LEE, DAVID TF/#001 JUST THE OTHER DAY WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WHITE PEOPLE WHEN THEY HAD SLAVES. YOU KNOW WHEN A MAN WOULD MARRY, HIS FATHER WOULD GIVE HIM A WOMAN FOR A COOK AND S HE WOULD HAVE CHILDREN RIGHT IN THE HOUSE BY HIM, AND HIS WIFE WOULD HAVE CHILDR EN, TOO. SOMETIMES THE COOK'S CHILDREN FAVORED HIM SO MUCH THAT THE WIFE WOULD BE MEAN TO THEM AND MAKE HIM SELL THEM. IF THEY HAD NICE LONG HAIR SHE WOULD CU T IT OFF AND WOULDN'T LET THEM WEAR IT LONG LIKE THE WHITE CHILDREN. THEY WOULD BUY A FINE GIRL AND THEN A FINE MAN AND JUST PUT THEM TOGETHER L IKE CATTLE; THEY WOULD NOT STOP TO MARRY THEM. IF SHE WAS A GOOD BREEDER, THEY WAX PROUD OF HER. I WAS STOUT AND THEY WERE SAVING ME FOR A BREEDING WOMAN BUT BY THE TIME I WAS BIG ENOUGH I WAS FREE. I HAD AN AUNT IN MISSISSIPPI AND SHE H AD ABOUT TWENTY CHILDREN BY HER MASTER. ON SUNDAY THEY WOULD GET US READY TO GO TO CHURCH. THEY WOULD DRESS US UP AFTER WE ASK THEM IF WE COULD GO AND THEY WO ULD HAVE ME WALK OFF FROM THEM AND THEY WOULD LOOK AT ME, AND I'D HEAR THEM SAYI NG, "SHE'S GOT A FINE SHAPE; SHE'LL MAKE A GOOD BREEDER," BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT. THERE WAS ANOTHER MAN IN NASHVILLE, ON THE GRANNY WHITE PIKE, AND HE HAD A REGULAR FARM OF SLAVES - HE'D JUST RAISE THEM TO SELL. HE HAD A SUGAR PLANTATIO N IN LOUISIANA AND HE WOULD SELL SOME AND SEND SOME DOWN THERE AND THEN HE WOULD HIRE SOME OUT AROUND HERE. HE WOULD LET ALL THAT WAS NEAR ENOUGH COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, BUT ON NEW YEAR'S DAY YOU WOULD SEE A STRING OF THEM AS LONG AS FROM HERE TO FISK GOING SOUTH. THEY WOULD HAVE TWO COVERED WAGONS TO CARRY THE CHIL DREN AND SOME OF THE WOMEN IN, BUT THE OTHERS WOULD BE WALKING. ONE OF THE WAGO NS WOULD BE IN FRONT AND THE OTHER BEHIND THE WALKERS. WE CHILDREN DIDN'T KNOW THE GRIEF OF IT THEN, BUT THEY WOULD SELL THEM APART. OF COURSE SOME OF THE BUY ERS WOULD HAVE PITY ON THEM AND BUY THEM ALL THAT WAS IN ONE FAMILY IF POSSIBLE. OLD GALE WAS MIGHTY NICE ABOUT THAT. HE HAD A WOMAN ONCE AND HE CAUGHT HER CR YING SEVERAL TIMES, AND ASKED HER TO TELL HIM WHAT THE TROUBLE WAS; SO FINALLY SHE TOLD HIM THAT THEY SOLD HER AWAY FROM HER CHILDREN AND DIDN'T GIVE HER A CHA NCE TO TELL THEM GOODBYE. SHE SAID SHE DIDN'T MIND BEING SOLD BUT THEY TOOK HER TO TOWN AND SHE DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE GOING TO SELL HER AND SHE DIDN'T GET TO T ELL HER CHILDREN SHE WAS GONE. OLD GALE SAW THE MAN AND GOT HIM TO LET THE CHIL DREN COME TO SEE HER ONE CHRISTMAS, AND HE WOULD LET HER GO TO SEE THEM THE NEXT. THEN THERE WAS OLD SAM WATKINS, - HE WOULD SHIP THEIR HUSBANDS OUT OF BED A ND GET IN WITH THEIR WIVES. ONE MAN SAID HE STOOD IT AS LONG AS HE COULD AND ON E MORNING HE JUST STOOD OUTSIDE, AND WHEN HE GOT WITH HIS WIFE HE CHOKED HIM TO DEATH. HE SAID HE KNEW IT WAS DEATH, BUT IT WAS DEATH ANYHOW; SO HE JUST KILLED HIM. THEY HANGED HIM. THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LAW IN TENNESSEE THAT IF A NEGR O KILL A WHITE MAN IT MEANS DEATH. NOW, MIND YOU, ALL OF THE COLORED WOMEN DIDN'T HAVE WHITE MEN, SOME DID IT BECAU SE THEY WANTED TO AND SOME WERE FORCED. THEY HAD A HORROR OF GOING TO MISSISSIP PI AND THEY WOULD DO ANYTHING TO KEEP FROM IT. A WHITE WOMAN WOULD HAVE A MAID SOMETIMES WHO WAS NICE LOOKING, AND SHE WOULD KEEP HER AND HER SON WOULD HAVE CH ILDREN BY HER. OF COURSE THE MIXED BLOOD, YOU COULDN'T EXPECT MUCH FROM THEM. THE MEANEST THING THEY DID WAS SELLING BABIES FROM THEIR MOTHER'S BREAST, B UT ALL OF