*James West, 83, was born a slave to Mr. William West, near Ripley, in
Tippah Co., Mississippi. This was close to the battle fought near
Corinth and James witnessed some exciting events. In 1885 James came to
Texas and now lives with a friend at 1114 Hardy St., Fort Worth, Texas.*
"Yes, suh, I 'members de slavery days and de War, 'cause I's born in
1854, on de plantation of Massa William West, in Mississip'. It weren't
a big plantation, jus' 'bout 100 acres, and Massa West owned my mammy
and four other slaves, Buck, Sam, Rufus and Mary. I don't know nothin'
'bout my pappy, 'cause I ain't never seed him, and my mammy never told
me nothin' of him.
"All us cullud folks lived in cabins and they has two rooms. De bunks is
built to de wall and has straw ticks and we has floors and real windows.
"Sam and Buck and Rufus am field workers and plants cotton and sich and
looks after de stock. Sometimes de work is heavy and sometimes not. When
it am finish, de massa lets 'em go fishin' or visitin' or rest. We goes
to church when we wants and we has parties with Sam and Rufus to play de
music, de fiddle and de banjo. How I wishes I could be back dere for
jus' one year and have it like befo'. Jus' one year befo' I die!
"We has a good massa in every way. Him gives all we can eat. Folks don't
eat like we used to, 'cause we had home-cured hams, and when you put it
in your mouth, it was a treat for your taster. As for de clothes, massa
say, 'De 'terial here and if yous don't supply yourselves, its yous
fault.'
"Dere never anyone what gits whippin's on massa's place, 'cept dis
nigger, but dey only spankin's. You see, dere was allus a bit of
devilment in me. But de massa so good, we all tries to please him and we
has no whippin's.
"De massa gives me a he goat and de shoemaker makes me de harness and
cart for dat goat and when I gits him trained good, I has a job gittin'
de chips for kindlin' and de wood and I totes de water. One day I takes
Billy, de goat, 'cross de road for wood and it downhill from de woodpile
so I jus' rides de load. Billy was gwine jus' as nice as yous kin like,
but him says BAAH, and starts to run like a skeert bull. I thinks what
kin be wrong with dat fool goat, when somethin' hits me back of de neck
like a coal of fire, and de cart hits a rock and off I goes. To says I's
skeert am not tellin' de truf, and I starts hollerin'. It was de bee
stung me and when I gits to de house I looks Billy over and, sho'
'nough, on his hip was de bee sting. Dat bee sting sho' put de life in
Billy.
"'bout de War time, de plantation was near whar dey fights a battle two
days and I seed lots of soldiers. Before dat, de soldiers begins to come
to massa's house and water de hosses and eat de lunch. Dey never did
raid his place like other places 'round dere, but I hides when dey
comes, 'cause I skeert of dem. I quavers and gits skeert when I sees
'em.
"We is jus' settin' down to breakfast one mornin' and we hears a big
boomin'. When dat start, dis nigger don't eat his breakfast. I starts
for some place to hide. I runs to one place, den I hears de boom, den I
runs to another place. I finally crawls under de shed and dere I stays.
Dey couldn't git me out and dere I stays for dat day and night and 'til
noon de nex' day. I has no water or food. Lots of folks from Ripley what
massa knows was kilt in dat battle.
"Buck and I goes to de battleground after de fightin' quits and dere was
heaps of dead hosses but dey had dug de trench and buried de dead
soldiers.
[Illustration: _James West_]
"I don' know about de Klux, but we use to sing a song 'bout de patter
rollers, like dis,
'Run nigger run, patter roller kotch you,
Run nigger run, 'cause it almos' day,
Dat nigger run, dat nigger flew,
Dat nigger los' his Sunday shoe.'
"I stays with de massa after freedom 'til I's 21 year old and den I
leaves and works for diff'runt folks. I marries in Tennessee when I's 22
and we has one chile, but my wife takes him when he's five and leaves,
and I never seen or heard of 'em since. I comes to Texas 'bout 52 year
ago.
"I has 'joyed talkin' 'bout dem old days, 'cause talk am all I kin do
since my legs have de misery so bad."