CHARLOTTE BEVERLY            1559-TEX/#325
     I'S BORN IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY AND I'S THE MIDDLE OF ELEVEN CHILLEN, FOUR GA
LS AND SEVEN BOYS.  MY GRANDMA COME FROM ALABAMA AND MY DADDY WAS STRAWDER GREEN
 AND HE BELONG TO COLONEL HUGHES.  MY MAW NAMED PHYLLIS AND SHE BELONG TO CAPTAI
N PARKEY.
     THERE WAS 'BOUT FORTY NIGGERS, BIG AND LITTLE, ON THE PLANTATION.  LAWD, TH
EY WAS GOOD TO US.  US DIDN'T KNOW NOTHIN' 'BOUT BAD TIMES AND CUTTING AND WHIPP
ING AND SLASHING.  I HAD TO WORK IN THE HOUSE AND I 'MEMBER ONE THING I HAS TO D
O WAS SCRUB MISTUS' GOL' SNUFFBOX TWICE A WEEK.  SHE KEP' SWEET, SCOTCH SNUFF AN
D SOMETIMES I TAKES A PINCH OUT.
     WE USED TO GO TO THE WHITE FOLKS CHURCH AND IF US COULDN' GIT IN WE'D STAND
 ROUND BY THE DOOR AND SING.  MISTUS WOULDN' 'LOW US DANCE ON THE PLACE BUT THEY
 GIVE US PASS TO GO TO DANCE NEX' PLANTATION, WHERE MY DADDY LIVE.
     EVERY YEAR THEY HAVE BIT CHRISTMAS DINNER AND HAM AND TURKEY AND ALLUS FEED
 US GOOD.  US HAVE CHRISTMAS PARTY AND SING SONGS.  THAT WAS SWEET MUSIC.
     MARSTER HAVE A LOVELY HOUSE, ALL CEILED AND PLASTERED.  IT WAS A LOG HOUSE
BUT IT WAS MAKE ALL BEAUTIFUL INSIDE WITH MIRRORS AND ON THE BOARD WAS LOTS OF S
ILVER AND CHINA AND SILVER SPOONS WITH THE GOL' LINNIN'S AND PART OF MY JOB WAS
TO KEEP 'EM SPARKLIN'.
     FOLKS IN THEM TIMES COOKS IN THE FIREPLACE AND MY AUNTIE, SHE SHE COOK.  SH
E MAKE 'SIMMON BREAD AND 'TATER PONE AND THE LIKE.  SHE MASH UP 'SIMMONS WITH BU
TTER AND POUR SWEET MILK AND FLOUR IN IT.  THAT MAKE GOOD 'SIMMON BREAD.  WE HAS
 SKILLETS WHAT WAS FLAT AND DEEP AND SET ON THREE LEGS.
     THE SLAVES LIVES IN LITTLE LOG HOUSES AND SLEEP ON WOOD BEDS.  THE BEDS WAS
 MAKE THREE-LEGGED.  THEY MAKE AUGUR HOLE IN SIDE OF THE HOUSE AND PUT IN PIECES
 OF WOOD TO MAKE THE BED FRAME, AND THEY PUT STRAW AND COTTON MATTRESS ON THEM B
ED.
     OLD MARSTER USED TO LET HE SLAVES HAVE A EXTRY COTTON PATCH TO THEYSELVES A
ND THEY WORK IT BY THE MOONLIGHT.  THEY COULD SELL THAT COTTON AND HAVE MONEY FO
R THEMSELVES.
     MY WHITE MISTUS WAS A CHRISTIAN AND SHE'D OWN HER GOD ANYWHERE.  SHE USED T
O SHOUT, JUS' SIT AND CLAP HER HANDS AND SAY, "HALLALUJAH."  ONCE I SEED HER SHO
UT IN CHURCH AND I THINKS SOMETHING ALL HER AND I RUN DOWN THE AISLE AND GOES TO
FANNIN' HER.
     ONE OF THE SLAVES WAS A SORT-A PREACHER AND SOMETIMES MARSTER 'LOWED HIM TO
 PREACH TO THE NIGGERS, BUT HE HAVE TO PREACH WITH A TUB OVER HIS HEAD, 'CAUSE H
E GIT SO HAPPY HE TALK TOO LOUD.  SOMEBODY FROM THE BIG HOUSE LIABLE TO COME DOW
N AND MAKE HIM QUIT 'CAUSE HE MAKIN' 'STURBANCE.
     I BRINGS WATER FROM THE WELL AND THEY HAVE WHAT THEY CALL PIGGINS, AND THEY
 WAS LITTLE TUBS WITH TWO HANDLES.  MISTUS WOULDN' 'LOW ME TO DO ANY HEAVY WORK.
     I SEE SOJERS AND KNITS SOCKS FOR 'EM BY MOONSHINE.  ME AND MY HUSBAN' WAS M
ARRIED BY A YANKEE SOJER.  I WAS DRESS IN WHITE TARLEYTON WEDDIN' DRESS AND I DI
DN'T WEAR NO HOOP SKIRT.  I HAD A PRETTY WREATH OF LITTLE WHITE FLOWERS, LITTLE
BITTY, LITTLE DAINTY ONES, THE PRETTIES' LITTLE THINGS.  WHEN I MARRY, MY SISTER
 MARRY TOO AND OUR HUSBAN'S WAS BRUDDERS.  MY HUSBAN' DRESS IN SUIT OF WHITE LIN
EN.  HE SHO' LOOK HANDSOME.  HE GIVE ME A GOL' RING AND A CUP AND SAUCER FOR WED
DIN' GIF'.  WE GIT MARRIED IN HUNTSVILLE AND US DIDN'T GO NO WEDDIN' JOURNEY TRI
P.  WE WAS SO POOR WE COULDN' GO ROUND THE HOUSE]  I'S 'BOUT TWENTY SOME YEAR WH
EN I MARRIES, BUT I DON' KNOW JUS' HOW OLD.  WE HAS A BIG DANCE THAT NIGHT AND T
HE WHITE FOLKS COME, 'CAUSE THEY LIKES TO SEE THE NIGGERS DANCE.
     THE WHITE FOLKS HAD INTERES' IN THEY CULLUD PEOPLE WHERE I LIVE.  SOMETIMES
 THEY'S AS MANY AS FIFTY CRADLE WITH LITTLE NIGGER BABIES IN 'EM AND THE MISTUS,
 SHE LOOK AFTER THEM AND TAKE CARE OF THEM, TOO.  SHE TURN THEM AND DRY THEM HER
SELF.  SHE HAD A LITTLE GAL GIT WATER AND HELP.  SHE NEVER HAD NO CHILLEN OF HER
 OWN.  I'D BLOW THE HORN FOR THE MUDDERS OF THE LITTLE BABIES TO COME IN FROM TH
E FIELDS AND NURSE 'EM, IN MORNIN' AND AFTERNOON.  MISTUS FEED THEM WHAT WAS OLD
 ENOUGH TO EAT VICTUALS.  SOMETIMES, THEY MAMMIES TAKE THEM TO THE FIELD AND FIX
 PALLET ON GROUND FOR THEM TO LAY ON.
     THE LAS' WORD MY OLD MISTUS PANKEY SAY WHEN SHE DIE WAS, "YOU TAKE CARE OF
CHARLOTTE."
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