THEM DIDN'T DO THAT. THE MAN ACROSS THE STREET AND OUR FOLKS SEEMED A LITTLE MORE ENLIGHTENED. IT JUST SEEMED THAT SOME OF THEM WOULD BUY A WOMAN WI TH CHILDREN JUST TO SELL HER AWAY. THEY WOULD TELL HER TO TAKE THE MARKET WAGON TO TOWN AND WHEN SHE GOT THERE THEY WOULD SELL HER, AND SHE WOULDN'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS TAKING HER FOR 'TIL HE STARTED SELLING HER. THERE WAS AN OLD MAN LIVED ON THE SHELBY PLACE, AND SOMEBODY WAS ALWAYS SUING HI M FOR BEATING PEOPLE ALMOST TO DEATH AND THEN SELLING THEM; THEY WOULD DIE TWO O R THREE DAYS AFTERWARDS. HIS PEOPLE NEVER SAW THEIR HOUSE IN THE DAY TIME. THE Y WOULD GO TO WORK AT NIGHT AND COME BACK AT NIGHT. DOCTOR GALE HAD ABOUT 25 UP HERE IN TENNESSEE, BUT I RECKON HE HAD THOUSAND S IN MISSISSIPPI, AND LOTS OF THEM WAS HIS CHILDREN. THEY HAD TO WORK JUST LIKE WE ID AND THEY HAD TO CALL HIM MARSTER TOO; AND THE OVERSEER WOULD TAKE THEM D OWN AND WHIP THEM JUST LIKE THE OTHERS. THE MOTHER WOULD HAVE A BETTER TIME, BU T THE CHILDREN DIDN'T. THE ONLY ADVANTAGE THEY HAD WAS THAT MARSTER GALE WOULDN 'T SELL THEM. MY GRANDFATHER WAS AN IRISHMAN AND HE WAS A FOREMAN, BUT HE HAD T O WHIP HIS CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN JUST LIKE THE OTHERS. I RECKON I WAS EIGHT OR NINE YEARS OLD WHEN THE WAR CAME. I MIGHT HAVE BEE N OLDER THAN THAT BECAUSE I CAN REMEMBER TOO MUCH TO HAVE BEEN SO YOUNG. I REME MBER WHEN THE WHITE PEOPLE WERE GETTING UP A REGIMENT AND DRILLING ROUND AND THE Y WOULD GIVE THEM FAREWELL PARTIES. I REMEMBER THE CIVIL WAR BETTER THAN I REME MBER THE WORLD WAR. WE WERE RIGHT BETWEEN THE TWO ARMIES WHEN HOOD'S RAID WAS, AND WHEN ALL THE FIGHTING WAS, WE WAS RIGHT BETWEEN THE TWO BATTLEFIELDS. THEY STARTED FIGHTING ON WEDNESDAY, AND THEY FOUGHT UNTIL FRIDAY AND THEN THE REBELS THROWED DOWN THEIR ARMS AND GIVE UP. THE WOMEN JUST THROWED UP THEIR HANDS AND HOLLERED: "NASTY STINKING COWS] JUST RUNNING] WHY DON'T THEY FIGHT?" WE WERE CALLED DOCTOR GALE'S FREE NIGGERS. HE NEVER DID jLLOW THEPADDEROL LERS ON OUR PLACE. MY OLD MARSTER HAD SOME RELATIVES HERE NAMED MCNAIRY AND HE ALWAYS LOOKED AFTER IT IF THEY BOTHERED US. WE HAD TO GET A PASS TO GO OFF THE PLACE BUT MCNAIRY'S PLACE WAS RIGHT JOINING OURS AND RIGHT ACROSS THE ROAD WAS M RS CANTRELL'S PLACE AND WE COULD GO TO THEIR PLACES WITHOUT A PASS. SOME OF THE OTHERS WOULD SHUT DOWN ON THEM. MANY A TIME THEY'D HAVE CHURCH THERE AND THERE WAS A THICKET NEAR AND THE PADDEROLLERS WOULD GET IN THERE AND WAIT AND WHIP TH EM AS THEY WERE LEAVING CHURCH. OLD ALFRED WILLIAMS WAS THE PREACHER, AND HE WO ULD SEND SOMEBODY AFTER HIS MARSTER ANDREW AND HE WOULD SIT THERE WITH HIS GUN O N HIS LAP TO KEEP THEM FROM WHIPPING HIM 'TIL HIS MARSTER WOULD COME AND TAKE HI M HOME. YES, HE WAS COLORED AND A SLAVE, TOO, BUT THEY USED TO HAVE GOOD MEETIN GS THERE 'TIL OLD MR CANTRELL SAID THEY WOULD HAVE TO STOP THAT. HE WAS A PRESB YTERIAN MINISTER, AND HE SAID THEY HAD GOD TROUBLE ON THE THRONE, AND THEY DIDN' T 'LOW NO TWO OR THREE MEN TO BE STANDING ABOUT TALKING EITHER. THEY FEARED THE Y WAS TALKING ABOUT BEING FREE. THEY DIDN'T BOTHER THE WOMEN THAT WAY, BUT NO M AN BETTER NOT TRY IT; THEY WOULD SEARCH THE SLAVE HOUSES FOR BOOKS, TOO. DURING THE WAR, THE COLORED MEN THAT HAD WIVES AT OTHER PLACES, THEY WOULDN 'T LET THEM GO TO VISIT THEM AT ALL; THEY SAID THEY'D GET TO TALKING AND THEY TH REATENED TO SHOOT ANY WHO TRIED TO GO. I REMEMBER WHEN THEY NOMINATED ABE LINCOLN AND JEFF DAVIS JUST AS6WELL AS I REMEMBER WHEN THEY NOMINATED HOOVER AND ROOSEVELT. WE CHILDREN