jaw was broke and
you can see where my teeth were knocked out.
"Out of all the ups and downs, I stuck to the company just the same
until they retired me in 1935 because of old age. The retirement board
wanted to know when I asked for a pension, why did I think I was
entitled to a pension? I told them because I had been injured through
service with the company and had honorably finished so long a period of
service. It is now admitted that I am eligible to a railroad pension but
there seems to still be a delay in paying it for some reason or other.