*Millie Randall, was born in Mississippi, but spent most of her slavery
days on the Dan McMillan farm, near Big Cane, Louisiana. She is about 80
years old, though her estimate of her actual age is vague. She now lives
in Beaumont, Texas.*
"I was jes' 'bout six year old when peace was 'clared and I done been
born in Mississippi, but us move to Bayou Jacques, tother side of Big
Cane, in Louisiana. I mus' be purty old now.
"My name' Millie Randall and my mammy, she call' Rose, but I don't know
nothin' 'bout my paw. My old massa name' Dan McMillan and he wife she
name' Laura. It were a old wood country where my white folks was and us
live way out. Dey raise de corn and de cotton and when dey wasn't
workin' in de field, dey diggin' out stumps and movin' logs and clearin'
up new ground. Dey have lots of goats and sheep, too, and raises dey own
rice.
"Dey give us cullud folks de ration in a sack right reg'lar. It have
jes' plain food in it, but plenty for everybody.
"Missy have de big plank house and us have de little log house. Us have
jes' old plank beds and no furniture. Us clothes make out good, strong
cloth, but dey was plain make.
"All us white folks was mean, I tells you de truf. Yes, Lawd, I seed dem
beat and almost kilt on us own place. What dey beat dem for? 'Cause dey
couldn't he'p demselves, I guess. De white folks have de niggers like
dey want dem and dey treat dem bad. It were de old, bully, mean
overseers what was doin' de beatin' up with de niggers and I guess dey
would have kilt me, but I's too little to beat much.
"I heered 'bout dem Yankees drivin' dey hosses in de white folks' house
and makin' dem let dem eat offen de table. Another time, dey come to de
plantation and all de niggers locked in de barn. Dose soldiers go in de
house and find de white boss man hidin' in 'tween de mattresses and dey
stick swords through de mattress and kilt him.
[Illustration: _Millie Randall_]
"Some de white folks hides dey silver and other things that worth lots
of money and hang dem down in de well, so de Yankees not find dem. But
dey find dem anyway. Dey breaks open a store what was lock up and told
de niggers to git all dey wants. De women ketches up de bottom of dey
skirt round de waist and fill dem up with everything dey wants.
"After freedom old massa not 'low my mammy have us chillen. He takes me
and my brother, Benny, in de wagon and druv us round and round so dey
couldn't find us. My mammy has to git de Jestice of de Peace to go make
him turn us a-loose. He brung us to our mammy and was we glad to see
her.
"I don't 'member 'xactly when I git marry. It was at Big Cane and when I
git marry I jes' git marry, dat's all. Dey was three chillen but dey all
dead now and so my husban'."