HEARD THE OLD F OLKS TALKING ABOUT IT. YES, I'LL TELL YOU: THEY WOULD GO ROUND TO THE WINDOWS AND LISTEN TO WHAT THE WHITE FOLKS WOULD SAY WHEN THEY WAS READING THEIR PAPERS AND TALKING AFTER SUPPER. SOMETIMES THEY WOULD BE LAUGHING AND TALKING IN THEIR MARSTER'S HOUSE WHILE THE ARGUMENT WAS GOING ON BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES, AND THEY MARSTERS WOULD SAY, "YOU NEEDN'T BE LAUGHING AND TALKING, YOU AIN'T pONNA BE oR EE." NOW THE SLAVES WOULDN'T BE TALKING ABOUT BEING FREE AT ALL, BUT THEY MIGHT JUST6FEEL A LITTLE JOLLY AND THE MARSTERS WOULD SAY THAT TO THEM. YOU NOTICE MOST WHITE PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH SAY DADDY AND MOTHER. IN SLAVERY TIME COLORED PEOPLE COULDN'T SAY PAPA; THEY HAD TO SAY DADY AND MAMMY AND WHEN THEY GOT FREE THEY STARTED SAYING PAPA AND THEN THE WHITE PEOPLE STARTED SAYING DADDY. NOW THE COLORED ARE RIGHT BACK AT DADDY AGAIN; THEY WILL COPY AFTER THEM. MY MOTHER WAS BORN IN MISSISSIPPI AND BROUGHT HERE. MY FATHER WAS BORN IN MARYLAND. HE WAS AN OLD MAN WHEN HE COME HERE, BUT THEY JUST BOUGHT THEM AND PU T THEM TOGETHER. MY MOTHER WAS YOUNG - JUST FIFTEEN OR SIXTEEN YEARS OLD. SHE HAD FOURTEEN CHILLEN AND YOU KNOW THAT MEANS A LOTS OF WEALTH. YES, IT WAS A LA RGE FAMILY OF US, BUT THERE'S JUST TWO OF US LIVING NOW. I HAVE A HALF-SISTER I N WASHINGTON. I HAD JUST TWO CHILDREN TO LIVE, A BOY AND A GIRL, AND THEY BOTH DIED AFTER THEY GOT GROWN. IN THE FALL THE WHITE FOLKS WENT AND BOUGHT YOU WHAT YOU NEED. THEY WOULD BUY JUST WHAT WE CALLED COTTON GINGHAMS FOR A CHEMISE, AND TWO LENGTHS OF UNDERS KIRTS AND A DRESS AND A PAIR OF OLD BROGAN SHOES. COLORED CHILDREN DIDN'T WEAR DRAWERS, AND YOU'D KNIT YOUR OWN STOCKINGS. THEY WOULD SHEAR THE SHEEP AND SELL ,HE BEST WOOL AND THEN THE SECOND WOOL YOU WOULD TAKE AND KNIT YOUR STOCKINGS A ND HANG THEM UP FOR CHRISTMAS. I TELL YOU WE WOULD BE JUST AS ANXIOS FOR CHRIST MAS TO COME SO SANTA CLAUS COULD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY AND PUT SOMETHING IN OUR STOCKINGS. THE OLD FOLKS TOLD US THERE WAS A SANTA CLAUS AND WE DIDN'T THINK AB OUT NOT BELIEVEING IT. WE'D GET GINGER CAKES AND STICK CANDY AND WE THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING. WE WENT BAREFOOTED 'TIL CHRISTMAS AND WE WOULD PUT ON OUR NEW ST OCKINGS AND SHOES AND WE WOULD BE SO PROUD. BEFORE WE PUT ON OUR SHOES WE WOULD 7GO OUT AND CATCH EVERYBODY'S CHRISTMAS GIFT SO THEY COULDN'T HEAR US COMING. IN THE SPRING, THEY WOULD BUY BROWN DOMESTIC AND MAKE UNDERCLOTHES OUT OF T HAT AND YOU WOULD HAVE TWO DRESSES. SOME OF THE MEAN ONES JUST HAD WHITE GINGHA M DRESSES AND THEY WOULD BE SO NARROW THAT THEY WOULD SPLIT THEM SOMETIMES. OLD MISTER --- NEVER WOULD GIVE THEM ENOUGH TO EAT. THEY WOULD SLIP OFF AN D COME TO OUR HOUSE AT NIGHT AND OUR PEOPLE WOULD FEED THEM. OLD MRS ---- LIVED OUT ON GRANNY WHITE PIKE, AND SHE WAS SO MEAN HER HUSBAND COULDN'T STAY WITH HE R. SHE HAD ONE OLD WOMAN AND A BOY AND A GIRL; THEY COME TO HER BY HER MOTHER, AND THAT WAS ALL THE SLAVES HE LEFT HER WHEN HE WENT OFF. SHE USED TO WHIP THAT OLD WOMAN 'TIL WHE WOULD RUN AWAY, AND THEY PUT A BIG IRON BELL ON HER FIXED IT O \HE OULDN'T GET TO THE CLAPPER AND PUT IT ON HER NECK WITH AN IRON COLLAR. ,HEN >HEN SHE WOULD9RUN AWAY THEY COULD HEAR THE BELL AND YOU COULD SEE HER AND HER HALF-CRAZY SISTER RIDING HORSEBACK THROUGH THE WOODS AND LISTENING TO HEAR THAT BELL. JUST BEFORE THE WAR THEY SENT HER TO THE GREENHOUSE TO MAKE THE FIRE -YOU SEE THEY HAD A SO OF FLORIST PLACE, BUT THEY DIDN'T SELL