"Den one time de Seeseshes, under Marmaduke, come through dar on dey way to Cape. De Blue Coats was camped at Round Pond an dar de Rebel sojers run into ’em an’ dar’s whar they had de big battle. De Rebels nebber bother us none nuther ’cept jes for gin.
"When de war was ober, Ole Massa call us all up to de fron’ porch and tell us now de war is ober an we is free, but it don’ make much diffrence. We stays dar jes de same for few year. Ole Massa wuz allus good to his cullud folks, but fo’ a spell he had a overseer. He wuz a Denmarker an’ his name wuz Martindale an’ he wuz tuff.
"I ’members one night de Ku Kluxers came—dey wants a drink o’ water. One man say ’Gimme some water. I ain’t had no drink sence de battle of Shiloh.’ I had to carry water for him ’bout ez fur as fum here to cross de street and dat man drink five big buckets full an say he want mo’. My young Massa Wes, he step up, an’ tell um to leave here an he say ’Wylie, don’t you carry no mo water.’ Dey don’ wanta go—dey had on white gowns button’ up de front wid black buttons an’ masks on dey faces.
"Young Wes, he had a pistol. He call it a Remington an’ he jes es soon shoot ’em as to say ’Hodey-do!’ So he tell ’em again, ’Git out fum here, I know you.’ Den dey goes but dey say to me, ’Boy, we don’ wanna ketch you out at night’—an’ didden."
*Interview with Lewis Mundy,* *Hannibal, Missouri.
*Lewis Mundy, now living on West Center Street, Hannibal, Missouri, was born in slavery on the farm of John Wright, five miles north of La Belle, Lewis County, Missouri. He has lived in Hannibal more than thirty years, and has a wide acquaintance among both whites and colored people. The following is his story of his life.
"Mr. Wright had eleven slaves, my mother and ten of us children. Mr. Wright had eight children. My father was owned by Billy Graves, whose farm was joined to de master’s farm. I don’t know where he come from, but mother was brought here by de Wrights from Virginia. Our master and mistress was good to us, but of course my own mother had to whip me often. She used a whip made from twisted buckbrush twigs and did it sting!
"I worked in de fields most generally. When I was small I rode one of de oxen and harrowed de fields. When I was about ten or eleven I plowed with oxen. I’se plowed many times with a moldboard plow with an iron share on it.