FLOWERS. PEOP LE WOULD JUST COME THERE TO LOOK AT THEM, BUT NOBODY EVER VISITED HER AT ALL. W ELL, SHE STAYED SO LONG IN THE GREENHOUSE THAT THE OLD LADY GOT THE COWHIDE AND WENT OUT TO SEE WHAT THE TROUBLE WAS, AND THERE WAS THE OLD LADY BENDING DOWN JU ST LIKE SHE WAS MAKING THE FIRE AND THE OLD LADY ---- CUT HER A LICK WITH THE CO WHIDE, AND LO AND BEHOLD SHE WAS DEAD. SHE COME RUNNING OVER TO OUR HOUSE TO GE T SOMEONE TO LAY HER OUT, AND SHE WAS CRYING LIKE SHE HAD LOST HER BEST FRIEND. HUH, CRYING BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T HAVE NOBODY TO WHIP NO MORE. WHEN THE WAR BROKE OUT HER DAUGHTER WAS IN COLUMBIA IN SCHOOL AND SHE RODE RIGHT THROUGH THE LINES WITH JUST A BOY DRIVING HER - THE BOY WAS ONE OF MY BROT HERS. WE LET HIM GO WITH HER TO DRIVE HER USUALLY, AND SHE GOT THAT GIRL AND CO ME ON BACK. GOVERNOR JOHNSON WOULD SEND GUARDS THERE TO GUARD HER HOUSE AND SHE SAID SHE DIDN'T WANT THEM. SHE SAID, "JUST SEND ME SOME AMMUNITION AND I'LL TA KE CARE OF MYSELF. THE YANKEES WALKING 'ROUND HERE WITH ALL THAT BLUE ON GETS O N MY NERVES." SHE HAD A NICE HOUSE. WE WOULD GO THERE TO SEE THE GIRL. IT WAS JUST HER AND THE GIRL AND HER CRAZY SISTER THERE, AND IT WAS MY IDEA OF A BEAUT IFUL HOUSE, BUT IT GOT BURNT DOWN ONE NIGHT. THEY THINK SOMEBODY SET IT ON FIRE , BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHO. IT WAS WAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND THEY HAD T O RUN OUT IN THEIR NIGHT CLOTHES. THEY DIDN'T SAVE A THING. SHE HAD A WATCH AN D SHE TOLD THE MAN WHERE IT WAS AND SAID IF HE GOT IT HE COULD HAVE IT. HER HUS BAND HAD GIVEN IT TO HER WHEN THEY WERE ENGAGED, AND SHE DIDN'T WANT IT TO BURN UP. HE TRIED TO GET IT, BUT THE HOUSE STARTED FALLING IN BEFORE HE COULD GET TO IT AND HE HAD TO GIVE IT UP. SHE HAD SOME MORE LITTLE HOUSES IN THE YARD, AND SHE MOVED IN ONE OF THEM, AND SOMEBODY SET THAT ON FIRE; AND SHE MOVED INTO ANO THER ONE. THAT WAS JUST PAST BELMONT COLLEGE ON THE GRANNY WHITE PIKE. A HOUSE IS STILL THERE ON THE PLACE, BUT IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE NOBODY LIVES IN IT. I KN OW SHE CAN'T BE LIVING, BUT SOMEBODY MIGHT STILL LIVE THERE. SHE WAS JUST SO ME AN THE WHITE FOLKS AND NOBODY COULD STAND HER. MRS BRADFORD LIVED UP ABOVE US ON THE GRANNY WHITE PIKE. THAT WAS MRS HENR Y ALLEN BOYD'S PEOPLE. THEY WERE CALLED BRADFORD'S FREE NIGGERS BECAUSE THEY WA S NICE TO THEM, TOO. OLD MAN JOHNSON - THE MAN THAT CARRIED SO MANY TO SELL - H AD A NICE TIME THERE, TOO, BUT HE'D JUST SELL THEM, SOME ONE DAY AND SOME ANOTHE R. BUT I CAN SAY ONE THING FOR HIM, THERE WAS NEVER NO HALF-WHITE CHILDREN AMON G HIS GROUP. ALL OF THEM WAS COLORED. HE WOULD LET THEM COME HOME CHRISTMAS, A ND THEY WOULD HAVE CANDY PULLINGS, AND HE'D JUST GIVE THEM ANYTHING HE COULD TO MAKE THEM HAVE A GOOD TIME, BUT THEY WOULD BE CRYING ALL THE TIME BECAUSE THEY K NOWED WHAT THEY WOULD GET NEW YEAR'S MORNING. THAT WAS THEIR MONEY, AND AFTER T HE WAR WHEN THEIR SLAVES WERE TAKEN AWAY, THE WHITES WERE POOR, SOME OF THEM POO RER THAN THEIR SLAVES BECAUSE IF THEY HAD ANY MONEY IT WAS COUNTERFEIT. WHEN I WAS QUITE A GIRL I WENT TO A COLORED PERSON'S WEDDING. SHE WAS AS B LACK AS THAT THING THERE BUT SHE WAS HER YOUNG MARSTER'S WOMAN AND HE LET HER MA RRY BECAUSE HE COULD GET HER ANYHOW IF HE WANTED HER. HE DRESSED HER UP ALL IN RED-RED DRESS, RED BAND AND ROSETTE AROUND HER HEAD, AND A RED SASH WITH A BIG R ED BOW. SHE WAS SO BLACK THAT WHEN WE SAW A PERSON WHO WAS REAL BLACK AND WE WA NTED TO SAY HOW BLACK HE WAS, WE WOULD SAY, "BLACK AS AUNT MARY JANE," AND YOU CAN IMAGINE ALL THAT BLACK AND ALL THAT RED; BUT THE FUNNIEST LOOKING SIGHT I EV ER SEE, BLACK AND ALL THAT RED, AND SHE MARRIED A YELLOW MAN AND HAD TWO YELLOW GIRLS TO WAIT ON HER] AFTER THE CEREMONY, THERE WAS A DANCE. SHE AND HER HUSBA ND BELONGED TO THE CHURCH AND THEY DIDN'T DANCE, BUT THE REST OF THEM DID, AND T HE WHITE MEN AND WOMEN WERE STANDING 'ROUND LOOKING AT THEM DANCE ALL NIGHT. WE HAD DANCES OFTEN IN THE SUMMER, DOWN IN THE WOODS. THEY WOULD HAVE LANT ERNS HANGING OUT IN THE TREES ALL AROUND. IN THE WINTER THEY WOULD HAVE CANDY P ULLINGS, BUT SOME OF THEM DIDN'T HAVE ANY PLEASURES AT ALL. THEY JUST HAD TO WO RK AND GO TO BED. WE COULD GET A PASS TO GO TO ANY OF THEM PARTIES. JIMMIE BAX TER'S WAS A PLACE THAT WE COULD GO AND HAVE A GOOD TIME. THERE, THE WHITE FOLKS WOULD HAVE A PARTY AND WHEN THEY FINISHED EATING, THEY WOULD SET THE THINGS OUT ON THE TABLE FOR THE COLORED TO EAT. SOME OF THEM WERE RIGHT GOOD TO COLORED - NO RESPONSIBILITY, AND SOME OF THEM HAD A BETTER TIME THAN THEY DO NOW. OF COU RSE THEY WHIPPED THEM BUT SOME OF THEM NEED IT, AND WHEN I LOOK AROUND AND SEE T HEM DOING SOME OF THE THINGS THEY DO NOW, I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING IF SO ME OF THEM COULD BE WHIPPED NOW. THEY TAUGHT US TO BE AGAINST ONE ANOTHER AND NO MATTER WHERE YOU WOULD GO Y OU WOULD ALWAYS FIND ONE THAT WOULD BE TATTLING AND WOULD HAVE THE WHITE FOLKS P ECKING ON YOU. THEY WOULD BE TRYING TO MAKE IT SOFT FOR THEMSELVES. I HAD AN A UNT BY MARRIAGE WHO WOULD PEEP AROUND AND TELL THE WOMEN THINGS. SHE WOULDN'T T ELL MARSTER BECAUSE HE ALWAYS SAID HE WOULDN'T HAVE A TATTLER ON HIS PLACE, AND IF HE FOUND ONE HE WOULD SELL HER JUST AS FAR AS WIND WOULD CARRY. IT IS JUST NATURAL FOR NEGROES TO STEAL. OUR FOLKS WOULD DO IT, AND THEY H AD PLENTY. THEY WOULD KILL A HOG AND PUT IT UNDER THE BED AND COOK IT AT NIGHT, AND THEY WOULD EAT WHAT THEY WNATED THEN PUT A TOP OVER THE SKILLET AND SET IT BACK UNDER THE TABLE AND NOBODY WOULD NEVER KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT. COURSE THE C HILDREN WOULDN'T KNOW; THEY'D BE IN BED, AND IF YOU COME UP AND THE OLD FOLKS WA S TALKING YOU DIDN'T NO MORE DARE COME IN THERE THAN YOU WOULD STICK YOUR HEAD I N THE FIRE. OLD LADY MCFERRIN WORKED IN THE HOUSE AND SHE TOLD ON ONE ONCE AND ALMOST GOT HIM SOLD. MARSTER SAID THAT WAS THE ONLY THING HE WOULD SEPARATE HIS FOLKS FOR, STEALING. LATER WHEN I HAD GROWN AND COULD HIRE OUT FOR MYSELF, I W OULD NEVER HIRE OUT WHERE THERE WERE TWO OR MORE SERVANTS, FOR THEY WOULD KEEP U P A DISTURBANCE ALL THE TIME. IF YOU ARE DOING WELL THEY'LL TELL THE WHITE FOLK S SOMETHING TO MAKE THEM MAD. YOU SEE THEY TRAINED THEM THAT WAY IN SLAVERY TIM E WHEN THEY CAME FROM AFRICA AND IT HAS JUST COME DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERA TION. YOU KNOW THE BIBLE SAYS THAT IT WILL COME DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERAT ION, TO YOUR CHILDREN AND YOUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN. SHO'NOUGH RICH WHITE PEOPLE, IF THEY HAD A GIRL ON THE PLACE AND SHE HAD A BABY, THEY WOULD SAY, "JUST DO IT AGAIN, AND I'LL SELL YOU AS FAR AS WATER AND W IND WILL CARRY YOU. I'LL SEND YOU TO MISSISSIPPI." YES, WE HAD LOG ROLLINGS AND HOUSE RAISINGS. THEY WOULD GIVE A BIG DINNER AND PUT UP THE FRAME OF A HOUSE IN ONE DAY. IT WAS JUST LOGS AND THEY WOULD DAU B IT WITH DIRT AND WHEN THAT DIRT WOULD FALL OFF YOU COULD LOOK OUT AND SEE THE SNOW FALLING. SOMETIMES YOU WOULD GET UP OUT OF YOUR WARM BED AND THE SIDE TOWA RDS THE WALL WOULD BE FULL OF SNOW. THAY HAD GREAT BIG GRATES WITH A BIG BLACK LOG AND A LITTLE LOG IN FRONT, AND WE WOULD PUT CHIPS IN BETWEEN. THAT FIRE WOU LD MIGHT RUN YOU OUT. NO, THEY DIDN'T TELL YOU A THING. I WAS A GREAT BIG GIRL TWELVE OR THIRTEE N YEARS OLD, I RECKON, AND A GIRL TWO OR THREE YEARS OLDER THAN THAT AND WE'D BE GOING 'ROUND TO THE PARSLEY BED LOOKING FOR BABIES; AND LOOKING IN HOLLOW LOGS. IT'S A WONDER A SNAKE HADN'T BITTEN US. THE WOMAN THAT WOULD WAIT ON MY MOTHE R WOULD COME BACK AND TELL US HERE'S HER BABY; AND THAT WAS ALL WE KNEW. WE THO UGHT SHE BROUGHT IT BECAUSE IT WAS HERS. I WAS TWENTY YEARS OLD WHEN MY FIRST B ABY CAME, AND I DIDN'T KNOW NOTHING THEN. I DIDN'T KNOW HOW LONG I HAD TO CARRY MY BABY. WE NEVER SAW NOTHING WHEN WE WERE CHILDREN. IN SUMMER TIME WE HAD ALL KINDS OF VEGETABLES AND BACON, BUT IN THE WINTER WE HAD POTATOES AND SWEET POTATOES AND TURNIPS. WE'D JUST EAT THE THINGS IN SEA SON. IN THE SPRING WHEN TURNIP SALAD COME IN EVERY BODY WAS JUST WILD. RICE AN D LIGHT BREAD AND THINGS LIKE THAT YOU NEVER SAW UNLESS SOMEBODY WAS SICK; AND T EA WAS ANOTHER THING. THEY WOULD KILL A CHICKEN AND MAKE A LITTLE SOUP FOR THE SICK AND PUT A LITTLE RICE IN IT, AND YOU'D HAVE SOME TOAST MAYBE, BUT THAT WAS ALL IT WAS GOOD FOR, AND I THINK THAT'S ALL IT IS GOOD FOR NOW. WE HAD THREE HO T MEALS, BREAKFAST AT SIX, DINNER AT ONE AND SUPPER AT SIX IN THE EVENING. FOR BREAKFAST WE'D AHVE MUSH AND GRAVY AND MEAT. THE CHILDREN WOULD JUST HAVE MUSH, BUT THE GROWN FOLKS WOULD HAVE MEAT. ON SATURDAY EVENING, THEY WOULD TAKE THEI R PANS AND GO TO THE BIG HOUSE TO GET THINGS TO COOK FOR SUNDAY, WE'D GET BROWN SUGAR, MEAT, FLOUR, SYRUP, AND ON SUNDAY WE'D GET COFFEE WITH MILK IN IT; THE W HITE FOLKS HAD THE CREAM. WE'D HAVE GOOD THINGS TO EAT, TOO, OUT OF THAT ON SUN DAY. ON MY PLACE, EACH FAMILY HAD A CHICKEN HOUSE AND THEY HAD TO RAISE CHICKENS. THEY'D BUY THEM FROM YOU. THEY'D DO THAT TO KEEP YOU FROM STEALING, AND THEY WOULD GIVE YOU A LOAD OF CORN AND A LOAD OF HAY; YOU COULD PULL IT AND SELL IT. I REMEMBER JUST AS WELL WHEN I GOT BIG ENOUGH TO PULL A LOAD OF HAY AN D SELL IT; AND WHEN YOU GOT BIG ENOUGH THEY WOULD GIVE YOU A HEN HOUSE. THEY'D GIVE YOU A LOAD OF FODDER AND A TRUCK PATCH, TOO; BUT YOU WOULD STEAL ANYHOW - T HAT IS, THE GROWN FOLKS WOULD. THEY WOULD HAVE SWEET POTATOES AND STEAL THE WHI TE FOLK'S SWEET POTATOES. WHEN THEY WOULD KILL HOGS, THE CHILLEN WOULD HAVE TO PICK UP CHIPS TO SMOKE THE MEAT. THE COLORED HAD THE HEADS AND SCRAPS LIKE THAT, AND THEN THEY WOULD HAVE THE FAT PART OF THE MIDDLING, BUT THEY WOULD SAVE THE LEAN PARTS AND THE SH OULDERS FOR THE WHITE FOLKS. SOME WOULDN'T GIVE THEIR SLAVES ENOUGH TO EAT, BUT WE HAD PLENTY, AND MY FOLKS WOULD STEAL MEAT AND GIVE IT TO THEM. I'VE SEEN TH EM MANY A TIME GIVING MEAT TO THOSE HALF STARVED SLAVES WHO WOULD SLIP OVER FOR SOMETHING TO EAT; BUT WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO SEE ANYTHING SO WE COULDN'T SAY NO THING. THEY WERE AFRAID WE WOULD SAY SOMETHING THAT WOULD GIVE THEM AWAY. IF ANYBODY WOULD DIE, THERE WAS AN OLD MAN ON THE PLACE WHO WOULD MAKE A BO X. THEY HAD A GRAVEYARD FOR THE COLORED AND THEY WOULD CALL IN SOME PEOPLE AND HAVE A SHORT FUNERAL SERVICE OVER THE GRAVE, THEN LATER ON THEY WOULD HAVE A REA L FUNERAL AT THE CHURCH. THE FIRST REAL COFFIN I SAW WAS AFTER THE WAR. MY MOT HER HAD A LITTLE BABY TO DIE SOON AFTER THE WAR AND A FRIEND OF HERS HAD A SPRIN G WAGON, AND HE WENT TO TOWN AND GOT A COFFIN. A LADY MADE A WINDING SHEET FOR THE CHILD, AND IT HAD LACE ON IT. NO, WE DIDN'T HAVE TO TURN THE POT DOWN ON OUR PLACE, BUT AN OLD MAN LIVED UP IN THE COUNTRY NAMED MISTER COMPTON AND HIS FOLKS WOULD HAVE PRAYER MEETING A ND THE PEOPLE WOULD SLIP THERE, AND THEY WOULD HAVE THE POT DOWN TO DROWN THE SO UND. THEY WOULD BE SCARED TO DEATH THAT THE WHITE FOLKS WOULD HEAR THEM. WE HA D WOODEN SHUTTERS AND THEY WOULD JUST PULL THOSE SHUTTERS TO AND DO THE DOOR SOM E WAY, AND PRAY AND SING IN THE ROOM TOGETHER. THERE WAS AN OLD MAN WHO BELONGED TO DOCTOR SHELBY, AND HE SAID IF HE EVER GOT FREE HE WASN'T EVER GOING TO GET UP ANY MORE, AND AFTER HE GOT FREE HE REALL Y STAYED THERE 'TIL HE STARVED TO DEATH AND DIED. HE WAS AN OLD MAN, TOO. HE W AS JUST SO HAPPY TO KNOW THAT HE COULD LAY IN BED AND NOBODY COULD MAKE HIM GET UP, HE JUST WOULDN'T EVEN GET UP TO EAT. YOU SHO' COULDN'T DO THAT ON OLD MAN S HELBY'S PLACE. HE'D WHIP NIGGERS TO DEATH AND THEN SELL THEM BEFORE THEY DIED. THE WHITE FOLKS GOT DOWN ON HIM FOR IT AND HE WAS ALWAYS IN A LAWSUIT WITH SOME BODY ABOUT SELLING A SLAVE HE HAD BEAT SO HARD THAT HE DIED AFTER THE OTHER MAN GOT HIM. MANY A ONE HAS COME IN OUR HOUSE AND WE'D HIDE 'EM IN THE CLOSETS - MEN, WO MEN AND CHILDREN, TOO. THEY WOULDN'T LET US CHILLEN SEE IT, BUT WE'D SEE IT ANY HOW. THEY WOULDN'T TELL US A THING. I REMEMBER ONCE THERE WAS A COMET AND WE W AS STANDING THERE LOOKING AT IT AND WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS. WE'D SING STEAL AWAY TO JESUS AND THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME. AT CORN SHUCK INGS THEY WOULD SING, WALK JAWBONE, COME JINE THE RE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RE WAS. OUR CABIN WAS JUST A LITTLE WEATHERBOARD CABIN WITH TWO ROOMS. MY MOTHER H AD SO MANY CHILLEN SHE HAD TO HAVE TWO ROOMS. IT HAD OLD FASHIONED WINDOWS THAT YOU WOULD JUST SHUT, NO GLASS AT ALL. THERE WAS A FIREPLACE IN EACH ROOM THAT WOULD COME OUT ON THE INSIDE. WE CALLED THAT THE HOB, AND WE CHILLEN WOULD CLIM B UP ON IT SOMETIMES. FOR WOMEN THAT WORKED IN THE HOUSE, THE CABIN WAS WHITEWA SHED; IT WAS CLOSER TO THE HOUSE, YOU SEE, SO THE WHITE FOLKS COULD GET TO THEM EASY IF THEY WANTED THEM; AND THEY HAD TO HAVE IT THAT WAY TO KEEP FROM SPOILING THE LOOKS OF THE BIG HOUSE. CHILLEN COULDN'T SIT IN CHAIRS; WE HAD TO SIT ON LITTLE BLOCKS; YOU COULDN' T THINK YOU WERE GROWN AND THEY SAID IF YOU SIT IN CHAIRS IT WOULD MAKE YOU THIN K YOU WERE GROWN. WHEN I WAS A CHILD I WAS SO LONG GETTING GROWN, I DIDN'T KNOW IT. I USED TO SAY, LORD, IF I EVER HAD ANY CHILLEN, I WOULDN'T TREAT THEM LIKE I WAS TREATED. THEY WOULD NEVER ASK YOU WHAT YOU LIKED, THEY WOULD JUST FIX IT AND GIVE IT TO YOU, AND YOU HAD TO EAT IT 'CAUSE YOU WERE CHILLEN. YOU'D SEE G ROWN FOLKS EATING THE BEST THINGS] AND YOU DASEN'T TO LOOK AT IT. IN SOME PLAC ES THEY HAD TROUGHS FOR THE CHILLEN, AND THEY HAD TO GET DOWN AND EAT JUST LIKE HOGS; BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT AT OUR PLACE. MY MOTHER HIRED ME OUT DURING THE WAR, AND I LEARNED TO USE A KNIFE AND FOR K BY LOOKING AT THE FOLKS THERE. MY FOLKS WERE AWAY DURING MOST OF THE WAR. IN SEPTEMBER THEY WOULD ALWAYS GO SOUTH BECAUSE IT WAS WARMER, AND THEY WENT LIKE THIS FALL AND IN THE SPRING THE BATTLE OF FORT DONELSON CAME OFF AND THE YANKEES TOOK NASHVILLE, SO THEY WERE CUT OFF. OUR YOUNG MISTRESS WAS SICK AND THEY LEF T HER HERE. THE DAY THE TOOK FORT DONELSON, THE SOLDIERS HAD A DRESS PARADE AND A NEWSBOY WAS RUNNING 'ROUND WITH PAPERS, HOLLERING,"EXTRA] EXTRA] FORT DONELSO N HAS FALLEN AND THE ENEMY WILL BE HERE TOMORROW]" I REMEMBER YOUNG MISTRESS TO OK SOME TABLE LINEN AND STARTED SOUTH TO HER FOLKS, WE COULD HEAR THE REBELS SI NGING AS THEY RETREATED, "I WISH I WAS IN DIXIE," AND RIGHT NOW AT THE REUNION W HEN THOSE OLD SOLDIERS START SINGING THAT, THEY JUST JUMP AROUND AND SHOUT. AND THE YANKEES WERE SINGING AS THEY ADVANCED, "IT MUST BE NOW THE KINGDOM COMING, IN THE YEAR OF JUBILEE; OLD MARSTER RUN AWAY AND THE DARKIES STAY AT HOME," YES, THE SLAVES STAYED AND TOOK CARE OF THE PLACE 'TIL THE WHITE FOLKS CAME BACK, AND SOME OF THEM ATAYED THERE 'TIL THEY DIED. COLONEL MCNAIRY - THE RELA TIVE OF HIS THAT I TOLD YOU LIVED JOINING PLACES - HE TOOK CHARGE OF THE PLACE W HEN OUR FOLKS WERE AWAY, BUT HE HAD TO GO TO WAR. HE HAD BEEN IN WEST POINT, AN D HE SAID THAT BEFORE HE'D LET HIS MOTHER BAKE BREAD AND HIS SISTER WASH AND IRO N, HE WOULD WADE IN BLOOD UP TO HIS STIRRUPS, AND HE WENT OFF TO WAR AND HE GOT BLOWN TO PIECES INONE OF THE FIRST BATTLES HE FOUGHT IN. THEY WASN'T SURE IT WA S HIM BUT YOU KNOW THEY HAD SPECIAL KINDS OF CLOTHES AND THEY FOUND PIECES OF HI S CLOTHES AND THEY THOUGHT HE WAS BLOWN TO PIECES FROM THAT. WHEN HE LEFT, HIS BROTHER LOOKED AFTER US. HE WOULD GET THE PROVISIONS AND THINGS LIKE DAT. YOU SEE THERE WASN'T MANY OF US ON THE FARM UP HERE, SO WE NEVER HAD A WHITE OVERSEE R, WE JUST HAD A FOREMAN, YOU KNOW, AND HE WAS COLORED. WE USED TO PLAY A GAME WE CALLED SMUT, BUT WE WOULD PLAY IT WITH CORN SPOTS INSTEAD OF CARDS. WE PLAYED IT JUST LIKE YOU WOULD WITH CARDS ONLY WE WOULD HA VE GRAINS OF CORN AND CALL THEM HEARTS AND SPADES, AND SO FORTH, AND GO BY THE S POTS ON THE CORN. WE WOULD PLAY MARBLES, TOO, AND THIS TIME OF YEAR OUR BIGGEST AMUSEMENT WAS RUNNING THROUGH THE WOODS, CLIMBING TREES, HUNTING GRAPES AND BER RIES AND SO FORTH. WE WOULD PLAY PEEPING SQUIRREL TOO. WE WOULD SAY, "PEEP, SQ UIRREL,PEEP DIBBLE, DIBBLE, DIBBLE; WALK, SQUIRREL, WALK, DIBBLE, DIBBLE, DIBBLE ; THEN RUN, DIBBLE, DIBBLE, DIBBLE," AND WE WOULD RUN AFTER THE SQUIRREL. CHILDREN NEVER KNEW ANYTHING WENT ON AT NIGHT; ALL OF THEIR PLAY WAS IN THE DAY. WE PLAYED GOOSEY, GOOSEY, GANDER, TOO. WE HAD A LOTS BETTER TIME THEN TH AN CHILDREN HAVE NOW, IN OUR PLAYING. THE WHITE PEOPLE IN THE SUMMER TIME WOULD SIT OUT ON THE PORCH IN THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE AND THE COLORED FOLKS WOULD SIT ON THE KITCHEN PORCH. WE DIDN'T H AVE PORCHES TO OUR CABINS AND WEHD SING TO THE WHITE FOLKS. YOU KNOW WHITE FOLK S ALWAYS DID LIKE TO HEAR NIGGERS SINF, "I'LL COURT MISS MILLIE SIMMONS ON A LON G SUMMER'S DAY." WE USED TO PLAY SUGAR AND TEA, TOO, AND FROG IN THE MIDDLE AND CAN'T GET OU T, AND WE WOULD PLAY SONGS LIKE THE AMERICANS ARE GAINING THE DAY. WE WOULD PLAY THEM PLAYS FOR GAMES WHEN WE'D GO TO PARTIES AND GET TIRED OF DANCING, THEN WE WOULD PLAY WITH SONGS LIKE THAT - - I CAN'T GET ALL OF THAT, B UT ANYWAY, I KNOW IT WAS AMERICANS ARE GAINING THE DAY. THAT WAS THE PLAY AND W E DIDN'T KNOW WHAT AMERICANS WERE. WE CHILLEN WOULD GET IN THE WOODS AND HAVE MEETINGS AND SING THEM, BUT WE W OULDN'T SING THEM TO THE WHITE FOLKS. I REMEMBER ANOTHER ONE WE USED TO SING TO THE WHITE FOLKS. THAT WAS A REBEL SONG, AND ANOTHER WAS, I'LL MAKE MY WAY BACK HOME AGAIN, IF THE LINCOLNITES DON'T KILL ME. OH, THEY TRIED TO SCARE US; SAID THEY HAD HORNS BUT WHEN WE SAW THEM WITH T HEIR BLUE CLOTHES, BRASS SPURS ON THEIR FEET AND THEIR GUNS JUST SHINING, THEY J UST LOOKED PRETTY TO US. NONE OF OUR SLAVES WENT TO WAR. THEY WERE ALL EITHER TOO OLD OR TOO YOUNG ON OUR PLANTATION. SOME MIGHT HAVE WENT FROM THE MISSISSIPPI PLANTATION. X XXX